DISCLAIMER: This thread MIGHT contain "racist" or possibly derogatory comments concerning people of different races. They have been included as evidence/facts to highlight the fact that racism exists in Japan (and in counter comments, possibly in other countries). If you are a moderator or concerned viewer, please edit but don't delete the posts as I feel that the info below is useful in order to COMBAT racial discrimination and racism. If you are easily offended by racism, and/or all language that is associated by it, then please do not read on. Thank you.


Hi!

Before this becomes a Japan bashing thread, may I take the time to say that I, and many other people here in Japan and in cyberspace LOVE Japan. WE also get annoyed by it as much as the next Japanese at rush hour on the trains, etc.

However, japan has a big problem, and that is racism. Although many countries are more dangerous and hostile to foreigners, as far as developed counties go, Japan is probably the WORST place for officially backed or tolerated outright racism. There maybe KK in the states, but what they get up to comes under public scorn, outcry or even imprisonment.

Not so here in Japan, where even polititians like Shintaro Ishihara get REELECTED based upon racist/nationalistic comments they have made.

Japan is starting to also teach "How to Love Japan", plus the numerous visits to Japans Yaskuni war shrine have all not helped its image. From "No Foreigners Allowed" signs in public buildings to nationalistic black vans shrieking "horrible foreigners go back to your own country!" in public with police protection, japan has a lot to learn.

Below are some examples of the darker side of Japan:

1/ racist Japanese Magazine

This was actually released in Jan 2007. thats right, 2007, in a developed country, in a range of popular, national Japanese Convinience stores and bookshops.

I just saw this reported at www.bigdaikon.com:

http://www.bigdaikon.org/board/viewtopic.p...sc&start=30

Here are some links:

http://www.eichi.co.jp/esp.cgi?_file=detai...s_id=1709&;

Here are some links to the actual mag pages, not supplied by me:

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f40/mrsc...et/img033-1.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f40/mrsc...cket/img037.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f40/mrsc...cket/img034.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f40/mrsc...cket/img032.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f40/mrsc...cket/img031.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f40/mrsc...cket/img030.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f40/mrsc...cket/img036.jpg

It mainly concentrates on chinese and korean crime and also, without giving any logical explanation, includes gaijin in conscensual relationships with japanese women. It even says:

(courtesy of bigdaikon):

"Here's some highlights:

Publisher: Eichi Shuppan 150-001 Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 5-38-4
Publisher-in-Chief: Joey H. Washington (I wonder who this guy is?)

Back Page:
日本���る外人犯罪件数年間47000件!!
47,000 crimes by foreigners each year!!
There then follows a ‘danger rating’ (�険度) of each country, scattered on a world map surrounded by knives, guns and syringes:
China: 14
Russia: 5
Korea: 9
Brazil: 8
Colombia: 3
Etc.
None for the USA, Canada, Australia or the whole of Europe…

Article about crimes by Iranians:
イラン人を�����
Catch the Iranian!!

Article lamenting Tokyo’s demise into lawlessness:
�良外人暴力都市��
City of Violent Degenerate Foreigners!!

Article about foreigners scamming Japanese for money:
毟られる日本人。『シャ�ョサン�ATMコッ�デス�
Japanese getting conned. “Theesaway to ze ATM, Meester Managing Director�

Feature of foreign guys picking up Japanese women (What this has to do with ‘crime’ is unclear)
YELLOW CAB REAL STREET PHOTO
��ら�ん��外人�イイ��よ��
You sl@ts really think foreign guys are so great, huh!!
�りゃ�日本人������。。
We know Japanese guys are small, but.. ( Very Happy )

Picture of black guy touching a J.girls ass in Shibuya (obviously consensual too)
��ニガー��日本婦女��ケツ����ん�ゃ����
Oi N1gger!! Get your f@ckin’ hands off that Japanese lady’s ass!!
(… yes. It really does say ニガー) (note: the racist and swear terms are unedited in the original Japanese but the English translations have been edited here for TFans board regulations)

Picture of dark-haired foreigner kissing J.girl in Shibuya (again, obviously consensual)
���日本�ん�よ�����国�帰��やり��
This is Japan! Go back to your own f@ckin’ country and do that!

Picture of foreigner with hands down a J.girls knickers in Shibuya (definitely consensual)
ãƒ�ョットã€�ãƒ�ョットãƒ�ョットï¼�路上ã�§æ‰‹ãƒžãƒ³ã�¯ã‚„ã‚�ã�¦ã��ã‚Œã‚
？
Woah! Woah! Woah! Would you stop f1nger1ng a girls p@ssy in the street, OK?"

I might ask the owners of a few local conbini stores to not sell this as im offended.

2/ "No Foreigners Allowed" signs.

In South Africa, a poorer and some might say, developing nation, "No Blacks" signs were a common sight. Britain and the USA also had similar signs about 50 years ago. In Japan, TODAY, there are many places (a minority, but still common in areas with high amounts of foreigners) that have "No foreigners" signs or unspoken entry policies:

http://www.debito.org/roguesgallery.html

The site also has a whole range of other racist problems in Japan:

www.debito.org (note this site has come under attack by a web site that allowed Japanese racist comments to be posted agaisnt debito. as such it is sometimes hacked goes down)

I will provide more links if this thread becomes popular.

I just remembered, here are some more examples:

3/ Little Black sambo:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/...1506576,00.html

"Japanese publisher defies Little Black Sambo protest


Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Wednesday June 15, 2005
The Guardian

Seventeen years after it was removed from bookshops for its racist content, the children's story Little Black Sambo has made a comeback in Japan.

The tale of Sambo, a boy who uses his wits to survive after being stalked by tigers, was a hit in Japan when it was first published here in 1953.

In 1988, Japanese booksellers agreed to remove it from their shelves after a US-led campaign against its racist language and imagery.

Article continues
Last April, Zuiunsha, a small publisher in Tokyo, decided to reissue the book - under its Japanese title Chibikuro Sambo - reckoning that today's children would be as enchanted by the book as their parents were.

The gamble has paid off. About 100,000 copies of the 30-page book have been sold in the past two months and it has made it into the top five on the adult fiction bestsellers' lists at big bookshops in the capital.

The publisher brushed aside claims that it was cashing in on a work that many consider racist, with its depictions of Sambo - a derogatory word for black people - with bulging eyes and exaggerated lips.

In the late 1890s Helen Bannerman, a Scot, wrote Little Black Sambo for her children while they were living in India.

"Times have changed since the book was removed," Zuiunsha's president, Tomio Inoue, told the Guardian. "Black people are more prominent in politics and entertainment, so I don't think this book can be blamed for supporting racial stereotypes. We certainly had no intention of insulting black people.

"Sambo is a brave boy who gets his reward at the end of the story. He fights the tigers using his brain so that he won't get eaten. It's an exciting story and children love it. I hope people will see it the same way."

Few protests have been voiced in Japan, which has a very small black community, although an online campaign against the book attracted messages from a few people, mainly Americans. "We have replied to all of them in English explaining our position and have heard nothing back, so I think they understand," Mr Inoue said.

Meanwhile, the Japanese cosmetics maker Mandom said yesterday it had stopped showing a TV commercial after complaints that it was racist. In the advert, for face blotting paper, several black people wipe the sweat from their brows while a chimpanzee wearing an afro wig imitates them.

"We are very sorry and apologise to viewers and other people who felt offended," a company spokesman said."

4/ Yasakuni War Shrine:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1330223.stm

"
Japan's controversial shrine
Yasukuni shrine
The shrine venerates the souls of Japan's war dead
Yasukuni Shrine - the name means 'peaceful country' - was founded in 1869 on the orders of Emperor Meiji.

It is dedicated to the souls of about 2.5 million Japanese men, women and children who died in the name of their country since that time.

They include soldiers, war-time nurses, students who entered into battle, and those who committed suicide in shame at the end of World War II.

At the centre of the shrine's controversy is the fact that those venerated include 14 convicted class A war criminals, including Prime Minister General Hideki Tojo.

Within the shrine, the souls of the dead are worshipped rather than just remembered.

According to Japan's national Shinto religion, humans are transformed into "kami" or deities when they die, and as such are worshipped by their descendants. The kami of remarkable people are enshrined.

Surrounded by war banners and military regalia, the Yasukuni kami are venerated by hundreds of thousands of visitors who attend the shrine each year.

Compared with most Shinto shrines, which were founded hundreds of years ago, the dedication of the Yasukuni shrine was a relatively recent affair.

Analysts say that because the main wars it commemorates are those with China and the US, it appears to the political left to symbolise foreign invasions.

To the right, it is a symbol of patriotism.

Heated debate

The shrine is frequently at the centre of political storms. There have been several parliamentary debates aimed at removing General Tojo's kami, but these have been blocked every time by nationalists.

The debate intensifies in the lead up to 15 August - the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.

Several cabinet ministers pay their respects at the shrine each year, but only one Prime Minister, Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1985, has made an official visit since the war.

Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto made what he said was a private visit, on his birthday in July 1996.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visiting the shrine
Mr Koizumi has visited the shrine six times as prime minister

Current Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has made six visits to Yasukuni since he took office in 2001. Arguments have ensued over whether these were made in a private or official capacity, although Mr Koizumi has denied such a distinction can exist for a country's leader.

