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 ...
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.
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.
'Attach the evidence and wait for your day in court,' says Turkish plaintiff after Osaka victory
Ibrahim Yener discusses the lessons learned from his successful discrimination case against a used car dealership.
In wake of Charlottesville, U.S. should follow Japan and outlaw hate speech
Carnage in Virginia shows why America needs to limit expression that necessarily leads to violence.
Time to act on insights from landmark survey of Japan's foreign residents
Government's attempt to understand the foreign experience of Japan produces valuable data despite some blind spots.
Government of Japan, survey thyself
Something landmark happened late last year. Japan's government undertook a nationwide survey of discrimination toward Japan's long-term non-Japanese (NJ) residents. The Foreign Residents Survey (FRS), drawn up in 13 languages, was randomly mailed last November to 18,500 NJ residents. It was widely dispersed — to ...
Media outside Japan must stop normalizing sumo as an ethno-sport
Foreign correspondents should not pander to stereotypes, passing overt racism off as "tradition" practiced by those mystical, hidebound, inscrutable Japanese.
Japan's human rights issues fared better in 2016
Welcome back to JBC's annual countdown of the top issues as they affected Non-Japanese (NJ) residents of Japan. We had some brighter spots this year than in previous years, because Japan's government has been so embarrassed by hate speech toward Japan's minorities that they ...
Trump's lesson: You can lie your way to the very top
As the Republican victory in the U.S. threatens to undo eight years of progress, a silver lining in Donald Trump's success proves hard to pin down.
U.S. and Japan elections: scary in their own ways
American political campaigns can be frighteningly tribal while fear of the foreign permeates polls here.
Comparing elections in the U.S. and Japan: the good, the bad and the ugly
I love elections. Anywhere. It’s fascinating to see how politicians craft public appeals. No matter how flawed the process, it’s how nation-states recharge their legitimacy and publicly reaffirm their leaders’ mandate to govern.
