TV Tarento Peter Barakan attacked, premeditated teargassing–with response from Peter

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

On Dec 8, 2007, famous TV NJ Peter Barakan was attacked with four others by an unknown assailant, who sprayed them with mace shortly before he was to give a speech. The assailant got away in a rental car, meaning the crime was quite premeditated. Is this the next rung on the ladder regarding treatment of NJ in Japan? Peter Barakan himself answers Debito.org, and notes that even though they tracked down the car (with the mace and a driver inside), nobody was arrested. Try doing that to a Japanese public figure and see what happens…

産經新聞：ピーター・バラカンさん襲われる　港区の教会

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

産經新聞：２００７年１２月８日午後１時１５分ごろ、東京都港区三田のキリスト教教会「東京キリスト教友会」で、英国人キャスターのピーター・バラカンさん（５６）ら男女５人に向 け、男が催涙スプレーのようなものを吹きかけ車で逃走した。全員がのどや目に軽い痛みを訴えたが、すぐに治まった。警視庁三田署が傷害事件として男の行方を追っている。

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 10, 2007

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

1) TOWARDS FOUNDING A NPO FOR PERMANENT RESIDENTS, NATURALIZED CITIZENS, AND IMMIGRANTS
2) GOJ “JINKEN SHUUKAN” HUMAN RIGHTS WEEK AND ITS FLAWS
3) UNHCR DISMAYED BY SECRET DEATH PENALTY OF CONVICTS
ALSO TRYING TO PUT A BRAVE FACE ON JAPAN’S REJECTION OF REFUGEES
4) LITTLE BLACK SAMBO & GOLLIWOG DOLLS ON SALE AT RAINFOREST CAFE, NEAR DISNEYLAND
5) TOYOKO INN’S RACIAL PROFILING, PROTEST LETTER, AND SUGGESTED BOYCOTT
6) FUN FACTS: DIVORCE RISING, WORKFORCE TO PLUMMET, JAPAN’S MINUS GDP GROWTH,
AND 39% OF DIETMEMBER SEATS INHERITED
7) MORE ON NJ FINGERPRINTING:
CHUUGOKU SHINBUN, HOKKAIDO SHINBUN, DER SPIEGEL, NEWSWEEK, THE ECONOMIST,
THE JAPAN TIMES, THE MANITOBAN, AND JAMES FALLOWS OF THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
PLULS ANONYMOUS ON SHINAGAWA FINGERPRINT PREREGISTRATION: A FARCE
8) IRONY: JAPAN POST CREATING “YOKOSO JAPAN” STAMPS. WITH DOMESTIC POST VALUE ONLY!
9) JAPAN TIMES PREZ OGASAWARA INTERVIEWED ON FUTURE OF PRINT MEDIA IN JAPAN
and finally…

10) ARUDOU DEBITO DOING NEW BOOK TOUR IN MARCH 2008. DROP BY AND SPEAK?

「ガイジン、パスポート見せろ」を言う東横インの重田社長に改善要請文

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

「外見・人種・国籍を問わない顧客対応の改善を再び求めます」を言う東横インの重田社長に改善要請文。改善要請：１）現在の法律上、身分証は観光客（つまり日本に住所を持たない人のみ）には該当すると承知すること。
２）外国人に見える顧客の場合、法律の通り、日本国内の住所の有無を把握し、日本人客と同様にチェックインの待遇をすること（要は、身分証は不必要だと承知すること）。
３）全支店・全社員にこういう事実を啓発すること。
４）御社東横インはビジネスホテルチェーンとして、これからどうするか、特に、どうやって外国人に見える顧客の対応を改善するのかと、内容証明で文書上お知らせ下さい。
（２００８年１月１２日現在：一ヶ月間が経過しても、東横インから返事は一切ございません。）

UN News: UNHCR dismayed by secret death penalty of J convicts

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Tangental to Debito.org, but UN News: “Japan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which legally obligates States Parties to ensure strict safeguards when applying the death penalty. It is widely accepted that [capital punishment] executions cannot be carried out in secret and without warning, as this could be seen as inhuman punishment and treatment under the ICCPR.” And this is what Justice Minister Hatoyama Kunio was referring to recently about the higher value placed on life in Japan than the West?

Fun Facts #9: Divorce, Population decrease, Japan’s minus GDP growth, and inherited Nat’l Diet member seats

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Fun stats showing a leap in Japan’s divorce rate (as predicted), a predicted drop in Japan’s labor force, a more impressive drop Japan’s GDP over the past ten years (in contrast with the rest of the developed world), and one reason why the system is breaking down–nearly 40% of the parliament is second-or third-generation (or more) Dietmembers, meaning Japan’s legislature is a peerage masquerading as a legislature.

