{"id":15533,"date":"2019-01-24T09:11:35","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T19:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15533"},"modified":"2019-01-27T09:12:14","modified_gmt":"2019-01-27T19:12:14","slug":"debito-org-newsletter-january-27-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15533","title":{"rendered":"DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER JANUARY 27, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Books, eBooks, and more from Dr. Debito Arudou (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

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER JANUARY 27, 2019<\/strong>
\nTable of Contents:<\/em><\/strong>
\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

THE FAULTY DYNAMIC OF “NIPPON CLAIMING”<\/strong>
\n1) Japan Times JBC Col 113: \u201cWarning to Naomi Osaka: Playing tennis for Japan can seriously shorten your career\u201d (Sep. 19, 2018)<\/strong>
\n2) SCMP: \u201cTennis queen Naomi Osaka a role model, says \u2018Indian\u2019 Miss Japan Priyanka Yoshikawa\u201d. A little more complex than that.<\/strong>
\n3) \u201cNippon Claimed\u201d multiethnic tennis star Osaka Naomi gets \u201cwhitewashed\u201d by her sponsor. Without consulting her. Compare with singer Crystal Kay.<\/strong><\/p>\n

SHENANIGANS<\/strong>
\n4) Fuji TV\u2019s \u201cTaikyo no Shunkan\u201d: Reality TV targeting NJ as sport. Again.<\/strong>
\n5) Japan Times officially sanitizes WWII \u201ccomfort women\u201d and \u201cforced laborers\u201d. Pressure on my JT Just Be Cause column too.<\/strong>
\n6) Excellent Japan Times feature on dual citizenship in Japan: \u201cDon\u2019t Ask, Don\u2019t Tell\u201d policy leaves many in the dark<\/strong><\/p>\n

GOOD NEWS?<\/strong>
\n7) Nikkei: Japanese-Brazilians snub Tokyo\u2019s diaspora residency program, attracting exactly ZERO applications after starting 3 months ago<\/strong>
\n8 ) BBC: Fukuoka Hilton Hotel refuses entry to Cuban Ambassador due to \u201cUS sanctions\u201d. J authorities call action \u201cillegal\u201d. How quaint.<\/strong><\/p>\n

HOT DISCUSSIONS ON DEBITO.ORG<\/strong>
\n9) Nikkei Asian Review: \u201cIn rural Japan, immigrants spark a rebirth\u201d. An optimistic antidote to the regular media Gaijin Bashing<\/strong>
\n10) Senaiho on criminal complaint against Jr High School \u201cHair Police\u201d in Yamanashi<\/strong>
\n11) SendaiBen on \u201cAnytime Fitness\u201d Sports Gym Gaijin Carding him, and how he got them to stoppit<\/strong>
\n12) JT: GOJ Cabinet approves new NJ worker visa categories. Small print: Don\u2019t bring your families. Or try to escape.<\/strong>
\n13) Surprising survey results from Pew Research Center: Japan supportive of \u201cimmigration\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

… and finally…<\/em><\/strong>
\n14) Pop Matters.com: Interview with Activist and Writer Debito Arudou on Foreigners\u2019 Rights in Japan<\/strong>
\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

By Debito Arudou, Ph.D.
\ndebito@debito.org, www.debito.org, Twitter @arudoudebito
\nDebito.org Newsletter Freely Forwardable<\/p>\n

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

THE FAULTY DYNAMIC OF “NIPPON CLAIMING”<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Japan Times JBC Col 113: \u201cWarning to Naomi Osaka: Playing tennis for Japan can seriously shorten your career\u201d (Sep. 19, 2018)<\/strong><\/p>\n

JBC 113: First, Just Be Cause congratulates Naomi Osaka on her outstanding win over tennis legend Serena Williams in the U.S. Open. Osaka\u2019s grace under fire was world-class, and she deserves all the plaudits she can get.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And let\u2019s just get this out of the way: I also agree that Williams had every right to protest her treatment by a heavy-handed umpire. The ump made the game about his ability to punish instead of defuse a situation, and penalized a woman more severely than men for similar infractions.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But that commentary is for the Sports pages. Here\u2019s the JBC issue: Ms. Osaka, I don\u2019t think you understand what you\u2019ve gotten yourself into by choosing to play for Japan…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15156<\/a><\/p>\n

