{"id":12580,"date":"2014-08-14T10:03:03","date_gmt":"2014-08-14T20:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12580"},"modified":"2014-08-17T10:03:23","modified_gmt":"2014-08-17T20:03:23","slug":"debito-org-newsletter-august-14-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12580","title":{"rendered":"DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER AUGUST 14, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

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DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER AUGUST 14, 2014<\/strong>
\n Table of Contents:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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THE SEISMIC SHOCK OF 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) In a stunning decision, Japan\u2019s Supreme Court overturns Fukuoka High Court, rules that NJ Permanent Residents (etc.) not automatically eligible for social welfare benefits<\/strong>
\n 2) JT: Colin Jones on NJ rights after the Supreme Court welfare verdict of July 2014: None but what MOJ bureaucrats grant you<\/strong><\/p>\n

OTHER WEIRDNESS AND DENIALISM<\/strong><\/p>\n

3) SITYS: JT publishes lawyer\u2019s analysis of J-cops\u2019 arbitrary \u201cstop and frisk\u201d procedures. It\u2019s now actually worse for NJ than Debito.org has reported before (correctly)<\/strong>
\n 4) Unsuccessful protest against instatement of NJ CEO at Takeda Pharma: Note weird narratives of exclusionism<\/strong>
\n 5) Japanese hotel and restaurant bars all Non-Japanese \u2014 in Bangalore, India! And it\u2019s shut down by the local Indian govt. within days<\/strong>
\n 6) BLOG BIZ: Debito.org\u2019s Google Page Rank drops from 4 to Zero overnight. Unsure why<\/strong><\/p>\n

NICE TRIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

7) JT: Japan needs to get tough on hate speech: U.N. experts and columnist Eric Johnston; why I doubt that will happen<\/strong>
\n 8 ) AFP: \u201cTarento Rola changing DNA of Japanese pop culture\u201d. I wish her well, but the hyperbolic hype is not warranted<\/strong>
\n 9) JDriver on J Driver License renewals and questionable legality of residency\/Gaijin Card checks to ferret out \u201cillegal overstayers\u201d<\/strong>
\n 10) Asahi\u2019s AERA Mag July 14, 2014: Special on NJ in J globalized companies, says \u201cOffices without NJ will not succeed\u201d. Yet again panders to stereotypes<\/strong>
\n 11) Yomiuri: TV shows to get foreign-language subtitles by 2020 for \u201cforeign visitors\u201d to Tokyo Olympics. Nice, but how about for NJ residents now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2026 and finally\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

12) Japan Times JBC 77 July 3, 2014,\u201dComplexes continue to color Japan\u2019s ambivalent ties to the outside world\u201d, modified version with links to sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nBy Dr. ARUDOU, Debito (debito@debito.org, www.debito.org, twitter @arudoudebito)
\nFreely forwardable
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THE SEISMIC SHOCK OF 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) In a stunning decision, Japan\u2019s Supreme Court overturns Fukuoka High Court, rules that NJ Permanent Residents (etc.) not automatically eligible for social welfare benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n

In an event sure to make my year-end top ten most important human rights issues of 2014, Japan\u2019s highest court just overturned the Fukuoka High Court\u2019s 2011 decision, ruling that an octogenarian granny who, despite being born in Japan, living her life here as a Zainichi Special Permanent Resident, and contributing to Japan\u2019s social welfare systems, has no right to the benefits of her contributions because she\u2019s foreign (i.e., not \u201ckokumin\u201d). More comment after the articles:<\/p>\n

JT: The Supreme Court ruled Friday that foreigners with permanent residency status are ineligible for welfare benefits, overturning a decision by the Fukuoka High Court that had acknowledged their eligibility under the public assistance law. The decision by the top court\u2019s Second Petit Bench concerned a lawsuit filed by an 82-year-old Chinese woman with permanent residency who was born and grew up in Japan. The woman applied for welfare benefits with the Oita municipal office in Oita Prefecture in December 2008 but was denied the benefits on the grounds she had some savings. The woman then filed a suit demanding that the city\u2019s decision be repealed. She is now receiving the benefits because the municipality accepted her welfare application in October 2011. While the recipients of welfare benefits are limited to Japanese nationals by law, the government issued a notice in 1954 saying foreigners should be treated in accordance with the public assistance law. Since the government limited recipients to Japanese nationals and foreigners with permanent residency in 1990, municipalities have exercised their discretion in doling out the benefits. In October 2010, the Oita District Court rejected the plaintiff\u2019s suit, saying that denying the public assistance law to foreigners was within the discretion of a municipal government. In November 2011, however, the Fukuoka High Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, saying that foreigners with permanent residency have been protected under the public assistance law.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: And now the pendulum has swung again, with a great big Bronx Cheer for all NJ in Japan. More information on what has appeared on Debito.org over the years in this blog entry.<\/p>\n

