{"id":13034,"date":"2015-02-03T12:48:01","date_gmt":"2015-02-03T22:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13034"},"modified":"2015-02-03T12:48:01","modified_gmt":"2015-02-03T22:48:01","slug":"debito-org-newsletter-february-4-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13034","title":{"rendered":"DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 4, 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

eBooks, Books, and more from ARUDOU, Debito (click on icon):
\n\"Guidebookcover.jpg\"<\/a>\"japaneseonlyebookcovertext\"<\/a>\"Handbook<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\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\"<\/a>\"sourstrawberriesavatar\"<\/a>\"debitopodcastthumb\"<\/a>\"FodorsJapan2014cover\"<\/a>
\nUPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito
\nDEBITO.ORG PODCASTS on iTunes, subscribe free
\n“LIKE” US on Facebook at http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook<\/a>
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate<\/a>
\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:
\n\"Donate<\/a>
\nAll donations go towards website costs only. Thanks for your support!<\/i><\/p>\n

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 4, 2015<\/strong>
\n 50TH BIRTHDAY EDITION<\/strong><\/p>\n

Table of Contents<\/em>:<\/strong>
\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

ON BIRTHDAYS AND BIRTHDAY PRESENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) I turned 50 years old on January 13, 2015. Photo on the day.<\/strong>
\n 2) A debate I\u2019ve been having on whether birthdays are to be celebrated or not. Discuss.<\/strong>
\n 3) Lawyer threatens Debito.org in 2009 re a 1993 article in The Australian Magazine on Japan pundit Gregory Clark. Had received reprint permission, so nothing came of it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

NOW BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

EXCLUSIONISM<\/strong>
\n 4) IPC Digital et al.: Shizuoka Iwata City General Hospital doctor refuses care to Brazilian child, curses out parents and tells them to \u201cdie\u201d (kuso, shine)<\/strong>
\n 5) Khaosod (Thailand): Taxi Association Condemns \u2018No Japanese Passengers\u2019 Sign<\/strong><\/p>\n

MIXED MESSAGES<\/strong>
\n 6) Nobel Prize winner Dr. Shuji \u201cSlave\u201d Nakamura urges Japan\u2019s youth to \u201cget out of Japan\u201d<\/strong>
\n 7) Fukuoka Subway Poster Contest winner: Rude Statue of Liberty \u201coverdoes freedom\u201d, takes space from J passengers<\/strong><\/p>\n

MISPLACED HOPE<\/strong>
\n 8 ) Yomiuri: GOJ sky-pie policy proposes to deal with rural population decrease with resettlement info websites, and robots!<\/strong>
\n 9) Japan Times: Japan\u2019s \u201cOmotenashi\u201d (\u201cselfless hospitality\u201d) not in tune with what visitors want, NJ expert warns<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2026and finally\u2026<\/em><\/strong>
\n10) My Japan Times JBC 83 Jan 1, 2015: \u201cHate, Muzzle and Poll\u201d: Debito\u2019s Annual Top Ten List of Human Rights News Events for 2014<\/strong>
\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

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

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

ON BIRTHDAYS AND BIRTHDAY PRESENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) I turned 50 years old on January 13, 2015. Photo on the day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This sort of thing only happens once, and it\u2019s happening now in Japan (tomorrow in Hawaii), so I\u2019ll enjoy 48 hours of birthday this year. I turn fifty on January 13. This is a personal milestone in many ways\u2026<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12983<\/a><\/p>\n

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

2) A debate I\u2019ve been having on whether birthdays are to be celebrated or not. Discuss.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Did I mention it\u2019s my birthday? Well, I\u2019m the type of person who loves to be wished \u201cHappy Birthday!\u201d, so I even go out of my way tell people that today is the day. And as my Facebook shows, people very kindly respond with greetings and best wishes. Thanks!<\/p>\n

But since I broached the subject , I\u2019ve had interesting conversations yesterday and today with people who take a dim view of birthdays. No, it\u2019s not for the reason you might think (i.e., growing older and more clearly one day, month, year closer to death). They put it down to modesty, even culture.<\/p>\n