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

2) SCMP: \u201cTennis queen Naomi Osaka a role model, says \u2018Indian\u2019 Miss Japan Priyanka Yoshikawa\u201d. A little more complex than that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

SCMP: Japanese tennis sensation Naomi Osaka not only hit the cash jackpot with her historic US Open victory \u2013 she struck a blow for racial equality, according to a former Miss Japan\u2026 Priyanka Yoshikawa, who two years ago was crowned Miss Japan, believes Osaka can also help break down cultural barriers in a country where multi-racial children make up just two per cent of those born annually.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cJapan should be proud of her \u2013 she can definitely break down walls, she will have a big impact.\u201d Osaka, who has a Japanese mother, a Haitian father and was raised in the United States, is set to shine a light on what it means to be Japanese, predicts Yoshikawa. \u201cThe way she speaks, and her humbleness, are so Japanese,\u201d said the 24-year-old\u2026 Unlike Yoshikawa and Miyamoto, Osaka speaks hardly any Japanese after moving to Florida with her family as a toddler. \u201cIt\u2019s not about language,\u201d insists the Tokyo-born Yoshikawa, who was bullied because of her skin colour as a child\u2026 \u201cBut she\u2019s what she thinks she is. If you think you\u2019re Japanese, you\u2019re Japanese.\u201d\u2026 \u201cBut it\u2019s still going to take more time for people to think \u2018haafu\u2019 can be Japanese,\u201d she warned. \u201cWe need more people like Naomi.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: Indeed. Japan needs more people like Naomi. And like Priyanka. And Ariana Miyamoto. And Murofushi. And Asuka Cambridge. And Bekki. And Jero. And Darvish. And Miyazawa Rie. And Umemiya Anna. And Hiroko Grace. And Kinugasa \u201cIron Man\u201d Sachio. And any number of other \u201chaafu\u201d celebrities in Japan who have made history over generations, but barely made a dent in diversifying Japan\u2019s racialized self-concept of \u201cJapaneseness\u201d being predominantly pure-blooded. I\u2019m not sure what\u2019s different this time. Again, Debito.org is very happy to cheer on Ms. Osaka as she navigates her way through Japan\u2019s adult society and through the trappings and pitfalls of sports fame. But it\u2019s far too soon to be this optimistic that any real change has happened or will happen. As we\u2019ve seen from the world-class people above, it takes a lot more than one tennis star to undo this degree of \u201cEmbedded Racism<\/a>\u201d. Where\u2019s the \u201ctipping point\u201d?<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15160<\/a><\/p>\n

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

3) \u201cNippon Claimed\u201d multiethnic tennis star Osaka Naomi gets \u201cwhitewashed\u201d by her sponsor. Without consulting her. Compare with singer Crystal Kay.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Multiethnic tennis star Osaka Naomi, whom we\u2019ve talked about on Debito.org before in the context of Japan\u2019s \u201cNippon Claiming\u201d (where a mudblood is \u201cclaimed\u201d to be a \u201cJapanese\u201d, full stop, as long as she\u2019s at the top of her game; otherwise her mixed-ethnicity becomes a millstone), has now been claimed to the point of \u201cwhitewashing\u201d. Yes, her Haitian-American heritage has been washed away in the Japanese media. By one of her main sponsors, no less. And they did it without clearing it with her first.<\/p>\n

Osaka herself commented: \u201c\u201dI don\u2019t think they did it on purpose to be, like, whitewashing or anything, but I definitely think that the next time they try to portray me or something, I feel like they should talk to me about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, yeah. But unless Osaka takes active measures to control her image (to look, as she puts it, \u201ctan\u201d), the default standard in the Japanese media (which hasn\u2019t been able to accept other celebrities in Japan of mixed heritage as \u201cJapanese\u201d unless they \u201clook like Japanese\u201d) is to bleach their skin color. Doubt that? Consider what happened to singer Crystal Kay\u2026<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15506<\/a><\/p>\n