My final thought on this for now is how the online commenters (who consistently blame NJ for anything bad that happens to them) spin this one against the plaintiff? It\u2019s a challenge: She\u2019s an 82-year-old granny Zainichi living her entire life in Japan trying to get her tax benefits back, for heaven\u2019s sake. Still, the reflexes are kicking in. We\u2019ve already had one person commenting at the Japan Times about how this ruling was a means to deal with \u201cillegal immigrants\u201d somehow (the JT immediately spotted this as trolling and deleted it; wish they would be more proactive with my columns as trolls keep derailing any meaningful debate). Any more gems out there, go ahead and quote them in the Comments section below. A ruling this egregiously anti-NJ becomes an interesting psychological experiment to see how far the self-hating gaijin will go to deny they have any rights to anything whatsoever in Japan.<\/p>\n

UPDATE JULY 25, 2014: This very blog entry gets cited in the South China Morning Post.<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12530<\/a><\/p>\n

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2) JT: Colin Jones on NJ rights after the Supreme Court welfare verdict of July 2014: None but what MOJ bureaucrats grant you<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jones in the JT: This newspaper\u2019s well-intentioned July 27 editorial declaring that the social safety net should be for all taxpayers is perfectly understandable \u2014 particularly given that the petitioner was an elderly Chinese who was born and spent her whole life here. Unfortunately, it is a mistake to equate feeding the maw of whatever tax-fueled Leviathan nation state you happen to live in with being entitled to anything from it in return. This is particularly true in Japan, where by law it is generally more important that one of your parents be Japanese than where you were born, raised or paid taxes. After all, being a dutiful taxpayer alone won\u2019t get your visa renewed or keep you from getting kicked out of the country; why should it get you a welfare payment either?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thus, if you live here on a foreign passport, you might want to snuggle up in a comfy chair and read through the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, since for most purposes, that is your constitution. Having its roots in an Occupation-era decree modeled after U.S. immigration laws then in effect (missing some important features, as will be discussed later), the ICRRA did not become a \u201claw\u201d until 1982, when it was amended in connection with Japan\u2019s accession to the U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. I say it is your constitution because in 1978, the Supreme Court acknowledged that most constitutional protections did extend to foreigners, but only within the framework of the immigration laws and regulations, including the broad administrative discretion granted by these to Ministry of Justice officials.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: What I\u2019d like to have clarified is Colin\u2019s point about whether or not people (particularly non-citizen permanent residents) who pay taxes really have no rights to expect the benefits from The State. Let me ask Debito.org Readers to assist me in doing a little research. Let\u2019s find some law journals and other academic research written by specialists that give comparative rights for non-citizen residents in an international light. Here are two research questions:<\/p>\n

1) Are non-citizen residents (particularly permanent residents, as taxpayers) entitled to the same social welfare benefits (e.g., unemployment, child support, and other safety-net measures designed to rescue citizens from destitution) in other developed countries? (Let\u2019s say the G8, or widen it out to the OECD if necessary.)<\/p>\n

2) Do guarantees of civil and human rights guaranteed in the national constitutions of developed countries also apply to \u201call people\/residents\u201d, including non-citizens, or are they strictly reserved for citizens, as they apparently are in Japan?<\/p>\n

Note that we are not looking for absolute equality (that\u2019s impossible, otherwise there would be no benefit to citizenship). But simply put: Do foreign residents receive the same guarantee against various social adversities elsewhere as a legally-enshrined human right, or not? Please send us some links to some articles in the comments section, with pertinent excerpts\/abstracts included.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12566<\/a><\/p>\n

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OTHER WEIRDNESS AND DENIALISM<\/strong><\/p>\n

3) SITYS: JT publishes lawyer\u2019s analysis of J-cops\u2019 arbitrary \u201cstop and frisk\u201d procedures. It\u2019s now actually worse for NJ than Debito.org has reported before (correctly)<\/strong><\/p>\n

DEBITO<\/strong>: Hokay, let\u2019s go over this issue one more time on Debito.org (the previous times from here): the ability of J-cops to racially profile and subject any \u201cforeigner\u201d to arbitrary Gaijin Card ID-checks. I offered advice about what to do about it (print and carry the actual laws around with you and have them enforced). Last time I talked about this (in my Japan Times column last April), I noted how laws had changed with the abolition of the Foreign Registry Law, but the ability for cops to arbitrarily stop NJ has actually continued unabated. In fact, it\u2019s expanded to bag searches and frisking, with or without your permission (because, after all, NJ might be carrying knives or drugs, not just expired visas). Well, as if doubting the years of research that went into this article (and affirmed by an Japanese Administrative Solicitor in our book HANDBOOK FOR NEWCOMERS, MIGRANTS, AND IMMIGRANTS), the JT put up a \u201cfeatured comment\u201d from some anonymous poster saying that my article was wrong and a source for misinformation:<\/p>\n

