(Photo taken Sept 19, 1999 in front of Yunohana Onsen, Address Otaru-shi Temiya 1-5-20)
(Photo Credit: Olaf Karthaus and Dave Aldwinckle)

THE OTARU LAWSUIT INFORMATION SITE
By The Plaintiffs
(Arudou Debito/Dave Aldwinckle, Olaf Karthaus, and Ken Sutherland)

(Japanese)
START HERE (A SUMMARY OF THE CASE FOR BUSY PEOPLE)
IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST VISIT

NEWS FLASH
THE OTARU LAWSUIT IS OVER
APRIL 7, 2005: REFUSES EVEN TO HEAR THE CASE
AFTER ONLY TWO MONTHS OF DELIBERATION
(most refusals to hear a case take at least six months or more)
indicating how seriously Japan's highest court takes issues of human rights
and racial discrimination in Japan.
FULL TEXT OF SUPREME COURT DECISION IN JAPANESE HERE, INCLUDING NEWSPAPER ARTICLES AND COMMENTARY IN ENGLISH

ADVANCE REVIEWS:

• "A reasoned and spirited denunciation of national prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry. It's not that the Japanese have all that much more of it than anyone else, but that they lack an interface to fight it. This lively accounting will help them find it." ---Donald Richie
• "An important, trailblazing work that will go down in the annals of civil activist journals... Will be the book of reference on the subject for decades to come and should be required reading for anyone studying social protest." --Robert Whiting, author, The Meaning of Ichiro, You've Gotta have Wa, and Tokyo Underworld.
• "A powerful, poignant, and path-breaking docu-narrative." ---Ivan Hall, author, Cartels of the Mind and Bamboozled.

  (More reviews and ordering details at http://www.debito.org/japaneseonly.html)

• Who are we?
• What are we doing and why?
• Facts of the Case
• 2003: The split into TWO APPEALS (page up to more information on this)
• THE YUNOHANA APPEAL (Defendant Onsen Yunohana appeals against all three Plaintiffs, claims Plaintiffs were just out to get them. Continues to this day to refuse entry to "foreigners who cannot speak Japanese". Information site coordinated by Plaintiff Olaf Karthaus here.)
• THE OTARU CITY APPEAL (Plaintiff Arudou Debito appeals against ruling in favor of Otaru City, says municipality is in fact responsible for eliminating racial discrimination within its jurisdiction. More here)
• Contributions you can make--support THE OTARU CITY RACIAL DISCRIMINATION "LAWSUIT BENGODAN" (LEGAL TEAM) and SUBMIT YOUR EXPERIENCES OF REFUSALS ON THE BASIS OF RACE OR NATIONALITY TO THE SAPPORO HIGH COURT, in what is probably Japan's first class-action lawsuit on behalf of non-Japanese and racially-diverse Japanese. Please help out if you can.
• PRE-BRIEFING ON WHY THIS CASE MATTERS (Nov 1, 2002)
• REASONS FOR THE APPEAL AGAINST OTARU CITY
• THE ROGUES' GALLERY--names, photographs, and contact details of businesses which refuse service to "foreigners" with JAPANESE ONLY signs. We maintain in our lawsuit that places like these have been emboldened by Otaru's decade of negligence--i.e. businesses put signs up because they can. Japan has no legal sanctions against this, and Otaru proved it.
• "Japanese Only--The Otaru Onsen Refusals and Racial Discrimination in Japan" by Arudou Debito. 274 Pages. Published By Akashi Shoten KK. Japanese version on sale now. English version on sale October 2004. See more here.

