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Takuya Asakura

For Takuya Asakura's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

JAPAN

May 11, 2000

Rally urges increase in nurses

In the wake of recent reports of simple mistakes that have had fatal results at hospitals, many working nurses are saying they can imagine making such errors, given their hectic routines.

JAPAN

Mar 15, 2000

Returnee sues Japan for assault

Nearly six years after he was deported, an Iranian man has returned to Japan to testify in court for his damages suit against the state.

JAPAN

Mar 4, 2000

Parents sue to learn truth of son's death

The parents of a 14-year-old boy who was killed in what a family court deemed to have been a one-on-one fight with another boy are to file a damages suit next week against the state and Ibaraki Prefecture, claiming the investigation was unfair, it was learned Friday.

JAPAN

Feb 8, 2000

Myanmar citizens see dual taxation as incentive to overstay

Staff writer The Feb. 18 revision of the Immigration Control Law has prompted many undocumented foreigners to return home, but some Myanmar citizens are unable even to go through deportation procedures because they find it hard to pay overdue taxes to their government. The Myanmar citizens said they cannot obtain or renew passports needed for deportation from Japan because they cannot pay taxes imposed by the Myanmar Embassy in Tokyo. The taxes can be hefty for those who contact the mission for the first time after illegally working in Japan for years. The embassy levies a tax of 10,000 yen per month on all Myanmar citizens who are living in Japan illegally, regardless of how much they earn. Those living here legally pay more, said an official at the mission. Nearly 10,000 Myanmar citizens are estimated to be living in Japan, most of them without proper visas, according to the People's Forum on Burma, a Tokyo-based nongovernmental organization. Because many undocumented Myanmar citizens do not pay the regular levies, they face a huge amount of taxes when they visit the embassy to obtain documents such as a passport to return home. Most foreigners working in Japan pay income taxes to the central government and usually do not have to pay any additional levy to their home governments, due to bilateral agreements between Japan and their mother countries aimed at preventing double taxation. Japan and Myanmar do not have such an agreement. "This is a rare case," a Foreign Ministry official said. A Myanmar man who visited the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau last week to submit to deportation procedures said he had paid the embassy 120,000 yen in taxes and 90,000 yen for a new passport. He said he came to Japan by ship without a proper passport two years ago. The man, who declined to be named, said the embassy halved his levy after he explained that he could not get a job for the first year. He showed The Japan Times a paper with signatures that serves as a provisional passport, and a receipt for 90,000 yen from the embassy. He also took out a bank remittance record for 120,000 yen, saying the embassy does not issue receipts or bills for the tax. Although he may have been lucky, some of his compatriots have been told to pay over 1 million yen after staying here for about a decade. The Myanmar Embassy official said taxpayers can pay the rest when they return home if they cannot pay the full amount. He said the minimum they must pay here varies "according to taxpayers' abilities." However, some Myanmar citizens claim the embassy will not issue passports unless they pay at least some part of the whole amount, which many cannot afford. One Myanmar man said he faces more than 1 million yen in unpaid taxes. The man, who requested anonymity, has overstayed his visa by nearly 10 years. The man said in fluent Japanese that he has a Japanese wife and son. However, he said, Japanese authorities have not officially recognized his marriage because he could not obtain a marriage certificate from the embassy due to the unpaid taxes. He had a copy of a filled-in marriage registration form in Japanese and a memo from his local administrative office that said in Japanese, "Please submit a marriage certificate from the Myanmar Embassy." A Japanese doctor who runs a clinic in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward said he knew of at least three Myanmar men who died here in 1999 due to illnesses -- two from AIDS and the other from cancer. They were unable to return home and spend their last days with their families because they could not pay the taxes and obtain passports, he said. Many undocumented foreign laborers, besides not being covered by Japanese health insurance, develop illnesses from overwork under harsh conditions, the doctor said. He declined to be named, saying he does not want an unfavorable relationship with the embassy because he must negotiate with officials there on behalf of his patients. "When I have patients who will not live much longer, I try to help them return home before they die," he said. The tax imposed by the embassy is a heavy burden for many Myanmar citizens because they normally earn only about 70 percent of the wages paid to Japanese engaged in similar work, the doctor said. In addition, many of those who illegally entered Japan owe 1 million yen to 2 million yen to brokers who smuggled them here. "I would not say (to the embassy) stop the taxation. I am asking for exceptional pardons for those who are suffering illness," the doctor said. The embassy official said those hospitalized or held by police to be deported are exempted from taxes. He noted that the embassy takes the situation of each individual into account, adding that such considerations are made at its discretion. The doctor said he knows the embassy has given discounts to some people but noted that those who died in Japan could not pay even the reduced amount. While many Myanmar citizens declined to talk, apparently in fear of trouble with their embassy and compatriots, Khine San Kyaw, who is seeking refugee status here, said many of his compatriots in Japan do not want to pay the tax because the money is supporting the military junta back home. "The embassy does nothing to help us and only takes money from us," San Kyaw said. "How can the embassy take money from people who are not supposed to stay in Japan?" he asked, reckoning the embassy is effectively condoning illegal stays by collecting taxes from them. The embassy official said, "The problem sits on the side of those who do not fulfill their duties." Japanese immigration officials said they cannot do anything about the matter, noting it is an internal affair of the Myanmar government. The Foreign Ministry is also aware of the problem. "(The tax) seems to be a heavy burden for the people," a ministry official said. He said the ministry has recently contacted the embassy to ask for flexibility in the payment of the tax. But negotiations for a bilateral agreement to avoid double taxation is still not on the agenda, he said. Shogo Watanabe, a Tokyo-based lawyer who has provided legal assistance to many Myanmar citizens, said he fears the embassy will not welcome such a taxation agreement because the money collected here is a significant source of funds for the junta.

