Tokyo, Nov 11: A Japanese court today ordered a public bathhouse in Northern Hokkaido prefecture to pay three million yen (25,000 dollars) to three bathers it barred because of their foreign appearance. "Their refusal to allow admission to the bathhouse was a case of irrational discrimination and exceeded the bounds of what is permissible in this society," said Sapporo district court judge Mitsuru Sakai in handing down his ruling.
The judge ruled, however, that the city of Otaru, some 800 km North of Tokyo, could not be held responsible for failing to prevent racial discrimination in its jurisdiction.
"I find it difficult to acknowledge the city's actions amount to illegal forebearance of a violation," he said.

The suit was brought by US citizen Ken Sutherland, German Olaf Karthaus and Debito Arudo, a 37-year-old nationalised Japanese citizen who was born in the United States as David Aldwinckle.



They have said they were barred in 1999 and 2000.



Arudo has said he was refused entry even after he presented proof of his Japanese citizenship, which he obtained in 2000.



The bathhouse has said it had been necessary to ban foreigners to protect its business and prevent problems between foreigners and Japanese.



Arudo, a tenured professor at a Japanese university and father of two children by a Japanese woman, had argued that the nation was obliged to uphold the UN convention to eliminate racial discrimination, which it ratified in 1996.


Bureau Report