{"id":13768,"date":"2016-01-25T11:28:52","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T21:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13768"},"modified":"2016-01-25T11:28:52","modified_gmt":"2016-01-25T21:28:52","slug":"jt-on-corporate-threats-to-student-activists-futures-sealds-in-particular-this-is-probably-why-they-suddenly-turned-craven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13768","title":{"rendered":"JT on corporate threats to student activists’ futures (SEALDs in particular); this is probably why they suddenly turned craven"},"content":{"rendered":"

Books, eBooks, and more from Dr. 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>
\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embeddedrcsmJapan<\/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

Hi Blog. One particular topic Debito.org has not touched upon enough\u00a0is activism in general by liberal-minded students, in particular the group attracting much attention called Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs). I have only mentioned them here<\/a> and\u00a0in my year-end round up of the Top Ten Human Rights Issues for 2015 for the Japan Times<\/a> (I placed them at #6), where I wrote:<\/p>\n

=======================================
\n“On the other hand, the most high-profile youth group against the Abe Cabinet\u2019s right-wing push (and darling of the international media), the Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs), decided to flame out with flair. At an news conference in October at the Foreign Correspondents\u2019 Club of Japan, SEALDs leaders announced that with their impending graduation from college, they wouldn\u2019t just be stepping down in 2016 as organizers \u2014 they would disband the group without a transition to a younger generation.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Coming off as more concerned with their own short-term individual interests than the larger movements within Japanese society, SEALDs seemed to show that even Japan\u2019s most vibrant, cosmopolitan and appealing young activists (which matters, as this year the voting age will drop from 20 to 18) are nonetheless intimidated by power, and treat human rights advocacy as a temporary hobby.”<\/em><\/strong>
\n=======================================<\/p>\n

While I am not changing my position regarding the cravenness of SEALDs organizers, let’s be fair. They have been overtly threatened by authority. Check out this article from last August. Dr. ARUDOU, Debito<\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
\nShould SEALDs student activists worry about not getting hired?<\/strong>
\n BY HIFUMI OKUNUKI<\/strong>
\n THE JAPAN TIMES, AUG 30, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

Summer 2015 \u2014 70 years since Japan\u2019s defeat in World War II. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ruling coalition have rammed two security bills through the Lower House that overturn decades of interpretation of the Constitution by enabling Japan to engage in collective self-defense. Now he hopes to do the same in the Upper House.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Opposition to the government\u2019s aggressive push to loosen restrictions on the use of military force is being heard from many corners. The beacon for students opposing the bills has been the Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy, or SEALDs. Under the slogan of protecting \u201cfreedom, peace and democracy,\u201d these students have loudly voiced their opposition to the government\u2019s push for militarization at protests around the country.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

