Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Oct 5, 2010
Census blind to Japan's true diversity
by Debito Arudou
It’s that time of the decade again. By now, all households in Japan should have received and submitted Japan’s National Census (kokusei chosa), a survey taken every five years expressly to assist in policymaking, drawing up electoral districts and other matters of taxation and ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Sep 7, 2010
Don't blame JET for Japan's poor English
by Debito Arudou
The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme, touted as the world’s largest cultural exchange scheme, has brought thousands of non-Japanese into the country to teach at local boards of education. These days, with many government programs being told to justify their existence, a debate is ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Aug 3, 2010
The victim complex and Kim's killer con
by Debito Arudou
It’s fascinating whenever someone cons people out of pots of money — doubly so when someone cons a whole government. Take, for example, Japan’s biggest news story two weeks ago: Kim Hyon Hui’s four-day visit to Japan. You might recall that in 1987 this ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jul 6, 2010
Japan's hostile hosteling industry
by Debito Arudou
As you may know, Japan has no national civil or criminal legislation outlawing and punishing racial discrimination, meaning businesses with “Japanese only” signs aren’t doing anything illegal. Problem is, I’m not sure it would matter if such a law existed. To illustrate, consider one ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jun 1, 2010
Futenma is undermining Japanese democracy
by Debito Arudou
Times are tough for the Hatoyama Cabinet. It’s had to backtrack on several campaign promises. Its approval ratings have plummeted to around 20 percent. And that old bone of contention — what to do about American military bases on Japanese soil — has resurfaced ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE May 4, 2010
Last gasps of Japan's dying demagogues
by Debito Arudou
Tally ho! The hunt is on for “fake Japanese” in Japanese politics. On March 17, at a meeting of opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) officials, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara not only criticized the ruling coalition for their (now moribund) bill offering permanent resident non-Japanese ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Apr 6, 2010
Japan, U.N. share blind spot on 'migrants'
by Debito Arudou
On March 23, I gave a speech to Jorge Bustamante, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, for NGO FRANCA regarding racial discrimination in Japan. Text follows: I wish to speak about the treatment of those of “foreign” origin and appearance ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Mar 2, 2010
Sumo body deserves mawashi wedgie for racist wrestler ruling
by Debito Arudou
I’ve noticed how highly Japan regards sports. We love investing taxes in games and facilities, hosting international events and Olympics. Sports are even part of a government ministry, the one in charge of Japan’s science, education and culture. There is a problem, however, with ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Feb 2, 2010
Non-Japanese suffrage and the racist element
by Debito Arudou
On Jan. 17, Takeo Hiranuma made this statement about fellow Diet member Renho: “I hate to say this, but she’s not originally/at heart (motomoto) a Japanese.” What could have provoked such a harsh criticism of one’s identity? A simple question Renho, of the ruling ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 5, 2010
Human rights in Japan: a top 10 for '09
by Debito Arudou
They say that human rights advances come in threes: two steps forward and one back. 2009, however, had good news and bad on balance. For me, the top 10 human rights events of the year that affected non-Japanese (NJ) were, in ascending order: 10) ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Dec 1, 2009
A level playing field for immigrants
by Debito Arudou
For the first time in Japan’s postwar history, we have a viable opposition party in power — one that might stick around long enough to make some new policies stick. In my last column for 2009, let me suggest how the Democratic Party of ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Nov 3, 2009
Demography vs. demagoguery: when politics, science collide
by Debito Arudou
Last June, I attended a symposium sponsored by the German Institute of Japanese Studies. Themed “Imploding Populations: Global and Local Challenges of Demographic Change,” I took in presentations about health care, international and domestic migration, and life in a geriatric society. Nothing surprising. The ...