Hokkaido Shinbun Editorial and article on NJ Fingerprinting Debacle

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hi Blog. Finally got around to translating this, sorry for the wait. Two articles from the Hokkaido Shinbun, Japan’s largest regional newspaper with near-monopoly readership in Hokkaido. Despite trying to sit on the fence when it came to The Otaru “Japanese Only” Onsens Case (1999-2005), this time they come out quite clearly with misgivings about …

J Times: UNHCR’s Guterres bravely spins on Japan’s exclusionary refugee policy

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Take our money, keep your people. UNHCR: “Japan was the UNHCR’s third-largest donor country in 2006, with a $75 million (¥8.1 billion) contribution, after being the second-largest donor for eight years through 2005. However, the number of people granted refugee status in Japan remains small. In 2006, the government recognized only 34 people as refugees, compared with 23,296 in the U.S. and 6,330 in Britain.”

Der Spiegel: “Border Controls: Japan’s fear of foreigners”

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Der Spiegel on Japan’s fingerprinting: “No Japanese citizen even needs an Identity Card; yet the biometric data of foreigners will be stored for 70 years. Civil rights campaigners can smell the terrorism hysteria and racism, while the National Tourist Office fears for the country’s image… And Ms. Ogawa from the Tourism Office fears that worse may still come: “The Government has asked us to carefully observe tourists’ mood regarding these changes over the coming few weeks. If Japan’s image really does drastically deteriorate, then in our final report, we may have to include the recommendation that that these measures be abandoned.”

Anonymous on NJ Fingerprinting: Pre-registering in Shinagawa a farce.

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

One farce: “It seems that if parents residing in Japan wish to use the automated gate process when leaving Japan or when returning, they will have to be separated from their children. Children are not required to give finger prints, but at the same time, at the automated re-entry gates there will be no human beings to inspect the passports of the children. Thus, for re-entering families, it appears that the adults can go through the automated gates but the children, if they have re-entry permits, must stand in the line like we always did for returning Japanese and re-entry permit holders and will enter Japan separately. Except that, obviously, if the child is a baby or not experienced enough to do this alone, then they have to come in through the tourist line with a parent. So at the end of the day, if a family wishes to stay together, or has to stay together because of the age of the child, they must go through the tourist line (Yes, I know, it seems obvious that we need fingerprint taking capability at the re-entry permit line)… there was a ton of frustration among these parents who had taken time to come all the way out to Shinagawa to pre-register themselves thinking to spare their family and tired children the agony of the tourist line only to find out that it was a complete waste of time.”

「人権週間」法務省の強調事項・有道 出人の批評

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

ご存知かどうかは分かりませんが、今週は「人権週間」でございます。法務省と全国人権擁護委員連合会は税金を使って色々なイベントを開催します。ただ、有意義であるのか、効果的であるのか、ましてや根本的にどんなような「主義」に基づき差別撤廃・意識高揚を行うのか、をこのメールで私は批評したいと思います。（私のコメントは引用するテキストの後です。）

GOJ Jinken Shuukan: “Human Rights Week” and its flaws

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hi Blog. If you’ve been watching TV or been out in a few public places, you might have seen two cute-ish big boy and girl mascot dolls named “Ken” (for “kenri”, one’s rights, or “jinken”, human rights), drawing attention to issues of discrimination in Japan. Otherwise you might not know that we are in the …

Little Black Sambo dolls on sale at Rainforest Cafe, next to Tokyo Disneyland.

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

John C: “I went into The Rainforest cafe in iksepiri Maihama, Chiba (the shopping centre next to Disneyland) today with my son and I was utterly disgusted to find these Little Black Sambo dolls…” Plus what he did about the issue–successfully.

Manitoban: NJ FP etc. “The Land of the Rising Shun”

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

An article in The Manitoban (Canada) using lots of information from Debito.org, dispersing what’s been going on in Japan vis-a-vis NJ in Japan legally, socially, and logistically over the past 50 years throughout the Canadian steppes. Mottainai. Best to also put it on Debito.org for a wider audience.

Der Spiegel: GRENZKONTROLLEN: Japans Furcht vor dem Fremden

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Der Spiegel: “Yokoso!” – Willkommen! In leuchtend roten Lettern auf riesigen Plakaten begrüßt das Japanische Fremdenverkehrsamt ausländische Besucher am Flughafen. Der japanische Zoll empfängt die Einreisenden etwas weniger überschwänglich: Seit vergangener Woche müssen Ausländer nicht nur wie bisher den Pass vorzeigen, sondern wie in den USA auch ihre Fingerabdrücke abgeben, Fotos von sich machen lassen und ein kurzes Verhör durchstehen. Die Regelung gilt nicht nur für Touristen und Geschäftsleute, sondern auch für in Japan wohnhafte Ausländer. Ausgenommen werden nur Diplomaten, Kinder unter 16 Jahren sowie die Familien der im II. Weltkrieg nach Japan verschleppten Koreaner.