JAPAN

Feb 7, 2000

New immigration law misunderstood, experts say

Staff writer In the days before the revised Immigration Control Law takes effect, hundreds of undocumented foreign residents have been flocking to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in Kita Ward to initiate deportation procedures, but experts say many of them may be misguided about the amendment. An "unprecedented number" of foreigners -- around 800 per day -- knock on the door of the bureau to go through the deportation process, a bureau official said. The bureau set up tents outside its building to accommodate around 500 people waiting in line for their turn. However, many of those rushing to turn themselves in may be doing so due to a misunderstanding of the revised law, according to Akihiko Suzuki, who has been voluntarily counseling foreign residents in Tokyo's Ota Ward. The amended Immigration Control Law takes effect Feb. 18. Its main pillar is the new criminal offense known as "illegal stay." In addition, the period during which people are denied re-entry after being deported will be extended from the current one year to five. This will include those who turn themselves in to the Immigration Bureau after having overstayed their visas.

JAPAN

Jan 27, 2000

Corporate star aims to shake up UNHCR

Staff writer Despite large financial contributions made by the government to international causes, Japanese are often criticized for being invisible in the global community. Kiyoshi Murakami, who will become chief of the Career & Staff Support Service at the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees next month, is challenging that stereotype by joining the U.N. organization from the private sector. With extensive personnel management skills developed while working at private firms, Murakami said he would like to propose a personnel administration reform plan to the Geneva-based U.N. body. "I would like to create a system in which individuals can develop their own career goals," the 40-year-old former senior employee of a U.S. consulting firm said in an interview. The UNHCR, which has approximately 5,000 members of staff, including short-term workers, oversees care for nearly 22 million refugees around the world. Therefore, it should provide employees with clear indications for promotion in order to build greater job motivation, Murakami said. As another reflection of his experience in the private sector, he is also considering a system to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the UNHCR's programs just like those of private enterprises. Murakami had not intended to become an expert on personnel management. After studying government and politics at the University of San Francisco, he became involved in the field of personnel management for the first time at a private firm in 1987. While holding his first full-time position at a Tokyo branch of Citicorp, he made a remarkable impression by deliberately breaking the "shushoku kyotei," a nationwide gentlemen's agreement among industries to not recruit fresh college graduates before Oct. 1. The agreement was terminated in 1997. By attracting media attention, Murakami said he succeeded with a strategy of spreading the name of the foreign company, which was not well known at the time, among Japanese students. This achievement focused attention on him and helped develop a career in human resources during the following decade with three major U.S. companies in Tokyo. "I have learned (through my corporate experiences) that you can improve your capabilities only by your own efforts," said Murakami, who most recently was director of human resources for the Asia-Pacific region with Price Waterhouse Consultants Co. His relationship with the U.N. began at a symposium on U.N. reform, where he learned about its personnel system. Following the symposium, Murakami compiled a paper on U.N. reform and submitted it to U.N. headquarters in New York in 1998. He believes the paper eventually led to this latest career opportunity. "I think more people working at private firms should fly out and tackle (greater) challenges," he said, adding that he hopes his case encourages other Japanese businesspeople. Once he assumes his new position, Murakami's priorities will be to train its 5,000 workers so they can provide appropriate support to refugees, effectively cooperate with regional governments and institutions, and learn skills to protect themselves in unstable areas. Its personnel are required to perform strenuous duties, often under difficult conditions, in areas of conflict, he said. "I am also considering having members of related nongovernmental organizations train together with UNHCR staff," he said. Murakami says that a lack of activism among Japanese may be why his compatriots shy away from international career opportunities. He suggests "being optimistic" is the key to adapting to jobs in international organizations, like the UNHCR. "They must be able to go forward regardless of what they encounter," said Murakami, who also professes to be a fan of professional wrestling.