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

SHENANIGANS<\/strong><\/p>\n

4) Fuji TV\u2019s \u201cTaikyo no Shunkan\u201d: Reality TV targeting NJ as sport. Again.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thompson: As Japan predicts a rise in the number of immigrants and foreign tourists in the coming years, a new television show has turned migrant deportations into entertainment. The program provoked some outraged viewer reactions and insights about the plight faced by visa overstayers and undocumented migrants in Japan. Taikyo no Shunkan (\u30bf\u30a4\u30ad\u30e7\u306e\u77ac\u9593) (English translation: \u201cAt the Very Moment They Were Deported\u201d) premiered on Fuji Television in a Saturday evening prime time slot on October 6, 2018.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Using a typical reality show format, the two-hour program follows a group of so-called \u201cG-Men\u201d, or immigration officers, employed by the Tokyo regional office of the National Immigration Bureau as they hunt down visa overstayers and so-called \u201cillegal aliens\u201d (fuhotaizaisha, \u4e0d\u6cd5\u6ede\u5728\u8005) and squatters (fuhosenshu, \u4e0d\u6cd5\u5360\u6709) on camera. In one segment, the immigration officers stake out the apartment of a Vietnamese man suspected of violating the conditions of his trainee visa. He and two others are arrested and interrogated on camera before being deported 24 hours later.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: Debito.org has focussed on this kind of programming before. Consider this segment from a larger archive of broadcast media bashing NJ as terrorists and criminals, a phenomenon that gained political traction as former Tokyo Gov. Ishihara fanned the flames of xenophobia starting from around 2000. Not to mention the racist and propagandistic \u201cGaijin Hanzai\u201d magazine (2007) that also seemed to be made with the cooperation of the Japanese authorities.<\/p>\n

In the end, will there be any retractions, apologies for stereotyping, or even acknowledgments and caveats that NJ do good things in Japan too? As book Embedded Racism points out in Ch. 7<\/a>, not likely. After all, NJ have so little right-of-reply in Japan\u2019s media that bashing and blaming NJ for just about anything has long been normalized in Japan\u2019s media. It\u2019s simply part of standard operating practice \u2014 at the level of entertainment. Even a sport. It\u2019s a foxhunt for gaijin.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15176<\/a><\/p>\n

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

5) Japan Times officially sanitizes WWII \u201ccomfort women\u201d and \u201cforced laborers\u201d. Pressure on my JT Just Be Cause column too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Guardian: Japan\u2019s oldest English-language newspaper has sparked anger among staff and readers after revising its description of wartime sex slaves and forced labourers from the Korean peninsula. In a decision that critics said aligned it with the conservative agenda of the prime minister, Shinz\u014d Abe, the Japan Times said it had used terms \u201cthat could have been potentially misleading\u201d when reporting on the contentious subjects\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Japan Times, which marked its 120th anniversary last year, said in an editor\u2019s note in Friday\u2019s edition that it would ditch the commonly used term \u201cforced labour\u201d to describe Koreans who were made to work in Japanese mines and factories during its 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula. The Japan Times said: \u201cThe term \u2018forced labour\u2019 has been used to refer to labourers who were recruited before and during world war two to work for Japanese companies. However, because the conditions they worked under or how these workers were recruited varied, we will henceforth refer to them as \u2018wartime labourers.\u2019\u201d\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

[The JT] said it would also alter its description of the comfort women \u2013 a euphemism for tens of thousands of girls and women, mainly from the Korean peninsula, who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels before and during the war.. \u201cBecause the experiences of comfort women in different areas throughout the course of the war varied widely, from today, we will refer to \u2018comfort women\u2019 as \u2018women who worked in wartime brothels, including those who did so against their will, to provide sex to Japanese soldiers\u2019.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: It\u2019s sad that the JT, the last bastion of independent mainstream journalism in English in Japan, has knuckled under \u2014 the death of honest-history-based journalism due to PM Abe\u2019s revisionist government pressure. I feel that pressure has even been put on me, as a columnist for the JT since 2002, because my new editor now wants me to water down my ninth-annual \u201cTop 10 Human Rights Issues\u201d of the year, writing me a few days ago: \u201cI wonder if it might read better to take it out of the Top 10 format and write in detail on certain cases. I would like to see something along the lines of: What did Japan do right this year, What has the potential to move forward next year, and Which area is cause for concern.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15227<\/a><\/p>\n

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

6) Excellent Japan Times feature on dual citizenship in Japan: \u201cDon\u2019t Ask, Don\u2019t Tell\u201d policy leaves many in the dark<\/strong><\/p>\n

JT: The nationality law officially obliges those who have multiple citizenships by birthright to choose one by the age of 22. But in fact, possibly hundreds of thousands have maintained multiple nationalities and to date the government has never cracked down on any of them. In response to questions over the number of dual nationals, the Justice Ministry confirmed to The Japan Times that some 890,000 people were or are in a position to have dual nationality. This figure is based on official family registries maintained by local municipalities between 1985 and 2016, and includes people who have declared or forfeited Japanese citizenship, as well as people assumed to have multiple nationalities based on their birthright.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were forced to decide which citizenship to retain and which citizenship to relinquish, I would view it as which culture and which nation am I to abandon.\u201d According to a survey conducted by The Japan Times of 1,449 people with dual nationalities, 76.8 percent maintain dual citizenship while 23.2 percent decided to forfeit one of their passports. The same survey showed that 39.5 percent of multiple passport holders \u201calways\u201d switch passports depending on the country they enter, while 37.3 percent \u201csometimes\u201d switch passports. With the government\u2019s official position becoming more divorced from a globalizing society where a large number of people maintain dual nationalities, many have to rely on word-of-mouth for information on what they see as an important, life-changing decision regarding their citizenship.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: This lengthy feature from The Japan Times conducts original research on dual nationality in Japan, and gives vital insights into the game of legal chicken played by the Japanese Government to get people to forfeit their dual nationality (and by extension, part of their identity), all for mere allegiance to the fiction that Japan is monocultural and homogeneous. This suppression of diversity must stop, but few are taking notice. That is, until recently, when it\u2019s become clear that \u201cJapan-Claiming\u201d of diverse Japanese such as Osaka Naomi helps with the other thing the insecure Japanese Government craves: respect and recognition for excellence on the world stage.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s worth revisiting this older JT article. The takeaway is this: As the JT has also recently reported, there is no real penalty from the Japanese Government for not surrendering your non-Japanese nationality: \u201cThere have been no reported instances of dual nationals by birth having their citizenship revoked.\u201d So as Debito.org has always advised: Declare Japanese nationality and quietly keep renewing your foreign passport. The foreign government will not tell the Japanese authorities (it\u2019s none of their business), and the Japanese authorities cannot strip you of a foreign nationality (or even confiscate a foreign passport \u2013 it\u2019s the property of the foreign government). Only you can give one up. So don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=14979<\/a><\/p>\n

