Search Results for: Japan

Free Multilingual Legal Advice Hotline open Sunday June 1, 1-5PM, from Japan Law Foundation

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

“I just received information about a hotline which will be open from 1 to 5pm on Sunday June 1st providing free legal advice to foreigners living in Japan. This is to test the demand for such a service in relation to research by the Japan Law Foundation being made by lawyers, NGOs and researchers on the necessity of starting a specialized law office/center for foreigners/refugees. Interpretation will be provided, in many languages. If the hotline receives many calls, this will strengthen the case for such a service, which seems to be to be sorely needed…”

Japan Times Community Page May 28, 2008 on Permanent Residency: “Bad PR for Japan”

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Getting to know Japan is hard work: a complicated language, cultural esoterica, mixed messages about prudent paths to take. People who find their way around and assimilate deserve kudos and respect. And reward. The Japanese government should welcome them by granting Permanent Residency (“eijuken”). But recently people eminently qualified under PR guidelines are being rejected — even Japan’s first Caucasian geisha! Makes one wonder if Japan’s mandarins now feel PRs have reached a “carrying capacity” and have started throwing up more hurdles. Let’s triangulate from three examples this past month…

Kyodo/Japan Today on Anthony Bianchi’s moves as Inuyama City Councilor

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan Today reprints Kyodo article on Anthony Bianchi’s stint (now five years and counting) as a re-elected town councilor in Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture. Although it gives great news about the good works he’s doing (bringing his native Brooklynites over to experience Japan and do musical performances in exchange programs), it neglects to mention one more factor in how difficult it is to be where he is today: Taking out Japanese citizenship and giving up his American! It unfortunately portrays him as someone who could just parachute in, spend time getting to know the place, and eventually do what he does without great sacrifice. Other than that, good update on Bianchi-san’s important work trailblazing in Japan.

NYT on Japan’s dearth of NJ techies, scientists, and engineers

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

NYT: “Afraid of a hollowing-out of its vaunted technology industries, Japan has been scrambling to entice more of its younger citizens back into the sciences and engineering. But labor experts say the belated measures are limited and unlikely to fix the problem. In the meantime, the country has slowly begun to accept more foreign engineers, but nowhere near the number that industry needs. While ingrained xenophobia is partly to blame, companies say Japan’s language and closed corporate culture also create barriers so high that many foreign engineers simply refuse to come, even when they are recruited. As a result, some companies are moving research jobs to India and Vietnam because they say it is easier than bringing non-Japanese employees here.”

Highlights of UN OHCHR Universal Periodic Review of Japan’s Human Rights Record, May 14, 2008

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Here’s what investigating countries at the United Nations are saying about Japan’s human rights record. First, some highlights of what the GOJ itself says it’s doing about following treaties and human rights standards, then other countries respond with a surprising degree of awareness. The biggest issues seem to be the death penalty, human trafficking, and rights for women (with historical issues brought up by neighboring Asian countries), but as far as Debito.org is concerned, there is plenty of attention devoted to issues we’ve been raising all along. Even if Special Rapporteur Doudou Diene’s reports on racism in Japan are mostly being ignored by our government, they certainly are being read by members of the UN. Do try to read parts of the UPR Report with a straight face, as that’s what our government is making a number of risible claims with. I offer links to sections on Debito.org that are at odds with the GOJ’s claims.

UN OHCHR Minority Update: Japan reviewed by Human Rights Council

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Here are two updates on Japan’s human rights behavior being considered for periodic review by the UN Human Rights Council. This is a new activity by the UN after the old Human Rights Commission was disbanded, accused for many years of having the world’s worst human-rights offenders as leaders, there covering up their own abuses. Now under this new organ with the same acronym, everyone is being subject to review once every four years. And according to the press releases below, Japan’s turn came last week. Forwarding primary-source documents to you. Pertinent sections underlined. As it says below, you can also submit documents to the OHCHR if you want about human-rights abuses in Japan. Five pages max, deadline July 14, 2008, email included in this blog entry.

Yahoo News/AP: Newest “Yokoso Japan” rep: Hello Kitty!

