Welcome to The Community

COMMUNITY PROJECTS
(What we are doing and what we have done so far. Recommended reading.)

"The Spirit of The Community"
(Also Recommended Reading.)

Contact us

WHO ARE WE?
Founded on September 28, 1999, in Jiyugaoka, Tokyo, we, the members of "The Community", seek to represent and organize the scattered and varied peoples who are concerned about the treatment of non-Japanese in Japan. Essentially "we" means anybody who wants to participate in our organization.

WHAT DO WE SEEK TO DO?
We seek to raise awareness of certain issues which have an impact upon the lives, livelihoods, and futures of "people of differences" in Japanese society, in an attempt to foster tolerance, acceptance, mutual respect, and--for those who seek it--assimilation. We wish to show everyone that it is possible for Japanese and non-Japanese alike to call Japan "home", to enable everyone to understand that we too have a role here and are not just temporary "guests", and to have our contributions and accomplishments constructively acknowledged both on the interpersonal level and in the policy arena.

HOW DO WE PROPOSE TO GO ABOUT DOING THIS?
1) BY NETWORKING. Through the technological magic of the internet, people are now linked in an unprecedented degree. Many social organizations out there can and do benefit from this fast, inexpensive forum. There are plenty of individuals acting as de facto "communities" out there already. Let's try to link them more formally with a group name and an objective.
2) BY RECORDING. Many societal problems remain unresolved because social movements become hollowed out by unsubstantiated rumors. To avoid this, The Community will seek to create websites, eventually linked to this cover page, which carefully and faithfully document allegations of discrimination (such as jpegs of legal documents, photos of discriminatory signs, names, dates, and places within the public record which deserve attention or warrant dispersion and further contact). We will also record projects carried out by our internet "communities" both past, present, and future, in an effort to ensure that actions do not fade into legend or hearsay.
3) BY TAKING ACTION. The Community advocates peaceful and constructive contact with the architects or perpetuators of discriminatory actions. After an issue of value is raised on The Community Mailing List (see below), members of The Community at large may decide to raise social awareness by any number of means. For example, if a bathing facility decides to institute a policy barring foreigners from entry (actual case, click here), we would encourage:

phone calls or emails to the facility in question asking for an explanation of why the policy is in place, expressing our discontent with it, and calmly asking for its revision or repeal.
recorded communication (i.e. electronic or paper) to local governments or higher-level organizations inquiring whether there is official support for this policy, asking for further investigation, and encouraging official recorded action, such as an official statement of disapproval or top-down request for revision.
visits to the instigator's site by nearby Community Members to confirm allegations firsthand, record (through photos of the signs, etc.), and communicate in person that we are aware of these matters and do not approve of them.
publicity to the larger internet communitites, the vernacular and overseas press, and other human-rights groups and legal associations (which Japan in fact has plenty of--it's often only a matter of asking them).

DO YOU WISH TO SEE WHAT THE COMMUNITY MAILING LIST LOOKS LIKE, OR TO JOIN THE COMMUNITY? CLICK HERE TO GO TO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/communityinjapan/

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW EVEN MORE BEFORE JOINING? Read the original Community proposal here, written by Arudou Debito and delivered in Jiyugaoka, Tokyo on September 28, 1999. Or read about our projects, past, present, and future, at http://www.debito.org/TheCommunity/communityissues.html　 Our Community's ethos, called "The Spirit of The Community", and our mailing list guidelines are also available here.

UPDATE (May 29, 2002)
After a healthy growth in membership and a number of projects reaching fruition (see them at http://www.debito.org/TheCommunity/communityissues.html), Community Coordinators Imtiaz Chaudhry, Jens Wilkinson, and Arudou Debito have decided to establish a symbiotic relationship between The Community and United for a Multicultural Japan (UMJ). UMJ will take on more national-level issues (such as Juuminhyou, Immigration and Racial Discrimination laws), while The Community will be a bulletin board and archive for individuals who take on neighborhood problems, showing the rest of the community what can or cannot be done if one tries. It will not only ensure that the body of knowledge from attempts made to improve things will not fade into anecdotery, but also enable people to try their hand at a little activism. --Arudou Debito

The Community Site designed by I A Chaudhry