{"id":17409,"date":"2024-05-16T20:56:51","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T03:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=17409"},"modified":"2024-05-19T17:34:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T00:34:39","slug":"reuters-biden-calls-ally-japan-xenophobic-along-with-rivals-china-and-russia-may-2-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=17409","title":{"rendered":"Reuters: Biden calls ally Japan \u2018xenophobic\u2019 along with rivals China and Russia (May 2, 2024).  Bravo Biden!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Books, eBooks, and more from Debito Arudou, Ph.D. (click on icon):<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11452\" title=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Guidebookcover.jpg\" alt=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/japaneseonlyebookcovertext-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"japaneseonlyebookcovertext\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1298\" title=\"Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" alt=\"Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants, and Immigrants to Japan\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/inappropriate.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8577\" title=\"inappropriatecoverthumb150x226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/inappropriatecoverthumb150x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html#japanese\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1700\" title=\"jobookcover\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/jobookcover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\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\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinemabstruso.de\/strawberries\/main.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2735\" title=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/sourstrawberriesavatar.jpg\" alt=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?cat=32\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4921\" title=\"debitopodcastthumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/debitopodcastthumb.jpg\" alt=\"debitopodcastthumb\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12473\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-12474\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FodorsJapan2014cover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"FodorsJapan2014cover\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nUPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito<br \/>\nDEBITO.ORG PODCASTS on iTunes, subscribe free<br \/>\n&#8220;LIKE&#8221; US on Facebook at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embeddedrcsmJapan\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embeddedrcsmJapan<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p>Hi Blog. \u00a0The next significant development over the past couple of weeks is POTUS Biden sounding off on xenophobia in Japan (and fellow ally India, as well as Russia and China), citing Japan&#8217;s inability to accept immigrants and harness their potential as a key issue in Japan&#8217;s longstanding economic doldrums.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vIHN7XRwW4o?si=K7vJKL_3G-FL9Shm\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>(Reuters article on this below.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>COMMENT<\/strong>: \u00a0Debito.org says &#8220;Bravo Biden!&#8221;, for obvious reasons we&#8217;ve covered on Debito.org since its beginning back in 1995. \u00a0For generations now Japan has gotten a free pass on its racial discrimination (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/embeddedracism.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">about which I&#8217;ve written entire books<\/a>) simply because it&#8217;s an ally. \u00a0It&#8217;s about time somebody in leadership chided things in the right direction. \u00a0Unfortunately, geopolitics and human rights do not mix, and the latter has taken a back seat to the former for too long.<\/p>\n<p>The response will be predictable and obvious. \u00a0There will be the requisite handwringing from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/5\/4\/india-japan-dismiss-bidens-xenophobic-comment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">diplomats<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/san.com\/cc\/bidens-xenophobic-comments-about-japan-spark-backlash-at-home-overseas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>, and the knee-jerk reactions from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?s=ethnostate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ethnostatists<\/a> defending Japan&#8217;s putative ethnic purity or sovereignty in various comments sections (although human rights supersede pat claims of sovereignty if you&#8217;ve signed the CERD, which <a href=\"https:\/\/treaties.un.org\/Pages\/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&amp;mtdsg_no=IV-2&amp;chapter=4&amp;clang=_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Japan did nearly 30 years ago<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/debito.org\/japanvsun.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">still has not passed any laws against racial discrimination<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Whatever. \u00a0It&#8217;s long overdue to state the fact that Japan as a polity simply will not keep its international promises, and Debito.org agrees with Biden that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asiapacific.ca\/publication\/japan-needs-more-labour-immigration-answer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Japan&#8217;s lack of any official immigration policy<\/a> hurts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=14248\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Japan as a society both economically and demographically<\/a>. \u00a0Debito Arudou, Ph.D.