• The Background to our Lawsuit
• Substantiation of Discrimination (photo record)
• Plaintiff Arudou Debito's tape-recorded refusal at Defendant Yunohana Onsen Oct 31, 2000, 5:45pm. He was refused entry despite showing proof of Japanese citizen because he still looked like a foreigner, which would allegedly cause the regular Japanese customers to stop patronizing the premises. Original Japanese transcript of these taped proceedings here. English translation and Romajinized Japanese version here Listen to it yourself in Japanese (on free downloadable Real Player) by clicking here.
• The basis of our case: Article 14 of the Japanese Constitution, and The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
• Recent Developments (from Jan 1, 2001 onwards)
• Legal Precedent germane to our case: The Azumamura Pool Case of 1998, The Ana Bortz Case of 1998-9
• UN CERD Committee CRITICAL STATEMENT on Japan's lack of Anti-discrimination laws and court precedents (Released March 20, 2001)
• The text of our suit (sojou) submitted to the Sapporo District Court on Feb 1, 2001 (Japanese)
• Answers (toubensho) from each Defendant re our charges made in our lawsuit sojou document above-- from Onsen Yunohana dated March 14, 2001, from the City of Otaru dated March 22, 2001, with evidential supplement therein (Japanese)
• FIRST COURT HEARING (Koutou Benron), March 26, 1:30 PM: Sapporo District Court. Plaintiffs read statements (chinjutsusho) outlining their motives and positions to the court. Read our first REPORT on this event in English here, and our court statements in Japanese and English here. Article from Kyodo Wire Service in Japanese here.
• SECOND COURT HEARING, Answers from the Defendants, submitted May 7, 2001, from Onsen Yunohana and City of Otaru (Japanese). Other hearings in timeline below (not much has happened in four more hearings--just exchanges of documents)
• SEVENTH COURT HEARING, March 11, 2002. Plaintiffs testify orally in court. Click here to see what was said.
• COURT-MANDATED SETTLEMENT MEETINGS, May 15 and June 11, 2002, which end with both Plaintiffs and Defendants refusing to settle out of court due to terms drawn up by the Sapporo District Court. Read more here.
• FINAL ARGUMENTS from both Plaintiffs and Defendants.
• COURT DECISION (NOV 11, 2002): 1) 1,000,000 YEN COMPENSATION ORDERED TO BE PAID BY EXCLUSIONARY BATHHOUSE TO EACH PLAINTIFF, 2) CITY EXONERATED OF RESPONSIBILITY TO FOLLOW INTERNATIONAL TREATY (more details and analysis here) (full text of Decision in Japanese here (28 pages of jpgs))
• APPEALS FILED from Plaintiff Arudou Debito against the City of Otaru, and from Yunohana Onsen against Plaintiffs (along with a court order to escape paying Plaintiffs the court-ordered compensation), effectively splitting one lawsuit into two Appeals. REASONS FOR THE APPEAL AGAINST OTARU CITY (Japanese document submitted by Bengodan to Sapporo High Court March 3, 2003, and Statement by Arudou Debito submitted to Sapporo High Court Sept 4, 2003)
• The formation of the THE OTARU CITY RACIAL DISCRIMINATION "LAWSUIT BENGODAN" (LEGAL TEAM). Join us if you like.
• 2003: The split into TWO APPEALS (page up to more information on this)
• OTARU APPEALS HEARING TWO (Sept 4, 2003) Info site here.

• MEDIA UPDATES: March 28, 2001, April 13, 2001, May 14, 2001, June 28, 2001, July 5, 2001, July 19, 2001, August 20, 2001, February 15, 2002, PRE-BRIEFING ON WHY THIS CASE MATTERS (Nov 1, 2002)

• Further Substantiation of racial discrimination around Japan by Issho Kikaku (particularly Their REPORT ON RACE-RELATED EXCLUSION) (Disclaimer: Issho Kikaku is not a party to this lawsuit.)
• Defendant Otaru City's official stance (according to their website, in Japanese Only)
• Defendant Onsen Yunohana's non-stance (not even a mention of the problem at its rich-looking website--in Japanese Only, of course--at its own domain name, www.yunohana.org). As you can see by the photo there: it is no tiny "mom & pop" place, and it clearly has profited from all the publicity. It is in fact the biggest bathhouse in Otaru by volume, opening up a new branch in Asari when many other baths are closing in Hokkaido. Also, see their angry petition for customer support (distributed around Feb 2001, and soon abandoned) in Japanese Only.
• US STATE DEPT REPORT ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices", released March 4, 2002) specifically mentions this case by saying: "As a result of widespread media attention, appeals by the Justice Ministry, and an antidiscrimination campaign waged by nongovernmental organizations, several businesses in Hokkaido lifted their bans against foreigners. In February in Hokkaido police investigated death threats made against a foreign born naturalized citizen who had sued both a bathhouse for refusing him entrance on the basis of race, and the Otaru Municipal Government for failing to take measures to stop discriminatory entrance policies; his court case was pending at year's end." (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eap/8319.htm)
• REPORT from UN Committee on Racial Discrimination on discriminatory practices within Japan and recommendations (March 2001)
• UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY retracts invitation, denies Plaintiff Arudou his right to speak at their human rights forum ostensibly because he is in a lawsuit, but actually due to financial pressure from the Hokkaido Government et. al.
• HAMAMATSU CITY proposes reforms to national government in Nov 2001 to help ameliorate discrimination and assimilation difficulties for foreigners. If Hamamatsu can take positive measures, why can't Otaru?
• The Issue in a Nutshell

This is a photo taken at our Feb 1 Press Conference, 3PM, at the Sapporo Bengoshikai, shortly after we submitted our suit papers to the Sapporo District Court. Seated from left to right are Plaintiff Olaf Karthaus (37, German nationality), Plaintiff Arudou Debito (ne Dave Aldwinckle, 36, Japanese nationality), our Lawyer Itou Hideko, and Plaintiff Ken Sutherland (37, American nationality).

It's a long story. But click here to get a QUICK LOWDOWN on why we are suing in a Feb 5, 2001 essay written by Plaintiff Arudou Debito.

