GOJ Human Rights Week commemorative pamphlet includes NJ issues of discrimination

Posted on December 4, 2008December 4, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Good news, of sorts. Today starts Japan’s official “Human Rights Week” (Jinken Shuukan), when the GOJ spends money (and claims to the UN national campaigns of awareness raising) to promote issues of human rights.

The Bureau of Human Rights (jinken yougobu), the window-dressing department within the Ministry of Justice entrusted to spend tax money but not actually enforce any human rights mandate, usually glosses over discrimination against NJ (heaven forfend they actually use the breathtaking word “racial discrimination”!) as a matter of cultural misunderstandings (a wonderful way to reduce the issue down to next to nothing), and holds it low regard in comparison to issues of actual discrimination against Burakumin, Ainu, the handicapped, etc. This has been reflected in GOJ human rights surveys and past “awareness-raising” campaigns in previous Human Rights Weeks.

So it comes as a welcome surprise that this year the GOJ has issued a commemorative pamphlet including discrimination against NJ as a real issue. Of course, the old bone about “cultural issues” is still there to dilute the Truth Octane. But it’s a start.

Well, actually, looking over information from last year, it’s not that much of a change. Except that the BOHR site now actually includes on its official website a new video game for its cartoon characters, called “The Grand Adventure in Human Rights Land”! Have a play! Hey, it’s your taxes, might as well use them.

Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Column Dec 3 2008 on Obama election and Bush II presidency (Director’s Cut)

Posted on December 3, 2008December 3, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan Times: People talk about America less in terms of justice, more in terms of “superpower realpolitik”, especially after it dropped North Korea from the terrorism watch list. Then we hark back to the Bubble-Era heyday, when Japan’s future was bright, rich, and flying in formation with the U.S. Sadly, that was then, this is now. For the past eight years.

Fortunately, with Obama’s election, American politics became a renewable resource, a fount of “change”. Obama is even inspiring opposition parties here to call for “change” in Japan’s government.

Well, maybe. And maybe America can become a template for good deeds again. That is, if Bush hasn’t made America unredeemable, and if America can learn to say “no” to its own excessive powers.

Obama has a hard act to follow, but if he succeeds, human rights activists in Japan will also enjoy the turn of the tide.

Japan Times Zeit Gist column on Otaru Onsens Case (not by me) (Now UPDATED with comment)

Posted on December 2, 2008December 6, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan Times article critical of the Otaru Onsens Case: The problem is that the case was fought and won on the issue of racial discrimination when the policy being employed by the Yunohana onsen could more accurately be described as the racial application of “group accountability.”…

…America is a truly wonderful country with some particularly obvious virtues, but these do not include its level of safety and social cohesion. While the rights of the individual are certainly more strongly upheld in America than in Japan, the presence of rogue individuals within America is disproportionately high. America is unquestionably a more dangerous place than Japan.

And this brings us to the point that Arudou ignores or simply fails to see. Group accountability is not employed in Japan simply for the sake of pushing people around. It is employed for the purpose of making Japan cohesive and safe. It is a major reason why Japan, unlike the U.S., is a nation in which the fear of random violence is relatively low. If Arudou succeeds in his quest, Japan will become one more nation in which the individual is to be feared. That is an outrageously high price to pay for the occasional racial, national, generational or gender-driven slight.

Get Japan Times Tues Dec 2 for new JUST BE CAUSE column, on Obama’s election

Posted on December 1, 2008December 1, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Just a quick word to tell you that my tenth Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column will be coming out tomorrow, Tues Dec 2 (Weds in print in the provinces). Topic this time: 700 words on the Obama victory and why his election will, given the shameful excesses of the Bush II Presidency, be a welcome respite for human rights activists in Japan. Get a copy!

Mainichi: NJ now eligible for GOJ “economic stimulus” bribe. But not all NJ residents.

Posted on December 1, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

The GOJ has finally made it clear, after overmuch deliberation, that the “economic stimulus” cum political bribe to voters package will also be disbursable to non-voting taxpayers, i.e. NJ. However, not all. Only those with Permanent Residency or marriage with a Japanese. So too bad you taxpaying residents who don’t marry or haven’t been by the grace of Immigration been granted permanent leave to remain. You don’t get a sou for your contributions. It’s better than nothing, and indeed is a sign of progress, but why the lines are drawn there are still mysterious. Anyone with an address in Japan who is paying taxes should be eligible for the rebate. But no.

More on nationality law and children born out of wedlock: Conservatives causing policy balk

Posted on November 30, 2008December 1, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

More on the debate on recognizing paternity and plugging loopholes in the nationality law — and how the conservatives are throwing up roadblocks in between houses of parliament… and blaming a “constituency” of blog messages for it:

Japan Times: With the revised Nationality Law expected to clear the Diet soon, some ruling party lawmakers are at the last minute claiming the amendment may spark problems, such as possibly creating a “black market” in false paternal recognition.

However, it seems too late in the day for them to block passage, because the revised bill cleared the Lower House last week and the Upper House Justice Committee is entering the last stage of deliberations and is expected to vote as early as next week.

The amendment will allow children born out of wedlock to Japanese men and foreign women to obtain Japanese nationality if the father acknowledges paternity after the birth…

“If a law like this is misused, what will happen to the Japanese identity?” asked Takeo Hiranuma, a former trade minister widely considered a hardcore hawk, at an emergency meeting with 13 Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers last week to discuss issues arising from the revision…

One reason that made them act at this late stage was what they claim is the public questioning the amendment. Some lawmakers said there have been hundreds of comments written in their blogs, mostly warning of the potential problems the revision may bring.

“The comments will keep increasing and would go crazy if the revision clears the Diet,” said LDP Lower House member Toru Toida, who has been getting hundreds of comments in his blog.

If the revision clears the Diet, then “people would claim that the Diet is not doing a proper job,” Toida said.

Kyodo: MOJ announces it snagged 846 NJ since reinstituting fingerprinting

Posted on November 29, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

One thing I’ll give the GOJ: They’re predictable when under pressure. After one year of fingerprinting NJ at the border in the name of anti-terrorism and anti-crime, the MOJ decided to announce the number of NJ they netted, no doubt to claim that all the effort and money was somehow worth it. Problem is, as Sendaiben pointed out when submitting this link, that there is no comparison with how many people get snagged on an annual basis even BEFORE fingerprinting was reinstituted.

