Powerpoint presentation on the J media-manufactured Myth of “Flyjin”; stats are in, lies are exposed

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IN APPROPRIATE, A novel of culture, kidnapping, and revenge in modern Japan, By ARUDOU Debito
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Hi Blog. This week I gave a couple of presentations on my campus, one that I will share with everyone:

It’s about the whole “Flyjin” phenomenon, where the Japanese media was outright accusing NJ of deserting their posts and fleeing Japan. I’ve already written a column on this for the Japan Times (where I argued that if true, so what? It’s not as if NJ have been made to feel welcome or settled in Japan). But this time, now that the data is in, I argue that the phenomenon was a myth to begin with. Statistics show that a) NJ populations dropped most in ethnic groups (the Brazilians) that are not clustered around Touhoku to begin with, and b) the accusations in the Shuukanshi that NJ criminals were banding together to commit crime were false, as NJ crime dropped even further in 2011 (to levels not seen since 1993 — NPA crime statistics have to go as far back now as 1982 now to somehow depict a “rise”). Also discussed are the unexamined hypocrisies of Ishihara scaring the public in 2000 about the probability of “foreigner riots” during a natural disaster (which never happened; the bigot still got re-elected a month after the disasters anyway), and the Japanese fleeing Bangkok during the flooding last October (taking their Thai workers with them; on special temporary visas of course). And other important information that got drowned out in the NJ blame game/scapegoating (such as other issues of discrimination, including hotel refusals of Japanese “flyjin” fleeing Touhoku, and more accurate facts from the ground).

Download my powerpoint presentation on this at https://www.debito.org/flyjin032012.pptx

Enjoy! Arudou Debito

9 comments on “Powerpoint presentation on the J media-manufactured Myth of “Flyjin”; stats are in, lies are exposed

  • I’m interested to know how the NJ residency numbers are complied – are they based on active residency “visas” rather than immigration departures/arrivals? I ask because the “flyjin” I am still in contact with never canceled their ARC and left on re-entry permits; their resident permits are still valid, so maybe they would be included in the counts as living here although they, like others I’m sure, have not been in Japan for over a year. I guess this wouldn’t affect anyone one a one year permit though as these would have expired depending on when this data was complied, so maybe the number of such anomalies will be quite small.

    Reply
  • Jim Di Griz says:

    That’s awesome Debito! I hope that many people attended, and walked away with a much more realistic picture of the situation in Japan for NJ.

    Reply
  • I guess what they can is to count current numbers of ‘active’ residence permits on a certain date. Since NJ can travel and can stay outside JP during long periods, arrival/departure-based statistics would be useless. Real number of NJ residents in JP at each moment of time should be less than declared. But real number of NJ in JP is higher because of tourists.

    Reply
  • Jim Di Griz says:

    @#3 Moisha

    ‘But real number of NJ in JP is higher because of tourists.’
    But we know the number of tourists was dropping before 3/11 due to the high yen, and that it flatlined after.

    — Source on that, please.

    Reply
  • Debito-san,

    Thanks for addressing this topic. I had read your article before and greatly appreciated it, especially after I ran into accusations of being a flyjin… even though I never left Japan during the crisis, only going down to Kansai like many other friends, Japanese included. Pretty much I feel that it got down to a total lack of trust in the Japanese government (not that other governments garner such trust). After the fact, while the exposure and damage is still not exactly known, such lack of trust was well founded and that alone shows that “flyjin” were correct in immediately evacuating Tokyo as the situation did come close to getting much worse had Naoto Kan not ordered Tepco to remain and push to get the situation partially under control.

    I do want to state though, I hope you upload the presentation on YouTube, or maybe a transcript. The data presented in this short article above, and the PowerPoint are rather disjointed so it is difficult to see your argument and the data supporting that you include as well connected. I know you put a lot of work into this, so I hope the presentation of the supported information could be clearer via the presentation itself.

    Reply
  • My fellow Netizens,(In Debito-mode)

    I got out of Japan eight hours before ‘the big one’ hit!

