毎日：タレント宮本和知は東京入管成田支局で指紋採取について、「外国人犯罪が減り、日本が安全になればベストだと思う」
毎日：東京入国管理局成田空港支局は１３日、タレントの宮本和知さん（４３）を「一日入国管理局長」に招き、指紋などの個人識別情報を活用した新しい入国審査手続きを公開した。宮本さんは入国審査場で指紋採取などの手続きを体験。「外国人犯罪が減り、日本が安全になればベストだと思う」と話した。
Japan Times on NJ Housing Discrimination, and how people are trying to help
Hi Blog. Pursuant to my post this morning on how an Osaka realtor has clear “foreigners OK” labels in its apartment catalog (meaning default mode is refusing them), here is an article in the Japan Times with some more evidence on just how systematic discrimination by nationality is in the housing market. Unfortunately, this is …
Rogues’ Gallery: Kansai Kensetsu Inc., a “No Foreigners” realtor in Osaka–according to its catalog
Information from a realtor in Osaka called Kansai Kensetsu, which has a clear system (even a snappy logo) in their housing catalog for refusing “gaijin” renters. Don’t encourage this practice. Take your business elsewhere. Entered onto the Rogues’ Gallery of Exclusionary Establishments.
Valentine Lawsuit: Next Hearing Nov 20 11AM Tokyo High Court, join his support group.
Hi Blog. Nov 20 promises to be a busy day. If you’re not attending the Amnesty/SMJ Protest against Fingerprinting, then consider attending this event–in fact you can probably squeeze both of them in, since they’re both in Kasumigaseki. About a person allegedly brutalized by the police, but undoubtedly denied medical treatment while incarcerated, and crippled …
バレンタインさんの警察官による外国人への暴力事件：【裁判傍聴に ご参加をお願いします！】 平成１９年１１月２０日(火)１１時 開廷
ナイジェリア国籍のバレンタインさんは、新宿歌舞伎町で私服 警察官に不法な暴力を振るわれ障害者となりました。東京都を 相手取り裁判を起こしましたが、一審敗訴。東京都は暴力の事 実を認めず、バレンタインさんが勝手に看板に足をぶつけて怪 我をしたと虚偽の主張。証拠となる防犯カメラが現場にありま したが、都は防犯カメラを撤去し最初からなかったと主張しま した。初診のカルテも東京警察病院が「受診カルテを紛失した 」として裁判所命令にもかかわらず提出を拒否しています。一 審判決は原告側証人を「外国人だから信用できない」としまし た。原告は強大な公権力に翻弄され窮地に追い込まれています 。
Fingerprinting Protest: Lionel Dersot on making your own “WANTED” poster
Interesting idea: “Hello, I am Lionel Dersot, a French resident of 22 years in Tokyo. Following a post on my French blog about alternative, vital ways to express discontent with the biometric filling of foreigners reaching Japan from November 20, I have created a Flickr public photo gallery where I will host any Wanted Poster candidate picture of people wishing to tell others that ” I am not a terrorist”.”
DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 12, 2007
1) NEW JAPAN TIMES ARTICLE TUES NOV 13 ON NEW WORKPLACE GAIJIN CARDING
2) NJ FINGERPRINTING UPDATE:
A) PROTEST WORKS: NARITA INSTITUTES NEW SEPARATE LINES FOR RESIDENTS
B) RECENT MEDIA: FP “AN UNMITIGATED PR DISASTER FOR THE GOJ”, “INEFFECTIVE”
C) CUTE ANIMATION RE FINGERPRINTING: DOWNLOAD AND SPREAD AROUND
D) TUES NOV 20, NOON, ASSEMBLE AND PROTEST AT JUSTICE MINISTRY
3) JAPAN TIMES: US GOVT FORCED PM ABE TO BACK DOWN RE COMFORT WOMEN
4) LA TIMES: HOW J POLICE IGNORE CERTAIN CRIMES. LIKE MURDER.
5) IHT/ASAHI, METROPOLIS, NUGW ON EIKAIWA NOVA BANKRUPTCY AFTERMATH
6) NOV 17 FED OF BAR ASSOC (NICHIBENREN) MEETING RE DIVORCE AND JOINT CUSTODY
…and finally…
7) UPCOMING SPEECH TOKYO NOV 18, “NO BORDER” GROUP ANNUAL MEETING
Global Voices Online: Some J bloggers’ view of NJ Fingerprinting
Here is a link to translations, by Hanako Tokita at Global Voices Online, of some domestic voices in Japanese regarding the NJ Fingerprinting issue. Japanese and English T.
