{"id":12582,"date":"2014-07-03T14:03:45","date_gmt":"2014-07-04T00:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12582"},"modified":"2014-08-13T14:04:18","modified_gmt":"2014-08-14T00:04:18","slug":"debito-org-newsletter-july-3-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12582","title":{"rendered":"DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER JULY 3, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>eBooks, Books, and more from ARUDOU, Debito (click on icon):<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11452\" title=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Guidebookcover.jpg\" alt=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/japaneseonlyebookcovertext-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"japaneseonlyebookcovertext\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1298\" title=\"Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" alt=\"Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants, and Immigrants to Japan\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/inappropriate.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8577\" title=\"inappropriatecoverthumb150x226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/inappropriatecoverthumb150x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html#japanese\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1700\" title=\"jobookcover\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/jobookcover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinemabstruso.de\/strawberries\/main.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2735\" title=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/sourstrawberriesavatar.jpg\" alt=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?cat=32\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4921\" title=\"debitopodcastthumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/debitopodcastthumb.jpg\" alt=\"debitopodcastthumb\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12473\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-12474\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FodorsJapan2014cover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"FodorsJapan2014cover\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nUPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito<br \/>\nDEBITO.ORG PODCASTS on iTunes, subscribe free<br \/>\n&#8220;LIKE&#8221; US on Facebook at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate<\/a><br \/>\nIf you like what you read and discuss on Debito.org, please consider helping us stop hackers and defray maintenance costs with a little donation via my webhoster:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/donate.cgi?id=17701\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.newdream.net\/donate4.gif\" alt=\"Donate towards my web hosting bill!\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>All donations go towards website costs only. Thanks for your support!<\/i><\/p>\n<p><strong>DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER JULY 3, 2014<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><em> Table of Contents<\/em>:<\/strong><br \/>\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>FOREVER UNDER THE RADAR:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1) Japan\u2019s population tally in media still excludes NJ residents; plus J political misogyny and appeals to gaiatsu<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> 2) Reuters Special Report on Japan\u2019s \u201cTrainee System\u201d as \u201cSweatshops in Disguise\u201d: Foreign interns pay the price for Japan\u2019s labor shortage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ON THE RADAR AND INFLUENCING PUBLIC OPINION:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>3) World Cup 2014: Held in Brazil, but causes tightened police security in Tokyo due to alleged possibility of \u201cvandalism\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> 4) J-Govt. \u201cWe are Tomodachi\u201d Newsletter Vol. 4 , June 2014 offers fascinating insights into PM Abe Admin mindsets<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> 5) MLB J-baseball player Kawasaki Munenori doing his best to speak English to North American media. Debito.org approves.<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> 6) Fodor\u2019s Travel Guide on Japan 2014 features two chapters on Hokkaido and Tohoku written by Debito<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u2026 and finally\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>7) My Japan Times JBC column 76: \u201cHumanize the dry debate about immigration\u201d, June 5, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p>By Dr. ARUDOU, Debito (debito@debito.org, www.debito.org, twitter @arudoudebito)<br \/>\nFreely Forwardable<\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>FOREVER UNDER THE RADAR:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1) Japan\u2019s population tally in media still excludes NJ residents; plus J political misogyny and appeals to gaiatsu<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Debito.org Reader JK offers the following links and commentary about two important subjects: 1) The unwillingness of Japan\u2019s media to count NJ as \u201cresidents\u201d in official population tallies (despite NJ inclusion on the juumin kihon daichou Resident Registry since 2012), and 2) the widespread misogyny in Japan\u2019s policymaking arenas that has no recourse but to appeal to pressure from the outside world (gaiatsu) for assistance (as NJ minorities clearly also must do).<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to the first point in particular: Before we even touch upon the lousy demographic science, how insulting for NJ once again to simply \u201cnot count\u201d as part of Japan\u2019s population. Some J-articles have minced words by qualifying the ethnically-cleansed statistic as \u201cthe population of Japanese people\u201d (nihonjin no jinkou). But others (see the Nikkei below) simply render it as \u201cJapan\u2019s population\u201d (nihon no jinkou). When they eventually get around to mentioning that NJ are also here, they render them as \u201cnihon ni taizai suru gaikokujin\u201d (NJ \u201cstaying\u201d in Japan, as opposed to zaijuu \u201cresiding\u201d). How immensely arrogant and unappreciative of all that NJ residents do for Japan!