Search - discrimination-in-japan

 
 
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2012

Hashimoto likens weekly's slur to hate speak

The clash between Toru Hashimoto and the weekly magazine Shukan Asahi over an article on the Osaka mayor's lineage has raised a question that Japan still refuses to directly confront: What kinds of comments cross the line from criticism into hate speech that should be legally banned?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 7, 2006

Twisted legal logic deals rights blow to foreigners

Steve McGowan, an African-American resident of Kyoto, sued an eyeglass shop in Daito City, Osaka Prefecture, for refusing him entry in 2004 on the basis of the color of his skin.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 30, 2005

Bathhouse pushes a foreigner into the doghouse

JAPANESE ONLY: The Otaru Hot Springs Case and Racial Discrimination in Japan, by Debito Arudou. Tokyo: Akashi Shoten, 2004, 407 pp., 3,500 yen (paper). Discrimination is an all too common experience for non-Japanese residents who study, work, marry and raise families here. Many of us have come to terms...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 20, 2004

Bill of rights

As the government moves to beef up the country's military preparedness, once again the issue of the protection of foreigners' rights has been raised.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 12, 2023

LDP moves toward giving LGBTQ bill OK after concessions to conservatives

The LDP’s current proposal — a watered-down version of an initial cross-party bill — will now be presented to Komeito, the junior partner of the coalition.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2006

Human rights groups applaud U.N. discrimination report

OSAKA -- Human rights groups in Japan on Wednesday welcomed a recently released United Nations report detailing racial discrimination and xenophobia toward minorities, including Korean, Chinese and other foreign residents in this country, and called for legislation to remedy the problem.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2001

Human rights groups attack official discrimination report

Human rights advocacy groups on Tuesday lashed out at the Japanese government for failing to address what they say are numerous discriminatory practices in a report submitted last year to a United Nations panel.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2001

Human rights groups attack official discrimination report

Human rights advocacy groups on Tuesday lashed out at the Japanese government for failing to address what they say are numerous discriminatory practices in a report submitted last year to a United Nations panel.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 7, 2023

Is Japan going to legalize same-sex marriage?

A series of court cases is helping to shape the debate over whether or not Japan will act on legalizing same-sex marriage.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 5, 2018

Women tending to collapsed mayor told to stay out of 'sacred' sumo ring

A referee urged two women to stay out of the ring as they tried to assist an official who was unconscious, reigniting a controversy over gender discrimination in sumo tradition.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Feb 8, 2018

Korean hibakusha in Hiroshima recalls dual discrimination he secretly endured

For much of his life, Lee Jong Keun felt he had to hide two aspects of his identity: his status as a second-generation Korean in Japan and his history as an A-bomb survivor.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 1, 2015

Hate, muzzle and poll: a top 10 of issues for 2014

A recap of the top 10 human-rights news events affecting non-Japanese (NJ) in Japan last year.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 7, 2013

Men cry discrimination as women's status rises

Japan, it seems, is forever discriminating against someone. Women, ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, lifestyle minorities, the disabled, part-time workers — all have made claims against a state and a national psychology that define acceptability very narrowly relative to most other developed societies....
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2000

Osaka court rules against women in job-discrimination suit

OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court on Monday rejected a 160 million yen damages suit filed against Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. by two employees who claimed they were discriminated against in terms of salary and advancement because they are women.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 21, 2021

Japan pressed to tackle discrimination and abuse in sport

Though known for its strong civil society and democracy, Japan had serious rights issues to address, Human Rights Watch said Monday.
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Feb 23, 2019

Defining the Heisei Era: Women in Japan speak out on inequality

Last April, a female reporter from TV Asahi accused Junichi Fukuda, the top bureaucrat at the Finance Ministry, of sexual harassment.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 2, 2016

New law bans bias against people with disabilities, but shortcomings exist, say experts

On April 1, a new law aimed at advancing the rights of people with disabilities took effect explicitly banning discrimination against them and requiring government bodies and private-sector businesses to pay greater attention to their needs.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 18, 2015

Rights groups stage racism summit for embassy staff

Ethnic minorities and other socially vulnerable members of Japanese society gathered Wednesday to relate their stories of racial discrimination to embassy representatives in an effort to raise global awareness of their plight and fight racism.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 28, 2010

Mind the gap, get over it: Japan hands

Things have changed for the better for foreigners since the old days in Japan.
Reader Mail
Aug 31, 2008

The language of discrimination

Regarding the Aug. 26 article "Japan defends steps to end discrimination": A country that makes it hard for foreigners to obtain permanent residence speaks its own language of discrimination, don't you think?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 10, 2019

The roles of women in influential positions

Sociologist Chizuko Ueno continues to be a driving force for gender equality in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / 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.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jul 2, 2017

'No foreign tenants' — and not much you can do about it

Landlords in Japan are within their rights to refuse to rent to foreign residents, but some services are stepping in to bridge the gap.
JAPAN / Society
May 22, 2015

First Japanese bill outlawing racism and hate speech submitted to Upper House

A group of lawmakers made history Friday by submitting a bill to the Upper House that would outlaw racism and hate speech.
COMMENTARY
Jan 15, 2009

Antiforeigner discrimination is a right for Japanese people

"Japan girai" — dislike of Japan — is an allergy that seems to afflict many Westerners here. If someone handing out Japanese-language flyers assumes they cannot read Japanese and ignores them, they cry racial discrimination. If they are left sitting alone in a train, they assume that is because the...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 3, 2006

Lawsuit-free land a myth

Japan is not renowned for its courtroom dramas. But occasionally a landmark ruling does make the front pages.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2005

City off hook over bathhouse barring of foreigners

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a naturalized Japanese seeking damages from a city government in Hokkaido in connection with a bathhouse's policy of barring foreigners from the facility.
EDITORIALS
Nov 18, 2002

Good neighbors to diversity

Japanese are increasingly waking up to find that their new neighbors are foreigners who have settled in this country. What should be done to build an affluent multicultural society in Japan? The Sapporo District Court recently handed down a ruling that makes us think about this question. Three foreigners...

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?