Here is a statement in Japanese and English from Plaintiff Ken Sutherland on the case, presented at the Feb 1, 2001 Press Conference and reprinted in full in the Asahi Shinbun, Feb 2, 2001.

Recent developments can be found by clicking and paging down. And other background, so you can come up to speed, can be found by paging back up to the Facts of the Case section.

is, in brief, Article 14 of the Japanese Constitution: equal protection before the laws for all citizens/residents (including foreigners, the Japanese government has confirmed). Denying a citizen entry into a public-use facility for no reason but physical appearance is indubitably unconstitutional.

Text of the Japanese Constitution can be found in most legal books and The Japan Almanac. Harder to find is:

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, so here are some links: (Full English text, Full Japanese text, Excerpt pertinent to our case (Japanese jpg, English text), Japanese Foreign Ministry Link in English and Japanese)

There is of course more to it than this. You are also welcome to look at the text of the Lawsuit Document (Sojou) we submitted to the Sapporo District Court, where we are, literally, making our case. It is, however, only in Japanese. Click here.

Jan 1, 2001: Asahi Shinbun on page 2 mentions Arudou Debito being refused at Yunohana Onsen despite being a Japanese citizen, as part of a series of articles predicting Japan's growing pains in the upcoming century. (Japanese, with English translation text here)
Jan 16: Our intent to bring a lawsuit against Yunohana Onsen leaked to the press, appearing first in Hokkaido Shinbun Jan 16 Choukan page one and page 28, (Japanese jpegs, English translation of both articles here).
Jan 17: Yunohana Onsen, excluding all foreigners since it opened around three years ago, removes its exclusionary signs within 24 hours of the above Doshin articles. After our nearly sixteen months of fruitless negotiations with Yunohana, this of course was a surprise, but more surprising was Yunohana's putting up a different sign with four conditions for entry, applied to foreigners only. In brief, these are: 1) stay in Japan of over one year, 2) understanding of Japanese language, 3) understanding of Japanese bathing customers, 4) the will to follow the rules and not cause a problem for other customers. See Jan 17 Doshin article corroborating this development, the rules in detail and in the original Japanese, and Plaintiff Ken Sutherland's stance on this development.
Jan 24: Otaru City updates their stance on the discrimination within their municipality on their website (Japanese link here, English translation by Plaintiff Ken Sutherland here).
Jan 29: In a 4:30 pm phone conversation with Plaintiff Arudou Debito, Otaru City International Bureau Chief Takeuchi Kazuho acknowledges that the hyped "24-hour hotline", so that people with international problems can contact City Hall for mediation, is not in fact a public phone number. Off-hours, it is a collection of cellphone numbers, and only given to only two onsens--those with a history of discrimination (Panorama and Osupa; Defendant Yunohana refuses to participate)--because "our bureau cannot handle too many calls." The anticipation of ineffectualness consequently creates an ineffective system, in violation of Article Six of the CERD.
Jan 31: Hokkaido Shinbun (page 32) leaks that Otaru City will also be included as a Defendant in the lawsuit against Yunohana Onsen. (Japanese)
Jan 31: Arudou Debito appears in Mainichi Shinbun article (page 5) for giving a speech at Jan 30 Justice Ministry Division of Human Rights Deliberation Council meeting. Headline: "Japan is only [OECD] country without law against racial discrimination." (jinshu sabetsu teppaihou ga nai no wa nihon dake). (Text of Arudou's handout to conference in Japanese here), Kyodo Wire Service article in Japanese here.

