{"id":15910,"date":"2020-01-20T00:40:42","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T08:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15910"},"modified":"2020-01-20T07:41:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T15:41:00","slug":"debito-org-newsletter-january-20-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15910","title":{"rendered":"DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER JANUARY 20, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

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DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER JANUARY 20, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hello Debito.org Newsletter Readers, and Happy New Year!<\/p>\n

Today marks a first for me: the first time two articles of mine have come out on the same day. First, an excerpt of an opinion piece on Carlo Ghosn’s Great Escape on SNA, then a sidebar in the Japan Times on what to do if you’re stopped by the Japanese police for one of their Instant ID Checkpoints. This on the heels of my annual Japan Times Top Ten Human Rights Issues as they affected NJ residents of Japan, which came out on January 6, 2020.<\/p>\n

So instead of previewing my latest article before getting to the Table of Comments, let me fold them right into the Newsletter:<\/p>\n

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

1) My SNA Visible Minorities Col 6: \u201cCarlos Ghosn\u2019s Escape from Japan Was the Right Move\u201d, Jan 20, 2020<\/strong>
\n2) Debito.org\u2019s stance on the Carlos Ghosn Case, at last: A boardroom coup making \u201cthin legal soup\u201d that might shame Japan\u2019s \u201chostage justice\u201d judicial system into reform (updated for the Great Escape)<\/strong>
\n3) Finance Minister Aso apologizes if \u2018single-race nation\u2019 remark (essentially denying Japan\u2019s officially-recognized multiethnic society) was \u201cmisunderstood\u201d<\/strong>
\n4) My SNA Visible Minorities column 5: \u201cLocal Governments Classifying Japanese Citizens as Foreigners\u201d, Dec. 16, 2019<\/strong>
\n5) \u201cEvery Foreign Guest must present passport for photocopying\u201d at Hotel Crown Hills Kokura; Japanese Police up to same old unlawful tricks in Fukuoka Prefecture<\/strong><\/p>\n

… and finally…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

6) My Japan Times JBC column 117: The annual Top Ten for 2019 of human rights issues as they affected NJ residents in Japan<\/strong>
\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

By Debito Arudou, Ph.D. (debito@debito.org, www.debito.org, Twitter @arudoudebito)
\nDebito.org Newsletters as always are freely forward able<\/p>\n

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

1) My SNA Visible Minorities Col 6: \u201cCarlos Ghosn\u2019s Escape from Japan Was the Right Move\u201d, Jan 20, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have to admit more than a twinge of sympathy for Carlos Ghosn\u2019s Great Escape.<\/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, 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.<\/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\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rest at http:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2020\/01\/20\/visible-minorities-carlos-ghosns-escape-from-japan-was-the-right-move\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Anchor site for comments at https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15907<\/a><\/p>\n

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

2) Debito.org\u2019s stance on the Carlos Ghosn Case, at last: A boardroom coup making \u201cthin legal soup\u201d that might shame Japan\u2019s \u201chostage justice\u201d judicial system into reform (updated for the Great Escape)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ed\u2019s note Dec 31, 2019<\/strong><\/span>: Updating this post from Feb 2019 because of Carlos Ghosn\u2019s reemergence in Beirut, having somehow escaped from the clutches of the Japanese judiciary. The best article I\u2019ve found on this event is on the daily beast here. Debito.org has come down decisively in favor of Ghosn\u2019s escape, as Ch 6 of book \u201cEmbedded Racism\u201d depicts Japan\u2019s judiciary as decidedly against justice for NJ caught in their \u201chostage justice\u201d system. Fact is, Ghosn never stood a chance of a fair trial, especially in light of allegations that have surfaced later that indicate Nissan\u2019s own (Japanese) CEO is just as guilty of similar \u201ccriminal behavior\u201d that did not result in arrests. Read on for the reason why Debito.org believes the Ghosn case was a flimsy one from the start:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15548<\/a><\/p>\n