JAPAN

Jan 26, 2000

U.N. drug program calls for more funds

Staff writer The head of the United Nations Drug-Control Program hopes Japan will devote more of its U.N. contribution to the program, claiming it is cost-effective in the domestic war against narcotics. Pointing out Japan's declining contribution to the Vienna-based UNDCP, Executive Director Pino Arlacchi said the "impact of funds invested through us in narcotics control is enormous." The impact, he told The Japan Times, is sometimes a hundred times that of funds invested domestically for drug control. The Italian national visited Tokyo this week to attend the Anti-Drug Conference, Tokyo 2000, which was jointly organized by UNDCP and several Japanese ministries and agencies to discuss effective measures to stem the flow of illicit drugs in the Asia-Pacific region. The U.N. had proclaimed 1990 to 2000 as the "Decade Against Drug Abuse." In 1998, the special U.N. session to address the drug problem declared that countries must establish new or enhanced measures to reduce the drug demand in their home markets by 2003, and that they must achieve "significant" results in reducing both demand and supply. Arlacchi said the UNDCP program has made notable successes in recent years, particularly in encouraging cultivation of alternative crops for growers of materials used for production of illegal drugs. For example, production of coca was reduced by 70 percent in Bolivia and 60 percent in Peru, he said, and Colombia -- another major coca-producing country -- has just started a similar program with support worth $1.3 million from the U.N. As an example of work done on the demand side in developed countries, he cited Britain's launch two years ago of a strategy that aims to reduce demand by 15 percent in 10 years. "I hope other European countries and Japan as well will accept my appeal to start a similar strategy," he said. Although consumption of narcotics is increasing all over Asia, he said, demand for hard drugs has leveled off in Europe and is falling in the United States. Meanwhile, abuse of amphetamines, including synthetic drugs such as speed and Ecstasy, has become more serious. The UNDCP estimates about 30 million people use such drugs worldwide. Amphetamines are rapidly spreading in Japan, especially among young people, but Arlacchi said he is more anxious about the roles underworld syndicates play in smuggling drugs into the country. In this sense, he praised the Japanese government for efforts toward legislation to fight organized crime. Any crime organization can be defeated "with proper strategies," said Arlacchi, who lost a number of his law-enforcement friends in the battle against the Mafia. As a sociology professor, Arlacchi conducted research on the Mafia's business, which drew him into the war on drugs. As senior adviser to the Interior Ministry, he established in the early 1990s a law-enforcement agency called Direzione Investigativa Antimafia. It is entrusted with fighting organized crime and has successfully indicted a Mafia boss who had earlier been considered out of antidrug authorities' reach. While serving in the Italian Senate from 1995 to 1997, he also served as vice president of the Parliamentary Commission on the Mafia. His own life was threatened once in a bomb attack while he was driving on an expressway. But he said he is not scared: "When I am in Italy, I am heavily protected."