MM333<\/strong>: I\u2019m sorry, but the information in this article and on the website describing the powers of the police to stop foreigners and demand passports or residence cards for any reason \u2018whenever\u2019 is inaccurate. The law does not give the police in Japan arbitrary powers to conduct suspicionless questioning. […] There is no doubt that in practice police in every country may try to exceed their powers, but it is quite another thing to assert that the police actually have the right to do this. In may interest people to know that the laws imposed on the police in Japan with regards to questioning are actually more restrictive as compared with the US (ie. Stop and Frisk) or the UK (ie. CJPOA Section 60). I would recommend that everyone read the law themselves and consult a Japanese attorney if they have questions about the law. I would also ask the Japan times to have this article reviewed by a Japanese attorney and corrections made where appropriate to avoid misinformation being spread.<\/em><\/p>\n

DEBITO<\/strong>: Eventually the JT DID consult a lawyer and ran the following article \u2014 where it\u2019s even worse than I argued: The lawyer is essentially suggesting that you had better cooperate with the police because the laws will not protect you \u2014 especially if you\u2019re in a \u201cforeigner zone\u201d of Tokyo like Roppongi.<\/p>\n

JT LAWYER ISHIZUKA<\/strong>: Legal precedents in these cases have tended to stress the importance of balancing the public\u2019s right to privacy with the necessity and urgency of the specific investigation and the public interest in preventing the crime the individual stopped by the police was suspected of being involved in. […] Regarding the profiling, considering it was in Roppongi, which has a bit of a reputation for crime involving foreigners, the police officials could probably come up with a number of explanations for why they stopped [a NJ named P], such as a suspicion that he was carrying or selling drugs. It is unlikely that any judge would rule that this was a case of profiling and that the questioning was illegal. As for the frisking, it was legal for the officers to pat P down over his clothes and bag, even without his consent. However, it would be illegal if an officer searched inside P\u2019s pockets or clothing without consent or intentionally touched his genital area, even over his clothes. […]<\/p>\n

So, in conclusion, what can you do if you are approached and questioned by police officers? Cooperating may be the smartest option and the fastest way to get the whole ordeal over as quickly as possible, but if you don\u2019t feel like being cooperative, you can try asking the police officers what crime they are investigating and attempt to explain that you are not doing anything illegal, clearly express the will to leave and then do just that. Don\u2019t touch the police officers, don\u2019t run and don\u2019t stop walking \u2014 and don\u2019t forget to turn on the recorder on your smartphone in front of the officers, thus making it clear that you have evidence of any untoward behavior. You cannot be forced to turn the recorder off, no matter what the police officers yell at you. Best of luck!<\/p>\n

DEBITO AGAIN<\/strong>: You know there\u2019s something seriously wrong with a system when legally all you have is luck (and a cell phone recorder) to protect you from official arbitrary questioning, search, seizure, and racial profiling by Japanese cops. Even a lawyer says so. So that\u2019s definitive, right? Now, then, JT, what misinformation was being spread here by my previous article? How about trusting people who give their actual names, and have legal experience and a verified research record (several times before in past JT articles)? And how about deleting that misinformative \u201cfeatured comment\u201d to my column? SITYS.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12536<\/a><\/p>\n

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4) Unsuccessful protest against instatement of NJ CEO at Takeda Pharma: Note weird narratives of exclusionism<\/strong><\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s largest drug maker, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., last month tapped a NJ (a Frenchman by the name of Cristophe Weber) to be its next CEO. This occasioned protests by the founding Takeda family and dissident shareholders, because hiring a NJ to be its leader would allegedly be abhorrent.<\/p>\n

Relativism first: We\u2019ve of course had protests and government interventions in other countries when foreigners buy up a strategically-important company. (Let me date myself: I remember the Westland helicopters scandal when I was living in England back in the 1980s!) So business xenophobia is not unique to Japan, of course.<\/p>\n

But check out the narratives of justification for the exclusionism being proffered with straight faces:<\/p>\n

A NJ CEO of a Japanese company would be \u201cbad for the morale of Japanese employees\u201d. (Why?)
\nA NJ CEO would necessarily result in \u201ctechnological transfer overseas\u201d (i.e., NJ are untrustworthy).
\nThis would mean \u201cfinances or research and development would be entrusted to NJ\u201d (Would it? This is an unaccountable dictatorship? This is not an issue of NJ-dom: Remember the corruption of the Olympus case, and they were all Japanese at the helm \u2014 until a NJ became the whistleblower.)
\nA NJ CEO is tantamount to a hostile \u201ctakeover by foreign capital\u201d (again, those trust issues).
\nThis particular NJ is unknowledgable of Japan\u2019s health care industry of the \u201ctraditions and corporate culture\u201d of Takeda (i.e., NJ are ignorant about Japan and Japan\u2019s permutations of industry).<\/p>\n

Imagine those arguments being made if a Japanese helmed an overseas company (we already had a Japanese in 2009 placed at the helm of, for example, the Japan Society in New York \u2014 an organization founded in 1907 by powerful Americans to explore Japanese society). Accusations of racism would probably fly. But in Japan, not so much. These knee-jerk exclusionary discourses are that hegemonic.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the exclusionists (who only hold 1-2% of total shares, so they\u2019re basically soukaiya) did not win out, and Weber became CEO. Nyah. Some referential articles about the Takeda Pharma Case follow.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12499<\/a><\/p>\n

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5) Japanese hotel and restaurant bars all Non-Japanese \u2014 in Bangalore, India! And it\u2019s shut down by the local Indian govt. within days<\/strong><\/p>\n

This case you might have heard about already, but in terms that Debito.org has talked about for decades, there are no surprises here: A \u201cJapanese Only\u201d Japanese restaurant has been discovered turning away \u201cforeigners\u201d in a foreign land \u2014 India. Well, turning away all \u201cnon-Japanese\u201d. Because, you see, \u201cJapanese\u201d is not a function of nationality. It\u2019s a function of racialized tribalism.<\/p>\n

In other words, no matter where you are in the world, under Japanese binary sensibilities, there are two types of people: Japanese and NJ \u2014 not Japanese and \u201cforeigners\u201d. Overseas, Japanese technically become foreigners. But not in exported Japanese contexts such as Japanese restaurants. So again, Japanese society\u2019s exclusionary view of the world anytime, anywhere, becomes perfectly understandable when looked at through this binary rubric.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, not all societies let this sort of racism pass without comment or sanction. And India, despite being saddled with a horrible caste system, is no exception. Within weeks after exposure, it was partially shut down after notice from the Greater Bangalore City Corporation on explicit charges of racial discrimination \u2014 something Japan simply cannot do. Articles follow.<\/p>\n

Bangalore Mirror: Unabashedly racist, Uno-In Hotel bars all other nationals; ironically, its head and staff are Indians. The hotel makes no bones about it. Its website categorically states: Located in Bangalore, we are a hotel exclusively for Japanese. Situated on Langford Cross Road in Shanthinagar, Hotel Uno-In, which also houses a Japanese rooftop restaurant called Teppen, has a policy of not allowing access to Indians, or for that matter, any other non-Japanese nationals. […] Based on an incident that happened a few months back, these reporters visited the hotel with a colleague and got a first-hand taste of the discriminatory attitude. The moment they stepped foot into the lobby and expressed a desire to have lunch at the hotel\u2019s rooftop restaurant Teppen, they were told \u2018Indians\u2019 were not allowed. Below is a transcript of the recorded conversation that took place with Nic U Iqbal, MD and CEO of Nippon Infrastructure which runs the hotel\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mail Online India: A \u2018Japanese only\u2019 hotel, which allegedly did not entertain Indians and other foreign nationals in its restaurant, has been closed down by the Greater Bangalore City Corporation (GBCC) on charges of racial discrimination.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12484<\/a><\/p>\n

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6) BLOG BIZ: Debito.org\u2019s Google Page Rank drops from 4 to Zero overnight. Unsure why<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debito.org Reader: Debito, I could be in error, but it looks like your Google page rank has been reduced from 4 to 0. I would talk to someone who knows about this stuff and ask them what\u2019s up. If I am correct, you should regard that as a serious issue. It\u2019s a mystery to me: I use a Safari on my mac. There\u2019s a plug-in that gives you page rank, so I always see it when I visit a site: http:\/\/any-tech.ws\/page-rank\/<\/em><\/p>\n

I think yours has always been 4 or 5. Perhaps 5, which is *really* good for a site like yours. I don\u2019t recall ever seeing another site\u2019s ranking just suddenly disappear. It could just be a glitch. But I doubled checked this \u2014 and your page rank is not showing up anywhere:<\/em> http:\/\/checkpagerank.net\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n

(Screen capture of Google Page Rank according to the above link as of July 5, 2014: still zero)<\/p>\n

My best suggestion would be to check Google\u2019s webmasters toolkit. If you don\u2019t have an account, I would create one, it\u2019s very helpful. Often they will tell you if there is a problem.<\/em><\/p>\n

[NB: I have done this. The Google web masters toolkit has indicated after a scan that there is nothing problematic about this site, and thus offer no avenue for query or appeal to Google.]<\/p>\n

Your page rank is an important factor in how well your site ranks in search engines. It\u2019s not the *only* factor \u2014 but it\u2019s the one most closely related to your web authority. If this *just* happened \u2014 you might not notice an immediate impact, but over time the traffic you receive from Google would begin to decline.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you are the *only* person with a webpage about a particular topic, you\u2019ll continue to rank in Google\u2019s search engine. If you and 100 other sites are taking on the same topic, you\u2019ll fall to the bottom of the list. You have a massive archive, so on many topics, *only* you have a page \u2014 you\u2019ll get traffic on those pages. But on competitive topics, your traffic will fall off. Does that make sense? Unless this is all a weird glitch. In which case maybe nothing will happen. You could just monitor it for a while \u2026 Sincerely, a Debito.org Reader<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12492<\/a><\/p>\n

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NICE TRIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

7) JT: Japan needs to get tough on hate speech: U.N. experts and columnist Eric Johnston; why I doubt that will happen<\/strong><\/p>\n

JIJI: Japan came under pressure at a U.N. meeting Tuesday to do more to help stop hate speech that promotes discrimination by race or nationality. \u201cAccording to information we received, there have been more than 360 cases of racist demonstrations and speeches in 2013, mainly in Korean neighborhoods in Tokyo,\u201d Yuval Shany from Israel, one of the experts at the U.N. Human Rights Committee, said at the meeting in Geneva. Shany asked Japan whether it is considering adopting legislation to address hate and racist speech. Existing laws in Japan do not allow police to intervene to stop hate speech demonstrations, Shany said at the meeting held to review the civil and political rights situation in Japan. \u201cIt seems almost nothing has been done by the government to react to Japanese-only signs which have been posted in a number of places,\u201d Shany said.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kyodo: The Osaka High Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling that branded as \u201cdiscriminatory\u201d demonstrations staged near a pro-Pyongyang Korean school by anti-Korean activists who used hate-speech slogans. A three-judge high court panel turned down an appeal by the Zaitokukai group against the Kyoto District Court decision ordering that it pay about \u00a512 million in damages to the school operator, Kyoto Chosen Gakuen. The order also banned the group from staging demonstrations near the school in Minami Ward, Kyoto.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Johnston: The good news is that, finally, more and more people in Osaka and the Kansai region are fighting back against the haters. Counter-demonstrations against Zaitokukai in particular are increasing. At the same time, there is a feeling among many here that, as Osaka and Korea have a deep ties, things will work themselves out. But that\u2019s the problem. What\u2019s needed now is not \u201chistorical perspective,\u201d \u201cunderstanding\u201d or \u201crespect,\u201d but legislation ensuring protection and punishment. This is precisely because perspective, understanding and respect alone will not stop hate speech \u2014 especially that directed at new groups or those who have not traditionally been as ostracized as ethnic minorities.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

AFP: A far-right Polish MEP outraged lawmakers gathered in the European Parliament on Wednesday by comparing the continent\u2019s unemployed youth to \u201cniggers\u201d in the U.S. South. […] Comparing job-seeking youth to black laborers in the American South during the 1960s, Korwin-Mikke said: \u201cFour millions humans lost jobs. Well, it was four million niggers. But now we have 20 millions Europeans who are the Negroes of Europe.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Grauniad: A former local election candidate for the far-right Front National (FN) in France has been sentenced to nine months in prison for comparing the country\u2019s justice minister, who is black, to an ape. […] On Tuesday, a court in Cayenne, French Guiana\u2019s capital, sentenced her to nine months in jail, banned her from standing for election for five years, and imposed a \u20ac50,000 (\u00a339,500) fine. French Guiana is an overseas d\u00e9partement of France and is inside the European Union. It also handed the FN a \u20ac30,000 fine, putting an end to a case brought by French Guiana\u2019s Walwari political party, founded by Taubira.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: So there is precedent, example, template, and international embarrassment. Will this result in a law in Japan against hate speech (ken\u2019o hatsugen)? I say again: not in the foreseeable future, sadly. As noted on Debito.org many times, we have had all four of these pressures in Japan for decades now (not to mention an international treaty signed in specific), yet we still can\u2019t get a law against racial discrimination (jinshu sabetsu) in Japan.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12526<\/a><\/p>\n

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8 ) AFP: \u201cTarento Rola changing DNA of Japanese pop culture\u201d. I wish her well, but the hyperbolic hype is not warranted<\/strong><\/p>\n

AFP: In celebrity-obsessed Japan with its conveyor belt of 15-minute stars, fashion model and \u201ctalent\u201d Rola is blazing a meteoric trail at the forefront of a galaxy of mixed-race stars changing the DNA of Japanese pop culture. Turn on the TV and there\u2019s no escaping the bubbly 24-year-old of Bengali, Japanese and Russian descent\u2014she even dominates the commercial breaks. A marketing gold mine, Rola smiles down celestially from giant billboards, her wide eyes and girlie pout grace magazine covers and she even greets you at vending machines. But Rola, who settled in Japan when she was nine, has done it by turning the entertainment industry on its head, her child-like bluntness slicing through the strict convention that governs Japanese society.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

