YOKOHAMA -- Three residents of Kawasaki Ward in the city of Kawasaki submitted a declaration to the Yokohama District Legal Affairs Bureau on March 16 seeking relief and preventive measures after being subjected to hate speech in their local community, which they say constitutes a violation of their human rights.

This is apparently the first nationwide case of local residents seeking assistance from a legal affairs bureau after being targeted by hate speech in a specific area.

The residents are first-generation Zainichi Korean Cho Yang-yub, 78, third-generation Zainichi Korean Choi Kang-ija, 42, and Choi's husband Shoichi Nakane, 53, who is Japanese.

According to the declaration, a group of men who reside in the city of Kawasaki staged a demonstration on Jan. 31 at a park in Kawasaki Ward against Zainichi Koreans.

When Jo, Choi and Nakane came to the park to protest, the demonstrators repeatedly shouted slogans at them through a megaphone such as "Get out of here, you Korean cockroaches" and "I'm going to slowly strangle you with a silk cord."

Those engaging in the hate speech then continued their demonstration while walking to the Keikyu Kawasaki train station through the ward's coastal area, which is home to many Zainichi Koreans.

A total of 12 such demonstrations, including the one on Jan. 31, have taken place in the city of Kawasaki since 2013.

Last year in December, the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau issued an admonishment to the former leader of the anti-Korean organization Zaitokukai after the group repeatedly engaged in threatening actions in front of Korea University in the Tokyo suburban city of Kodaira.

Currently existing laws, however, make it difficult to implement regulations against discriminatory speech that is aimed at the unspecified general public.

Upon submitting their declaration to the Yokohama District Legal Affairs Bureau, the three held a press conference at Kawasaki City Hall wherein they described the serious nature of the hate speech incidents.

The three also used their real names when filing the statement, saying "We have done nothing wrong."

"A man once came up to me in broad daylight and said, 'Koreans are our enemies -- and enemies are to be beaten to death'," Choi said. "I believe that one day, I may indeed be killed."

She added, "We just want to be able to live peaceful lives by going to work normally and spending leisurely days off with our families."

"The (hate speech) incidents were very painful for me," said Jo. "At night, I remember what happened and I cannot get to sleep."