NJ FP issue: Newsweek on damage done by model US-VISIT Program

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Newsweek: “According to the Commerce Department, the United States is the only major country in the world to which travel has declined in the midst of a global tourism boom. And this is not about Arabs or Muslims. The number of Japanese visiting the United States declined from 5 million in 2000 to 3.6 million last year. The numbers have begun to increase, but by 2010 they’re still projected to be 19 percent below 2000 levels. During this same span (2000–2010), global tourism is expected to grow by 44 percent.”

Peter Barakan to talk about NJ Fingerprinting etc. on NHK radio Dec 6 5PM

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Peter Barakan: “I’m writing today to let you know about a radio show on NHK’s AM radio in which I’ll be taking part. It’s “Iki-iki Hotline,” on Thursday Dec. 6th, from 5 to 6 pm, and is the fourth of five shows on topics related to foreigners in Japan. I intend to talk about the new immigration fiasco, among other things, but they take faxes, emails, and in some cases phone calls from listeners during the show, which is live. I met with the director today, and he said he would welcome input from foreign residents…”

Reminder: Documentary on J Child Abduction fundraiser Dec 11 Shibuya, RSVP by Dec 4

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Quick reminder about the “For Taka and Mana” film documentary (see poster below) fundraiser coming up on December 11 at the Pink Cow, Shibuya (RSVPs please by December 4, i.e. tomorrow). An update for the fundraiser from directors Matt Antell and Dave Hearn follows…

REPORT: Racial Profiling at Toyoko Inns; suggest boycott (letter of complaint unanswered)

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

SUMMARY: Toyoko Inn, a high-profile nationwide chain of hotels in Japan, have a clear policy of racial profiling at their hotels. They illegally demanded a passport from the author on the basis of his race alone last on November 30, 2007, reflecting their history of even illegally threatening to refuse accommodation to NJ residents unless they provide Gaijin Cards at check-in. This systematic harassment of NJ clientele is unnecessary and unlawful, especially in the face of hotels increasingly refusing all foreigners accommodation across “Yokoso” Japan. Toyoko Inn’s continuing refusal to abide by the laws, despite advisements from NJ customers in the past, forces this author to conclude that NJ residents and international Japanese citizens, not to mention supporters of human rights in Japan, should take their business to hotels other than Toyoko Inn–until the chain at the national level agrees in writing to improve their services.

James Fallows of The Atlantic Monthly on NJ Fingerprinting

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

James Fallows on NJ Fingerprinting at Narita: “Let me put this bluntly: this is an incredibly degrading, offputting, and hostility-generating process… Today’s time spent in the passport clearance line for foreigners at Narita: 1 hour, 30 minutes. But mainly there is no getting around the insult factor of having entry to the country be like getting booked into County Jail… Think how the alarm bells would go off if China tried to impose a scheme like this! The editorials about “Big Brother in Beijing” practically write themselves. But now the two countries that apply the most intrusively big-brotherish surveiliance over those trying to visit are two liberal societies: the United States and Japan.”

Speaking at Hirosaki Gakuin University this Saturday

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Hi Blog, I will be speaking this weekend in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. Hirosaki Gakuin University, Faculty of Liberal Arts, 13-1 Minori-cho, Hirosaki-shi, Aomori-ken 036-8577 JAPAN http://www.hirogaku-u.ac.jp/ Saturday, December 1, 2007, 1:00 – 2:45 PM Topic: 「日本における外国人差別・人種差別」(speech in Japanese). Sorry for the short notice. Been busy with the whole fingerprint thing. Attend if you like. Debito …

Towards founding a “Permanent Residents/Naturalized Citizens” organization

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

With all the NJ anger regarding the new Fingerprint Laws–moreover the GOJ’s tendency of consistently showing indifference, if not outright antipathy, towards the needs and interests of Japan’s international residents–there have been calls in the comments sections of several Debito.org blog entries for a new organization to represent the Permanent Residents and Naturalized Citizens of Japan. The organization is still in its embryonic stage. But let me create this separate special blog entry for people to discuss and pound out questions and concerns.