JAPAN

Jan 20, 2000

Papers serve notice to sexually explicit advertisers

Staff writer "Candid camera taping of TV presenters finally hits the black market!" "Confessions of 100 businessmen: Sex with Japan's top 10 bra-buster beauties -- I would do it this way!" "Real-life experience with a trendy Shibuya rape drug!" Such eye-grabbing headlines, which many Japanese find annoyingly rampant in magazine ads in newspapers and on posters inside trains, may finally be brought under a degree of control now that major newspapers are moving to curb such sexually explicit expressions. The Yomiuri Shimbun -- the nation's largest daily, with a circulation of 10 million -- initiated the move in October, notifying magazine publishers and ad agencies -- important sources of revenue -- that it will apply stricter standards on sexual expressions in magazine ads. Three other major dailies quickly followed suit. The Sankei Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun asked advertisers to convey more modest sexual expressions, while the Asahi Shimbun decided not to carry ads that are "feared to constitute sexual harassment." The Yomiuri announced in a Jan. 4 editorial its decision to suspend advertisements for the Weekly Magazine Gendai and Weekly Asahi Geino. Pointing out that more than 99 percent of its papers are delivered to homes, the editorial said: "Advertisements containing excessive sexual expressions are carried in newspapers that are delivered daily to homes and exposed to children's eyes. The situation is far beyond what can be called normal." The editorial also said it dropped the ads for the sake of decency. No mention has yet been made of the photographs or cartoon images of women or schoolgirls in sexual poses that often accompany these and other advertisements. As to specific reasons for suspending the two magazines' ads, the Yomiuri said the Weekly Magazine Gendai, one of the most popular general circulation weeklies for businessmen, has consistently refused its requests to tone down its sexual content, while ads in the entertainment-oriented Weekly Asahi Geino contain too many questionable expressions to be rephrased. Another reason behind their decisions, some of the newspapers said, is the revised Equal Employment Opportunity Law, which obliges corporations to take measures to prevent sexual harassment. In a related step, representatives of 11 railways in the Kanto region met with magazine publishing officials on Jan. 14 to urge them to exercise restraint in the sexual content of their ads. The move followed the railways' launch of a study group in November to examine specific problem cases. Magazine editors, for their part, reckon they can do nothing unless specific criteria for acceptable expressions can be established. "We have determined the scope of acceptable expressions by paying attention to the social atmosphere," said Satoshi Suzuki, deputy editor in chief of the Weekly Magazine Gendai. "We have always been available for talks (with newspapers)," he said, criticizing the Yomiuri's decision to suspend his magazine's ads. He added that one need only read the articles that the criticized ads promote to see the way they are written shows no tolerance for sexual harassment. In a statement released earlier this month, the Weekly Asahi Geino said, "Terms that had been acceptable suddenly became 'inappropriate' one day last October." The statement added that the weekly had notified the Yomiuri of its decision to suspend the ads before the daily told it to do so. Lawyer Sanae Tanaka said the issue of sexual expression in magazine ads is "different from the conventional conflict between restricting obscenity and freedom of expression, as seen in arguments on regulating pornography." Tanaka, who raised the issue at the Japan Federation of Bar Associations' annual convention last October, said both railways and newspapers serve the general public and thus bear a heavy social responsibility. Thus, she said, such institutions of a highly public nature should decide on their own whether to accept sexually explicit ads. Some magazine fliers, depicting photographs of women caught unawares, are effectively promoting the abuse of women's rights, Tanaka said. Also, she said, other fliers describing sexual situations using common euphemisms offend passengers by, for example, forcing them to share such vivid sexual portrayals with total strangers in packed trains. "Railways are obliged not only to transport passengers from one place to another safely but also to provide them with comfortable space," she said. Newspaper publishers, too, came under criticism during the recent national convention "Newspapers in Education," an industrywide campaign to promote the use of papers partly as a means to cultivate future leaders. "It is unfair to tell us to use newspapers in classrooms, when they often carry sexually charged ads," one teacher said. Railway officials said they have been aware for years of the excessive sexual expression in ads, but only in May 1997 did they first ask advertisers to exercise restraint. However, they acknowledge that magazines ads are also an important source of revenue. "We would like to solve the matter not by confrontation but by understanding each other's position," one railway official said. "Advertisers are important customers, just like our passengers." Yomiuri Shimbun spokesman Tsunekazu Momoi also said annual ad contracts with weekly magazines constitute a significant portion of the daily's revenues. "We expect understanding from magazine publishers," he said. Sexually explicit banner headlines have become increasingly bold in recent years at a time when the overall publishing industry is in a slump, industry sources said. The number of public complaints, however, has been few both at railways and newspapers, although such firms have faced internal criticism. The Teito Rapid Transit Authority, which runs the Eidan subway lines, for instance, said it receives only one or two complaints regarding the advertisements every year. When the Yomiuri announced its stricter stance, however, it received hundreds of congratulatory responses from readers. "Although many people have complaints with newspapers, I guess only few dare to voice them," Momoi said. Welcoming the "unexpectedly" quick action, especially by the newspapers, Tanaka said she believes social awareness toward women's rights is growing rapidly. Both railway and newspaper officials said there has been a noticeable improvement in magazine ads in the past few months.