"I'm both a public and private person," he has said.

Mr Koizumi has repeatedly argued that his visits are to pray for peace and that Japan should never go to war again.

But the visits have angered Japan's Asian neighbours, especially China and Korea, who were victims of the country's military aggression in the first half of the 20th century. "

5/ UYOKU (RIGHT-WINGERS) :

http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/fringe.html

" The sinister black vans and jeeps playing militaristic marches at ear-splitting levels that you often see in Japan's famous business and shopping districts are called Uyoku Dantai (right-wing groups). One look at the black vans and Yakuza in their ranks will tell you that they are up to no good, but there is very little information available about them in English.
The straight-arm-saluters, although they come in many varieties and degrees of fanaticism, usually believe in the three following things:
a) That Japan should expand its military
b) That the emperor should be returned to power
c) That Japan's domestic and economic policies should be much more conservative.

Japan's National Police Agency esitimated that there were over 1000 right wing groups with 100 000 members in 1996.

Perhaps it is wrong to call the Uyoku a fringe group at all, because their connections extend to the heart of Japan's government and because they are such a firmly entrenched part of the society. Although the right-wingers have little formal power, they are said to have a great amount of influence because of the high positions that many of their members hold in the government and bureaucracy and through their curtailing of debate by intimidating opposition through blackmail and harrassment. They are especially active in attacking people who criticise the emperor or who they consider unpatriotic. In 1990, the mayor of Nagasaki was shot when he suggested that Japan take responsibility for WWII and in 1993, after a magazine editor prblished articles criticising Empress Michiko, his parents were shot by right-wingers. Another favourite target is the Asahi media group. After a political cartoon making fun of right-wing leader Shusuke Nomura was published, he came to the Asahi offices to receive an apology, and committed suicide by shooting himself, shouting "Asahi and I will die together!", in order to embarrass them.

Often funded by the Yakuza and Sokaiya (corporate blackmailers), they have a lot of money with which to lobby and bribe politicians. For example, when Prime Minister TakeBlota fell from power in 1992 after admitting to taking 4 million dollars in bribes from a delivery company, links to the gang Aizu Kotetsu were discovered. He was being criticised by another right-wing group called Kominto, which was sending out trucks to criticise him in front of the diet, so he attempted to bribe them into silence with 300 million yen. When that failed, Shin Kanemaru, TakeBlota's political ally, met with the head of a transport company and had him intercede with the Inagawa-kai, a yakuza group. The Inagawa-kai stopped Kominto's protests, and TakeBlota was elected Prime Minister. Eventually, Kanemaru met with the Yakuza leader, Susumu Ishii, to personally thank him for his help. When the story came out, TakeBlota lost the Prime Ministership and Kanemaru was forced to resign and eventually imprisoned on corruption charges. He told an interviewer, "Public opinion thinks that I am wrong for thanking a Yakuza. But if I were helped by a Yakuza, I would do so in line with my philosophy of life."

The most famous right-winger of modern times was Yukio Mishima, one of Japan's most famous authors. His books include, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, and The Sea of Fertility. He founded the Tatenokai (shield society) in 1968, whose goal was to convince Japan's military leaders to rise up and overthrow the constitution in the emperor's name. In 1970, he and members of the Tatenokai went to the Self-Defense Force's (SDF) headquarters and took a general hostage, demanding that the SDF soldiers listen to Mishima speak. When Mishima gave his speech, he was laughed at by the soldiers, and committed harakiri.

If you want to see the Uyoku, just go to any major train station such as Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, or Shibuya and follow your ears. The Uyoku are also particularly active on Nationalistic holidays such as February 11th (National Foundation Day), May 3rd (Constitution Day) and December 23rd (the Emperor's Birthday). At the Yasukuni Jinja (Peaceful Country Shrine) in Tokyo you can often see new Uyoku practising their slogan chanting, and see the evil black vehicles up close. If you have ever wondered what they are actually screaming over their loudspeakers, they are generally complaining about recent government financial scandals, protesting the Buddhist sect/political party Soka Gakkai, or demanding the return of the Kurakulin islands.

For more information about Uyoku, and their history, see:
Modern Japan; An Encyclopaedia of History, Culture and Nationalism, ed. James L. Huffman, published by Garland Publishing Inc., 1998
Japan Swings: Politics, Culture and Sex in the New Japan by Richard McGregor, Published by Yenbooks, 1996"

6/ Shintaro Ishihara - Mayor of Tokyo:

http://www.japantraveler.com/issues/0005/racism.html

"In November of 1999 Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara told the superintendent general of the Metropolitan Police Department, Takeshi Noda, in the event of a major natural disaster, "There is a possibility that foreigners who reside illegally will do something out of hand."

At the time Japan Traveler published a brief tidbit saying that the governor needed a bit of a history lesson as it was foreigners who were attacked by Japanese mobs, which included elements of the police and Imperial Army during the last major earthquake to hit the Kanto area in 1923. By some estimates as many as 6,000 people (mostly ethnic Koreans and some Chinese) were murdered after rumors spread that foreigners were poisoning wells and starting fires.

The numbers are described as estimates because most of the victims were hastily buried in makeshift graves in Koto-ku along the Sumida River bank where to this day construction crews periodically unearth bodies from this massacre. But, Ishihara does not seem to know much about history, not even Tokyo history.

On April 9 Ishihara was speaking in front of soldiers at the Tokyo garrison of the Japan Self Defense Force on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the organization's establishment. He told the troops, "Many sangokujin and other foreigners who have entered Japan illegally have repeatedly committed atrocious crimes. In the event of a major earth quake, even riots may break out." Ishihara went on to say, ''Police have their limits. I hope you will not only fight against disasters but also maintain public security on such occasions. I hope you will show the Japanese people and the Tokyo people what the military is for in a state.'' (Note: In the modern vernacular "sangokujin" means "low-class foreigners" or literally "third world person.")

In a subsequent interview with The Guardian, Ishihara was quoted as saying, "After the Los Angeles quake, it was ethnic minorities, including blacks and Hispanics, who went looting. The same thing would happen here." He went on to say "Although some Japanese might take part in riots, the strongest fear is about areas with high levels of illegal immigrants."

But there was no rioting after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake in Los Angeles, which Ishihara seemed to confuse with another Los Angeles incident. Moreover, history in Japan has proven Ishihara wrong as there was no rioting by foreigners in Kobe after the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. In fact, the foreign community in Kobe was widely praised for helping with the disaster relief. As just mentioned, the only rioting in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake was by Japanese against foreigners.

It may have something to do with the uniforms or when the go tanks rolling by, but every time Ishihara is talking to the police or the military he seems to get some kind of rush of nationalistic fervor. Watching him on TV, he stands there with eyes glowing and goose bumps running all over his body as if just about to climax in the joy of the moment. Then in a fit of xenophobia he opens his mouth, and the inflammatory racist statements start to flow out.

It is not surprising to hear such words from a man who started his political career in the early 1970s as the leader of an influential right-wing faction in the diet known as Seirankai (Summer Storm Club). Although similar in ideology to the Shield Society of Yukio Mishima three years before, Ishihara's "club" did not gut themselves after making speeches in front of the Self-Defense Force garrison. Not having quite that much courage or belief in their ideas, the eight members of Ishihara's Seirankai instead chose only to cut their fingers to sign their manifesto in their own blood.

What is surprising is that a character like Ishihara could rise to such positions as Environment Minister, Transportation Minister and Governor of Tokyo. Even more surprising is that early polls since the April 9 incident show that one-third to one-half of Tokyoites support Ishihara who has a long history of racial slurs, offensive remarks and intolerance for foreigners. Outside of the foreign community, there have been few if any calls for his resignation.

From early in his career Ishihara, who aspires to become prime minister, has been a proponent of Japan rewriting its constitution and arming itself with nuclear weapons. He has said that hedge funds are part of an international Jewish conspiracy. While Environment Minister and visiting victims of the mercury poisoning in Minamata, Kumamoto Ishihara said that these were people of low intelligence. Last year in the election for governor Ishihara used the derogatory word "shina" to refer to China, and now he is using another derogatory word "sangokujin" to refer to some foreigners in the same sentence he is asking self defense soldiers to be ready to crack down on them.

Best known for his comments on the Transufomah! of Nanking in 1937, Ishihara has repeatedly described the well-documented massacre as "a lie." In a 1990 interview with Playboy magazine, Ishihara said, "People say that the Japanese made a holocaust there, but that is not true. It is a story made up by the Chinese. It has tarnished the image of Japan, but it is a lie." Japanese history revisionists and other nationalists applauded and elevated Ishihara when he said, "It would have been impossible to kill so many people in such a short period of time."

After an uproar from the foreign community in Japan Ishihara spoke on TV three days later to clarify that he was only speaking about "foreigners who reside illegally in Japan." Ishihara expressed "regret" for use of poor semantics, but was adamant that he had nothing to apologize for. He went on to say, "Crimes by foreigners residing illegally in Japan are rapidly increasing."

