Japanese Slur Sparks Anger in Congress

WASHINGTON —  Black members of Congress have reacted angrily to a racial slur by Japan’s justice minister, who drew a parallel between blacks and prostitutes.

In Tokyo, Justice Minister Seiroku Kajiyama formally apologized for telling reporters after a trip to a red-light district: “Bad money drives out good money, just like in America where the blacks came in and drove out the whites.”

Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), referred to earlier remarks disparaging U.S. ethnic minorities by Japanese officials and said it seems to be “a national sport of Japan.”