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yomiuri<\/strong>: <strong><em>Japan\u2019s population on Jan. 1 of this year was down 0.19 percent from a year before at 126,434,964, falling for the fifth straight year, the internal affairs ministry said Wednesday. The figure was calculated based on Japan\u2019s resident registry network system and does not include foreign residents.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mainichi<\/strong>: <strong><em>A Tokyo metropolitan assemblywoman [Shiomura Ayaka], who was subjected to sexist jeers during a recent assembly meeting, stressed that the heckling came from more than one person as she spoke at a news conference for the foreign media. [&#8230;] The Tokyo metropolitan assembly voted down on Wednesday a resolution that called for identifying assembly members who heckled an assemblywoman last week with sexist remarks, with disapproval by the Liberal Democratic Party delegation, the biggest group in the assembly.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>JK comments: <em>The quote I\u2019d like to focus on is this: \u201cThe incident has caused deep embarrassment to Japan which is preparing to host the Olympics.\u201d Soo\u2026. seeing as how the political option got voted down twice, it looks to me like the only option Shiomura has to effect change in the gikai is via pulling the shame lever in form of a Kisha Club press conference. My take is that this move is intended to generate attention with gaiatsu as a real and possible side effect. Assuming this is case, can your conclusion to the Urawa \u201cJapanese Only\u201d Soccer Banner Case (i.e. Gaiatsu is basically the only way to make progress against racial discrimination in Japan) be generalized to include political misogyny as well?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12482\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12482<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>2) Reuters Special Report on Japan\u2019s \u201cTrainee System\u201d as \u201cSweatshops in Disguise\u201d: Foreign interns pay the price for Japan\u2019s labor shortage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>REUTERS<\/strong>: <strong><em>The most recent government data show there are about 155,000 technical interns in Japan. Nearly 70 percent are from China, where some labor recruiters require payment of bonds worth thousands of dollars to work in Japan. Interns toil in apparel and food factories, on farms and in metal-working shops. In these workplaces, labor abuse is endemic: A 2012 investigation by Japanese labor inspectors found 79 percent of companies that employed interns were violating labor laws. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said it would use strict measures, including prosecution, toward groups that repeatedly violated the laws or failed to follow its guidance in their treatment of technical interns.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Critics say foreign interns have become an exploited source of cheap labor in a country where, despite having the world\u2019s most rapidly ageing population, discussion of increased immigration is taboo. The U.S. State Department, in its 2013 Trafficking in Persons report, criticized the program\u2019s use of \u201cextortionate contracts\u201d, restrictions on interns\u2019 movements, and the imposition of heavy fees if workers leave. [&#8230;]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Not long after [Trainees Lu, Qian and Jiang&#8217;s] arrival, the [Burberry outsourcing] apparel association took the women\u2019s passports and passed them to Kameda in violation of Japanese law protecting interns\u2019 freedom of movement, according to the lawsuit. An Ishikawa Apparel Association spokeswoman, who declined to give her name, said the group does not conduct inappropriate supervision and training, but declined further comment citing the lawsuit.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>At the factory, Lu, Qian and Jiang\u2019s overtime stretched to more than 100 hours a month, the lawsuit says. A timesheet prepared with data supplied by Kameda to the Japanese labor standards bureau shows Lu logged an average of 208 hours a month doing overtime and \u201chomework\u201d during her second year in Japan. That is equivalent to almost 16 hours a day, six days a week. Japanese labor policy considers 80 hours of overtime a month the \u201cdeath by overwork\u201d threshold.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>For this, Lu earned about 400 yen, about $4, an hour at Kameda, the timesheet shows. The local minimum wage at the time was 691 yen an hour, and Japanese law requires a premium of as much as 50 percent of the base wage for overtime. [&#8230;]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Japan faces a worsening labor shortage, not only in family-run farms and factories such as Kameda but in construction and service industries. It is a major reason that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe\u2019s administration is planning a further expansion of the trainee program.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12470\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12470<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>ON THE RADAR AND INFLUENCING PUBLIC OPINION:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>3) World Cup 2014: Held in Brazil, but causes tightened police security in Tokyo due to alleged possibility of \u201cvandalism\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>JT: <strong><em>Tokyo police will deploy about 800 officers in the Shibuya area Sunday to control crowds and reduce jams, noise and possible vandalism as Japan faces Cote d\u2019Ivoire in the opening round of soccer\u2019s World Cup. \u201cWe expect considerable congestion with soccer fans, shoppers and tourists,\u201d a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department said Wednesday. \u201cWe will take necessary security measures to ensure a smooth traffic flow, control the congestion and prevent trouble.