Search - discrimination-in-japan

 
 
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 13, 2017

Renho to disclose family registry in bid to quell furor over dual nationality

Born to a Taiwanese father, the Democratic Party leader says she will show documents to dispel questions of foreign citizenship in a move seen by critics as caving to xenophobia.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 16, 2017

Sexual orientation remains a taboo subject in schools, leaving students in the dark

Whenever Shigeyoshi Suzuki, 39, a public elementary school teacher in Tokyo, sees children voicing anti-gay slurs or taunts, he will always put a stop to it and make them aware of the harms of such discrimination.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 16, 2016

Accommodating disabilities, but only within reason

Due to his recent sex scandal, best-selling author Hirotada Ototake has decided not to run for the Upper House under the banner of the Liberal Democratic Party this year, but he hasn't officially said he won't run at all. Earlier this month, while the scandal was still hot, he went ahead with a birthday...
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Feb 7, 2016

What's in a surname? A court divorced from reality

Here at Law of the Land, I try to share "the Japanese law experience" with general readers. Today's experience is called "The Frustration of Reading Supreme Court Decisions" and takes as examples two of the most significant decisions of 2015: one on a law requiring spouses to have the same surname, the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 22, 2015

Manga artist Hasumi stirs outrage again with new book slammed as racist

After gaining the spotlight at home and abroad a few months ago over a controversial manga illustration denigrating a Syrian refugee girl, artist Toshiko Hasumi seemingly remains unrepentant.
JAPAN / Society
May 25, 2015

With hate speech bill, Osaka grapples with freedom of expression

The Osaka Municipal Government has proposed an ordinance aimed at curbing hate speech against racial and ethnic minorities in the city, where verbal and other attacks against Korean residents have intensified in recent years.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Mar 9, 2015

Sexist acts upset 54% of female lawmakers

A nationwide survey of assemblywomen says that more than 54 percent of female lawmakers feel uncomfortable when exposed to sexist acts, remarks or verbal abuse from assemblymen.
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2014

Protecting sexual minorities' rights

A Japanese civic group survey has the ruling Liberal Democratic Party standing out from other parties in its failure to view issues involving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people as human rights problems.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2014

Human rights and religion

The kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls by the extremist Islamic sect Boko Haram, which condemns Western education for women, spotlights the question of whether religious beliefs can ever be allowed to override 'accepted norms' and human rights.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Sep 23, 2013

Matahara: turning the clock back on women's rights

Both statutory and case law are crystal clear on the illegality of firings due to pregnancy. But the law is one thing; practice is quite another.
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2013

Tokyo Rainbow Week

Tokyo Rainbow Week, inaugurated April 27 and financially backed by several corporations, saw events aimed at supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2012

Kids' safety key worry in Fukushima

A year and half after the start of the nuclear crisis, many who attended the government's latest public hearing on energy policy in Fukushima on Wednesday still expressed concern about the impact of radiation on their children.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2012

Children taught radiation studies

A group of elementary school students in Koriyama, about 60 km from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant, may only be 10 years old, but they possibly know more about radiation than fourth-graders anywhere in the world.
Reader Mail
Dec 27, 2009

Opinion could use greater diversity

I was shocked by the opinions expressed in the Dec. 22 article "Level playing field for immigrants: responses" — except by the opinion from the person whose name was withheld, who possibly suffered real discrimination.
Japan Times
Reference / Special Presentations / WITNESS TO WAR
Nov 19, 2009

Demons still haunt Christian soldier

26th in a series
Reader Mail
Jun 21, 2009

Position that should be refuted

Regarding Paul de Vries' May 26 article, "Expat life in Japan: the good, the bad and the meaningful": I have a number of concerns with this article's position that racial discrimination can be acceptable. First, "misbehaving Russian sailors" were not the ones barred from Otaru bathhouses, though that...
Reader Mail
Apr 2, 2009

Ingrained cultural divide at work

Regarding Debito Arudou's March 24 article: We live in a world of instant media distribution. The Japanese culture to a large extent is fueled by the exportation of film and print that stereotypes some cultures as bad while portraying others as superior. Back in 2007 when the English-language teaching...
BUSINESS
Feb 8, 2009

Trading house Mitsui sued over alleged racial bias at U.S. branch

Mitsui & Co., the second-largest trading company in the nation, and its U.S. unit have been accused in a lawsuit of discriminating against non-Asian employees by denying them equal pay and promotional opportunities.
Reader Mail
Feb 1, 2009

Overcoming a discouraging word

According to the Jan. 25 Associated Press article "Discrimination claims die hard in Japan," politician Hiromu Nonaka pulled out of the 2001 prime minister race after Taro Aso, now the prime minister, allegedly referred to Nonaka's roots as a "burakumin," a descendant of former outcasts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 29, 2008

Yoshihiko Matsui: The return of the underground king

Born in 1956, Yoshihiko Matsui worked with indie icon Sogo Ishii on his early films, including the seminal 1980 biker pic "Kuruizaki Thunder Road (Crazy Thunder Road)."
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2008

JAL to pay ¥48 million in employee-data suit

Japan Airlines Corp. agreed Thursday to pay ¥48 million in compensation to 194 former and current flight attendants who alleged that JAL, its largest labor union and five of the union's executives illegally collected and managed private information on them.
JAPAN
May 24, 2006

Man found guilty in '63 murder case seeks retrial

, convicted in the infamous Sayama Incident murder case, faces reporters in Tokyo while his lawyer holds up evidence of his handwriting that they say proves his innocence.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2002

Convention eyes mental illness stigma

YOKOHAMA -- Mental health experts at an international convention of psychiatry here on Sunday stressed the need to eliminate the stigma attached to and discrimination faced by people with schizophrenia and their families.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jun 25, 2001

Debunking America's 'Good War' myth

The movie "Pearl Harbor" may be copying what happened after Japan's actual assault: a spectacular initial success followed by a string of disappointments. But since I'm invoking history, I must hasten to add that there won't be anything remotely resembling an unconditional surrender in store for the...
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2000

Long road back from mind control

Akira Sawaki was just another high school student when he joined Aum Shinrikyo in the winter of 1991, believing the world was full of corruption and wanting to be the one to change it.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / GETTING THINGS DONE
Feb 28, 1999

Their way

Recently I visited a friend who lives in an upscale apartment building, a part of one of Tokyo's massive redevelopment projects. When I saw there was a taxi parked in one of the spaces assigned to her floor, I asked if a neighbor were now commuting by taxi instead of company car. My assumption was incorrect....

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji