{"id":12243,"date":"2014-04-02T00:45:37","date_gmt":"2014-04-02T10:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12243"},"modified":"2014-04-04T10:46:38","modified_gmt":"2014-04-04T20:46:38","slug":"debito-org-newsletter-april-2-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12243","title":{"rendered":"DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER APRIL 2, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

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DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER APRIL 2, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Table of Contents:<\/em>
\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
\n1) My latest Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column 74, Apr 3, 2014: \u201cKnowing your rights can protect against fake cops\u201d, updating the NJ Spot ID Checkpoints issue<\/strong><\/p>\n

2) Neo-Nazis march in Tokyo Edogawa-ku March 23, 2014, bearing swastika flags! Here\u2019s how counter-demos could sharpen their anti-racism message<\/strong><\/p>\n

3) JT: Motley crew of foreigners backing Japan\u2019s revisionists basks in media glare<\/strong><\/p>\n

4) Briefly interviewed by BBC Radio program \u201cBBC Trending\u201d: \u201cScrubbing anti-foreigner scribbling from Tokyo\u2019s Streets\u201d, March 16, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

CLOSURE<\/strong>
\n 5) Suraj Case: Tokyo District Court finds \u201cillegal\u201d excessive force, orders GOJ restitution to family of NJ killed during deportation (contrast with UK case)<\/strong><\/p>\n

6) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Col 73, \u201cJ.League and Media Must Show Red Card to Racism\u201d on Saitama Stadium \u201cJapanese Only\u201d Urawa Reds soccer fans, Mar 13, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2026and finally\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

7) Urawa \u201cJapanese Only\u201d Soccer Banner Case: Conclusions and Lessons I learned from it<\/strong>
\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

By ARUDOU, Debito (debito@debito.org)
\nFreely Forwardable<\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

1) My latest Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column 74, Apr 3, 2014: \u201cKnowing your rights can protect against fake cops\u201d, updating the NJ Spot ID Checkpoints issue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Excerpt: Long-time readers of The Japan Times will already be aware of some of the information in today\u2019s column. But within is an important update, so press on.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As you no doubt know (or should know), non-Japanese residents are required to carry ID 24\/7 in the form of wallet-size \u201cgaijin cards,\u201d nowadays known as zairy\u016b k\u0101do (resident cards). (People without those cards \u2014 i.e., tourists here for less than three months \u2014 must instead always carry a passport.) Don\u2019t leave home without yours, for you could face detention and a criminal penalty if a police officer suddenly demands it.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Which they can do at any time \u2014 underscoring the weakened position of non-Japanese under domestic law and social policy. According to the former Foreign Registry Law, any public official empowered by the Ministry of Justice may demand ID from a non-Japanese person, whenever. Inevitably, this encourages racial profiling, as cops with systematic regularity target people who \u201clook foreign\u201d (including naturalized citizens, such as this writer) for public shakedowns that are intimidating, alienating and humiliating\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read the rest at
\nhttp:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/community\/2014\/04\/02\/issues\/rights-can-protect-against-fake-cops\/<\/a>
\nAnchor site with links to sources up in a few days at https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12237<\/a><\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

2) Neo-Nazis march in Tokyo Edogawa-ku March 23, 2014, bearing swastika flags! Here\u2019s how counter-demos could sharpen their anti-racism message<\/strong><\/p>\n

I put this up as a matter of record of how Japan\u2019s overt xenophobia has mutated from the hatred of a specific people (the Chinese and\/or Koreans); now it\u2019s piggybacking upon a historical campaign that ultimately led to genocide.<\/p>\n

Witness this video taken of xenophobic demonstrators doing one of their demonstrations (note that this ilk last year also advocated genocide with a sign saying \u201cgood or bad, kill all Koreans\u201d). The video below is subtitled as filmed in Tokyo Edogawa-ku, Kodomo no Hiroba<\/em> (a children\u2019s park), on Sunday, March 23, 2014:<\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: This is one of the outcomes of an education system that still hasn\u2019t come to grips with its fascist past, and thus has literate people appropriating symbols for shock value without historical awareness of what they\u2019re advocating (or, worse yet, they are aware, and actually support genocidal fanaticism!). For once I\u2019m willing to give these demonstrators the benefit of the doubt (as we see plenty of swastikas around Asia more as ideological fashion statements; moreover, we still haven\u2019t seen a group manifesto specifically advocating murder). But not if Nazi Swastikas appear again. And I bet they will.<\/p>\n