February: REPORT ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices") updated annually from the US State Department (February 2001), on Japan and its overlooked discrimination.
Feb 1-3: Submission and acceptance of our lawsuit documents at Sapporo District Court, Feb 1, 2:30 PM. The following 3PM press conference gets coverage from all Hokkaido TV networks (NHK, HBC, UHB, HTB, and TVH) in evening broadcasts, as well as TV Asahi, BBC, and others we didn't catch. On the following days, the print media publish their articles (Hokkaido Shinbun page one, page two, Asahi and its Evening News, Yomiuri (article one, article two) and its Daily Yomiuri, Mainichi and its Daily News, Jiji, Kyodo, Reuters, Japan Times, NY Times, and more).
Feb 3: Hokkaido Shinbun prints a favorable editorial entitled "Make hearts barrier-free" ("Kokoro no bariafurii" o) on page two of the morning edition. (Japanese)
Feb 6: Death threat letter arrives at Arudou Debito's workplace threatening to kill his children. (English and Japanese here)
Feb 10: The Economist (London) features Arudou Debito on page 32, exposing the ridiculousness of Yunohana's four conditions for entry for foreigners only, especially when applied to a Caucasian Japanese citizen. (Click on the article's cartoon at right to see the whole article in English.)
Feb 11: Mainichi Shinbun on page two does a personal feature (with photo) on Arudou Debito, entitled"Making a society without racial discrimination for Japan's future" (Shourai no nihon no tame ni jinshu sabetsu naki shakai o) (Japanese)
Feb 14: Japan Times cartoonist Roger Dahl draws one-paneler highly critical of "Racist Bathhouse Owners" and "Otaru Municipal Government" (English jpeg)
Feb 15: Weekly Shuukan Bunshun, page 36-7 prints favorable article with Plaintiff Arudou Debito and Lawyer Itou Hideko, entitled "The truthful side of a naturalized American, who sued a bathhouse excluding foreigners" ("gaikokujin okotowari" no yokujou o uttaeta kika beikokujin no mottomo na iibun). (Japanese)
Feb 16: Hokkaido Shinbun Letter to the Editor by Hokkaido housewife says "the onsen is the victim here" demands that foreigners "take responsibility" for their actions. Angered wife of Arudou Debito writes response in Feb 23 Hokkaido Shinbun Letters demanding to know why victimized innocent people and their children have to take any responsibility. (Japanese) Apologies in private later come from the first housewife, stating that she meant that offending Russians should take responsibility for their actions, not foreigners in general.
Feb 17: Asahi Evening News, page 2, "Bathhouse suit plaintiff targeted by hate mail", describes the reactions and reports on the death threat against Arudou Debito's children. (English)
Feb mid-month: California-published Japanese newspaper "Rafu Shinpou" runs article on Arudou Debito, using material from Mainichi Shinbun's "Hito" article of Feb 11. (Japanese)
Feb 21: Japanese Weekly Pureiboi (not Hefner's "Playboy") gives two pages on issue, entitled "The brouhaha over Otaru's baths and the long road to Japan's internationalization", saying "Isn't it time that Japan thinks seriously about how to mix with other cultures?" (Japanese jpeg page one, page two)
Feb 21: Japan Times, page 3, "Otaru racism controversy lingers on", a huge article with photo on the issue, the lawsuit, and its reprocussions. (English)
Feb 22: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation As It Happens Radio interview on Otaru Lawsuit, playable in Real Audio (free download here) in English (CBC website archive link here)
Feb 25: Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, page 2, fills a half a page in their Sunday Edition with photos of the "Japanese Only" signs and round up of the issues. (English)
Feb 28: The popular TBS TV show, "Koko ga Hen da yo, Nihonjin" ("Hey Japanese, This is Strange") features all three plaintiffs as guests getting asked hardball questions by the foreign and Japanese panelists. Both Defendants, Yunohana and the City of Otaru, refuse to attend. (See transcript and stills from the program here: part one, part two, in English and Japanese)

March: REPORT from UN Committee on Racial Discrimination on discriminatory practices within Japan and recommendations (March 2001)
Mar 3: Hokkaido Shinbun has two articles, one a morning-edition front-page mini-editorial concerning the Feb 28 show, decrying the stupidity of refusing people by appearance, and the other an evening report on page six covering the Japan discrimination report to the UN, noting that the Japanese government admits that "discrimination occurs in everyday life for foreigners" (Japanese jpgs)
Mar 7: Japan Times Letter to the Editor expresses outrage at unchecked discrimination in Japan and support for our lawsuit.
Mar 5-Mar 23: Arudou Debito negotiates with Minshutou Party leader and Hokkaido Representative Hatoyama Yukio's Sapporo office, proposing a meeting to discuss legislative possibilities. Request denied, due to the fact that, according to assistant Mr Okuno, we are in court and the party does not want to take sides. This despite Arudou's stressing the meeting is not about the case but about drafting an anti-racial-discrimination law, which legislators are honor-bound by international treaty to create. Read email correspondence in Japanese here.
Mar 26, 1:30 PM: FIRST COURT HEARING (Koutou Benron), Sapporo District Court. Plaintiffs read statements (chinjutsusho) outlining their motives and positions to the court. Read our first REPORT on this event in English here, and our court statements in Japanese and English here. Article from Kyodo Wire Service in Japanese here.
Mar 26, 8:30-9:00 PM: HBC Radio has thirty-minute program entitled "Japanese Only", showing how the issue is fermenting. Soundbites from many sides, including eldsters saying they don't want to bathe with foreigners because they stink and spread disease. To listen to the radio program in Japanese yourself in freely-downloadable Real Audio format, click here.
Mar 27, 1:55-2:55 HBC TV does hourlong documentary on Lawsuit and Onsens Issue, similar in tone to the abovementioned Mar 26 radio program.
Mar 27: Court Hearing hits newspaper morning editions: Hokkaido Shinbun, Mainichi, Asahi, and Yomiuri (all Japanese)

