The Mainichi [Japan]
13 March 2017
SENDAI -- Fake rumors of rampant crime by foreigners
in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami six years ago were
believed by over 80 percent of respondents here in a recent survey who said
they had heard them, it has been learned.
Tohoku Gakuin University professor Kwak Kihwan, who
specializes in co-existing society studies, conducted a survey on the rumors in
September and October last year. […]
A total of 51.6 percent of respondents said they had
heard rumors of crime by foreigners in the disaster areas. Of these, 86.2
percent responded that they had either "largely" or
"somewhat" believed the rumors. When asked what crimes had been
rumored, with multiple answers permitted, "looting and theft" took
the top spot at 97 percent, followed by "damage to corpses" (24.4
percent), and "rape and assault" (19.1 percent). When asked who they
thought had committed the crimes, again with multiple answers permitted, 63
percent said "Chinese," 24.9 percent said "Koreans," and
22.7 percent answered "people from Southeast Asia." […]