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Yahoo News/AP: “Hello Kitty — Japan’s ubiquitous ambassador of cute — has built up an impressive resume over the years. Global marketing phenom. Fashion diva. Pop culture icon. Now the moonfaced feline can add “government envoy” to the list. The tourism ministry on Monday named Hello Kitty as its choice to represent the country in China and Hong Kong, two places where she is wildly popular among kids and young women.”

Japan Today: NJ suspect acquitted by J Court, yet still detained–for overstaying his visa due to denial of bail!

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Here’s another way to make sure you perpetually incarcerate any NJ suspected of any crime. Even if they’ve even been acquitted in court, just keep them in detention (after all, NJ aren’t allowed bail in Japan) long enough, and then you can get them for overstaying their visa! “Hostage Justice’s” safety catch…

Burma/Myanmar junta’s connection to Japanese Imperial Army

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Articles from the Japan Times and JPRI on the Burmese (Myanmar) junta’s historical connection to the Japanese Imperial Army, and how the Japanese government even today has surprisingly close ties to the maniacs who rule Burma–to the point of muting criticism when a Japanese journalist gets cut down by the military, and instead offering criticism of Aung San Suu Kyi’s election victory!

Japan Today: Gov’t looks to immigrants as population shrinks

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

According to the AFP and Japan Today: “Japan’s ruling party is considering plans to encourage foreign workers to stay in the country long-term, a daily reported Monday after the birth rate fell for the 27th successive year. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has proposed setting up an “immigration agency” to help foreign workers—including providing language lessons, the Nikkei economic daily said without naming sources. The party also intends to reform current “training” programs for foreign workers, which have been criticized for giving employers an excuse for paying unfairly low wages, the paper said.”

Washington Post on the Yakuza and the Japanese Police

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Washington Post: “Hi Blog. This is a tangent to the Debito.org role of bringing up issues of NJ in Japan, but it relates as we have been talking about the NPA in recent months. One of my friends, a person who studies wrongful arrests in Japan, says, “The Japanese Police are some of the biggest criminals in Japan.” According the the article below, the NPA’s involvement in hindering international investigations of Japanese organized crime may be evidence of that. Courtesy of The Club. Arudou Debito in Sapporo

=====================================
Washington Post: “Unlike their Japanese counterparts, U.S. law enforcement officers are sharing tips with Japan. Officials from both countries confirm that, in November 2003, the Tokyo police used information from ICE and the Nevada Gaming Control Board to seize $2 million dollars in cash from a safe-deposit box in Japan, which was leased to Kajiyama by a firm affiliated with a major Las Vegas casino. According to ICE Special Agent Mike Cox, the Kajiyama saga was probably not an isolated incident. “If we had some more information from the Japan side,” he told me last year, “I’m sure we’d find other cases like it.”… In early March, in my presence, an FBI agent asked the NPA to provide a list of all the members of [Yakuza crime boss] Goto’s organization so that they could stop them from coming into the country and killing my family. The NPA was reluctant at first, citing “privacy concerns,” but after much soul-searching handed over about 50 names. But the Tokyo police file lists more than 900 members. I know this because someone posted the file online in the summer of 2007; a Japanese detective was fired because of the leak.”

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER MAY 11, 2008–SPECIAL ON CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN JAPAN

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

JUDICIAL TREATMENT OF NJ VICTIMS OF CRIME
1) Filipina allegedly killed by J man, let out of jail despite suspicion of killing another Filipina in past
2) Japan Times et al on homicide of Scott Tucker: “likely to draw leniency”
3) Tokyo Police apparently drop case of Peter Barakan’s assault
4) Yomiuri and Japan Times on Matthew Lacey Case:
Fukuoka Police dismiss NJ death by blow to the head as “dehydration”

JUDICIAL TREATMENT OF NJ ACCUSED OF CRIME
5) “Hostage Justice”: Swiss woman acquitted of a crime,
but detained for eight months anyway during prosecution’s appeal
6) Two articles from The Economist on bent Japanese criminal justice system, death penalty
7) Rough Guide on what to do if and when arrested in Japan
8) Yuyu Idubor’s Statement to High Court April 23, 2008, letters from prison parts five and six