April 2001: Doshin Today monthly magazine, April 2001, page 50-51, features Arudou's views on the Feb 2001 TBS show "Koko Ga Hen" in an article entitled "After the Bashfest--Arudou's Point of View" (fukuro tataki in atta, arudou debito san no iibun). Bonus advertisement for the magazine featuring Arudou's angry-looking mug with the other talking heads--right next to PM Mori. (Japanese jpegs)
April 1: Jiji Jaanaru (journal for the bureaucrats), pages 10-15, two pages on the onsen issue and a four-page interview (Japanese jpegs start from here)
April 16: Arudou Debito individually lobbies Sapporo branches of Japan's four major political parties (LDP, DPJ, JCP, and Koumeitou) in an attempt to get them to consider passing anti-racial-discrimination legislation. Reactions mixed, with DPJ (Minshutou) acting most positive, Koumeitou and JCP being noncommittal, and the LDP rep (a Hokkaido Assembly Rep) going so far to say that "Japan doesn't need laws" in front of TV cameras! Full report in English here. Submitted draft bill (courtesy Issho Kikaku) in Japanese here and in English here.

May 3-5: Plaintiffs Olaf, Ken, and Debito take trip to Wakkanai and Monbetsu cities to survey discriminatory establishments with exclusionary signs. Although the trio are fortunately refused entry nowhere, Japanese language ability was required for entry, which still confuses the issue of comprehension with compliance. None of the establishments refused to remove their signs, either. Read Japan Today Article (May 11, 2001) , a preliminary report (English and Japanese), a May 4 Wakkanai Doshin article (Japanese), and a Kyodo Wire Service blurb (Japanese).
May 4: Full page full color article on the Onsens issue in the Daily Yomiuri Saturday SCENE section (English)
May 7: Second Court Hearing (Dai 2 Kai, Koutou Benron), Sapporo District Court, produces defense briefs from Defendants Onsen Yunohana and City of Otaru (Japanese).
May 12: Ritsumeikan Keishou High Schooler Watanabe Mami, 17, is reported in Doshin as winning first prize in the 55th Prime Minister's High Schooler Debate Competition, speaking on "Living Together in the 21st Century" (Kyousei no 21 Seiki e). Insightful quotes: "In today's Japan, there is the tendency to mistake 'internationalization' for 'simply understanding English'"; and, referring to the onsen problem, "Once we know what non-Japanese want from Japan, we will finally have a 21st-Century Japan where people's hearts and minds can interact." Full information and text of the speech here (Japanese)
May 2-21: The United Nations University (Jingumae, Tokyo), which in January 2001 invited Arudou Debito to speak at an upcoming August human rights seminar, formally retracts its invitation due to problems with "finalizing the program". The real reason, according to the Programming Committee, is due to financial pressure from the Hokkaido Government and Doukeiren, which threatened to withdraw funding if Arudou were allowed to speak. UN University passed a resolution barring speakers who are in lawsuits from speaking about their case, in a breathtaking double-whammy--denying a plaintiff his freedom of speech while subordinating academic integrity to financial interests. Read all about it here.
May 26: After collecting information over the winter months (where Arudou Debito spoke on Jan 31, 2001) Ministry of Justice Deliberation Council offers up it proposal for a Human Rights Commission, where advice and support for anti-discrimination lawsuits can be found. Asked for a comment, Arudou Debito responds, "It's a positive step. However, I worry about the effectiveness of the commission in terms of staffing and financing. Also, assistance in lawsuits is also no substitute for anti-discrimination legislation." Moreover, nowhere mentioned in the proposal is protection against discrimination by nationality. Click to read information site (mostly in Japanese, but with English brief).

June 16: As per May 2 release above, Hokkaido Shinbun reports on United Nations University's cancelling its Otaru human rights seminar due to Arudou Debito being one of the panelists. UNU denies that it was under any pressure from its financial sponsors. Read more here.
June 18: Third Court Hearing, 10:30 am, Sapporo District Court. Judge asks lawyer for Defendant Yunohana to find out whether his client has ever received any public monies in support, opening up the question as to whether Yunohana is a public facility or not.
June 19: The Democratic Party of Japan (Minshutou) Hokkaido sponsors a Public Forum for background information for its "Hokkaido Basic Human Rights Ordinance" (Dou Jinken Kihon Jourei), for submission to the Hokkaido Prefectural Assembly by year-end. Plaintiff Arudou appears as a panelist, and with Plaintiff Sutherland meets with several city, prefectural, and national assemblypeople. Information Site containing DPJ proposal, with related articles and handouts in English and Japanese here
June 23: Plainfiff Olaf Karthaus speaks at SIIS, Sapporo, on "The Otaru Onsen Problem--What Now?" Standing for "Sapporo Institute for International Solidarity", SIIS drew 300 people, mainly students who will become Japan's bureaucrats, legal scriveners, and lawyers. Fellow Panelist Dr Matsumoto Hiroshi, Professor in the Faculty of Law at Sapporo Gakuin Daigaku, stated that the text of the UN Convention Against Racial Discrimination, which Japan ratified in 1996, makes it clear that ALL levels of government and administration (by the wording of "States Parties") are duly bound to take effective measures (including legislation) against racial discrimination. Defendant Otaru City is claiming in court that the national government, not the local, is responsible for resolving this situation. SIIS's site (Japanese, some English), and info on the June 23 event (Japanese). Newspaper article from July 6 Sapporo Times here. (Japanese)
June 30: Fukuoka's "Love FM" Radio interviews Arudou Debito live on naturalization and the Otaru Onsens Case. The entire eleven-minute interview, in English and Japanese, is available here as an mp3 soundfile, playable on software such as Real Player (free download here)