JPN_GUY: The positive reaction to mixed-race models is certainly better than not wanting them on screen. It\u2019s \u201canti-racist\u201d and to be welcomed. To a certain extent, I guess it does show Japan is becoming more open and tolerant. But like most things, it\u2019s not that simple. For one thing, all these women are stunning beautiful. Everyone loves a good-looking girl. We knew that already! But not all mixed race people in Japan could, or even want to be, celebrities. Kids like mine just want normal lives. They might want to be a lawyer, a pilot, a shipbuilding engineer or a dental technician. As I said, the high visibility of mixed-race people in better than being vilified and ignored, for sure. But it\u2019s also a sign of fetishism, and a refusal to see mixed race people as just \u201cone of us\u201d. Celebrities are \u201cspecial\u201d by definition. Ironically, that\u2019s why visible minorities have less difficulty breaking into this field<\/em>.<\/p>\n

DEBITO<\/strong>: Of course, most \u201ctarento\u201d blaze and then fizzle without making any real impact, least of all \u201cchanging the DNA Japanese pop culture\u201d as this article and its pundits claim. Rola in particular does not seem to be consciously promoting any increase in social tolerance of \u201chaafu\u201d \u2014 she\u2019s just doing her thing, entertaining with a new (or actually, not all that new, but for now fresh-sounding) schtick as an ingenue. Of course. That\u2019s her role as an entertainer. This has been the role of so many other entertainers, including the Kents (Kent Derricott made his pile and returned to the US to buy his mansion on the hill in Utah for his family; Kent Gilbert did much the same and lives in Tokyo with a residence in Utah as well), Leah Dizon (remember her?, already divorced from the Japanese guy who made the baby bump the speed bump in her career; she\u2019s trying to make a comeback in Japan while based in Las Vegas), Bob Sapp, Chuck Wilson, and many, many more that I\u2019m sure Debito.org readers will recount in comments below.<\/p>\n

Sadly, none of these people have really made or will make a long-term impact on Japan\u2019s mediascape. The best long-seller remains Dave Spector, who is a very, very exceptional person in terms of persistence and media processing (not to mention stellar language ability), but even he makes little pretense about being anything more than an \u201cAmerican entertainer\u201d for hire. Other impactful persons I can think of are Peter Barakan and perhaps these people here. So it\u2019s not non-existent. But it\u2019s not powerful enough to permit \u201cDoubles\u201d to control their self-image in Japan, either.<\/p>\n

I wish Rola well. I hope she continues to make the media splash she\u2019s making. But the overhype can be fatal for many an entertainer when people eventually tire of her current incarnation. Even if Rola becomes \u201csuccessful\u201d by revamping her act to become more substantial, she\u2019ll just be as subsumed and co-oped as Miyazawa Rie or Becky is. Or as forgotten as Leah Dizon within a few years. Let\u2019s hope not, and let\u2019s hope that she becomes a long seller. But I doubt it. Because the ingenue trail she is blazing (or rather, is being blazed for her by her agents) of the \u201csexy-baby-voice tarento\u201d genre has never really allowed for that.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12520<\/a><\/p>\n

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9) JDriver on J Driver License renewals and questionable legality of residency\/Gaijin Card checks to ferret out \u201cillegal overstayers\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve discussed on Debito.org before the rigmarole of NJ drivers in Japan getting J Driver Licenses, being subjected to extra intrusive procedures that are of questionable legality. Well, a Debito.org Reader decided to do his civic duty and ask for some reasons why. And this is what he found out. Read on and feel free to contribute your own experiences.<\/p>\n

JDriver: As you might know, residents of foreign citizenship (\u5916\u56fd\u7c4d\u306e\u65b9 in the bureaucratic parlance) are required to show their residence cards or in other way demonstrate their status of residence when getting or renewing their drivers license. Obedient citizen as I am, of course I went along with it and presented it when asked, but I did make clear I would like to be clarified on the legal basis for such a request. I didn\u2019t expect that the person doing the registration would know something like this off the top of their head, but I was intended on talking to someone eventually who could point to this and that paragraph of this or that law that governs these circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\n

So after all the procedure was finished and I got my license, I went to the window I was told I\u2019d get my questions answered. The first person could only, after quite a while, produce the Immigration law article 23, which only says that you are in general required to present the passport or the residence card when the police and other authorities ask for it \u201cin the execution of their duties.\u201d So I asked for a specific law or ordinance that shows that in this concrete case it is indeed their duty to ask for the card. I got sent to her boss, who again only wasted my time with the same answer (Immigration law) and got irritated and dismissed me, but not before arranging for me to see the final boss of bosses, who should be able to answer my, I thought very simple, question i.e. what is the legal basis for what you\u2019re doing?<\/em><\/p>\n

