Nikkan Gendai reports that Japan’s lack of extradition treaties is causing problems when foreigners commit crimes in Japan and flee scot free overseas. Then it concludes, “at least it’s a good thing that Japan is not a place where foreign criminals typically flee in order to escape arrest for crimes they committed elsewhere”. Quite. It’s only the Japanese crooks that can flee here and get away with it.
１）12/24放送イジメ特集TBS番組：人種・民族による川崎いじめ事件も
２）読売：大村入管センターで常勤医不在２年に、確保のメド立たず
３）朝日：外国人にＩＣカード 登録情報の一元管理へ政府原案（和英訳幾分異なる）
４）朝日：「外人の日本語は片言の方が」 久米さん１０年後の謝罪
５）甲府市「碧眼金髪外人」英会話学校公募の件：掲示した山梨国際交流協会より返答
６）最後に、岡崎市のインタネット・カフェで「外国人お断り」、すぐに撤回
1) INTERVIEW WITH J-SELECT MAGAZINE
2) BECOMING A LAWYER IN JAPAN: THE BIFURCATED J BAR EXAM
3) JOEL DECHANT AND HIS GUIDED TOURS OF BEPPU
4) TEN THINGS WHICH CHANGED MY LIFE IN 2006
and finally… DEBITO.ORG A DECADE ON…
Asia Pacific University, a subsidiary of Ritsumeikan, in Oita, Kyushu, has announced on its home page its victory in the courts, regarding an injunction on the preservation of status launched by former full-time Japanese language lecturers. Nice bit of gloating. Sounds like a lovely place to work.
Japan Times/Kyodo reports that two temporary job-placement agencies in Gifu Prefecture hired 12 children of Brazilian immigrants of Japanese origin to work in factories in violation of labor laws. The discovery highlights a serious problem: An increasing number of immigrants in Japan are sending their kids to work, rather than school, due to language problems and economic hardship.
Three internet mailing lists under the aegis of Issho Kikaku, administered by Tony Laszlo (the basis of the star character in the bestselling “MY DARLING IS A FOREIGNER” manga series), have winked out of existence and/or public view. This report talks about the possible reasons, the effects, and the hypocrisies involved with this event.
Daily Yomiuri reports: Two state-run immigration “Gaijin Tanks” (where overstayers await deportation) failed to have a full-time doctor on staff despite ministerial requirements. Maintaining adequate medical and health services at detention facilities of any kind is stipulated in the U.N. Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.
Hi Blog. SITYS. See I told you so. As far back as 2000 (when this whole thing started, really–Check out Chapter Three of my book JAPANESE ONLY), I was saying that foreign crime was being artificially generated by policymakers in order to justify more budgetary outlay. Well, here’s an article on it from the Mainichi …
朝日； 外国人労働者らの居住地などを正確に把握するため、外国人登録情報を法務省入国管理局が一元管理する新制度の政府原案が１９日、分かった。入管が氏名や国籍などを電子データとしてＩＣに登録した「在留カード」を発行、外国人を雇う企業や市町村の情報も法務省が集約する。政府は、外国人労働者の受け入れ拡大に備えた体制整備の一環としている。
Links to articles of interest from Mark Smith of the Children’s Rights Network of Japan, charting the media’s growing awareness of Japan’s safe haven for child abductions after international divorces.
MY RECOLLECTIONS OF A SPEECH BY FORMER MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND EDUCATION, LOWER HOUSE DIETMEMBER MACHIMURA NOBUTAKA. Given at Hokkaido Information University, December 18, 2006: A wonderful study of elite Japanese society in action.
Hi Blog. This is not exactly Japan-related, but the International Herald Tribune reports on the numbers and reasons (in this case, usually tax-related) why Americans abroad are giving up their US citizenship. I of course have a personal interest in this article, as I have too have given up my American passport. You can see …
Alberto Fujimori, former Peruvian dictator, is now in Chile facing extradition to Peru, says Economist newsmagazine in passing. I outline who Fujimori is and why you should care.
Japan rightfully protests abductions of its citizens by rogue states (cf. Yokota Megumi). Then turns a blind eye when its citizens abscond with children to Japan after international divorce. People from the Children’s Rights Network Japan have their say on YouTube.
