Posted on 07/11/2005 6:11:57 AM PDT by Our_Man_In_Gough_Island
An independent investigator for the UN says racism in Japan is deep and profound, and the government does not recognise the depth of the problem.
Doudou Diene, a UN special rapporteur on racism and xenophobia, was speaking at the end of a nine-day tour of the country.
He said Japan should introduce new legislation to combat discrimination.
Mr Diene travelled to several Japanese cities during his visit, meeting minority groups and touring slums.
He said that although the government helped to organise his visit, he felt many officials failed to recognise the seriousness of the racism and discrimination minorities suffered.
He was also concerned that politicians used racist or nationalist themes, as he put it, to whip up popular emotions. He singled out the treatment of ethnic Koreans and Chinese and indigenous tribes.
Mr Diene says he plans to recommend that Japan enact a law against discrimination, which he said should be drawn up in consultation with minority groups.
He said he would now wait for the Japanese government to respond to his comments before submitting a report to the United Nations.
One man's racism is another man's homogeny. Japan is not a racist society, they just enjoy the company of other Japanese and there's nothing wrong with that.
What's wrong? Don't they have any Mooselimbs living there?
I thought liberals only called it racism if it is a mostly white nation. I thought they'd standardized on ethnocentrism or nationalism when talking about other countries. Frankly MOST countries are like this. The French, The Russians, the Chinese, the Japanese, long list. Course at least none of those cut the heads off different races as muslims do to unbeleivers.
Bet they have little crime, bet they are not paying blackmail payments to welfare voters. Bet they are not suffering from more internal murders every night than a country in a war zone.
Homogamy...I think not!
One can go to an NAACP convention and find "deep and profound"
racism. Guess some folks at the UN decided they didn't look ridiculous enough, so now they're going to tackle another problem they can't possibly solve.
Frankly, I think it's none of our business what the Japanese do.
By American standards, every country in the enire world is racist.
I applaud them for it!
Japan IS a racist society. Blackface comic portrayls can still be found and there are bars that turn away westerners (no foreigners permitted).
Then again, there are other nations that discriminate too (Quebec and France among them).
Never hear the world condemning their "French language first/only" policy. We were denied service (told to leave, in English) at a restaurant in Quebec. "You can't come in here".
The popular myth is that only white Americans discriminate.
Japan is clearly a racist society. Major politicians have made off the cuff remarks proclaiming the superiority of Japanese race over all others especially over blacks (and whites, I might add...) Chinese, etc.
Remarks of the kind which 50 years ago a Mississippi politician wouldn't have dreamed of saying are almost routine in Japan--who knows what is said behind closed doors.
The national repentence which occurred in Germany, never really took place in Japan...and their atrocities in conquored Asian countries were every bit as great as that of Germany in Europe (there were just a lot fewer Jewish people to murder in the far east).
Nothing surprising here. Japan has been and is a racist society.
Why the devil is there a UN investigator looking into racism in Japan? That is really stupid. There are bigger fish to fry here.
Not by American standards...but by liberal standards....
Poverty Pimps...
(sp)Gaiijan=Foreigners
They are- but who really cares? Aren't we all, somewhat?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaijin
Gaikokujin ("foreigner" lit. "outside country person") is a Japanese word used to refer to foreigners. Gaijin (lit: "outside person"), a separate word originally meaning "outsider" or "enemy," is not a contraction of gaikokujin. However, gaijin is now most commonly used to mean caucasian, and is often rendered "foreigner", though as will be shown, this is not an accurate translation.
Generally, the term is used to describe non-Asian foreigners in Japan, but not for blacks. Furthermore, Japanese tourists often use the word to refer to local caucasians when they travel abroad. East Asians are usually referred to using their ethnic or national backgrounds, as in ch¨±gokujin (ÖйúÈË Chinese; lit. China + person) or kankokujin (South Korean; lit. South Korea + person). Foreigners of primarily Japanese ancestry are called nikkei, while part-Japanese foreigners are usually called h¨¡fu ("half") or ku¨t¨¡ ("quarter"). This indicates that the term gaijin carries racial, as well as national, nuances
History
The first Europeans to visit Japan were the Portuguese in 1542. They were known as Nanbanjin (lit. "southern barbarian people"), owing to the fact that their ships came sailing in from the south, and that they were perceived as quite unrefined by Japanese standards. This designation was adopted from Chinese usage, and had been in use to name southern people in general.
