Disclaimer: All polls on Debito.org are not to meant to be scientifically valid by any stretch of statistics, or indicative of much of anything. Because they can’t be, in all honesty. They’re just meant to be a fun and interesting way to take the pulse of Debito.org Readers about certain issues. Don’t read too much into them or take them too seriously. Suggestions for topics welcome. Arudou Debito
Former Immigration Bureau head and advocate for immigration reform Sakanaka Hidenori is calling for Japan to become a land of immigrants, opening up to 10 million NJ by 2050. Happen?
It'll never happen. Japan will fossilize or robotize first. (67%, 242 Votes)
What do you do about "Microaggressions"? (JT May 1, 2012 JBC column) (Anywhere in the world, not just Japan.)
Depends on my mood, but I sometimes try to indicate that I don't like the line of questioning. (34%, 119 Votes)
I try to channel them into more meaningful conversation. (19%, 66 Votes)
I ignore them. They're harmless and life's too short to bother with them. (15%, 54 Votes)
Nothing. I don't think there's any such thing as "Microaggressions". (14%, 48 Votes)
I'm generally antisocial and so don't get those questions much. (8%, 28 Votes)
I generally let them know very clearly that I don't like the questioning and hope that the questioners will change their behavior in future. (5%, 18 Votes)
What's your take on suspected murderer Ichihashi Tatsuya's book on his experiences evading arrest for the homicide of Lindsay Ann Hawker? (Multiple responses OK)
It's a cynical marketing ploy by the publisher. (37%, 103 Votes)
It's amazing he could get this published while in detention. (35%, 96 Votes)
Like it or not, freedom of speech. (32%, 90 Votes)
It's an attempt to make judges/a jury more sympathetic for his trial. (31%, 87 Votes)
It will only encourage hero worship and make Japanese society look morbid. (25%, 70 Votes)
It's the work of a monster and should not be on the market. (21%, 58 Votes)
I fear for the safety of other NJ women now. (13%, 36 Votes)
I want to read it and make a decision then. (10%, 27 Votes)
It's a window into the mind of a killer for criminal science. (8%, 23 Votes)
It's a useful piece of evidence -- he's owning up to the crime. (8%, 23 Votes)
Don't know / Can't say / Don't care etc. (5%, 13 Votes)
What do you think about the whole Okinawa Futenma issue?
This whole issue is a relic of Cold-War thinking. Japan should reassert its sovereignty and all US troops should withdraw from Japanese soil. (26%, 100 Votes)
Having the Americans there is crucial not only to the Okinawan economy but also regional stability. Not to mention keeping the Genie in the Bottle. (18%, 70 Votes)
Futenma should be given back and those US troops withdrawn to Guam. (14%, 55 Votes)
Hatoyama should follow US-J agreements even if signed under LDP rule. Bite the bullet. (12%, 45 Votes)
I'm happy to see some US troops and bases leave, but having a complete withdrawal is too much to take in. Baby steps. (7%, 26 Votes)
Don't know, don't care, not sure etc. (5%, 20 Votes)
I'm all for more secure borders and the status quo, but we need more strict policing of the US troops. (5%, 18 Votes)
I'm neutral on the subject. Issue is too complicated. (4%, 16 Votes)
Something else. (4%, 16 Votes)
I don't know what to say, but the stalemate where the US keeps threatening "separation anxiety" is disrespectful towards Japan. Cut it out! (4%, 15 Votes)
I can accept a compromise, where US Futenma troops are relocated piecemeal within Japan. (1%, 10 Votes)
COMMENT: A little surprising were the very number ones supporting discrimination are still a substantial chunk: 17% at this writing, and a full fifth at one point.
Maybe people are just following the impulses of the “fluid morality” of Internet anonymity. Or maybe people never bought into the liberal-arts historical-lesson training, found in most multicultural, English-literate societies, that says that discrimination is just not a workable system.
But I wanted to get an inkling of just how deep the problem goes with this poll. It seems that when you combine amoralism with cultural relativity, you create a cocktail for people to say that people needn’t, even shouldn’t, be nice to one another, and that some people deserve an inferior place in a society.
Perhaps an overthink, given the probably flawed sample size and population (this blog probably attracts radical thinkers on both sides of the spectrum). But I guess one shouldn’t take the advances in the 20th Century regarding racial discrimination for granted even today.
How do you think the new Obama Presidency will fare for its first 100 days?
It will make bold landmark Bush Admin-reversing decisions. (28%, 67 Votes)
It will proceed with caution and appear bipartisan. (21%, 50 Votes)
Makes no difference: The system itself is beyond redemption. (17%, 41 Votes)
There's not much anyone can do in the first 100 days. (12%, 28 Votes)
No idea / Can't say / Don't care. (9%, 21 Votes)
None of the above. (7%, 17 Votes)
It will get bogged down in minutiae. (6%, 15 Votes)
It will get tripped up by the Right. (0%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 243
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What do you think is the most significant human rights advancement in Japan in 2008? (all issues on this blog)
The GOJ declaring the Ainu an official indigenous people. (32%, 55 Votes)
The Supreme Court declaring unconstitutional the patrimony acknowledgment requirement for citizenship. (27%, 46 Votes)
The increasing international awareness of Japan as a haven for child abductions after divorce. (10%, 17 Votes)
The successful lawsuit against Tochigi strawberry farms who underpaid and fired Chinese trainees. (6%, 11 Votes)
Can't say / Don't know etc. (6%, 10 Votes)
The 12,000 yen "economic stimulus" bribe opened to all NJ taxpayers. (6%, 10 Votes)
The U Hoden Case awarding damages to a bullied Chinese-Japanese schoolgirl. (6%, 10 Votes)
The coveted Akutagawa Book Prize going to a non-native author. (4%, 7 Votes)
Something else / None of the above. (3%, 6 Votes)
The successful Zainichi student complaint lodged against exclusionary Nihon U debate club. (0%, 1 Votes)
LDP Dietmember Kouno Taro has proposed to the Diet that Japan allow Dual Nationality. Do you agree?
Should go farther. Anybody, including people who naturalize into Japan, even Zainichi with North Korean roots, should qualify for dual. (55%, 141 Votes)
Actually, I think Kouno Taro's proposal with caveats (see blog entry) has it about right. (29%, 75 Votes)
No, dual nationality is a bad idea. Keep things as they are. (11%, 28 Votes)
Indifferent, don't know, can't say etc. (5%, 11 Votes)
Time for a silly poll. Debito's grown a beard. (See photo in blog entry "Silly Beard Poll".) How do you like it?
Keep it! (40%, 60 Votes)
Shave it. (36%, 55 Votes)
Not gonna answer, nyah. (14%, 21 Votes)
Indifferent. (10%, 15 Votes)
Total Voters: 151
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COMMENT: Phew, that was a close shave!
The Asahi (Oct 5) had a cartoon depicting NJ "discrimination in Japan". Which, if any, of the items depicted have you personally experienced?
Having people not sit by/move away from you on public transportation (68%, 140 Votes)
Being denied a rental contract/apartment for being NJ (40%, 81 Votes)
Lack of promotion/advancement in your workplace for being NJ (33%, 67 Votes)
Being stopped and repeatedly questioned on the street by police (28%, 58 Votes)
Your children being bullied and called "gaijin" (12%, 25 Votes)
Having someone complain (to your employer etc.) for looking scary as a NJ walking down the street at night (sic) (9%, 19 Votes)
None of the above things have actually happened to me as a NJ. (7%, 14 Votes)
I don't consider some, or any, of these things to be discriminatory anyway. (6%, 12 Votes)
Don't know/Can't answer (3%, 7 Votes)
I am not, or don't look like, a NJ, so I can't comment from personal experience. (2%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 205
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Brief Comment: I was, frankly, a tad surprised that nineteen respondents actually had people “complaining to their employer etc for looking scary”; I had thought that option was a bit contrived, guess I was wrong. Not to mention the lack of employment promotion (a third of all respondents) and being repeatedly questioned by police (close to a third). Not all that surprised, however, that the majority (more than two thirds) found people keeping their distance from them on public transportation, or that nearly a majority (two fifths) had apartment troubles. A shame, though, isn’t it.
Terms describing people in any language can be controversial. In your opinion, which ones, if any, of these words still in common use do you think are offensive and should be obsolesced over time?
Gaijin (62%, 143 Votes)
Haafu (44%, 101 Votes)
Sangokukjin (34%, 78 Votes)
Gaikokujin (25%, 58 Votes)
Shina (24%, 56 Votes)
I don't find any of the above words offensive. (18%, 42 Votes)
Welcome back from summer holidays (if you took any). In your opinion, where is the best place in Japan to vacation (regardless of season)?
Okinawa (21%, 31 Votes)
Hokkaido (20%, 30 Votes)
I've never vacationed in Japan. (15%, 22 Votes)
Kansai/Kinki Area (13%, 19 Votes)
Kyushu (11%, 16 Votes)
Kanto Area (7%, 10 Votes)
Tohoku Area (6%, 9 Votes)
Environs around Nagoya Area (3%, 4 Votes)
Shikoku (3%, 4 Votes)
Chuugoku Area (2%, 3 Votes)
Hokuriku Area (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 148
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Brief Comment: Interesting how the far north and south jockeyed with one another throughout this polling period (with Okinawa just edging out Hokkaido by the end). Poor Hokuriku didn’t get a single vote. A significant number of answers were also from people who had never vacationed in Japan! Give it a try, if you haven’t! Provided you have money and can speak the language (and very often even if not), Japan is a surprisingly easy country to get around!
What do you think should be the next move for the Diet after PM Fukuda's resignation?
It makes not a damn bit of difference either way, given what goes on in J politics. (40%, 79 Votes)
The Diet should be dissolved and a general election called ASAP. (31%, 61 Votes)
I can't vote, so I consider what I think as irrelevant. (19%, 37 Votes)
The LDP should not dissolve the Diet and just hold an in-party election for a new PM. (8%, 15 Votes)
Don't know / Don't give a damn about J politics. (2%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 198
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Do you wish Japan would institute "Summer Time" (i.e. Daylight Savings Time) and shift the clocks an hour twice a year?
Yes. What a waste of daylight every summer. (60%, 104 Votes)
No. It's not worth the trouble. (25%, 43 Votes)
Indifferent. Life will go on either way. (12%, 21 Votes)
Can't comment/No opinion. (3%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 172
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Do you think the word "gaijin" should be avoided (in favor of other words, like, say, gaikokujin)?
Yes. "Gaijin" has undesirable connotations. Period. (42%, 149 Votes)
Maybe, but it depends on whether the speaker is being derisive. (26%, 92 Votes)
No. The word "gaijin" is harmless. (25%, 90 Votes)
Maybe, but it depends on whether the listener finds it distasteful. (6%, 21 Votes)
Not sure/Can't answer/Wot's "gaijin"? (1%, 6 Votes)
I enjoy reading your website and just stumbled upon the poll. I’m American living in Japan for a little over two years now, and yours was one of the first websites I scoured before deciding to move here. I just secured permanent residency so will be here for a while.
I would say anyone who does not appear to be Japanese, by Japanese standards, is treated like a visible minority whereas someone who is “possibly” but not Japanese, save their appearance, is an invisible minority. The former would be someone like you or me, other Europeans, Americans, South Asians, and/or Africans living in Japan. Could you use this for a poll?
– Frustrating story. I downloaded the latest version of WordPress a few weeks ago (as was advised by WordPress) and it somehow voided all my polling functions. So I deactivated the Polls widget until WordPress actually sends me a new version that fixes that issue. Damn nuisance, as this WP version also has no WYSIWYG functions either. Sorry. Please wait.
Just a comment from someone who worked in online market research for two years. Such polls are significantly biased towards the top entries in the list, especially the first one. In all of the online polls we conducted, we had to randomize the order of the listing for each person who took the survey. I’d recommend doing that if it’s possible to easily implement in your polling system.
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March 18th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Hello Arudou-san,
I enjoy reading your website and just stumbled upon the poll. I’m American living in Japan for a little over two years now, and yours was one of the first websites I scoured before deciding to move here. I just secured permanent residency so will be here for a while.
Keep up the excellent work!
Best regards,
Mason
– Thanks Mason! I hope the the site serves!
May 31st, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Isn’t it time for a new poll?
– Sure. Tell me what you’d like polled?
June 1st, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Who has it worse, visible or invisible minorities living in Japan?
– Need definitions of the two.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I would say anyone who does not appear to be Japanese, by Japanese standards, is treated like a visible minority whereas someone who is “possibly” but not Japanese, save their appearance, is an invisible minority. The former would be someone like you or me, other Europeans, Americans, South Asians, and/or Africans living in Japan. Could you use this for a poll?
June 17th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
mason did well to get PR in 2 yrs!
congrats..
July 7th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Hi Debito,
What happened to the polls?
Chris.
– Frustrating story. I downloaded the latest version of WordPress a few weeks ago (as was advised by WordPress) and it somehow voided all my polling functions. So I deactivated the Polls widget until WordPress actually sends me a new version that fixes that issue. Damn nuisance, as this WP version also has no WYSIWYG functions either. Sorry. Please wait.
October 31st, 2009 at 11:55 am
Just a comment from someone who worked in online market research for two years. Such polls are significantly biased towards the top entries in the list, especially the first one. In all of the online polls we conducted, we had to randomize the order of the listing for each person who took the survey. I’d recommend doing that if it’s possible to easily implement in your polling system.