JAPAN

Jan 14, 2000

Anti-Aum rightists get free, loud ride

Staff writer YOKOHAMA -- Military marching songs and yells blasting out of rightists' black loudspeaker trucks broke the holiday silence here Monday morning, which was Coming-of-Age Day. Since Fumihiro Joyu, former spokesman for Aum Shinrikyo, moved into the cult's Yokohama branch Dec. 29 after his release from prison, the neighborhood has been thrown into turmoil. While riot policeman stand at every street corner, rightists drive around blaring loud music and hurling verbal assaults at Joyu and his cohorts almost daily. Rightwingers in blue uniforms swagger at the intersection where traffic is obstructed by their trucks. The street leading to the apartment complex where Aum is located is barricaded by police. "We will kick Aum out on our own, without the help of Kanagawa Prefectural Police!" the rightists chant to a crowd of mainly elderly day laborers. Despite the rightists' relentless cacophony, the police remain passive. The upheaval in Isezaki-cho -- one of Yokohama's busiest entertainment districts -- has dealt a serious blow to businesses here. "Our customers are all gone now," said a woman at a take out lunch shop, outside of which stands a phalanx of cops. She fears her regular customers will be gone by the time the turmoil ends. The manager of a gas station facing the road where a number of police vehicles are parked said he had to close the station Monday afternoon because traffic was blocked. He said sales are down 30 percent since the end of last year. A flower shop owner also suffered a drop in sales of New Year decorations at the end of last year. Although the losses are not significant, she said she lost some bulk-purchase customers who usually come to the shop by car. According to Toshiyuki Murata, who runs stationary shops in the Isezaki-cho Shopping Center and serves as chairman of the local community association, business losses have been reported at the center, which is also near the cult office. Shops selling nonessential goods such as jewels, furniture and kimono have been "badly hit," he said. Representatives from the community visited the Aum office Tuesday to demand that Joyu and his fellow cultists leave. Many residents and business owners, however, said their immediate concern is the rightists hovering in the area, rather than Aum itself. "Because we are scared to complain to the rightists, we have no choice but to blame Aum for everything," one local business owner said. "To tell you the truth, I really don't care if Joyu leaves or not," as long as the community can become peaceful again, another shopkeeper said. Some said they wonder why police allow the rightists to make a nuisance with their loudspeaker trucks and traffic disruptions. Police reckon the rightists are cleverly dodging crackdowns by turning the volumes of their loudspeakers down when driving near police devices to measure noise levels. As for traffic obstructions, police said they bend to the rightists to some extent so they won't demonstrate directly in front of the cult office. But police have not shown any leniency when it comes to Aum. Saitama Prefectural Police have repeatedly raided Aum's Yokohama office since Saturday in connection with an al leged forgery of official documents regarding a car parking certificate. Police also searched six Aum facilities around the country Thursday in connection with the case. In addition, a new law targeting Aum, but not in name, that took effect Dec. 27 is highly expected to be applied to the cult after the Public Security Examination Commission hears opinions from Aum next week. The procedure is part of the process to determine whether to invoke the law, which is designed to monitor and control the activities of any groups that have attempted or carried out indiscriminate mass murder. Koji Fukagawa, who represents the district where the Aum office is located, and other community leaders said they need to wait and see how the cult changes after the law is applied. After talking for 40 minutes with Joyu earlier this week, Fukagawa said Aum's former mouthpiece did not leave a bad impression, however, he cannot wipe away his anxiety if the cult stays here. Fukagawa said he hopes to continue talks with the cult to seek a realistic solution. Until then, "if the media inflame the issue by rumor-mongering, it will create further distrust between the two sides (residents and Aum)," he said.

JAPAN

Dec 30, 1999

Credit card firms prepared for Y2K

Staff writer Despite reports from Britain detailing Y2K problems with credit cards, Japan's credit card companies, now in the midst of last-minute preparations, claim their customers have no need to worry. Even before the clock ticks over to the new year, when Y2K problems are most likely to occur, some credit card reading machines across Britain rejected credit cards Wednesday because they failed to recognize the date Jan. 1, 2000. Some British card reader systems are programmed to look ahead four working days when processing merchant transactions so as to ensure they are registered within the correct time period, which led to the problems with one company's readers, according to media reports. It is thought that Japanese credit card companies do not use the system that has experienced problems in Britain. Although the nation's major credit card companies will mobilize more personnel during the New Year's holiday period than usual, they said this was merely a precautionary measure. "We are just waiting to see," said a spokesman for Jaccs Co. in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, "Basically we have made (all preparations)." He said only 20 or 30 of about 400 employees at the company's Tokyo headquarters will be working at the turn of the year. "There are things we cannot prevent until the new year actually kicks in," he said. An official at JCB Co., one of the nation's major credit card suppliers, said JCB has been bracing for possible Y2K problems since Wednesday. He said the company is prepared to deal with all contingencies. An official at the Osaka-based Sumitomo Credit Service Co., which issues Visa and Master cards, said the company will man 1,000 work shifts between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3 at its offices in Tokyo and Osaka. "We will be ready around the clock to issue authorization for retailers and to respond to customers' calls" he said, adding that the total shifts will include personnel dedicated to handling possible Y2K problems. A spokesman for American International Express Inc., in Tokyo's Suginami Ward, said the company is ready for 2000, and there have been no problems so far. "We simply added a few more people to our regular shifts to staff the 24-hour service," he said, adding that system engineers will be on stand-by from tonight.

