mytest

This Newsletter podcasted here, in case you’d rather listen instead of reading:
[display_podcast]

This week’s contents:

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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
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By Arudou Debito in Sapporo, Japan (debito@debito.org)
Daily blog updates, Newsletter archives, and podcasts at https://www.debito.org/index.php
Freely forwardable

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1) NEW JAPAN TIMES ARTICLE TUES NOV 13 ON NEW WORKPLACE GAIJIN CARDING

First off, just wanted to advise readers to get a copy of the Japan Times tomorrow (Tuesday, Wednesday in the provinces).

I have an article coming out in the Community Page regarding the new Employment Policy Law, promulgated Oct 1, 2007, forcing all employers to report all their foreign workers to the Health, Labour, and Welfare Ministry. And how it’s already causing policy creep–to the point where any gaijin getting any money from any source is being Gaijin Carded.

The lay of the land and the letter of the law. And what you can do about it.
Tomorrow in the Japan Times. Have a look.

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2) NJ FINGERPRINTING UPDATE:

A) PROTEST WORKS: NARITA INSTITUTES NEW SEPARATE LINES FOR RESIDENTS
Received a scanned pamphlet from somebody who passed through Immigration last week. Reads:

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Important Information from Immigration Bureau

…We will change the booth for your immigration inspection, as shown below:
BOOTH ONE: JAPANESE PASSPORT, SPECIAL PERMANENT RESIDENT
BOOTH TWO: RE-ENTRY PERMIT HOLDER
BOOTH THREE: FOREIGN PASSPORT

Those who have re-entry permit (except for special permanent residetns), please make a queue at the dedicated lane for RE-ENTRY PERMIT HOLDER.
Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau Narita Airport Branch
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See original at https://www.debito.org/?p=701

COMMENT: You see, protest does have an effect. Residents (i.e. those who have paid the “Gaijin Homecoming Tax” by getting a Re-Entry Permit) are now no longer lumped in together with tourists.

But it still hasn’t resolved the problem of how this is going to impede businesspeople (especially APEC Business Travel Card holders), not to mention the issues of treating every non-Japanese as a potential Typhoid Mary or Osama Junior. And it’s still done to you every time.

Or the fact that the letter of the law is still not being followed nationwide. As Steve Koya poignantly commented at Debito.org:

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We have a loophole, or at least a stay of execution! All we need is a decent lawyer and we can stop this legislation.

It is a simple argument, following on from my note yesterday about the Automatic gates. A chat to Sapporo Immigration confirmed that there were no plans to have the gates at Chitose or at any other airport other than Narita, giving lack of time and money as a reason.

Well, despite the fact they may have no time or insufficient funds, unfortunately Immigration are required by the new law to make the Automated Gates available to non-Japanese residents, at all airports within 18 months from the promulgation of the legislation, 24th May 2006. There is no “Only Narita” clause, there is no post promulgation amendment.

If they are not able to apply the law, then it should be rescinded. You could also state that failure to apply the law in full would also make it non-binding, so refusing to give your prints would theoretically not be illegal.

All we need is a decent lawyer! Amnesty, show us your muscle!
========================================
https://www.debito.org/?p=701#comments

Me again. Extra booth or not, I still say you should not be separated from your Japanese families. Stand together in the same line, everyone.

The issue just keeps on rolling…

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B) RECENT MEDIA: FP “AN UNMITIGATED PR DISASTER FOR GOJ”, “INEFFECTIVE”, UNWIELDY

An article in the LA Times yesterday said everything we’ve been saying, for a big US Pacific Coast audience with close ties to Japan (the article even includes Justice Minister Hatoyama sexing up his arguments with his alleged terrorist friends):

================================
JAPAN’S WELCOME MAT GETTING PRICKLY
New rules requiring fingerprints and digital photos of visitors are revealing about attitudes toward foreigners, critics say.
From the Los Angeles Times November 11, 2007
By Bruce Wallace
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-screening11nov11,1,4675245.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=8&cset=true

Japan’s justice minister… even offered a bizarre personal anecdote to explain how easy it was for non-Japanese to sneak into the country. “A friend of my friend is a member of Al Qaeda,” Kunio Hatoyama told foreign reporters in Tokyo, saying that the man had entered Japan numerous times using fake passports and disguises. Hatoyama later backtracked slightly on his story, distancing himself from any connection to Al Qaeda and raising suspicions that he had embellished his anecdote to press the case for fingerprinting foreigners.
================================
https://www.debito.org/?p=724

Terrie’s Take this morning went even further:
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General Edition Sunday, November 11, 2007 Issue No. 445

We’ll say up front that the proposed measures have been an unmitigated public relations disaster for the Japanese government and the Justice Ministry in particular. Although the basic idea was to cooperate with the USA and other nations to try to catch potential terrorists at the borders, 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.
================================
https://www.debito.org/?p=724

Other articles highlighted other issues passim, about not only the unwieldiness of this policy, but also its ineffectiveness:

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WILL ENTRY CHECKS CROSS THE LINE?
Fingerprinting foreigners won’t stop terrorists, critics say
By Jun Hongo, The Japan Times: Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071108f1.html

…[E]xperts doubt whether [the FP policy] will even stop potential terrorists from entering the country. Under the procedure, visitors whose biometric data match those on confidential terrorist watch lists will be denied entry to Japan. The lists are believed to include one compiled by the U.S. government and contain the names of about 750,000 “terror suspects.” Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama has said Japan will cooperate with U.S. authorities in exchanging immigration data.

But Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Program on Technology and Liberty, said the U.S. watch list is “bloated and full of inaccuracy.”…

“The U.S. immigration policy is a total failure,” Steinhardt warned, expressing concern that Japan’s version of biometric verification will likely be built on a flawed foundation. “It’s full of mistakes. That is the reality in the U.S. and it’s likely to become reality in Japan,” Steinhardt said. “Whether or not the loss of liberty is worth the security gained is not a question * because no security is gained.”…

Naoto Nikai, an Immigration Bureau official, …wouldn’t answer whether foreign mothers traveling with Japanese infants would be separated at immigration gates. “The immigration officer at the airport will (make the judgment),” Nikai said….
================================
https://www.debito.org/?p=709

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ARRIVING OUTSIDE NARITA WILL BE WORSE
By Eric Johnston, The Japan Times November 8, 2007
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071108f2.html

OSAKA As annoying as the new fingerprinting procedure will be for non-Japanese going through immigration at Narita International Airport, it is going to be much worse for foreign residents who don’t live in the Tokyo area.

Unlike at Narita International Airport, those passing through regional airports will have to go through the fingerprint registration process every time they re-enter Japan. This is because only Narita, which handled half of all non-Japanese coming into the country in 2006, will introduce a new automated system that officials hope will speed up the new rules requiring most foreigners to have their fingerprints and photographs taken upon entry…

To date, airports have usually allowed foreigners with alien registration cards and re-entry permits to pass through immigration counters reserved for Japanese nationals.

At the moment, it remains unclear if fingerprinting and photographing machines will be set up at immigration counters reserved for Japanese citizens. During the initial period after Nov. 20, it could be the case that foreign residents will have to stay in the lines for foreign visitors only. “That policy may change after Nov. 20, but it depends on the airport,” said Takumi Sato, an Immigration Bureau official in Tokyo…

According to the Immigration Bureau, about 8.1 million foreigners passed through the immigration centers at 10 airports and eight ports in 2006. About 50 percent arrived via Narita, while about another third entered via Kansai, Chubu, New Chitose and Fukuoka airports. The remainder arrived at Haneda and smaller, international terminals at airports in Sendai, Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Hiroshima, and Hakodate, Hokkaido, while a little more than 187,000 people, or 1.1 percent of the total, arrived by ship.
================================
https://www.debito.org/?p=705

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D) CUTE ANIMATION RE FP ISSUE: DOWNLOAD AND SPREAD AROUND

A great bit of gif anime from UTU’s Nick Wood protesting the FP policy. It’s hard to describe here in words, but visually it’s pretty much spot on… It’s already been sighted on other blogs, so help yourself. View and download from here:

Download it from here and use as you like:

https://www.debito.org/WelcometoJapan.gif

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E) TUES NOV 20, NOON, ASSEMBLE AND PROTEST AT JUSTICE MINISTRY

Excerpting from the public appeal from Amnesty International Japan and Solidarity for Migrants Japan:

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…Japan’s version of the US-VISIT Program is so laden with problems, and passed without adequate deliberation by the Diet, that we call for the government and the Justice Ministry to immediately suspend it. To this end, we will assemble before the Justice Ministry on the day of its promulgation, November 20, 2007, for a public action and protest. We call on the public to join us at noon that day and lend your support and participation.