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 28, 2007: FINGERPRINTING II

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 28, 2007
SPECIAL ON FINGERPRINTING POLICY INAUGURATION NOV 20, 2009
FORWARD: ANGER IN THE BLOGOSPHERE

WHAT YOU HEARD:
1) YOUTUBED NHK: KEEP CRITICS AND PROTESTS OUT OF BROADCASTS
2) YOMIURI EDITORIAL: FP JUSTIFIED AS ANTI-FOREIGN-CRIME MEASURE
3) SANKEI ON FINGERPRINTING SNAFUS
4) YOMIURI & NIKKEI MISTAKENLY TRUMPET “FIVE CAUGHT IN NEW SYSTEM”,
SANKEI CONTRADICTS

WHAT GOT MUFFLED:
5) MAINICHI: REFUSERS TO BE INCARCERATED, FORCED TO BE FINGERPRINTED
6) ASAHI: 38% OF US-VISIT DATABASE IS MISTAKES
7) ASAHI: TOKYO & NARITA LOSE PERSONAL DATA FOR 432 NJ
8) YOMIURI: SDF & MOFA LOSE COMPUTER DATA IN JAPAN, BELGIUM

WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE HEARD:
9) MAINICHI ON AMNESTY/SMJ PUBLIC ACTION OUTSIDE MOJ
10) PROTESTS WITH PARODY POSTERS, T-SHIRTS, POSTCARDS, MULTILINGUAL BILLETS
11) FRANCE 24 TV INTERVIEW IN FRENCH AND ENGLISH: “JAPAN’S 1984”
12) NYT: FINGERPRINTING “A DISASTER FOR J BUSINESS”

…and finally…
13) ACCENTURE, MAKER OF THE FP MACHINES, NOW HIRING IN JAPAN,THRU TIGER WOODS!

CONCLUDING STATEMENT: PROGNOSTICATIONS FOR THE PRESENT COURSE:
A HASTENED ECONOMIC OBSCURITY FOR JAPAN

Asahi: US-VISIT database riddled with mistakes: 38% of entries

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Asahi: “But a US government agency poses questions about the system’s technology and credibility. This July, the US General Accounting Office criticized the US-visit system as seriously fragile in view of information control. He pointed out the possibility that personal data, including fingerprint data, might be altered or copied by someone from the outside due to insufficient security measures. In September [2007], an auditor of the Justice Department emphasized how inaccurate US blacklists are. The auditor said that as a result of a sampling check of the terrorism-affiliates included in a monitoring list, mistakes or contradictions were found in 38% of those checked, with the names of some terror suspects left out of the list or innocent persons appearing on it.

BBC: Japan visa regime “abuses foreign workers” with “forced labour”

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

BBC: Over the past 17 years, thousands of foreign workers have travelled to Japan, taking part in an official scheme to learn skills they cannot pick up in their own countries. But this year the Japanese government’s own experts have admitted that in many cases trainees are used as cheap labour. The US state department has gone further. In its annual report on human trafficking, it said that “some migrant workers are reportedly subjected to conditions of forced labour through [its] foreign trainee programme”.

John Spiri reviews Gregory Clark’s book “Understanding the Japanese”

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

John Spiri on Gregory Clark’s research: “It is difficult to imagine a book written by a Japan “expert” having as little of substance to say as Understanding the Japanese by Gregory Clark. The book, awash with trivial generalizations, simplistically attempts to dichotomize everything—brains, societies, and the entire world—while presenting “theories” that would be better left to barrooms and pubs.”

Fingerprinting: Anger in the Blogosphere

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

I’ve never seen the NJ communities in Japan so angry, and I’ve seen a lot of anti-foreigner campaigns in my 20-plus years here. After the Fingerprinting policy implimentation, there’s definitely a “faith no more” side to it all. Witness what’s going on in the Blogosphere–since that’s the disenfranchised NJ’s only real avenue for expression. Feel free to send some more links.

Mainichi: MOJ will force NJ refusers to be incarcerated, fingerprinted

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

According to the Mainichi today, the Justice Ministry has now issued a “tsuuchi” directive (the GOJ Mandarins’ way of minting laws without going through a legislative body) granting Immigration more powers. People who refuse to get fingerprinted not only refused at the border, but also forced to have fingerprints taken. as well a physical inspection and incarceration in the airport Gaijin Tank. What this means for uncooperative Permanent Residents and their Japanese spouses, the article notes, is incarceration with “extra persuasion”–without, they say, the threat of force. With all this extralegality going on, fat chance.

