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Hi Blog. More than a month ago a reporter asked me some questions about the state of Japan in the run-up to the July 20 Elections. With permission, I gave some pretty thorough answers. They didn’t end up getting used, so I’ll publish them here. Again, they reflect what I saw before the July 20 Japan Elections, which saw well-publicized gains for the probably fascist but definitely xenophobic Sanseito Party,
Since my next SNA column will probably develop the thoughts of my answer to Question 4 below, I’m open to your feedback. Thanks. Debito Arudou, PhD.
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1) How significant role does Japanese media play in shaping anti-foreign views?
DEBITO: Japanese media plays a crucial role. Every day there’s a steady drumbeat in the media of a monolithic narrative of “We Japanese think/say/do this.” Then it’s contrasted with how foreigners must be different because, by definition, they’re not Japanese. Then we get to the steady blaming of foreigners for just about everything wrong because a) they’re more visible and easy to single out, and b) they’re different by definition, therefore they’re disturbing things for everyone else. Sensationalism sells in all free media environments, and sensationalizing alleged foreigner wrongdoings is easy money.
2) Does the educational system play a role in encouraging the “othering” of non-Japanese, or is it now more actively embracing the idea that immigration will now be a normal part of Japanese life in the future?
DEBITO: Japanese education is waking up to diversity in Japan very slowly. We still have the “hair police” in Japanese schools forcing children to dye and straighten their naturally lighter or wavy hair to enforce conformity. We still have schools showing trepidation at allowing in “foreign” students, claiming language barrier or alleged “classroom disruptions,” as if non-native youth will never absorb Japanese over time. And we still have no official immigration policy to offer infrastructure or support to children of international roots in Japan. It’s getting better over time, but not soon enough for all the children being bullied to the point of dropping out of school and becoming an uneducated underclass, as we’ve seen in the South American communities in Japan.
3) Do you see the situation on anti-foreigner sentiment improving, getting worse or staying the same in the years to come?
DEBITO: It could go either way. Politicians have been capitalizing on latent xenophobia for decades now and gotten elected on scaring the public about foreign boogeymen. More slogans behind policymaking overtly target foreign residents. On the other hand, the tourism has made more people profit from catering to Non-Japanese and put more effort and infrastructure into making systems easier to understand. That said, Japan is learning how to be a better host. Not learning how to make tourists and migrants become immigrants and fellow Japanese. Without an actual immigration policy, that’s not going to happen soon or smoothly.
4) Do you think that anti-immigration sentiment is a bigger problem in Japan than it is in other countries, and do you think that we are witnessing the early stages of significant populist, anti-foreigner movements in Japan?
DEBITO: My current field of study is the erosion of democracies worldwide. If we’re comparing Japan to other countries, the alarmism in Japan seems a bit more muted. Japanese democracy might seem a bit more robust because, even after a good three decades of racist demagogues, the all-powerful bureaucracy in Japan is still steadfast against the populist erosion of state power. And people tend to trust government as a problem solver more in Japan than other societies.
Do I see a Japan-styled Trump taking power? I have seen plenty of wannabes in Japan’s online trolls and fringe political parties, and with this election on July 20, populist xenophobia in stump speeches is more overt than ever. But all of those slogans have been said before in previous elections–and even by elected representatives in the ruling party afterwards.
What’s different now is that there are more parties making xenophobia their main party plank, offering voters a feeling of outside choice. For some, it’s better than voting the same old parties who will as usual forget their slogans once elected. But so far I see more media focus on old slogans as if they’re something new. This time the media has a clearer peg to hang a story on with the rise of fascism within Japan’s closest geopolitical ally.
But the fact still remains that in Japan, plenty have tried the Trumpist playbook, but none have succeeded compared to other democracies. None have coalesced into a coherent and unified social movement with clear plans to dismantle institutions, as compared to Hungary, Poland, Turkey, Britain, France, Italy, The Netherlands, or the United States.
If that changes, I don’t think it’ll be triggered by foreign migration or tourism. It’ll be due to an external threat like a saber-rattling North Korea or an expansionist China, as it always has in Postwar Japan.
But July 20 will be a litmus test of this theory. Until then, that’s the best assessment I can offer. ENDS
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