According to data at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Web site (http://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/seian/toukei/ hanzai/hanzai8.htm), crime by Japanese has been increasing and the crime rate by "foreigners in Japan," which is lower than that of Japanese, has been decreasing. In fact, the overall crime rate in Tokyo has changed little of the past ten years, although there has been 37 percent increase in atrocious crimes over the past four years. However, the average crime rate in 1999 by Japanese was 0.694 percent, which was greater than that of foreigners in Tokyo at 0.274 percent. In regard to atrocious crime, the rate for the same year was 0.008 percent for the total population of Tokyo but only 0.005 percent for the foreign population in Tokyo.

In his television interview on April 14, Ishihara went on to say that he feared for his safety as a resident and that "Japanese cannot walk the streets of Ikebukuro and Shinjuku at night because these places are like other countries. Even the yakuza are afraid to go there." He went on to denounce robberies and drug sales allegedly committed by people illegally staying in Japan and said the Foreign Ministry should urge the Chinese authorities to crack down on "Snakehead" crime groups and other criminals.

If Ishihara is sincere about these comments, he should take a closer look at his own police in Roppongi, Shibuya and Kabukicho. In these areas of Ishihara's city, drugs are dealt openly on the streets by mostly by Japanese (and some foreigners as well) who have paid for the protection of local Yakuza and are subsequently not bothered by police. Since being transferred from the Shinjuku police station to Roppongi, the new Azabu chief of police has been living a rather flashy life style. During the same period of time police have also been cracking down on Roppongi bars not cooperating with the local Yakuza, including holding two bar owners in detention without any formal charges for over a week.

Ishihara has also been an ardent proponent of casino gambling, previously in Odaiba and more recently with plans for boat gambling. Since Japan has no experience or expertise in casino gambling, such operations would involve foreign assistance and gambling can very easily bring in the criminal element from places like Hong Kong and Macao, i.e., Snakeheads. Boat gambling would also involve Las Vegas-style shows with dancers and could create a fertile environment for various forms of carnal activities going on while the high rollers take to the seas in a relaxed legal atmosphere.

Ishihara speaks of trying to fix the Tokyo's problems with populist ideas like taxing banks and other gimmicks like tax revenues from gambling. But the gambling ideas do not seem to match his great concern about foreign criminals. Moreover, the fact that the Ishihara has been attempting to make arrangements for personal investment and purchase of a boat that could be used for gambling suggest that he does not really care about the crime issue so much as using his office and influence to further his own private business interests.

Like many of his xenophobic predecessors in other countries around the world, Ishihara has been using an age-old formula for garnering public support. He has been able to maintain his popularity by preying on feelings of insecurity about the poor economy and fueling resentment of foreigners in order to make them a scapegoat for the problems Japan is facing. History has shown that people like Shintaro Ishihara can be dangerous. However, History is unfortunately not a subject that Japanese schools have received high marks on, and sadly more than a few Tokyoites have warmed to strong rhetoric and populist themes of Shintaro Ishihara."

Note: Ishihara also told Japanese media that the recent Japanese victims of bullying in schools who commited suicide (there is a problem here due to no proper support system for parents, victims and bullies alike. sometimes the teachers abuse their students although they sometimes get punished) that "they wouldnt get bullied if they learnt to fight back", or words to that effect. his popularity still rises though with a largely middleaged and elderly vote.

7/ racism in Business:

(I used to live near Takasaki, in Gunma-Ken, where a high proportion of Brazilians and Perivians, not to mention Chinese and other groups live in or near. the area is also, incidentally, heavily congregated by Gunma's own large Yakuza group, although this may or may not have anything to do with racism, per esc, especially in the article below):

http://www.japantraveler.com/issues/0005/racism.html

It started out as a simple case of a real estate deal gone bad, not so different from any of hundreds of others just as Japan's so-called economic "bubble" was bursting. Asahi Jutaku and Koa Building K.K. had entered into a joint venture agreement in 1990 to develop a 640-tsubo piece of land for commercial building use in Takasaki City in Tochigi Prefecture.

The contract was signed, Asahi Jutaku's parent company Asahi Seimei (Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co.) backed up the deal with its good name by assisting with the various local government administrative procedures, Hazama Corp. prepared a design plan, and Koa moved forward with the development. After the joint venture proceeded one year, Asahi Jutaku had breached the contract by not providing its four billion yen investment, and the project was stalled indefinitely. Apparently the excesses of the bubble had taken their toll on Asahi Jutaku and the cash flow projections on the project were not as rosy as they had been in addition to other internal problems.

What followed initially was not anything out of the ordinary. There were four years of protracted company negotiations to resolve the problems experienced by Koa from the breach of contract, but to no avail. In 1996 the case ended up in court where it remains today as the Japanese legal system slowly churns.

What was extraordinary and unbelievable was the reasoning used by Asahi Jutaku to defend its alleged breach of the contract. After the story appeared in the Japanese media, Heihachiro Kaneko, who was then Managing Director of Asahi Jutaku, defended the actions of his company in an interview with a newspaper reporter on September 1, 1997.

Kaneko said, Frankly speaking, I was taken in. After all, what did Mr. Yamada do in the past? Maybe I shouldn't say it, but I had the police investigate this guy. Although every Korean resident here cannot be deemed immoral and there are a number of good Koreans, this man has done a lot of dishonest things, hasn't he?"

When asked by the reporter if he had ever intended to go through with the joint venture Kaneko responded, Although I should not say it, Mr. Yamada has had various problems. Could you enter into a joint venture with someone a having such a seedy background" The reporter responded, If so, I could never do so."

Then Kaneko said, He may appear normal today, but he has still been doing something immoral, hasn't he? He has been managing a pink cabaret and engaged in various other vicious operations. In the past, moreover, he was apparently engaged in the blue-/red-light district business. Well, a person may be acceptable if he doesn't look so delinquent, but nevertheless you couldn't do anything together, could you? If I should do so, the respectful business I have been conducting so far would be stained, wouldn't it? I would lose my credibility. Therefore, we could not proceed with the business with Mr. Yamada."

These comments were directed at Kosei Yamada who was the president of Koa and a person of Korean ethnicity. Yamada was dumbfounded at such outrageous remarks and in response said, In the first place, it is illegal for a private citizen to have the police investigate another private citizen. This is 'seedy' behavior, which should be punished under the law. Secondly, I do have some ownership interest in a pachinko* business, but this is a legal entertainment activity and it is not 'seedy.' Those other remarks by Mr. Kaneko were completely baseless and a lie. It was nothing more than racist defamation in an attempt to get out of a legitimate business agreement."

No stranger to discrimination while growing up in Japan as an ethnic Korean, Yamada simply could not believe that this kind of prejudice could exist in 1997 in such a large organization as the Asahi Seimei Group and so freely exhibited by a top company executive to the mass media. In fact, Asahi Seimei is a huge company selling insurance to millions of people in Japan. As Yamada put it, Ethnic Koreans in Japan buy insurance too. And what about all of the foreign clients of Asahi Seimei all around the world? How could they allow such conduct by a senior representative of their company?"

During the initial period of negotiations Asahi Seimei had of course been contacted by Koa with complaints about their subsidiary Asahi Jutaku, but the repeated response was that they were separate corporate entities and therefore no relationship to the problem. Asahi Seimei is, however, the principal owner of Asahi Jutaku and the directors are almost exclusively sent from Asahi Seimei. Moreover, Asahi Seimei was actively involved in assisting with the failed development project.

Heihachiro Kaneko was in fact an employee of Asahi Seimei from 1958 to 1990 and reached the position of Senior Manager in the Audit Department before he was sent to Asahi Jutaku in 1990. What did Asahi Seimei think about its employee not honoring a contract, engaging in criminal activity and making racist remarks against ethnic Korean's to the mass media? Asahi Seimei promoted Kaneko to the post of president of Asahi Jutaku, and he still holds the post today.

(* Note: In regard to Pachinko being seedy" it is one of if not the leading business industry where Japanese police officers descend to (amakudari) upon retiring.)"

8/ International "Child Abduction" by Japanese:

Japanese partners could abduct their own half japanese child from a non japanese partner..and there is nothing that partner can do about it. Ironically, the government has used its powers of control over state run NHK, the main TV station to forcibly show more information, especially internationally, concerning Japanese who were abducted by North Korea many years ago. It remains tight lipped about the problem below:

http://www.international-divorce.com/non-hague.htm

"Japan is a renowned haven for child abduction, particularly if the abducting parent is a Japanese national. See http://www.international-divorce.com/ca-japan.htm. In any custody battle involving a Japanese national, it would be foolhardy not to draft a custody order that precludes visits to Japan considering the possibility that that parent might take the child permanently to Japan. The courts in Japan will not enforce foreign custody orders and will not take any effective steps to return abducted children. See "Japanese Family Law -- or The Lack Thereof!," by Jeremy D. Morley, http://www.international-divorce.com/d-japan.htm. A foreign parent in a Japanese court will have minimal chance of securing anything more than extremely occasional visitation with his or her child in Japan if the other parent is Japanese. (Thus, in a case on which the author is currently working, the American father who lives in Japan has been allowed to see his child only once in 6 months, for only 2 hours, in court and with supervision).

