{"id":15907,"date":"2020-01-20T07:08:27","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T15:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15907"},"modified":"2020-11-24T09:47:29","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T17:47:29","slug":"sna-visible-minorities-col-6-carlos-ghosns-escape-from-japan-was-the-right-move-jan-20-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15907","title":{"rendered":"SNA Visible Minorities Col 6: “Carlos Ghosn\u2019s Escape from Japan Was the Right Move”, Jan 20, 2020 (UPDATED with full text)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi Blog. \u00a0Here’s my latest column from the Shingetsu News Agency. \u00a0Enjoy. \u00a0Debito Arudou, Ph.D.<\/p>\n

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

Visible Minorities: Carlos Ghosn\u2019s Escape from Japan Was the Right Move<\/h2>\n
DEBITO ARUDOU<\/a> <\/span>in<\/em> COLUMN<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/header>\n
http:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2020\/01\/20\/visible-minorities-carlos-ghosns-escape-from-japan-was-the-right-move\/<\/a><\/header>\n
<\/header>\n
<\/header>\n

SNA (Tokyo) \u2014 I have to admit more than a twinge of sympathy for Carlos Ghosn\u2019s Great Escape<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghosn, the former CEO of Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Renault, was arrested in November 2018 on the initial suspicion of falsifying his compensation levels, and subjected to more than a year of Japan\u2019s \u201chostage justice.\u201d That is, he was held hostage to a judicial system that detains you until you confess to a crime, and subjects you to days, weeks, months, or conceivably even years of interrogation and tortuous conditions until you crack. Understandably, most do crack, and Japan\u2019s conviction rate after indictment is famously more than 99%.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But as you have probably heard, at the end of December Ghosn suddenly turned up in Lebanon, one of three places he has citizenship. Out on bail in Japan, he made a daring escape that people are still trying to piece together, including man-sized musical instrument cases<\/a>, an uncharacteristic lack of Japanese border security, and a mysterious visit to Lebanon\u2019s president by Japan\u2019s state minister for foreign affairs mere days before Ghosn jumped bail<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghosn is now making good on his threat to expose everything that happened to him while in custody. His multilingual press conference in Beirut two weeks ago was breathtaking to watch, full of documentation, pointed fingers, and hot-tongued accusations of the human rights denied to Japan\u2019s incarcerated.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This has been covered exhaustively worldwide, so what more is there to say? My perspective comes as a person who also tried to change Japanese rules and practices, and found that The System similarly fought back dirty.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m talking about the Otaru Hot Springs Case<\/a>.\u00a0 In 1999, some friends and I challenged Japan\u2019s lack of a law against racial discrimination, as manifest in signs up on businesses nationwide saying \u201cJapanese Only.\u201d\u00a0Places with these \u201cno foreigners allowed\u201d rules included public bathhouses, restaurants, shops, bars, public facilities, and even hotels, schools, hospitals, realtors, and other public services essential to life in Japan.\u00a0 People were (and still are) arbitrarily being refused service because they \u201clook foreign\u201d to proprietors, and that includes allegedly \u201cforeign-looking\u201d Japanese citizens.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We first took several exclusionary cases to the court of public opinion, where we had some initial victories (signs coming down and the rules changed).\u00a0 But soon Japanese media began putting up resistance (similar to what Ghosn noted in his press conference) to reasoned, informed, and factual public debate.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all described in detail in my book \u201cJapanese Only<\/a>\u201d (ebook available for a buck on Amazon<\/a>), but some of the media strategies we faced were similar, including:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Media quoting the proponents of the exclusionary status quo at length, less so the arguments of the critics;<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Media portraying the proponents as somehow pitiable, as \u201ckeepers of the faith\u201d in \u201ctraditional Japan.\u201d \u00a0Exclusions by physical appearance were soon construed as essentially normal, regular, or even necessary practices that keep Japanese in business;<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Media portraying the critics as \u201cJapan bashers,\u201d \u201cJapan haters\u201d, and generally \u201canti-Japan.\u201d\u00a0 Moreover, since foreigners were involved in the issue:<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Media portraying the issue of as a matter of \u201ccultural misunderstandings by foreigners who don\u2019t understand Japan\u201d and \u201coutsiders and guests disrespectfully telling poor old Japan what to do.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    After that, public debate almost completely elided the issue of racism.\u00a0 The consequences were that issues of fair and equal treatment under the law were mooted, which affected the judicial outcome when we eventually took this case to court.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    This enabling of exclusionism also empowered the militant \u201cnetto-uyo\u201d (internet right-wing trolls) to inject anger, fear and loathing into the debate.\u00a0 Then came the hate mail and death threats (which I still get to this day) to our homes, neighborhoods and workplaces.\u00a0 With this came the hairy eyeballs from our neighbors and colleagues, meaning it was now somehow our fault for causing all this trouble.\u00a0 Thus by standing up for our rights, we had brought all this upon ourselves.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Point is, I think Ghosn and I would have a lot to talk about.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Granted, there are caveats to this comparison.\u00a0 Ghosn\u2019s is a criminal case and ours was civil.\u00a0 We were not arrested, fired from our jobs (luckily), or put in jail for months.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    But I really get Ghosn.\u00a0 I understand why he decided to do a runner.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t just because he was denied access to his wife for months as a means to break him down psychologically.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t just because prosecutors have decisive power over the evidence (even exculpatory evidence) submitted to court.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t just because they decided to have separate trials for each charge, and the first trial would probably begin in 2021 and then take years.\u00a0 And it wasn\u2019t just because there is a separate and unequal jurisprudential track for foreigners than for Japanese (as detailed in my book \u201cEmbedded Racism\u201d, Chapter 6<\/a>).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    It was that given this level of legalized bullying over the accused in Japan, Ghosn knew he wouldn\u2019t get a fair trial with the presumption of innocence\u2014neither in the courtroom nor in the court of public opinion.\u00a0 And he was exactly right.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Even Japan\u2019s Justice Minister demanded Ghosn return and \u201cprove his innocence<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 That was not a gaffe.\u00a0 That\u2019s exactly<\/span> the system in Japan.\u00a0 And he would never be able to prove it when the courts and media follow the same presumption:\u00a0 you got arrested, so you must have done something wrong to bring The System down upon yourself.\u00a0 You\u2019ll never get a fair hearing because your side will not be heard.\u00a0 Not within Japan, anyway.\u00a0 Especially as a foreigner.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    I am aware that Ghosn\u2019s skipping bail like this means foreigners will probably never be granted bail again.\u00a0 (Then again, almost no foreigners are anyway<\/a>.) \u00a0\u00a0I am also aware that becoming a fugitive from justice just makes you look guiltier. \u00a0Moreover, the fact that Ghosn could actually escape is testament to his level of privilege, unlike the multitudes of suspects, foreign and Japanese, caught in the wringer without the wherewithal and connections to flee.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    But there is no other way but Ghosn for Japan\u2019s judicial excesses to finally be brought to light in the international arena.\u00a0 I care less about one rich man\u2019s escaping justice for possible white-collar crimes than about all the innocent people taken hostage by Japan\u2019s unfettered police and sadistic prosecutors, who are less interested in finding the truth than in losing face by losing a case.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    For too long now, Japan has gotten a free pass for its human rights abuses and torture of suspects.\u00a0 Ghosn is in the best position possible to blow the lid off this system and bring international pressure for reforms.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Ghosn can clear his name for his personal benefit if he likes.\u00a0 But as long as he winds up improving conditions for others incarcerated in Japan, I say support him in this quest.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see if he can reform Japan\u2019s vicious criminal justice system when we couldn\u2019t reform Japan\u2019s racist social justice system.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    ENDS<\/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. \u00a0    More details here<\/a>. Or if you prefer something less complicated, just click on an advertisement below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I have to admit more than a twinge of sympathy for Carlos Ghosn\u2019s Great Escape.<\/p>\n