Hello Blog. Just made a revision to the “Rogues’ Gallery” of Exclusionary Establishments–places nationwide in Japan which explicitly restrict or forbid foreign customers entry. http://www.debito.org/roguesgallery.html Newest entry (the 22nd municipality found yet so far) is from Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture. An Internet cafe, of all things: Okazaki City (Aichi Prefecture) Internet Cafe “Dragon BOZ” Aichi-shi Kakemachi …
Hi Blog. After receiving a request from cyberspace about what to do regarding some of the “culturally-insensitive”, shall we say, articles and programs occasionally appearing in Japan’s print and broadcast media, I made a revision tonight to my “What to do if…” site on debito.org. This site is an artery site with links to several …
1) JAPAN TIMES ERIC JOHNSTON MISQUOTED IN NEW BOOK ON IMPERIAL FAMILY
2) ANTHONY BIANCHI RUNNING FOR MAYOR OF INUYAMA, AICHI PREF
3) GOJ’S ANTI-IMMIGRANT AND ANTI-REFUGEE STANCE DRAWS FIRE FROM U.N.
4) TOKYO SHINBUN ON JAPAN’S FOREIGN SLAVE LABOR CONDITIONS
5) YOMIURI: FOREIGN WORKERS CANNOT WIRE MONEY HOME, WRITE LETTERS…
6) SENDAI CITY LOSES LAWSUIT OVER BUS ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION
7) ASAHI: COURT RULES JUKI NET UNCONSTITUTIONAL. HOWZABOUT GAIJIN CARDS?
8) GOJ NOW REQUIRES OVERSEAS “RAP SHEETS” FOR LONG-TERM VISAS
9) QUICK UPDATES TO PREVIOUS BLOG ENTRIES…
and finally… LOSING MY SUGAWARA ON MY KOSEKI
Japan Times reports UNHCR’s Antonio Guterres visit to Japan, where he says that as more people migrate worldwide, Japan will not be able to stop immigration. He added his concern with how people are treated once they get here. Kyodo News article same day gives good example, with a man from Myanmar facing deportation after being caught working full time as a dependent on his wife’s visa filed a lawsuit Wednesday
seeking to stay. He argues it is unreasonable to prohibit immigrant families from having a dual income.
Fascinating account of how people become lawyers in Japan, and the sea change in Japan’s Bar Exam system.
Hello Blog. Interesting article on how Japan’s factories’ abusive practices towards foreign “trainee” workers are coming to light. (I have another article on this subject on this blog at http://www.debito.org/?p=105) In this case, a Muslim trainee worker has had to sign a “seiyakusho” (a written oath, mildly translated in the article as merely a “note”) …
Asahi article in Japanese is about how the government wants to remove the right of dispatch workers (haken roudousha) to claim regular full-time job status (seishainka gimu) after a certain number of renewals. This development will undermine people on perpetually-renewed contracts (such as foreign academics) and their legal right to claim permanent employment.
Osaka High Court ruled that the “Juki Net” residence registration network infringes on people’s constitutional right to privacy if they oppose the system. Great. Now how about Gaijin Cards? What the plaintiffs probably fear happening to them happens on a daily basis to foreigners in this country, who are also covered by the constitution. UPDATE–The judge who ruled on this case committed suicide days later.
1) OTARU ONSENS CASE NOW TEACHING MATERIAL
2) GAIJIN CARD CHECKS OUTSIDE “SAKURA HOUSE”
3) UPDATE ON KITAKYUSHU EXCLUSIONARY RESTAURANT
4) J TIMES ON TOURISM PROMOTION, WITH LETTER TO THE ED
5) TBS: FUJIWARA NORIKA BUMPS ARUDOU DEBITO
6) KYODO: MOCK JURY TRIAL SPRINGS FOREIGN MANSLAUGHTERER
7) JALT PALE ROUNDTABLE ON ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
and finally…
8) WASH POST: GOJ CREATING SUSHI POLICE FOR OVERSEAS J FOOD
A Japan Times article about another promotion to bring more tourists to Japan to spend money (remember Koizumi’s “Yokoso Japan” campaign?), specifically mentioning onsen as one of the places they want more foreigners to frequent. Funny they should mention onsens. Friend Hidesato Sakakibara makes a great rejoinder in a letter to the editor, questioning the effectiveness of such a campaign when there is no law to protect their rights from racial discrimination once tourists get here. For the record, the article, Hidesato’s rejoinder, and a comment from me with some links follow.
Mail from a reader regarding Gaijin Card checkpoints and racial profiling outside her apartment complex, gaijin-friendly “Sakura House” in Tokyo. Point: You do not want to get on the wrong side of the Japanese police, although riding a bicycle, walking outside, renting an apartment etc. while foreign seems more and more to incur Japanese police involvement.
Fascinating post on Japanese govt policy moves against “pseudo sushi”–certifying washoku restaurants abroad as “real Japanese”. Plethora of puns to be made here.