    Was doing a bit of late winter/early spring camping/climbing/hiking in South Kyushu when Shinmoe-dake did its stuff.
    http://outreach.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/eqvolc/201101_shinmoe/eng/

    I was at Aburatsu – near Nichinan City in Miyazaki Pref when a light sprinkle of powdered dust hit me and I thought ‘damn glass/glue/iron factories!’
    I asked the most mature-looking person near me – a japanese high school girl, what she thought and she said ‘Sakurajima has erupted!!’.

    Anyway, over the next few days and weeks thought ‘this darn place is melting’ and ended up a few hours out of Heathrow when the captain of the B.A. flight said in a heavy voice that there has been a terrible earthquake.

    I could see that most of the Japanese had not the slightest clue what he said so in a public-spirited manner I told the Japanese woman in her forties sitting next to me what happened. She thought for a moment and said:

    “daijoubu, Fukuoka in sunde iru kara(!!)”

    – End of conversation..

    Al

    Reply
  • Hi Debito,

    Let’s leave aside for a moment the question of whether a higher percentage of non-Japanese fled Tohoku or Kanto than Japanese did. Or, actually, let’s assume, for the sake of argument that NJ fled in higher numbers. Maybe this tells us more about the quality of information they had access to than their “loyalty to Japan” or alleged lack thereof. Let’s face it: even now, most typical Japanese are woefully under-informed about the dangers of nuclear power and the real situation in Fukushima and parts nearby.

    In contrast, any number of English-language media outlets broadcast good, accurate information almost from the word go. Think of the work done by the New York Times and Greenpeace, as well as sites like Enenews.com. As evidence for the poor quality of the news most Japanese receive, I would offer all of the articles you mention deriding NJ as “flyjin.” I mean, in a country where the news media is even willing to censor the comments of the Emperor on the danger of nuclear power, can you possibly expect citizens to be well-informed? Those dubbed “flyjin” should wear the epithet as a badge of honor. It should be seen as a mark of being able to distill the truth from masses of misinformation and outright propaganda, as well as a sensible willingness to put the health and safety of one’s family before loyalty to a country that in no way, shape or form returns that loyalty.

    Also, I do believe that a certain percentage of NJ did actually leave Japan after 311, and not just temporarily, but for good. I am sure that many of those did not even live anywhere near the danger zones. This was not out of some fickle disloyalty to the country. Rather, I suspect it was because 311 was a kind of last straw, a kind of “aha” moment (“目からうろこが落ちた”). They saw how the government handled (actually, mishandled) the situation and how few changes were made to the system in the months that followed and they said, “Forget it. This place is screwed.”

    The Stockholm-syndrome suffering NJ who derided those NJ who chose to briefly or permanently leave Japan in the wake of 311 were mostly venting their own frustration at their inability to do the same (either for fear of losing their jobs or simply not having the guts to make a move). As for those Japanese who took the opportunity to bash NJ in the aftermath of 311, well, they should be aware that hotels in Kansai and other parts of Japan, as well as other parts of Asia, were filled with wealthy Japanese fleeing Kanto and Tohoku. And, let’s not forget one hugely important fact (which the Emperor nobly pointed out in his speech about 311): Non-Japanese and foreign countries provided huge assistance to Japan after 311. In fact, I’d bet my entire fortune (not a great sum, mind you) that a higher percentage of NJ residents of Japan actually went up to Tohoku and volunteered in the cleanup than did Japanese citizens.

    Let’s face it: there will always be a certain percentage of Japanese who will look upon NJ with suspicion, disdain and even hatred, and there will always be a certain percentage of NJ who will suffer Stockholm syndrome and start adopting the attitudes of these racist Japanese. They are, as I’ve said elsewhere, pets who start to resemble their owners.

    Reply
  • Jim Di Griz says:

    @Eric C #8

    ‘The Stockholm-syndrome suffering NJ who derided those NJ who chose to briefly or permanently leave Japan in the wake of 311 were mostly venting their own frustration at their inability to do the same (either for fear of losing their jobs or simply not having the guts to make a move). As for those Japanese who took the opportunity to bash NJ in the aftermath of 311, well, they should be aware that hotels in Kansai and other parts of Japan, as well as other parts of Asia, were filled with wealthy Japanese fleeing Kanto and Tohoku.’

    So true. Eric C, you are spot on. I agree with that sentiment 100%.

    Reply

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