    Ghosn, the former CEO of Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Renault, was arrested in November 2018 on the initial suspicion of falsifying his compensation levels, and subjected to more than a year of Japan\u2019s \u201chostage justice.\u201d That is, he was held hostage to a judicial system that detains you until you confess to a crime, and subjects you to days, weeks, months, or conceivably even years of interrogation and tortuous conditions until you crack. Understandably, most do crack, and Japan\u2019s conviction rate after indictment is famously more than 99%.<\/p>\n

    But as you have probably heard, at the end of December Ghosn suddenly turned up in Lebanon, one of three places he has citizenship. Out on bail in Japan, he made a daring escape that people are still trying to piece together, including man-sized musical instrument cases, an uncharacteristic lack of Japanese border security, and a mysterious visit to Lebanon\u2019s president by Japan\u2019s state minister for foreign affairs mere days before Ghosn jumped bail.<\/p>\n

    Ghosn is now making good on his threat to expose everything that happened to him while in custody. His multilingual press conference in Beirut two weeks ago was breathtaking to watch, full of documentation, pointed fingers, and hot-tongued accusations of the human rights denied to Japan\u2019s incarcerated.<\/p>\n

    This has been covered exhaustively worldwide, so what more is there to say? My perspective comes as a person who also tried to change Japanese rules and practices, and found that The System similarly fought back dirty…<\/p>\n

    Rest at http:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2020\/01\/20\/visible-minorities-carlos-ghosns-escape-from-japan-was-the-right-move\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,54,28,18,50,5,37,4,10,13,60,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-pinprick-protests","category-anti-discrimination-templates","category-academia","category-gaiatsu","category-human-rights","category-injustice","category-japanese-government","category-japanese-policeforeign-crime","category-media","category-nj-voices-ignored","category-otaru-onsen-lawsuit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15907","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=15907"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16323,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15907\/revisions\/16323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}