{"id":16039,"date":"2020-04-20T00:15:30","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T07:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16039"},"modified":"2020-04-20T09:15:41","modified_gmt":"2020-04-20T16:15:41","slug":"debito-org-newsletter-april-20-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16039","title":{"rendered":"DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER APRIL 20, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

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DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER APRIL 20, 2020<\/strong>
\nTable of Contents<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
\n1) Calling Debito.org Readers: How is life for you in COVID Japan?<\/strong>
\n2) COVID-inspired racism as NJ Residents are separated and \u201cothered\u201d from fellow Japan taxpayers by Dietmembers and bureaucrats<\/strong>
\n3) Japan\u2019s reaction to coronavirus: Bigots excluding NJ residents from restaurants. Saitama Korean schools denied protective mask distribution because they might \u201csell off\u201d the masks.<\/strong>
\n4) APJ-Japan Focus\u2019s Jeff Kingston on PM Abe and postponement of 2020 Tokyo Olympics; plus the inhumanity of the Japanese Govt<\/strong><\/p>\n

And finally…<\/em><\/strong>
\n5) Debito\u2019s SNA Visible Minorities column 8: \u201cNo Free Pass for Japan\u2019s Shirking Responsibility\u201d, Mar 16, 2020<\/strong>
\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

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

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

1) Calling Debito.org Readers: How is life for you in COVID Japan?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to hear how life during pandemic is going in Japan from you. Hearing about how government policy and civil society affects Debito.org Readers is just as important as any old essay from me. Let me open the floor for discussion in the Comments Section by asking a few prompt questions:<\/p>\n

1) Have you witnessed the effects of Japanese Government policy, especially when compared with what\u2019s being put into effect in other countries (such as official calls at the local level for social distancing, the state of emergency in several prefectures, etc.)? How would you gauge their effectiveness?<\/strong><\/p>\n

2) Have you been or do you know of anyone who has been sick with COVID? Has anyone you know been tested yet? How were they processed by officials and treated by their peers\/neighbors?<\/strong><\/p>\n

3) How is your workplace reacting to this pandemic? Are your bosses giving you space to distance, or is it still basically business as usual with rudimentary PPE (i.e., masks etc.)? Is there any resistance to working from home? If so, what and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

4) Is there still panic buying of products, and if so, what are there currently shortages of? Any pet theories as to why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

5) Do you see much difference in your treatment by Japanese society or media for being NJ (or a Visible Minority) due to the pandemic? Are things better, worse, or basically the same?<\/strong><\/p>\n

6) What (national and local) media messages are you seeing about NJ in Japan?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For example. And if you\u2019re not in Japan, please tell us where you are and what\u2019s going on around you, too (and if you can, compare it with Japan). Thanks. We\u2019re looking forward to your stories.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16024<\/a><\/p>\n

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2) COVID-inspired racism as NJ Residents are separated and \u201cothered\u201d from fellow Japan taxpayers by Dietmembers and bureaucrats<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are witnessing the logical extension of generations of Wajin not seeing \u201cforeigners\u201d as part of Japan, i.e., where minorities are apparently nonexistent in Postwar Japan\u2019s \u201cmonocultural, monoethnic homogeneous society\u201d narrative. It thus follows that Non-Japanese regardless of residency status in Japan are perpetually classified and treated as \u201cguests\u201d, subject to the whims of the Wajin majority to grant them any human rights, legal status, or access to public services. Book \u201cEmbedded Racism\u201d has taken up this issue in great detail.<\/p>\n

Now in this time of pandemic crisis, we\u2019re seeing people revert to type and say that \u201cforeigners don\u2019t deserve the same government support as Japanese\u201d, even though NJ Residents are paying taxes and living in Japan like any other people. The most recent manifestation has been self-hating Upper House Dietmember Onoda Kimi, an American-Japanese (father is American) representing Okayama (this place seems to spawn racists). She argues on Twitter that NJ Residents should not be granted the same access to proposed government cash subsidies for taxpayers in financial hardship. As does fellow Lower House Dietmember Sugita Mio (who has come out as anti-LGBT in the past). And then there are the government agencies listed below who are resorting to SOP to differentiate, \u201cother\u201d, and subordinate NJ Residents as a matter of course.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16010<\/a><\/p>\n