Hello Blog. Forwarding from a reporter friend. Comment is his. Debito ////////////////////////////////////////// Not sure what to make of this. Should I be dissapointed that they chose a foreigner as the defendant in their mock trial or pleased that the jury didn’t necessarily lock him up and throw away the key just because he wasn’t Japanese….. …
Re Kitakyushu exclusionary restaurant: City called me to tell me they the manager, and got assurances that this sort of thing will not happen again. So did the local Bureau of Human Rights. Good. Thanks. This is shaping up into a classic case of how to deal with this problem through administrative channels.
Continuing the Roundtable forum that packed the hall at JALT 2005, five PALE members paneled a meeting to discuss a variety of issues relevant to the conference’s theme of “Community, Identity, and Motivation”. All presentations touched in some way upon employment issues, including issues of job security, union representation, the relationship of nationality to job description and employment terms, and the growing role of dispatch teaching arrangements in Japanese universities. They dealt explicitly or implicitly with the proper roles and responsibilities of PALE and JALT in managing these issues.
In filming a Tokyo Comedy Store event, TV Wide Show “Tokudane” seems to be fishing too much to find “Japanese vs. Western Humor” dichotomy, especially the type where Westerners making any joke about Japan is shown as a criticism about all of Japan. This according to one of the comedians interviewed, Dave MG, who writes this blog entry. Fascinating background information behind show to be aired next Weds Nov 22.
1) TBS INTERVIEW RE 2-CHANNEL BBS, THIS THURSDAY LUNCHTIME
2) NOOSE TIGHTENS: ZAKZAK AND MUTANTFROG ON NISHIMURA & WASEDA SPEECH
3) ASAHI: NORIGUCHI PONTIFICATING ON LANGUAGE TEACHING AGAIN
4) LETTER TO KITAKYUSHU AUTHORITIES RE EXCLUSIONARY RESTAURANT
5) EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF JAPANESE PRISON VISIT
6) FOREIGN MARRIAGES NOT ALLOWED FOR POLICE AND JSDF?
and finally
7) CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN TO HOKKAIDO NIPPON HAM FIGHTERS!
Was going to be on TV briefly Thursday Nov 16 on a lunchtime talkshow, talking briefly about 2-Channel libel lawsuits as a thwarted plaintiff, but it got bumped by news on Fujiwara Norika, then put on hold because Defendant Nishimura didn’t respond to requests for a reply (of course he didn’t!). Ah well. Anyhoo, links to three more articles on 2-Channel, one courtesy Dave Spector.
Forwarding an excerpt from a friend who paid a visit to a Japanese prison to offer moral support to someone incarcerated. The tribulations he went through just to get a short audience are worth recording somewhere for the record. Is all this rigmarole necessary, and if so, what purpose could it possibly serve?
Letter I sent to Kitakyushu authorities and JALT Nov 9 regarding exclusionary restaurant in their area, asking for administrative guidance to the matter.
Translations of articles regarding libelous BBS 2-Channel and administrator Nishimura Hiroyuki, from Zakzak Nov 7 and Sankei Sports Nov 5. Shows how carefree Hiroyuki is towards ignoring court orders and the damage caused people’s lives by unfettered Internet libel.
Professor Noriguchi is becoming a regular pundit on English language education in Japan. After saying not two months ago that one problem with non-Japanese teachers is that they stay in Japan too long, he’s now positing theories about how English is traumatizing and bilking Japanese, especially given the natural disadvantages that the homogeneous Japanese have towards learning English compared to other Asians… Not to mention the inferiority complex which Japanese have towards the West, thus making them unneighborly… Oh go on, read it yourself, and email him if you like.
1) NEW JAPAN TIMES COLUMN TODAY (NOV 7) ON JAPAN’S BROKEN UN PROMISES
2) EXCLUSIONARY KITAKYUSHU RESTAURANT ADDED TO ROGUES’ GALLERY
3) ECONOMIST SOFTBALL OBIT: “TOKYO ROSE” DIES
4) PODCAST ON GOV. ISHIHARA
Hi Blog. Been reading back issues of The Economist left fallow during my recent trips, and stumbled across this. Comment at the very bottom follows: Iva Toguri, a victim of mistaken identity, died on September 26th, aged 90 Oct 5th 2006 From The Economist (London) print edition Courtesy http://www.economist.com/obituary/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_SJJSDST MANY years after the end of …
1) IVAN HALL ET AL SPEAKING AT JALT KITAKYUSHU
2) BERN MULVEY ON MORE MINISTERIAL MOVES AGAINST ACADEMIC TENURE
3) U HODEN LAWSUIT RE SCHOOL BULLYING DUE TO CHINESE ETHNICITY
4) “AMERICANS FOR EQUAL TREATMENT” UNION FORMING
5) RES.PUBLICA JOB ADVERT FOR FULL-TIME JAPAN-BASED ACTIVIST
Hi Blog. Just got finished translating the following for a friend. Debito in Sapporo THE U HODEN CASE HEISEI 16 (WA) DAI 247-GO SONGAI BAISHOU SEIKYUU JIKEN YOKOHAMA DISTRICT COURT KAWASAKI BRANCH, CIVIL COURT B SEEKING DAMAGES FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER Writeup based on Japanese original dated July 20, 2006, available at http://www.debito.org/kawasakiminzokusabetsu.htm Translation by …
Position titles in Japanese universites will now change from kyouju, jokyouju, koushi, joshu to four new official ranks: Kyouju, Junkyouju, Jokyou and Joshu. In other words, “Sennin Koushi”–used by almost
all Japanese universities and often translated as “assistant professor”–still will not be an “official” rank. However, the bottom three positions (anything lower than Kyouju, or Full Professor) will no longer have tenure. The Ministry of Education thus keeps chipping away at secure employment in Japanese teritary education.
