World Notes JAPAN

Most Japanese, raised in an essentially homogeneous society, deny that racism exists in their islands. Still, every so often, Tokyo proves that insularity breeds bigotry. In 1986 former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone touched off an uproar by declaring that blacks and minorities lowered the I.Q. of Americans. Two weeks ago, another Japanese official was at it. Following a police raid on a red-light district, Justice Minister Seiroku Kajiyama casually commented that prostitutes ruined neighborhoods, then added, "It's like in America when neighborhoods become mixed because blacks move in and whites are forced out."

New York Congressman Charles Rangel said such remarks were becoming a "national sport in Japan." For Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, preparing for a U.S. trip, Kajiyama's words were ill timed. Kaifu already has to take heat for Japan's reluctance to participate in the gulf, where, U.S. politicians point out, blacks are among those protecting Tokyo's oil interests. Kajiyama quickly apologized. Or did he? He retracted his statement, saying it was inappropriate for him to comment on U.S. race problems, but he never said he was sorry.