LA Times and Terrie’s Take on NJ Fingerprinting: “an unmitigated public relations disaster for the GOJ”
The fingerprinting issue just keeps on rolling. LA Times article says everything we’ve been saying, only to a big US Pacific Coast audience with close ties to Japan; Terrie’s Take, with an even more timely article this morning, calls this policy an “unmitigated public relations disaster for the Japanese government… the measures have in fact proven to be disjointed, unorganized, and ultimately unworkable. They have also managed to infuriate pretty much every long-term, tax-paying, foreign resident in Japan.”
Fingerprinting of NJ issue summarized as animation. Spread it around.
Hi Blog. Fingerprinting of NJ issue aptly summarized in animation. Spread it around. Download it from here and use as you like: http://www.debito.org/WelcometoJapan.gif Courtesy of UTU’s Nick Wood. Thanks very much, and well done. Arudou Debito in Sapporo
Nova Union on former NOVA employees exodus to G Education
Louis Carlet: NOVA Union has news on employment conditions being offered former NOVA employees by G Education, a company, and the union’s attempt to avoid the same abuses (such as lack of shakai hoken or open-ended employment) by demanding NOVA employment conditions do not continue. Watch the Fuji TV news at 10pm tonight (Sun Nov 11), which covers the Nova Union’s trip to Osaka to meet with the trustee.
LA Times on how J police ignore certain crimes. Like murder.
LA Times: “As is common in Japan, Aichi police reached their verdict on how [brutalized sumo wrestler] Saito died without an autopsy. No need for a coroner, they said. No crime involved. Only 6.3% of the unnatural deaths in Aichi are investigated by a medical examiner, a minuscule rate even by nationwide standards in Japan, where an autopsy is performed in 11.2% of cases… But Saito’s case has given credence to complaints by a group of frustrated doctors, former pathologists and ex-cops who argue that Japan’s police culture is the main obstacle. Police discourage autopsies that might reveal a higher homicide rate in their jurisdiction, and pressure doctors to attribute unnatural deaths to health reasons, usually heart failure, the group alleges. Odds are, it says, that people are getting away with murder in Japan, a country that officially claims one of the lowest per capita homicide rates in the world… “All the police care about is how they look to people; it’s all PR to show that their capabilities are high,” Saikawa says. “Without autopsies they can keep their percentage [of solved cases] high. It’s all about numbers.””
IHT/Asahi and Metropolis: Two good articles on NOVA bankruptcy aftermath
TwIHT/Asahi: “Some former Nova teachers are in such dire financial straits they are having to rely on their former students to feed them.” Metropolis: “In a sense, [former NOVA President Sa[ru]hashi has been playing into the hands of bankruptcy administrators who seek to pin the blame for Nova’s woes on him alone. His selfishness, petulance, disdain for employees and customers, and lack of business acumen make him an exceedingly worthy scapegoat. As this article was going to print, Sahashi remained incommunicado, and the bankruptcy administrators seem to be hoping that the worse he looks, the more the firm will appear as an innocent victim of his tyranny.”
Japan Times: Fingerprinting NJ won’t stop terrorists, critics say
Japan Times: Despite government claims it is necessary to counter terrorism, a new immigration procedure obliging most foreigners to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entry to Japan has come under fire as an unwarranted invasion of privacy. More to the point, experts doubt whether it will even stop potential terrorists from entering the country. Nevertheless, Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama has said Japan will cooperate with U.S. authorities in exchanging immigration data. ACLU’s Barry Steinhardt: “Whether or not the loss of liberty is worth the security gained is not a question — because no security is gained.”
Fingerprinting: Amnesty/SMJ Appeal for Noon Nov 20 Public Appeal outside Justice Ministry
Amnesty International and Solidarity with Migrants Japan (SMJ) will be holding a public action outside the Justice Ministry at Noon Nov 20, in protest of the NJ fingerprinting and biometric data collection taking effect that day. Drop by and protest. It’ll only take an hour out of your day… This blog entry contains the text of their public appeal in English.