Accordingly, if a Japanese parent threatens to take a child to Japan, or wishes to take a child for a temporary visit there during a time of marital strife, it is highly advisable to seek a court order barring any such visit. While a U.S. court will doubtless be skeptical when faced with such a motion, it is extremely important to educate the court as to the law, procedure, customs and traditions of Japan, all of which support a Japanese parent's desire to raise a child in Japan to the total exclusion of the other (foreign) parent. Similar admonitions apply with respect to other countries that are not party to the Hague Convention.

Parents who oppose prohibiting the removal of children for temporary overseas visits often assert that such orders are unnecessary, because wrongfully retaining a child in a foreign country is a felony. The International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act (IPKCA), 18 U.S.C. 1204, makes it a federal offense to remove a child from the United States or to retain a child (who has been in the United States) outside the United States with intent to obstruct the exercise of parental rights (custody or visitation). Unfortunately, this law often makes a bad situation worse, since parents who have wrongfully retained children overseas fear that they will be arrested if they return to this country (as happened in U.S. v. Amer, supra). In addition, foreign countries rarely permit extradition for international parental kidnapping, and those countries that are the most likely to do so are countries that are already parties to the Hague Convention. "

9/ Japanese Government Approves New "Nationalistic/Racist" textbooks:

Its worth noting here that not ALL of Japan has had to adopt these books, but some schools in and around Tokyo (ironically the most "international" and "modern" part of Japan in terms of image):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4411771.stm

"
Japan history texts anger E Asia
South Korean activists hold anti-Japan placards during a protest against the new Japanese textbooks, near the Japanese embassy in downtown Seoul, 05 April 2005
The new books have sparked public protests in Seoul
Japan has approved a set of new school history text books whose version of past events has already sparked complaints from South Korea and China.

One of the eight texts is an updated version of a book which triggered diplomatic protests in 2001.

Seoul said the new books sought to glorify Japan's war-time past, a continuing source of regional tension.

The move follows a row between Japan and South Korea over disputed islands, and anti-Japanese protests in China.

The South Korean Embassy in Japan said in a statement: "The Republic of Korea expresses regret over the fact that some of the 2006 Japanese middle school text books... still contain content that justifies and glorifies wrongs committed in the past".

In Beijing, China called in the Japanese ambassador and said the new texts would be "vehemently condemned by people from all Asian countries being victimized by Japan".

The Japanese government, which says it can only press textbooks to be amended if they contain factual errors, said it was up to individual school districts to decide which books they use.

Schools have until August to make the choice. The books will be in junior high schools from April 2006.

The most controversial of the new books was written by a group of nationalist historians called the Society for History Textbook Reform, and its first version, published in 2001, caused Seoul to recall its ambassador for nine days in protest.

The Chinese ambassador to Japan on Tuesday singled out this book for criticism.

"A textbook by Fushosha Publishing Co has distorted history and hurt the feelings of people in Asia, including China," Wang Yi was quoted by Japanese officials as saying in a meeting with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi.

The Japanese government had demanded 124 changes to the book following the complaints in 2001. These have been made, but the new text still has controversial elements.

It refers to the Japanese slaughter of some 300,000 civilians in the Chinese city of Nanjing as an "incident", rather than the "massacre" it is known as elsewhere.

This book is currently in use in fewer than 0.1% of Japan's schools, but this time the authors are hoping for a better response.

'Lack of detail'

The seven other texts approved on Tuesday are also accused of dispensing with the kind of detail Japan's neighbours say is necessary for a balanced account.

Only one of the books gives figures for the number of civilians killed in the Nanjing Massacre, while the others say "many people" died.

A civic studies text book, approved on Tuesday, is also set to stoke a row between Japan and South Korea over disputed islands.

The book says that "South Korea is illegally occupying" the islands, known as Dokdo in South Korea, and Takeshima in Japan.

Tensions between Japan and China over territory and history are also on the rise.

Japanese businesses in two Chinese cities were targeted on Monday by mobs protesting against Tokyo's attempts to gain a permanent UN Security Council seat. "

10/ Japanese Schools "forced" to sing/bow to "nationalist" anthem:

Note: Its not all Japanese who want this. The Emperor himself, who the song is meant to be for, has said that people don't have to bow to it (or words to that extent) and many Japanese teachers have been involved in legal battles against it too.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...MNGU1EG8FR1.DTL

"Japan's rising nationalism heard in anthem

Anthony Faiola, Washington Post

Sunday, September 4, 2005


(09-04) 04:00 PST Tokyo -- When the national anthem started playing during a ceremony this year at Tachikawa Daini Junior High School, Kimiko Nezu, a soft-spoken but resolute home economics teacher, refused to stand and kept her mouth shut while others sang around her.

Nezu, a self-described pacifist, said she has done the same thing ever since the parliament designated the World War II hymn "Kimigayo" as the national anthem in 1999. She said she opposes the song because it was the same one sung as the Imperial Army set forth from Japan calling for an "eternal reign" of the emperor.

Previously, her protest brought nothing more than harsh stares from some students and parents. But the Tokyo school board issued an order in October 2003 that the anthem must be respected. Since then, Nezu, 54, has been punished by frequent transfers from one school to another and with temporary salary cuts. And in May, shortly after the incident at Tachikawa, she was suspended for a month. Officials warned that another offense could lead to her dismissal after 34 years of teaching.

The school board reaction was part of an effort by Tokyo and other school districts to enforce a new sense of pride in being Japanese. The measures were strongly backed by Shintaro Ishihara, the governor of Tokyo and an outspoken nationalist, as a way to strengthen classroom patriotism.

The school board's mandatory rule has had a visible effect. At graduation ceremonies in 2004, 198 teachers refused to stand. After a series of fines and disciplinary actions, Nezu and nine other teachers were the only protesters this year.

"They are trying to weed us out of society," Nezu said. "The pacifists, the people who oppose nationalism in Japan. We are gradually being silenced."

The school board action is at the center of criticism throughout East Asia about rising Japanese nationalism. But it is also part of an ideological battle over the role of patriotism in Japan, where people are especially concerned about how the young will view their country.

"It is time our children learned to be proud of Japan," said Hitomi Nakayama, 48, a council member in Tokyo's Tachikawa district. Nakayama, whose son has just graduated from the junior high school, has called for an investigation of Nezu's teaching practices.

"There is nothing wrong with paying respect to our flag and our anthem or in taking pride in our nation and heritage," Nakayma said. "Most of the world enjoys that right. Why shouldn't we?"

Displays of overt patriotism were controversial in Japan in the decades after World War II. But public discourse has been changing. When the parliament adopted the "Kimigayo" hymn, it also declared the traditional Japanese sun flag, a red disk in a field of white, as the official flag. Until then, the country did not have a legally recognized national flag or anthem.

As Japan has observed the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific this month, nationalist political leaders have gained prominence advocating a stronger role for Japan in the world. In the aftermath of Japan's economic recession in the 1990s, there is a growing popular notion that the country deserves clout commensurate with its position as the world's second- largest economy.

Citing the threat of international terrorism and concerns that North Korea may have nuclear weapons, members of the governing Liberal Democratic Party say part of updating the country's international profile involves military preparedness. They advocate a change in Japan's constitution, which was drafted by the United States after World War II and removed Japan's right to maintain a military or wage war. The change would allow the country to define its Self-Defense Forces as Japan's armed forces.

But Japan's dwindling pacifists worry not only about the surge in nationalism but also a trend toward revisionist history that glorifies militarism.

On Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, a record 205,000 worshipers turned out at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, a nationalist symbol that honors Japan's fallen warriors, including convicted World War II criminals. That same weekend, the Mainichi newspaper here released a poll of 1, 058 Japanese showing that only 43 percent thought the nation's actions during World War II were "clearly wrong," while the rest said the war had been unavoidable or were unsure. The comparable response was even lower among younger Japanese; 36 percent of 20- to 30-year-olds participating in the poll considered Japan's role in World War II as clearly wrong.

Such views, experts said, are based in part on education, as younger Japanese have been exposed to gradually lower doses of war guilt. Unlike Germany, which still strongly confronts the Holocaust in history classes, Japan's most frequently used history book for junior high schools emphasizes ancient history, spending 15 of 207 pages on wartime aggression and only one paragraph on the Tokyo trials that condemned the nation's war criminals.

Updated textbooks approved by the Education Ministry this year sparked outrage in China and South Korea for glossing over Japanese war crimes. The books dedicate 24 pages to the war period but whitewash the Japanese role and call for a "reconsideration" of the Tokyo trials. Sharp criticism from abroad has seemed to have had no effect. Before anti-Japanese street riots erupted in Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul in April, only 14 Japanese schools had adopted the revisionist books. Since then, at least 30 more have approved their use for the coming school year.

Nezu's struggle has become national news; she has been both demonized by conservatives and supported by pacifist groups and the teachers union. Tokyo school board officials dismiss the contention that they are trampling her rights.

But Nezu and the school board authorities have remained at odds. She was transferred four times in five years, often to schools two hours from her home. Nezu has fought back by filing lawsuits against the moves; she has lost one, and at least four other cases are pending. In addition to the salary cuts and the transfers, Nezu is now allowed to teach only when another teacher is present. But she said she is adamant about her stance.