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

3) Finance Minister Aso apologizes if \u2018single-race nation\u2019 remark (essentially denying Japan\u2019s officially-recognized multiethnic society) was \u201cmisunderstood\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asahi<\/strong>: After more than a century of forced assimilation and discrimination, the Ainu people were finally recognized as indigenous under legislation enacted in May 2019. But [Finance Minister Taro Aso] apparently forgot about that legislation when he gave a speech at a Jan. 13 meeting with his supporters in his electoral turf of Nogata, Fukuoka Prefecture. \u201cThere is no other nation but (Japan) where a single race has spoken a single language at a single location and maintained a single dynasty with a single emperor for over 2,000 years,\u201d said Aso, who is also deputy prime minister. \u201cIt is a great nation.\u201d \u201cIf my remarks caused a misunderstanding, I apologize and will correct them\u201d Aso said after a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo. [On Jan. 14 he] sort of apologized: \u201cI have no intention of denying the government\u2019s policy.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: Now, watching an LDP dinosaur making statements like this (who keeps getting re-elected) is frustrating as hell. However, a) it\u2019s refreshing that he \u201csort of apologized\u201d (we\u2019ve had plenty of these fossilized statements in the past not even getting that much, or even being doubled-down upon by bonafide bigots who nevertheless get re-elected); and b) we have official policy enacted last year (as noted in my annual JT Top Ten Human Rights List for 2019) that has declared the Ainu an indigenous people, meaning Japan is officially multiethnic. Even Asole himself wasn\u2019t going to (officially) contradict that. Good news, sort of.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15900<\/a><\/p>\n

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

4) My SNA Visible Minorities Col 5: \u201cLocal Governments Classifying Japanese Citizens as Foreigners\u201d, Dec. 16, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

SNA (Tokyo) \u2014<\/strong> According to the Japanese government, our resident Non-Japanese (NJ) population reached yet another new record, at 2.8 million last June. Last April, Japan started offering new visa regimes to greatly expand the NJ labor force, in response to Japan\u2019s aging society and shrinking population. This, plus steady numbers of permanent residents, international marriages, and naturalizing citizens, are expanding our multicultural and multiethnic communities.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In response, local governments have been trying to accommodate the diversity through new concepts and policies. It started in earnest as far back as 2001 with the Hamamatsu Declaration, where multiple cities and towns near Shizuoka Prefecture called upon the national government to assist them in providing their NJ residents with education, welfare benefits, and streamlined administration. Since then, local governments have generally made positive proposals in good faith.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But sometimes they get it wrong. Last month, Debito.org reported how the city of Nagoya uses a very problematic term in their documents: Gaikokujin Shimin. The closest translation would be a \u201cforeigner city resident\/citizen\u201d (as opposed to, er, a gaikokujin kokumin, the contradictory \u201cforeigner Japanese citizen\u201d?). But the point is that people covered by this term officially belong in the city as dwellers and participants.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The concept sounds inclusive until you see how it\u2019s officially being defined. According to one of Nagoya city\u2019s \u201cGeneral Plans,\u201d dated August 2018, a Gaikokujin Shimin is, as I translate it from the text: \u201cIn addition to people with foreign nationalities with an address within Nagoya city, people like those who obtained Japanese citizenship, children born from international marriages, people with foreign cultures in their backgrounds, and people who have foreign roots.\u201d<\/strong><\/em> (Original Japanese: \u540d\u53e4\u5c4b\u5e02\u5185\u306b\u4f4f\u6240\u3092\u6709\u3059\u308b\u5916\u56fd\u7c4d\u306e\u4eba\u306e\u307b\u304b\u3001\u65e5\u672c\u56fd\u7c4d\u3092\u53d6\u5f97\u3057\u305f\u4eba\u3084\u56fd\u969b\u7d50\u5a5a\u306b\u3088\u3063\u3066\u751f\u307e\u308c\u305f\u5b50\u3069\u3082\u306a\u3069\u5916\u56fd\u306e\u6587\u5316\u3092\u80cc\u666f\u306b\u6301\u3064\u4eba\u306a\u3069\u3001\u5916\u56fd\u306b\u30eb\u30fc\u30c4\u3092\u6301\u3064\u4eba\u3002) Let\u2019s mull that over<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Rest at http:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2019\/12\/16\/visible-minorities-local-governments-classifying-japanese-citizens-as-foreigners\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Comments at https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15883<\/a><\/p>\n

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

5) \u201cEvery Foreign Guest must present passport for photocopying\u201d at Hotel Crown Hills Kokura; Japanese Police up to same old unlawful tricks in Fukuoka Prefecture<\/strong><\/p>\n

Submitter MR<\/strong>: I made a reservation for a buddy on Japanese-language Rakuten Travel (\u697d\u5929\u30c8\u30e9\u30d9\u30eb) website at the Hotel Crown Hills Kokura. At check in tonight (12\/9\/19) at around 7:45PM, the Front Desk asked for his passport to photocopy. He is a Permanent Resident (\u6c38\u4f4f\u8005), so I intervened and told them so. They then immediately withdrew the request for the passport, but still asked for and checked his Gaijin Card (\u5728\u7559\u30ab\u30fc\u30c9).<\/em><\/p>\n

