“BOYCOTT FAMILY MART”; Letter in E and J for you to download

mytest

Here you go, Bloggers. Download this letter in English and Japanese and take it to your Family Mart. It’s self explanatory.

familymartboycottletter.pdf

(PDF Format)

familymartboycottletter.doc

(Word Format)

How it reads:

(I can’t get PDF, Word, or .htm saved from Word to display on this page, so let me put the text and graphics below for you to read. Download from links above for a printable formatted copy, one page. Debito)

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boycott-familymart.jpggaijinhanzaifile2007.jpg

Dear Family Mart Management:

I have always enjoyed being a customer of yours. However, I am gravely disappointed that you have decided to stock and sell a magazine entitled GAIJIN HANZAI URA FAIRU, which in my view offers discriminatory statements and images about non-Japanese residents of Japan.

Please remove this magazine from your shelves immediately and return them to the publisher. Please take care not to sell magazines of this type ever again in your stores.

Until you do, I will not shop in your store, and will tell my friends overseas and nationwide to boycott your stores. Non-Japanese are important customers too, and in this competitive market it will be no trouble for us to take our business elsewhere.

Sincerely,

冠省 いつもファミリーマートで日常品を購入させていただいております。

 しかし、近日貴社が雑誌「外人犯罪裏ファイル」を販売に対し、大変絶望しております。当雑誌のなか、「おいニガー!!日本婦女子のケツさわってんじゃねえ!!」「路上で手マンはやめてくれる?」「お前らそんなに外人がイイのかよ!!」「ここは日本なんだよ!てめえの国に帰ってやりな!」等という発言が載り、意図的に外国人住民のイメージ・ダウンを図っており、差別意識を助長しています。貴社が当雑誌を取り扱っていることに非常に憤りを感じております。

 よって、この雑誌をいますぐ棚から撤去し、販売を取り止め、出版社に返却して下さい。そして、二度とこのような雑誌を取り扱わないで下さい。

 このままですと、私は当分の間、他のコンビニで買い物をします。そして、私は友人にも連絡して、ファミリーマートの国内かつ海外店舗(米国で”Famima!”社など)にも不買運動を促進します。宜しくお願いします。草々

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LETTER ENDS

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UPDATE FEB 4:

Just got back from an excursion to two FAMILY MART stores in Sapporo (Kita 2 Nishi 14 and Minami 12 Nishi 10). They just opened in Hokkaido a few months ago, and are pretty concerned about their image as a newcomer in this competitive market.

They had the magazine in stock. They don’t now. They were very nice about it, and took it off the shelves immediately.

It’s pretty easy to do:

1) Check to see if the magazine is on the racks.

2) Ask for the manager (kakari in or tenchou)

3) Ask him or her to accompany you to the racks, and indicate that this is the book in question.

4) Give him or her the letter and let them read it. Meanwhile, thumb to a couple of pages (you’ll see that in the Japanese version I include quotes of the problematic language in red font–particularly the bit about the n****r clause and on-street fingering; this has nothing to do with foreign crime anyway). Should cause a shock, appropriately.

5) Ask them to take it off the rack and send it back (the letter does too).

6) BE POLITE ABOUT IT.

In both cases, the manager was very apologetic and cooperative, and away went the mags to the back room. Should think this will happen elsewhere too, as the company is neither charged for the delivery nor the return of any publications they don’t sell.

I’ll be heading south tomorrow. Think I’ll print up a number of these letters and stop by any FAMILY MART I see….

10 comments on ““BOYCOTT FAMILY MART”; Letter in E and J for you to download

  • any chance of a simalar letter for amazon and chums too? perhaps one to the publisher? Id love to send some to the other peeps you see.

    WELL, THIS LETTER CAN BE A TEMPLATE FOR OTHERS TO ADAPT (from the Word file) FOR THEIR OWN NEEDS. JUST SUBSTITUTE THE COMPANY NAMES AND REMOVE THE FAMILY MART GRAPHIC. AFRAID I’M OFF ON THE ROAD TOMORROW, SO DON’T HAVE TIME TO ADAPT A VERSION FOR EVERY CASE, SORRY. WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA, THOUGH. EVERYONE, HELP YOURSELF. THERE ARE NO COPYRIGHT ISSUES :)–DEBITO

    Reply
  • It’s so nice to have seen things spread so far, thanks for all the publicity! It looks like the tide is slowly turning… but the social implications still remain.

    In other news, Kinokuniya’s Sendai branch had the magazine in their system but all the information other than the publisher/isbn/price had been gutted. It was also not on their shelves.

    I think they are safe to leave alone.

    Reply
  • I saw the magazine at a “THE BOOK” store locally, and sent a adjusted version of the above letter to them. I received the below reply within hours of sending the e-mail from the 販売部長 of おどや.

    いつも、おどやスーパー及びBookをご来店、ご利用いただきまして誠に有難うございます。
    お客様よりメールを頂き、早速雑誌を販売している店舗へ確認を致しました。
    現在、出版社の方から自動的に雑誌が送られて来ている中で、内容をチェックせずに売り場で販売していた事、大変申し訳ございませんでした。
    お客様のお知らせいただいた「外国人犯罪裏ファイル」などの差別意識を助長するような内容の雑誌は只今すべて撤去するよう店舗の方へ連絡致しました。
    また、今後もこの様な内容の雑誌が売場に出ないようにチェックし、対応致します。
    これからも、お客様のご要望に応える商品をいつでも提供できるよう全力を尽くして参りたいと思いますので、何かお気付きの点、ご要望などございましたらお知らせ頂きたいと思います。

    今後共、おどやスーパー及びBookをご利用頂きますよう宜しくお願い申し上げます。

                                   平成19年2月5日

                                   株式会社 おどや
    販売部長

    Reply
  • I complained through the Family Mart website using the form letter above and I just received the reply below. Looks like they’ve officially withdrawn it – or at least officially told the stores to remove it.

    Now for amazon.co.jp and the others…

    2007年2月5日

    拝復 平素は格別のお引き立てを賜り、また、この度は弊社のホーム
    ページをご利用頂き、誠にありがとうございました。

    さて、この度は外人犯罪裏ファイルに関するご意見を頂戴致しました。
    出版社からは仮タイトルのみの提案で、具体的な内容が確認できない
    状況下で発売してしまった経緯がございますが、1月31日(水)に販売
    を開始し、その後、確認致しましたところ、当該雑誌には一部不適切な
    表現や内容が含まれていたことが判明したため、2月5日(月)、全店舗
    に対し、速やかに撤去するよう通達させて頂きました。この度は貴重なご
    意見を頂きましたが、今後も様々なご意見に耳を傾けてまいります。

     最後に、今後とも相変わりませぬご愛顧をお願い申しあげお客様の益々
    のご健勝をお祈りし、まずは書中にてご挨拶させて頂きます。
    敬 具

    ************************

    株式会社ファミリーマートお客様相談室
                   担当:加藤
    住所 東京都豊島区東池袋4-26-10
    電話番号 0120-079-188
    (月~金 9:00~17:45)
    customer@neo.family.co.jp

    ************************

    Reply
  • Many people(including owners) who works at the conveniece stores don’t even read the title of the magazines unless they are interested.They just check if there is no mistake in the slip sent from the wholesale merchant.Some store don’t even have time to check.
    Store employees and owners can’t order magazines which they sell.They just recieve what the wholesale merchant sends.

    The wholesale merchant that sends most magazines is Nihonsuppanhanbai.
    http://www.nippan.co.jp/

    Reply

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