{"id":12730,"date":"2014-10-09T09:12:38","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T19:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12730"},"modified":"2014-10-12T09:13:08","modified_gmt":"2014-10-12T19:13:08","slug":"debito-org-newsletter-october-9-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12730","title":{"rendered":"DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 9, 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 OCTOBER 9, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Table of Contents:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>HATE SPEECH AND THE BLAME GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1) Blame Game #433: JT on \u201cRumors of Foreign Looters in Hiroshima Unfounded\u201d, \u201cSocial Media Rehashes Historical Hate\u201d, and Economist on unoptimistic outcomes re hate speech law<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>2) Asahi Editorial: PM Abe and his Cabinet picks must clarify stance on Zaitokukai, racism<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>3) JT on hate speech and GOJ\u2019s connections to organized crime: \u201cYakuza do what Abe Cabinet\u2019s Yamatani can\u2019t\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>4) Blame Game #432: J-Cast.com reports Mt. Fuji is covered in human poop, speculates due to increase in foreign tourists<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>OUTRIGHT MEANNESS AND DECEPTION<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>5) JT: Ishihara and Hiranuma\u2019s conservative party to submit bill halting welfare for needy NJ a la July Supreme Court decision<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>6) 2014 MOFA pamphlet explaining Hague Treaty on Child Abductions to J citizens (full text with synopsis, including child-beating NJ father on cover &amp; victimized J mothers throughout)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>7) SCMP (Hong Kong) on MOFA Hague Pamphlet: \u201c\u2018Racist\u2019 cartoon issued by Japanese ministry angers rights activists\u201d, cites Debito.org (UPDATE: Also makes Huffington Post Japan in Japanese &amp; Al Jazeera)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>GOOD NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>8 ) Quoted in BBC Brasil (original Portuguese &amp; machine E translation): \u201cJapan receives criticism from the UN after wave of xenophobia in the streets\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>9) Debito receives his Ph.D. Sept. 18, 2014, at Meiji Gakuin University ceremony. Photo included.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u2026 AND FINALLY\u2026 (I forgot to append my column to the Newsletter last month, so here are two of them this month)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>10) My Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column 78, August 14, 2014, \u201cPast victimhood blinds Japan to present-day racial discrimination\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>11) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column 79, on Japan\u2019s Visible Minorities, Sept. 4, 2014 (version with links to sources)<\/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>HATE SPEECH AND THE BLAME GAME<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1) Blame Game #433: JT on \u201cRumors of Foreign Looters in Hiroshima Unfounded\u201d, \u201cSocial Media Rehashes Historical Hate\u201d, and Economist on unoptimistic outcomes re hate speech law<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Continuing on with the theme of Japan\u2019s Blame Game (as in, blame foreigners for any social ill that you don\u2019t want to take responsibility for), this blog entry talks about the phenomenon of blame speech morphing into hate speech (not that far of a stretch, given the irresponsible nature of anonymous social media). We have people conjuring up fake stories of foreigners looting after natural disasters that got so bad that even the Japanese police (who are not positively predisposed to foreign residents in the first place \u2014 they\u2019re usually on the front lines of blaming them for foreign crime and the undermining of Japanese society) are stepping in to defend them (article included).<\/p>\n<p>This is ironic, since NHK has recently reported there have been 1200 burglaries in post-disaster Fukushima and perps are Japanese (article). And it\u2019s not the first time that the authorities have had to step in and dispel rumors targeting NJ residents. Consider what happened weeks after the 2011 Fukushima disasters. Rumors were circulating about foreign crime all over again and had to be tamped down upon (article). Despite the fact that crime was occurring and probably not due to NJ (article). Note how J crime naturally causes considerably less media panic. But since there are no legal restrictions on hate speech in Japan, if you can\u2019t say something nice about people, say it about foreigners. And there is in fact a long history of this sort of thing going on (article), what with the massacre of Korean residents back in 1923.<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, hate speech has finally become an issue in Japan. A recent NHK survey has shown that a vast majority of the Japanese public think hate speech is a problem, and a near-majority think that legislation is needed (article). That said, I remain unoptimistic about how things will turn out, especially given the bent of the current administration. The Economist (London) appears to share that view, even hinting that it may be used to stifle pertinent criticisms of the government (as opposed to nasty speculation about minorities and disenfranchised peoples) (article).