"I feel as if freedom to question authority is being quashed just as it was during the war years," she said in a quiet, studied voice. "But I will never stand for that song, the same one that played when we were invading Asia. Never." "

11/ Japan to "Instill a Love of Japan" in its students:

Again, even Britain is staring to teach similar "Citizenship" classes, but under the aspect of a broader, more tolerant Britain. Its not meant to be like:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...y?track=tothtml

"Japanese schools to teach patriotism
By Bruce Wallace, Times Staff Writer
December 16, 2006

TOKYO — Japanese students can now look forward to studying patriotism as well as math, public spirit in addition to science.

A pillar of postwar Japan's constitutionally enforced pacifism was knocked aside Friday when parliament passed a law making "love of country" a compulsory part of school curricula.

The education changes were approved on the last day of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's first parliamentary session and were accompanied by other laws that will give defense officials more clout in government.

Both changes represent the Abe administration's determination to erase taboos against expressions of nationalism that conservatives have long said keep Japan from being a "normal" country.

They mark the first step on what Abe has pledged will be a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's postwar order, including an end to constitutionally enforced pacifism that restricts Japan's ability to play a more assertive international role.

The new laws are also a conservative volley in a cultural war over Japanese values. The education revisions, in particular, mark a victory for conservatives like Abe over what they view as a school system dominated by left-wing teachers unions, turning out "soft" students who loathe their country and ignore responsibilities to family and community.

The Fundamental Law of Education had not been revised since it was introduced under American guidance during the postwar occupation, and steering the changes through was Abe's top domestic priority.

The original law sought to prevent schools from inculcating the virulent nationalism of the imperial era.

But Abe and his closest advisors complained that its American-style emphasis on individualism and self-expression was against Japanese values and lay behind what they see as a fraying of the country's cooperative social order.

They contend that teaching "an attitude that loves the nation and home country" is the tonic to restore a common spirit.

Critics countered that loving one's country must be a spontaneous emotion and cannot be cultivated by such acts as forcing students to face the flag and sing the national anthem, as several municipal school boards now require.

That position has been weakened by a growing sense that Japanese classrooms are spinning out of control and academic standards are falling.

The national concern has been reinforced by a political and media campaign that suggested discipline and responsibility were being pushed aside by a rampant egotism among Japanese youth.

This week, it was revealed that the government had been rigging its town hall meetings, designed to hear the opinions of ordinary citizens but instead seeded with planted questioners who praised government initiatives such as the education changes.

The education bill's passage was also oiled by sensational media coverage this fall of what was portrayed as a wave of schoolyard bullying, which contributed to at least a handful of student suicides.

Bullying has been a perennial problem in Japanese schools. But the media obsession with the issue this fall reinforced the sense that schools needed a moral overhaul.

By contrast, there was little friction over the raise in status for the Defense Agency to a full ministry, which does not alter the restrictions on the armed forces to act only in self-defense. The mostly symbolic move has been repeatedly debated in theory, but prohibited in practice by a public aversion to anything that smacked of revived militarism.

That reluctance faded in the face of a bellicose and nuclear-armed North Korea, as well as unease about growing Chinese power, that have contributed to the swing toward a more nationalist mood.

bruce.wallace@latimes.com"

12/ Human Trafficking in Japan:

Japan has been said to have one of the HIGHEST amount of illegal Human Trafficking figures in the developed world. A recent Un report was threatening to put Japan in a "black list" of countries, alongside the likes of Thailand and similar countries if it didnt clean up its image. Although "foreign crime" is often cited and "illegal immigrants" are a source of public and governmental sabre rattling, the biggest importers of illegal foreigners, the Yakuza and private companies plus foreign mafia are often ignored and not dealt with. Many foreign women are imported into Japan (many legal, others not) by such groups to work cater for many Japanese mens desire for "foreign entertainers" (women who may do anything frm a spectrum of chatting, dating, dancing stripping or even having full sex).


http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/43

"Japanese Police Report Human Trafficking Victims in First Half of 20051
July 2005

Japanese authorities have discovered and deported 51 human trafficking victims who were smuggled into the country to work in the sex and entertainment industries in the first half of 2005.

The number of victims was three times the tally in the first six months of last year, according to the National Police Agency report.

The victims were sent back to their home countries, including the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Romania, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and Estonia.

While in Japan, they were forced into activities ranging from prostitution to working in hostess clubs where servers wear lingerie, the report said. Police arrested 29 other people on human trafficking charges in the first half of 2005, up from 24 last year.

The Switzerland-based International Organization for Migration estimates that as many as 150,000 trafficking victims could be working in Japan's sex industry. Activists say many women who voluntarily but illegally enter Japan are then saddled with exorbitant debts to their traffickers who enslave them to repay their travel fees.

The government has come under heavy international and domestic pressure to clamp down on human trafficking. A top U.N. anti-trafficking official urged Japan to do more to combat the problem. Sigma Huda, U.N. special rapporteur on trafficking, said a law enacted in June 2005 that made trafficking people into Japan a criminal offense was only a first step. The new law, which took effect 12 July 2005, was introduced after the U.S. State Department added Japan to a list of countries too lax on human trafficking.
1 "Japanese police report 51 human trafficking victims in first half of 2005." Associated Press Newswires. 14 July 2005."



13/ GOOD Japan:


I think though, in order to show that Japan is not united on the whole "expel the foreign barbarian invaders" ideology, its worth noting that:

1/ The original chief priest of Yasukuni didnt want war criminals there. It was originally built and didnt house such people.

2/ The Chief priest was close to the Emperor.

3/ The Emperor of Japan volunteered to apologise about ww2 at the time but the US forces advised not too as it might destabilize the nation".

4/ Since the war criminals were interred, none of the successive Emperors have deemed it worthy to visit the shrine.

5/ Many Japanese teachers have refused to sing the national anthem.

6/ There are many Japanese who want equal rights for many kinds of people, including foreigners.

7/ The Racist Right Wing Movement is only tolerated by the majority. Most are ashamed of them.

interesting read. unfortunatly i'll more than likely never get to see japan, but i'm sure this would be usefull for anybody planning to visit and/or live there.

You obviously feel strongly about this, and I can say its a contentious issue.

I'm just wondering if TFans is the right forum for this (especially a large post like this)? and if it is - should the Japanese area of the board really be the area it goes in? I'd be more inclined to post in the political area.
Why do I think this? - this area will be used more by the Japanese members of this board and some may not want to read this, just wanting to come here for transformers talk.

Other than that and the fact its one huge wall of text, good point well made.

BTW - good that you linked your sources

wow a long read for sure and some interesting info.

Thanks! Yeah, I was furious! I can normally deal with the fact that racism exists in Japan, but the magazine you saw at the top isnt some underground nazi right wing publication...its a nationally circulated (hopefully one off) mag. Its like seeing a mag at your local quicky stop in the USA entitled "Filthy Immigrants in the USA: We look at crimes and immoral activities perpetrated by Blacks, Hispanics and Asians!. New today: Do Indian wh@res smell of curry? Pictures of Black men touching our pure white women!", complete with pics of "gollywogs" and other racist depictions.


Im not making that up either. the things i just wrote about an american mag were changed from the original japanese book. Click below for for info:

http://www.debito.org/index.php/?p=192

And as for the area to be placed, then I think it could go in the political area. However, like others have said, it is something those coming or thinking about coming to japan should know or have an inkling about, so i think that it really has a place here too. Like I said, the thread isnt about how bad Japanese people are, but rather that the government in japan seems to allow and almost foster nationalism and racist tendancies..to the point where mags like the one above and "little black sambo" are commonplace.

Hell, Ive had lessons with my adult japanese students, some of which are intelligent, articulate people and they have said in front of me that " more foreigners should not be allowed to enter japan and live here because more crime will be commited by them"

These were not nazi skin heads. they were university students, mothers and respectable members of the community. It seems that the images and issues above in earlier posts trickle down in the average mind here, with little or no confrontation or debate. Its like being back in 1950's USA or something. Everyone is calm, nice and polite..just as long as "dem n@gr@es know der place".

My apologies for the "wall of text" I was going to put each bit of info behind links or as seperate posts. If anyone can help me with that, then Ill do it so as to make viewing easier.

BTW: family mart, the main vendor for the racist magazine, has opened up shop in the USA, especially in LA. If you feel angry or upset by family Mart's actions, simply dont go to them and buy anything.

As I'd like to at least visit Japan and possibly work there one year or two, I find this info on racism very interesting. As for the Japanese Transfans using this part of the forum, I'm interested in knowing their opinions too.

I doubt Japanese (race/nationals) actually use this web site. Many will use Japanese language sites and its been said that Otaku, generally speaking are not forthcoming when it comes to communicating with Japanese, yet alone foreigners.

Now, Im not bashing the entire Otaku community here but my friend, who's a Canadian and fluent in Japanese was playing FF11 or 12 when it first came out in a Japanese only language edition. It was an online RPG and he lives in Japan and was playing it.

He met a group of Japanese Otaku games who had formed a party. Their message was "Japanese Only", written in English. Now, before he got angry, he decided to find out whther they meant "sorry, we only use Japanese language here" or something racist. Unfortunately, with thta particular group, it was the latter.