アムネスティ／移住連アピール： 「日本版ＵＳ−ＶＩＳＩＴ」施行に抗議する！ １１．２０昼、法務省前に集まろう！
私たちは、さまざまな問題を孕みながら国会での審議も不十分なまま成立してしまった「日本 版ＵＳ−ＶＩＳＩＴ」の施行を即時中止するよう政府・法務省に強く求めるとともに、施行開始の当 日、１１月２０日に、以下の通り法務省前での抗議行動を行います。平日の昼ですが、ぜひ多く の皆さんが参加されますよう呼びかけます。
Japan Times on Immigration’s fingerprinting of NJ outside of Narita
“…Registration for the automated gate system is optional. Those who choose to do so must provide their passport information and have their fingerprints scanned and photographs taken. This has to be done first at select locations in and around Tokyo, including the immigration office at Narita airport. Once registered, participants will go through the immigration line by having their passport electronically scanned and fingerprints confirmed. They may still face questioning by immigration officials before being allowed to officially enter Japan. However, officials say people who are registered are likely to get through immigration quicker than those who aren’t. While all of Japan’s international airports and ports will have the new equipment to take fingerprints and photos, Narita will be the only entry point where people will be able to register with the automatic gate system. There are no plans anytime soon to introduce it elsewhere…”
NO BORDER Speech Sun Nov 18 2007 Tokyo Hosei Univ Ichigaya Campus
Hi Blog. I’ll be speaking in Tokyo in two Sundays. Details as follows. Arudou Debito in Sapporo ====================================== No Border 2007 ＜ともに生きる社会をめざして＞ 連絡先/More Information at http://zainichi.net/ Living Together in One Society 在日外国人ボランティア・ネットワーク主催円卓会議 Round Table Discussion Hosted by the Volunteer Network of Foreign Residents in Japan 主旨：昨年に引き続き、個人を主体としたボランタリーなネットワークづくりを目指した円卓会議（ラウンドテーブル）を開催します。議論を通じて、在日外国人および異なる文化をもつ日本国籍の人々について考えて行きたいと思います。 Objective: Following last year’s event, a round table discussion …
Protest pays off: Now separate lines for residents when fingerprinting NJ at Narita
Well, well, well. Look what cyberspace just sent me… “On the way out of the country, I picked up an Immigration form. There WILL be a special booth for re-entry visa holders. But there WON’T be a card and we WILL have to be fingerprinted and photographed EVERY time we re-enter the country.” COMMENT: You …
Fingerprinting: Tokyo Demo Amnesty/SMJ Nov 20, Signature Campaign by Privacy International
Quoting: “I am toshi, a co-president of People’s Plan Study Group (PPSG). As you know Japanese government will implement new immigration control system of finger printing and face scanning. We have two actions against the plan. One is an international signature organized by Privacy International. Another one is a demonstration in front of DOJ office at noon on Nov 20 organized by Amnesty International Japan and Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan (SMJ)…”
Poster for Dec 11 Tokyo launch re Documentary Film on Child Abduction
Here is the poster for the documentary film FOR TAKA AND MANA, with news on December 11 fundraiser. Please consider attending. I will. Debito
DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 5, 2007
1) DOCUMENTARY FILM ON CHILD ABDUCTION: TOKYO DEC 11 FUND RAISER
2) NJ FINGERPRINTING POLICY FOLLOW-UP:
a) EUROPEAN AND ANTIPODEAN BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS LODGE PROTESTS
b) US MILITARY SOFA EXCEPTED FROM FP LAWS
c) PROBABLE USG INVOLVEMENT IN FP POLICY INCEPTION
d) DIET DEBATES ON ANTI-TERROR POLICY NOT OVER YET
e) MOJ MINISTER HATOYAMA JUSTIFIES FP POLICY THRU HIS OWN AL-QAEDA LINKS
3) THE DRAGNET TIGHTENS: USG: PROVE NO CRIMINAL RECORD OVERSEAS FOR GOJ LONG-TERM VISAS
4) JAPAN FOCUS: “JAPAN’S MULTICULTURAL FUTURE OF MIGRANTS BECOMING IMMIGRANTS”
5) JAPAN TIMES: “JAPAN’S UNSCIENTIFIC HUMAN RIGHTS SURVEY”
…and finally…
6) WE ARE BEING LISTENED TO: ARTICLES ON SUMO AND EXCLUSIONARY SPORTS LEAGUES
NY Times on Sumo, Tokitaizan, and Asashoryu
Hi Blog. Not a matter of fingerprinting for a change, but another article to show that topics we bring up do make some ripples in the press. And I’m still waiting for the “coach” (rather, the owner of a sumo stable) to actually be ARRESTED for assault and criminal negligence (if not manslaughter)–even after publicly …
Probable USG gaiatsu re GOJ fingerprint laws: Quote from Department of Homeland Security website
Here’s an excerpt from a Department of Homeland Security website, regarding how the USG has probably encouraged the GOJ to create the damned NJ fingerprinting program: “As the United States’ systems and data improve, State and DHS must make these initiatives global. We will continue diplomatic efforts for the comprehensive exchange of watchlists, biometrics, and lost and stolen passport information with other governments as well as building capacity to effectively use this information.”