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

GOOD NEWS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

7) Nikkei: Japanese-Brazilians snub Tokyo\u2019s diaspora residency program, attracting exactly ZERO applications after starting 3 months ago<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nikkei: Japan\u2019s new residency program for fourth-generation Japanese descendants living overseas did not attract a single Japanese-Brazilian applicant in its first three months. The program, launched in July, allows descendants ranging in age from 18 to 30 to stay in Japan for up to five years and perform specific types of work. The goal is to ease Japan\u2019s labor shortage, and the Justice Ministry initially expected to accept 4,000 people a year. But the Japanese Embassy and consulates in Brazil had not received any applications as of the end of September\u2026 Despite the need for new sources of labor, Japan\u2019s government has insisted participants in the program would not be considered immigrants. An organization representing Japanese descendants in Brazil blasted Japan for \u201ctreating Japanese-Brazilians, who are their compatriots, as unskilled workers for a limited period.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: Here\u2019s the latest installment of what I like to call \u201cthe jig is up\u201d phenomenon affecting Japan\u2019s public policy, specifically the one that is trying to maintain Japan\u2019s exploitative \u201crevolving-door\u201d NJ labor market. The Nihon Keizai Shinbun has given us an inadvertently amusing article about how the government\u2019s latest policy U-turn towards the Nikkei Brazilian Community (whom they officially bribed to leave Japan a decade ago), and how this wheeze simply isn\u2019t working. ZERO applicants applied for a special labor program in three months. Even though the NJ resident population is at an all-time postwar high, some people have learned their lesson: don\u2019t come to Japan just to be exploited and then summarily sent home.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15191<\/a><\/p>\n

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

8 ) BBC: Fukuoka Hilton Hotel refuses entry to Cuban Ambassador due to \u201cUS sanctions\u201d. J authorities call action \u201cillegal\u201d. How quaint.<\/strong><\/p>\n

BBC: A US-owned hotel in Japan has been criticized by Japanese authorities after it denied the Cuban ambassador a room over fears it would violate US sanctions on Cuba. The Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk told Ambassador Carlos Pereria he could not stay last month because it could not accommodate Cuban government guests. That prompted a Cuban complaint. Japanese officials in the city have since told the hotel it was illegal to refuse rooms based on nationality.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

JT: Japan\u2019s law regulating hotel operations states that guests cannot be refused unless they carry an infectious disease or are suspected of committing illegal activities. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry pointed out that denying accommodation based on nationality is against the law. \u201cThe hotels operating domestically must comply with the law,\u201d the ministry said. A Hilton spokesperson said, \u201cWe refuse to provide service to officials of the government or state-owned enterprises of countries under U.S. economic sanctions such as North Korea, Iran and Syria. We would like to discuss about the matter internally in response to the guidance.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: Well, well, well. I guess it\u2019s helpful to be foreign and connected in high places. As has been reported for decades on Debito.org, Japan\u2019s hotel refusals by nationality are so normalized that hotels routinely ignore the law being cited, refusing \u201cforeigners\u201d entry due to \u201clack of facilities\u201d, \u201cdiscomfort on the part of the management or Japanese customers\u201d, or just for being \u201ccustomers while foreign\u201d (or even the \u201cwrong foreign customers\u201d). Sometimes these refusals have the backing and encouragement of local police agencies and other authorities in their overzealous \u201canti-terrorism\u201d\/\u201danti-crime\u201d\/\u201danti-infectious disease\u201d campaigns (because after all, only \u201cforeigners\u201d do all that in Japan). Now the Cuban Ambassador gets refused. And suddenly the law gets applied. Good. Now let\u2019s apply it everywhere, for a change. That\u2019s what laws are for.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15211<\/a><\/p>\n