In a slight defense, I get angry when non-english speakers come to chat rooms and cuase problems with miscomunication and just badly constructed posts. I think XBob and Hether prime caused problems here (due to a disablity I think) but some users were not happy with their actions which might have been compounded by their lack of english skills.

However, that aside, Ive met Japanese otaku in an otaku shop. Both of us were clutching boxes of Tf toys and I decided to say a casual hi to them in japanese.

They just ignored me...typical for Japanese otaku (although not japanese in general).

BTW, it seems that Family Mart Japan, under pressure from an informed Family mart USA, has promised to remove all copies of the racist mag mentioned at the beginning of this thread "within 7 days".

Its also worth noting that none of the other major Japanese convenience stores stocked it. To give them the benefit of the doubt, it could be said that many stores REFUSED to sell this mag in Japan. Nice to believe that, right?

http://www.debito.org/index.php/?p=199

However, if you read the comments there is still more to be done.

ano ne
ore wa nohon ni sundeta goro ni
aa iu koto wa nakattan da yo
betsu ni ore ha ninkimono datta

Just some more info about the racist mag.

Famima, the USA wing of Family Mart has replied to a number of people, including myself. They have promised to take the mag off the shelves of ALL their stores and not restock the mag as of Feb 5th, 2007.

Amazon has stated that it doesnt condone "censorship" and that it WILL continue to sell the mag, although in the UK division has stated that its staff might also agree with those customers concerened, but the company is neutral on this matter on a whole.

reuters and the UK Guardian newspapers have made reports:

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070205/3/2wy4f.html

"Monday February 5, 7:12 PM
Japanese stores pull "foreigner crime" magazine
TOKYO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart and other retailers are pulling copies of a book on "foreigner crime" from their shelves after a wave of complaints, the stores said on Monday.

The front cover of "Shocking Foreigner Crime: The Undercover File", published in Japanese, features caricatures of non-Japanese, alongside the question: "Is it all right to let foreigners devastate Japan?"

"We are removing the book from our shelves today," said Takehiko Kigure of FamilyMart Co.'s public relations department.

"We had complaints from customers, and when we checked the content of the magazine, we found that it contained some inappropriate language," he added.

Inside the glossy magazine-style book, photographs and illustrations show what the editors say are non-Japanese engaged in criminal or reprehensible behaviour.

"We wanted to take this up as a contemporary problem," said Shigeki Saka of Tokyo-based publishers Eichi, which also publishes magazines on popular U.S. and South Korean television dramas. "I think it would be good if this becomes a chance to broaden the debate," he added.
ADVERTISEMENT

One caption in the magazine refers to a black man as "Nemesis Prime."

"This is not a racist book, because it is based on established fact," Saka said. "If we wanted to be racist, we could write it in a much more racist way," he added, saying that the word "Nemesis Prime" was not considered offensive in Japan.

Details of well-known past crimes committed by foreigners are also given, such as last year's kidnapping of the daughter of a wealthy plastic surgeon by a group including South Koreans and Chinese, and the 2003 murder of a family of four on the southern island of Kyushu by Chinese citizens.

The number of registered foreigners in Japan has swelled to more than two million, or 1.57 percent of the population, and some commentators recommend the country accept more immigrants to shore up its ageing and shrinking workforce.

Some in Japan, where crime rates are extremely low compared with Europe and the United States, are concerned about a possible increase in crime associated with an influx of foreigners, but mainstream media have not focussed on the issue in recent months. "

You will notice the "N1gger not offensive in Japan" quote. This same idea was used when "Little Black Sambo" was rereleased in Japan recently. The point links with the ethno-centric idea of "ware ware Nihonjin", which means "we japanese". The idea is that as everyone who "matters" in japan are "japanese" and that by japanese it is meant "genetically pure japanese who were born in japan", then the opinions of minority groups cannot matter as they are not "we japanese" and therefore dont understand the "japanese way" and are therefore wrong. It IS offensive in Japan, by many foreigners and educated or travelled japanese living here.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/st...2004645,00.html

"Magazine plays to Japanese xenophobia


Available in mainstream bookstores, magazine targets Iranians, Chinese, Koreans and US servicemen

Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Friday February 2, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

Japanese magazine Secret Files of Foreigners' Crimes
Human rights activists say the magazine is indicative of the climate of fear of foreigners created by conservative newspapers and politicians


The recent release of a glossy magazine devoted to the foreign-led crime wave supposedly gripping Japan has raised fears of a backlash against the country's foreign community, just as experts are calling for a relaxation of immigration laws to counter rapid population decline.

Secret Files of Foreigners' Crimes, published by Eichi, contains more than 100 pages of photographs, animation and articles that, if taken at face value, would make most people think twice about venturing out into the mean streets of Tokyo.

Article continues
The magazine, which is available in mainstream bookstores and from Amazon Japan, makes liberal use of racial epithets and provocative headlines directed mainly at favourite targets of Japanese xenophobes: Iranians, Chinese, Koreans and US servicemen.

Human rights activists said the magazine was indicative of the climate of fear of foreigners created by conservative newspapers and politicians, notably the governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara.

"It goes beyond being puerile and into the realm of encouraging hatred of foreigners," Debito Arudou, a naturalised Japanese citizen, told the Guardian. "The fact that this is available in major bookstores is a definite cause of concern. It would be tantamount to hate speech in some societies."

One section is devoted to the alleged tricks foreign-run brothels use to fleece inebriated Japanese salarymen, while another features a comic strip retelling, in graphic detail, the murders of four members of a Japanese family by three Chinese men in 2003.

An "Alien Criminal Worst 10" lists notorious crimes involving foreigners from recent years, including the case of Anita Alvarado, the "Chilean geisha" blamed by some for forcing her bureaucrat husband, Yuji Chida, to embezzle an estimated 800m yen from a local government. Mr Chida, who is Japanese, is serving a 13-year prison sentence.

The magazine's writers are equally disturbed by the apparent success foreign men have with Japanese women: hence a double-page spread of long-lens photographs of multinational couples in mildly compromising, but apparently consensual, positions.

Mr Arudou accused the mainstream press of exploiting the supposed rise in foreign crime by failing to challenge official police figures. Although the actual number of crimes has risen, he said, so has the size of the foreign population.

"The portrayal [of foreign criminals] is not one of a neutral tone," he said. "They don't put any of the statistics into perspective and they don't report drops in certain crimes."

The magazine's publication coincides with warnings more foreigners should be encouraged to live and work in Japan to counter the economic effects of population decline and the greying society.

The current population of 127 million is expected to drop to below 100 million by 2050, when more than a third of Japanese will be aged over 64.

"I think we are entering an age of revolutionary change," Hidenori Sakanaka, director of the Japan Immigration Policy Institute and an advocate of greater immigration, said in a recent interview.

"Our views on how the nation should be and our views on foreigners need to change in order to maintain our society." "

Apologies if Ive already quaoted the guardian.

I did not read this long postings however I do agree with you. japan is a very sterile country. their perceptions of the "foreigner" is very much thru media ONLY. If you are asian, then it is easier to blend in. However Koreans are second class citizens in japan. I dont think the Chinese are favored tha much. However I have not really experienced racism myself in my very limited time in japan (1 month and 1 week)

From my interactions with japanese natives, they are truly naive to non asians. There was a guy who blogged his reactions as a JET program teacher and being a black man he was bombarded by his 7th graders on a daily basis with Kancho and "biggu dikuu" questions.

yes, I agree. However, I think the level of "ignorance" is truly astounding. However, it's "chicken or egg" with Japan. Countries get more "open to foreigners" by allowing more foreigners in.

However, due to a variety of reasons, Japan isnt as open as some say it could be. Combined with nationlaist or ethnocentric laws, corruption and all the other problems any other country has, Japanese people are still not as "internationally aware" perhaps as other nations, politically and maybe even generally speaking.

Mind you, I went back to the UK about 2 years ago after a solid three years in Japan. My new next door neighbour told me, rather bluntly that she was happy "for Pakistanis and blacks etc (sic) and Indians to live next door, but she wouldn't want em' marrying her daughters"



Nice that.

Here is a quote from the main guy behind the magazine. He has simply refused to accept his mag is racist and will not apologise:

" This is not a racist book because it is based on established fact.
Shigeki Saka of Tokyo-based publisher Eichi, on the controversial book "Shocking Foreigner Crime: The Undercover File," which features caricatures of non-Japanese alongside the question: "Is it alright to let foreigners devastate Japan?" Convenience store chains and other retailers pulled the book from their shelves this week following complaints. (Reuters)"

I think one of the worst outcome of this is that a lot of people don't know or don't care to hear about Japan's ugly side. I have a friend from Aruba that worked with a Japanese accountant in his firm 5 years ago. One day they had to go to Japan to discuss some business contract deal and they sent him and the said accountant there. He couldn't beieve how much more racist Japan is compared to Canada or the United States. If you know anything about Denny's, then you can imagine how he was treated when he went to a restaurant in Japan. He was also shocked to find out that people had a shrine that revered the WW2 war criminals.

