Michel Martin defends the use of the term “racist”

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The tnaiste Michel Martin defended himself from using a term qualified as “racist” to designate the Japanese. Speaking on the Talking Bollox podcast last week, Mr Martin used the term ‘Jap’ to refer to his uncle, who was captured as a prisoner of war (PoW) by the Japanese.

Mr Martin’s uncle Philip joined the British Army Corps of Engineers and was captured by Japanese forces while stationed in Singapore, where he was held in a POW camp during three years.

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A spokesperson for Mr Martin initially said he did not think it was offensive and that “he uses this term because it was the language used at the time, he does not consider it as a derogatory term. But Shane O’Curry, director of the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR), said the term was “racist”.

The tnaiste Michel Martin defended himself from using a term qualified as “racist” to designate the Japanese. Photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

“It’s not appropriate language to use in 2023, we’re not in the 1950s now. Fianna Fil is one of the signatories of INAR’s anti-racism protocol, which obliges politicians to be careful about the language they use about minorities,” he said.

The Tnaiste spokesman later responded that he had no intention of offending that term.

This is the second time Mr. Martin has used the term on a podcast. In January last year, speaking on the Two Norries podcast, he said ‘a lot of people say the Japs have kept the genius corps going’.

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