To me that’s another predictability: you just know if the information was in the GOJ’s favor, they would have released it as well. But this glaring omission I bet means there’s not much statistical difference. Besides, the GOJ similarly congratulated themselves last year when announced their catch the first day after fingerprinting was instituted, even though the fine print revealed those NJ were snagged for funny passports, not fingerprints. And we’ll throw in data about visa overstayers (even though that’s unrelated to the fingerprinting, since fingerprinting is a border activity, and overstaying is something that happens after you cross the border) just because the media will swallow it and help the public make a mental association.

Likewise, there is no ultracentrifuging of the data below to see how many were done for passports or fingerprints again. And of course, predictably, the J media is not asking analytical questions of their own. The closest we get is the admission that the GOJ is collecting these fingerprints to submit to other governments. Which is probably the real intention of this, Japan’s “contribution to the war on terror”. What a crock.

JALT TLT: James McCrostie on NJ job insecurity at Japan’s universities

Posted on November 28, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Behind the Music: An explanation of the university shuffle
James McCrostie
Published in the April 2007 issue of JALT’s The Language Teacher
in the Job Info Center column (p. 45 – 46).

Working at Japanese universities resembles musical chairs. Every year the music starts and instructors with expiring contracts run around looking for a new job. Most universities hiring foreigners full-time offer one-year contracts, renewable three or four times. Contrary to popular belief, universities don’t cap renewals at three or four because if a teacher works long enough they can’t be fired. Schools remain safe as long as they state the number of renewals and a few have contracts renewable up to ten years.

To most thinking people, forcing instructors to leave every few years appears short sighted. Yet, university and government officials have their own reasons for preferring term-limits.

Keeping costs down is one reason…

Britain’s “Gaijin Card” system comes online: UK Telegraph warns against potential foreign celebrity backlash

Posted on November 27, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Compare and contrast the introduction of fingerprinting (moreover Gaijin Cards) for foreigners in the UK. At least Britons are protesting it, and the media is giving them a voice. That’s more than can be said for Japan last year around November 20, when the media suppressed the opinion of NJ residents and NGOs:

Daily Telegraph: From today, anyone from outside the European Union who wants to live and work in the UK for more than six months will have to apply for a compulsory British ID card.

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, wants 90 per cent of foreign residents in Britain to have identity cards by 2014.

To get an ID card, people will have their faces scanned and will have to give 10 fingerprints.

Campaigners fear that this will put off celebrities like American singer Madonna from setting up home here and so damage the cultural life of the nation.

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, a group including author Philip Pullman, musicians Neil Tennant and Brian Eno, campaigning QC Baroness Kennedy and comedians Mark Thomas and Lucy Porter, warn of the damage to Britain’s image abroad…

The killer of Scott Tucker, choked to death by a DJ in a Tokyo bar, gets suspended sentence.

Posted on November 26, 2008November 26, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

I made the case some months ago, in a special DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER on criminal justice and policing of NJ, that NJ get special (as in negative) treatment by courts and cops. An article I included from the Japan Times mentioned that a case of a NJ man killed in a bar “was likely to draw leniency” in criminal court. It did. The killer essentially got off last September. Here’s an article about it, from Charleston, WV:

Charleston Gazette: Prosecutors in Japan have decided not appeal the sentence in the murder conviction of a man placed on five years’ probation for murdering Charleston native and West Virginia University graduate Scott Tucker.

“Prosecutors decided not to even present the appeal,” said Kenneth Tucker II, Scott Tucker’s brother. “They said the witness’s testimony was strong enough not to appeal.”

Tucker’s wife and family had hoped prosecutors would appeal the sentencing in an attempt to get the man jail time. But prosecutors said Thursday they would not pursue an appeal before the two-week window to file ends on Monday.

On Sept. 8, Atsushi Watanabe, 29, was sentenced to three years in prison or five years’ probation for killing Scott Tucker. Under Japanese law, probation in murder cases can begin immediately so Watanabe will serve five years probation rather than three years in prison, David Yoshida, who attended the trial with Tucker’s wife, Yumiko Yamakazi, said previously.

Yamakazi is weighing her options in pursuing a civil case against Watanabe, Kenneth Tucker said…

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 25, 2008

Posted on November 25, 2008November 25, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Table of Contents:
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
GOOD NEWS
1) LDP’s Kouno Taro submits J dual nationality proposal to Diet
… and a majority of respondents to a Debito.org survey want it to go even further
2) Asahi NP Op-Ed urges J to make education compulsory for NJ children too
3) Japan Times update on granting children of mixed J/NJ parentage citizenship
4) FYI: People working for American companies in Japan are covered by US Civil Rights Law

BAD SCIENCE, BETTER SCIENCE
5) Japan Times: PM Aso “stimulus plan” bribe taking flak, still unclear if NJ get handout
6) Ibaraki Pref Police put up new and improved public posters portraying NJ as coastal invaders
7) One year after Japan reinstitutes fingerprinting for NJ, a quick retrospective
8) Kyodo: SDF’s Tomogami revisionist history shows cosiness between J military and right-wing nationalists
9) Japan Times on GOJ’s new efforts to boost tourism to 20 million per annum
10) GOJ Survey says “53% fear public safety problem from increased NJ tourists, want policy measures”
11) Negative survey of NJ employers by J headhunting company “Careercross” to make “employers see their own bias”
12) Compare: Good survey of “non-Japanese citizens in Sapporo” by Sapporo City
13) Thoughtful essay in the Yomiuri on the word “Gaijin” by Mike Guest

BTW…
14) Speaking in Iwate next weekend: four speeches in E and J

… and finally…
15) Next Japan Times column December 2: Stray Thoughts on Obama’s Election
and how the Bush Admin has spoiled it for activists here in Japan

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Asahi NP Op-Ed urges J to make education compulsory for NJ children too

Posted on November 24, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Asahi: So it seems obvious that a new clause must be added to the Fundamental Law of Education, for example, to ensure such children receive the education that is rightfully theirs.

If children of foreign nationality are legally obliged to receive compulsory education, local governments would have to check to ensure they have been enrolled in school.

The authorities would of course let guardians decide whether to enroll the children in international schools or Japanese public schools, but either way, they would have to ensure the children were actually attending school.

A revised system like this would also improve awareness among foreign residents about their children’s right to an education.

The government must tackle this problem seriously and implement measures to promote enrollment of foreign children in public or other schools.

Such steps might include providing subsidies to international schools, producing and distributing free Japanese-language learning textbooks and assigning Japanese-language teachers to teach Japanese as a second language to children of foreign nationality.

The future of these children is at stake. I strongly urge the government to make elementary and junior high school education compulsory for children of foreign nationality, too.

Japan Times: PM Aso “stimulus plan” bribe taking flak, also still unclear if NJ get handout

Posted on November 23, 2008November 23, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan Times: Criticism for a planned ¥2 trillion cash handout program, formally decided by the government led by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito on Wednesday, hasn’t ceased over the weekend, reviving the memory of the 1999 coupon program that cost ¥700 billion but had little benefit for the economy.

Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, appearing on a TV news program Saturday, waved a ¥10,000 bill before the camera and argued that the government should not be scattering cash around among people with no strategic economic focus.

“The previous coupon handout program boosted the individual consumption portion of gross domestic product by only 0.1 percent. The Economic Planing Agency admitted that it had little economic effect,” Matsuzawa pointed out.

Dozens of governors and mayors similarly have called on the government to spend that amount of money, if ever it will, with a clear strategic focus.

“(The government ) will spend ¥2 trillion, which is equal to the budget of the Tottori Prefectural Government for five years. I cannot even visualize that amount of money,” Tottori Gov. Shinji Hirai said Thursday.

Under the program announced by Prime Minister Taro Aso, the government plans to distribute ¥12,000 to every citizen, plus an additional ¥8,000 for each child 18 or younger and elderly person 65 or older. Whether foreigners will be covered has not been decided yet.

Speaking in Iwate next weekend: four speeches in E and J

Posted on November 22, 2008November 25, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Four speeches next weekend in Iwate. Do attend if you like. Speech with Japanese title is in Japanese. FYI, Debito

===================================
REMAINING SPEECHES 2008

Fri Nov 28, 2008, Iwate University, Speech 2:45 -3:45PM, 「『日本人』とは何だろう – アメリカ系日本人から見た過去・現在・未来」 , also 6:20 to 7:50 PM, ”What is Internationalization in 21st Century Japan?” (CONFIRMED)
Sun Nov 30, 2008, Iwate JALT, CORRECTED TIME 1:30 TO 4:30PM, “An Afternoon with Arudou Debito”, Aiina, the Iwate prefectural public building near Morioka Stn (CONFIRMED)
Mon Dec 1, 2008, Iwate Prefectural University, 2:40-4:10PM, Kyoutsuu Kyougi Tou Classroom 101, “What is Internationalization in 21st Century Japan?” (CONFIRMED)
===================================

FYI: People working for American companies in Japan are covered by US Civil Rights Law

Posted on November 22, 2008November 22, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

For the Americans (and anyone else) working in US multinational companies: The US Equal Employment Opportunities law applies even in Japan, and if you are being treated unfairly (and that includes being given contract employment while Japanese get regular employment), you can bring a charge under US law and call for US labor commission mediation even in Japan. Fact is, people working for American multinational companies have double labor rights/civil rights protections — both American and Japanese. And apparently the American government links to the civil rights authorities of other countries/unions like Canada and the EU. More on the USG EEOC site. Further, HANDBOOK FOR NEWCOMERS, MIGRANTS AND IMMIGRANTS TO JAPAN has been helping people define their terms and anchor their arguments. Happy to hear.

One year after Japan reinstitutes fingerprinting for NJ, a quick retrospective

Posted on November 21, 2008November 22, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

It’s already been a year since Japan reinstituted fingerprinting for most NJ on November 20, 2007. There are still concerns about its application, its efficacy, the sweetheart GOJ deal to quasi-American company Accenture to make these machines, the long lines at the border due to faulty machines, the lumping in of Permanent Residents with tourists, the official justifications in the name of preventing terrorism, infectious diseases, foreign crime, you name it.

Anyway, time for a brief retrospective:

Here’s an article from Maclean’s Magazine (Canada) from last March which I think puts it all pretty well. Also a letter from a friend who has a (Japanese) wife in the airline industry who gets caught in the NJ dragnet just because she doesn’t “look Japanese” enough for police in the airport.

The shockwaves and indignations were so palpable that people banded together to form FRANCA (Foreign Residents and Naturalized Citizens Association), a lobbying and interest group to represent the interests of the “Newcomer” immigrants to Japan.

There’s a whole heading on fingerprinting on this blog at
http://www.debito.org/?cat=33
but see special issues of the DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER on the subject here
http://www.debito.org/?p=676 and http://www.debito.org/?p=788

There’s also a special section on Debito.org for people to add their personal experiences with Immigration upon entering or returning to Japan, with 57 responses as of today. Any more?

Ibaraki Pref Police put up new and improved public posters portraying NJ as coastal invaders

Posted on November 20, 2008November 20, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

The police and coast patrollers are out in force again in Ibaraki Prefecture, warning the public to be vigilant against “illegal entrants” (as in people who enter the country surreptitiously) and “illegal laborers”. Again, the title, “STOP THEM AT THE SHORES AND PROTECT”. Found on the wall at Tomobe Station in Mito, Ibaraki on Friday, October 24th, 2008.

Er, I dunno why Ibaraki Prefecture feels the need to do this. Again. It’s certainly not the prefecture with the longest coastline in Japan, nor does it have a huge number of NJ residents or entrants, compared to Tokyo, Gifu, Shizuoka, or Aichi (whose police have not used the same degree of “coastal invader” alarmism).

And you just gotta love the image of not only our subduing boys in blue armed with machine guns (I’m no expert in firepower, but that looks like an automatic weapon to me on his back), but also a military force in green at the bottom left disembarking from a transport like it’s D-Day.

