{"id":14739,"date":"2017-09-10T18:44:03","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T04:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=14739"},"modified":"2021-03-28T15:15:31","modified_gmt":"2021-03-28T22:15:31","slug":"nj-osakan-ibrahim-yener-wins-lawsuit-against-japanese-only-car-dealer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=14739","title":{"rendered":"NJ Osakan Ibrahim Yener wins lawsuit against “Japanese only” car dealer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi Blog. \u00a0Good news. \u00a0Another NJ wins in court against a “Japanese Only” establishment<\/a>, this time a car dealer who wouldn’t send Osakan Plaintiff Ibrahim Yener information about their goods because he’s a foreigner.<\/p>\n

Yener joins the ranks of Ana Bortz<\/a>, the Otaru Onsen Plaintiffs<\/a>, and Steve McGowan<\/a>, all of whom won and\/or lost in court in varying degrees.<\/p>\n

The positive thing to note here is that Mr. Yener filed suit all by himself, without legal representation, and still won. \u00a0He no doubt had the company dead to rights because he had their refusal in writing. \u00a0That means that anyone else with a case as watertight as his can also take it to court and win, and I advise people to do so whenever possible<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The negative thing to note here is that once again the award amount has been reduced. \u00a0In the Bortz Case, the award was 2 million yen, in the Otaru Case it was 1 million yen per plaintiff, and in the McGowan Case, after a ludicrous defeat in lower court<\/a>, it was eventually only 350,000 yen on appeal<\/a>, which didn’t even come close to covering his legal fees. \u00a0In the Yener Case, it’s now been reduced to a paltry 200,000 yen, which means it’s a good thing he didn’t seek legal representation.<\/p>\n

(And as the article notes, the discriminator is thinking of appealing, claiming this amount — essentially pocket change for a company — is too high. \u00a0The idiots also try to make the common excuse that “Japanese Only” alludes to a language barrier, not a racial one; nice try, but didn’t hold up in court.)<\/p>\n

Anyway, glad that Mr. Yener won. \u00a0It’s just a pity that after all this time and effort, there isn’t any deterrent of punitive damages against racial discriminators. \u00a0That’s why we need a criminal law against racial discrimination in Japan — because the excuse the Japanese government officially keeps making (that laws are unnecessary because there is a court system for redress<\/a>) becomes less compelling with every lawsuit filed. \u00a0Dr. Debito Arudou<\/p>\n

UPDATE: \u00a0Ibrahim Yener writes to Debito.org directly to provide more details on his case.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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

Turkish man wins solo battle in fight against discrimination<\/strong>
\n By SATOKO ONUKI\/ Staff Writer<\/strong>
\n Asahi Shinbun, September 4, 2017, courtesy lots of people<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/www.asahi.com\/ajw\/articles\/AJ201709040042.html<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO: Ibrahim Yener, a 40-year-old Turkish national, in Osaka\u2019s Kita Ward on Aug. 29. He successfully fought a court battle against a car dealer that declined to offer information about a used car on grounds Yener does not have Japanese citizenship. (Satoko Onuki)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

OSAKA–Incensed at a car dealer’s refusal to send him literature on its range because he is not Japanese, Ibrahim Yener, a Turkish national, decided to wage a legal battle against the company for discriminating against a foreigner.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And Yener, who is 40 and a resident of Osaka, did it all alone–without a lawyer to represent him.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He said he opted out of hiring legal representation because he was confident his claim “is 100 percent legitimate.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yener went online to learn how to write a complaint to the court in Japanese and got friends to help him.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

His complaint seeking 1 million yen ($9,090) in damages, filed with the Osaka District Court in March, reads: “I was informed by a company official that they will not serve foreigners.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On Aug. 25, his efforts paid off.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The court ordered the company to pay Yener 200,000 yen in damages for \u201cdiscriminating against him merely on grounds that he is a foreign national.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yener’s quest for equal treatment began when he made an online request last October for information on a second-hand car he was thinking of buying from the Osaka-based dealer.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The company replied: \u201cWe serve only those with Japanese nationality, and we do not meet requests for information from foreigners.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yener, a big fan of Japan and its culture, arrived in 2003.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

His fascination with Japan began after he watched \u201cSeven Samurai\u201d by internationally-renowned filmmaker Akira Kurosawa while he was still back in his home country.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After his arrival in Japan, he studied the language in earnest and has worked for an information technology company and other businesses.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On occasion Yener had been distressed to hear people ridicule foreign nationals who cannot read kanji. He said there are times when he feels he is not treated \u201cas an equal.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cRegrettably, many people in Japan, not just the car dealer, think that they can discriminate against foreigners,\u201d he said. \u201cSince I admire Japan, I am very saddened by that.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of Yener’s work colleagues sympathized with his plight and extended their assistance when he took the case to court.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe lawsuit represents more than his personal battle as it raises an important question for everyone who lives in Japan,\u201d said a colleague.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Preparing the documents was an enormous effort, and Yener was forced to take a day off from work so he could testify in court.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Yener felt he was on a mission and prepared to fight to the end.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur world is certainly becoming a better place, compared with 100 years ago,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can enjoy today\u2019s world because people in the preceding era plucked up the courage and challenged (what was unreasonable). I, too, fought for people who will live in this society 100 years from now.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The president of the car company said he is considering filing an appeal, adding that the sum ordered by the court is too high.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur original intention was to refuse to serve people who have difficulty understanding Japanese,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/strong>
\nENDS<\/p>\n

UPDATE: \u00a0Ibrahim Yener writes to Debito.org directly to provide more details on his case.<\/strong><\/a>
\n=========================
\nDo you like what you read on Debito.org? \u00a0Want to help keep the archive active and support Debito.org’s activities? \u00a0Please consider donating a little something. \u00a0More details here<\/a>. Or even click on an ad below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another NJ wins in court against a “Japanese Only” establishment, this time a car dealer who wouldn’t send Osakan Plaintiff Ibrahim Yener information about their goods because he’s a foreigner. \u00a0Yener joins the ranks of Ana Bortz, the Otaru Onsen Plaintiffs, and Steve McGowan, all of whom won and\/or lost in court in varying degrees. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The positive thing to note here is that Mr. Yener filed suit all by himself, without legal representation, and still won. \u00a0He no doubt had the company dead to rights because he had their refusal in writing. \u00a0That means that anyone else with a case as watertight as his can also take it to court and win, and I advise people to do so whenever possible. The negative thing to note here is that once again the award amount has been reduced. \u00a0In the Bortz Case, the award was 2 million yen, in the Otaru Case it was 1 million yen per plaintiff, and in the McGowan Case, after a ludicrous defeat in lower court, it was eventually only 350,000 yen on appeal, which didn’t even come close to covering his legal fees. \u00a0In the Yener Case, it’s now been reduced to a paltry 200,000 yen, which means it’s a good thing he didn’t seek legal representation. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyway, glad that Mr. Yener won. \u00a0It’s just a pity that after all this time and effort, there isn’t any deterrent of punitive damages against racial discriminators. \u00a0That’s why we need a criminal law against racial discrimination in Japan — because the excuse the Japanese government officially keeps making (that laws are unnecessary because there is a court system for redress) becomes less compelling with every lawsuit filed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,75,54,28,43,34,35,5,12,15,13,11,64,68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-japanese-only-signs","category-pinprick-protests","category-anti-discrimination-templates","category-bad-business-practices","category-exclusionism","category-good-news","category-human-rights","category-immigration-assimilation","category-lawsuits","category-media","category-problematic-foreign-treatment","category-sitys","category-victories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14739","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=14739"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14747,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14739\/revisions\/14747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}