One friend I talked to today never advertises his birthday because he\u2019s afraid that doing so will invite somebody to give him a present. Then he\u2019d feel obligated to give something back and that causes him stress. He prefers his birthdays and his celebrations be immediate family affairs celebrated only by the people who care enough to remember it\u2019s his birthday without being told. Telling other people kinda spoils something. He\u2019d rather enjoy fruit fallen from a tree due to a windfall, not because he deliberately shook the tree.<\/p>\n

Another friend talked about how birthdays are to him an artificial Western invention \u2014 who celebrated birthdays in days of yore, and in his Eastern culture? He also feels that a celebration of oneself on one day is silly, when every day that one is alive should be a cause for celebration. Why focus in on one day? To them I said\u2026<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12987<\/a><\/p>\n

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

3) Lawyer threatens Debito.org in 2009 re a 1993 article in The Australian Magazine on Japan pundit Gregory Clark. Had received reprint permission, so nothing came of it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been sitting on this blog post for nearly six years, so I think it\u2019s safe to say that nothing has come of this. Back in 2009, somebody claiming to be a lawyer representing the publisher of The Australian Magazine contacted me, claiming copyright infringement, and demanded that Debito.org remove from its archives a 1993 article concerning Japan pundit Gregory Clark (who writes articles occasionally so embarrassingly xenophobic and bigoted that at least one has been deleted from the Japan Times archive).<\/p>\n

Funny thing is that once I reproduced an email from 2000 from The Australian Magazine that permitted reproduction of said article on Debito.org, that somebody and her threat vanished. Again, that was back in 2009. It\u2019s now 2015, so let\u2019s put this up for the record. Something tells me that Gregory Clark really doesn\u2019t want you to read this very revealing article in The Australian about him, his modus operandi, and his motives in Japan.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=7812<\/a><\/p>\n

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

NOW BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

EXCLUSIONISM<\/strong>
\n 4) IPC Digital et al.: Shizuoka Iwata City General Hospital doctor refuses care to Brazilian child, curses out parents and tells them to \u201cdie\u201d (kuso, shine!<\/em>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

IPC Digital via Google Translate (from Portuguese original): Video of alleged discrimination in hospital resonates with Japanese Internet:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The video shows a Brazilian accusing a doctor of refusing care and offended her daughter with curses, wishing his death (Kuso, Shine), reflected in forums of discussions and Japanese blogs. Dozens of posts in livedoor.biz blogs and other forums, highlighted the event\u2026 The vast majority of comments were against the alleged discrimination.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Some Japanese netizens pointed out that, despite the apparent exaltation of the father, the doctor should have attended the transfer request and that should never have used those words with the child. Even in anonymous forums where it is not necessary to identify to post a comment, most Internet users showed outrage at the perceived attitude of the doctor, saying that \u201ccertainly should be fired,\u201d and that \u201cthe university should be responsible for the wrong attitudes of physicians.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: It has made the news. Unlike, say, this \u201cJapanese Only\u201d hospital reported on Debito.org back in 2012, which wound up being ignored by the local media. It pays to video these things \u2014 they go viral, and force apologies. Not sure how this will stop it from happening in future, but glad that somebody is paying attention this time. Portuguese videos first, then Portuguese article, Google translated version, and finally Japanese articles.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13026<\/a><\/p>\n

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

5) Khaosod (Thailand): Taxi Association Condemns \u2018No Japanese Passengers\u2019 Sign<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s something for the Shoe on the Other Foot Dept.: A \u201cNo Japanese Passengers\u201d taxi in Thailand, refusing to take all \u201cJapanese\u201d passengers (sign courtesy of Khaosod English). Naturally, Debito.org condemns all exclusionism of this type, and encourages people to challenge it and have these signs and rules repealed. We have devoted much cyberspace to recording and archiving the converse, \u201cJapanese Only\u201d signs that exclude all \u201cforeigners\u201d (that unfortunately have gone largely unchallenged in Japan). not to mention the occasional \u201cJapanese Only\u201d establishment run for Japanese clientele outside of Japan (that excludes all \u201cforeigners\u201d in their own country, natch).<\/p>\n

What\u2019s important is how swift and decisive the challenge from society is, and whether it is effective. In the Thai taxi case below, according to media, the taxi driver (rightly) lost his license to do business at the airport, and quite a furore happened both online and in print media denouncing this act as wrong-headed, even racist. Good. A similar furore also happened when a hotel in India had \u201cJapanese Only\u201d rules (the Indian authorities did not brook this kind of discrimination either).<\/p>\n