This is, alas, not the first time Ibaraki Prefectural police have resorted to this rubric, or these kinds of posters. See last year’s version immediately following, although back then they were less armed and militarized. I guess the NJ invasion of Ibaraki Prefecture is proceeding apace. As always, your taxes at work. Including those of the NJ being portrayed.

Japan Times on GOJ’s new efforts to boost tourism to 20 million per annum

Posted on November 19, 2008November 19, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

The Japan Times runs an interview with Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Yoshiaki Honpo, who says that Japan’s ailing regional economies can be revitalized by tapping the sightseeing potential of growing Asian countries. He recommends easing visa restrictions, since NJ tourists spend 5 to 15 times more than Japanese tourists.

However, how about easing restrictions at the hotels themselves? According to an attendee of one of his speeches in Nagano, he will “leave alone” those 27% of hotels surveyed who do not want NJ tourists. Odd that a member of the administrative branch would recommend the nonenforcement of laws governing hotels in Japan. Honpo seems to think economic pressure will resolve all. Even though it hasn’t in other similar situations, such as apartment rentals, and leaving exclusionary (and, in this case, illegal) rules in place have caused spillover into other business sectors, copycatting because they can. Humph.

Compare: Good survey of “non-Japanese citizens in Sapporo” by City

Posted on November 18, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

I mentioned yesterday about Careercross’s lousy survey of NJ employers, with loaded and leading questions galore about how NJ bosses apparently view their J subordinates. Contrast it with this thorough, culturally-sensitive (down to the phrasing of the questions) survey put out by the Sapporo City Government.

(They do these once or twice a decade; their last one was in 2001, and they completely rewrote this one in early 2008 after a lot of groundwork from other city offices and help from their NJ staff, they told me last month.)

Now this is how you do a survey. I’ve seen a lot of crappy ones over the years. (Government agencies seem to be incredibly inept at good social science. Consider this periodic survey from the PM Cabinet regarding human rights, where they offer rights for other humans (NJ) as optional, not required! Keeps incurring the wrath of the United Nations.) Not Sapporo. Other cities should take note of this and use it as their template.

Nov 20 NGO Public gathering: 1-year anniversary of the NJ fingerprinting program

Posted on November 17, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

———————————————————————–
Public gathering marking the 1-year anniversary of the new fingerprinting program

NGOs raise concerns about the government’s new plan to abolish the ‘Gaikokujin
Torokusho (alien registration card) ‘and to introduce a ‘Zairyu Kaado (resident card)’
and ‘Gaikokujin Daicho Seido (alien register system)
———————————————————————–

Date: Thursday, 20 November 2008
Time: 12:45 – 14:15
Venue: Conference room No.1,
Diet Members’ No. 2 Office Building of the Lower House
3 minutes walk from Kokkai Gijido Mae station or Nagatacho station of
Tokyo Metro
http://www.shugiin.go.jp/index.nsf/html/index_kokkaimap.htm
* Please collect a pass on 1st floor of the building
Admission: Free
Language: Japanese (If you wish to make a speech in English, we will interpret into
Japanese for you)

Negative survey of NJ employers by J headhunting company “Careercross” to make “employers see their own bias”

Posted on November 17, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Here is an interesting survey by J headhunting company “Careercross”. One read through it and it’s evident the loaded questions (for NJ employers of Japanese) are angling to expose apparent negative predispositions that foreigners evidently have towards their Japanese subordinates. Even a response back from the company itself justifying the survey is indicative, as if it’s going to teach the foreign bosses a lesson about themselves:

=================================

date: Tue, Nov 11, 2008 at 1023 AM
subject: CareerCross survey

Thank you very much for contacting us on Friday and for taking part in our survey.

This survey is an important part in understanding the attitudes and perceptions of foreign employers as it applies to their Japanese hires. Actually the survey is, as you had pointed out, slightly on the negative side which we feel is important in getting straight answers about negative perceptions that a foreign boss may have. We do not think that a “fell good” survey would not bring out information of value.

Please not that it was myself and our Japanese staff, with the help of our foreign staff, that came up with these questions. We hope this survey will be useful for both employers to see their own bias as well as Japanese working at companies for a foreigner.

Thank you again for participating in our survey.
Best regards,
Masayuki Saito
Director COO
C.C.Consulting K.K.
Tel: 03-5728-1861 Fax: 03-5728-1862
=================================

Put on your thinking caps, readers of Debito.org. What would you do if presented with a biased survey in order to use a J headhunting company? Read the full survey blogged here…

Thoughtful essay in the Yomiuri on the word “Gaijin” by Mike Guest

Posted on November 16, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Mike Guest: Why is it that even the less easily offended among us at certain times find the term “gaijin” (or even “gaikokujin”) awkward or irritating? I would like to offer a few linguistic answers to this question.

Words are never inherently rude or inappropriate in and of themselves but become marked as such through a failure to follow the norms of propriety. For example, it is perfectly acceptable to refer to Prof. Wilson as “Wilson” when simply discussing his theories with a colleague, or even when making a reference to him in a presentation where he is not present. But it would be very insulting to address him personally that way. Likewise, in the case of “gaijin” we should note if it is being used as a form of address or as a reference. One Japanese saying something like, “A lot of gaijin like this restaurant” to another can hardly be said to be pejorative (and in fact many non-Japanese too use “gaijin” in precisely this manner–as it can be a very useful classifier), whereas addressing a non-Japanese as “Gaijin” very much violates the norms of forms of address and therefore marks it as rude or hostile.

We should also consider register. In official and formal situations, Japanese speakers use “gaikokujin” rather than “gaijin” for the same reason that they refer to “a person” not as “hito” but as “kata” and generally avoid using “kare” and “kanojo” (he and she). These words are not inherently impolite or pejorative but they do not meet the standards of distance required by a formal register of language. Using “gaijin” in such a situation would therefore mark it negatively…

LDP’s Kouno Taro submits J dual nationality proposal to Diet

Posted on November 15, 2008November 16, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

LDP panel mulls easing law on dual citizenship
Mixed couples’ kids could have two nationalities
By MINORU MATSUTANI Staff writer
The Japan Times: Friday, Nov. 14, 2008

Liberal Democratic Party member Taro Kono said Thursday he has submitted a proposal to an LDP panel he heads calling for the Nationality Law to be revised to allow offspring of mixed couples, one of whom being Japanese, to have more than one nationality…

While the proposal allows for multiple nationalities, the government will not let Japanese hold nationalities of countries or regions that Japan does not recognize as nations, including North Korea.