Neither the last guy could legitimize the demand in legal terms, so we agreed that he will research it and call me later to let me know. He did call later the same day, only to tell me that after all, the legal basis would have to be in the Immigration law, because he couldn\u2019t find any other! He said it is all done to prevent the \u201cillegal overstayers\u201d from getting drivers license, as if that, or any other goal, would justify working outside of legal framework. I was flabbergasted that apparently no one in the whole Koto drivers center (\u6c5f\u6771\u8a66\u9a13\u5834) knew the legal basis of their actions\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12515<\/a><\/p>\n

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10) Asahi\u2019s AERA Mag July 14, 2014: Special on NJ in J globalized companies, says \u201cOffices without NJ will not succeed\u201d. Yet again panders to stereotypes<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the heels of our prior discussion about the Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.\u2019s \u201cscandal\u201d about having the audacity to put a NJ as CEO of the company (shock horror! Think of how much the company will be compromised!, was the narrative), here\u2019s a special issue by left-leaning AERA magazine of July 14, put out by the (left-and-right-leaning, depending on the editor) Asahi News Corp, on Japan\u2019s \u201cglobal companies\u201d. Its big headline is that offices that are not multinational in terms of staff \u201cwill not succeed\u201d. (Somebody tell that to Takeda Pharma\u2019s xenophobes!) [scan of magazine banner enclosed]<\/p>\n

You might think this is a forward-thinking move, but AERA also resorts to the same old media tropes about NJ. For example, it puns on the seminal TV show of more than a decade ago called \u201cKoko Ga Hen Da Yo, Nihonjin\u201d with a bit on \u201cKoko Ga Hen Da Yo, Japanese workplaces\u201d. Not to appear dated, it also refers to Koko Ga Hen\u2019s current incarnation \u201cYOU Wa Nani Shi Ni NIhon E\u201d (What did YOU [sic] come to Japan to do?), with a poll of twenty (a scientifically-significant sample!! \/sarcasm) real-live NJ residents of Japan saying what they find unsatisfactory about Japan. There\u2019s also a discussion between two J pundits on immigration (yep; how about polling an immigrant?), a comparison between NJ transplant schools modeled on the Indian, Chinese, and Canadian education systems (why? dunno), and the coup de grace \u2014 the influential Oguri Saori manga \u201cDarling wa Gaikokujin\u201d being riffed on to talk about \u201cDarling wa Damenzu Gaikokujin\u201d.<\/p>\n

This is about J women marrying NJ \u201cWrong men\u201d (from a manga title, a polyglot word of Dame (J) and Mens (E?)) who are penniless, unfaithful, or violent (and in this case, according to AERA, from less-economically-developed countries, viz. the newly-coined word \u201ckakusa-kon\u201d, or economically-tiered marriages), because the NJ get a visa, and the women get the relief (iyashi) of having less to lose (financially or materially) after the breakup. Whaa\u2026.?<\/p>\n

Yep, even when we resort to the hackneyed stereotypical tropes (gotta love the swarthy smitten NJ in the illustration; clearly by the skin tone there\u2019s kakusa there), we still have to pander to prejudices by including some nasty ones.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more up there, so other comments? Mine is that even if J companies take things to heart and hire more NJ employees, I\u2019m worried that 1) like before, it\u2019ll only be on a \u201ccontingency\u201d basis (to take the NJ out for a test drive, meaning the hiring process is two-tiered and unequal, with less job security for the NJ), and 2) it\u2019ll just happen because it\u2019s \u201ctrendy\u201d. NJ have been hired as \u201cpet gaijin\u201d (as was common practice during the \u201cBubble Years\u201d; I know) to show off how \u201cinternational\u201d the company has become, without ever allowing NJ employees to play any real part in the company\u2019s future. Just plonking NJ in your office doesn\u2019t necessarily mean much (until NJ become, for example, managers). And when they do, the Takeda-styled soukaiya mentioned last blog entry will no doubt protest it anyway (if not fire you for doing the right thing about J-boss corruption, a la Olympus).<\/p>\n

Sorry to rain on what may be a positive trend (I\u2019d much rather have them acknowledge that J companies cannot remain insular than not, of course), but I\u2019m not sure AERA is encouraging real non-insularity. Especially when even they can\u2019t keep the discussion serious and refrain from painting NJ with negative stereotypes.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12503<\/a><\/p>\n

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11) Yomiuri: TV shows to get foreign-language subtitles by 2020 for \u201cforeign visitors\u201d to Tokyo Olympics. Nice, but how about for NJ residents now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

KM: Hi Debito! Here\u2019s another indication that the government cares more about short-term visitors than about the foreigners who actually live here:<\/em><\/p>\n