The shrine you refer to is "Yaskuni Shrine", which is vistied by almost every Prime Minister in Japan. To many Japanese, its a sign of national power, but to the Chinese, its a sign of racism. Both parties have been using it as a political tool however.

I have to disagree that Japan is "more racist" than any other country. THe main point is that there are not adequate laws to protect those without the main power: Ie: young people, children, women, foreigners, homeless etc.

Thus, racism has been seen to go unchecked in Japan and often isnt challenged. To many it simply isnt "racism" but "normal culture".

Imagine going back in time and having to explain why "negros have to give up their seat for a white" is bad. To many at the time, it was simple "how things were done".

The more foreigners discuss the problem, the more some, but not all Japanese retreat to the "but its our culture. Obviously you dont understand our culture".

Im not sure what you mean by Denny's though, unless you mean thats the Japanese version is very far removed from the original USA version?

However, the myth of "polite, well educated Japanese who are full of honour, samurai poise and self control, and a gentle respect for nature whilst using all the latest gadgets" would be sorely put to the test should anyone choose to live there. But tahts what travelling is all about, right?

I doubt the USA is all about " overweight flag waving Bush lovers with rude outspken demands, guns all over their person and no idea where Iraq actually is".

all stereotypes are rarely true.

The publisher responds:

http://www.debito.org/index.php/?p=215

I think you are focussing a little bit too much on the negative side of things here. Japanese culture is very complex and most Japanese still have a typical 'island' mentality. This does not make them racist per se. The main problem is not racism but a lack of cultural understanding on both sides. For most Japanese all foreigners seem very exotic and to some this is an attractive trait, to others a scary trait. Regardless, Miltant black vans and the likes aren't as prolific throughout the country as one would believe, any country has its select rightwing group of militants.

If we talk about racism in Japan, we also need to point out some reasons why Japanes are scared of foreigners. Just to name one example, Brasil doesn't have a extradition treaty with Japan, meaning that Brasilians committing crimes in Japan cannot be prosecuted if they can leave the country and return to their homeland. There is currently such a case pending where a person from brasil killed Japanese children in a reckless driving accident and the Japanese government is unable to prosecute him since he was able to flee the country. It's situations like these that create (understandably) public outcry for stricter regulations regarding foreigners.

I could just as easily turn it around and ask why Japanese people would extend their friendship to you: a person living in their country whose only reason for being there is buying little plastic robots and who doesn't put in an excessive amount of effort to integrate their society (judging from your blog).

I won't deny there are racists in Japan, but it's a case-by-case kind of thing and I believe that any person who genuinely tries to adapt to their culture and language will find Japanese people more welcoming than this thread would make people believe.

Interesting points. I agree with you somewhat. However:

1/ "Japanese culture is very complex and most Japanese still have a typical 'island' mentality."

The UK has an island mentality and every culture is complex. To believe that foreigners are "exotic" is a little bit of an embarrasment for what is, essentially, a developed country. Sure, there are parts of any country that are "backward" and distrust outsiders, but when you consider the major or TOKYO, the most metropolitan and foreigner filled/welcoming area of Japan has been continually quaoting racist remarks for ages and he gets voted in time and time again, well, you have to wonder. In any other country, the press would have a field day and the major would either resign or apologise. Not so with Shintaro Ishihara.

2/ The Militant Black Vans are almost all over the country. They dont operate every day but they are there. Like I said, most Japanese dont want them there but those groups wield considerable power..to the extent that sometimes of-duty police officers DRIVE THE VANS.

3/ "Brasilians committing crimes in Japan cannot be prosecuted if they can leave the country and return to their homeland" This is true. However, the chap in charge of Peru, who commited acts of murder against political enemies fled to Japan, and as he had "Japanese Blood" was granted amnesty, much to the criticism of the worl media and several political organisations. This is set against the fact that Japan is one of the lowest if not THE lowest granter of asylum to thse seeking it in the developed world. Britian with its "island mentality" has done the opposite.

4/ Im not here for just buying toys. However, even if I was, thats not a problem. Like I said, I dont think every Japanese person is racist or anti-foreigner, but if you see that a racist publication was sold in a mainstream national convenience store on the front rack, then you can begin to understand that Japanese style racism has a large presence or at least largely goes uncallenged.

5/ Recently the police released figures showing the amount of "foreigner crime" that had taken place. It was all over the papers but little or no breakdown of the actual crimes themselves were given. Imagine waking up to the New York Times with headlines that read something like "Black/Hispanic related crime increases in America". Im sure the paper would get some sort of criticism. Not so really in Japan.

5/ Today, my friend was walking down the street with a heavy monitor. A little old Japanese lady stopped to help him by putting it in the front basket of her bike and helped him wheel it to his apartment. This shows that without a doubt that generally, Japanese are very helpful on the whole to foreigners. Ive spent about 5 years here and I know that no matter how much "culture" you invest in, then you are always an outsider.

By saying "adapt to their culture" I belive that you have made a mistake. Its the classic "but you dont understand the Japanese way. If you did, you would realize its not racism" idea that sadly isnt true. Granted, racism is a very strong word to use and I will use it lightly here, but the amount of racial discrimination and ignorance is amazing.

I wont say Japan is worse than any other country, but as a foreigner living in another country, I have felt its effects more so than empathising with ethnic minorities in my own country. Id say that the government and those in power are very nationalistic, are aiming to keep their voters in the dark about foreigners and play on that fear, ignorance and "island mentality" by controlling the media, schools and by dissuading public discussion about it whilst creating nationalistic revisions to the school system, political measures and by ignoring the plights of many minority groups.

Heres a case:

Recently, in Australia, a man published a book criticising the Japanese royal household (the servants or beurocrats that control the royal family's interests). He interviewed members of the royal family (i think) and also asked prominent watchers what they thought. The main point was that the household ruined her. She was a succesful diplomat and was basically told "shut up and make a male heir". She had a nervous breakdown. One prince said "royal concubines should be intriduced". another said "if we have a female heir to the japanese throne, then she might marry some dirty blue eyed foreigner and our genetic line wont be pure".

In Hungary, a person "pulled a Borat" by pretending to be a Japanese reporter, complete with bad teeth and big glasses and bad english.

All over the world the whaling commision is anti Japanese whaling.

In France, Japanese style food that isnt "pure" (ie: made with home grown japanese products) has been condemned by the government and a special task force was set up to ensure Japanese knew what "pure and correct japanese food abroad was".

The thing is most Japanese people agreed with the anti stance the critics made. The Prince/Emperor himself shacked the nation by criticisng the governments treatement of his wife/daughter in law, Japanese people dont want to eat whale meat (there are large surplus stockpiles in ware houses as we speak)
, most Japanese didnt care about a mickey-take out of their culture and Japanese food in Japan contains chinese ingredients, usa beef, etc and the average convenience store bento/lunch box is as far removed from pure japanese cooking as anything in LA.

But what did the Goverenment do about those problems? They invested shed-loads of cash into combatting "those foreign barbarians" and wasted a load of tax-payers cash, when a private body or interest group could have achieved the same thing. They are even trying to ban the book about the princess even though its not essentially "anti japanese". Its just "anti japanese government".

How much government help do you think was given to foreigners when theracist mag was published? or when little black sambo was made again? or when japanese invited africans on tv and as a joke, told them to come and eat a dish in their national costume and bring their hunting knives and then..lo and behold..they "suprized" them by filming them on national tv attempting to eat sushi and other stuff dressed up as "primitive tribesmen eating our japanese food with..HUNTING KNIVES! Ohhh so sirry Braku manu! hahahaha".

How much national government aid was given to a foreigner who is now taking the japanese gov. to the UN court due to its refusal to creat a national set of laws protecting foreigners from racial discrimination?

Nothing. Thats what.

Like I said though, there are Japanese who wont stand for this. Their are lawyers who fight for many peoples rights including those who specialize in helping foreigenrs. (which are hampered by the Japanese system that lets Judges be the jury and set the punishment and usually go on circumstantial evidence provided by police. In fact a Japanese director himself has shown the very same problems with regards to the japanese system of "guilty until proven innocent in a new film about a guy who was wrongly improsend for touching a japanese girl on a train.)

There is the first and I think only foreign National Government member (who must have been voted in by Japanese).

There are the Japanese who want foreigners to teach at their schools.

There are the mums who trust me to teach their 2 year old kid on his own now.

There are many and like you said the actual amount of actual racists are very, very small. But their power is larger than you would think and they prey on people's insecurities to get what they want.

What blog do you mean? Do you mean "Debito's" blog? because that isnt mine.

BTW, although its still sourced from Debito, here is something else you might want to look up. Imnot saying that its a case of "The UN versus Japan" and thus "Japan is Bad". The UN recently said that "the UK is one if not THE worst developed nations in which children should live" or words like that.

Anyway:

http://www.debito.org/rapporteur.html

Or:

http://www.debito.org/rapporteur.html#jan2006report



I dont want to just recycle everything that Debito says here so please have a click if you are interested.

The problem is, as you say, largely due to the fact that Japan is a very pre-dominantly mono-ethnic society, which lends itself to being more vulnerable to public racism and bigotry.

