Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Mar 7, 2018
White supremacists and Japan: A love story
by Debito Arudou
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
by Debito Arudou
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.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Oct 11, 2017
'Attach the evidence and wait for your day in court,' says Turkish plaintiff after Osaka victory
by Debito Arudou
Ibrahim Yener discusses the lessons learned from his successful discrimination case against a used car dealership.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Aug 23, 2017
In wake of Charlottesville, U.S. should follow Japan and outlaw hate speech
by Debito Arudou
Carnage in Virginia shows why America needs to limit expression that necessarily leads to violence.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Apr 26, 2017
Time to act on insights from landmark survey of Japan's foreign residents
by Debito Arudou
Government's attempt to understand the foreign experience of Japan produces valuable data despite some blind spots.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Mar 5, 2017
Government of Japan, survey thyself
by Debito Arudou
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 ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Feb 19, 2017
Media outside Japan must stop normalizing sumo as an ethno-sport
by Debito Arudou
Foreign correspondents should not pander to stereotypes, passing overt racism off as "tradition" practiced by those mystical, hidebound, inscrutable Japanese.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 8, 2017
Japan's human rights issues fared better in 2016
by Debito Arudou
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 ...
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Nov 16, 2016
Trump's lesson: You can lie your way to the very top
by Debito Arudou
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.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Oct 30, 2016
U.S. and Japan elections: scary in their own ways
by Debito Arudou
American political campaigns can be frighteningly tribal while fear of the foreign permeates polls here.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Oct 2, 2016
Comparing elections in the U.S. and Japan: the good, the bad and the ugly
by Debito Arudou
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.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Sep 4, 2016
JBC marks 100 columns and a million page views
by Debito Arudou
Column has been shining a critical light on issues affecting Japan's foreign residents since 2008.