JAPAN

Dec 24, 1999

Asylum said in short supply here

Staff writer The number of people granted asylum by Japan in 1999 edged into double digits for the second straight year, but lawyers say some seeking to stay are being deported in an inhumane manner. This year, 11 people have been granted refugee status, down from 16 last year. On Nov. 22, an Iranian seeking refuge status was sent back to his country while staging a hunger strike for two weeks at the Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture. Although a center official said he was not sure of the reason for the hunger strike, one of the man's supporters said the detainee, whose name has been withheld, had demanded to meet with officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to ask for help. His lawyer, Takeshi Ohashi, and supporters who met the Iranian on Nov. 15 at the center said he was so weakened that he could only sit in a chair with the support of an official. He had been fed intravenously because he had not touched meals the center provided, the official said. Supporters criticized immigration authorities for sending him back to his country on a long flight while he was in such a fragile state after a two-week hunger strike. Immigration authorities said they deported the man only after a doctor at the center claimed he would be able to handle the flight, adding that his deportation had already been prepared. Besides his health, supporters are concerned about his treatment upon arriving in Iran. The man reportedly belonged to Mashrote Khahan, a London-based antigovernment group, and he had contributed an article to the group's publication. He entered Japan in 1992. He was taken into custody in May 1998 for overstaying, and requested refuge status in August that year, according to his lawyer. His request was denied two months later on Oct. 20. When foreigners detained by the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau are deported, they must pay their way home. In some cases, however, Japan foots the bill. Immigration authorities explained that deportation financed by the state is the last resort and only for those who have no way of obtaining the necessary money. But criteria for making decisions to use public funds for deportations are unclear. Some detainees are held at immigration centers more than a year because they cannot secure return tickets, while in other cases, such as the Iranian's, quick decisions are made to use public funds for deportations, legal experts said. Supporters of the Iranian said he may have been deported hastily because immigration authorities wanted to avoid trouble stemming from the man's hunger strike. On Nov. 30, another Iranian, whose name has also been withheld, was sent back home from the same immigration center even though his suit seeking refugee status was pending. The first hearing of his case was set for Jan. 25 before the Tokyo District Court, said Ohashi, who also provided legal assistance to the man. It is believed to be the first such deportation since a Chinese woman was sent home in 1991 while her case was pending, prompting criticism from the media and lawyers. Shogo Watanabe, a lawyer assisting refugees, said, "I suspect (immigration authorities) throw out (detainees) whenever something troublesome occurs." He filed a request for provisional release in August for an Eritrean-Ethiopian seeking refugee status who had been detained at the Nishi-Nihon Immigration Center in Osaka Prefecture. But on Nov. 8, the immigration bureau informed him that earlier in the day the request had been rejected and that his client, whose name has also been withheld, had been put on a plane at Kansai International Airport, Watanabe said. The deportee insisted he could not go home because Eritreans are exiled from Ethiopia, where he left his Ethiopian wife, he said. However, an official at the Ethiopian Embassy in Japan claimed the Ethiopian government will persecute Eritreans only if they engage in illegal activities, not simply because of their origin. The Eritrean-Ethiopian, who has severe burn scars on his shoulder and knee that he claimed resulted from torture in Ethiopia, was flown to Bangkok, where he refused to continue his trip home. He has been at Bangkok's airport ever since, according to a journalist who has followed the case. The Eritrean-Ethiopian claimed he was anesthetized when authorities made him board the plane at Kansai airport. The Immigration Bureau said it cannot answer questions on individual cases but claimed it has never used drugs on deportees. Watanabe said, however, that he believes his client's story is credible and plans to file a lawsuit as early as January against the state for inhumane acts. At the request of the Social Democratic Party, the Justice Ministry in August revealed that 35 people were being detained at immigration centers for periods of six months to three years. Shiho Tsutsui of the Japan Association for Refugees, a Tokyo-based nongovernmental organization, said she is afraid that criticism of long-term detention of asylum-seekers may prompt authorities to deport them with little notice. The U.N. Convention on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Japan ratified earlier this year, stipulates that signatories may not send a person to a country where the individual may be subjected to persecution. Nevertheless, Ohashi said two Kurds seeking asylum in Japan had their requests rejected and were deported back to Turkey in September, adding that they were later jailed for political reasons. It is rare for the fates of those deported to be tracked. Ohashi said the issue of asylum-seekers boils down to the government's immigration policy. Although hints at accepting more refugees can be seen in recent government measures, strong sentiment against accepting asylum-seekers remains strong, he said. Chikako Saito of the UNHCR said government policies are a reflection of public opinion. "It is up to the people whether Japan becomes open (to refugees) or not," she said, adding that the media and NGOs should be much more involved in the issue.