———————————-
DATE: Tuesday, November 20, 2007
TIME: Noon (public action will take 30 minutes to an hour)
PLACE: Ministry of Justice, Kasumigaseki, Tokyo (Goudou Chousha #6)
(Subway Marunouchi Line to Kasumigaseki Station, Bengoshi Kaikan exit)
ACTIVITIES: Sound truck with speeches
Placards, Message boards (NO TO FINGERPRINTING, FINGERPRINTING NON-JAPANESE IS DISCRIMINATION, “NON-JAPANESE” DOES NOT MEAN “TERRORIST” etc. Create your own slogan and bring your own sign!)
———————————-
CONTACT:
Amnesty International Japan (Tel 03-3518-6777)
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/
Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan (SMJ) (Tel 03-5802-6033)
http://www.jca.apc.org/migrant-net/
See you there!
=========================

Entire text of AI/SMJ’s Appeal here (English, then Japanese original)
https://www.debito.org/?p=708
https://www.debito.org/?p=707
Concurrent public action, signature campaign by a group called Privacy International at
https://www.debito.org/?p=698

Now’s your chance, people. Don’t like what’s happening? Do something. You won’t be alone.

Anyway, life is not all fingerprinting. Let’s move on to some great news coverage of issues Debito.org has long been concerned about:

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3) JAPAN TIMES: US GOVT FORCED PM ABE TO BACKTRACK RE COMFORT WOMEN

Last March, blogs like mine followed how former Prime Minister Abe tried to deny there was any “coercion” involved in the WWII “Comfort Women” (i.e. sex slaves) servicing the Japanese Imperial Army in its colonies and war zones. You can trace the Arc of Abe, from denial to hair-splitting to no comment to deflection to apology through his cabinet, through
https://www.debito.org/?p=293

Back then, I wondered aloud how belated apologies like this (apologies tend to mean less when they come after being demanded, especially over a long wait) were indicate of any “coercion”–on Abe? How much pressure was put on him, and from where?

Well, the Japan Time/Kyodo News recently answered that question:

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U.S. GOT ABE TO DROP DENIAL OVER SEX SLAVES
Kyodo News, from The Japan Times: Friday, Nov. 9, 2007
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071109a2.html

The United States warned Japan in March that Washington could no longer back Tokyo on the issue of North Korea’s past abductions of Japanese unless then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reversed his contentious claim that there was no proof that the Imperial forces forced women and girls into sexual slavery during the war, sources revealed Thursday.

The warning, delivered by U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer to a senior government official, prompted Abe to change his stance and announce that he stands by Japan’s 1993 official statement of apology to the “comfort women,” as they are euphemistically known, the sources said….
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Rest at https://www.debito.org/?p=293#comment-90922

COMMENT: Whaaa…? When I read this, I thought this article had popped in from another dimension: This US administration, which created Guantanamo Concentration Camp and actively resorts to kidnap and third-party torturing, excuse me, renditioning, actually caring about human rights? Putting pressure on Abe to change his stance regarding the Sex Slaves issue? Pinch me.

But let’s get into even weirder territory…

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4) LA TIMES: HOW J POLICE IGNORE CERTAIN CRIMES. LIKE MURDER.

In a remarkable double-bill this week from Bruce Wallace, we have another article tying a heckuva lot of things together. And left me with a tremor down my spine…

================================
JAPAN’S POLICE SEE NO EVIL
The boy had been badly beaten but his death was ruled natural.
The case was closed in an official culture that discourages autopsies.
From the Los Angeles Times November 9, 2007
By Bruce Wallace, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-autopsy9nov09,1,5774455.story?coll=la-headlines-world

...As is common in Japan, Aichi police reached their verdict on how [brutalized sumo wrestler Tokitaizan] 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.”…

Many police examinations of the body are cursory, he alleges, sometimes nothing more sophisticated than a visual examination.

Take the case in January 2006, when financial advisor Hideaki Noguchi was found dead in an Okinawa hotel with knife wounds. Noguchi was a close associate of Takafumi Horie, the brash founder of the Internet company Livedoor, which had just been the target of a nationally televised police raid and seen most of its multibillion-dollar value evaporate.

But despite being a central figure in a sensational criminal investigation and privy to Livedoor secrets, police declared Noguchi’s death a suicide. They did not ask for an autopsy, and the body was cremated.

Or take the suicide in April of Agriculture Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, who was found hanged in his Tokyo apartment. Matsuoka was embroiled in a scandal involving the misappropriation of political funds that suggested a broad system of organized influence peddling. Even though Matsuoka’s troubles were destabilizing the government, and his death occurred just hours before his scheduled appearance to answer questions before a parliamentary committee, no autopsy was conducted to ensure that he had not died from something other than hanging.

A day later, Shinichi Yamazaki, a businessman implicated in the same scandal, plunged to his death in a parking lot outside his Yokohama apartment. No autopsy was conducted in that case either…
================================
Rest at https://www.debito.org/?p=713

COMMENT: Chilling. And I took a deep breath and said to myself, “What if somebody wanted to shut up Debito.org?” It worked for whistleblowing film director Itami Juuzo…

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5) IHT/ASAHI, METROPOLIS, NUGW ON NOVA BANKRUPTCY AFTERMATH

Two good articles on the aftermath of the NOVA bankruptcy. One from the IHT/Asahi, the other from Metropolis Magazine:

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ASAHI WEEKLY
Cover Story: Nova fallout
IHT/Asahi: November 8, 2007
BY HIROSHI MATSUBARA, STAFF WRITER
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200711080113.html

… G.communication group, a consulting firm based in Nagoya, will reopen at least 30 Nova schools and says it hopes to rehire the Nova staff.

As for Nova’s former president, Nozomu Sa[ru]hashi, he looks set to face criminal charges shortly for failing to pay billions of yen in wages to his employees, sources said.

Some former Nova teachers are in such dire financial straits they are having to rely on their former students to feed them.
======================================
Rest at https://www.debito.org/?p=710

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THE DECLINE AND FALL OF NOVA
Japan’s largest employer of foreigners comes to an ignominious end
By Ken Worsley
Metropolis Magazine November 9, 2007, Issue #711
http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/recent/bulletin.asp

In a sense, Sahashi 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.

Will the strategy of separating Sahashi from the firm he wrecked succeed? Nova’s bankruptcy administrators claim that they have found a few firms interested in taking over the company’s operations, but this time they’re not naming names. Nova supposedly has until the second week of November to find a “sponsor,” or else it will be forced to go into a bankruptcy liquidation process.
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Rest at https://www.debito.org/?p=710
with great links to where former NOVA employees can get help.
Now for the union’s perspective:

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From: Louis Carlet (carlet@jca.apc.org)
Subject: [Nambu FWC] Nova and G
Date: November 11, 2007 10:16:04 AM JST
To: action@nambufwc.org

Members, much happened yesterday regarding the Nova case. At 10am and 2pm at locations throughout the country, Nova’s trustee held information sessions explaining various aspects of the coming Nova bankruptcy and explaining G Education’s offer to hire all Nova teachers who want to be hired at the same working conditions they had before…

We also last night joined forces with General Union to tell the trustee, Noriaki Takahashi, that former conditions are not enough. Both unions (Nambu and G.U.) submitted to him several demands, including full enrollment of all teachers in shakai hoken and open-ended employment. Other demands included a fund to protect student tuition advances. The trustee said he agreed with all the demands…
Louis Carlet
NUGW Tokyo Nambu
http://www.nugw.org
======================================
https://www.debito.org/?p=715

Again, it pays to protest. And get organized. Do so.

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6) NOV 17 FED OF BAR ASSOC (NICHIBENREN) MEETING RE DIVORCE AND JOINT CUSTODY

Following up on the headlining topic last newsletter, on the “FOR TAKA AND MANA” documentary film screening and fundraiser taking place December 11, 2007 (https://www.debito.org/?p=685)

The issue of joint custody (which is not allowed in Japan, meaning one parent is nearly always cut off from their child(ren) after divorce) is also gaining some traction with lawyers in Japan.

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From: CRN Japan’s Mark Smith
Subject: [Community] JFBA joint custody seminar in Tokyo on Nov 17
Date: November 11, 2007

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations [Nichibenren] will be having a seminar in Tokyo entitled “Divorce and Children 2: Thinking of Joint Custody”.

This is not just for lawyers, so if you speak Japanese and are in Tokyo on November 17, from 13:00 to 17:00, you may want to attend. Their website page with more information about this event is here.
http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/ja/event/071117.html

Might be a good thing to have a lot of non-Japanese show up so that they saw that the problem is not restricted to Japanese.

Mark Smith, Children’s Rights Network Japan
http://www.crnjapan.com/en/
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Back to the “FOR TAKA AND MANA” documentary film fundraiser.
https://www.debito.org/?p=685
Please do support this event. Spread the word. Attend. Contribute.
Even put a movie poster newly up at Debito.org:
https://www.debito.org/?p=696

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…and finally…

7) UPCOMING SPEECH TOKYO NOV 18, “NO BORDER” GROUP ANNUAL MEETING

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NO BORDER 2007
LIVING TOGETHER IN ONE SOCIETY
Round Table Discussion
Hosted by the Volunteer Network of Foreign Residents in Japan
More Information at http://zainichi.net/

Objective: Following last year’s event, a round table discussion session will be held with the aim to assist individuals in their efforts in networking. Through discussion, this event aims to create an opportunity for individuals to consider the experiences of foreign residents and Japanese nationals with various cultural backgrounds in Japan.

18 November 2007, 10:00 – 17:00
Hosei University Ichigaya Campus, Boissonade Tower 26F, Sky Hall
http://www.hosei.ac.jp/hosei/campus/annai/ichigaya/access.html

Entrance free. Participants are free to enter and leave the event venue as they wish.
Active participation is welcome and encouraged during the round table discussion session.

Part 1 (10:00 – 12:30)
Is there a place for Japanese of foreign descent in Japanese Society?
Discussing the multiplicity of what it means to be Japanese: Is there a place for Japanese nationals of various ethnic backgrounds in Japanese Society?

Defining the Issue: Presentation of the movie, “The New Foreign Residents of Japan” (Shin-Zainichi Gaikokujin)

Presentation 1: Gen Masayuki
Presentation 2: Elnaz Jalali, Nady

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch Break (Light lunch is served)

Part 2 (14:00 – 16:30)
What is necessary for a system to support a new Lifestyle?

Presentation 1: Kim Kyon Ju (Chukyo University)
Presentation 2: Inoue Hiroshi (Keidanren–Japan Business Federation)
Presentation 3: Arudou Debito (Hokkaido Information University)

Part 3 16:30-17:30 No Border Live
MORE INFORMATION AT http://zainichi.net/

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That’s all for today! Thanks for reading!

Arudou Debito, Sapporo, Japan
debito@debito.org, https://www.debito.org
Daily blog updates, Newsletter archives, and podcasts at
https://www.debito.org/index.php
DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 12, 2007 ENDS

mytest

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 5, 2007

Podcast available here:
[display_podcast]

Contents as follows:
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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
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By Arudou Debito (debito@debito.org, https://www.debito.org)
Previous newsletters and podcasts archived at https://www.debito.org/index.php
Freely forwardable

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1) DOCUMENTARY FILM ON CHILD ABDUCTION: TOKYO DEC 11 FUND RAISER

I put this one first in the newsletter because I’m closely associated with this project (I’m interviewed in the film–see the link to the trailer below) and have a personal stake in the subject. I encourage you to join us for the fund raiser, help out in any way you can, and even perhaps suggest venues we could appear at to get the word out.

This is the Golden Age of the documentary, and this one ranks amongst the important ones. Help us get it launched.

=======================================
DOCUMENTARY FILM ON PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION IN JAPAN
PLANS DECEMBER 11TH FUNDRAISER IN TOKYO
By David Hearn and Matt Antell

We first learned of this situation in January 2006 in a Metropolis article titled “Think of the Children” by Kevin Buckland, and after some discussions we felt strongly that a documentary film would be an influential way to raise awareness about the issue. Both of us are married to Japanese and have started wonderful families, but hearing how easily and frequently a parent can be cut off from seeing their own kids was very disturbing. In reality, when a marriage in Japan or with a Japanese national(s) goes bad and there are kids involved, the situation easily becomes drastic and severe. Though the Japanese courts, government and police may not have intended it to be this way, Japan has become an abduction-friendly country, where the winner is the first one to grab the kids and run. We want to make this film to expose the depth of the current problem and how it affects everyone–worst of all, the children who are caught in the middle.

For the past year we have juggled our schedules to travel to several cities all over the world, talking to left-behind parents, attempting to speak with abducting parents, and conversing with experts on divorce, child psychology and law–to gain and ultimately share a greater understanding of how and why this situation exists. We plan to take at least two months off from our current employment in spring 2008, and dedicate ourselves full time to edit and finalize the film. We aim for a screening at a film festival before the year is out. Our intention is to show it outside Japan first, garnering international support to create “gaiatsu” (outside pressure) that will force Japan to address and take responsibility for addressing the current situation. Matt and I want to make a film with tremendous impact in a prompt time frame, and to do that will require a much greater amount of funds than we have at this point. It is our goal to raise close to a quarter million dollars for this purpose. We ask all of you to consider making a donation within your budget toward our goal. For American tax payers we will soon have information about how you can donate tax free to our non-profit account at IDA.

We will have a Fundraiser at the Pink Cow restaurant in Shibuya on December 11th from 7:30 to 10:00pm.
Tickets cost 10,000 yen include a beautiful buffet dinner two drinks (then cash bar), speakers and discussion about the current situation and a video presentation.
For tickets contact: dave@fortakaandmana.com

Murray Wood, Steve Christie and Debito Arudou are among the list of attendees.
Please visit our website at:
http://www.fortakaandmana.com
View our trailer and find out more details about the film, links to other important websites, and donation details.
Matt’s e-mail is: matt@fortakaandmana.com
Dave’s e-mail is: dave@fortakaandmana.com

Thank you for your time and consideration.
David Hearn and Matt Antell
=======================================

MORE ON THIS ISSUE:
“Think of the Children: Japan’s prejudiced legal system encourages desperate parents to abduct their own kids”: Metropolis, January 27, 2006, by Kevin Buckland
http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/618/feature.asp
“Remember the Children: One year on, has anything changed in the fight against international child abduction?” Follow-up article in Metropolis January 26, 2007, by Kevin Buckland
http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/670/globalvillage.asp
Children’s Rights Network Japan
http://www.crnjapan.com/en/

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2) NJ FINGERPRINTING POLICY FOLLOW-UP:
a) EUROPEAN AND ANTIPODEAN BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS LODGE PROTESTS

Both the European Business Council in Japan and the Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan have agreed that Immigration’s new NJ Fingerprint Laws “impose unacceptable costs” on businesses, and finds regrettable the “grouping [of] long-term residents and taxpayers in Japan with occasional visitors”.

