Japanese police accused of racial profiling

Next week, three foreign residents of Japan will file a lawsuit against the government over alleged racial profiling by police, in a case that would be the first of its kind, their lawyers said Wednesday.

The three men — one born in Pakistan, an African American and a Pacific Islander — have been repeatedly questioned by police because of their ethnicity or appearance, their lawyers said in a statement.

“It would be the first lawsuit concerning racial profiling by police in questioning, even though suits over police’s excessive questioning have taken place in the past,” one of the lawyers, Moe Miyashita said.