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

3) Japan\u2019s reaction to coronavirus: Bigots excluding NJ residents from restaurants. Saitama Korean schools denied protective mask distribution because they might \u201csell off\u201d the masks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As expected (since this sort of thing is happening worldwide), the bigots unfettered by any laws against racial discrimination in Japan are doing what they do best \u2014 bigotry \u2014 portraying Covid-19 as a \u201cforeign\u201d virus, and making sure that foreigners don\u2019t get the same public service or protections against it:<\/p>\n

Hankyoreh<\/strong>: According to a Mar. 11 report in the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) newspaper Choson Sinbo, the city of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture excluded Saitama Korean Kindergarten and private academies from its plans to distribute 240,000 of the city\u2019s stockpile of masks to employees working in daycare centers, kindergarten, after-school academies, and senior citizen facilities in Saitama. Upon learning of this, the principal of Saitama Korean Kindergarten inquired with the city on Mar. 10 and was told by a city official that the Korean kindergarten \u201cis not considered a facility under Saitama city guidance and oversight, and instruction cannot be provided in cases where the masks are used inappropriately,\u201d the newspaper reported. [\u2026] Kyodo News also reported a Saitama city employee as suggesting that masks might be \u201csold off\u201d if provided to Korean kindergartens.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kotaku<\/strong>: Ueno Sanji, a ramen restaurant in Tokyo, is only allowing Japanese customers due to COVID-19 concerns. The owner (pictured) claims that this is not discrimination but his duty to protect his family, his employees and his loyal customers. At Ueno Sanji, a ramen restaurant in Tokyo, an English language sign was posted reading, \u201cSorry!! Japanese Only Sorry!!\u201d [\u2026] The above tweet reads: \u201cStarting today, as a countermeasure to the coronavirus, [this restaurant] is Japanese only. I have a responsibility to protect my family, my staff and Sanji junkies. Please understand that this is not discrimination.\u201d On Twitter, people replied in Japanese that this was in fact discrimination and even hate speech. Others pointed out that viruses don\u2019t pay attention to nationality.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, Tokyo NJ Resident Sam Byford tweeted a photo from a local establishment with a sign in English refusing service to all foreigners due to the Coronavirus, with a sign in Japanese below advising customers that disinfecting measures will be taken but the shop was still open to them. A request to Byford for more information on the location of this establishment received no reply.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15975<\/a><\/p>\n

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

4) APJ-Japan Focus\u2019s Jeff Kingston on PM Abe and postponement of 2020 Tokyo Olympics; plus the inhumanity of the Japanese Govt<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to talk about the politics of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and how Prime Minister Abe has put Japan at risk for the sake of a sports meet. Dr. Jeff Kingston of Temple University Japan has posted a salient article today about the politicking between Abe\u2019s minions and and the International Olympic Committee, and how Abe may exploit any crisis he exacerbated for his own political benefit. It\u2019s very much worth a read.<\/p>\n

Kingston Abstract<\/strong>: Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has been widely criticized for ineptitude in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Keen to host the Olympics in 2020, he put public health at risk. Strong international criticism finally forced the IOC and Abe to accept the inevitable and defer the Olympics until 2021. Now both parties are now trying to claim credit for making this decision. The Japanese policy of limiting testing kept policymakers and citizens in the dark and handicapped responses to the outbreak. As the number of infections surges, the government is playing catch up. The combination of an accelerating COVID-19 outbreak in Japan and imminent global economic recession will hit Japan hard and could lead to Abe\u2019s ouster. For now, there are growing concerns that he may exploit this crisis to advance his political agenda of constitutional revision.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Comment<\/strong>: All because the people who have money would rather risk the lives of the elderly and immunocompromised (as happened in the 1980s with Japan\u2019s Health Ministry and HIV-tainted blood) than let any economic impacts of postponing an Olympics reduce their political power or their already-stuffed wallets. The short-sightedness and greed of people richer than God who won\u2019t subsidize consumers and taxpayers (who have long subsidized THEIR lives) is astonishing. Especially since a dead consumer\/taxpayer and their remaining resentful kith and kin is of no use to them either. This should be pointed out at every opportunity.<\/p>\n

