"Request to Review Hate Speech"... Japan-Based Civic Group Reports DHC Chairman

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] A local civic group in Japan has reported Yoshida Yoshiaki, chairman of the Japanese cosmetics company DHC, to Osaka City, requesting that his posts be reviewed as 'hate speech' due to his controversial expressions disparaging Koreans.

According to Kyodo News on the 28th, Kwak Jinwoong, director of the civic group 'Korea NGO Center' based in Osaka, requested Osaka City to review Chairman Yoshida's posts under the Osaka City ordinance aimed at suppressing hate speech, following the controversy.

The Osaka City ordinance on hate speech suppression limits its review scope to expressive activities conducted in Osaka City or related to Osaka citizens, so Osaka City reportedly stated that it needs to verify whether the posts actually fall under this scope. The civic group believes that since DHC has directly managed stores in Osaka, the posts should be subject to review.

Earlier last month, Chairman Yoshida wrote on DHC's online sales site comparing his company with health supplement competitor Suntory, stating, "Almost all the talents featured in Suntory's advertisements are, for some reason, Koreans (Joseon) descent Japanese. Therefore, on the internet, they seem to be mocked as 'Jontory'." He also added, "DHC is a purely Japanese company in everything, including the talents it employs."

The term 'Jontory' used by Chairman Yoshida is a derogatory expression combining the term for Koreans and Joseon residents in Japan with Suntory. After this post became known, protests with the hashtag "#DiscriminatoryCompany DHC products will not be purchased" continued on Twitter.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.