========================================
“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.”
========================================

So says a protest letter to the MOJ Immigration Bureau (cced to MOFA) in PDF format signed by Richard Colasse, Chairman of the EBC, and Tim Lester, Chairman of the ANZCCJ. Click here to see it:
https://www.debito.org/EBCANZCCJletterOct262007.pdf
Jpeg thumbnails of the letters in English and Japanese here:
https://www.debito.org/?p=689

An email released to Debito.org written by Jacob Edberg, Policy Director of the EBC, indicates that the protesting is in some way paying off–with some changes in the procedures:

========================================
…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. Information about this system is not yet available in English but can since October 26 be found in Japanese on the MOJ website:
http://www.moj.go.jp/NYUKAN/nyukan63-2.pdf

The Ministry of Justice has also said that for those re-entry permit holders who have not yet pre-registered their fingerprints and photos, there should be a line separate from other foreigners (e.g. tourists) at the immigration counter. However, the MOJ not yet made this commitment in writing – because they may not be able to staff the extra lines at all times of the day… At this time, the semi automatic gate system will not be available at Kansai and Nagoya International airports...
========================================
Full email at https://www.debito.org/?p=689

COMMENT: What incredible incompetence by the Ministry of Justice! Did they think that inconveniencing people to this degree (under a discriminatory and xenophobic rubric, to boot) would occasion no protest or comment from the world around them? Are they still convinced that Japan is immune to the forces of globalization?!

Then again, it’s easier to understand when viewed through a prism of geopolitics. Consider two facts of the case:

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

b) US MILITARY SOFA EXCEPTED FROM FINGERPRINT LAWS
c) PROBABLE USG INVOLVEMENT IN POLICY INCEPTION

The favorite sons of Japan’s geopolitics are allowing their troops to be counted as “Diplomats”:

=========================
From: American Embassy Tokyo
Date: Wed Oct 31, 2007 19:57:07 Asia/Tokyo
Subject: Welcome to the November newsletter! (EXCERPT)
http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-newsletter20071101.html#bio

The Government of Japan recently informed us that as of November 20, 2007, Immigration officials at the port of entry will digitally scan the fingerprints of and photograph all foreign nationals entering Japan, with the exemption of certain categories listed below. This requirement does not replace any existing visa or passport requirements. Foreign nationals that are exempt from this new requirement include special permanent residents (Tokubetsu Eijuusha), persons under 16 years of age, holders of diplomatic or official visas, and persons invited by the head of a national administrative organization. Please note that permanent residents will also be expected to submit to this new requirement. The Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice posted an explanatory video on the new procedures on June 14, 1007. The short video entitled “Landing Examination Procedures for Japan are Changing!” can be viewed here.

UPDATE: Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) personnel are exempt under SOFA Article 9 (2) from the new biometrics entry requirements.
************************
Comment from the person who notified me:
“I think this means that if a person with three decades of permanent Japan residence under his/her belt flies into the airport with 18 year old Seaman Doe, whatever his/her nationality or background, Doe goes through the line without photo and fingerprint check. That does not make any sense at all.”
=========================

As for USG involvement, here’s a comment from the Oct 29 Debito.org podcast section up at Trans Pacific Radio:
http://www.transpacificradio.com/2007/10/31/debito-102907-fingerprints-japan-accenture/
==============
November 1, 2007
Hi Debito. Just read the last paragraph of this document prepared by the Department of Homeland Security of the US, and find who is forcing Ministry of Justice of Japan to collect fingerprints of foreigners coming to Japan:
—————————————–
Pool Data with Like-minded Foreign Governments – 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. A central topic in this diplomacy is development of a common approach to protecting the privacy of the data, both in the way it is collected and the way it is shared.
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0838.shtm
—————————————–
This page was last modified on 01/17/06
=========================

A clear bit of gaiatsu happening here, from our friendly neighborhood hegemon.

Meanwhile, here’s how the opposition parties, which have stopped anti-terrorism measures (most notably the GOJ’s contribution to the war effort with refueling ships in the Indian Ocean) from being renewed, are likely to respond in future:

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d) DIET DEBATES ON ANTI-TERROR POLICY NOT OVER YET

Jeff Korpa writes for Debito.org (excerpt):
========================================
In a previous message I said: “Regarding the Anti-terrorism Law, my belief is that reports of its demise are premature. Despite Ozawa having the power to snuff out the legislation, and his rhetoric about how the change in the LDP leadership would not change DPJ’s resolve on the issue, Ozawa has long supported lifting restrictions on Japan’s security forces. For instance, in 1998 he remarked that it only required a reinterpretation of the constitution to allow Japanese defense forces to take part in overseas combat operations. And less than a year later, Ozawa warned that the SDF needed strengthening.”

Well, even though Fukuda has been unable to get support from Ozawa in order to attain upper house approval for an extension to the Anti-terrorism Law, I still don’t think this is the end of the road for this legislation–as long as Fukuda can secure two-thirds of the lower house in a subsequent vote (which he can, since the lower house is controlled by the LDP), the Anti-terrorism Law (and the controversial refueling missions) will live to see another day.

OK, so why aren’t the two boys playing nice together? I have two theories–Small Politics and Big Politics:

Small Politics: Ozawa is playing games trying to capitalize on the MSDF refueling issue so he can steal back some popularity that Fukuda won in the aftermath of Abe’s resignation.

Big Politics: With regard to Japan’s military future, the long-term goals of the DPJ and LDP are the same, but the two men are at odds as to what role the United States should play…
========================================
Rest at https://www.debito.org/?p=688

COMMENT: Now with Ozawa’s resignation as DPJ party chief yesterday, all the cards are airborne. I still don’t follow how Ozawa’s inability to reach an agreement with PM Fukuda means he resigns his leadership of the opposition party. I have a feeling that all the future horse trading will mean that, as far as the NJ communities in Japan go, there’s going to be no relief or change in negative policies towards them for the foreseeable future. Especially when you have people like these grasping the reins of power:

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e) MOJ MINISTER HATOYAMA JUSTIFIES FP POLICY THRU HIS OWN AL-QAEDA LINKS

Our Minister of Justice should be more careful about the company he keeps… and the conclusions he draws. Witness his denouement at the FCCJ last week:

========================================
HATOYAMA JUSTIFIES TAKING PRINTS WITH ‘FRIEND OF A FRIEND’ IN AL-QAIDA CLAIM
Mainichi Shinbun Oct 29, 2007 (excerpt)
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071029p2a00m0na052000c.html

TOKYO (AP) 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…

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.

“I have never met this person, but until two or three years ago, it seems this person was visiting Japan often. And each time he arrived in Japan, he used a different passport,” Hatoyama said. The justice minister added that his friend, whom he also did not identify, had warned him to stay away from the center of Bali.

Hatoyama did not specify which of two Bali bomb attacks–in 2002 and 2005–he was referring to. Nor did he say whether the warning came before a bombing, or whether he alerted Indonesian officials…

“The fact is that such foreign people can easily enter Japan,” Hatoyama said. “In terms of security, this is not a preferable situation. I know this may cause a lot of inconvenience, but it’s very necessary to fight terror,” Hatoyama said of the fingerprinting measures. “Japan may also become a victim of a terrorist attack.”

