Why This Topic Landed in Japan
At a trial in Saitama over a traffic collision in Kawaguchi that killed a 19-year-old Japanese man, a Kurdish defendant of Turkish nationality reportedly told the court he had missed a red light because he was thinking about discrimination against Kurds. His account reportedly shifted several times, and prosecutors reportedly pushed back sharply. The story spread because tensions around the local Kurdish community and public safety in Kawaguchi have been debated for a while, and a claim that discrimination was the reason for a fatal crash read to many as an attempt to dodge responsibility. Court records for the case are not public, and how the collision is ultimately judged is for the trial to decide; anger online should be read against that.
Key Reaction Themes
- Anger at shifting blame — The dominant reaction was outrage that discrimination was invoked as an excuse in a case where a life was lost.
- Distrust of the legal tactic — Many read the statement as a courtroom strategy that backfires and worsens the defendant's standing rather than helping it.
- Sentencing and the system — Others turned to questions about provisional-release rules, enforcement against foreign drivers, and how sentences are weighed.
What Japanese Netizens Are Saying
The defendant's courtroom statement
Reactions to the trial account that he missed a red light while thinking about discrimination.
赤信号を見落としたのは「クルド人差別のことを考えていたから」 【埼玉・川口】クルド男性の暴走で19歳青年が事故死 公判で繰り返された「不可解すぎる弁明」 dailyshincho.jp/article/2026/0… #デイリー新潮
埼玉県川口市で26年1月、赤信号を無視し、バイクで出勤中だった山本優生さんをはね死なせたクルド人、クルト・ハイリ被告（29）に検察は拘禁刑3年を求刑した。 弁護側は反省しているから、などと言って執行猶予を求めているそうだが、冗談じゃない。 Show more
レクサスに乗ってるこのクルド人はスピードメーター160〜170キロでシートベルトなし。 仮放免で住民票もないし免許なんか取れない筈なんだけど💢 埼玉県警仕事しろ💢
Sources: Yahoo! news, 2ch
Comments:
- "What is this guy even saying?"
- "Using discrimination to dodge responsibility like this makes a bad impression — I don't know about this judge, but generally speaking."
- "Is there no remorse?"
- "Who's putting him up to saying this, lol."
- "Just focus on driving the car."
- "This just makes Kurds' position worse, lol."
- "He says he came here to make money, so there's no way he's a refugee. Swapping it out for a discrimination issue to lighten the sentence backfires — if I were the judge, far from cutting him any slack, I'd add to the sentence for showing no remorse."
- "The lowest kind of excuse — there's no way I can accept this."
