Protests criticizing or demanding the Chinese government or foreign policy were reported as rallies, but were not touched unless there were concerns of major diplomatic problems.
Existing anti-American and anti-Japanese protests were also directed at the government or policies of the country in question, and could be tolerated because there were no acts of hatred or threats to the people of that country.
(Except when the head of the country visits or threatens the embassy. An example is the reinstatement of the barrier that had been abolished to prevent anti-American protesters from entering the National Assembly during Trump’s visit in 2017.)
But what about the anti-China protests that have recently been sanctioned?
The owner of that lamb skewer restaurant did nothing wrong, but he was criticized and threatened as a communist.
In the early 2010s, anti-Korean protests were rampant in Japan, with people protesting in Koreatowns and areas densely populated with Koreans, shouting, “The Korean government and Koreans are infiltrating all walks of life in Japan,” and “Josenjins are insects.”
However, as the protests continued, public opinion grew that Japanese society was tired, and each local government enacted ordinances banning hate demonstrations.
In the end, the Liberal Democratic Party decided that it could no longer sit by and enacted the Hate Speech Prohibition Act in 2016, banning hate speech in public places.
Even the Osaka Assembly, which has a very strong conservative tendency, is urging people to be careful while disclosing the names of hate protest groups and people.
Groups that opposed this went to the Constitutional Court, but Japan’s Supreme Court ruled that ‘hate speech can be restricted in freedom of expression.’