The only good news one could point out in this Edogawa-ku video to is the presence of counter-demonstrators. Not so long ago, protests like these were just seen as venting, confined to rightist wingnuts without much political traction, so they were ignored by the public in general who just walked by tacitly. Now with Japan\u2019s sharp and overt right-wing swing, people ARE seeing the danger (as it increasingly gets noticed overseas) that these people represent, and coming out to show that racists do not represent all Japanese (their banners are, after all, also in English for foreign consumption). Good. Please continue.<\/p>\n

But the counter-demonstrators could do better with their message. One thing that keeps getting missed out in these racist vs. counter-racist demos is the notion that the foreign element being decried is not really foreign. They (particularly the Zainichi being targeted) are residents of Japan who have been contributing to Japanese society for decades and generations. Nobody is really pointing this out \u2014 that NJ BELONG IN JAPAN and are INVESTED IN JAPAN just the same as citizens. Instead, it\u2019s more along the lines of \u201cracism is embarrassing to Japan, so knock it off\u201d. It\u2019s a shame issue, not a moral issue of equality and equal treatment of other peoples. We saw that in the recent \u201cJapanese Only\u201d sign issue with the Urawa Reds soccer team earlier this month: Despite some really good condemnations of racism in Japanese soccer, nobody really had the balls to say explicitly that the problem with this exclusionary sign is that NJ are Urawa Reds fans too. So this foreigner-verboten \u201csacred ground\u201d within Saitama Station is a stupid concept, because fandom in sport should (and does) transcend nationality and race.<\/p>\n

So if any counter-demonstrators are reading this blog (thanks if you are), may I suggest that you counter the evils of the \u201cbad things foreigners in Japan do\u201d propaganda with some \u201cgood things foreigners in Japan do\u201d placards too? A simple, \u201c\u5916\u56fd\u4eba\u3082\u65e5\u672c\u4eba\u3068\u540c\u3058\u3001\u4f4f\u6c11\u3060\uff01\u201d would work magic in awareness raising and debate-agenda setting. Thanks.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12218<\/a><\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

3) JT: Motley crew of foreigners backing Japan\u2019s revisionists basks in media glare<\/strong><\/p>\n

JT: In the war of words \u2014 particularly with South Korea and China \u2014 over World War II-era issues that has intensified over the past 18 months, foreigners \u2014 both Westerners and Asians \u2014 have also waded into the fray. And some have even sided with revisionist positions, raising questions over the Japanese military\u2019s alleged recruitment of sex slaves (\u201ccomfort women\u201d) and other contentious wartime topics.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For these individuals, preaching to the Japanese choir does appear to have its rewards. At a gathering in Tokyo last autumn, veteran British journalist Henry Scott Stokes commemorated the 70th anniversary of the showpiece meeting of the Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere, Japan\u2019s short-lived effort to align Asians against European colonial powers. \u201cJapan is a country of rising sun,\u201d he told his audience. \u201cJoining hands together with the fellow Asian people who desire truly Free Asia, I sincerely hope that Japan will play a vital role for realizing democratic Asian unity.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: In light of the recent Nazi Swastika flags appearing in right-wing marches, it\u2019s pretty wrong-headed for anyone who wants to keep a good reputation to publicly align with people like these. But it\u2019s within character. I\u2019ve heard plenty of pretty unflattering things about Mr. Scott-Stokes through the grapevine over the years. But another NJ bozo mentioned in the article as being in the pocket of Japan\u2019s revisionist right is Tony Marano, a YouTube Vlogger (a sample video of his is up at the JT site; follow above link), who has in the past ignorantly commented on the \u201cJapanese Only\u201d signs issue \u2014 by blaming NJ (i.e., the \u201cugly Americans\u201d) for the signs\u2019 existence. Particularly one \u201cliberal\u201d foreigner (guess who; and I\u2019m not a foreigner) who sues \u201cthem\u201d and \u201cmesses up their legal system\u201d: (video)<\/p>\n

