National Jun 4, 2017
Tackling signs in Japan that you're not welcome
by Daisuke Kikuchi
Some Japanese businesses post signs barring foreign people from entering. What can you do about it?
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.
Voices | COMMUNITY CHEST Feb 23, 2017
In case you missed them: a year of responses to Community stories, part 1
The first in a series of selections of unpublished letters about Community stories from the year just passed.
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 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.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jun 5, 2016
Japan's police still unfettered by the law, or the truth
by Debito Arudou
Repeat-offending Ibaraki police called to account for backsliding on the issue of hotel snooping.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE May 1, 2016
Enjoy your life in Japan, for the moments
by Debito Arudou
After more than 30 years of studying Japan, I've learned to appreciate one thing people here do well: living in the moment.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 31, 2016
Osaka's move on hate speech should be just the first step
by Debito Arudou
Ordinance officially 'Japanizes' the naming and shaming of haters, which is at least a start.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Jan 3, 2016
Battles over history, the media and the message scar 2015
by Debito Arudou
A rundown of the top 10 human rights issues of the past year as they affected non-Japanese residents.
Voices | COMMUNITY CHEST Dec 31, 2015
The issues that grabbed you or got your goat in the Year of the Sheep
Readers praise and pan Community articles from the past 12 months.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Dec 23, 2015
Much jaw-jaw about war-war: the year 2015 in quotes
by Debito Arudou
The past year has seen a number of tugs-of-war, as conservatives promoted past glories and preservation of the status quo while liberals lobbied for unprecedented levels of tolerance.
Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Nov 1, 2015
Tackle embedded racism before it chokes Japan
by Debito Arudou
Japan has a dire problem it must address immediately: its embedded racism. The country's society and government are permeated by a narrative that says people must "look Japanese" before they can expect equal treatment in society. That must stop. It's a matter of Japan's very survival. We've ...