According to Saitama Prefectural Police's Kawaguchi Police Station and the Kawaguchi Municipal Government, a post addressed to Mayor Nobuo Okunoki was made on X, formerly Twitter, on June 11, which stated, "I'll kill you tomorrow. Your life ends tomorrow, mayor."
Police are investigating the alleged threat.
The post took the form of reposting another post including an image of Okunoki appearing on a television show where he was interviewed on the topic of hate speech against Kurdish people in Japan. The image was paired with comments such as, "This is the piece of garbage wholeheartedly protecting the Kurds."
Okunoki filed a victim's report and the prefectural police have reportedly stepped up their vigilance.
Okunoki emphasized, "While calling on the national government to take strict measures against some foreigners who commit illegal acts, we have also called for the establishment of a system to enable them to have at least a minimum standard of living until their repatriation, as long as the government is responsible for implementing provisional release." He added, "It's not as though we're putting Kurdish people under special protection or anything."