Now, if only the Japanese authorities would be so decisive about this kind of exclusionism in Japan (as Debito.org has demonstrated over these past twenty years, they generally aren\u2019t; they even deny racial discrimination ever happens in Japan, quite counterproductively). Of course, some hay has been made about this Thai taxi on Japanese social media, with rightly-deserved (but unironic) condemnations of the \u201cdiscrimination\u201d against Japanese overseas.<\/p>\n

One last point: Koki Aki, the Japanese gentleman who set this issue in motion by complaining online after being ripped off by a Thai cabbie (prompting the cabbie to exclude), subsequently defended himself against trolls who said he must not like Thailand: \u201cI criticize Thailand, but I don\u2019t hate Thailand.\u201d Well put. Now, if only other debaters in Japan\u2019s debate arenas would be so cognizant.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13007<\/a><\/p>\n

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

MIXED MESSAGES<\/strong>
\n 6) Nobel Prize winner Dr. Shuji \u201cSlave\u201d Nakamura urges Japan\u2019s youth to \u201cget out of Japan\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

RocketNews: In 2014, Dr. Shuji Nakamura, along with two other scientists, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work in creating bright blue LEDs. In 1993, Nakamura held only a master\u2019s degree and worked with just one lab assistant for a small manufacturer in rural Japan, yet he was able to find a solution that had eluded some the highest paid, best-educated researchers in the world.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If his story ended there, he would no doubt be the poster boy for Japanese innovation and never-say-die spirit, but in the years since his discovery, he has instigated a landmark patent case, emigrated to the US, given up his Japanese citizenship and become a vocal critic of his native country. Last week, the prickly professor gave his first Japanese press conference since picking up his Nobel and he had some very succinct advice for young Japanese: Leave\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the world, Japanese people [have] the worst English performance,\u201d he said. \u201cOnly they are concerned about Japanese life. That\u2019s a problem.\u201d He also said that lack of exposure to foreign cultures breeds a parochial ethnocentrism and makes young Japanese susceptible to \u201cmind control\u201d by the government.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: Wow. \u201cSlave\u201d Nakamura not only refused to settle for the pittance regularly doled out to inventors in Japan that transform innovation and profit for Japan\u2019s corporate behemoths (yes, he sued \u2014 millions of people do in Japan every year \u2014 and he won!), but also he wouldn\u2019t settle for life in Japan as it is. He emigrated and now publicly extols the virtues of not being stifled by Japan\u2019s insularity (and mind control!?). Pretty brave and bracing stuff. Bravo.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t the first time this sort of thing has happened within Japan\u2019s intelligentsia. How many readers remember the \u201cTonegawa Shock\u201d of 1987? It set off a chain of events that led to the despotic Ministry of Education deciding to \u201cenliven\u201d (kasseika) Japan\u2019s education system by doing away with tenure. Sounds great to people who don\u2019t understand why tenure exists in an education system, but what happened is that the MOE first downsized everyone that they could who was not on tenure \u2014 the NJ educators on perpetual contract eemployment (ninkisei) \u2014 in what was called the \u201cGreat Gaijin Massacre\u201d of 1992-1994 where most NJ teachers working in Japan\u2019s prestigious National and Public Universities over the age of 35 were fired by bureaucratic fiat. It was the first activism that I took up back in 1993, and the underlying \u201cAcademic Apartheid\u201d of Japan\u2019s higher education system exposed by this policy putsch became the bedrock issue for Debito.org when it was established in 1996.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, I wonder what reverberations will result from Dr. Nakamura encouraging an exodus? Hopefully not something that will further damage the NJ communities in Japan. But if is there more NJ scapegoating in the offing, you\u2019ll probably hear about it on Debito.org. That\u2019s what we\u2019re here for.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13019<\/a><\/p>\n

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

7) Fukuoka Subway Poster Contest winner: Rude Statue of Liberty \u201coverdoes freedom\u201d, takes space from J passengers<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a photograph of a subway banner last month designed by an eighth grader in a Fukuoka Junior High School, taking first place in a Fukuoka City Subway contest for \u201cRiding Manners\u201d. The caption: \u201cDon\u2019t overdo the freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