The usage of the term died off during the Edo era, when the country was closed to foreigners. From 1854, when Japan opened again, until the early 20th century, foreigners in Japan were commonly referred to as ijin (lit. "different person"), a contraction of ikokujin (lit. "different country person") or ihoojin (lit. "different motherland person").
Starting in the Meiji era, the term gaikokujin was used to refer to Japanese residents from outside the Empire of Japan, while the term naikokujin ("inside country person") was used to refer to nationals of other territories of the Empire. The naikokujin term fell out of use after World War II, but gaikokujin remained the official government term for non-Japanese people in Japan.
[edit]
Political correctness
Some feel that in a collectivist culture such as Japan, where strong social and business distinctions are made between in- and out-group members, the literal meaning of this word, i.e. "outside person," emphasises the idea that non-Japanese are outsiders. Others point out that what foreigners in Japan really find annoying is that, after settling into Japan and becoming proficient in the language, they are still referred to as "foreigners" by people who couldn't possibily know their actual citizenship or status of residence. Further, the term is regularly applied to naturalized Japanese citizens who do not have ethnically Japanese ancestry. Due to these racially oriented and out-group contexts in a society that is nearly ethnically homogeneous, non-Japanese often perceive the word gaijin as derogatory.
Japanese may avoid using gaijin in front of non-Japanese, using instead the term gaikokujin (some non-Japanese even insist on this). On the other hand, most Japanese use the term gaijin as part of their conversation, ostensibly without pejorative intent. In fact, puzzled Japanese sometimes ask foreigners why they find the word gaijin to be offensive. On the other hand, more sensitive individuals who have lived abroad may be offended themselves when another Japanese person uses the word, regardless of the user's intent.
Because of these mixed perceptions of the word gaijin, it is a common target of kotobagari ("word hunting"), the censorship of terms considered to be politically incorrect.
The Ainu, those round-eyed, brunette aboriginal people from Hokkaido, might beg to differ. Of course, after all these centuries, I doubt you find an Ainu who looks like his or her ancestors.
Wonder if the status of the Okinawans has risen since the Ryukyu Islands reverted back to Japan in '72? That might be something interesting for me to chase after.
. . . and there's nothing wrong with that.
Yes, there is.
I spent two weeks in Japan last summer on a Boy Scout trip and I was treated with wonderful hospitality everywhere I went.
" Bet they have little crime,"
Crime is way up here ...especially murder ...bodies everywhere ...
" bet they are not paying blackmail payments to welfare voters. "
They pay it to the Yakuza ...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
" Bet they are not suffering from more internal murders every night than a country in a war zone."
Getting there ...slowly but surely ...
Well, those are white and asian societies you are talking about. In this country those two groups are legally discriminated against in college applications.
Apparently you must be either a Black, Hispanic, Indian, or Muslim to be the victim of discrimination in this country.
Not sure it should occur. We should not be bashing the Japanese for the simple fact that they scare the living hell out of China. We will need Japan when the war comes.
I was stationed there for two years and I saw the blackface pictures on products. I thought it was funny. As a black woman, it certainly didn't affect my way of life over there. The Japanese are some of the kindest, most polite people I've ever met. I don't care what they may or may not say behind their back about me (and why spend your life being that paranoid?). Let them have their all-Japanese bars, there are hundreds of other bars where I can find a drink. My cousin taught English there for three years. She loves the place and the people. There's nothing wrong with people congregating with their own kind. Japan's business inner circle is also closed to foreigners. That's just life.
Sounds familiar.
" is a racist society."
Whatever racism still remains exists in old fogeys over 60...The Japanese are no more racist per capita than the US , England or any other Western country .
They're not doing that now, are they? Hey, what about the treatment of Africans, forcibly brought to America hundreds of years ago? Over and done with.
Looks like the Japanese are in deep Doudou now.
Does this keep you up at nights?
No surprise indeed. Japanese racism is a well known part of their national character. I'd be more interested (and even impressed) if the UN investigated the continuing Arab slave trade, treatment of Filipino and other guest workers in the Arab Gulf countries, and how Islam justifies (along with mass murder of innocents, pedofilia, second class treatment of "dhimmis", etc.) all of this. Not holding my breath on that one.
I think an investigation on the racist government of MEXICO, would be more of a priority. Afterall I don't see many Japanese paying coyotes to sneak them acros the border.