July 3: Otaru Onsen Case hits bookstores as part of book prologue, "Teppen Kaketaka", by Nanporo author Mr Ono Mitsutoshi. He opens by mentioning his friend in Nanporo who became a naturalized Japanese, and works to make Japan a more open place in the new century with a lawsuit against racial discriminators. Clearly the Otaru Onsen Case is influencing Japanese society in very interesting ways. The book jacket (containing ISBN, publisher, price and outline), as well as the first two pages of the prologue, are viewable in Japanese here.
July 6: The Democratic Party of Japan (Minshutou) in Hokkaido publishes a flyer ("Minshutou Sapporo" Number 206) reporting on June 19's Forum for a human rights ordinance in Hokkaido. The full outline of the forum, representative attendees, and topics covered by the five panelists (Mr Aoki from Hokkaido Hemophiliacs Association, Ms Tahara from the Ainu Utari Kyoukai Association, Mr Suzuki from the Hokkaido Sexual Minority Association, Associate Professor Iwamoto from Hokusei Gakuen University, and yours truly) are all up in summary form in Japanese (with photos) here.
July 8: Sapporo Ritsumeikan Keishou High School, one of the premier secondary educational institutions in Hokkaido and winner of 2001's National HS Speech Contest, holds their annual School Festival. Their International Club puts on a symposium on discrimination, human rights, and internationalization, and has Arudou Debito give a workshop on the topic.
July 13: Kyodo (Japan's Associated Press) interviews Arudou Debito on the political situation re discrimination, which appears in the July 19 issue of the Kyoto Shinbun, et al. (Japanese)

August: Doshin Today monthly newsmagazine has two-pager on UN University's May 2001 cancellation of its Otaru Human Rights Seminar, due to financial pressure from Hokkaido Government sponsors who wanted Arudou Debito's invitation to speak revoked. In Japanese page one and page two.
August 25: Burakumin Liberation (who are they?) League's Kaihou Shinbun report of a speech on the Onsen problem, given by Arudou Debito at their 45th National Youth Summit (Zenkoku Seinen Shuukai), Gunma, August 25, 2001 (Japanese). Additional report by Buraku Kaihou Shinbun (Saitama) #643, Sept 1, 2001 (Japanese)
August 27: Fourth Court Hearing, 10AM, Sapporo District Court. Plaintiffs answer Defendants claims of innocence.

October 19-20: Hamamatsu City meets with twelve other mayors with high concentrations of foreign residents, establishes task force to address cross-cultural problems.
October 22: Fifth Court Hearing, 10AM. Plaintiffs offer more documents supporting case.

November: A series of three articles by Arudou Debito on the Onsen Issue appear in the Buraku Kaihou Shinbun (Saitama), issues #647 (Nov 1, 2001), #648 (Nov 15, 2001), and #649 (Dec 1, 2001)
November 26: Sixth Court Hearing, 10AM. Final submission of documents. See them here in Japanese (nine pages).
November 30: The City of Hamamatsu, in conjunction with twelve other nearby cities with large populations of non-Japanese, established in October 2001 a city-level task force to address cross-cultural issues. Hamamatsu's Mayor Kitawaki this day proposes to the national government several reforms on existing statutes concerning Education, Social Security, and Alien Registration, with a view to helping non-Japanese have a more secure, longer-term stay. This is quite a U-turn, since Hamamatsu is the site of the Ana Bortz Lawsuit and also has police issuing pamphlets profiling foreign crime. So if Hamamatsu can take positive measures, why can't Otaru? Full information here.

December 26: Arudou Debito holds press conference in Otaru City Hall Press Club, to draw attention to abovementioned Nov 30, 2001 Hamamatsu City push for non-Japanese residents. Gives information on "Hamamatsu Sengen" to Otaru City International Desk as an example of a more proactive stance, which Otaru has explicitly stated in court was not possible for a city to take. Full information here.