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said he hoped Hatoyama’s al-Qaida connection would not re-enter Japan. “I hope he’ll deal with this issue firmly through immigration controls now that he’s justice minister,” Fukuda said…
========================================
Full article and discussion at https://www.debito.org/?p=679

The aftermath:
========================================
MACHIMURA, FUKUDA WARN JAPAN MINISTER ABOUT REMARK ON AL-QAEDA
By Stuart Biggs and Takashi Hirokawa (excerpt)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=amFDgzcptPm0&refer=japan

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura and Japan’s Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda cautioned Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama over comments he made suggesting a “friend of a friend of his” is a member of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Hatoyama spoke in “an inappropriate way without taking into account where he was,” Fukuda said at a session of parliament today. “I asked Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura to caution him.”…
https://www.debito.org/?p=679#comment-87289
========================================

The issue does not seem to have gone much farther, but the deeper you dig, the more this Hatoyama bloke seems a right twit…

========================================
Interview with Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama
Shuukan Asahi, October 26, 2007 P.121~125.
Title: “The Reason I will carry out Executions.”
Partial translation by Michael H. Fox, Director, Japan Death Penalty Information Center
http://www.jdpic.org

Q: There is a big trend to abolish the death penalty worldwide. Why do you want to keep it in Japan?

HATOYAMA: The Japanese place so much importance on the value of life, so it is thought that one should pay with one’s life after taking the life of another. You see, the Western nations are civilizations based on power and war. So, conversely, things are moving against the death penalty. This is an important point to understand. The so called civilizations of power and war are opposite (from us). From incipient stages, their conception of the value of life is weaker than the Japanese. Therefore, they are moving toward abolishment of the death penalty. It is important that this discourse on civilizations be understood.

Q: You are very critical of of the future plan to raise the passing rate for the Bar exam.

HATOYAMA: When we examine the problem from the viewpoint of government and administration, I think that Japanese civilization will suffer the most. As the Japanese respect the value of life, there is a strong and pressing demand to maintain order. Similarly, Japan is a civilization of beauty and compassion, a civilization of harmony. This is not to sanction collusion (dango), but engaging in dialogue and reciprocal understanding is a wonderful characteristic of Japanese civilization. The fact is, since the West is a very dry civilization, it’s all right to take everything to court. This type of thinking will disrupt and erase the very best parts of Japan.
========================================

COMMENT: What the heck? I just think Hatoyama didn’t think carefully before shooting off his mouth at the FCCJ. He’s part of the political elite, living in his own little debate world, and not used to the press (esp the docile J press and Kisha Clubs) holding his feet to the fire. His comments about Japan vs the West (in all its incantations) regarding the value of life are probably common currency in the top echelons of the LDP, indicative of how closed-circuit the discussion circles are this high up. But expose them to a bit of light and you see how far removed these people are from reality. Yet they are the ones voting on policy. Policies like these:

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

3) THE DRAGNET TIGHTENS: USG: PROVE LACK OF CRIMINAL RECORD OVERSEAS FOR GOJ LONG-TERM VISAS

Forwarding a message from The Community volunteer online group:

===============================
October 4, 2007
Hello, Does anyone have any more information about this new (I think) development? What do they mean by long-term residents? Anyone who is not a tourist? Does it include permanent residents?

——————————————-
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,
http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/information/ib-09.html

Source:
U.S. Department of State, Consular Information Sheet: Japan
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1148.html
——————————————-

I am getting really annoyed at being treated like a criminal what with all this fingerprinting. We seemed to be moving nicely away from that trend in recent years with the fingerprints being removed from our Alien Registration Cards. I am feeling distinctly unwelcome in the country I have called home for ten of the past twelve years… Shaney
===============================

Subsequent discussion on the issue, archived at
https://www.debito.org/?p=639
reveals that other agencies, such as Yokohama and Nagoya Immigration, and even other embassies (UK and Australia) haven’t heard of this requirement at all. What a mess.

People with more time than me (and I know some people in the US Embassy are receiving this newsletter), please clarify what’s going on on the blog or at Debito.org.

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

4) JAPAN FOCUS: JAPAN’S MULTICULTURAL FUTURE OF MIGRANTS BECOMING IMMIGRANTS

Another academic essay of mine got published at Japan Focus, a very good website for those who can’t get through academic journals, but want something meatier than the average newspaper article:

====================================
JAPAN’S FUTURE AS AN INTERNATIONAL, MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY: FROM MIGRANTS TO IMMIGRANTS
By Arudou Debito. Japan Focus, October 29, 2007
http://japanfocus.org/products/details/2559
Summary:

Despite an express policy against importing unskilled foreign labor, the Government of Japan (GOJ) since 1990 has been following an unacknowledged backdoor “guest worker” program to alleviate a labor shortage that threatens to become chronic. Through its “Student”, “Entertainer”, “Nikkei repatriation”, “Researcher”, “Trainee”, and “Intern” Visa programs, the GOJ has imported hundreds of thousands of cost-effective Non-Japanese (NJ) laborers to stem the “hollowing out” (i.e. outsourcing, relocation, or bankruptcy) of Japan’s domestic industry at all levels.

As in many countries including the United States, France and South Korea, immigration has become a hotly-debated subject. While Japan’s immigrant population is much smaller than that of many European and North American countries, there is growing reliance on foreign labor resulting in a doubling of the number of registered NJ in Japan since 1990.

Despite their importance to Japan’s economy, this has not resulted in general acceptance of these laborers as “residents”, or as regular “full-time workers” entitled to the same social benefits under labor laws as Japanese workers (such as a minimum wage, health or unemployment insurance). Moreover, insufficient GOJ regulation has resulted in labor abuses (exploitative or coercive labor, child labor, sundry human rights violations), to the degree that the GOJ now proposes to “fix” the system by 2009. The current debate among ministries, however, is not focused on finding ways to help NJ workers to assimilate to Japan. Rather it has the effect of making it ever clearer that they are really only temporary and expendable. The most powerful actor in the debate is the Justice Ministry. Its minister under the former Abe administration proposed term-limited revolving-door employment for NJ workers. Meanwhile, one consequence of the present visa regime is a growing underclass of NJ children, with neither sufficient language abilities nor education to develop employable skills and adjust to Japanese society. Nevertheless, immigration continues apace. Not only does the number of foreign workers grow, but Regular Permanent Residents (RPRs) also increase by double-digit percentages every year. By the end of 2007, the number of RPRs will surpass the number of generational Zainichi Permanent Residents of Korean and Taiwan origins. In conclusion, Japan is no exception to the forces of globalization and international migrant labor. The GOJ needs to create appropriate policies that will enable migrant workers and their families to integrate into Japanese society and to find appropriate jobs that will maximize their contributions at a time when Japan faces acute labor shortages that will increase the importance of migrants…
====================================

Full essay at:
http://japanfocus.org/products/details/2559

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

5) JAPAN TIMES: “JAPAN’S UNSCIENTIFIC HUMAN RIGHTS SURVEY”

Speaking of social science, consider the science involved in conducting a public survey. Now see how the GOJ can muck it up in a most discriminatory manner…

======================================
THE ZEIT GIST
HUMAN RIGHTS SURVEY STINKS
GOVERNMENT EFFORT RIDDLED WITH BIAS, BAD SCIENCE
By DEBITO ARUDOU
Special to The Japan Times Community Page, October 23, 2007
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20071023zg.html

On Aug. 25, the Japanese government released findings from a Cabinet poll conducted every four years. Called the “Public Survey on the Defense of Human Rights” (http://www8.cao.go.jp/survey/h19/h19-jinken), it sparked media attention with some apparently good news.

When respondents were asked, “Should foreigners have the same human rights protections as Japanese?” 59.3 percent said “yes.” This is a rebound from the steady decline from 1995 (68.3 percent), 1999 (65.5) and 2003 (54).

Back then, the Justice Ministry’s Human Rights Bureau publicly blamed the decline on “a sudden rise in foreign crime.” So I guess the news is foreigners are now regarded more highly as humans. Phew.

No thanks to the government, mind you. Past columns have already covered the figment of the foreign crime wave, and how the police stoked fear of it. If anything, this poll charted the damage wrought by anti-foreigner policy campaigns.

But that’s all the poll is good for. If the media had bothered to examine its methodology, they’d feel stupid for ever taking it seriously: Its questions are skewed and grounded in bad science…
======================================
Rest at Debito.org with an unpublished cartoon at
https://www.debito.org/japantimes102307.html

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

…and finally…
6) WE ARE BEING LISTENED TO: ARTICLES ON SUMO AND EXCLUSIONARY SPORTS LEAGUES

I hear from some readers that my newsletters as of late are rather depressing. Where is the good news?

