Top Japanese author Sono backs racial segregation saying it's 'impossible to live alongside foreigners'
Ayako Sono, 83, suggests that a version of South Africa's apartheid could work in her country
A well-known Japanese author and columnist who advised the government has sparked outrage by claiming foreigners should live in separate areas from Japanese people.
In an opinion piece for the conservative Sankei newspaper last week, Ayako Sono, 83, suggested that the infamous apartheid system that was practised in South Africa between 1948 and 1994 would be appropriate for Japan.
"It is next to impossible to attain an understanding of foreigners by living alongside them," Sono wrote.
"Ever since I learned of the situation in South Africa some 20 or 30 years ago, I have been convinced that it is best for the races to live apart from each other, as was the case for whites, Asians and blacks in that country," she said in the piece.
She cited the case of an apartment block in Johannesburg that was, under apartheid, reserved for white families. As soon as the laws were changed, she said, the property "fell to pieces" because black people have large families.
"Ever since learning of this, I have said that humans can do many things together - business, research, sports, to name but a few - but when it comes to living, this is one area where the races must live apart."