A recent ruling by a judge in the United Kingdom has determined that a Japanese professor’s claims of racism against her boss were unfounded and based on her own hypersensitivity.
University of London Professor Nana Sato-Rossberg alleged that her superior, Provost Claire Ozanne, made racist comments after mentioning that she and her family enjoyed Japanese food, specifically sushi.
The controversy started when Sato-Rossberg raised a complaint with the university, claiming that Ozanne’s comments about sushi were an example of “unconscious bias.” When her internal complaint was dismissed, the professor took the matter to the Employment Tribunal, which handles cases of alleged unlawful treatment by employers.
However, the judge in the case, Employment Judge Brown, ultimately dismissed the professor’s claims, stating that her accusation of harassment and discrimination was unreasonable.
In their final report on the case, the Tribunal stated that a reasonable person would not have been offended by Ozanne’s comments, which were meant to be complimentary and friendly towards the professor’s background and culture.
The judge also pointed out that the professor’s preconceived notions of being treated unfairly due to her race were the main driving force behind her accusations of unconscious bias. This “preconception” led her to see racism where there was none and made her hypersensitive to any interactions with her boss that she perceived as discriminatory.
A Japanese professor at the University of London who took her employer to a tribunal over “racist harassment” has lost her case.
Nana Sato-Rossberg claimed she had been “victimized” after her colleague told her she enjoyed sushi.https://t.co/BtLKjbhtWy
— ThePublica (@ThePublicaNow) May 16, 2024
In their ruling, the Tribunal also noted that the professor took issue with her boss’s normal managerial duties, including pointing out mistakes in her department filings. The judge stated that these actions had nothing to do with race and were simply part of the provost’s job.
Overall, the judge’s ruling determined that the professor’s accusations of racism were unfounded and primarily influenced by her own hypersensitivity and preconceived notions. Sometimes sushi is just sushi and not a sinister indication of prejudice. So let this be a lesson to us all – not everything is about race.
