The city legislature of Kawasaki in Japan has passed an ordinance banning hate speech against particular ethnic groups in public.
Taking effect on July 1st next year, it's Japan's first local regulation specifying hate speech penalties.
It forbids the use of loudspeakers, banners or flyers in public spaces for the purpose of engaging in hate speech against foreigners.
Repeated offenders can be slapped with fines of up to 500-thousand yen, or roughly 46-hundred U.S. dollars, and have their names and addresses published.
Japan enacted a law designed to deter hate speech in 2016 but it did not include provisions to punish violators.
Kawasaki is home to one of Japan's largest Korean communities.
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