Employee reportedly said: 'I have prejudice against foreigners'
A deputy manager from the Shiga Prefecture city of Konan has received a 10% pay cut for three months for making discriminatory remarks against foreign subordinates, according to reports.
The Konan Municipal Government said the public employee repeatedly made discriminatory remarks towards to foreign subordinates between June last year and February this year, The Mainichi reported.
According to the report, among the remarks the employee made included the employee saying: "I have prejudice against foreigners."
The matter was raised to the prefectural human rights centre in March, with the municipal government imposing the pay cut on May 31.
The report comes as Japan sees massive numbers of foreign workers as of late. In three major convenience store chains alone, data from Kyodo News revealed over 80,000 foreign nationals working part-time.
They represent around 10% of the part-time labour force across branches of Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Lawson Inc., and FamilyMart Co. convenience stores, according to the report.
There have also been challenges in terms of collaboration between Japanese employees and their foreign colleagues, particularly on communication.
Language emerged as the top barrier for communication between them, according to recent reports, followed by misunderstandings or mistakes arising from insufficient Japanese comprehension.