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>COMMENT<\/strong>: Sooo\u2026. once again we see the bad precedents established by bringing any major international event to Japan. I\u2019ve written before on the bad precedents set by, for example, the G8 Summits (where foreigners anywhere in Japan, even hundreds of miles away in Hokkaido!, are cause for NPA crackdowns in the capital). And also the same with the 2002 World Cup, where the media was whipped into a frenzy over the possible prospect of \u201chooligans\u201d laying waste to Japan and siring unwanted babies from rapes. (seriously). This time, in 2014, the games are thousands of miles away in Brazil. But the NPA has still gotta crack down! The paranoia, bunker mentalities, even outright falsification of data in order to justify a more-policed Japan are reaching ever more ludicrous degrees.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12460\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12460<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>4) J-Govt. \u201cWe are Tomodachi\u201d Newsletter Vol. 4 , June 2014 offers fascinating insights into PM Abe Admin mindsets<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Any good organization wanting public approval (or in this case, approval from its geopolitical \u201cfriends\u201d) does outreach. And this very professional online magazine issued yesterday from the Abe Administration, called \u201cWe are Tomodachi\u201d, is worth an introduction to Debito.org Readers. It offers fascinating insights into what the PM Abe Administration is thinking (or trying to convince you it is thinking \u2014 something few branches of Japan\u2019s governmental organs do in any convincing detail even for its citizens). As The Economist (London) recently noted, Abe is \u201cJapan\u2019s most purposeful prime minister for many years\u201d, and herein many of Abe\u2019s purposes are clearly argued in well-proofed English, albeit in all their stiff transparency. Here\u2019s the Table of Contents: [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p>Part travel guide, part geopolitical gaijin handling, part cultural screed (cue those shakuhachis!), \u201cWe Are Tomodachi\u201d magazine is a great read to deconstruct how the Abe Administration is trying to march the Post-Bubble discourse on Japan back into the first-generation Postwar discourse. Ah, those were the days, when Japan\u2019s elites had near-total control over Japan\u2019s image in the world, and so few outsiders had any understanding (or or had experienced Japan in great depth) that they would ever be taken seriously by anyone who wasn\u2019t a \u201creal Japanese\u201d (moreover, the handful of NJ who did know something could be co-opted as anointed cultural emissaries; they\u2019re still trying to do it within this very magazine). No, since then millions of people have since experienced Japan beyond the GOJ boilerplate, have lived and invested their lives in Japan, and have learned the Japanese language. So the dialogue is not so easily controlled by the elites anymore. (PM Abe\u2019s Gaijin\u00a0Handlers: If you\u2019re dropping in on Debito.org again, Yokoso and enjoy our Omotenashi!)<\/p>\n<p>So, Gaijin Handlers, here\u2019s a lesson on what to avoid next time: What irritates people like us who know better is your cultivated mysticism in elite conversations about anything cultural in Japan. Consider this example of bogus social science (depicted as a \u201csecret\u201d) from page 72:<\/p>\n<p>=============================<br \/>\n<strong><em>\u201cThe Japanese have a reputation for being taciturn and hard to communicate with. Probably the most difficult part of Japanese communication for people from other countries is the way people here converse wordlessly. When people are standing silently at some natural attraction, they\u2019re using their five senses to feel nature and commune with it. So if you notice some quiet Japanese in such a spot, you might try joining them in their silence, taking in everything around you with all your senses: light, wind, sky, clouds, sounds, smells. Because even when nobody is talking, there is plenty of communication going on in Japan.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n=============================<\/p>\n<p>This is a juicy claim for deconstruction under a number of genres of social science. The biggest confusion you\u2019re going to cause in NJ tourists and newbies will come when they confront the amount of noise at many a tourist trap (especially from those trying to \u201cnigiyaka\u201d the place up with their megaphoned music), and wonder how they\u2019re supposed to use all their five senses like the mystical Japanese apparently do. Logically, this also means the purported J-silence around awkward conversations could be due to the inscrutably \u201cshy\u201d Japanese trying to take NJ in with all their five senses too (I wonder what happens when they get to \u201cSmell\u201d, \u201cTouch\u201d, or \u201cTaste\u201d?). What rubbishy analytical tools. And it\u2019s one reason why so many people (Japanese and NJ) go nuts in Japan, because they\u2019re constantly told one thing yet experience another.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12448\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12448<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>5) MLB J-baseball player Kawasaki Munenori doing his best to speak English to North American media. Debito.org approves.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While we\u2019re on the subject of sports, here\u2019s something that I found very positive: A Japanese baseball player for the Toronto Blue Jays named Kawasaki Munenori doing his darnedest to meet the domestic press (video here): I have written in the past about how certain other Japanese athletes overseas do it differently. In fact, my very first newspaper column (in the Asahi Evening News \u2014 remember when it was titled that?) way back in 1997 was a grumble (what else? I\u2019m Debito) on how J-baseball pioneer Nomo Hideo (remember him?) was skiving in terms of trying to connect with his adoptive community (article here).