<\/p>\n<p>So what to do? I still remain in support of a law against hate speech (as is the United Nations), i.e., speech that foments fear, hatred, and related intolerance towards disenfranchised peoples and minorities in Japan. Those are the people who need protection against the powerful precisely because they are largely powerless to defend themselves as minorities in an unequal social milieu. The Japanese government\u2019s proposed definition of hate speech (taken from the NHK article above) of \u300c\u4eba\u7a2e\u3084\u56fd\u7c4d\u3001\u30b8\u30a7\u30f3\u30c0\u30fc\u306a\u3069\u306e\u7279\u5b9a\u306e\u5c5e\u6027\u3092\u6709\u3059\u308b\u96c6\u56e3\u3092\u304a\u3068\u3057\u3081\u305f\u308a\u3001\u5dee\u5225\u3084\u66b4\u529b\u884c\u70ba\u3092\u3042\u304a\u3063\u305f\u308a\u3059\u308b\u8a00\u52d5\u3084\u8868\u73fe\u884c\u70ba\u300d(behavior or expressive activity that foments discrimination or violence toward, or disparages people belonging to groups distinguished by race, citizenship, gender etc.) is a decent one, and a good start. Where it will go from here, given the abovementioned extremities of Japan\u2019s current right-wing political climate, remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12697\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12697<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>2) Asahi Editorial: PM Abe and his Cabinet picks must clarify stance on Zaitokukai, racism<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Continuing with the hate speech theme (and the perpetrators of it in Japan, e.g., Zaitokukai), here is an editorial from the Asahi decrying that support of this group (or at least the unwillingness to disavow or take measures against their spreading public hatred of minorities) appears to reside in the highest levels of government. As the person being cited, Yamatani Eriko, is the nation\u2019s top cop in the current PM Abe Cabinet, this information bodes ill for any legal measures or remedies against hate speech in Japan, something the UN recently advised Japan to adopt.<\/p>\n<p>BTW, this is the same Yamatani Eriko who spoke out against a memorial against Japan\u2019s wartime \u201cComfort Women\u201d sexual slavery in Palisades Park, New Jersey (not the Glendale, California monument), including the following \u201cexplanation\u201d in two languages on her blog of May 6, 2012 (courtesy of MS), with the requisite denialism:<\/p>\n<p>Conclusion: \u201cMoreover, it cannot be tolerated that Japanese children are bullied and felt sorrowful due to a lie that Japan conducted the abduction of 200,000 girls which is not true at all, and that the lie has been spread throughout the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These are the people who currently lead Japan. Is there any more doubt about the claim of Japan\u2019s right-wing swing?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12705\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12705<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>3) JT on hate speech and GOJ\u2019s connections to organized crime: \u201cYakuza do what Abe Cabinet\u2019s Yamatani can\u2019t\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>JT: <strong><em>In most countries, police officers and criminals are supposed to be on opposite sides of the law, especially the higher up the chain of command you go, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe doesn\u2019t appear to think this is necessary. Last month, photographs surfaced showing several members of Abe\u2019s new Cabinet socializing with members of an anti-Korean hate group known as Zainichi Tokken wo Yurusanai Shimin no Kai (more commonly known as Zaitokukai). The appearance of such images raises some disturbing issues. [&#8230;]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>At a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents\u2019 Club of Japan on Sept. 25, [Cabinet member] Yamatani [Eriko] denied that the weekly\u2019s article was true and alleged she had been misquoted. However, when she was asked to publicly repudiate Zaitokukai, she refused \u2014 three times. Shukan Bunshun last week published a follow-up article and included an audio recording of its interview with her, suggesting Yamatani did indeed lie at her news conference. It also added a proverb to its coverage: \u201cAll thieves start as liars.\u201d But lying to the press is not a crime, nor is hate speech illegal in Japan. Hate crimes are not illegal either. That said, generating profit for organized crime is something else\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12712\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12712<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>4) Blame Game #432: J-Cast.com reports Mt. Fuji is covered in human poop, speculates due to increase in foreign tourists<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Continuing our occasional series on \u201cThe Blame Game\u201d (I\u2019ve written about this before in the Japan Times), where embarrassing and inconvenient domestic problems are blamed on foreigners, here\u2019s a report by a Japanese media source that Japan\u2019s venerable symbolic Mt. Fuji is covered in human hiker crap.<\/p>\n<p>Fine. I\u2019ve hiked up many mountains, and I\u2019m sure a hike up Fuji would challenge many an intestine. But then the article headlines that it might be due to the increase in foreign tourists (particularly Chinese and Koreans), parroting internet speculation. Not so fine. It does add \u201cbalance\u201d by saying that others have said that Japanese also do it. But again, that\u2019s not what the headline says, and you\u2019d have to read further to get that. The story should in fact be that people are bashing foreigners, not that NJ pooping on Fuji might be happening.