Jeff Korpa on Diet debates regarding Anti-Terrorism
Hi Blog. Busy day today, so I’m not going to do much with the blog today, sorry. Here’s a message from Jeff Korpa, regarding the Japanese Diet ever rescinding or tempering the anti-terrorism putsches which have resulted in our upcoming fingerprinting laws (but have recently become hung up on whether or not Japanese ships should …
欧州ビジネス協会など：外国人指紋採取に対する抗議文
ブログ読者の皆様こんばんは。有道 出人です。いつもお世話になっております。ホットニュースですが、欧州ビジネス協会(EBC)と豪州NZ商工会議所(ANZCCJ)は外国人指紋採取に対する抗議文を発行しました。法務省入国管理局と外務省宛で、原文より： ==================== 「日本で税金を納まっている長期在留者を、不定期の訪問者と唐突にひとまとめにすることは、頻繁な商用旅行者にとって過剰な遅れを生み、経営者の効果的で迅速な移動性に大きく依存している企業に受け入れがたいコストを課すおそれがあれます。」など。 ==================== （全文はコメントの下です） コメント：標的としれている在住外国人住民のみではなく、米国以外の欧米人は既にこの政策に深く疑問を持つようであります。日本当局（特に法務省）は日本がグローバル化に対して例外的な国だと未だに思い込んでいるのでしょうか。「ようこそジャパン」と貿易に関する商売にどんな影響を与えるのかを深く考えこなしましたか。どうぞ報道して下さい。宜しくお願い致します。有道 出人 イメージをクリックして下さい:
European Business Council and Australian/ NZ Chamber of Commerce protest NJ fingerprinting laws
European Business Council and Aus/NZ Chamber of Commerce in Japan: “We believe that the introduction of mandatory fingerprinting and photographing of foreigners entering and re-entering japan must be conducted in such a way that it does not adversely affect foreign residents, businessmen and companies in japan.” Jakob Edberg, Policy Director of the EBC: “After long discussions with the Ministry of Justice, it is now clear that re-entry permit holders will be able to pre-register fingerprints and photo at either Shinagawa or at Narita on the way out. Undergoing this procedure once should grant swift re-entry at Narita (not other international airports) as long as the passport/ re-entry permit is valid.”
多民族共生教育フォーラム2007東京 11月４日（日）午前10時〜午後５時
多民族共生教育フォーラム2007東京 11月４日（日）午前10時〜午後５時 東京国際交流館 国際交流会議場
Documentary film on parental child abduction in Japan: Fundraiser Tues Dec 11 in Tokyo
Fundraiser for documentary film “For Taka and Mana”, on child abductions to Japan after divorce, taking place Tuesday evening December 11 in Tokyo. Link to film trailer included. Please consider attending and helping out in any way you can. I’ll be there.
NJ Fingerprinting Update: US Soldiers also exempt under SOFA
UPDATE FROM US EMBASSY: Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) personnel [i.e. the US Military stationed in Japan] are exempt under SOFA Article 9 (2) from the new biometrics entry requirements coming online on November 20. I guess the GOJ counts them as “diplomats”…
New Long-Term Residency Requirements: Prove you’re not a criminal even overseas
US Embassy sez: “New Long Term Residency Requirements: Japan recently modified its Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. The law now requires that long-term residents provide satisfactory evidence that they do not have a criminal record in their home country when renewing their resident card. To obtain such proof, U.S. citizens with long-term resident status in Japan need to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and provide it with a copy of their fingerprints. To request such service, please follow the guidance listed here. For more details about the Japanese requirements, check with the nearest immigration office in Japan.”
Japan Focus.com: Japan’s Future as an International, Multicultural Society: From Migrants to Immigrants
My latest ronbun at Japan Focus.com, an academic website out of Cornell University, with a synopsis of Japan’s internationalization: From Migrants to Immigrants, immigration continues, despite the disincentives.