SYSTEMATIC POLICE TREATMENT OF NJ EVEN WITHOUT CRIME
9) Japan Today: Male Shinjuku cops rough up Singaporean women during “passport check”
(with link to Japan Probe site with information about possible police identity fraud)
10) Hiragana Times July 2006 on NJ police brutality by Toyonaka, Osaka cops
11) Potential Olympic torch problems in Nagano? All the more reason to target NJ!
12) Asahi, Mainichi, and Yomiuri: Replacement “Gaijin Card” system, increasing police powers
13) Japan Times: Critics deride future extra policing of NJ under new proposed registration policy

WHY THIS IS UNJUST: JAPAN’S EXTREME POLICE POWERS
14) Reuters: Study says immigrants and crime rate not linked
15) Japan Times ZEIT GIST: G8 Summit and the bad “security” habits brought out in Japan

Japan Times Feb 16 Symposium, my question from the floor makes the paper

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

I have offered my opinion on how the Japan Times could improve its readership in the past on this blog (the JT is uniquely poised to offer something more independently, as a newspaper not controlled as a vanity project by the other Japanese newspapers, such as the doctrinaire Yomiuri, or a union-busting, closed-circuit Asahi. I’m hoping that it finally sinks in that the JT can most easily turn on a dime, and offer information not only for English-language readers, but also the immigrants who want to make a life in Japan and need essential information even when there’s no emergency like the (cited) Great Hanshin Earthquake.

Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column 3: “Activism vs Academia”

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

JUST BE CAUSE Japan Times column 3: “So naturally, some academics have been rather skeptical when I claim racial discrimination here is growing in magnitude and scope. One even asserted at this forum that my online “naming and shaming” of discriminators ( www.debito.org/roguesgallery.html ) is counterproductive — that too much “attacking Japan” alienates potential allies. Again, I understand why never the twain. The academic observer, particularly in the social sciences, is bound by a “prime directive” — not to interfere with their object of study when collecting data; plus there is an incumbent resistance to making value judgments (think of “cultural imperialism” etc.; to an anthropologist, I’m probably the Antichrist). In sum, academics observe societal or global “standards.” Activists, however, try to create or adjust them.”

Japan Times: Canada, U.S. nudge Japan to join child abduction resolution framework

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Canadian and the U.S. government officials and a law expert Friday
urged Japan to join an international legal framework to resolve
cross-border cases of child abduction by parents and others… The U.S. currently has 40 cases of international child abduction
involving Japan, the third-largest after Mexico and India, said
Kathleen Ruckman, deputy director of the U.S. State Department’s
Children’s Issues Office.

Japan Today: Shinjuku cops rough up Singaporean women during “passport check”

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan Today: A few burning questions that arose from this incident:
1) Are these police officers authorized to request our passports as they wish?
2) Under what circumstances can these officers exercise this authority?
3) Without any resistance in any way from us, other than just asking why they require our passports and trying to walk to the station control, where we feel safer, are they allowed to use physical restraint?
4) Are these male officers allowed to use physical restraint on females like us? Should they not have waited for a female officer?
5) In such a predominantly tourist area like Shinjuku, where these officers are checking for foreign passports, should they not have received some form of language training so that they can explain why they need to see my passport? I do not believe that expecting them to be achieve a basic level of communication skills in the English language which is spoken in most of the rest of the world is unreasonable in anyway. What kind of training DO these officers receive?
6) What in the world did my friend and I do that warranted the passport check and the physical restraint?

Mainichi: MOJ overturns deportation order, allows NJ couple to stay with child in Japan.

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Mainichi: The Justice Ministry has decided to grant special residence permission to a Kurdish man, his Filipino wife and their 7-year-old daughter, overturning its earlier decision to deport the couple for overstaying their visas. The ministry’s move came after the Tokyo High Court suggested a settlement in the case in which the family’s request to nullify the ministry’s order to deport them had been turned down by the Tokyo District Court.