Also under the proposal, foreigners would be able to obtain Japanese citizenship without giving up their original one. But the proposal does not say whether those who had had multiple nationalities and gave up one or more to retain their Japanese citizenship can regain other nationalities.

The proposal would also affect babies born in countries that grant nationality to those born there regardless of their parents’ nationalities, including the United States, Brazil and Australia.

=================

Thanks to Kouno Taro, LDP Dietmember, for submitting a proposal to the Diet, after a good think about dual nationality following the paradoxes of Japanese-born American citizens winning Nobel Prizes. Let’s hope the proposal goes somewhere. It’s about time the unnecessary identity sacrifices of enforced mononationality are resolved. There is no need in this day and age to force multicultural people to legally deny themselves the existence of international roots.

2008.11.20　日本版US-VISIT開始から１年　院内集会 [えっ！外国人登録証がなくなるの？」

Posted on November 14, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

————————————————————————–
2008.11.20　日本版US-VISIT開始から１年　院内集会
えっ！外国人登録証がなくなるの？
2009年入管法改悪・「在留カード」導入案に待った！
————————————————————————–

日時：2008年11月20日（木）　12時45分　～　14時15分
会場：衆議院第二議員会館　第一会議室
※ 地下鉄「国会議事堂前」駅下車　徒歩3分）
※ １階ロビーにて通行証をお渡しします。

【内容】
（１）指紋押捺制度廃止から日本版US-VISIT導入まで
報告：佐藤信行さん（在日韓国人問題研究所・RAIK）
（２）当事者からの発言／2007年11月20日法務省前行動のビデオ上映を予定
（３）どうなる？　2009年入管法改定
　「外登証」を廃止して、「在留カード」「外国人台帳制度」へ
報告：旗手明さん（自由人権協会・JCLU）
（４）「在留カード」が導入されたら…懸念される問題点
教育（子ども）／医療サービス／難民申請者

Japan Times update on granting children of mixed J/NJ parentage citizenship

Posted on November 14, 2008November 14, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan Times: Many observers of the Nationality Law have welcomed the government’s proposed revision approved Tuesday by the Cabinet that will soon allow hundreds of children born out of wedlock to Japanese men and foreign women to obtain Japanese nationality if the father recognizes paternity even after birth…

The scheduled amendment is in line with the June 4 Supreme Court ruling that a provision of the law on the status of children born out of wedlock was unconstitutional.

Today, the law still reads that a child born out of wedlock between a Japanese father and a foreign mother can get Japanese nationality only if the father admits paternity during the mother’s pregnancy, or if the couple get married before the child turns 20, but not after birth.

Thus, children whose fathers acknowledge paternity after their birth are not granted Japanese nationality, which the top court declared a violation of equal rights.

The proposed revision stipulates that children born out of wedlock whose fathers recognize paternity, regardless of the timing of the acknowledgment, can obtain Japanese citizenship.

Kyodo: SDF’s Tomogami revisionist history shows cosiness between J military and right-wing nationalists

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Kyodo: Sacked air force chief Toshio Tamogami testified in parliament Tuesday over his controversial war essay but his unapologetic rhetoric only highlighted a large difference in perception with the government regarding Japan’s role in World War II.

His testimony also posed a question even among Self-Defense Forces officers about whether the 60-year-old former general was ever fit for the post of Air Self-Defense Force chief of staff and prompted politicians to have second thoughts about the effectiveness of their efforts to maintain civilian control of the defense forces…

Revelations about Tamogami’s cozy links with a nationalist real estate businessman who organized the competition was also among topics taken up by the committee.

The essay contest was organized by hotel and condominium developer Apa Group and its head Toshio Motoya, a friend of Tamogami. Apa Group is also known for its support of hawkish former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

On top of that, an orchestrated submission of essays by ASDF personnel is also suspected.

Tamogami also denied in the parliamentary session that he received any inappropriate benefits from Motoya’s side and that he had played a role in the organized submission of essays.

But the ministry has found that in addition to Tamogami, 94 of the 235 essay submissions came from the ASDF.

Another senior official of the ministry questioned the fairness of the essay contest saying, ”It must have been fixed.”

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 12, 2008

Posted on November 13, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Table of Contents:

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
REVELATIONS
1) Aso’s new wheeze: Teigaku Kyuufukin. Bribe voters as “economic stimulus”.
Might not include NJ, though.
2) Japan Times Zeit Gist on PM Aso’s connection to WWII forced labor

STEREOTYPING
3) “TALK A LOT” textbook (EFL Press) has a rotten caricature of a “strange foreigner” for an English lesson
4) KM on how only NJ suspects get named in J media, even when J perps involved in crime
5) Robert Whiting on NJ flunkey-cum-baseball hero Oh Sadaharu’s legacy

DAMAGE CONTROL
6) Mainichi: Collapsed international marriages raise child abduction issue
7) Mainichi: Japan might sign child abduction convention, quotes J lawyer who opposes, who claims:
90% of intl divorces are due to NJ DV!

FUN TANGENTS
8) AFP on Obama victory and the reactions of (former) Americans abroad
9) JapanZine parody of Japan Times, “Gaijin Activist Successful in Obtaining a Ban on Racial Slur”

… and finally…
10) Post#1000: Oyako-Net and “From the Shadows” Documentary Forum on post-divorce child abductions
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Aso’s new wheeze: Teigaku Kyuufukin. Bribe voters as “economic stimulus”. Might not include NJ, though.