Debito.org Newsletter Podcast October 29, 2007 on Fingerprinting at Trans-Pacific Radio
SPECIAL PODCAST ISSUE ON IMMIGRATION’S REINSTATEMENT OF FINGERPRINTING OF NON-JAPANESE AT THE BORDER
1) BRIEFING ON THE ISSUE: METROPOLIS OCT 26 “LAST WORD” COLUMN
2) ISSUE MADE EVEN SIMPLER: DOWNLOADABLE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
3) THE CASE FOR HOW THE FINGERPRINT POLICY VIOLATES INTERNATIONAL TREATY
4) THE SUBTERFUGE: ACCENTURE’S PROFITEERING IN J IMMIGRATION FP MACHINES
5) POLICY CREEP: REUTERS ON HOW GOJ VERSION GOES FARTHER THAN US-VISIT PROGRAM
(by fingerprinting even Permanent Residents, i.e. “Green Card” holders)
…and finally…
6) WHAT YOU CAN DO: LINKS TO PROTEST ARTICLES, CARTOONS, LETTERS
AND ONLINE PETITION YOU CAN SIGN
Softbank and Shinsei Bank illegally require “Gaijin Cards”/passports for all NJ service
Hello Blog. Witness the further tightening of the dragnet around NJ residents. First, we got the justification for fingerprinting all NJ at the border as potential Osama Juniors and Typhoid Maries. Now once inside, the “Gaijin Card” (gaikokujin touroku shoumeisho), designed in 1952 as a tracking device for all the Zainichi who wouldn’t leave postwar …
鳩山法相：「友人の友人にアルカイダ」、そうやって外国人指紋採取を正当化
鳩山法相：「友人の友人にアルカイダ」 後に「真偽不明」 http://mainichi.jp/select/seiji/news/20071030ddm012010061000c.html 鳩山邦夫法相は２９日、東京都内の外国特派員協会で講演し「私の友人の友人にアルカイダがいる。バリ島の爆破事件に絡んでいたが『バリ島の中心部は爆破するから近づかないように』とのアドバイスを受けていた」とのエピソードを披露した。法相自身が爆破事件を事前に知っていたと誤解されかねない発言で、講演後「（直接の）友人から爆破事件の３、４カ月後に聞いた話を申し上げた。真偽は確認してないし（アルカイダのメンバーとの）面識はない」などと釈明した。 この日、法務行政について講演した鳩山法相は質疑の中で、入国管理局がテロ対策のため１１月２０日から実施する来日外国人から指紋や顔写真を採取する制度についての質問に答えた際、唐突に「アルカイダ」の話を持ち出した。法相の釈明によると、直接の友人は「私の趣味であるチョウ（の研究）の同好の士」だという。【坂本高志】 毎日新聞 2007年10月30日 東京朝刊
Mainichi: Justice Minister Hatoyama justifies NJ fingerprinting, alleging ‘friend of a friend’ al-Qaeda link
Mainichi: Japan’s justice minister said Monday a “friend of a friend” who belonged to al-Qaida was able to sneak into the country with false passports and disguises, proving Tokyo needs to fingerprint and photograph arriving foreigners. Japan will begin imposing the new measures on Nov. 20 on all foreigners entering the country aged 16 or over to guard against terrorism, in a move critics say will fail to protect the country and will violate human rights. Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama, however, told reporters that he had personal knowledge of how terrorists can infiltrate the country, citing an unidentified “friend of a friend” who was involved in a bomb attack on the Indonesian island of Bali…
DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER OCT 29, 2007 ON FINGERPRINTING
1) BRIEFING ON THE ISSUE: METROPOLIS OCT 26 “LAST WORD” COLUMN
2) ISSUE MADE EVEN SIMPLER: DOWNLOADABLE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
3) THE CASE FOR HOW THE FINGERPRINT POLICY VIOLATES INTERNATIONAL TREATY
4) THE SUBTERFUGE: ACCENTURE’S PROFITEERING IN J IMMIGRATION FP MACHINES
5) POLICY CREEP: REUTERS ON HOW GOJ VERSION GOES FARTHER THAN US-VISIT PROGRAM
(by fingerprinting even Permanent Residents, i.e. “Green Card” holders)
…and finally…
6) WHAT YOU CAN DO: LINKS TO PROTEST ARTICLES, CARTOONS, LETTERS
AND ONLINE PETITION YOU CAN SIGN
Nick Wood on NJ Fingerprinting policy as breach of international treaty
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) establishes the principle that “[e]veryone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.”(1) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) similarly establishes that “[e]veryone shall be free to leave any country, including his own,”(2) and that “[n]o one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.”(3)
The right to return extends to those who have obtained citizenship in a third state, since the definition of “own country” in these provisions of the ICCPR is not limited to “country of nationality.” According to the U.N. Human Rights Committee, it applies as well to “an individual who, because of his or her special ties to or claims in relation to a given country, cannot be considered to be a mere alien.”