Well, an inkling of good news is that what we are saying is not being ignored. Many journalists on Japan are putting out some articles of substance on real problems in Japan, not resorting to the typical fluff (economics, exotica, and erotica) to fill space. Here are two articles that were probably inspired by issues raised at Debito.org:

======================================
LET’S BE FAIR, LET JAPANESE WIN
Posted on : 2007-10-04 Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Courtesy of the Author
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/118542.html
EXCERPT:

Tokyo – 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.”… “We don’t consider this decision as discrimination,” the spokesman said. “We are not banning (foreign students) from participating in the race.”…

“They are basically saying that sports are great as long as Japanese win,” Arudou Debito, the author of Japanese Only, which highlights discrimination against foreign residents in Japan, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

“Racial discrimination is usually based on superiority, but it is based on inferiority in Japan in this sense,” Debito said.

“This is symbolic to Japan’s sly opportunist ideology,” Shiraishi [Osamu], a former official from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said. “Making nationality an issue in sports goes against the genuine sportsmanship.”…

Rest at https://www.debito.org/?p=624
======================================
Original Debito.org feature inspiring this article at
https://www.debito.org/?p=417

Also,
======================================
JAPAN WRINGS ITS HANDS OVER SUMO’S LATEST WOES
By NORIMITSU ONISHI New York Times: October 19, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/world/asia/19sumo.html?_r=2&ref=world&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
======================================
Original Debito.org/Japan Times article on this here
https://www.debito.org/?p=551

COMMENT: I’m still waiting for the sumo “coach” referred to in the NYT article (rather, the owner of a sumo stable) to actually be ARRESTED for assault and criminal negligence (if not manslaughter)… even after publicly admitting he used a beer bottle on his apprentice (who died soon afterwards), he’s still out there free. If only he were a foreigner… he could be arrested despite no evidence at all!
https://www.debito.org/?p=659

Hope that cheers you up. Well, maybe not. But it’s better than having things go ignored. I’ll do my best to see that doesn’t happen.

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

All for today. Thanks for reading.
By Arudou Debito (debito@debito.org, https://www.debito.org)
Sapporo, Japan
DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 5, 2007 ENDS

mytest

This Newsletter is also available as a podcast.  See here:

[display_podcast]

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 20, 2007
This week’s contents:

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
1) NEW MHLW DIRECTIVE: ALL COMPANIES MUST CHECK & REGISTER THEIR NJ WORKERS
2) GLOBE & MAIL ON GOJ’S NASTY IMMIG AND REFUGEE POLICIES
3) ASAHI: UNHYGIENIC FOOD IN IMMIGRATION GAIJIN TANK TRIGGERS HUNGER STRIKE
4) ASAHI: NJ DIES DURING POLICE “SNITCH SITE” HOME ID CHECK
5) IDUBOR CASE UPDATE: DENIED RELEASE, NEXT HEARING IN TWO MONTHS!
6) WHAT TO DO IF… YOU ARE THREATENED WITH EVICTION
7) TEMPLATE PROTEST LETTERS RE UPCOMING FINGERPRINT LAWS

…and finally…
8) FORTHCOMING ARTICLES IN JAPAN TIMES AND METROPOLIS
ON REINSTATING FINGERPRINTING AND GOJ CABINET HUMAN RIGHTS SURVEY
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

By Arudou Debito (debito@debito.org, https://www.debito.org)
Freely forwardable

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

1) NEW MHLW DIRECTIVE: ALL COMPANIES MUST CHECK & REGISTER THEIR NJ WORKERS

I’ve been getting a lot of questions recently from people being approached by their employers and asked for copies of their Gaijin Cards. The MHLW says, in its link below:

==================================
“2) From October 1, 2007, all employers are now legally bound to formally submit (by todoke) to the Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare (Hello Work) a report on all their pertinent foreign laborers (confirming their name, status of residence, and duration of visa) when they are hired or leave work. Exceptions to this rule are Special Permanent Residents [the Zainichis], or people here on Government Business or Diplomatic Visas. Those who do not do so promptly and properly will face fines of no more than 300,000 yen.” (Translation Arudou Debito)
==================================
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/bunya/koyou/gaikokujin-koyou/index.html

Note that it does not require your employer to make or submit photocopies etc. of your Gaijin Card and/or passport. Employers just have to check to make sure your visa is legit, then report it to the authorities. Suggest that if you don’t want things photocopied, say so.

COMMENT: I knew that the GOJ had long proposed taking measures against visa overstayers, and I too agreed that employers who employ illegals should take responsibility (as opposed to the standard practice of punishing the employee by merely deporting them at a moment’s notice). But I wish there was a less intrusive way of doing this. And I wish more care had been made to inform NJ workers in advance and explain to them the reasons why. (In comparison, the recent Fingerprint Law amendments were enlightened in their PR. Though that’s not saying a lot.)

Here’s an article from the vernacular press on the possible effects:

==================================
RE THE NEW REQUIREMENTS TO REPORT NJ WORKERS TO THE GOVT
KNOWLEDGE NOT MADE WIDESPREAD, AND DANGERS OF DISCRIMINATION
Kobe Shinbun Oct 1, 2007 (excerpt) Translated by Colin Parrott
https://www.debito.org/?p=632

…Until now, once a year in June, firms employing foreign workers have reported such details as residency status, nationality and number of foreign workers to the public employment security office, Hello Work, at their own discretion. According to the Labour Department, some 5000 employees at 910 firms (with 30 employees or more) in the prefecture have been targeted…

Around 500 Vietnamese live in Kobe’s Nagata ward, where most of them work at a local chemical factory. When The Japan Chemical Shoes Industrial Association reported the revisions of the law to its member companies by newsletter they were met with criticism. “Without an investigation into how many people are working where, I really don’t see what difference it will make,” said a 42-year old chemical factory manager. “Sure it’s good for decreasing illegal employment, but if we don’t first acknowledge the fact that illegal unskilled foreign labourers exist, we’re going to be left with a labour shortage.”

The manager realizes illegal Vietnamese labourers in the area will be exposed but worries, “foreigners who lose their jobs will unnecessarily turn to crime.”…

Furthermore, data gathered by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry plans to be shared with the Ministry of Justice. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations and others criticize this scheme because it “violates foreigner’s rights to privacy.” They point out, “there is a possibility that discriminatory treatment based on race, skin colour or ethnic origin might arise.”

The Employment Promotion Law was established with the goal of advancing blue-collar job stability and to increase the economic and social status in society of women, the elderly and the disabled. From October onwards, it will be prohibited to use age limit restrictions in the the recruitment and hiring process….
==================================
Feedback from cyberspace and referential articles on the subject at
https://www.debito.org/?p=632

COMMENT: The good news above is the age restriction is being abolished, and that’s good for Japanese academia, where age caps of 35 for NJ academics are not unusual. At least one job info site now refuses to post ads with age restrictions. More later.

But note the underlying assumption that foreigners not employed legally will turn to crime; technically that’s true–but it’s not quite the same kind of crime as Japanese commit. Because Japanese don’t need visas to work. The incomparable crime being committed here is the NJ finding any work at all in order to survive. For example:

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

2) GLOBE & MAIL ON GOJ’S NASTY IMMIG AND REFUGEE POLICIES

I sometimes blog pretty mediocre articles on Debito.org by journalists just going through the motions to file stories, without much attempt at bringing new information or angles to the surface. For example, https://www.debito.org/?p=635

In contrast, here is an excellent one that could probably after a bit of beefing up be reprinted in an academic journal. I even think the reporter followed quite a few of our leads. Excerpt follows:

==================================
IMMIGRATION: JAPAN’S UNFRIENDLY SHORES
“One culture, one race:” Foreigners need not apply

Despite a shrinking population and a shortage of labour, Japan is not eager to accept immigrants or refugees
By GEOFFREY YORK, Globe and Mail (Canada) October 9, 2007
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071009.JAPAN09/TPStory/TPInternational/Africa/
Courtesy of Satoko Norimatsu

TOKYO In the Turkish village of his birth, Deniz Dogan endured years of discrimination and harassment by police who jailed him twice for his political activities on behalf of the Alevi religious minority. So he decided to escape to a country that seemed peaceful and tolerant: Japan.

