Foreign-born residents file suit in Japan over alleged racial profiling

Matthew, Syed Zain and Maurice, the foreign-born residents of Japan who filed a lawsuit against the national and local governments over alleged illegal questioning by police based on racial profiling, walk toward Tokyo District Court with their legal team, in Tokyo, Japan, January 29, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO - Three foreign-born residents of Japan filed a lawsuit on Monday against the national and local governments over alleged illegal questioning by police based on racial profiling.

It is the first such lawsuit in Japan, according to the plaintiffs' lawyers, and comes amid a sharp rise in the number of foreign workers coming to the country to help stem labour shortages as its population ages and declines.