Some quick links re NOVA Bankruptcy
The bankruptcy of NOVA, Japan’s erstwhile biggest eikaiwa school, is big news, so Debito.org need not amplify it much more (I try to give cyberspace to issues less covered). But for the sake of completeness, here is something from Ken Worsley of Trans Pacific Radio, courtesy of Metropolis.
Reuters/Wash Post etc on how new NJ Fingerprint policy goes beyond model US-VISIT Program
The Fingerprint Issue is starting to hit the overseas press now… With information on how it goes even further than the US-VISIT Program it was originally modelled upon. Debito in Osaka ====================================== Japan to take fingerprints, photos of foreigners Washington Post, Friday, October 26, 2007; 1:04 AM By Isabel Reynolds, REUTERS Courtesy http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/26/AR2007102600100.html And Taipei …
NY1 News: Japanese Courts Make It Hard To Prove Innocence
In part four of her five-part series Tokyo Justice, NY1 Criminal Justice reporter Solana Pyne looks into the story of a man who finds himself swallowed up in the Japanese criminal justice system even though he’s done nothing wrong, bullied by police who want him to confess to a crime he didn’t commit. The story became the basis for an eye-opening movie in Japan.
Debito.org Powerpoint Presentation on what’s wrong with new NJ Fingerprinting Program
Want a quick-and-dirty (and easy to understand) presentation on what’s wrong with the upcoming NJ Fingerprinting Program? Download my powerpoint on this subject (from a speech given at Waseda University on Monday, October 22, 2007) here. Spread it around. Show it to others. It’s all there.
Online petition against NJ Fingerprint Policy you can sign
Here’s a link to an online petition against the GOJ’s upcoming policy to fingerprint all foreigners only, created by Thomas in Kyoto
Some anti-fingerprinting policy cartoons (you didn’t get them from me…)
Some anti-fingerprinting policy cartoons (you didn’t get them from Debito.org, of course)…
Amnesty/SMJ Oct 27 Symposium, translated Public Appeal for abolition of NJ fingerprinting program
Hi Blog. Amnesty International Japan asked me to translate their public appeal for their Oct 27, 2007 Tokyo Symposium, calling for the abolition of the November 20 Reinstitution of Fingerprints for (almost) All Foreigners Program. Text follows below. Sent it in an hour ago. If you like what they’re saying, attend this symposium. Details on …
アムネスティ／移住連「日本版US-VISIT」施行の中止を求める！10.27シンポジウム アピール
「日本版US-VISIT」施行の中止を求める！10.27東京シンポジウム アピール 原文 どうぞご出席を！
FCCJ Press Conference on fingerprinting Oct 29
Oct 29 will see a speech at the FCCJ by Barry Steinhardt and Makoto Teranaka on the gaijin fingerprint laws and what they mean and don’t mean.
Recent Media from Arudou Debito: J Times, TPR, Metropolis, and Japan Focus
Links to today’s Japan Times article, Sunday’s TPR Debito.org podcast, and notice of new articles appearing in Japan Focus and Metropolis this week. Also got interviewed for Metropolis’s podcast today…
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: “Let’s be fair, let Japanese win our sports events”
You would think that fairness is the virtue of sports, but tell that to the Japanese authorities. In May, they approved a high school ban on foreign students running the first and the longest leg of a relay race in response to complaints from fans, a spokesman for the All Japan High School Athletic Federation said. The decision came after the federation received mounting complaints from fans that “African runners lead the race so much that the Japanese athletes can’t narrow the difference or catch up throughout the race.”
Peace as a Global Language Conference Oct 27-28 Kyoto
Information about upcoming Peace as a Global Language forum next weekend in Kyoto. I’ll be speaking on Saturday.