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.
Asia Pacific Jul 25, 2013
Abbott: use military on boat people
Australia’s conservative opposition unveiled plans Thursday for a military-led response to repel boat people, branding the problem a “national emergency” after the government declared a radical new policy aimed at crippling people smuggling. With tens of thousands of asylum seekers risking their lives on ...
Asia Pacific Jul 24, 2013
Rape, torture allegedly rife at Papua New Guinea refugee center
Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke on Wednesday described as “horrific” explosive claims that asylum seekers at one of its processing camps in Papua New Guinea are being raped and tortured. A former senior official at the Manus Island facility also detailed “almost daily” attempts ...
National Jul 19, 2013
Nagoya court rescinds deportation of resident's spouse
The Nagoya District Court on Thursday overruled a deportation order issued to an illegal Filipino resident and said he can stay in Japan with his family. The 34-year-old man entered Japan in March 2006 on a short-term visa but stayed after it expired. In ...
National Jul 17, 2013
Pluralism Japan's answer: immigration expert
by Tomohiro Osaki
Japan’s leaders need to confront the reality of the rapidly thinning labor force and acknowledge that a more ethnically pluralistic society can help ward off the looming demographic crisis, a British expert on immigration policy says. “I profoundly believe that (Japan) can’t function as ...
National Jul 13, 2013
Foreigners working longer hours via counterfeit resident cards: immigration
At least 33 cases of counterfeit resident cards issued to foreigners staying in Japan for three months or more have been detected, data from the Immigration Bureau reveal.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jul 8, 2013
Police 'foreign crime wave' falsehoods fuel racism
by Debito Arudou
These Community pages have reported many times on how the National Police Agency (NPA) has manufactured the illusion of a “foreign crime wave,” depicting non-Japanese (NJ) as a threat to Japan’s public safety (see “Upping the fear factor,” Zeit Gist, Feb. 20, 2007; “Time ...
World | Focus Jul 2, 2013
Boehner 'soft' approach boon, bane
by Paul Kane and David A. Fahrenthold
When someone crosses John Boehner, he or she can expect a couple of reactions from the House speaker. Sometimes it is a thwack on the back and a disapproving shake of his head, quickly followed by a begrudging smile to indicate that all is ...
World Jun 30, 2013
Conservatives target GOP 'turncoats'
Conservatives have drawn a bull’s-eye on the immigration bill passed by the U.S. Senate, insisting the landmark measure will fail as is and vowing political retribution against Republicans who voted for it. The bipartisan immigration reform bill passed 68-32 in the Senate on Thursday ...
Social Issues Jun 27, 2013
Asian immigrants often better off than whites in U.S.: study
Asian immigrants tend to live in highly segregated enclaves in the United States and their income level is often higher than that of white Americans, a study published Wednesday said. The nearly 18 million Asian immigrants to the U.S. are the country’s fastest growing ...
Politics & Diplomacy Jun 26, 2013
Military 'surge' eyed for Mexico-U.S. border
More than 20,000 new border patrol agents, hundreds of kilometers of fencing, billions of dollars in drones, radar and sensors: U.S. lawmakers are proposing a militaristic remedy to staunch illegal immigrant flow from Mexico. The Senate on Monday gave the green light to the ...
How-tos | LIFELINES Jun 25, 2013
A year on, what you should already know about residence cards and re-entry
by Masami Kittaka
Reader CW writes: “I’ve lived here 35 years and am a permanent resident. Recently I met an American who had just returned through Tokyo immigration and all the information about his work, residence and visa status was on his card but not on his ...
Asia Pacific Jun 13, 2013
Gillard defends abandoning of bodies
Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Tuesday defended her government’s decision to leave the bodies of drowned asylum seekers in the ocean, as a search began for yet another vessel in the Indian Ocean. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said two aircraft had been dispatched ...