<\/p>\n<p>Click bait is one thing, but the media practice of picking on foreigners because they are too weak in Japan\u2019s media to respond against group defamation (as I discuss in my doctoral dissertation; more on that later, sorry) is another. Japan needs stronger anti-defamation leagues (we at Debito.org have tried; remember McDonald\u2019s Japan\u2019s \u201cMr. James\u201d campaign?) to nip this sort of thing in the bud.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12688\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12688<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>OUTRIGHT MEANNESS AND DECEPTION<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>5) JT: Ishihara and Hiranuma\u2019s conservative party to submit bill halting welfare for needy NJ a la July Supreme Court decision<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a show of xenophobia mixed with outright meanness, Japan\u2019s political dinosaurs (we all know what a nasty person Ishihara Shintaro is, but remember what kind of a bigot Hiranuma Takeo is too) will propose legislation that will officially exclude NJ taxpayers down on their luck from receiving the benefits to social welfare that they have paid into. Put simply, they are seeking to legislate theft. Oh, and just in case you think \u201cif you want equal rights in Japan, you should naturalize\u201d, they\u2019ve thought of that too, and according to the article below are calling for naturalization to become more stringent as well.<\/p>\n<p>This is on the heels of a dumbfoundingly stupid Supreme Court decision last July that requires Japanese citizenship for access to public welfare benefits. I\u2019ve heard people say that all this decision did was clarify the law, and that it won\u2019t affect the local governments from continuing to be more humanitarian towards foreign human residents. But you see, it HAS affected things \u2014 it\u2019s now encouraged rightists to codify more exclusivity, not leftists more inclusivity. In this currently far-right political climate in Japanese politics and governance, more exclusionism, not less, will become normalized, as long as the mindsets and actions of these horrible old men are allowed to pass without comment or critique.<\/p>\n<p>Well, that\u2019s one reason Debito.org is here \u2014 comment and critique \u2014 and we say that these old bigots should have their legacy denied. But remember, it\u2019s not as simple as waiting for the Old Guard to die off (Nakasone Yasuhiro, remember, is still alive and pretty genki at age 96), because a new generation of conservative elites are waiting like a row of shark\u2019s teeth to replace the old. Be aware of it, and tell your voting Japanese friends about how this affects you. Because no-one else can with such conviction. You must do all that you can so your legacy, not theirs, wins.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12613\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12613<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>6) 2014 MOFA pamphlet explaining Hague Treaty on Child Abductions to J citizens (full text with synopsis, including child-beating NJ father on cover &amp; victimized J mothers throughout)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Japan, after years of pressure from overseas, is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, where children of international marriages are to be protected against psychologically-damaging abductions and severed contact with one parent after marriage dissolution and divorce. Debito.org has covered this issue extensively in the past. What matters now is how Japan intends to enforce the treaty. Debito.org has argued that we are not hopeful about Japan following the spirit of the agreement in good faith. It has been reinterpreting sections with caveats to give the Japanese side undue advantages in negotiations, indirectly portraying the Non Japanese (NJ) party as the suspicious interloper, redefining important issues such as domestic violence (DV) to include heated arguments and \u201csilent stares\u201d etc., refusing to see abductions by the Japanese parent as much more than a natural repatriation, and not being self-aware that in Japan, child abduction and severed contact with one parent is quite normal (due in part to the vagaries of the Family Registration System (koseki)), but not necessarily in the best interests of the child. Japan has been, in short, a haven for international child abductions, and how the GOJ will interpret the Hague to its people is crucial for change in public mindsets and enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>To that end, Debito.org is fortunate to have received a copy from a concerned reader of a 2014 Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Gaimushou) pamphlet explaining the Hague to the Japanese public. Scanned below in full, within its discourse are troubling assumptions and presumptions that bear scrutiny and exposure, as they remain along the lines of the concerns expressed above. If this is Japan\u2019s official mindset towards international child abductions, then Debito.org remains pessimistic, if not cynical, about Japan\u2019s intentions to enforce the Hague in good faith.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12631\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12631<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>7) SCMP (Hong Kong) on MOFA Hague Pamphlet: \u201c\u2018Racist\u2019 cartoon issued by Japanese ministry angers rights activists\u201d, cites Debito.org (UPDATE: Also makes Huffington Post Japan in Japanese &amp; Al Jazeera)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>SCMP: <strong><em>But manga-style images of foreign fathers beating children and Japanese women portrayed as innocent victims have raised the hackles of campaigners, both those fighting discrimination against foreigners and non-Japanese who have been unable to see children who have been abducted by Japanese former spouses.