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Here’s a post from another friend (anonymized as XYZ) regarding PM Aso’s new wheeze: the “teigaku kyuufukin”. Get people more positively predisposed towards the LDP by putting money in their pockets (as in, not to get too technical about it, a bribe). According to NHK, that means anyone over the age of fifteen and under 65 gets 12,000 yen in their pockets, and anyone under 15 and over 65 gets 8000 yen. Wonderful stimulus package, like the LDP’s wheeze some years ago which IIRC gave something like 10,000 yen per household as coupons (which did nothing to boost GDP in the end, and just increased the national debt). Except that back then, foreigners could not qualify as coupon receivers (as NJ are not, again, officially-registered residents — they’re just taxed like residents).

This time around, NHK and others have been debating whether NJ deserve to be bribed (after all, they can’t vote; but nor can people under 20 and they qualify). I guess the fact that any discussion of it is happening is an improvement over the exclusionary last round of bribes. But the assumption that NJ don’t really count is once again disconcerting.

KM on how only NJ suspects get named even when J perps also involved in crime

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Mainichi: “A Chinese woman suspected of faking her marriage to a Japanese man just before she gave birth so her son could obtain Japanese citizenship has been arrested, it has been learned.

“Metropolitan police arrested Jiang Xinxin, 27, a resident of Tokyo’s Kita-ku, on suspicion of making a false declaration on an official document…”

KM: I’m wondering why the name of the Chinese woman has been published but not the name of her Japanese accomplice (that is, the man she had the fake wedding with). According to the Japanese article both the Chinese woman and the Japanese man are being prosecuted. Yet, only the name of the Chinese woman has been published.

Hmmm. I think I see a pattern here. If a foreigner is involved, even tangentially, publish the name. If a Japanese person is involved, respect their privacy. Problematic coverage, don’t you think?

Post#1000: Oyako-Net and “From the Shadows” Documentary Forum on post-divorce child abductions

Posted on November 10, 2008November 10, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

This marks the 1000th post on the Debito.org blog since it started a little over two years ago, in June 2006. Long may we run. To celebrate, some good news about the developing documentary called FROM THE SHADOWS, on child abductions after divorce in Japan, and the growing attention being devoted to it (including NHK). Word from David Hearn, one of the directors (along with Matt Antell) follows about a recent OYAKO-NET meeting…

Robert Whiting on NJ flunkey-cum-baseball hero Oh Sadaharu’s legacy

Posted on November 8, 2008November 8, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Here’s an article which made me conclude something that I have been suspecting all along.

Baseball hero Oh Sadaharu, a Zainichi Taiwanese, is retiring. He has done a lot for baseball and no doubt for the image of NJ in Japan (especially the Sangokujin, Tokyo Gov. Ishihara’s pet NJ to target as potential criminals).

But I am not a fan. As the article rather euphemistically headlines below, Oh’s record was hard to beat. That’s because anyone, particularly a line of foreign baseball players, who came close, was stopped because they were gaijin players. Often by Oh himself. Now, that’s unsportsmanlike. I will cheer anytime anyone does well as a personal best, especially when they overcome great personal odds (Oh was not allowed to play Korakuen High School baseball tournaments because Japan didn’t, and still doesn’t to some degree, allow foreign players to play in Kokutai leagues where “they might qualify for the Olympics and become national representatives” sort of thing).

But Oh for years now has struck me as a person who earns his laurels and his pedestal, then pulls the ladder up behind him, even for others who face similar obstacles. It’s one thing to discriminate because discrimination is the norm and you’re just playing ball. It’s another to go through the discrimination yourself, then turn around and abet the discrimination against others. It’s hypocritical, and Oh should have known and done better. He chose not to. And now that we have an authority on Japanese baseball, Robert Whiting, coming out and indicating as such in the article below, I’m ready to draw this conclusion:

Oh Sadaharu may be a baseball hero, but he’s an Uncle Tom and a turncoat, and that tarnishes his image as a genuine hero. Shame on you, Sadaharu.

AFP on Obama victory and the reactions of (former) Americans abroad

Posted on November 7, 2008November 8, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

BERLIN (AFP) — Barack Obama’s victory in the US election has given Americans an almost overnight excuse to stop hiding their passports.

Americans around the world have reported being congratulated by strangers in the street. Obama t-shirts are on sale in stores in Paris and London, and after years of criticism over Iraq, climate change and other disputes, newspaper headlines have proclaimed that the United States is cool again.

“YES, WE CAN be friends!” splashed Germany’s top selling Bild daily on its front page Thursday. “We have fallen in love with the new, the different, the good America. ‘Obamerica’.”…

In [Sapporo], university lecturer and rights activist Arudou Debito, or formerly David Aldwinckle, said he abandoned his US citizenship in 2002 during the Bush administration.

Debito, 43, who now has a Japanese passport, welcomed the Obama victory as “the end of the dark age” and said he hoped the new president “may make the [former] American side of me proud again.”

But Hansen, the writer in Germany, said that it was often hard to be an American abroad even before Bush.

“It suffered before. When I came to Germany under (Ronald) Reagan, and then George Bush senior marched into Kuwait, and I heard the same sayings — ‘no blood for oil’ and that relationships with America had reached a nadir and all these things.

“It happens regularly. The perception of America sinks to a low point but it also regularly goes up,” said Hansen.

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 31, 2008

Posted on November 6, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Table of Contents:
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
1) Japan Focus runs E translation of Asahi Oct 5 2008 article on discrimination in Japan
2) Govt websites don’t include NJ residents in their tallies of “local population”
3) AP: Economic downturn already resulting in NJ layoffs in Japan, but NJ not counted in unemployment figures
4) SR on Shounan Shinkin Bank in Chigasaki, refuses bank accounts to NJ who can’t read and speak Japanese
5) MX on “Gaijin” harassment in Tokyo elementary school
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

JapanZine parody of Japan Times, “Gaijin Activist Successful in Obtaining a Ban on Racial Slur”

Posted on November 6, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

JapanZine (Nagoya’s free magazine for the international community) recently did a parody of the Japan Times, calling it the “Gokiburi Gazette”. Front and center, an article about activist “Tepid Naruhodo”, who gets the word “gaijin” banned, only to have its replacement shortened to the same thing. It’s very funny. Seriously. As are the other articles and the masthead advertisements.

Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column(s) on “Truth Octane”: Vote on which one you like better.