<\/p>\n<p>I will admit right now that I\u2019m no expert on sports, but from what I\u2019ve seen (and I\u2019m welcome to correction\/updates), many of Japan\u2019s athletes overseas don\u2019t bother to publicly learn the language, or connect all that much with their local community. Baseball superstar Ichiro is the immediate example that comes to mind, as AFAIK he assiduously avoids American media; some might justify it by saying he\u2019s all business (i.e., focused on the game) or trying to avoid gaffes. But I still think it comes off as pretty snobby, since these sportsmen\u2019s lives are being supported by fans, and they should give something back.<\/p>\n<p>If I had a hotline into their brain, I would tell them to go further \u2014 exhort them to countermand the dominant discourse that English is too hard for Japanese to learn well. And then I would exhort even further: J sportsmen in the big leagues get treated pretty well (especially salarywise \u2014 that\u2019s why they\u2019re no longer playing in Japan!), yet you never hear them speaking up about the shoe on the other foot, on behalf of the often lousy and discriminatory treatment many NJ sportsmen get treated in Japan (imagine if the United States put such stringent foreigner limits on their baseball team rosters, for example; contrast it with how many foreign players (more than a quarter of the total in 2012) MLB actually absorbs!)<\/p>\n<p>Again, sports isn\u2019t quite my field, and if you think I\u2019m being inaccurate or unduly harsh, speak up! People have in the past: Here\u2019s an archived discussion we had nearly twenty years ago about Nomo in specific; I daresay that despite all the trailblazing Nomo did, and the wave of Japanese baseball players going overseas to seek fame and fortune, little has changed in terms of giving back.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why Kawasaki is such a lovely exception, doing his level best to connect. His earnestness is very endearing. Debito.org gives two thumbs up! May more follow his example.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12323\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12323<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>6) Fodor\u2019s Travel Guide on Japan 2014 features two chapters on Hokkaido and Tohoku written by Debito<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here is my latest publication, expanded this time from one chapter to two:<br \/>\n<strong>FODOR\u2019S Japan 2014 Travel Guide<\/strong><br \/>\nTwo full chapters on tourism in Hokkaido and Tohoku<br \/>\nPp. 707-810. ISBN 978-0-8041-4185-7.<br \/>\nAvailable from Amazon.com (for example).<br \/>\nHere are some excerpts. Get a copy, or advise your touring friends to get a copy!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12473\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12473<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u2026 and finally\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>7) My Japan Times JBC column 76: \u201cHumanize the dry debate about immigration\u201d, June 5, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Opening: <strong><em>Japan\u2019s pundits are at it again: debating what to do about the sinking demographic ship. With the low birthrate, aging and shrinking society (we dropped below 127 million this year) and top-heavy social security system, Japan\u2019s structural problems will by many accounts spell national insolvency.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>However, we\u2019re hearing the same old sky pies: Proposals to plug the gaps with more Japanese babies, higher retirement ages, more empowered women in the workplace \u2014 even tax money thrown at matchmaking services!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>And yet they still won\u2019t work. Policymakers are working backwards from conclusions and not addressing the structural problems, e.g., that people are deserting a depopulating countryside for urban opportunities in an overly centralized governmental system, marrying later (if at all) and finding children too expensive or cumbersome for cramped living spaces, having both spouses work just to stay afloat, and feeling perpetual disappointment over a lack of control over their lives. And all thanks to a sequestered ruling political and bureaucratic elite whose basic training is in status-quo maintenance, not problem-solving for people they share nothing in common with.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Of course, proposals have resurfaced about letting in more non-Japanese (NJ) to work\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Full article with links to sources and comments at<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12437\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12437<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s all for this month. See you in August for more mirth and mayhem!<\/p>\n<p>Dr. ARUDOU, Debito (debito@debito.org, www.debito.org, twitter @arudoudebito)<br \/>\n<strong>DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER JULY 3, 2014 ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Table of Contents:<\/p>\n<p>FOREVER UNDER THE RADAR:<br \/>\n1) Japan\u2019s population tally in media still excludes NJ residents; plus J political misogyny and appeals to gaiatsu<br \/>\n2) Reuters Special Report on Japan\u2019s \u201cTrainee System\u201d as \u201cSweatshops in Disguise\u201d: Foreign interns pay the price for Japan\u2019s labor shortage<\/p>\n<p>ON THE RADAR AND INFLUENCING PUBLIC OPINION:<br \/>\n3) World Cup 2014: Held in Brazil, but causes tightened police security in Tokyo due to alleged possibility of \u201cvandalism\u201d<br \/>\n4) J-Govt. \u201cWe are Tomodachi\u201d Newsletter Vol. 4 , June 2014 offers fascinating insights into PM Abe Admin mindsets<br \/>\n5) MLB J-baseball player Kawasaki Munenori doing his best to speak English to North American media. Debito.org approves.<br \/>\n6) Fodor\u2019s Travel Guide on Japan 2014 features two chapters on Hokkaido and Tohoku written by Debito<\/p>\n<p>\u2026 and finally\u2026<br \/>\n7) My Japan Times JBC column 76: \u201cHumanize the dry debate about immigration\u201d, June 5, 2014<\/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-12582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12582","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=12582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}