February 29th, 2008Denied Our Rights: Japan’s Xenophobic Attitude Lives On
Perhaps it’s the lack of sleep this past week, but I’m getting pretty upset with the xenophobic attitudes of some people in Japan.
A Daily Yomiuri editorial from February 23rd (”Foreign residents’ suffrage not a political issue” - I’d post a link, but the Yomiuri’s Link Policy wouldn’t permit it) says, once again, that permanent residents in Japan must not be permitted to vote in national or local elections because we are a subversive threat to national security. Permanent residents hostile to Japan could abuse the right and somehow obstruct cooperation between the federal and local governments.
Considering the less-than-stellar degree of cooperation the state has fostered with the prefectures and cities over the years, the author really needs to take his head out of the sand and look around.
Is it theoretically possible for a hundred-thousand immigrants from some hostile nation move to Japan, go through all the ridiculously painful legalities to become a permanent resident then, in a single bold fashion, all move to a larger city and elect a representative that would be detrimental to the well-being of the country? Theoretically, yes. Is it likely? Keep this shit up and I might just organize a take-over of Osaka … suffrage or no.
The Cold War Is Over
The Cold War ended when Soviet Russia fell apart. Almost 20 years have passed since that time of extreme paranoia, but it seems the editors with their fingers in the media are still relying on out-dated, racist and otherwise backward ‘logic’. Not only does this increase the false preconception in Japan that foreigners are dangerous and a threat to the locals, but it reinforces and justifies it.
The editorial concludes that the political motives behind the DPJ’s moves to push for voting rights are “impermissible in respect to the issue that concerns what this nation should aspire to be.” And what, pray-tell, is that? To be an un-welcoming, regressive state that fails to trust non-Japanese as equal members of society capable of thinking for themselves?
Fuck you, un-named author.
The only thing people like this author have to fear from us foreign nationals is the airing of the government’s dirty laundry when more of us have a reason to pay attention to the garbage that goes on behind the closed doors of the ever-exclusive men’s club that is Japanese politics.
Breeding Hostility With Hostility
Considering how the next day that very same paper stated that a staggering 68% of Japanese are “disenchanted with their politicians”, you’d think the Yomiuri would have the foresight to hold back their opinion on the foreign suffrage bit. Heck, if so many Japanese have trouble with the existing politicians, perhaps the “national threats” could be called in to offer a little bit of perspective on their ways. Fukuda, following Abe’s lead, wanted to institute reform, right? What better way to reform than by getting a non-Japanese person a nice role as a political adviser.
Just as every Japanese person does not like baseball and sumo, not every foreign resident is from a nation with hostile intentions towards Japan. However, if the system continues to be hostile towards us, then it might not be hostile nations the government needs to worry about, but local residents instead.
With such obsolete outlooks being distributed in a national newspaper and echoed in the government halls, it’s no wonder people aren’t happy with the politicians in this country. If someone tried to publish this hostile, xenophobic tripe back in Canada, they’d be out of a job before the article even reached print.
I love Japan and I guess it’s one of those things that you just have to accept about the country. Japan like any other country has it’s fair share of idiots and it doesn’t take much for those idiots to spread fear to the masses. What they are saying is ridiculous and I agree with you 100% on that. Having said that, I don’t believe permanent residents in Canada are eligible to vote. Oh well it’s Japan, what can you do?
Yep, Mike’s right (source), though I’d imagine it’s easier for a a permanent resident in Canada to get citizenship (even dual citizenship?), than it is in Japan.
Yes it certainly would be Nick! Because Canada allows dual citizenship while Japan does not.
It can be trying at times to live in this country. I can get real frustrated at times with the anti-foriegner rhetoric too.
Anyone see this from Japan Today:
“Hadnott was released because prosecutors decided not to press charges after the girl withdrew the accusation against him. He was transferred to the U.S. military Friday night.”
I haven’t see this news dominate the Japanese headlines like when he was first accused and detained. Strange…noone is talking about this anymore.
Hey Jason, I think I can relate to what you guys are going through. We live in a supposedly multi racial country and I’m not even a foreigner in my own country, yet the discrimination is rife for people of other races here.
The following is my response to some of the comments left on the JapanSoc board:
—–
Writing blog posts are similar to emails, in that both involve computers and both can reach far beyond the expected audience. This post was no different.
The rules for knowing when to press ‘Publish’ are the very same as knowing when to press ‘Send’, and I clearly ignored it. We should never release our thoughts in anger.
Hence the four day posting break.
I agree with several of the comments both here, and submitted on my site. Most countries do not permit permanent residents to vote in most elections, regardless of whether they’re local or federal. My biggest beef wasn’t truly with the fact that I can’t vote Fukuda out of office the next time the feds are up for re-election, but with the tone of the editorial from the Daily Yomiuri. To say that permanent residents should not be granted suffrage because it’s neither common or completely necessary in the world could be tolerated so long as it’s done in taste. To say that foreigners shouldn’t be granted the right to vote because we’re a threat to national security, however, is insulting.
I was raised in a very ‘white’ part of Canada, but was taught from a very young age to never judge a person by the colour of their skin, their sexual preferences, or what set of genitals they happened to be born with. None of us are given a choice in the matter beforehand and, although it plays a huge role on who we are, it doesn’t mean that someone is a threat or inferior from others just because they’re different.
I realize that many people in the world are not raised that way, and it’s a shame. But to read this kind of foolishness in a newspaper that is targeting the foreign residents in the country is just madness. Was the editor looking for a fight? Was the editor completely unaware of how his comments could be interpreted by foreign residents and international community?
I came to this country to call it my home. Hopefully for the rest of my life. Will I be going for Japanese citizenship in the future? Most likely. Will I be able to get it before 2020? Probably not.
However, if foreigners are already permitted to take out millions of Yen in loans, pay into the pension fund, collect unemployment, apply for national scholarships and a whole host of other benefits, why hold back on suffrage?
The Japanese government loves statistics, regardless of their accuracy. Even the most biased reports of voter turnout shows that most countries that are not at war typically get a 20% - 40% turnout. Multiply that by the number of permanent residents, and maybe throw in a requirement that you have to have lived in Japan for more than six years before voting and you’re left with what … 50,000 foreign voters spread out between Sapporo and Okinawa? This is hardly a threat to national security.
Ozawa is pushing hard to get this so that his party looks better in the eyes of voters, because he knows that this is the only way they’ll win more seats in the lower house. Fukuda and his motley crew could have easily accepted the issue (or offer to “look into the matter”) to make the campaign backfire on the semi-illogical opposition party. Instead, he’s played right into their hands and it’s allowed some people to get away with painting broad strokes across a population … myself included.
The “us vs. them” mentality helped us survive the first 10,000 years of civilization, but it’s time to move on. If people can’t accept each other for who they are rather than where one might come from or what we look like, then perhaps they shouldn’t leave the safety of their homes.
THANK YOU / ARIGATO for being so honest about your time in Japan…Something we never seem to see from the Japanese themselves.