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u201cIt\u2019s the same problem with any negotiations in which Japan looks like it has been beaten,\u201d said Debito Arudou, a naturalised Japanese citizen who was born in the United States and has become a leading human rights activist. \u201cAfter being forced to give up a degree of power by signing the Hague treaty, they have to show that they have not lost face and they try to turn the narrative around,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the same as in the debate over whaling.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u201cThe Japanese always see themselves as the victims, and in this case, the narrative is that Japanese women are being abused and that the big, bad world is constantly trying to take advantage of them.\u201d Arudou is particularly incensed by the cover of the publication, which shows a blond-haired foreigner hitting a little girl, a foreign father taking a child from a sobbing Japanese mother and another Japanese female apparently ostracised by big-nosed foreign women. \u201cIt is promoting the image that the outside world is against Japanese and the only place they will get a fair deal is in Japan,\u201d said Arudou.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12680\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12680<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>GOOD NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>8 ) Quoted in BBC Brasil (original Portuguese &amp; machine E translation): \u201cJapan receives criticism from the UN after wave of xenophobia in the streets\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Got quoted (and some of Debito.org\u2019s \u201cJapanese Only\u201d signs posted) in BBC Brasil today (thanks Ewerthon for the link). I\u2019ll paste the article below with the Google machine translation in English afterwards. Corrections welcome.<\/p>\n<p>Machine translated excerpt: <strong><em>\u201cA report of the UN Human Rights Committee referred to the Japanese government, highlights the passive reaction of the police in demonstrations of this kind. The authorities have been criticized for only observe, without taking any effective action to curb abuses.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>In late August, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination requested that the country \u201cfirmly approached the manifestations of hatred and racism and incitement to racial hatred and violence during public demonstrations.\u201d Since 2013, Japan has registered more than 360 cases of racist demonstrations and speeches.[&#8230;]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>For the writer, activist and American-born researcher naturalized Japanese Arudou Debito, \u201c(such discriminatory attitudes) have become increasingly overt, organized, and normalized.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Debito collects, since 1999, pictures of signs of shops, bars, restaurants, karaoke bars, many of them sent in by readers from all over Japan, with English phrases \u2013 and even in Portuguese \u2013 prohibiting the entry of foreigners. The collection became a book entitled Japanese Only: The Otaru case of spa and racial discrimination in Japan. [NB: Not quite right, but my clarification was ignored by editors.]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Debito is said still worried that with the increasing dissemination of the thoughts of the extreme right, the cause get more and more \u201cfans\u201d.\u201dJapan still has the belief that extremism is less likely to happen in its \u2018peaceful society&#8217;\u201d,\u201d he explained. \u201cI do not think it\u2019s that simple. Ignoring the problems of hatred, intolerance and exclusivism towards minorities hoping they simply disappear too is a positive and historically dangerous thought.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The Brazilian community in Japan is also a constant target of discriminatory attitudes. Fourth largest group among the foreigners living in the country, Brazilians are constantly complaining of abuses generated by racial discrimination and the issue is always raised in discussions with local authorities\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12658\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12658<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>9) Debito receives his Ph.D. Sept. 18, 2014, at Meiji Gakuin University ceremony. Photo included.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m very happy to announce that I formally received my Ph.D. in International Studies from Meiji Gakuin University in a ceremony on their Shirogane Campus. Here\u2019s a photo:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12684\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12684<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2026 AND FINALLY\u2026 (I forgot to append my column to the Newsletter last month, so here are two of them this month)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>10) My Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column 78, August 14, 2014, \u201cPast victimhood blinds Japan to present-day racial discrimination\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Opening paragraphs: <strong><em>Readers may be expecting this column to have something to say about the Supreme Court decision of July 18, which decreed that non-Japanese (NJ) residents are not guaranteed social welfare benefits.