COMMENT<\/strong>: The hotel displayed yet another multilingual sign (Japanese, English, Korean, Chinese, and Arabic) produced by the Japanese Police that ignores the law and encourages racial profiling. This one not only lists the approval of the Fukuoka Prefectural Police (and erroneously cites the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), but also all Fukuoka Prefectural Public Health Departments (Fukuoka Kennai Kaku Hokenjo). Even though we\u2019ve already had at least one Hokenjo (in Mito) correct the overzealous local police before on the letter of the law, which is:<\/p>\n

If you have an address in Japan, you do not have to show any ID at a hotel check in. Just write that address in the hotel guest book. That goes for Japanese and NJ residents of Japan. The law on hotel (and minpaku) ID checks only applies to foreign tourists without an address in Japan. So demand it be it enforced.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, if you want to do what Debito.org Reader Onur did some months ago, contact the local Hokenjo and get the law corrected. Clearly the Japanese police are not going to police themselves. Or if you want to do something to stop this happening to you, download a file substantiating that you don\u2019t have to show any ID as a resident of Japan here: https:\/\/www.debito.org\/newhotelpassportlaw.jpg<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15863<\/a><\/p>\n

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

… and finally…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

6) My Japan Times JBC column 117: The annual Top Ten for 2019 of human rights issues as they affected NJ residents in Japan, Jan 6, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

For over a decade, Just Be Cause has recapped the previous year\u2019s biggest human rights and human rights-related issues that have affected the non-Japanese community in Japan.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

With the start of a new decade upon us, I thought it would be appropriate to mix a little of what was going on in 2019 and connect it to the broader topics that came up during the 2010s. Some are victories, some are losses \u2014 some are dangerous losses \u2014 but all of the entries below (in ascending order) are at the very least highly relevant to all of us.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Bubbling under:<\/strong>
\n\u2022 The Ainu Recognition Law passes last February, meaning Japan is officially multiethnic.
\n\u2022 Donald Keene, scholar who opened Japanese literature to the world but senselessly portrayed fellow NJ residents as criminals and cowards, dies aged 96.
\n\u2022 Sadako Ogata, UN superstar for refugees who did surprisingly little for refugees in Japan, dies aged 92.
\n\u2022 Yasuhiro Nakasone, assertive former Prime Minister with a history of claiming Japan\u2019s superior intelligence due to a lack of ethnic minorities, and of operating wartime \u201ccomfort women\u201d stations, dies aged 101.
\n\u2022 Shinzo Abe becomes Japan\u2019s longest-serving Prime Minister.<\/p>\n

10) Otaru Onsens Case, 20 years on<\/em><\/strong>
\n9) Diversity in Japanese sports<\/em><\/strong>
\n8) Japan\u2019s students challenge draconian rules (hair and underwear policing, etc)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

See if your favorite issue made the Top Ten (yes, Ghosn did, again). Read the rest at https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/community\/2020\/01\/06\/issues\/japan-international-community-2019\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Comments at https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15894<\/a><\/p>\n

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

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!
\nDebito Arudou, Ph.D.
\nDEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER JANUARY 20, 2020 ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

======================
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Table of Contents:
\n1) My SNA Visible Minorities Col 6: \u201cCarlos Ghosn\u2019s Escape from Japan Was the Right Move\u201d, Jan 20, 2020
\n2) Debito.org\u2019s stance on the Carlos Ghosn Case, at last: A boardroom coup making \u201cthin legal soup\u201d that might shame Japan\u2019s \u201chostage justice\u201d judicial system into reform (updated for the Great Escape)
\n3) Finance Minister Aso apologizes if \u2018single-race nation\u2019 remark (essentially denying Japan\u2019s officially-recognized multiethnic society) was \u201cmisunderstood\u201d
\n4) My SNA Visible Minorities column 5: \u201cLocal Governments Classifying Japanese Citizens as Foreigners\u201d, Dec. 16, 2019
\n5) \u201cEvery Foreign Guest must present passport for photocopying\u201d at Hotel Crown Hills Kokura; Japanese Police up to same old unlawful tricks in Fukuoka Prefecture<\/p>\n

… and finally…
\n6) My Japan Times JBC column 117: The annual Top Ten for 2019 of human rights issues as they affected NJ residents 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-15910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15910","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=15910"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15912,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15910\/revisions\/15912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}