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

HOT DISCUSSIONS ON DEBITO.ORG<\/strong><\/p>\n

9) Nikkei Asian Review: \u201cIn rural Japan, immigrants spark a rebirth\u201d. An optimistic antidote to the regular media Gaijin Bashing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nikkei: In roughly three decades, the number of foreign residents in Japan has grown to 2.47 million, from just 980,000 in 1989. So while this period will go down in history as the time the country\u2019s population went into decline, it has also brought an unprecedented influx of newcomers from abroad. Tagalog, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Indonesian: The students at Keiwa Elementary School in the southwestern prefecture of Mie speak nine different languages at home. But at school they use Japanese\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Foreign nationals tend to gravitate to places where their children are likely to receive better education. Mie \u2014 home to Keiwa Elementary \u2014 is a testament to this. The prefecture is gaining a reputation for supporting students born to non-Japanese parents. \u201cMieko san no Nihongo,\u201d a textbook for teaching classroom Japanese developed by the Mie International Exchange Foundation, has proved useful in this regard and is now used in elementary and junior high schools nationwide.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Ministry of Education, the number of students requiring additional instruction in the Japanese language at public elementary and junior high schools topped 30,000 for the first time in the year ended March 2017. The central government, too, is looking to bring more foreign workers into the country. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last month said his government will design a reform plan for this purpose by the summer. Yet Abe is not exactly jumping in with both feet \u2014 the policy will not encourage permanent settlement, with a cap to be placed on the maximum stay and restrictions on bringing family members along. Even so, Japan is far more diverse than it was in 1950, when there were only 600,000 residents from overseas. From large cities to tiny villages, Japanese grow ever more accustomed to mingling with their fellow global citizens. And the newcomers are breathing life into communities that looked destined to fade.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: As an antidote to the program talked about last blog entry, where hunting NJ for public sport and amusement became yet another TV show, here\u2019s a relatively rare article showing the good that NJ do for Japanese society: revitalizing communities that are dying, as they age and endure an exodus of their young to more prosperous cities. The article is a bit too optimistic to be realistic (given that all this progress could be undone with a simple mass cancellation of visas and government repatriation bribes; the former has happened multiple times in Japan\u2019s history), but I\u2019d rather have the article than not. Have a look and tell us what you think.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=14999<\/a><\/p>\n

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

10) Senaiho on criminal complaint against Jr High School \u201cHair Police\u201d in Yamanashi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Senaiho<\/strong>: Since writing this article in the spring of last year, there have been several developments in our case. At the end of 2017, we submitted a petition to the Yamanashi board of education requesting they do an investigation into the bullying, and reasons for the trauma experienced by our daughter. As a result of this experience she has been absent for almost the entire last two years of her middle school education.<\/em><\/p>\n

Over the course of 2017 with the help of our local Ombudsman, we managed to collect over 1500 signatures requesting that the school board do an internal investigation into the causes and responsibilities of the incidents regarding our daughter. The school board agreed to do an investigation. At the end of 2018 after reports of monthly meetings of the school board (in which we were not allowed to participate), we were informed that the results of this investigation completely exonerated the teachers and any public officials of any misdeeds or responsibility regarding the treatment of our daughter. It was all our fault as incompetent parents that our daughter was bullied and suffered such trauma that she was not able to attend school. Shame on us. We have requested to see a copy of this report, but have been informed that will not be allowed. The reason given is that it contains the names of private individuals involved whose privacy must be protected. Bullspit! We tried to be civil and it got us nowhere.<\/em><\/p>\n

As of January 8, 2019, we have filed with the Yamanashi Pref. Police a criminal complaint naming the school principal and three teachers as defendants. Later that afternoon we also held a press conference. As of this writing articles regarding our case have appeared in several newspapers across the country. Since it is still early in the criminal case, I am sure there will be many developments over the next several weeks and months. I will strive to keep you informed as these occur.<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15489<\/a><\/p>\n

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

11) SendaiBen on \u201cAnytime Fitness\u201d Sports Gym Gaijin Carding him, and how he got them to stoppit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an instructive post from Debito.org Reader and Contributor SendaiBen. He was told (like so many people are) that he had to surrender his Zairyuu \u201cGaijin Card\u201d in order to register for service. But as he (and many other veterans of this silliness) know, you only have to present it when asked by a member of Japan\u2019s policing or Immigration officials to do so. Otherwise, any form of ID (such as a Japanese driver license) that works for Japanese should work for NJ too.<\/p>\n

But some companies don\u2019t know or don\u2019t care, so they push NJ around. Here\u2019s how SendaiBen successfully pushed back, in the case of a sports gym (a notorious business sector towards NJ members) called Anytime Fitness. And so can you. Follow his footsteps.<\/p>\n