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>But many have already expressed shock and outrage on these pages, pointing out the injustice of paying into a system that may choose to exclude them in their time of need. After all, no explicit law means no absolute guarantee of legal protection, no matter what court or bureaucratic precedents may establish.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>I\u2019m more surprised by the lack of outrage at a similar legal regime running parallel to this: Japan\u2019s lack of a law protecting against racial discrimination (RD). It affects people on a daily basis, yet is accepted as part of \u201cnormal\u201d unequal treatment in Japan \u2014 and not just of non-citizens, either.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>This brings me to an argument I wanted to round off from last month\u2019s column, about how Japan has a hard time admitting RD ever happens in Japan. Some argue it\u2019s because RD does not befit Japan\u2019s self-image as a \u201ccivilized\u201d society. But I would go one step further (natch) and say: RD makes people go crazy\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12576\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12576<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>11) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column 79, on Japan\u2019s Visible Minorities, Sept. 4, 2014 (version with links to sources)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Opening paragraphs: \u00a0<strong>Around<em> noon on Aug. 13, in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, a local apartment manager notified the police that a \u201csuspicious foreigner\u201d was hanging around the nearby JR train station.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Cops duly descended upon someone described by the Asahi as a \u201c20-year-old male who came from the Philippines with a Japanese passport\u201d (sic).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>When asked what he was doing, he said he was meeting friends. When asked his nationality, he mentioned his dual citizenship. Unfortunately, he carried no proof of that.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>So far, nothing illegal here: Carrying ID at all times is not legally required for Japanese citizens.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>But it is for foreigners. So the cops, convinced that he was really a foreigner, took him in for questioning \u2014 for five hours. Then they arrested him under the Immigration Control Act for, according to a Nikkei report, not carrying his passport, and interrogated him for another seven.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>In the wee hours of Aug. 14, after ascertaining that his father is Japanese and mother foreign, he was released with verbal apologies. That hardly suffices. If any of you have ever undergone Japan\u2019s \u201cvoluntary questioning\u201d and\/or 23 days of interrogation after arrest, you know how harrowing it can be. And this isn\u2019t the first instance\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12621\">https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12621<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s all for this month. Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dr. ARUDOU, Debito<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 9, 2014 ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Table of Contents:<br \/>\nHATE SPEECH AND THE BLAME GAME<\/p>\n<p>1) Blame Game #433: JT on \u201cRumors of Foreign Looters in Hiroshima Unfounded\u201d, \u201cSocial Media Rehashes Historical Hate\u201d, and Economist on unoptimistic outcomes re hate speech law<br \/>\n2) Asahi Editorial: PM Abe and his Cabinet picks must clarify stance on Zaitokukai, racism<br \/>\n3) JT on hate speech and GOJ\u2019s connections to organized crime: \u201cYakuza do what Abe Cabinet\u2019s Yamatani can\u2019t\u201d<br \/>\n4) Blame Game #432: J-Cast.com reports Mt. Fuji is covered in human poop, speculates due to increase in foreign tourists<\/p>\n<p>OUTRIGHT MEANNESS AND DECEPTION<br \/>\n5) JT: Ishihara and Hiranuma\u2019s conservative party to submit bill halting welfare for needy NJ a la July Supreme Court decision<br \/>\n6) 2014 MOFA pamphlet explaining Hague Treaty on Child Abductions to J citizens (full text with synopsis, including child-beating NJ father on cover &#038; victimized J mothers throughout)<br \/>\n7) SCMP (Hong Kong) on MOFA Hague Pamphlet: \u201c\u2018Racist\u2019 cartoon issued by Japanese ministry angers rights activists\u201d, cites Debito.org (UPDATE: Also makes Huffington Post Japan in Japanese &#038; Al Jazeera)<\/p>\n<p>GOOD NEWS<br \/>\n8 ) Quoted in BBC Brasil (original Portuguese &#038; machine E translation): \u201cJapan receives criticism from the UN after wave of xenophobia in the streets\u201d<br \/>\n9) Debito receives his Ph.D. Sept. 18, 2014, at Meiji Gakuin University ceremony. Photo included.<\/p>\n<p>\u2026 AND FINALLY\u2026 (I forgot to append my column to the Newsletter last month, so here are two of them this month)<br \/>\n10) My Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column 78, August 14, 2014, \u201cPast victimhood blinds Japan to present-day racial discrimination\u201d<br \/>\n11) Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE column 79, on Japan\u2019s Visible Minorities, Sept. 4, 2014 (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-12730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12730","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=12730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}