Japan Times ZEIT GIST: G8 Summit and the bad “security” habits brought out in Japan

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan Times column on the Hokkaido G8 Summit: The point is, international events bring out bad habits in Japan. And now we have Tokyo bidding for the 2016 Olympics? Cue yet another orgiastic official fear-and-crackdown campaign foisted on the public, with the thick blue line of the nanny state the biggest profiteer. Conclusion: I don’t think Japan as a polity is mature enough yet to host these events. Japan must develop suitable administrative checks and balances, not to mention a vetting media, to stop people scaring Japanese society about the rest of the world just because it’s coming to visit. We need to rein in Japan’s mandarins and prevent them from converting Japan into a police state, cracking down on its already stunted civil society.

Donald Richie gives great review of HANDBOOK in Japan Times

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Donald Richie on HANDBOOK: “In this important and necessary book the authors address migrants and immigrants to Japan in saying that “we believe that your life in Japan should be under as much of your control as legally possible.” That it sometimes seems not to be, is the reason for their having written this handbook… The wise newcomer, be he or she nascent migrant or not, is hereby counseled to acquire this valuable volume and render life in Japan not only possible but practical and pleasurable as well.”

US State Dept Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2007, Japan

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Although the US is certainly no paragon of human rights worldwide (what with torture, renditions, abuses under SOFA, denial of Habeas Corpus to non-citizens, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and the largest arms sales worldwide, to name but a few caveats under this administration), here is their annual report on human rights in Japan in full. For what it’s worth. Note how the situation of “Japanese Only” signs nationwide is no longer mentioned, like it was in previous reports. I guess the US State Department considers the situation resolved. I beg to differ.

Rough Guide on what to do if and when arrested in Japan

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Anonymous Guide: “In Japan, police can arrest anyone, any time. They do not come announced. There are no government leaflets that prepare you for the catastrophe. So, I wrote this one instead, compiled from my own painful experience and those of many other foreigners in Japan. The actual chances to be arrested in Japan are much higher than the chances to be hurt by an earthquake in Japan – especially if you are a foreigner. Don’t think that you will be able to deal with it just because “you know your rights” from back home or from Hollywood court movies. Japan is not about justice, it is about bustice. So prepare yourself for the real big bang – read this.”

Japan Times: Critics deride future extra policing of NJ under new proposed registration policy

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan Times: Foreigners living in Japan should be allowed five-year visas but kept under the eye of a new unified Justice Ministry-run nationwide identification system, a government panel on immigration control said in its report released Wednesday. The panel, made up of university professors and private-sector executives, said a new foreigner registration system and revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law should aim at creating “a symbiotic community” by providing a “pleasant environment for foreign residents in Japan.” While the report emphasizes that the proposed measures will enable the government to provide better services for foreign residents, critics view the new registry system as increased state control…

Taste the irony: Japan proposes language requirement for foreign long-term visas, yet protests when Britain proposes the same

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Yes, you read that right. The GOJ wants to issue Japanese language tests for long-term NJ visa renewals, yet protests when Great Britain proposes the same. Moral: We Japanese can treat our gaijin any way we like. But don’t you foreign countries dare do the same thing for members of Team Japan.

Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Column 2, “Public Forums, Spinning Wheels”

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

JUST BE CAUSE Column 2: “At that point in the speech I began woolgathering — recalling all the warm-fuzzy forums I’d seen turn into woolly-headed worry sessions — and arrived at a sad conclusion: “Kokusaika” forums like these are wasted opportunities. For even if these events are put on by people genuinely concerned about the welfare of non-Japanese residents (not by the local-government “internationalization Old Boys,” justifying budgets for parties and overseas trips), if one is not careful the agenda will go on autopilot, bogged down in banalities.”…

Two articles from The Economist on bent Japanese criminal justice system, death penalty

