WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Kansas is recalling hundreds of vehicle license plates on the streets containing the JAP lettering in the wake of complaints that it is an ethnic slur offensive to Japanese Americans.
The Kansas Department of Revenue said there are 731 active registrations containing that random letter combination on standard license plates. Vehicle owners were sent a letter dated Tuesday asking them to return the plate to their county vehicle office within 30 days for replacement at no cost. Plates not replaced within that period will be identified in the states system and will be replaced at their annual renewal.
The issue arose last year when Keith Kawamoto spotted a car with the Kansas plate in traffic near his home in Culver City, California, and took a photo of it. The 70-year-old California man wrote several letters to Kansas officials, including Gov. Jeff Colyer.
I let them know it is considered a very derogatory racial slur and I dont think it should be allowed anywhere, Kawamoto said.
He got an apology back from the states motor vehicles division, but Kawamoto wanted Kansas to get the plates recalled.
Kawamotos photo of the Kansas plate was first published by the Pacific Citizen, the newspaper of the Japanese American Citizens League.
Rachel Whitten, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Revenue said the issue came before the departments review board, which made the decision in late October to pull any current license plates with the JAP lettering and restrict its use in future plates.
We do take these types of complaints very seriously and appreciate that it was brought to our attention, Whitten said.