I wonder if Marano will ever get over his ignorance by actually doing any reading up on the issue. Probably not. Critics of his ilk rarely do \u2014 it makes the maintenance of their world view that much simpler. And, clearly, as the JT article establishes, more profitable.<\/p>\n

UPDATE APRIL 1<\/strong> (No, this isn\u2019t an April Fool\u2019s prank): Marano gets a regular column with tabloid weekly Asahi Geino (see scan). Now all he has to do is spout off, and it gets translated into a language and culture he doesn\u2019t understand. I love how they try to directly translate his \u201cgod bless\u201d at the end of the article. Marano has no idea what he\u2019s getting himself into.<\/p>\n

UPDATE APRIL 2<\/strong>: Scott-Stokes also admits that he can\u2019t even read his own revisionist book, let alone write it:<\/p>\n

FCCJ: \u201cOddly, perhaps, he admits to not knowing exactly what\u2019s between the pages of the book that carries his name \u2013 he says he reads little Japanese and an English translation has yet to be produced. It was dictated over hundreds of hours to another FCCJ member\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So like Marano, Scott-Stokes has no idea how he\u2019s being rendered in Japanese. Seems like for some, Japanese language fluency and apologist\/revisionist stances are inversely proportional.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12215<\/a><\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

4) Briefly interviewed by BBC Radio program \u201cBBC Trending\u201d: \u201cScrubbing anti-foreigner scribbling from Tokyo\u2019s Streets\u201d, March 16, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unrelated to the big flap covered below about the Urawa Reds \u201cJapanese Only\u201d Saitama Stadium Banner issue, I was interviewed by the BBC regarding anti-NJ messages, and the public backlash against the xenophobes. Since I\u2019m not an expert on Zainichi issues, I gave a bit more background on how Visible Minorities are treated in the following segment:<\/p>\n

BBC World Service<\/strong>
\n BBC Trending, March 16, 2014<\/strong>
\n \u201cScrubbing anti-foreigner scribbling from Tokyo\u2019s streets\u201d<\/strong>
\nSegment duration: 9 minutes
\nMy bit comes in between 14:45 and 15:53, but please listen to the whole segment; it\u2019s a decent article.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m very happy that people are charting racist graffiti using Google Maps. Kinda like what Debito.org has done for more than a decade with its Rogues\u2019 Gallery of Exclusionary Establishments, complete with map to substantiate visually how widespread the issue has become. Bravo. Make a record, and make it permanent, because the only way we\u2019re going to show that a problem exists (and is getting worse) is by not letting racists become historical deniers.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12194<\/a><\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

CLOSURE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

5) Suraj Case: Tokyo District Court finds \u201cillegal\u201d excessive force, orders GOJ restitution to family of NJ killed during deportation (contrast with UK case)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some moderately good news also came down the pipeline a few days ago, when the Suraj Case of police brutality and death in detention was drawn to a conclusion in Civil Court. The Tokyo District Court faulted the GOJ with \u201cillegal\u201d excessive force, and doled out restitution of a paltry sum of about USD $50,000 for a man\u2019s life. Hokay. For many (unless there is an appeal), that means case closed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s good that somebody was found fault with. Up until now, Japan\u2019s Immigration Bureau got away with a clear case of cold-blooded murder of a NJ being manhandled by overzealous authorities. However, this was a decision that took place in CIVIL Court, not Criminal, meaning no criminal penalty has been applied to Suraj\u2019s killers.<\/p>\n

Contrast this with a very similar murder that just came down in the UK: The Mubenga Case. Same time line (an excruciatingly slow four years), same class of human being as far as the developed countries see it (a dark African man from Ghana\/Angola), and same killing while in official custody. Except in the UK case, you get arrests, a charge of manslaughter, and killers\u2019 names made public. In other words, the System in the latter case is less likely to protect individuals for their excesses, which is the much better deterrent for them to do this brutal act again. Thus we\u2019re more likely to see Surajs happen than Mubengas, since Japan\u2019s criminal prosecutors decided not to pursue Suraj\u2019s case. And so the Suraj Case remains Japan\u2019s shame, and should be a deterrent for future immigrants to come to Japan: In Japan\u2019s overall criminal system of \u201chostage justice\u201d, an overstayed visa may become a capital offense.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12201<\/a><\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

6) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Col 73, \u201cJ.League and Media Must Show Red Card to Racism\u201d on Saitama Stadium \u201cJapanese Only\u201d Urawa Reds soccer fans, Mar 13, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

J.LEAGUE AND MEDIA MUST SHOW RED CARD TO RACISM<\/strong>
\n JBC Column 73 for the Japan Times Community Page<\/strong>
\n To be published March 13, 2014<\/strong>
\n By ARUDOU Debito, Version with links to sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Saturday, during their J. League match against Sagan Tosu at Saitama Stadium, some Urawa Reds fans hung a \u201cJapanese only\u201d banner over an entrance to the stands.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It went viral. Several sports sections in Japanese newspapers and blogs, as well as overseas English media, covered the story. The banner was reportedly soon taken down, and both the football club and players expressed regret that it had ever appeared. Urawa investigated, and at the time of going to press Wednesday, reports were suggesting that the club had decided that the banner was discriminatory, reversing a previous finding that the fans behind the incident had \u201cno discriminatory intent.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So case closed? Not so fast. There is something important that the major media is overlooking \u2014 nay, abetting: the implicit racism that would spawn such a sign.\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12162<\/a><\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

\u2026and finally\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

7) Urawa \u201cJapanese Only\u201d Soccer Banner Case: Conclusions and Lessons I learned from it<\/strong><\/p>\n

LESSONS OF THE URAWA \u201cJAPANESE ONLY\u201d SOCCER STADIUM BANNER CASE OF MARCH 8, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s sew this issue up: What happened this week is probably the most dramatic and progressive thing to happen to NJ in Japan, particularly its Visible Minorities, since the Otaru Onsens Case came down with its District Court Decision in November 2002.<\/p>\n

In this decision, a Japanese court ruled for only the second time (the first being the Ana Bortz Case back in October 1999) that \u201cJapanese Only\u201d signs and rules were racial discrimination (jinshu sabetsu).<\/p>\n

It did not call it discrimination instead based on \u201cethnicity\u201d (minzoku), \u201cnationality\u201d (kokuseki), outward appearance (gaiken), or some kind of \u201cmisunderstanding\u201d (gokai), \u201cingrained cultural habit\u201d or \u201cnecessary business practice\u201d (shuukan no chigai, seikatsu shuukan, shakai tsuunen, shikatsu mondai etc.). All of these claims had merely been excuses made to ignore the elephant in the room that more invidious racialized processes were involved.<\/p>\n

But in the Urawa \u201cJapanese Only\u201d Soccer Stadium Banner Case, the word jinshu sabetsu reappeared in the terms of debate, and we may in fact have witnessed a watershed moment in Japan\u2019s race relations history. Yet it wouldn\u2019t have happened without the issue leaking outside of Japan, incurring gaiatsu (outside pressure), and a real threat to Japan\u2019s worldwide reputation as a \u201ccivilized\u201d society. A full explication follows:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12179<\/a><\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

Alright, that\u2019s all for this month. Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER APRIL 2, 2014 ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Table of Contents:
\n1) My latest Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column 74, Apr 3, 2014: \u201cKnowing your rights can protect against fake cops\u201d, updating the NJ Spot ID Checkpoints issue
\n2) Neo-Nazis march in Tokyo Edogawa-ku March 23, 2014, bearing swastika flags! Here\u2019s how counter-demos could sharpen their anti-racism message
\n3) JT: Motley crew of foreigners backing Japan\u2019s revisionists basks in media glare
\n4) Briefly interviewed by BBC Radio program \u201cBBC Trending\u201d: \u201cScrubbing anti-foreigner scribbling from Tokyo\u2019s Streets\u201d, March 16, 2014<\/p>\n

CLOSURE
\n5) Suraj Case: Tokyo District Court finds \u201cillegal\u201d excessive force, orders GOJ restitution to family of NJ killed during deportation (contrast with UK case)
\n6) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Col 73, \u201cJ.League and Media Must Show Red Card to Racism\u201d on Saitama Stadium \u201cJapanese Only\u201d Urawa Reds soccer fans, Mar 13, 2014<\/p>\n

\u2026and finally\u2026
\n7) Urawa \u201cJapanese Only\u201d Soccer Banner Case: Conclusions and Lessons I learned from it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12243\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}