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

The Economist, two articles: “Article 34 of the Japanese Constitution guarantees the right to counsel and habeas corpus, but is systematically ignored. Police and prosecutors can detain suspects for 23 days. Interrogations are relentless and sometimes abusive. Prosecutors are reluctant to bring cases to trial without a confession. Indeed, it is considered a first step in a criminal’s rehabilitation. When asked about the country’s 99% conviction rate, Japan’s justice minister, Kunio Hatoyama, corrected your correspondent to state that it was actually 99.9%, because prosecutors only present cases that are watertight.”… “The notion of being innocent until proven guilty is not strong in Japan. Mr Hatoyama calls it “an idea which I want to constrain”. But confessions are important and the courts rely heavily upon them. Apart from helping secure convictions, they are widely interpreted as expressions of remorse. A defendant not only risks a longer sentence if he insists he is innocent, he is also much less likely to be granted bail before trial—often remaining isolated in police custody, without access to counsel, for long enough to confess. Toshiko Terada, a private lawyer, calls this hitojichi shiho—hostage justice. Perversely, where little supporting evidence exists, the system helps hardened criminals, who know that if they do not confess they are unlikely to be indicted. Innocents, on the other hand, may crack—as in the Kagoshima case, or in a notorious 2002 rape case when the accused confessed under pressure but was released last October after the real culprit came forward.”

No bank accounts allowed at Mitsui Sumitomo for NJ without minimum six-month stays. Okay at Japan Post Office, however.

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Situation where a J bank (Mitsui Sumitomo) suddenly refuses accounts to newcoming NJ due to potential money laundering problems. Solution: Open an account in the Postal Savings, screw unfriendly Japanese banks. More details from somebody who just went through this rigmarole…

“WELCOME NON-JAPANESE CUSTOMERS” stickers for businesses now on sale at Debito.org (Paypal OK)

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Happy to announce, along with the sale of HANDBOOK FOR NEWCOMERS, MIGRANTS, AND IMMIGRANTS, another new program on Debito.org to push back the night–and counteract the nationwide spread of JAPANESE ONLY signs on businesses: New signs that say “WE WELCOME NON-JAPANESE CUSTOMERS”.

Debito.org Updates: First JUST BE CAUSE Japan Times Column, Journal of Int’l Health, NY Int’l Law Review

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Links to three new articles added to Debito.org’s regular website: My new Japan Times Column JUST BE CAUSE (March 4, 2008), article in the Journal of International Health, and an award-winning article written by Canon Pence on the Otaru Onsens Case etc. in the New York International Law Review.

NYT: Michelin rankings and the alleged inability for NJ to rate Japanese food

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

NYT: “But many Tokyoites grumbled that the guide gave high ratings to unremarkable restaurants, prompting wide speculation that the large number of stars was just a marketing ploy. “Anybody who knows restaurants in Tokyo knows that these stars are ridiculous,” said Toru Kenjo, president of Gentosha publishing house, whose men’s fashion magazine, Goethe, published a lengthy critique of the Tokyo guide last month. “Michelin has debased its brand. It won’t sell as well here in the future.” One chef, Toshiya Kadowaki, said his nouveau Japonais dishes, including a French-inspired rice with truffles, did not need a Gallic seal of approval. “Japanese food was created here, and only Japanese know it,” Mr. Kadowaki said in an interview. “How can a bunch of foreigners show up and tell us what is good or bad?”

Interview (sound files) with Debito on KPIJ re activism, new book, the GOJ, and “The Japanese Way”

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

I had an interview a few days ago with Turner, webmaster of “Keeping Pace in Japan”, regarding topics such as activism, the Japanese Government, “The Japanese Way”, and upcoming sale of HANDBOOK FOR NEWCOMERS, MIGRANTS, AND IMMIGRANTS. Link to his site for clickable sound files and audible answers. Structure of the interview as follows:

ABC News (USA) finally breaks the story about Japan as haven for child abductions

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Here’s a magnificent article from ABC News (USA) about how Japan remains a haven for child abduction after a Japanese-NJ marriage breaks up. Long-overdue attention to one of Japan’s worst-kept secrets–how NJ have essentially no parental or custody rights in Japan, and how Japan refuses to take any measure to safeguard the access of both parents or the welfare of the child under the Hague Convention (which it refuses to sign). Article: “Not a single American child kidnapped to Japan has ever been returned to the United States through legal or diplomatic means, according to the State Department.”

Yomiuri: Govt to help NJ primary- and secondary-ed students learn Japanese

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Yomiuri: The Education, Science and Technology Ministry will launch a program to help the increasing number of foreign students at public primary, middle and high schools to acquire Japanese language skills. Currently, local governments handle Japanese language education for foreign students at public schools. The ministry plans to provide financial and other support to the local governments to employ part-time instructors, who are proficient both in Japanese and a foreign language, with the goal of enhancing students’ understanding in classes and Japanese lessons.

