The Community Page received a large number of emails in response to Debito Arudou's June 7 Just Be Cause column, headlined " 'English-speaking diaspora' should unite, not backbite."
Mr. Arudou's latest article presents a thought-provoking description of three non-Japanese communities (North and South Korean Zainichi, South American nisei, and Chinese immigrants) and contrasts their interpersonal behavior with that of native English-speakers. It posits an alternate theory to explain the latter's reason for ineffective organization for the purpose of increasing their rights, benefits and privileges in Japan, as well as their failure to form physical communities in confined geographical spaces.
Unfortunately, however, it is not focused well enough to present a convincing argument that the English-speaking, long-term residents of Japan generally lack identity as permanent immigrants, or that they even qualify as a diaspora. Several much more likely explanations immediately jump to mind, including but not limited to Japanese language ability, population size, intermarriage tendencies, vocation and "class consciousness." To weave a persuasive argument, reasons must be presented why these at-first-obvious explanations are actually not the main contributing factors. This would then be preferably followed by testing of the posited hypothesis with supporting data.