January 12: Kyodo Tsushin runs 3000-word article on how a friendship between one onsen excluder (Osupa's Mr Ohkoshi) and one person excluded (Arudou Debito) could blossom. Appears in 40 regional papers (none in Hokkaido, alas). Full color photograph of Ohkoshi and Arudou in a bath together with Japanese article from Jan 21, 2002 Kumamoto Nichi Nichi Shinbun here. English translation of the article here.

February 2: Otaru Doshin marks the first year of the Otaru Lawsuit by running a full-page special on the onsens issue, with headlines like "no bathhouses in the city refuse foreigners anymore", yet "the divide deepens". (Japanese jpeg)

March 4: US State Department writes in its 2001 Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices about Japan (excerpt): "As a result of widespread media attention, appeals by the Justice Ministry, and an antidiscrimination campaign waged by nongovernmental organizations, several businesses in Hokkaido lifted their bans against foreigners. In February in Hokkaido police investigated death threats made against a foreign born naturalized citizen who had sued both a bathhouse for refusing him entrance on the basis of race, and the Otaru Municipal Government for failing to take measures to stop discriminatory entrance policies; his court case was pending at year's end." (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eap/8319.htm)
March 11: PLAINTIFFS' ORAL TESTIMONY
Plaintiffs Karthaus, Sutherland and Arudou give Oral Testimony with cross-examinations in Sapporo District Court. See rough transcript of their Oral Testimony, as well as official text of their newly-submitted Written Testimony from an information site here (English and Japanese).
March 12: Hokkaido Shinbun carries blurb on our testimony on page 30 (Jp text)

April 15: DEFENDANTS' ORAL TESTIMONY

Mr KOBAYASHI Katsuyuki, Manager of Onsen Yunohana, testifies on behalf of Defendant Earthcure KK, stating for the record the exclusionary measures taken, the reasons why, and the ways in which the City of Otaru in his view refused help resolve the situation. Mr Kobayashi also makes clear that he supports the passage of a local anti-discrimination ordinance (chinjou), which Otaru City has for years refused to do.

Onsen Yunohana's JAPANESE TESTIMONY (26 jpegged pages)
Yunohana's Testimony in ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Mr TAKEUCHI Kazuho, contemporary Head of the Otaru City International Relations Desk, testifies on behalf of Defendant City of Otaru. In both examination and cross-examination, Mr Takeuchi makes clear what measures the Otaru City government refused to take (such as drafting an anti-discrimination ordinance), even consulting the Ministry of Justice's Bureau of Legal Affairs (Houmukyoku) to find out what it was not legally obligated to do. Even though Otaru City, he explicitly states, was aware of the problem as a matter of racial discrimination from 1993, it took insufficient measures against the problem for the better part of a decade--in clear violation of Article Two of the UN Convention on Racial Discrimination.

Otaru City's JAPANESE TESTIMONY (36 jpegged pages)
Otaru City's Testimony in ENGLISH TRANSLATION

April 18: OTARU ONSEN OSUPA FORUM (a chat with elderly onsen bathers about their feelings about foreigners--an event which almost ended in disaster), featured in Japan Times, April 22, 2002, page 11, "Calm after Otaru Onsen Storm--Public forum finds birthplace no bar to a bath"

May 14 and June 11, 2002: SAPPORO DISTRICT COURT DEMANDS BOTH PLAINTIFFS AND DEFENDANTS MEET FOR SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS

On May 14, 2002, Chief Judge Sakai stated that arriving at a court verdict (hanketsu) would be "difficult" (muzukashii), and put pressure on Plaintiffs to settle during the first Settlement Meeting (read REPORT here). After Judge Sakai drew up a settlement offer dated May 31, 2002 (which, demanding apologies and compensation for ill-treatment of "foreigners", mysteriously forgets that one of the Plaintiffs is a Japanese citizen. It also omits any aspect of racial discrmination from this case--read REPORT here). Both Defendants and Plaintiffs refuse to settle in the second Settlement Meeting held on June 11, 2002.

There is no choice now but for a decision to be delivered. There will be no out-of-court settlement.

June 9, 2002: The Observer (UK) cites Arudou Debito on both the World Cup exclusions (using signs similar in intent to the Otaru Onsens') and the Otaru Onsen Case

August 19, 2002: Final Hearing Held. Simple and final exchange of documents.