SAYUKI, Japan’s first Occidental NJ certified Geisha, offers special party rate to large groups of NJ clients

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Hi All. SAYUKI, Japan’s first Occidental NJ certified Geisha, is offering special party rates to large groups of NJ clientele. This is a special deal, so if you’d like a glimpse into the Geisha artisan circles (and want to see what the cultural fuss is all about), book a group rate at a very special …

Interesting forthcoming book: “Another Japan is Possible”, citing Tony Laszlo of long-defunct “Issho Kikaku”

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Hi Blog. Speaking of books… We have another book on Japan’s internationalization coming out. Press release below. It looks to be a serious and interesting study of the forces of minority voices in Japan. Well done Professor Chan. There is one thing I found odd. Chapter 42 below reads: 42. Issho Kikaku Tony Laszlo Ethnic …

Japan Today/Kyodo on US pressure re Japan’s NJ fingerprinting

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Kyodo: “A U.S. Homeland Security Department official voiced hope Tuesday that the Japanese government will start sometime in the future to take the fingerprints of all 10 fingers of each foreign visitor to step up accuracy of the screening system at immigration.” Why is the US so concerned about how other countries fingerprint, especially since Japan’s already doing far more biometric border control than average? Lobbying for Accenture?

Speaking of Tsukiji and tourism… Japan Times on new rules to limit tourists

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan Times: “The Tsukiji Fish Market, one of the capital’s most popular and well-known tourist draws, adopted rules urging visitors to voluntarily “refrain from coming,” because of sanitation concerns and the disruptions they pose to the auction business…. The plan is to reduce — but not cut off — the number of onlookers. After being promoted in recent years as a tourist site, Tsukiji now finds itself the victim of its own success: So many visitors flock to the gigantic fish market each day that they are endangering its sanitation and interfering with business…”

“Japanese Only” sign in Tsukiji Fish Market

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Here’s a sign I received a couple of weeks ago (sans address) from a friend in the Kansai. “JAPANESE PeoPle ONLY” outside a Tsukiji restaurant, along with a litany (in Japanese) of what kind of food appreciation they expect from their customers. How urusai. Problem is, by just flat-out refusing NJ customers, the restaurant wound up insinuating that NJ cannot have this degree of food appreciation, or can follow the rules. My putting this sign up without calling the restaurant to confirm (heck, I didn’t know where it was, and asked for help) caused ruction in the blogosphere, when posters accused me of “covering up” information because I didn’t translate the Japanese on the sign (as if Japanese is some kind of secret code). They also somehow reasoned that the rules in Japanese somehow mitigated the blanket exclusion of NJ indicated in English (culture, foreigners are guests, yada yada yada). They tracked down the restaurant (ironically refusing to divulge its whereabouts to Debito.org, speaking of cover-ups), and wound up, they say, getting the sign down. Anyway, bravo. Let’s hope they’re this active towards the next exclusionary sign…

川崎いじめ訴訟で１００万円の賠償命令–Ethnically-diverse Japanese bullied in school wins lawsuit

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

朝日など：小学生時代のいじめが原因でＰＴＳＤ＝心的外傷後ストレス傷害になったとして生徒と両親がいじめた側に損害賠償を求めた裁判の判決で横浜地裁川崎支部はいじめた同級生の両親に１００万円の支払いを命じました。

Matthew Lacey Case: Fukuoka police dismiss NJ death by blow to the head as “dehydration” (Yomiuri & Japan Times)

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Hi Blog. Here are two articles about a mysterious death of a NJ, found dead in his apartment 3 1/2 years ago, deemed not a product of foul play by Fukuoka police (with no autopsy performed). An autopsy overseas reveals the cause of death to be a blow to the head. The Japan Times took …