Japan has anti-discrimination laws, but they need to be revised, and more importantly - enforced. AFAIK a lot of those "Gaikokujin Fukanou" signs are actually illegal but nobody ever bothers to enforce penalties on stores etc. that post them.

Oh, and Japanese racism certainly does target Asians as well as non-Asians - albeit sometimes in different ways. I'm sure I've told this story before, but I once worked for a private Juku where we taught English part time to school students. I was the only Asian foreigner employed there - every other staff member was either Japanese or non-Asian foreigners (all whites). One day I stopped getting shifts with the boss telling me that he would contact me when I would have another shift. This of course, never happened. One day a friend of mine who was still working there called me and told me that he had discovered why I wasn't getting any more shifts -- the boss had told my mate that I was no longer being employed because I lacked what he perceived to be important qualities for teaching English, which included:
- white skin
- blonde hair
- blue eyes
...ya know... nothing to do with my actual fluency or competence in English. No sir. (-_-)

Yes, Ive found that "non-native speakers" are hired more or PAID more than anyone who isnt from "the uk, america, etc". My own russian friend was apid less than americans with no english teaching experience in a japanese run english language school in kobe . Thing is, she had a high toeic score, an MA and three years teaching experience under her belt, but she wasnt a "true engish speaker".

Anyway, Im not sure if Ive posted this, but here it is (again?). The editor of the mag, clearly grasping at straws, gives his response to the "Underground Gaijin Crime" magazine criticism:

www.japantoday.com/jp/news/399166




Seriously, this guy is amazing. Let's consider his main, highlighted points shall we?

1/ " On the Japanese side, the "foreign criminal" is a beast who lurks everywhere and wants nothing more than to destroy Japanese people and their way of life. "

He himself has the idea that many Japanese view foreigners in a bad way. Although I have more faith in the Japanese people than he, it does highlight the idea that there is a lot of xenophobia at least in Japan and that people like this guy play on that. In this case in order to sell a badly written magazine posing as a platform for "discussion".

2/ "This attitude makes it impossible to have an informed conversation about where real foreign criminals come from, or the reason they commit their crimes."" He is making the point that everything he showed in his mag was a "crime".

3/ "On the other side, many foreigners consider any suggestion that they engage in lewd or criminal behavior to be an unacceptable insult. This can be seen quite clearly in the reaction our magazine elicited in the Western media, and especially in the online community." This is classic "us and them victim mentality" of many Japanese when they are "confronted" by western criticism. Unfortunately, in Japanese "culture" to critisise is to be rude. This has been exploited by many Japanese polititians and media who can voice their own opinions without fear of public outcry. Some have said that as Japanese media are not outspoken enough, then its "left" to foreign media or individuals to do so and BAM! When they do, they are told or thought os as "ignorant bullies who dont understand our way of doing things/culture". Of course this could be true in some cases, but when it is clearly not, its a favourite reaction of some Japanese to counter with.

4/ "It's true that American guys grope their Japanese girlfriends daily on the streets of Tokyo."

He also failed to point out that "touching Japanese women with their consent" (which we can assume is the case with the photos taken) is NOT a crime. As the photos never imply that they are NOT without her consent (as they would be evidence and thus either unavailable to print or have a case file and more infor attached to them), then this, however repugnant to those who dislike public "heavy petting", isnt a crime. He is associating this to "gaijin crime" and by pixelating the "victim" (akin to real crime photos where victims' rights are upheld) and not the criminal, he is furthering the use of this semiotic imagery to create the impression its a "crime".

Also, if he was a fair critic of this practice, he would then obviously show the "Women Only" carriages on many Japan Rail and other independant train lines, which have special women only carriages to "protect" women from ANY man that may or may not grope them. According to Japanese crime statistics, the majority, if not all of these sexual harrasement/assault charges have been perputrated by JAPANESE MEN, without the conscent of the Japanese or foreign women concerened.

Here is a link:

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/archi...0dm999000c.html



It's worth noting that there could be the possibilty that foreigners commit this crime and of course its silly to say that the majority of Japanese males are guilty of this. They are not. Its a minority of sickos that commit it. In fact a recent movie has been made by a Japanese director telling the real life story of a Japanese guy falsely arrested and imprisoned for molesting a girl on a train. Also, recently in the news, when a train molester or "chikan" has commited such a crime, it is the help from Japanese males and females that have wrestled such sickos to the ground or protected the victim in some way. They were Japanese too. Credit where its most certainly due.

5/ "Instead, "niga" is Japanese street slang, just like the language used in the other captions on the same page." To explain, he is suggesting that the romanized expression of the Japanese accented take on the hip-hop term "Nemesis Prime", isnt recist per sec. This certainly has some merit with those who are black or non-black in the USA, where the term originated, but as the trem was used in a magazine openly criticising foreigners and implying that touching "our Japanese women" is somehow wrong then I don't think the editor is in any position to speak on behalf of Japan's largely non-racist hip-hop culture, which does use the term from time to time.

Incidentally, I and a friend went to a Japanese hip-hop club and some huge japanese dj asked us.."you can come in..but we (japanese) no problem..you dont fight in here ok?"

after we got in, the rapping was almost wall-to-wall "MOFOers" and "N1GGA" this or that on the speakers. I wasnt happy with the "fear that foreigners would commit crime" and indeed some of the "hip-hoppers" in the club were far from happy to see "gaijin" in their nice pristine Japanese club. Imagine that great "car washing" scene in "Office Space" where the white guy turns down his hip hop music and locks the door of his car when a black guy walks past, looks at him with fear and loathing and then turns it back up to rap along with it after the black man passes.

7/ "Having been given this opportunity to share a message with Tokyo's foreign community, I would like to stress three points. First, before foreigners rush to accuse me and my staff of racism, or to label our publication a typical example of Japanese xenophobia, I would ask that they consider how quick their own culture is to view the Japanese as subhuman. In World War II you labeled us "monkeys," and in the bubble economy years, you considered us "economic predators.""


This is all true, except it was said in the past. At no point were we comparing racism of the past to now. If so, then any foreign pundit worth their salt could bring out "Japan in WW2", "racist business practices of a dual economy in Japan in the 80's" and good ol' Shintaro Ishihara. The point is, he used old anti-japanese racism, which has been condemned just as much as his own magazine and has used it to defend his own brand of racism.

He is also assuming the "us and them" stance whereby criticism of HIm or HIS STAFF is , in his mind , criticism of "all things japanese". This is again classic "ware ware nihonjin" or "we japanese (and you outsiders)" mentality. The foreign community was against his magazine and the shops that sold it and were commenting on the fact the mag was in such a mainstream position. They were not openly lambasting the entire Japanese nation.


8/ "What we need to understand is that by having a conversation about violent and illegal behavior, we're really talking about ourselves — not as "Japanese" or "foreigners," but as human beings."

This would be great if he had actually written a thorough and multi-sided magazine exploring all the possibilities concerened and interviewing both foreign criminals, foreign/Japanese victims, police officers, foreign and japanese human rights activists and investigated the actual statistics.

Instead he copied and pasted official japanese police crime statistics, without breaking down what they were meant or subjected them to any criticism, copied and pasted random pics of foreigners with their girlfriends in Tokyo at night/early morning after club closing time, included some isolated and un-connected crimes commited by foreigners, added a dash of racist words like "niga" and "gaijin" and then expected us all to think he was presenting us all with a high class read and platform for open debate.

And the guy, you will remember, hasnt been featured in the Japanese media, or criticised by any prominent Japanese political speakers either, who were all too busy criticising a recent Australian book which criticised the japanese government's treatment of the royal crown princess Michikio, or whoever she was. Poor girl.

i think were all kind of agreeing on the same thing... that racism is a global issue. those who aren't racist are more educated, exposed, open, or just dont care. people fear what they don't understand. when someone outside the group comes in, they are outnumbered by others that dont him... i don't blame the japanese for being racist but they aren't the only country that is like this. if you take any outsider from another country that doesn't look similar or even speak the same language and place them in a different setting, they are looked upon differently. im sure that people from japan's metropolis don't mingle well with people from the country side and vise versa.

im sure every country has their own slang or connotation for tourists, foreigners, or visitors.

Regarding the 'groping of Japanese women' issue, I would like to point out that in Japan it is taboo to show your affection in public. Most Japanese couples, even young ones, hesitate to hold hands or hug in public, let alone kiss or grab the girl's rear.

It's obviously not illegal to do so, but when foreigners openly show their affection it comes over as shocking to Japanese, because it is simply 'not done'. Those are things you do at home in privacy, not in the middle of the street. In that way I can understand the Japanese dismay foreigners who act in such a way publicly. Those foreigners, in my opinion, are culturally inept morons who urgently need to learn to adapt to the culture of the country they live in.

So whether or not it is with the girl's consent is a non-issue. What matters is that it is perceived by most as a very private act performed in public. It makes Japanese feel uncomfortable in their own country and I'm strongly opposed to any foreigner making natives feel like that in their own country. The same happens in many European cities where Muslims display their religion publicly in such a way that it alienates natives who feel like they don't belong in their own country anymore. If one lives in another country, the least they could do is adapt to that culture and respect the general mentality of that culture.