SendaiBen<\/strong>: It seems more and more companies are becoming aware of the zairyu card, not just as another form of acceptable ID, but sometimes as the only form of ID they will accept from non-Japanese citizens. I personally believe that is unacceptable, so will continue to push back in this way to prevent it from spreading. I don\u2019t want to be asked for my zairyu card by random companies as I go about my daily life\u2026 But then came Anytime Fitness, and I had to write in specially to confirm that they will also accept Japanese driver licenses\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15222<\/a><\/p>\n

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

12) JT: GOJ Cabinet approves new NJ worker visa categories. Small print: Don\u2019t bring your families. Or try to escape.<\/strong><\/p>\n

JT: The Cabinet approved a bill Friday that would overhaul the nation\u2019s immigration control law by introducing new visa categories for foreign workers, in an attempt to address the graying population and shrinking workforce. \u201cCreating a new residence status to accept foreign workers is of utmost importance as the nation\u2019s population declines and businesses suffer from lack of personnel,\u201d Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference on the day.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Although details remain hazy, the new bill marks a departure from previous policy in allowing foreign individuals to work in blue-collar industries for a potentially indefinite amount of time if certain conditions, such as holding a valid employment contract, are met. Yet amid concerns over whether the nation has the infrastructure and environment to accommodate an inflow of foreign workers, the government has categorically denied that the overhaul will open the doors to immigrants. \u201cWe are not adopting a policy on people who will settle permanently in the country, or so-called immigrants,\u201d Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the Lower House Budget Committee on Thursday. \u201cThe new system we are creating is based on the premise that the workers will work in sectors suffering labor shortages, for a limited time, in certain cases without bringing their families.\u201d\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: As the JT notes, the next wave of NJ temp labor has been officially approved by the Abe Cabinet. The new statuses mostly still have the caveat of being temp, unrooted labor (bringing over families is expressly verboten). And you can qualify for something better if you manage to last, oh, ten years \u2014 around one-fifth of a person\u2019s total productive working life. Because, as the JT reported in a follow-up article days later, time spent working under these visa statuses in particular does NOT count towards their required \u201cworking period\u201d when applying for Permanent Residency.<\/p>\n

Another interesting part of this article is the bit about how many Indentured \u201cTrainee\u201d NJ workers had \u201cgone missing\u201d from their generally harsh modern-slavery working conditions (4,279) so far this year, and how it might even exceed last year\u2019s record total of 7,089. Anyway, with the news above, the GOJ looks set to invite in even more people, in even more work sectors, and with the regular \u201crevolving-door\u201d work status (i.e., not make immigrants out of them). Some people have gotten wise to this practice and are staying away from Japan, but I bet many won\u2019t. Unless we let them know in venues like Debito.org.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15203<\/a><\/p>\n

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

13) Surprising survey results from Pew Research Center: Japan supportive of \u201cimmigration\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some weeks ago Debito.org Reader FB sent along a link to an article which noted: \u201cSpain and Japan were among the most open to the idea of increased immigration, with 28% and 23% of their respective populations supporting more.\u201d It cited a recent worldwide Pew Research Global Attitudes Survey of 27 countries on international migration of labor.<\/p>\n

I was incredulous. I\u2019ve written before how Japan\u2019s policymakers, even its demographic scientists, view the word \u201cimmigration\u201d (imin) as a taboo term and topic of discussion. So I wondered if there had been some finagling of the question\u2019s translation. So I wrote to Pew directly and got this answer\u2026<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15465<\/a><\/p>\n

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

… and finally…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

14) Pop Matters.com: Foreigners\u2019 Rights in Japan: Interview with Activist and Writer Debito Arudou<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q: A recent immigration issue in Japan is controversy over the new immigration law due to take effect in April, which will bring in 345,000 foreigners over five years to work in certain occupations such as construction, food service, and home-visit care for the elderly. What do you see as the pros and cons of the law?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Debito<\/strong>: I\u2019m going to take a wait-and-see attitude on it. The government of Prime Minister Abe, by introducing the new law, is acknowledging the fact that Japan needs to bring in foreign labor. There\u2019s no other way to get around the current demographic crisis; the ageing population plus low birth rate means there aren\u2019t enough people to pay the taxes and do the \u201cdirty work\u201d that most Japanese don\u2019t want to do. But, as usual, it\u2019s arranged so as not to allow these people to settle and invest in Japanese society. Over time, many entrants will surely gain a better understanding and appreciation of Japan, so they should be allowed to make a real contribution to Japanese society for their entire lives if they so choose.<\/p>\n