Posted on November 5, 2008November 5, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Before I get to my latest Japan Times column, a little story:

I usually start my columns about a week or so before the first draft is due. That way, I can tinker with it over the days here and there and add ideas as they come to me during the course of life. I don’t like writing too many things on the fly — things come out half-baked that way.

However, this essay on “Truth Octane” was a rather difficult one. Getting this complicated analytical concept out and developed with examples within 800 words was a challenge. Plus I had two weekend trips to Tokyo in the interim. I wasn’t really satisfied with my first version, so after Edo arrival last Friday, I handed it over to a trusted close friend for perusal. His verdict, and I quote, was, “It’s a turkey.” This was about 12:30 AM on Friday night – Saturday morning, and about four beers into the evening.

Well, no trusted friend calls my essays “turkeys” and gets away with it. So at 1AM, I commandeered his toilet (I’ve done some of my best thinking there) and didn’t leave until I had rewritten the whole thing from scratch. 700 words and 45 minutes later, I had a new draft out. My friend’s verdict: “Much better. Inspirational. No comparison.”

I gave both versions to my editor at the JT and let him choose which he liked better. He went with the second, rewritten, toilet version as well.

But I’m genuinely curious. What do readers think? First the published version, then the original version. Vote which one you like better at the blog poll at the upper right hand corner!

Get Japan Times today: New JUST BE CAUSE Column out on “Truth Octane”

Posted on November 4, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Get yourself a copy of the Japan Times today, Tuesday November 4 (Weds Nov 5 outside major urban areas) for my latest JUST BE CAUSE Column.

Topic: “Truth Octane”, talking about how some people simply find too much “truth” in debate too much to take. And how those activists that can give their side of the story with a slow-drip amount of truth can change the world. Have a read today!

Mainichi: Collapsed international marriages raise child abduction issue

Posted on November 2, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Mainichi: Japanese women from collapsed international marriages are increasingly bringing their children to Japan without confirming custody rights, creating diplomatic problems between Japan and other countries, it has emerged.

In one case three years ago, a Japanese woman’s marriage to a Swedish man collapsed and she brought their child to Japan. Later when she traveled to the United States by herself she was detained, as police in Sweden had put her on an international wanted list through Interpol for child abduction. She was sent to Sweden and put on trial.

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction bans people from taking their children to their home country after a collapsed marriage without confirming issues such as custody and visitation rights of the country in which they are living. The convention has about 80 signatory countries, mainly in Europe and North America, but Japan is not one of them.

Among cases known to foreign governments, there are about 50 cases between Japan and the U.S. in which foreign husbands are requesting custody of children brought to Japan by Japanese women, and about 30 such cases between Japan and Canada. Similar cases exist between Japan and countries such as Britain, Australia and Italy.

In such cases, when foreign husbands file lawsuits in Japan seeking custody or visitation rights, their claims are rarely accepted, and the tough barriers put up by Japan in such cases have caused frustration…

毎日：国際結婚と子の親権　連れ帰れば「幼児誘拐罪」・「北朝鮮の拉致を非難する日本が拉致をしている」と批判

Posted on November 2, 2008November 3, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

　国際結婚が破綻（はたん）した後、日本女性が子どもを一方的に日本に連れ帰るケースが増加し、日本と諸外国の間で外交問題となっている。

　日本女性のＡ子さんはスウェーデン人の男性との結婚に破れ、子どもを連れて日本に帰国。その後、単身米国に渡った時、空港で身柄拘束された。スウェーデンの警察から国際刑事警察機構（インターポール）を通じて幼児誘拐罪で国際手配されていたのだ。Ａ子さんはスウェーデンに送られ、裁判にかけられた。３年前のことである。

　国際結婚に破れたカップルの一方が、子の親権、面会権などを確定しないまま、子どもをそれまでの居住国から自分の母国に連れ帰ることは「国際的な子の奪取の民事面に関する条約」（ハーグ条約）で不法とされている。米欧諸国を中心に８０カ国が締約国となっているが、問題は日本が未締約なことだ。

　日本女性と子どもが日本に戻ってしまい、外国人の夫が親権を求めているケースは、相手国政府がつかんでいるだけでも日米間で約５０件、カナダとの間では約３０件。このほか英、オーストラリア、イタリアなどとの間でもある。外国人の夫らは子の親権や面会権を求めて日本で裁判を起こしてもほとんど認められず、日本側の固い壁に不満が募っている。

　在日カナダ大使館は今年３月、米加両国政府担当者が参加したハーグ条約についてのシンポジウムを開催。７月、サミットで訪日したハーパー加首相もこの問題を取り上げた。「北朝鮮の拉致を非難する日本が拉致をしている」と批判する外交当局者もいる。先進国の中で日本は守勢に立たされているのが実情だ。

Japan Times Zeit Gist on PM Aso’s connection to WWII forced labor

Posted on November 1, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan Times: After evading the issue for more than two years, Taro Aso conceded to foreign reporters on the eve of becoming prime minister that Allied POWs worked at his family’s coal mine in Kyushu during World War II.

But Aso’s terse admission fell far short of the apology overseas veterans’ groups have demanded, while refocusing attention on Japan’s unhealed legacy of wartime forced labor by Asians and Westerners.

Calls for forced labor reparations are growing louder due to Prime Minister Aso’s personal ties to the brutal practice, as well as his combative reputation as a historical revisionist. The New York Times recently referred to “nostalgic fantasies about Japan’s ugly past for which Mr. Aso has become well known.” Reuters ran an article headlined “Japan’s PM haunted by family’s wartime past.”

