Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Dec 31, 2020
2020 was a watershed year for Japan's foreign residents
Increased discussion on the status of biracial Japanese, media misinterpretations of foreign communities and a bungled border policy made up our 2020.
Debito Arudou
Debito is the Just Be Cause columnist for the Community Page and has been contributing to The Japan Times since 2002. Author of eight books, including "Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants and Immigrants" (2nd Ed.), "Japanese Only" and the novel "In Appropriate," his most recent work is "Embedded Racism: Japan's Visible Minorities and Racial Discrimination" (Lexington Books). He has been a naturalized Japanese citizen since 2000, and his daily blog and archive is at www.debito.org.
For Debito Arudou's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 20, 2020
Remain calm when stopped by the police in Japan
Non-Japanese residents face a pretty high chance of being randomly stopped by the police. Make sure you know your rights ahead of time.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 6, 2020
'Low IQ' kids, parental rights and problematic terminology dogged Japan's international community in 2019
Of the issues non-Japanese had to deal with in the past year (and even the past decade), some were major news stories and some fell quietly into the cracks.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jul 24, 2019
'Love it or leave it' is not a real choice
When U.S. President Donald Trump told four congresswomen of color they could "go back" where they came from if they weren't happy, some of us in Japan recognized the line as being one used here for far too long.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Apr 17, 2019
Know your rights when checking in at an Airbnb
Last year, the government passed a law covering minpaku, which is when people rent out space on their properties to travelers (a la Airbnb). The law is part of an effort to regulate accommodations amid a tourism boom ahead of the 2020 Olympics. One issue ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 27, 2019
From new visas to a tourism backlash, the Top 10 issues that affected us in 2018 may forecast our future treatment
Every January, Just Be Cause takes a look at how things went for the non-Japanese residents of Japan (NJ) in the previous year. While not everything made this year's list — there were the false claims of "foreigner fraud" of the national health insurance system, ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Sep 19, 2018
Warning to Naomi Osaka: Playing for Japan can seriously shorten your career
Naomi Osaka's decision to represent the country she left at the age of 3 may be good for her bottom line but not necessarily her longevity.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jul 15, 2018
What about we stop it with the 'whataboutism'?
These are troubling times for human rights activists. For 27 years I’ve been writing about civil, political and human rights for non-Japanese (NJ) and other minorities in Japan. And I’ve never been more confused. Not least because the United States, the putative paragon of human ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Mar 7, 2018
White supremacists and Japan: A love story
Far-right fanboys see in Japan an ethnostate that gets a free pass on the world stage, but it's a reputation that Japan needs to shake for its own good.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 3, 2018
In 2017, Japan woke up to the issue of discrimination
The year saw a landmark human rights survey and action on hate speech and pensions — but conditions remain dire for foreign 'trainees' and other workers alike.