Japan Today: DPJ at odds with itself over PR Suffrage

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Oh well, never mind the DPJ trying to split New Komeito off from the LDP. Seems the Suffrage for Permanent Residents issue has set the DPJ against itself as well, according to Japan Today. This issue is not settled by any means (the DPJ is all over the map ideologically anyway, so this degree of dissent is quite normal, actually), so let’s see where the kerfuffle goes. But for all the people that say that Japan’s NJ demographics and labor issues are politically insignificant, we may in fact be seeing quite a few fault lines between old and new Japan after all…

Japan Times: Foreigner registration revision to include ID chip, probably same policing function

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Hi Blog. Jun Hongo got on this–the system comes more into focus. NHK said Jan 27 that Gaijin Cards will be replaced with IC Cards, too… Debito ============================== Foreigner registration system to be revised May lead to better services, more control The Japan Times: Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008 By JUN HONGO, Staff writer http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080126a1.html The …

Yomiuri et al: 71% of NJ tourists come for Japan’s food, yet 35% of J don’t want NJ tourism increase

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Eating Japanese food is the most commonly stated reason for visiting Japan among overseas tourists, according to a recent survey. Within character have the Yomiuri talk less about the deterrents to entry (fingerprinting and treatment like criminals and terrorists) and accentuate the positives (food, natch). Update indicates that Japan is the 30th most popular nation to travel to, although it’s 8.3 million tourists nationwide in 2007 is even less than New York City’s tourism alone. No wonder–35% of the public surveyed in 2003 don’t want tourists due to fears of foreign crime.

TIME: “Japan thwarts abusive police” by tweaking interrogation rules

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

TIME Magazine: Facing mounting accusations of brutality, Japan’s National Police set their first-ever guidelines for questioning methods Thursday in an attempt to rein in agents who go too far in pressuring suspects to confess. Critics, however, say the new rules don’t go far enough because they don’t call for video cameras or defense attorneys in interrogation rooms, though one-way mirrors will be installed.

Speech at Waseda Jan 22, 5PM, on Japan’s Immigration and Human Rights Record

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

WASEDA UNIVERSITY DOCTORAL STUDENT NETWORK PRESENTS A SYMPOSIUM:
“Implications of Japanese domestic human rights record (for foreign residents or Japanese) on Asian Integration”
JANUARY 22, 2008 5PM-7PM,
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Kawakami Sonoko, Amnesty International, Katsuma Yasushi, Associate Professor, Waseda University, and Arudou Debito.

ABC Radio Australia: “Expatriates concerned by plans for Japanese language tests”

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

ABC Radio Australia: “The new regulations, supposedly aimed at eradicating illegal residents, is just going to push them underground more than anything,” Dr Burgess told Radio Australia. “I think, in some ways this is a poorly thought out policy and just a knee-jerk reaction to public attitudes which demand more to be done to tackle the foreign crime – a myth that you see in newspapers all the time, that foreigners are criminals; unfounded statistically, but that’s the myth.” Coupla other comments worth viewing/listening to…

Christian Science Monitor: “Japanese youth help compatriots embrace diversity”

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

Christian Science Monitor: “Certainly, the self-image of a homogeneous society remains strong. But some say that perception is incorrect. The official count of registered foreign residents is 2 percent of the nation’s total population of 128 million; but that represents an increase of 47 percent in the past 10 years and excludes many non-Japanese residents. While Japan has witnessed more international marriages – 21,000 children are born to these couples every year – its census figures do not show ethnicity. Moreover, the number of registered foreigners does not include naturalized citizens, indigenous people, or those who overstay their visas, argues Debito Arudou, a US-born social activist who became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2000.”

GOJ floats trial balloon: Japanese language improvement for visas

Posted on by Dr. Debito Arudou

GOJ Foreign Minister Komura floated a policy trial balloon to require language testing and improvement before granting NJ long-term visas in future. Problems abound, not the least the GOJ is resorting to sticks, not carrots, to make people learn Nihongo. The term “long term” is vague, and how many laborers would want to spend all this time learning a language which only matter within this archipelago (when they could learn English, French, Spanish, etc. and work in lots more places)? I agree that everyone should learn how to read, write, and speak Japanese if they want to live here. I just think the proposal as it stands is (as usual) half-baked and encouraging of more NJ workplace and visa abuses.