JAPAN

Dec 21, 1999

Police misconduct scandals fuel calls for public scrutiny

Staff writer "I knew that the same things would surely be repeated in the future," Kenji Chiyomaru said. "You cannot expect self-cleansing action by police." Since he launched "Human rights dial 110" in 1979, Chiyomaru, a civic activist who lives in Tokyo's Nerima Ward, has been helping people having trouble with police and exposing the wrongdoings of officers. The assault against a drunken day laborer by police inside a police substation in Kawasaki in December 1992, which was later reported in the media, was first brought to light by him. Six months later, the case resulted in Kanagawa Prefectural Police officers being punished. Three of them, who initially claimed they never participated in the beating, were later given suspended prison terms for their roles in the assault. However, this severe case of violence by on-duty officers against a civilian, of which high-ranking officials claimed they were never informed, did not lead to any substantial reform of the police supervisory system. Another opportunity to make reforms was presented by the recent Kanagawa police scandals, the main one resulting in a former head of the prefectural force and senior officers in its internal supervisory section being indicted over the 1996 coverup of an officer's drug use. The scandal prompted the Yokohama Bar Association last month to propose creation of an independent supervisory body to monitor police. "To prevent such misconduct, which ought to be referred to as organized crime, from being repeated ... it is not sufficient for police to merely carry out internal reforms, including educational programs, strengthening supervision or listening to a few outside opinions," a statement from the bar group said in the name of its president, Hideo Okamoto. The bar association also demanded that the scope of the prefectural information disclosure ordinance be expanded to cover police information, which is currently exempt. Although every prefectural force has an in-house supervisory section, the Kanagawa scandal proved that such systems never really function effectively, the association said. The head of the supervisory section is usually not very high in the police hierarchy, and the section is not given any special power to perform its role free from interference by colleagues. "At the very least, outside personnel should join the supervisory section," said Akira Morita, vice president of the association, adding that retired prosecutors, retired judges and scholars with specialized knowledge might be candidates as civilian inspectors. Chiyomaru proposed an independent supervisory office with strong authority like that of the Fair Trade Commis sion, which is under the direct control of the prime minister. He stressed that police supervisors should be specialists, as opposed to the current system, wherein they are treated like any other officer and subject to routine personnel shuffles. But Haruo Katayama, chief inspection officer at the National Police Agency, claimed the biggest problem with the Kanagawa scandal was that the Prefectural Public Safety Commission, which supervises the prefectural police force, was not informed of the misdeeds. The NPA recently announced proposals to beef up the supervisory system that would revise the Police Law for the first time in its near half-century history. The revision is to be submitted to the next ordinary Diet session. The proposed reform features provisions giving the national and prefectural public safety commissions the authority to order top police officials to launch internal investigations. Public safety commissions, made up of members of the public appointed by prefectural governors, were established by the 1954 Police Law to allow for "democratic control of the police." They were meant to prevent the abuse of police power, which was widespread in prewar and wartime Japan. However, the commissions' role is effectively ceremonial because the current Police Law does not provide them with any concrete administrative powers. Members usually are local celebrities. The NPA also proposed that prefectural police chiefs be required to report to their respective public safety commission before punishing police for misdeeds. Katayama said he thinks the reporting system would be effective in preventing further coverups. However, he brushed aside the idea of an independent supervisory body, saying in spectors must be "people who are best familiar with internal affairs." In this sense, Katayama said he believes the current in-house supervisory office can best handle matters "swiftly and certainly." But he also noted such a system only works "as long as the prefectural police head doesn't err," obviously referring to Motoo Watanabe, ex-chief of the Kanagawa force charged in the drug coverup. In the recent revelations of police misconduct, experts pointed to a nationwide moral degeneracy by police. Katayama said most problems are basically attributable to the qualities of individual officers, claiming that a growing number of senior officers lack competence correspondent to their rank. However, Chiyomaru said that what is needed is a drastic structural reform as well as greater disclosure of police information. Police traditionally have a fatherly image with the public, he said, noting that the long-prevailing image of police infallibility was shattered by the recent scandals. "You better not rely on the human conscience," he said. "It is the same for us, too, isn't it?"

