Kids with African roots protest against Abe Cabinet's ex-minister's "racist" remark

TOKYO, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- A group of children with African roots in Japan sent an open letter to a former member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet to protest against his "racist" remark.

Kozo Yamamoto, a lawmaker who formerly served as regional revitalization minister for the Abe administration, reportedly asked a fellow ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker during a meeting on Nov. 23: "Why would you like such a black thing?"

Yamamoto later said he would retract the "black thing" remark if it caused any misunderstanding, and his office denied the lawmaker intended to make a racially discriminatory remark.

The group of children, however, said in the open letter that Yamamoto made "a racist remark" and spoke "with contempt."

"We are extremely disappointed to hear such a statement and strongly protest against this kind of behavior," they said.

"Such a remark being presented by a parliamentarian and by an ex-minister will cause distrust towards Japan among African nations, and even on a much larger global scale," the kids added, calling upon the ex-minister to reflect upon his statement and sincerely apologize. Enditem