Depriving them of that opportunity because they are essentially seen as temporary labor on revolving-door visas (if longer-term, this time) is basically the same mistake that has been made with the trainee \/ intern visa system Japan has had for more than two decades now. One wonders if Japan\u2019s ruling elite is ever going to learn its lesson about giving quid pro quo to people who have made their investments into this society. If you stay here, learn the language, pay your taxes, and contribute to the workforce, sooner or later you should be allowed to stay permanently. But that\u2019s not implicitly promised even in these new visas.<\/p>\n

There has really never been a true \u201cimmigration policy\u201d, one of making foreigners into Japanese, in Japan to this day. We don\u2019t just need a temporary migrant labor policy. Bringing in more people in and of itself is not a viable solution to the demographic crisis. The solution is incentivizing them to stay and to become Japanese.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15492<\/a><\/p>\n

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

That’s all for now. Thanks as always for reading!<\/p>\n

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER JANUARY 27, 2019 ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\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":"

Table of Contents:
\nTHE FAULTY DYNAMIC OF “NIPPON CLAIMING”
\n1) Japan Times JBC Col 113: \u201cWarning to Naomi Osaka: Playing tennis for Japan can seriously shorten your career\u201d (Sep. 19, 2018)
\n2) SCMP: \u201cTennis queen Naomi Osaka a role model, says \u2018Indian\u2019 Miss Japan Priyanka Yoshikawa\u201d. A little more complex than that.
\n3) \u201cNippon Claimed\u201d multiethnic tennis star Osaka Naomi gets \u201cwhitewashed\u201d by her sponsor. Without consulting her. Compare with singer Crystal Kay.<\/p>\n

SHENANIGANS
\n4) Fuji TV\u2019s \u201cTaikyo no Shunkan\u201d: Reality TV targeting NJ as sport. Again.
\n5) Japan Times officially sanitizes WWII \u201ccomfort women\u201d and \u201cforced laborers\u201d. Pressure on my JT Just Be Cause column too.
\n6) Excellent Japan Times feature on dual citizenship in Japan: \u201cDon\u2019t Ask, Don\u2019t Tell\u201d policy leaves many in the dark<\/p>\n

GOOD NEWS?
\n7) Nikkei: Japanese-Brazilians snub Tokyo\u2019s diaspora residency program, attracting exactly ZERO applications after starting 3 months ago
\n8 ) BBC: Fukuoka Hilton Hotel refuses entry to Cuban Ambassador due to \u201cUS sanctions\u201d. J authorities call action \u201cillegal\u201d. How quaint.<\/p>\n

HOT DISCUSSIONS ON DEBITO.ORG
\n9) Nikkei Asian Review: \u201cIn rural Japan, immigrants spark a rebirth\u201d. An optimistic antidote to the regular media Gaijin Bashing
\n10) Senaiho on criminal complaint against Jr High School \u201cHair Police\u201d in Yamanashi
\n11) SendaiBen on \u201cAnytime Fitness\u201d Sports Gym Gaijin Carding him, and how he got them to stoppit
\n12) JT: GOJ Cabinet approves new NJ worker visa categories. Small print: Don\u2019t bring your families. Or try to escape.
\n13) Surprising survey results from Pew Research Center: Japan supportive of \u201cimmigration\u201d<\/p>\n

… and finally…
\n14) Pop Matters.com: Interview with Activist and Writer Debito Arudou on Foreigners\u2019 Rights in Japan<\/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-15533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15533","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=15533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15534,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15533\/revisions\/15534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}