Yomiuri: The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will develop a system to show Japanese TV programs with subtitles in foreign languages, including English and Chinese, to provide a more comfortable viewing experience for foreign visitors, according to sources. In response to the increasing number of visitors from overseas, the envisaged system will be launched by 2020, the year in which the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be held, the sources said. Behind the ministry\u2019s decision were requests from foreign visitors for more foreign-language subtitles for domestic TV programs. The envisaged system will be offered for news programs related to visitors\u2019 safety and security during their stay, as well as variety shows.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

KM: I have a few thoughts about this:<\/em><\/p>\n

1) It probably would be nice to have more programing with English subtitles (and subtitles in other languages) but I\u2019m a bit surprised that such a huge adjustment to daily programing in Japan would be made on behalf of those visiting short-term for the olympics. Of course, it would be open to anyone but the article (and a similar article in Japanese) makes it sound like the olympics and the comments of short-term visitors are primary motivations for the change.<\/em><\/p>\n

2) The article says that Japanese content will be \u201cautomatically translated by a system to produce the foreign-language subtitles.\u201d Such subtitles might be intelligible for things like a weather forecast, but I can\u2019t imagine them being of much use (except as something to laugh at \u2014 because of their poor quality) with variety programs.<\/em><\/p>\n

3) Instead of making a major adjustment like this to satisfy the whims of short-term visitors, perhaps the money to make this change could be spent to improve the quality of disaster information and disaster warning systems for people who actually live here.<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12539<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2026 and finally\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

12) Japan Times JBC 77 July 3, 2014,\u201dComplexes continue to color Japan\u2019s ambivalent ties to the outside world\u201d, modified version with links to sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opening paragraphs: Hang around Japan long enough and you\u2019re bound to hear the refrain that the Japanese have an inferiority complex (rett\u014dkan) towards \u201cWesterners\u201d (\u014dbeijin).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll hear, for example, that Japanese feel a sense of akogare (adoration) towards them, wishing Japanese too had longer legs, deeper noses, lighter and rounder eyes, lighter skin, etc. You\u2019ll see this reflected in Japan\u2019s advertising angles, beauty and whitening products, and cosmetic surgery.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This can be quite ingratiating and disarming to the (white) foreigners being flattered, who have doubtless heard complementary refrains in Western media about how the short, humble, stoic Japanese are so shy, self-deprecating and appreciative.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But people don\u2019t seem to realize that inferiority complexes have a dark side: They justify all kinds of crazy beliefs and behavior\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12487<\/a><\/p>\n

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That\u2019s all for this month. But the next Newsletter will no doubt be a bit briefer, as my next JT out in only a couple of weeks. Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n

Dr. ARUDOU, Debito
\nDEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER AUGUST 14, 2014 ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Table of Contents:
\nTHE SEISMIC SHOCK OF 2014
\n1) In a stunning decision, Japan\u2019s Supreme Court overturns Fukuoka High Court, rules that NJ Permanent Residents (etc.) not automatically eligible for social welfare benefits
\n2) JT: Colin Jones on NJ rights after the Supreme Court welfare verdict of July 2014: None but what MOJ bureaucrats grant you<\/p>\n

OTHER WEIRDNESS AND DENIALISM
\n3) SITYS: JT publishes lawyer\u2019s analysis of J-cops\u2019 arbitrary \u201cstop and frisk\u201d procedures. It\u2019s now actually worse for NJ than Debito.org has reported before (correctly)
\n4) Unsuccessful protest against instatement of NJ CEO at Takeda Pharma: Note weird narratives of exclusionism
\n5) Japanese hotel and restaurant bars all Non-Japanese \u2014 in Bangalore, India! And it\u2019s shut down by the local Indian govt. within days
\n6) BLOG BIZ: Debito.org\u2019s Google Page Rank drops from 4 to Zero overnight. Unsure why<\/p>\n

NICE TRIES
\n7) JT: Japan needs to get tough on hate speech: U.N. experts and columnist Eric Johnston; why I doubt that will happen
\n8 ) AFP: \u201cTarento Rola changing DNA of Japanese pop culture\u201d. I wish her well, but the hyperbolic hype is not warranted
\n9) JDriver on J Driver License renewals and questionable legality of residency\/Gaijin Card checks to ferret out \u201cillegal overstayers\u201d
\n10) Asahi\u2019s AERA Mag July 14, 2014: Special on NJ in J globalized companies, says \u201cOffices without NJ will not succeed\u201d. Yet again panders to stereotypes
\n11) Yomiuri: TV shows to get foreign-language subtitles by 2020 for \u201cforeign visitors\u201d to Tokyo Olympics. Nice, but how about for NJ residents now?<\/p>\n

\u2026 and finally\u2026
\n12) Japan Times JBC 77 July 3, 2014,\u201dComplexes continue to color Japan\u2019s ambivalent ties to the outside world\u201d, modified version with links to sources<\/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-12580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12580","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=12580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}