December 25, 2014, Reader TJL remarks: Hmmm\u2026Fukuoka is now jumping on the \u201cugly American\u201d bandwagon by portraying a rude Lady Liberty taking up too much space and playing her music too loud\u2026the poor old lady in kimono can\u2019t sit down and the salary man is disturbed by the noise. My graduate student from Chile found this on the subway. So much for the kinder, gentler Japan welcoming visitors by 2020 for the Olympics.<\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: First, praise. It\u2019s a clever, well-rendered poster by a Junior High School student who at a surprisingly young age has a great grasp of space, color, perspective, and poster layout (I\u2019ve done a lot of posters in my day, and I wasn\u2019t anywhere near this quality until high school). I especially love the jutting out bare foot, the extra-spiky headdress, the update to include noisy iPod headphones, and the open flame of Liberty\u2019s torch on the seat. The artist also displays careful attention to detail \u2014 he even remembered Liberty also carries a book (it\u2019s on the seat by the torch).<\/p>\n

Now, critique. It\u2019s sad to see such a young artist with an image of seeing freedom as an American symbol that can be so abused in a Japanese context. Remember, just about anything humanoid could have been posed here taking up too much space, and comically too. However, as rendered, it comes off more as a cheap shot at something foreign\u2026<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12953<\/a><\/p>\n

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

MISPLACED HOPE<\/strong>
\n 8 ) Yomiuri: GOJ sky-pie policy proposes to deal with rural population decrease with resettlement info websites, and robots!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yomiuri: In an effort to address population declines in provincial areas, the government plans to create a database to provide people thinking of moving from urban to regional areas with information about potential destinations, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. The government hopes to encourage more urbanites to move to regional areas by making it possible for them to extensively search for information on such issues as residency and welfare services anywhere in the country\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The government plans to promote the development of robots for use in the service industry, such as at hotels and pubs, to cope with the industry\u2019s worsening problems of labor shortages and heavy workloads, according to sources. In September, the government is expected to establish a panel dubbed the \u201ccommittee for the realization of the robot revolution,\u201d which will comprise manufacturers and users of robots, and plans to subsidize programs judged to have bright prospects.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: Of course, the Yomiuri diligently types it down and offers it up uncritically, with the typical pride of showing off \u201cJapan\u2019s stuff\u201d. The policy assumption is that if you offer people information, they\u2019ll magically want to move out to the countryside \u2014 up to now they were just chary because they didn\u2019t know where they could get an onigiri in Nakamura-son, Inaka-Ken.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s unrealistic. It\u2019s not a matter of lack of information. It\u2019s a matter of lack of economic opportunity for Japan\u2019s largely white-collar labor force (the \u201cpotential migrants\u201d being mentioned, of course, are Japanese) being offered out in The Boonies. Hasn\u2019t the GOJ gotten the memo yet after more than a quarter century of Japanese turning their noses away from 3K blue-collar work? Not to mention the inevitable \u201cTaro-come-lately\u201d outsider treatment from the locals that greets many Japanese urbanites deciding to move out of the cities? Fact is, Japan\u2019s ruralities are even giving their land away for FREE, and it\u2019s not stemming the exodus from.<\/p>\n

Moreover, how about that other proposal below of introducing more robots in service areas to produce the 3K stuff? Laced within that Industrial Policy is an appeal to national pride, as in Japan\u2019s future as a world leader in robot use (without the actual substance of practicality behind it). Ooh, our robots can produce bentos? Can yours, France? Then what: build robots to consume what robots produce? No matter what, offering robots as replacements for humans in the labor market inevitably overlooks how this does nothing to revitalize Japan\u2019s taxpayer base, because ROBOTS DO NOT PAY TAXES.<\/p>\n

There is another option, the unmentionable: Immigrants assuming the mantle of Japan\u2019s farming economy and rural maintenance. No, you see, that would be a security risk. Too high a local foreign population would mean those areas might secede from Japan! (Seriously, that is the argument made.)\u2026<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12609<\/a><\/p>\n

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

9) Japan Times: Japan\u2019s \u201cOmotenashi\u201d (\u201cselfless hospitality\u201d) not in tune with what visitors want, NJ expert warns<\/strong><\/p>\n

JDG: Hello Dr. Debito, I wondered if you had chanced upon this article in the JT:<\/em>
\nNow boastful Japan not really in tune with what visitors want, foreign expert warns | The Japan Times<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now boastful Japan not really in tune with what visitors want, foreign expert warns<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n