Seven years later, he says he has found less freedom in Japan than in the country he fled. For a time, he had to work illegally to put food on his table. Police stop him to check his documents almost every day. He has suffered deportation threats, interrogations and almost 20 months in detention. In despair, he even considered suicide.

His brother and his family, who fought even longer for the right to live in Japan, finally gave up and applied for refugee status in Canada, where they were quickly accepted.

“We had an image of Japan as a very peaceful and democratic country,” Mr. Dogan said. “It was very shocking to realize that we had less freedom in Japan than in Turkey. We did nothing wrong, except to try to get into this country, yet we were treated as criminals. We felt like insects.”

Despite its wealth and democracy, Japan has one of the world’s most intolerant regimes for refugees and immigrants. And despite its labour shortages and declining population, the government still shows little interest in allowing more foreigners in.

From 1982 to 2004, Japan accepted only 313 refugees, less than 10 per cent of those who applied. Even after its rules were slightly liberalized in 2004, it allowed only 46 refugees in the following year. Last year it accepted only 34 of the 954 applicants…

These attitudes have shaped a system of tight restrictions against foreigners who try to enter Japan. One of the latest laws, for example, requires all foreigners to be fingerprinted when they enter the country. Japan’s rules on refugee claims are so demanding that it can take more than 10 years for a refugee to win a case, and even then the government sometimes refuses to obey the court rulings. Hundreds of applicants give up in frustration after years of fruitless effort…

[Sadako Ogata:] “From the perspective of Japanese officials, the fewer that come the better.”

While they struggle to prove their cases, asylum seekers are often interrogated by police and confined to detention centres, which are prisons in all but name. When not in detention, asylum seekers cannot legally work and are required to live on meagre allowances, barely enough for subsistence.

In one notorious case in 2005, Japan deported two Kurdish men after the UN refugee agency had recognized them as refugees. The UN agency protested the deportations, calling them a violation of Japan’s international obligations….

“Work permits are not given to them, but they have to work to survive, so they work illegally.”..
========================================
Rest at https://www.debito.org/?p=640
Lots more good information, have a read.

Meanwhile, let’s look at what happens to some of those refugees:

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3) ASAHI: UNHYGIENIC FOOD IN IMMIG GAIJIN TANK CAUSES HUNGER STRIKE

One more reason you don’t want to be apprehended by the Japanese authorities–in this case Immigration. Bad food. No, I don’t mean humdrum food. Read on:

========================================
CATERPILLARS AND COCKROACHES:
FOREIGNERS LEAD HUNGER STRIKE IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION CENTER
Asahi Shinbun Oct 18, 2007
http://www.asahi.com/national/update/1018/OSK200710170103.html
Translated by Arudou Debito
Japanese original at https://www.debito.org/?p=657

OSAKA-FU IBARAKI CITY–Forty foreigners being detained in the Ministry of Justice West Immigration Detention Center are claiming, “There have been instances of stuff being mixed in with the meals provided by the Center, such as caterpillars (kemushi). We cannot safely eat it”. The Asahi learned on October 17 that they carried out a hunger strike on both October 9 and 10. The Immigration Center has confirmed that there have been 30 instances from April of inedibles mixed in the food. It has formally demanded their cooks improve the cooking.

According to the Center, as of October 17, there are 240 foreigners being detained. They receive three meals a day, cooked on site by professionals and provided in detainees’ cells. However, the company contracted to provide these meals have since April have had materiel mixed in the food, such as hair, cockroaches, and mold.

Consequently, the Center has taken measures from September to sure there is no extraneous stuff in the food, but one detainee claims it happened again on October 8. The Center said that they had already cleared the food and refused to exchange it for more, so the next day from breakfast the detainees went on hunger strike. By breakfast October 10, an additional 30 people had joined the movement. After the Center told them it would thoroughly check the sanitation procedures of the meal preparers, the detainees called off their strike.

The Center said, “We have demanded the meal preparers clean up their act, and will keep a sharp eye on them from now on.”
ENDS
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https://www.debito.org/?p=658

COMMENT: You know things have gotta be pretty antipathetic when even inmates have bad food (and food in Japanese prison, from what I’ve read, is apparently sparse but not all that unhealthy). But then again, this is not a prison. It’s an Immigration Gaijin Tank–where NJ are held indefinitely and not subject to the same standards (such as exercise, baths, time outside their cells, and–most importantly–a definite time limit to their incarceration) that people who have been formally sentenced to a Japanese prison will have.

Back to the food. Remember where we are: This being Japan, a land of foodies, it’s famous for being a place where it’s hard to get a truly bad meal, let alone an unhygenic one. People are really fussy, and it shows in the marketplace. No professional in their right mind in the Japanese meal services lets quality slip.

It might be the effect of a captive market, literally, meaning no competition and no incentive for quality control.

Or it might be antipathy. Either this Detention Center’s meal preparers are completely shameless people, or they just don’t like foreigners and feel no compunction to serve them properly.

Pretty stunning. Stop faffing about and fire the cooks already, Immigration.

Anyway, it’s pretty clear that some people will do anything to avoid getting incarcerated in places like these. Sometimes with tragic results:

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4) ASAHI: NJ DIES DURING POLICE “SNITCH SITE” HOME ID CHECK

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WOMAN FALLS 9 STORIES FROM MANSION, DIES: OSAKA NISHI-KU
Asahi Shinbun October 16, 2007, 13:22
Courtesy http://www.asahi.com/national/update/1016/OSK200710160021.html
Translated by Arudou Debito, courtesy of Foo Bar

OSAKA NISHI-KU On October 16, 2007, around 9:55 AM, a woman resident on the 9th floor of an apartment complex thought to be a foreigner was asked by Nishi Prefectural Police for identification (shokumu shitsumon), in order to ascertain her Status of Residence.

The woman received the police in her genkan, but returned to her room, and minutes later fell from her veranda. She died of severe injuries to her entire body. The Nishi Police are ascertaining her identity.

According to sources, she was apparently an Asian foreigner in her forties or fifties. At the end of September, Nishi Police received an anonymous tip-off that “An illegal foreign woman lives there”, so this morning four police officers visited the premises. When they demanded her passport at the genkan, the woman was said to have replied, “please wait”, and went back into the apartment. There was no answer after that.

Nishi Vice Police Chief Akai Yasohachi said, “We don’t think there was any problem with the way the demands for identification were carried out.”
ENDS
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https://www.debito.org/?p=655

COMMENT: Now it’s not even a matter of police stopping you on the street anymore for ID checks. They’re making house calls.
https://www.debito.org/whattodoif.html#checkpoint
This is not an isolated incident. Over the past few months, I have heard many reports from individuals regarding police investigating whole apartment complexes, door-to-door, especially those renting specifically to NJ. It’s all part of the dragnet against foreigners in Japan.

In this case in Osaka, I doubt there was foul play involved, and the consensus in the comments section of my blog is that she somehow tried to escape. But here we have the fruits of the anonymous anti-foreigner GOJ “snitch sites”–people unwilling to be taken into custody by Japanese police for whatever reason. Given how the Japanese police treat people in their care, it’s not difficult to see why.
https://www.debito.org/whattodoif.html#arrested

More news if there is any later. But will this develop into a clear case of, “somebody’s gotta die before bad policy gets changed”?

I wish they’d create snitch sites so we can anonymously rat on suspected members of organized crime. Those are the type of people I’d like to see falling from neighborhood balconies.