Instead (and this where the Debito.org subject matter comes in), we have media trying to blame foreigners again. We\u2019ve already seen the regular knee-jerk reaction (seen in health scares ere: e.g., \u201cNJ have AIDS\u201d (1986), \u201cNJ have SARS\u201d (2003)) of treating it as a \u201cChinese virus\u201d (and singling out Yokohama\u2019s Chinatown). Or even just as a general \u201cforeign virus\u201d and shutting out all \u201cforeign\u201d customers. But since we can\u2019t blame foreign tourists anymore (world tourism has screeched to a halt), we\u2019re now seeing regular media portraying this as a \u201creturnee\u201d virus, where Japanese returning from infected gaikoku are stigmatized. Anything but blame the government for their political decision not embarrass or disrupt by testing widely and bringing on the lockdown. People will die for this. Again, all for the sake of a sports meet.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15999<\/a><\/p>\n

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

And finally…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

5) Debito\u2019s SNA Visible Minorities column 8: \u201cNo Free Pass for Japan\u2019s Shirking Responsibility\u201d, Mar 16, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

SNA (Tokyo) \u2014 T<\/em>here\u2019s an oft-used expression in Japanese: sekinin tenka. Best translated as \u201cpassing the buck,\u201d it\u2019s a reflex of dodging blame for one\u2019s own actions by transferring responsibility to others. For too long, Japan has done so on the world stage with impunity\u2014even when it affects the world adversely.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with, since it\u2019s timely, the 3.11 Fukushima nuclear meltdown that took place nine years ago this month. While the earthquake and tsunami are not Japan\u2019s fault, situating a nuclear power plant so perilously close to the coastline is; as is the perpetually-botched response of containment and leakage (even the willful dumping) of irradiated water into the Pacific Ocean.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Contrast that with the attention and criticism (and even a TV series) Russia got for Chernobyl, where the situation has finally been contained in a sarcophagus. In Japan, officials instead blamed world standards of safe radiation levels for being alarmist (adjusting them upwards for domestic political purposes) and declared Fukushima produce safe for consumption.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Even more timely is how sekinin tenka influenced Japan\u2019s Covid-19 response\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Behind paywall now, sorry. Please become a patron of SNA and support independent journalism in Japan.)<\/p>\n

Debito.org anchor site at https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=15978<\/a><\/p>\n

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

That’s all for this month. Thanks for reading!
\nDEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER APRIL 20, 2020 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 if you prefer something less complicated, just click on an advertisement below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Table of Contents:
\n1) Calling Debito.org Readers: How is life for you in COVID Japan?
\n2) COVID-inspired racism as NJ Residents are separated and \u201cothered\u201d from fellow Japan taxpayers by Dietmembers and bureaucrats
\n3) Japan\u2019s reaction to coronavirus: Bigots excluding NJ residents from restaurants. Saitama Korean schools denied protective mask distribution because they might \u201csell off\u201d the masks.
\n4) APJ-Japan Focus\u2019s Jeff Kingston on PM Abe and postponement of 2020 Tokyo Olympics; plus the inhumanity of the Japanese Govt.
\nAnd finally…
\n5) Debito\u2019s SNA Visible Minorities column 8: \u201cNo Free Pass for Japan\u2019s Shirking Responsibility\u201d, Mar 16, 2020<\/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-16039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16039","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=16039"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16040,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16039\/revisions\/16040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}