JAPAN

Dec 8, 1999

Advocates hit courts' insensitivity to mentally disabled

Staff writer When the court officer announced "all rise" before the close of the trial, the 58-year-old mentally disability defendant remained seated. When the judge sentenced him in July to a 20-month prison term, he was the only one who apparently did not understand what had happened. The man was arrested and tried last year for allegedly setting fire to the storage shack of a workshop for mentally disabled people in Tokyo's Kokubunji, where he himself was interned. Regarding the sentence, Judge Masahiro Hiratani of the Tokyo District Court's Hachioji branch said, "the defendant's confessions often varied in detail, but they were consistent in the core part and reliable." But defense lawyers have consistently claimed he was framed. "His response to any question is 'yes,'" said Hiroaki Soejima, one of the lawyers. An official record of the questioning by prosecutors shows the defendant, whose name has been withheld, answered "yes" to whatever he was asked. When a prosecutor read out the "facts" found by police, he simply repeated "yes." His tendency to comply with the version of facts presented by the prosecution was particularly evident when a prosecutor attempted to verify the name of the workshop. After the man pronounced it correctly as "Nozomien," the prosecutor incorrectly read it as "Kiboen," to which the man then agreed. "Mentally disabled people in general rarely disagree with what police say and tend to be led or coerced (into making false confessions)," said Osamu Nakata, professor emeritus of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, who has conducted hundreds of psychiatric tests in criminal cases. Defense lawyers repeatedly requested they be allowed to attend the their client's interrogations, but were denied. An advisory panel to the prime minister launched in July is now discussing reforms of the judicial system. The panel is scheduled to announce issues to be put on the agenda of the talks next week. While a jury system and reform of the way judges are recruited are expected to be the major topics of debate, some experts consider the discussions a good chance to improve the system, which they claim lacks consideration for the mentally disabled. Justice often seems to elude mentally disabled people who are victims of crimes as well. A pattern of cruel abuse of employees with mental disabilities by the president of a cardboard maker in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, was widely covered by the media in 1996, and even became the model of a popular TV drama. But while the president was convicted of three assault charges, the other 14 criminal complaints against him -- including allegations from seven women that he raped them -- were dropped. Investigators are quick to accept the statements of the mentally disabled as credible when they are criminal suspects, but their complaints as victims are frequently doubted by authorities and often go unheard, said Soejima, who has devoted himself to protecting mentally disabled people. Although media reports on abuse of the mentally disabled at "welfare facilities" and private firms hiring them for government subsidies appear constantly, experts say these cases are just the tip of the iceberg. According to Soejima, disabled people who are abused often remain silent about what happened to them for a long time, having no one to turn to for help. Abuses often take place behind closed doors, with only mentally disabled colleagues as witnesses, causing investigators to often not pursue criminal charges, he added. Even those supporting the mentally disabled say it is not an easy task to communicate with and solicit facts from them, especially for investigators without special training. "How can the complaints they made to us so tearfully turn into contradictory stories after (they are) confined in an investigation room for several hours?" Soejima asked. At a meeting held last Sunday by Inclusion Japan, an organization of parents with mentally disabled children, Soejima stressed the importance of establishing a system that allows lawyers or specialists to sit in when mentally disabled people being interrogated, whether as criminal suspects or victims. He also called for a system in which all criminal suspects -- disabled and nondisabled -- can receive publicly funded legal protection starting at the point of their arrest, as opposed to after indictment, as currently provided. Bar associations nationwide have launched volunteer programs to send lawyers to give free consultations at the request of those arrested. However, in the case of mentally disabled suspects, often when investigators try to inform them of their rights, using even simple language, they are frequently unable to understand. Unlike people with clinically diagnosed mental illnesses, many mentally disabled people are treated like other suspects in criminal proceedings, including the Hachioji man whose disability is recognized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as "middle degree," which means his IQ is between 35 and 49. People close to him say he can speak but cannot communicate properly. According to Kiyoshi Yamaki, a researcher at the University of Illinois Institute on Disability and Human Development, there are professionals in the United States who specialize in communicating with mentally disabled people in criminal proceedings. Programs to train investigative officers for better communication with the mentally disabled are also available in most states, he added. However, such a progressive social system cannot be obtained without the consent of the public. "After all, it is a question for all of us whether we are ready to shoulder the cost of protecting the socially disadvantaged people." Yamaki said.

JAPAN

Dec 3, 1999

Rights advocates cite stalling on U.N. torture convention

Staff writer Human rights advocates voiced concerns over Japan's compliance with the U.N. convention on torture at a public hearing held by the Foreign Ministry and other ministries Friday. The session was held to hear opinions from nongovernmental organizations on what issues should be included in the government's first report to the United Nations, which is required by parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Japan ratified the convention in June, and it took effect in July. Tokyo is scheduled to report to the U.N. Committee of Torture by July 29 on what policies it has implemented to meet the convention. According to participants, issues raised by NGOs included treatment of death row inmates, harsh rules and punishment in jails and other confinement facilities, coercing of confessions from criminal suspects and the so-called "daiyo-kangoku" system, which allows police to hold criminal suspects for up to 23 days after arrest. Treatment of psychopathic patients at medical facilities and the issue of asylum seekers being deported to the countries they fled were also questioned, they said. The convention against torture, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1984, bans public officials from inflicting physical or mental pain on a person for the purpose of punishment, obtaining information, or any discriminative purpose. It also stipulates that parties to it may not send a person to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would may be subjected to torture. When the U.N. Human Rights Committee last year reviewed a similar report by the Japanese government outlining the country's policies on compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it expressed concerns over a wide range of issues including those stated by NGO representatives Friday. However, the lack of progress on these matters was recently criticized at a meeting of legislators, NGO representatives and central government officials, sources said, adding that the government showed no actual plan for improvement on most issues. "The U.N. recommendation itself does not have the power to effectively (change Japan's policies)," said Hideki Morihara of Amnesty International's Japan branch, adding that discussions held before the government compiles its report are important. On Friday, NGO members requested that the government continue holding hearings as well as disclose a draft of the report. But a government official said it would be difficult to hold more hearings as time is limited before the submission deadline, and many ministries and agencies are involved in compiling the report.

JAPAN

Nov 20, 1999

Accidental oceanographer takes Kyoto Prize for lifework

JAPAN

Nov 5, 1999

Y2K fears boost cruises over New Year's

JAPAN

Oct 28, 1999

Short-sighted policy hinders disabled voters

COMMUNITY

Oct 6, 1999

Widow recalls 'Japan's Schindler'

YOKOHAMA -- Yukiko Sugihara, 85, still recalls the huge crowd outside the Japanese Consulate in Nazi-occupied Lithuania one cold summer morning in 1940 -- hundreds of European Jews desperate to escape persecution.

JAPAN

Oct 6, 1999

Widow recalls consul's effort to aid Jews

JAPAN

Sep 24, 1999

Lawyer, professor accuse police of coercion

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

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