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NOVEMBER 2002

FINAL UPDATES BEFORE COURT DECISION
PRE-BRIEFING ON WHY THIS CASE MATTERS
(Written Nov 1, 2002)
FINAL ARGUMENTS MADE BY PLAINTIFFS AND DEFENDANTS
(Released Nov 8, 2002)
UN CERD COMMITTEE CRITICAL STATEMENT ON JAPAN'S LACK OF ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS AND COURT PRECEDENTS
(Released March 20, 2001)

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SAPPORO DISTRICT COURT DECISION HANDED DOWN NOV 11, 2002:
1,000,000 YEN COMPENSATION ORDERED TO BE PAID BY EXCLUSIONARY BATHHOUSE TO EACH PLAINTIFF
CITY EXONERATED OF RESPONSIBILITY TO FOLLOW INTERNATIONAL TREATY
(more details and analysis here)
(full text of Decision in Japanese here (28 pages of jpgs))

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ENGLISH-LANGUAGE MEDIA ATTENTION TO NOV 11 COURT DECISION:
Click here to page to reports from: Japan Times (JPN), The Daily Yomiuri (JPN), CNN (US), Mainichi Daily News (JPN), BBC (UK), South China Morning Post (HK), The Guardian (UK), The Los Angeles Times (US), The Age (Australia), The Independent (UK), The New York Times (US), The National Post (Canada)

January 7, 2003: LAWSUIT SPLITS INTO TWO LAWSUITS: "THE OTARU CITY APPEAL" (Arudou Debito, one Plaintiff, vs City Hall) and "THE YUNOHANA APPEAL" (Onsen Yunohana's Appeal vs all three Plaintiffs). The Yunohana Appeal is represented by Lawyer Itou Hideko, same as before. However, the Otaru City Appeal is being represented pro bono by the THE OTARU CITY RACIAL DISCRIMINATION "LAWSUIT BENGODAN" (LEGAL TEAM) (Japanese: ���M�s�lڒ�����i��ԓ�c), a group of volunteer Core Lawyers, Advisors, and Supporters from around the world. REPORT on WHO WE ARE and WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP (Yes, you can join us if you like).

January 24, 2003: Plaintiff Arudou writes article for the Social Democratic Party (Minshutou) Sapporo newspaper No 281, entitled "Administrative Branch, make an anti-discrimination law, already!" (Japanese jpeg)

Sept 8, 2003: The media reports another place in Monbetsu City, Hokkaido, starts refusing foreigners (or rather, "people from foreign ships" (gaikoku senjou kumiin) from August 2003. The "Yukemuri Monbetsu Tokkari no Yu" bathhouse, opened April 2003 as a public-private sector hybrid (dai-san sector) claims Russian sailors have been making a mess and decides to ban their entry. It joins the ranks of party area Hamanasu Shoutengai and bathhouse Monbetsu Onsen (behind Monbetsu Prince Hotel), which have been refusing all foreigners with "Japanese Only Store" signs ("nihonjin senyou ten", in Russian) and policies unabated since 2000, despite government warnings and negative publicity. Click to see Hokkaido Shinbun and Mainichi Shinbun articles in Japanese.

Jan 27, 2004: FOURTH HEARING FOR OTARU APPEALS: BRIEF: Surprise: the judge said that our request to divide the two appeals (my appeal against the City, onsen Yunohana's appeal against us) would be granted. Further hearings for the Yunohana part of this courtroom drama finished and Yunohana vs Plaintiffs lawyers were excused. Judges then decided that the next hearing, March 16, will have spoken testimony from one of our affidavit submitters, Prof Munesue, Faculty of Law at Seijou University. Dr Munesue will be cross-examined about the Japanese government's responsibility under international law and treaty. Looks like judges they are actually taking this case seriously--enough to get a second opinion from outside. The decision itself, due sometime this century, will not be separate, however, as I had hoped. But hopefully, with this development, there will be more discussion within the ruling on the responsibility of local governments to eliminate discrimination.

June 24, 2004, Seventh High Court Hearing was carried out with nothing new to report.
Sept 16, 2004: SAPPORO HIGH COURT DECISION AFFIRMS LOWER COURT RULING: PENALIZES ONSEN, EXONERATES CITY

March 8, 2005: JAPAN TIMES COLUMNIST GREGORY CLARK YET AGAIN TAKES ON THE OTARU ONSENS LAWSUIT
Fabricates information to make his point, then refuses to retract or correct his assertions. Information site here with full details on misquotes from a 2000 USA Today article, with requests for correction by article author, reporter Peter Hadfield.

The main character is one of those fashionable young ladies called "ganguro" ("black face"), who bleach their hair, darken their faces and put white lipstick and eyeshadow in a nearly photo-negative contrast to previous Japanese fashions. The point is that they don't appear Japanese.

She is standing outside a bathhouse (the hanging sail has the hiragana for "yu", symbolizing "hot water".) You can see she has a passport.

Her caption: "I'm a Japanese!"

The point: Standards of Japanese appearance have changed, so outward appearances might deceive enough even to fall under exclusionary standards. Though the irony and the humor might make that seem impossible, we will add the point that our children, who don't "look Japanese" in some people's eyes, would have to bear passports too just to take a bath when they get older. This is not ironic. This is just wrong. Policies excluding by outward appearance have no future in an internationalizing and genetically diversifying Japan.

Questions? Comments? Email Plaintiffs Arudou Debito/Dave Aldwinckle, Olaf Karthaus, and Ken Sutherland here.