毎日：＜外国人指紋採取＞「拒否者には強制力行使も」…法務省通知

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

＜外国人指紋採取＞「拒否者には強制力行使も」…法務省通知 11月21日2時31分配信 毎日新聞 http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071121-00000017-mai-soci&kz=soci Courtesy of Tony K 　テロ対策などのため、２０日始まった来日外国人に指紋提供を義務付ける入国審査制度で、法務省入国管理局が、指紋提供と退去を拒否する外国人は収容し強制的に採取するよう地方の各入国管理局に通知していたことが分かった。同制度について、法務省は強制的に指紋採取はしないとして「提供」と説明してきたが、拒否者に対して強制力で臨む措置を指示した形だ。「外国人を犯罪者扱いする運用」との批判が強まりそうだ。 　指紋の採取や顔写真の撮影は、空港、港での入国審査時に実施し、その場で入管が保有する過去の強制退去者、国際指名手配犯などのリストと照合。一致した者は入国拒否され、提供拒否も国外退去となる。退去命令にも従わない場合、入管は強制退去手続きに移行し、身柄を空港内の収容場に収容する。その際に指紋を採るかどうかは明らかにされてなかった。 　ところが、今月上旬に出た法務省入管局警備課長通知は「保安上の必要がある時は身体検査できる」などの入管法の規定を根拠に、入国警備官に強制力をもって拒否者から指紋を採取するよう指示。同時にビデオ撮影することも求めている。 　その後、拒否者は運航業者に引き渡し、強制退去させる流れとなるが、永住者や日本人の配偶者がいるなど国内で生活する人は「戻る国」がなく、対応が問題になりそうだ。入管局幹部は「拒否者にも十分に説得を重ね、強制しなくてもすむよう努める」と話す。 　入管法に詳しい関係者によると、不法残留容疑などで外国人の違反調査を行い、指紋を採るのは任意が原則で、強制採取はほとんどないという。関係者は「拒否者は入国できない以上、危険が国内に持ち込まれることはない。さらに指紋を強制的に採取し強制退去者リストに保存する正当性はあるのか」と批判する。 　外国人の人権問題に詳しい田中宏・龍谷大教授は「全廃された外国人登録の際の指紋押なつ拒否についても、刑事罰のうえに再入国不許可という過剰な制裁を加えていた。今回の通知内容も法的根拠に乏しく、同様の発想による過剰制裁だ」と話している。 ENDS

Primary source info: Application Form for NJ preregistry of fingerprints

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

No matter where you are in Japan, if you want to play ball and preregister your biometric data, go to Tokyo. More on the difficulties involving that procedure here, from somebody who made the trip from Kobe and had a pretty lousy time once there.

Never mind–even permanent residents are still gaijin and potential terrorists, so lump it. It’s for our safety–“our” especially meaning us “kokumin”. How many more hoops will Japan make its residents jump through before it realizes this will lead to an exodus of business and money?

Yomiuri & Nikkei trumpet 5 NJ snagged by Fingerprinting system. Sankei says FP system not snagger.

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Here is a link to three articles in Japanese trumpeting the success of the new Fingerprinting system–all done in the middle of the night so as to make the morning editions. Hey, we caught ’em, see how the system is working and how much we need it? Despite the fact that it was also reported yesterday that nobody was refused at all.

That’s right, actually. Read beyond the Sankei headline. Three of the five were caught for funny passports, the other two for other reasons left unclear but at Immigration’s discretion. Which means bagging these five was unrelated to the Fingerprint policy. In other words, this sort of thing happens on a daily basis and is not news. Unless there is a political reason for making it so. Guess what that political reason is. The fix is really in.

読売・産經・日経：「５人強制退去」だが、指紋採取制度と無関係

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

読売、日経、産經は指紋採取制度は正当化する、「ブラックリストに名乗りした５名は強制退去」。しかし、見出し以外を読むと、「うち３人は偽造・変造パスポートを使用したとみられ、強制退去の手続きに入った。残る２人にも退去命令が出される見通し。　指紋や顔写真の提供を拒んで入国拒否となった外国人はいなかった。」（産經）。つまり、これは新制度と無関係だった。これは毎日の出来事みたいで、なぜニュースになったのでしょうか。

Asahi: Tokyo Narita Immigration loses personal data for 432 NJ

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

Asahi: “Tokyo Immigration announced on March 28 that it had lost flash memory at its headquarters and Narita Airport Branch, regarding personal information for visa overstayers and deported foreigners. They say that no trace of it remains, and there is no danger of the data being misused…”

朝日：外国人計４３２人分の個人情報を紛失　東京入管

Posted on by Debito Arudou, Ph.D.

朝日新聞：東京入国管理局は、外国人の不法残留者や強制送還対象者の個人情報が書き込まれた小型記録媒体（フラッシュメモリー）を本庁舎と成田空港支局内でそれぞれ紛失した、と２８日発表した。現時点では情報が悪用された形跡はないという。