Three hundred Allied prisoners of war (197 Australians, 101 British and two Dutch) were forced to dig coal without pay for Aso Mining Co. in 1945. Some 10,000 Korean labor conscripts worked under severe conditions in the company’s mines between 1939 and 1945; many died and most were never properly paid…

Courts in Japan and former Allied nations have rejected legal claims by ex-POWs, so the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Norway have all compensated their own surviving POWs. Hundreds of British and Dutch POWs and family members have made reconciliation-style visits to Japan in recent years as part of the Tokyo-sponsored Peace, Friendship and Exchange Initiative. Stiffed by the U.S. government, American POWs have also been excluded from Japan’s reconciliation schemes — a situation they say Prime Minister Aso has a special responsibility to correct…

SR: Shounan Shinkin Bank in Chigasaki refuses bank accounts to NJ who can’t read and speak Japanese

Posted on October 31, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Language ability is being increasingly used by more types of businesses nationwide as a means to refuse NJ service. As we saw last week, insurance agencies (such as AXA Direct Insurance) are rejecting NJ for not enough language (however determined). Now consider Shounan Shinkin Bank in Chigasaki, near Tokyo, as reported by SR:

“We had asked her to open a bank account in Shounan Shinkin Bank where we all have our accounts; the school account as well as the employees’ accounts.

She had been there 2 times with her parents in law (both Japanese) but Shounan Bank and their dep. manager had rejected her request and DID NOT open her bank account! The reason is “she doesn’t speak Japanese and she can’t read it” （日本語が読めない、理解できない)…

We contacted the Financial Service Agency （金融庁）to see what they think, and they have told us it is totally absurd but there is nothing they can do! Then, we contacted the Shounan Shinkin honten and they confirmed their 日本語が読めない、理解できない rule. After a short exchange of opinions and requests between the main office and my Japanese staff, they promised to apologise and open our teacher’s account. She won’t though!

When I went to the bank to close down my accounts, I had a long chat with the department manager. I asked him to show me the written form of their rule but they didn’t have it, or wouldn’t show it….

MX on “Gaijin” harassment in Tokyo elementary school

Posted on October 30, 2008October 30, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Here’s a letter from a father who felt the diversity-stripping effects of the word “gaijin” firsthand, when his Japanese daughter first entered a Tokyo grade school:

“My daughter XXXXXX is quite excited to be an ichi nen sei next year and was looking forward to [her first visit to grade school], but it turned out to be a bit of a nightmare.

“In one of the classes they were visiting, a boy pointed at XXXXXX and shouted 外人だ！外人がいる！ The teacher went on “teaching” as if nothing was happening, while the shouts grew louder and soon the entire class was pointing and staring at poor XXXXXX, who was in complete shock. Ultimately, my wife had no choice but to leave the classroom and try to console XXXXXX.

“I can’t say this came as a complete surprise, as XXXXXX does indeed look quite “European,” but it was depressing that the teacher saw no reason to intervene in some way to make the experience less mortifying for my daughter. If this had occurred on the street it would have been bad enough, but it is even more disheartening that it happened at a school, a place that should be at the forefront of efforts to curb stupid racial discrimination…”

Speaking at JALT this Sunday: PALE Keynote Speech

Posted on October 30, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

I’ll be speaking at the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT)’s annual conference this weekend in Tokyo. “The Professionalism, Administration, and Leadership in Education (PALE) JALT SIG — What’s Up, and What’s Next?”

9:15 – 10:55 AM Sunday Nov 2 in Room 511

If you’d like to find out more about or join our PALE SIG Group, please come to our Annual General Meeting on Saturday Nov 1 in Room 511, 5:25 – 6:25. Otherwise, come down to the SIG tables in the general commons.

Japan Focus runs translation of Asahi Oct 5 2008 article on discrimination

Posted on October 29, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Japan’s Entrenched Discrimination Toward Foreigners
The Asahi Shimbun October 5, 2008
Translation by Arudou Debito

From the Introduction by David McNeill: Will Japan ever overcome its distrust of foreigners? This question has been forcefully posed in various guises, most notably perhaps by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights Doudou Diene. In 2005 he concluded after a nine-day investigation in Japan that the authorities were not doing enough to tackle what he called Japan’s “deep and profound racism” and xenophobia, particularly against its former colonial subjects. The report appeared to vindicate the work of campaigners such as naturalized Japanese Arudou Debito, who argue that Japan needs, among other things, an anti-discrimination law.

Now, unusually perhaps for a major national newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun has waded into the debate with a major article on the issue. Titled, “Opening the nation: Time to make choices,” the article recounts tales of discrimination by long-term foreign residents before looking at how Japan compares to other nations, including perhaps its nearest equivalent, South Korea. A lively illustration helps makes the point that foreigners sometimes feel like second-class citizens. The Asahi concludes that the dearth of laws here protecting the livelihoods or rights of non-Japanese makes the country somewhat unique. “In other countries…there is almost no example of foreigners being shut out like this.” Interestingly, the Asahi did not translate the article for its foreign edition…

AP: Economic downturn already resulting in NJ layoffs in Japan, but NJ not counted in unemployment figures

Posted on October 27, 2008October 27, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

AP: “Brazilian Stenio Sameshima came to Japan last year with plans to make a bundle of money at the country’s humming auto factories. Instead, he’s spending a lot of time in line at employment agencies.

“The 28-year-old is one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of foreigners who are among the first laborers in Japan to lose their jobs as the global financial crisis eats into demand for cars, trucks and motorcycles, government officials say.

“The layoffs are also the first evidence that the mushrooming economic crisis in the United States and elsewhere is shaking the Japanese labor market, presaging further trouble if the downturn persists or deepens…

“The government does not track the number of jobless foreigners, but local officials, workers and employment agencies tell of hundreds of workers like Sameshima let go by companies linked to topflight producers – Toyota, Honda, Yamaha…

“Yet, working conditions are precarious. Foreigners are often hired through temporary employment agencies, so they can be easily fired. They live in company housing, so they lose their apartments when they lose their jobs. There hasn’t been a marked increase in homelessness, but anecdotes of foreigners having to move in with friends or relatives abound…”

How political — the unemployment rate is a very political thing in Japan, as it likes to boast worldwide how (artificially) low unemployment is. I guess it’s clear now that bringing in NJ labor has an extra benefit — not only are they cheap, you don’t count them if they lose their jobs!

Tangent: Excellent Ramen at Sakurajima, Sapporo Nishi-ku

Posted on October 26, 2008October 27, 2008 by Dr. Debito Arudou

Complete tangent on a Sunday: An amazing ramen place I found in Sapporo. Feel free to contribute your favorite ramen places (hey, this is Japan — we have to talk about food sometime!)