News Foreign groups warn of misinformation spreading during disasters

Government advisers have warned that unfounded rumours blaming foreign residents for crimes during disasters remain a serious risk, echoing concerns that foreign communities in Japan have raised for many years. In a recent assessment examining the likely impact of a major earthquake striking the Tokyo area, the expert panel stressed the need to curb the spread of false information on social media. Members referred to past events, noting that after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, false rumours that Koreans were looting and setting fires led to violent attacks on Korean residents nationwide.

Such concerns are not limited to the past. Lee Yoomi, who heads the nonprofit Multilingual Centre Facility in Kobe, has said there is widespread unease about how quickly misinformation could spread if a disaster were to occur under today's social conditions. Such fears have recent roots as well. During the campaign for last July's Upper House election, false claims spread online that foreign residents were illegally receiving public welfare benefits, adding to concerns about how easily misinformation can spread in uncertain times.

Similar problems occurred after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Kwak Kihwan, a professor at Tohoku Gakuin University who has expertise in sociology, in 2016 conducted research on the situation concerning foreign nationals following the earthquake and tsunami. Of the 770 Sendai residents who responded to Kwak's survey, about half said they had heard rumors that foreign residents were committing crimes in disaster areas. More than 80 percent of them said they believed the rumors. Following the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that struck on New Year's Day in 2024, misinformation spread about "gatherings of foreign robbers." "In normal times, moral norms prevent people from suspecting someone without evidence. However, during disasters, that brake seems to fail when it comes to foreigners," Kwak said.

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The increase in xenophobic posts on social media comes as Japan accepts more foreign workers to ease labour shortages. These workers are increasingly important in supporting social welfare services and the economy as the population ages and shrinks. If a major earthquake were to strike Tokyo, foreign workers would be working in many essential places, such as convenience stores that support people unable to get home and nursing facilities used as evacuation centres for those with special needs.

The government advisors could also remind politicians, who are not above stirring the pot. Old news now, but Shintaro Ishihara's dire warnings about foreigners rioting after an earthquake were proved wrong in 2011. https://blhrri.org/old/blhrri_e/news/new113/new11301.html