SEALDs have put paid to two tired tropes that have been regularly trotted out over the years about Japan\u2019s students: first, that they have no interest in politics, and second, that student social movements here are a thing of the past. Inspired by SEALDs, even high schoolers and mothers who had never before engaged in social activism have taken to the streets to demand that our country commit to never again waging war, and that our youths are never asked to kill those of other countries. Jumping on the bandwagon have been the elderly, under the collective banner of OLDs, and even the middle-aged, or MIDDLEs.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This resolute, relentless movement has already begun to have a clear impact on our society. The recent drop in support for the Abe government is at least in part a result of grass-roots movements such as SEALDs. One Liberal Democratic Party member of the Lower House tweeted: \u201cSEALDs members just don\u2019t want to go off to war, i.e., their actions are based on extreme selfishness.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But if these youths were only thinking of themselves, would they really be engaged in a collective social movement like SEALDs? Also, the idea that not wanting to go off to war is \u201cselfish\u201d is itself a serious attack on individual thought and freedom of conscience. It reminds me of the totalitarianism that prevailed before the war, and I was shocked to hear a modern-day politician utter such a comment. I assumed he must be some old fogey, so when I discovered it was 36-year-old Takaya Muto, I was flabbergasted.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The fact that a lawmaker would use such extremist language perhaps offers some insight into the extent of panic within the LDP at SEALDs\u2019 growing strength. The comment caused quite a stir. That and some alleged financial shenanigans led to Muto\u2019s resignation from the LDP on Aug. 19.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For politicians chomping at the bit to deploy Japan\u2019s forces overseas, SEALDs are apparently quite an irritant. An independent member of the Yukuhashi city assembly in Fukuoka Prefecture also stuck his foot firmly in his mouth when he riffed on a comment by one SEALDs member that \u201cwe tremble at the thought of going to war.\u201d Shinya Kotsubo parodied it on his blog on July 26, titling his article \u201cSEALDs members should tremble at the thought that they\u2019ll never get a job.\u201d He explained further, writing, \u201cYou are demonstrating now while you\u2019re students, so don\u2019t come crying when no one will hire you later on.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen companies scout for students,\u201d he elaborated, \u201cthey look at the name of the university. They don\u2019t look at the students themselves. All the power lies in the side that selects. \u2026 Since the corporation is the one that selects, everything must follow the company\u2019s rules and interests. This is reality.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTo give a specific example, say a sports club becomes involved in a rape scandal. The university\u2019s reputation is damaged and it affects all students. The rapists\u2019 reputations are of course damaged, but the university is also seen as \u2018that kind of university.\u2019 The fellow students who were unable to prevent such a scandal become tainted as people who would be likewise unable or unwilling to protect the reputation of the company. So there would be no reason to hire such a student.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe university\u2019s reputation was not built by the current student body. Since it was not acquired by current students, they have no right to protest. \u2026 This reputation was a gift given to current students from their seniors who have already graduated and gone out into the world, making a name for the university. If they damage the reputation of the university to which they belong, it\u2019s obvious how things are going to play out. We should do everything possible to eliminate the risk of this. A corporation should not be asked to shoulder such a risk to its reputation.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCareers begin with an offer from a corporation, but it\u2019s already too late for that. The result is that they will all be shot down. Some students are at prestigious schools such as Waseda or Keio University. These students are probably OK since many famous politicians, police and bureaucrats are from there. Selection takes precedence in all cases, so the impact on these students will only be slight. However, students at universities with little power, history or tradition won\u2019t be so lucky. They will not be selected and as a result, all will be eliminated. I have even heard of cases where the professors join the demos and egg on their students.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To sum up, Kotsubo says: 1) Corporations have all the power over whether to hire; 2) when hiring, corporations place great weight on the reputation of an applicant\u2019s university and don\u2019t really look at the students themselves; 3) if the university\u2019s brand name is hurt, all students attending that university lose credibility; 4) students engaged in social movements are damaging the brand value of their universities; 5) the risk for students at prestigious colleges like Waseda and Keio is slight, but students at less prestigious schools are a write-off (i.e., They will never get a job); and 6) I am saying all this for the benefit of students, but the most guilty are the professors who encourage students to protest without warning them of the risks.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s examine Kotsubo\u2019s rant from the perspective of labor law…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rest of the article at http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/community\/2015\/08\/30\/issues\/sealds-student-activists-worry-not-getting-hired\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JT: Opposition to the government\u2019s aggressive push to loosen restrictions on the use of military force is being heard from many corners. The beacon for students opposing the bills has been the Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy, or SEALDs. Under the slogan of protecting \u201cfreedom, peace and democracy,\u201d these students have loudly voiced their opposition to the government\u2019s push for militarization at protests around the country.<\/p>\n

SEALDs have put paid to two tired tropes that have been regularly trotted out over the years about Japan\u2019s students: first, that they have no interest in politics, and second, that student social movements here are a thing of the past. Inspired by SEALDs, even high schoolers and mothers who had never before engaged in social activism have taken to the streets to demand that our country commit to never again waging war, and that our youths are never asked to kill those of other countries. Jumping on the bandwagon have been the elderly, under the collective banner of OLDs, and even the middle-aged, or MIDDLEs.<\/p>\n

This resolute, relentless movement has already begun to have a clear impact on our society. The recent drop in support for the Abe government is at least in part a result of grass-roots movements such as SEALDs. One Liberal Democratic Party member of the Lower House tweeted: \u201cSEALDs members just don\u2019t want to go off to war, i.e., their actions are based on extreme selfishness.\u201d […]<\/p>\n

For politicians chomping at the bit to deploy Japan\u2019s forces overseas, SEALDs are apparently quite an irritant. An independent member of the Yukuhashi city assembly in Fukuoka Prefecture also stuck his foot firmly in his mouth when he riffed on a comment by one SEALDs member that \u201cwe tremble at the thought of going to war.\u201d Shinya Kotsubo parodied it on his blog on July 26, titling his article \u201cSEALDs members should tremble at the thought that they\u2019ll never get a job.\u201d He explained further, writing, \u201cYou are demonstrating now while you\u2019re students, so don\u2019t come crying when no one will hire you later on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,43,22,34,4,14,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pinprick-protests","category-bad-business-practices","category-cultural-issue","category-exclusionism","category-japanese-government","category-japanese-politics","category-tangents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13768","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=13768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13768\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}