Never trust a guy named "DooDoo", especially if he's from the U.N.!
First, the old fogeys still run the country. What percentage of the Japanese population are foreigners? Of different races? How are Koreans and the Ainu treated?
`Sambo' returns to bookracks in Japan
HUMAN RIGHTS-JAPAN: UN Calls for Anti-Racism Legislation
JAPAN IN THE GLOBAL ERA CAN ATTITUDES CHANGE? Atavistic racism: greatest impediment
" Japan has not reached this stage. Japan is an outlier; from the racism viewpoint, it is a pariah state. Racism lies in the very fabric of Japanese society; it is still at its primitive, visceral and atavistic stage. It is so ingrained that Japanese often appear totally bewildered when told they are racist. Being racist and being Japanese are so intertwined that racism is not seen as a form of deviance, but as normal. So Japanese racism is rarely expressed in vituperatively violent form. It is passive, intrinsic, underlying general social behavior. Barring foreigners from joining golf clubs, for example."
is rain wet?
I recall him telling me once that the Japanese don't like American Blacks.
on the other hand, in terms of actually gaining entrance to such a bar, concerning the number of foreigners beat up by Japanese in such a bar, vs. Asians beat up in American bars by patrons, solely on race, i'd probably wager that would be much more on the American side. So there you have it. not a clear cut situation as to who harbors more 'racism'. i'd say more 'subtle' racism toward the non-Japanese by Japanese in Japan; and more 'violent' racism--resulting in injury or outright death--toward the non-White/non-Black, Asian by Whites or Blacks in the USA. take your pick as to which is more nefarious
Yes. A simple answer.
I've heard they don't like the mixed races they created through the war. Such, is life. If I was having that difficult a time, I would move. I would gladly live among the Japanese, rather than some ethnicities in America.
Exactly. It's their country. I loved my tour in Japan and everything Mrs. Exile enjoys about Japan are the things I find appealing as well. I look forward to going back for a visit some day. Personally, I see a difference between partial acceptance and outright hostility. I don't mind that they might shut me out of some things (what, I can't think of) but I appreciate that they are always polite about it.
Is the Pope German?
Well said...well said, indeed. During my teen years, I lived in Japan 1970-1972. I absolutely loved it. I got to go to so many places, see so many different things, meet so many different people. I had a number of Japanese friends at school who took me all over the place. These were truly the best growing-up years of my life. The Japanese people were so friendly, kind, thoughtful, considerate. That's what I remember of Japan. Our parents would let us go just about anywhere (day trips) on trains (in and out of downtown Tokyo and other places) and never worry one bit about our safety. Today, I wouldn't even think about leaving my 15 year old son and a friend off at a local mall (Hampton/Newport News, VA) without his dad or me, or the friend's parent being with them.
I realize there can be much change in 30+ years, but I would hope not in the case of Japan. I'd love to go back for a visit.
I think this is because most Chinese that live in Japan can't be distinguished from native Japanese, especially since Chinese and Japanese share a lot of common culture (Japanese kanji characters are the same characters used in Chinese more or less). My friends speak both Cantonese dialect Chinese and Kanto-ben Japanese so fluently that unless a native Japanese really ask my friends (like their names) they could be mistaken for Tokyo-area natives.
Indeed, the greatest Japanese baseball player of all time--Sadoharu Oh--is actually half-Taiwanese. That does cause some anguish with native Japanese but that usually goes away when it's pointed out he played his entire career for the Yomiuri Giants, the New York Yankees of Japanese baseball.
Okay, so we can agree that they're racist--now what. Or, so what? We can't change anyone's racist mind by pointing it out to them? So, what's the point?
Exactly, from what little I know of their culture, I think they value courtesy too much to be outright hostile.
I remember one time during a class where the inevitable topic of racism came up, the Prof asked a visiting student from Japan:
"Is there racism in Japan?"
The student thought, pondered and then said in English but with a very strong indeed comical accent:
"No. Only one race in Japan."
I guess that's actually a valid answer if you think about it....the look on the professor's face was classic.
Amen.
Damn...
folks here have to always prove how good they are about race.
it's the strongest political urge.
i'm tired of falling on swords..
why....is everything all better now?
i'm more worried about Islam than I am human nature's natural predisposition to gather with like kind....racially, ethnically, religiously....when possible or by habit.
sameness...the myth and the goal.
Perhaps to distract attention from "Oil for Food" and other such contretemps?
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