<\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p><strong>Biden calls ally Japan \u2018xenophobic\u2019 along with rivals China and Russia<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>BY JUSTIN SINK AND ISABEL REYNOLDS, BLOOMBERG<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Reuters\/Japan Times, May 2, 2024<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2024\/05\/02\/japan\/politics\/biden-china-japan-india-xenophobia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2024\/05\/02\/japan\/politics\/biden-china-japan-india-xenophobia\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>U.S. President Joe Biden included ally Japan along with rivals China and Russia in a list of countries he called &#8220;xenophobic\u201d on Wednesday, in a speech at a campaign fundraising event in Washington.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Biden reiterated remarks he made last month linking China\u2019s economic woes to its unwillingness to accept immigration. This time he added Russia, but also longstanding ally Japan, whose Prime Minister Fumio Kishida he welcomed for a summit and state dinner in Washington just three weeks ago.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;You know, one of the reasons our economy is growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants,\u201d Biden told Asian American and Pacific Islander donors Wednesday. &#8220;The reason \u2014 think about it \u2014 why is China stalling so bad economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia, why is anyone? Because they\u2019re xenophobic, they don\u2019t want immigrants.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>His criticisms and the fact that Japan was mentioned alongside two major U.S. rivals could raise hackles in Tokyo. The U.S. and Japan announced a &#8220;significant upgrade\u201d to their defense ties last month, citing the need to counter China\u2019s &#8220;dangerous\u201d actions in the Indo-Pacific region.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The April summit in Washington was overshadowed by Biden\u2019s stance on a plan for Japan\u2019s Nippon Steel to buy United States Steel, after he said the firm should remain U.S.-owned.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Japan\u2019s government acknowledges its aging and shrinking population is a source of concern, with Kishida himself saying the issue threatens society\u2019s ability to function.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The country is also gradually opening the door to more immigrants, many of whom are filling jobs in sectors where there are shortages of workers.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The number of foreign residents in Japan rose to a record high of 3.4 million in December 2023, up 10% on the previous year and representing about 2.7% of the population of about 124 million.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>A survey by the Asahi newspaper published last month found 62% of respondents said more foreign workers should be accepted, compared with 44% in a similar poll in 2018. ENDS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<p>(Prior comments from Debito.org Readers on the Biden statement starting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=17390&amp;cpage=1#comment-1884749\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>======================<br \/>\n<em>Do you like what you read on Debito.org? \u00a0Want to help keep the archive active and support Debito.org&#8217;s activities? \u00a0Please consider donating a little something. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13748\">More details here<\/a>. Or if you prefer something less complicated, just click on an advertisement below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reuters:  U.S. President Joe Biden included ally Japan along with rivals China and Russia in a list of countries he called &#8220;xenophobic\u201d on Wednesday, in a speech at a campaign fundraising event in Washington.  Biden reiterated remarks he made last month linking China\u2019s economic woes to its unwillingness to accept immigration. [&#8230;] &#8220;You know, one of the reasons our economy is growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants,\u201d Biden told Asian American and Pacific Islander donors Wednesday. &#8220;The reason \u2014 think about it \u2014 why is China stalling so bad economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia, why is anyone? Because they\u2019re xenophobic, they don\u2019t want immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>COMMENT: \u00a0Debito.org says &#8220;Bravo Biden!&#8221;, for obvious reasons we&#8217;ve covered on Debito.org since its beginning back in 1995. \u00a0For generations now Japan has gotten a free pass on its racial discrimination (about which I&#8217;ve written entire books) simply because it&#8217;s an ally. \u00a0It&#8217;s about time somebody in leadership chided things in the right direction,  Unfortunately, geopolitics and human rights do not mix, and the latter has taken a back seat to the former for too long.  The reaction will be predictable and obvious. \u00a0There will be the handwringing from the diplomats and media, and the knee-jerk reactions from the ethnostatists defending Japan&#8217;s putative ethnic purity or sovereignty in various comments sections (although human rights supersede pat claims of sovereignty if you&#8217;ve signed the CERD, which Japan did nearly 30 years ago and still has not passed any laws against racial discrimination). \u00a0Whatever. \u00a0It&#8217;s long overdue to state the fact that Japan as a polity simply will not keep its international promises, and Debito.org agrees with Biden that Japan&#8217;s lack of any official immigration policy hurts Japan as a society both economically and demographically.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,22,34,50,35,52,20,5,12,16,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-cultural-issue","category-exclusionism","category-gaiatsu","category-good-news","category-hate-speech","category-history","category-human-rights","category-immigration-assimilation","category-labor-issues","category-unsustainable-japanese-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17409","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=17409"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17440,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17409\/revisions\/17440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}