{"id":16123,"date":"2020-06-22T09:59:56","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T16:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16123"},"modified":"2020-07-15T15:49:28","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T22:49:28","slug":"sna-visible-minorities-column-11-advice-to-activists-in-japan-in-the-wake-of-the-emergence-of-the-black-lives-matter-japan-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16123","title":{"rendered":"SNA Visible Minorities Column 11: Advice to Activists in Japan in general (in the wake of the emergence of the Black Lives Matter Japan Movement), June 22, 2020."},"content":{"rendered":"

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Visible Minorities: Advice to Activists in Japan<\/strong>
\nShingetsu News Agency, Visible Minorities Column 11, June 22, 2020<\/strong>
\nBy Debito Arudou, Ph.D. <\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2020\/06\/22\/visible-minorities-advice-to-activists-in-japan\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SNA (Tokyo) \u2014 Sparked by the George Floyd murder by police in America last month, street protests against official violence towards minorities and disenfranchised peoples have sprung up worldwide.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Japan has been no exception. Within recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations, a wider range of people are finally decrying, for example, the Japanese police\u2019s racial profiling and violence towards visible minorities.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve talked about these and other issues for years, devoting significant space both on Debito.org and in my book Embedded Racism: Visible Minorities and Racial Discrimination<\/a>. That said, it should be noted that my position in Japan as a white male with naturalized Japanese citizenship has provided me significant privilege; in all humility I am not in the best position to offer advice to people who have the right (nay, obligation) to create their own identities, narratives, and agendas as they see best.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, this column would like to point out some of the pitfalls that activists may face in Japanese society, based upon my experience fighting against racial discrimination here for nearly thirty years. Please read them in the helpful spirit they are intended:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Remember that, in Japan, activists are seen as extremists<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Japan has a long history of activism and protest. However, the historical narrative generally portrays activists (katsudouka) as radical, destructive elements (kagekiha), most famously the Japanese Red Army; the Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee (Chukakuha); the Japan Revolutionary Communist League, Revolutionary Marxist Faction (Kakumaruha); or even just labor unions like the Japan Teachers’ Union (Nikkyoso). If you\u2019re out there protesting, you\u2019re automatically seen by many Japanese as angry, unapproachable, and unable to be reasoned with.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Furthermore, public demonstrations are treated with undue alarm. They\u2019re not, for example, normalized as a phase college kids go through and grow out of. In fact, youth might become unemployable if they carry on beyond college. That\u2019s why high-profile student group Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs) disbanded as soon as their leaders approached the job market.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Additionally, the government has a long history of suppressing voices from the left more than the racket from rightwing conservatives and reactionaries, as seen in their regular rounds of unfettered sound trucks. It\u2019s not an even playing field for human-rights advocates. That\u2019s why there arguably isn\u2019t a successful example of leftist protests ever decisively changing the course of government in Japan. (Contrast that with, say, the anti-Vietnam protests of the 1960s, so romanticized in Western media, which even undermined presidents overseas.)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The result is that the average person in Japan, especially your employer, will need to be convinced that what you\u2019re doing is at all necessary, not to mention has a snowball\u2019s chance of succeeding. Be prepared to do that.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

2) Keep the debate focused on how discrimination affects everyone in Japan<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

One problem with protests for equal rights for \u201cforeigners\u201d is an assumption that the problem must be exogenous. It runs deeper than the sentiments of a) \u201cforeigners are only \u2018guests\u2019 here, so they shouldn\u2019t be rude to their \u2018hosts\u2019 by protesting,\u201d or b) \u201cif only you weren\u2019t here disrupting our homogeneous society, your problem would just go away.\u201d It\u2019s again a problem with narrative.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Discrimination, particularly \u201cracial discrimination\u201d (jinshu sabetsu), is generally taught in Japanese schools as something other countries do towards people with different skin color, notably US Segregation and South African Apartheid. Thanks to the daily mantras about our alleged monocultural, monoethnic \u201cisland society\u201d closed off from the world for a zillion years, Japan generally doesn\u2019t see how \u201crace\u201d could be a factor here. The logic is that homogeneous Japan has no races, therefore no \u201crace relations\u201d problems like other countries. The Japanese government has made precisely this argument to the United Nations.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s one reason why Japanese media reflexively deflects the issue into terms like \u201cforeigner discrimination\u201d (gaikokujin sabetsu), \u201cethnic discrimination\u201d (minzoku sabetsu), or merely \u201ccultural differences\u201d (ibunka no chigai). All of these concepts miss the point that racial discrimination is in fact a longstanding domestic issue.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So refocus the issue back on the process of racialization. Reiterate at every opportunity that this is \u201cracial discrimination,\u201d and stress how, thanks to generations of naturalization and international marriage, there are plenty of Japanese citizens with diverse roots. Thus discrimination against \u201cforeigners\u201d also affects hundreds of thousands of Japanese people.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After all, Japanese society gloms onto \u201cracial discrimination\u201d against Japanese citizens abroad with a surprising amount of passion. So point out that it\u2019s happening here too. And you\u2019ll have to do it again and again, because you will have to convince a surprising number of people who refuse to believe that racism even exists in Japan.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

3) Be wary of being fetishized<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember that a certain degree of social resonance you may be feeling in your crowd is likely not the feeling of acceptance you might want; it is not equal footing with Japanese citizens. People often join in since protesting is \u201ccool\u201d because \u201cforeigners are cool\u201d or \u201cpitiable\u201d (kawaisou).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There is plenty of scholarly research (read Marvin D. Sterling\u2019s Babylon East, for example) on how Japanese adopt \u201cforeign cultures\u201d only on a topical level, meaning without much interest in the actual mindset or experience of being a visible minority in Japan.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Collaborate with whoever shows up, of course. Just don\u2019t get your hopes up too far. Some people who seem like supporters might only be fair-weather groupies. So don\u2019t rely on them too much when it comes time for them to commit their names or faces in public.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

4) Be ready for the long haul<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Success, of course, requires not only widespread support in Japan, but also assistance from fellow Japanese human-rights activists. They are very practiced and determined, having done this sort of thing for decades. But remember: Activist groups in Japan are very cliquey. Often the barriers for entry and being accepted as \u201cone of us\u201d are pretty high.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Even though, at first, being seen as \u201cpitiable\u201d works in your favor, remember that the default attitude towards people seen as \u201cforeigners\u201d is \u201csomeone here only for the short-term.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

What I mean is \u201cforeigners\u201d are often treated like exotic birds, as something to study because you alighted on their balcony and have interesting plumage to look at. So they give you their attention for as long as you\u2019re around. But once it seems you\u2019ve flitted off, you\u2019re quickly forgotten as merely a phase or a pastime. Then things reset back to the ingrained narratives of Japan as homogeneous and foreigners as temporary.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The only way you can defy that is by showing how deeply you\u2019ve committed yourself to this issue for as long as possible, as people in those activist groups have. They\u2019ve made this rallying cause a life mission, and they\u2019ll expect you to as well. Otherwise, you\u2019re just a fickle foreign hobbyist and doors slam.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Moreover, be careful of the \u201cget in line\u201d attitude that one (rightly) receives from other minorities in Japan (such as the Zainichi Koreans). They have been here much longer, fought much harder, and sacrificed more simply to exist in Japan. Avoid the one-upmanships over \u201cwho\u2019s the bigger victim here?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Instead, focus on what you all have in common: perpetual disenfranchisement, and how you have to work together to overcome that to make Japan a better place for everyone. Remember that power surrenders nothing without a fight, so dissolving into disagreeing leftist factions is precisely what the powerful want. The status quo wins by default that way.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

5) Control your own narrative<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, don\u2019t rely on people who aren\u2019t in your position to understand or promote your narrative. Do it yourselves. Organize your own press conferences. Make sure that everything you release to the public and media is also in Japanese, and have some prominent public spokespeople who are minorities. It\u2019s your voice. Don\u2019t let even the best-intentioned interpreters and interlocutors inadvertently dilute it.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For example, last month, the people of diverse roots who spoke out fluently against the Shibuya police roughing up a Kurdish person were excellent examples of how to do it right. They were very effective in getting the message out both to print and broadcast media. More of that, please.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There you go: five pitfalls I might suggest you avoid. I hope you find them useful, even if I have a very limited understanding of what you\u2019re going through. In any case, it\u2019s your time and your social movement. I wish you success, and thanks for reading. \u00a0ENDS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For breaking news, follow on Twitter @ShingetsuNews<\/em><\/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":"

SNA: Within recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations, a wider range of people are finally decrying, for example, the Japanese police\u2019s racial profiling and violence towards visible minorities. […] This column would like to point out some of the pitfalls that activists may face in Japanese society, based upon my experience fighting against racial discrimination in Japan for nearly thirty years. Please read them in the helpful spirit they are intended.<\/p>\n

1) Remember that, in Japan, activists are seen as extremists
\n2) Keep the debate focused on how discrimination affects everyone in Japan
\n3) Be wary of being fetishized
\n4) Be ready for the long haul
\n5) Control your own narrative<\/p>\n

Full writeup on SNA at http:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2020\/06\/22\/visible-minorities-advice-to-activists-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":[67,28,18,36,22,19,34,50,20,5,12,4,14,13,60,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-anti-discrimination-templates","category-academia","category-bad-social-science","category-cultural-issue","category-education","category-exclusionism","category-gaiatsu","category-history","category-human-rights","category-immigration-assimilation","category-japanese-government","category-japanese-politics","category-media","category-nj-voices-ignored","category-problematic-foreign-treatment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16123","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=16123"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16165,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16123\/revisions\/16165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}