False rumors accusing Koreans circulate in Japan’s SNS

Groundless rumors are circulating in Japanese society, suggesting that robberies at empty homes rampant after the landslide in Hiroshima last month were committed by Koreans

According to the Tokyo Shimbun on Tuesday, negative groundless defaming rumors were uploaded in succession on Twitter on August 21, such as “robberies of empty homes seemingly continue to occur after the Hiroshima disaster. The only people who can commit such crimes are ethnic Koreans in Japan,” and “robbing fire disaster sites is like a national skill of Koreans and Chinese.’”

The Tokyo Shimbun said its reporter visited the Asaminami and Asakita districts in Hiroshima, which were hit hard by the landslide, and met with residents and civil servants there, but most of them replied, “They never heard of robberies at empty homes committed by foreigners.” Korean Ambassador to Japan Yoo Heung-soo, who visited the site of the disaster on Sunday, also told reporters on Tuesday, “I never saw anyone mentioning robberies of empty homes committed by Koreans in the disaster-stricken areas.”

The Tokyo Shimbun said, “Police are not officially confirming whether suspects in home burglaries in Hiroshima include foreigners, which are spawning groundless rumors.” The daily also said because "hate speech (remarks of hatred against certain people or ethnic group)" urging the Japanese to “kill Koreans” has surfaced in certain segments of Japanese society, ethnic Koreans living in Japan can easily fall victims to groundless rumors.