Meanwhile, another case of incarceration which warrants an update:

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5) IDUBOR CASE UPDATE: DENIED RELEASE, NEXT HEARING IN TWO MONTHS!

Quick update on the Idubor Case. (Background at https://www.debito.org/?p=646 )

Just heard from Osayuwamen Idubor’s wife that the outcome of his latest court hearing (Oct 18), which had the hope of releasing him, did not.

Next hearing on December 10 at 1:30PM, Yokohama District Court. That’s almost a year since he was incarcerated without a speedy trial.

How nice. No material evidence of any crime committed, yet the defendant has to languish in jail (with deteriorating health) for another two months!  The prosecution want to give him five years.  At this rate, he’ll do it before even being declared guilty or innocent.

Suggest people drop by Mr Idubor’s bar in Yokohama. Support his wife and business by having a drink.

Details on how to get there at https://www.debito.org/?p=646

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6) WHAT TO DO IF… YOU ARE THREATENED WITH EVICTION

With the NOVA Inc. Eikaiwa Debacle, I’ve been getting quite a few questions from people who are finding out their employer isn’t paying their rent for corporate housing, much less their salary. It’s getting tough to answer each person individually (I get dozens of general questions every week), so let me add to the WHAT TO DO IF… artery site for one-stop shopping:

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WHAT TO IF… you are being threatened with eviction from your apartment.
https://www.debito.org/whattodoif.html#eviction

Tenants have extremely strong rights in this society, which means that if you signed a contract, you are entitled to stay, even if you haven’t paid your rent for a stretch of time. You can even sue (and win) if your landlord changes his or her mind after a contract is signed and money paid. Stand your ground. You cannot be evicted without a court order.

Advice from those in the know, courtesy of the Japan Times:

1) [With NOVA Inc.] deducting rent from your paycheck, but not forwarding it on to your landlord, Nova broke the law. They are in the wrong, not you. Your landlord can complain, but his contract is with Nova. Keep your pay stubs and any receipts you have. Legally, you’ve been paying rent. If the landlord changes your locks, removes anything from your apartment, or harasses you without going to court and getting a court order for your eviction, he is in the wrong. He can give you all the letters he wants, but he needs a judge to evict you. Grounds for eviction are normally illegal activity in the apartment or non-payment of agreed rent obligations. This is why you should hang on to your pay stubs – just in case things get ugly and you have to fight your eviction.

2) Accommodation: “Even if the owner/the landlord/the agency is screaming at you to get out, you don’t have to leave–just keep paying your rent. If the company was supposed to be paying the rent and they haven’t, sue the company for fraud or tell the agency: ‘Look, the company’s supposed to be paying, and I’ve already paid the company.’ You have a right of residency, and anyone who wanted to get you out is going to have to get a court order to do it.” (Bob Tench, Nova union vice president)

REFERENTIAL ARTICLES:

IS IT ALL OVER FOR NOVA?
As ‘eikaiwa’ giant plans school closures amid credit crunch, some fear the worst
The Japan Times, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007
(Referential information at the bottom of the article)
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070925a1.html
https://www.debito.org/?p=593

Korean Woman Wins Discrimination Damages in Japan
Chosun Ilbo, South Korea, October 5, 2007
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200710/200710050017.html
https://www.debito.org/?p=634
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Plus, various extraneous bits of advice regarding union support, unpaid wages, Immigration/Visas and employment, redundancies, and unemployment insurance.
https://www.debito.org/whattodoif.html#misc

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7) TEMPLATE PROTEST LETTERS RE UPCOMING FINGERPRINT LAWS

F-Day, November 20, is just around the corner. Are you ready to stand in the Gaijin Line, every time, regardless of how long you’ve been here, and for what’s forecasted to take hours at a time, and have to face finger inkpads and whatnot at every port of entry that’s not Narita?

Scott Wallace writes the following:
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“I know many have written comments about the new fingerprinting laws for all non-Japanese reentering Japan’s borders. So I had a Japanese friend draw up a letter of protest. Here it is in English and Japanese. For the cost of stamp and an envelope i think its well worth sending it. Even if nothing is done, it’s great for our health just to let them know and get it off our chests. Nothing ventured nothing gained, right?

“I have kept it to one A4 size so that it is read, points out politely why I think it the law should be removed or amended, and specifically makes a request. Feel free to amend it as you like.”
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Downloadable from https://www.debito.org/?p=652

Suggestions on what to do with it: Hand it over at the border as you clear Passport Control. Send it by snail or email to Japan National Tourist Organization and the Japan Hotel Association. CC Justice/Immigration and Naikakufu. Try also Hato Bus Co, JAL, ANA, Tokyo and Osaka governments, Ginza and Akihabara Merchants’ Associations, even JR, Keisei Dentetsu, Limousine bus companies, etc., all of which will be affected. Tell anyone you please that the fingerprinting/biometric system is going to repel both business and leisure travelers, and will ultimately cost Japan foreign exchange and jobs.

Another friend writes that the single best potential for protests will be international couples traveling together where one spouse is Japanese. They won’t be able stand in line and enter together any more, and that will also require the Japanese partner to cool his or her heels while waiting (with no place to go to do it except the baggage claim area).
https://www.debito.org/?p=627#comment

And of course there is civil disobedience. Another friend of a friend writes:
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“It’s not really common knowledge but electronic fingerprint readers don’t work on about 10% of the population. Something about the grooves being too shallow or something. So they have to have some sort of contingency plan in place, like taking ink prints and then scanning them. This costs them money. Lots of money; as in if everyone had to have manual prints done the project would go way over budget. I recommend applying superglue to your fingertips just before getting off the plane. EVERYONE. Or cover your fingers in a thick layer of vaseline or chewing gum to really mess up their readers. Apologize profusely when they find out, but just let them mess around trying to find out why nobody’s prints register on any machines before just saying “screw it” and letting everyone through. Let’s mess with the system, I say. Make it so cost inefficient and so time consuming that they have to stop.”
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Of course, I would never advocate messing up their machines like that. Never ever.

But one of the reasons, I believe, that Special Permanent Residents (the Zainichi) have been made exempt from this requirement is because there would have been hell to pay (like there was in the past) if they had. The GOJ just didn’t expect the disorganized gaijin to protest. I suggest you prove them wrong.

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and finally…

8) FORTHCOMING ESSAYS IN JAPAN TIMES AND METROPOLIS ON REINSTATING FINGERPRINTING AND GOJ CABINET HUMAN RIGHTS SURVEY

It’s been a busy time, with five speeches next week, and also two essays coming out.

On Tuesday, October 23, Japan Times Community page will publish my 40th article, this time on the awful ‘Human Rights Survey”, put out every four years by the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office, as some indication of popular sentiment towards granting human rights to fellow humans (tentatively including non-Japanese). They fortunately report that more people this time believe that “foreigners deserve the same rights as Japanese”, after more than a decade of steady decline. But if anyone actually took a closer look at the survey, with its leading questions, biased sampling, and even discriminatory language towards non-Japanese residents, you would wonder a) why anyone would take it at all seriously, and b) why our government Cabinet is so unprofessional and unscientific. Especially when the United Nations has long criticized Japan for ever making human rights a matter of popularity polls. Pick up a copy next Tuesday. I even did the cartoon for it.

On Friday, October 26, Metropolis’s Last Word column will have my 20th article with them, this time on the Fingerprint Reinstitution I’ve been talking so much about recently. 850 words on the issue, the history, and more on what you can do about it. Get your copy next Friday.

And if you want me to start writing a column for the Japan Times and/or Metropolis on a regular basis, say, once a month, let them know.
community@japantimes.co.jp, editor@metropolis.co.jp

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All for today. Thanks for reading and/or listening.
Arudou Debito
Sapporo, Japan
debito@debito.org, https://www.debito.org
DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 20, 2007 ENDS