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters are poised to take the national championship tonight. This is a quick essay on what this season’s outstanding performance in baseball has meant to Hokkaido.
Nishimura Hiroyuki, the administrator and owner of internet BBS 2-Channel, currently on the lam after not paying several court losses, will actually be making a public appearance on Saturday November 4 at Waseda University, Tokyo. Details send me by a friend available here if you want to attend.
1) ERIC JOHNSTON ON MCGOWAN LAWSUIT APPEAL VICTORY
2) AERA/MAINICHI ON 2-CHANNEL’S NISHIMURA
3) SHUUKAN PUREIBOI/JAPAN TIMES ON GAIJINIZING THE PUBLIC:
POLICE CHECKPOINTS NOW HAPPENING TO JAPANESE
4) WORLD TOUR II: TOKYO, CANADA, AND SEATTLE,
AND THE MURRAY WOOD CHILD ABDUCTION CASE DOCUMENTARY
OSAKA — The Osaka High Court ordered an Osaka optical shop owner to pay 350,000 yen in damages to an African-American living in Kyoto Prefecture for denying him entry to the shop in 2004, altering a lower court ruling in January which rejected the plaintiff’s damages claim. Presiding Judge Sota Tanaka recognized the owner told Steve McGowan, 42, a designer living in the town of Seika, to go away when he was in front of the shop, and acknowledged damages for McGowan’s emotional pain, saying the entry denial “is a one-sided and outrageous act beyond common sense.”
2-Channel’s Defendant Nishimura: “I’ve been sued in the north as far as Hokkaido and the south as far as Okinawa. It’s simply not possible to attend every court case where I’ve been named as a defendant. I figure if I can defend myself in every case, it’s exactly the same as not turning up in my defense,” he tells the weekly indirectly. Nishimura also strongly denies suggestions that he’s gone bankrupt, which many have speculated may be the main reason nobody seems able to find him
now.
This article to me represents a continuing trend of “gaijinizing” the general population. “Police Random street searches and seizures” (which are illegal) are now being forced on Japanese. This has been up to now generally the domain of the “gaijin” targeting of “anti-terrorism and disease control” racial profiling running rampant around Japan these past years. Japan (always in my view a dormant benign police state, given the police’s far-reaching powers of search, detention, interrogation, and prosecution enabled by the law), is once again stretching their police’s powers, which we ignore at our peril.
(Submitted to the Life in Japan yahoogroups list, which kicked off some debate. Subscribe to LIJ via http://groups.yahoo.com/group/life_in_japan/) Hi LIJ. Thought I’d throw another bale of info onto the bonfire of debate on English education in Japan: Wide Show Toku Da Ne this morning had a long segment (about 15 minutes, between 8:25 and 8:40 …
1) J TIMES: DEVELOPMENTS IN FOREIGNER TRACKING AND QUALIFICATION
2) SPORT: BASEBALL “ANTI-GAIJIN” COMMENTS RE FOREIGN COACHES
3) J TIMES: ENFORCED “KIMIGAYO” PATRIOTISM RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL
4) ROGUES’ GALLERY: “JAPANESE ONLY” SIGN IN OHTA-SHI, GUNMA PREF.
5) ADDITIONS TO UNIV BLACKLIST: RITSUMEIKAN, KYOTO SANGYO, KITAKYUSHU
6) ADDITIONS TO UNIV GREENLIST: UNIVERSITY OF AIZU
7) J TIMES ON LINGUAPAX ASIA CONFERENCE THIS WEEKEND AT TOKYO UNIV
A Temple University professor is publishing a paper in the University of Colorado Law Review asserting that, quote, “In Japan, however, criminal libel laws have become vital tools in policing injurious speech on the Internet. Defamatory posts lead to police intervention and even arrest.” Not according the 2-Channel Lawsuit, which I think proves Dr Mehra’s assertions quite inaccurate.