37 comments on “DEBITO.ORG NEWSLETTER APRIL 26, 2017”

• April 25, 2017 at 9:37 pm

  Jim Di Griz says:

  Japanese soccer fans and flags again!
  J-league Kawasaki Frontales fans almost start a riot by displaying Imperial Japanese Army flag at match in South Korea!

  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/04/26/soccer/frontale-fans-wartime-flag-stirs-anger-south-korea/

  Clearly, J-league punishments to other Japanese clubs fans for racist flags were not strong enough to deter further acts.

  Reply
• April 26, 2017 at 4:48 pm

  Jim Di Griz says:

  Western luxury brands in Japan have to have VIP rooms and special private areas so that Japanese customers don’t have to shop with rich Chinese who have ‘no manners’.

  Isn’t that just racial discrimination on the part of the store?

  https://japantoday.com/category/business/luxury-spenders-defy-japan's-tight-fisted-reputation#

  Reply
• May 1, 2017 at 1:27 pm

  Jim Di Griz says:

  Proof that NJ deaths in immigration detention IS due to institutional reasons;

  https://japantoday.com/category/crime/Vietnamese-who-died-of-stroke-at-Japan-detention-center-left-lying-for-hours-document#

  The circumstances of one NJ’s death exactly copy the circumstances of an earlier NJ death FROM WHICH NO LESSONS WERE LEARNED, AND NO POLICY WAS CHANGED.

  Reply
• May 2, 2017 at 2:42 am

  Loverilakkuma says:

  Remember Japan’s ostentatious magic bullet–a.k.a. the Hague Convention? MOFA’s Hague pamphlet vividly describes a phony narrative of cure-all, fix-all problems of international post-marital disputes in racliazed/gender-feminized account. And see what is happening here. It’s SAME. Hague does little to nothing to fix the structural problems surrounding family law system, judicial deliberation, family communication, and social justice.

  Last year, I actually wrote a paper about the MOFA Hague Pamphlet. My key argument is MOFA’s promotion executes rhetoric of endogeny that articulates for national moral improvement to appease the criticism through framing of international marital dispute as the matter of an amicable cultural diplomacy, by masking the power of Wajin privilege in exploitation of segregating cultural spaces in jurisprudence, diplomacy, and family communication. It’s kind of critical rhetoric project: a rigorous critique of whiteness buried in the name of Wajin privilege by smacking down the very assumption that it only occurs in the western sphere. That’s one for the reality of hate, anger, taunting, mockery, and cynicism coming out from the mouths of those joining in the chorus of “bad gaijin virus.” Many of those are typically English-speakers exercising their white privilege to defend their actions in the name of free speech. No doubt they are responsible for instigating antagonism between and among NJ to create the landscape of gaijin polarization in Japan.

  This JT article is a spot-on. A visible effect of signing the Hague Convention so far seems to be Japan’s deploring level of ineptitude, hubris, and ignorance on every venue they explore.

  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2017/05/01/issues/three-years-japan-signed-hague-parents-abduct-still-win/

  Reply
  • May 2, 2017 at 9:28 pm

    HJ says:

    Thanks for sharing that, Loverilakkuma. Just reading it brings my blood to a boil. It also kind of makes me scared to get married and have children. What an absolute disgrace. Reading about Mr. Cook’s children being alienated from him, too, is just infuriating. I cannot imagine what that must feel like, to have your own children hurl such words at you.

    Reply
• May 2, 2017 at 6:51 pm

  Anonymous says:

  @RelaxBear – What are you on about this time?

  RelaxBear tells us he wrote a paper about the MOFA Hague pamphlet:

  “It’s (a) kind of critical rhetoric project: a rigorous critique of whiteness buried in the name of Wajin privilege by smacking down the very assumption that it only occurs in the western sphere.”

  “It [the RelaxBear paper] … is a rigorous critique of whiteness” (?)

  That would be a strange paper, but possible, based on RelaxBear’s repeated complaints about whites in America treating him badly in the past.

  “It [the MOFA Hague Pamphlet] … smacks down the very assumption that it [marital dispute? domestic violence? post-marital-dispute? what?] only occurs in the western sphere.” (?)

  That wouldn’t make sense either, since the MOFA pamphlet definitely didn’t smack down any such assumptions, it tried to create such assumptions.

  Please clarify what the first “it” in that sentence means. Either way, “the MOFA pamphlet” or “the RelaxBear paper” that one sentence still can not make sense. A re-write would be required either way.

  And then, directly after that non-nonsensical sentence comes these two sentences:

  RelaxBear wrote: “That’s one for the reality of hate, anger, taunting, mockery, and cynicism coming out from the mouths of those joining in the chorus of ‘bad gaijin virus.’ Many of those are typically English-speakers exercising their white privilege to defend their actions in the name of free speech.”

  The “That’s one” sentence [what’s one? the MOFA pamphlet or the RelaxBear paper?] seems to be attempting to criticize the writings of the Tepido/Japologism/JapanCircleJerk posters “joining in the chorus” of saying “bad gai-jin” … which seems like a logical sentence…

  …but then the subsequent “Many of those” sentence comes along and starts complaining about “English-speakers” “white privilege” and “free speech” thus implying that readers should infer that the problem we should focus on, when discussing the mass majority of 100-something-million “Nippon-jin race” people committing and allowing race-based-exclusion and race-based-libel, is: whites in Japan (!) because Japan supposedly gives whites in Japan the ability to type whatever they want online because they are white. “White privilege in Japan” is what we should blame?

  No, I’m not buying it.

  The problem here is the 100-something-million “Nippon-jin race” majority committing and allowing race-based-exclusion and race-based-libel of the minority races in Japan. Whites are one of those minority races in Japan.

  The Tepido/Japologism/JapanCircleJerk posters are less than a tiny drop in the Japanese racism bucket, so why would your paper criticizing the MOFA pamphlet be diverted off into unrelated talk about whites?

  A paper about the majority race in America and Europe, “Caucasians/Whites”, holding an unfair “majority privilege”, in which the majority race controlling the police and the courts unfairly makes lower arrests and unfairly gives lower punishments to their own race: “Caucasians/Whites”.

  THAT kind of paper would make sense.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States

  But a paper about JAPAN must admit that “The Japanese Race” (NOT “whites”) are the majority race in Japan, holding an unfair “majority privilege”, in which the majority race controlling the police and the courts unfairly makes lower arrests and unfairly gives lower punishments to their own race: “The Japanese Race”.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_people
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_of_Japan
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_issues_in_Japan
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaijin

  So, we readers really do have to wonder what is the real honne in RelaxBear’s post above?

  RelaxBear’s past posts complained about the race-based-discrimination he endured from whites, as a Japanese-race-person in America (where the Civil Rights Act outlawing private race-based-discrimination since 1964 allowed him to take any such offenders to court for penalization.)

  Combine that past with RelaxBear’s post now bringing up “a critique of whiteness” (perpetrated by the MOFA pamphlet? or perpetrated by RelaxBear’s paper? perhaps both? one can’t really tell with the vague “it” usage.)

  Followed by an obviously clear, undeniable, false claim of “white privilege in Japan” (a-few-hundred-thousand “white race” minority individuals in Japan holding power over the 100-something-million “Nippon-jin race” majority? Absurd.)

  RelaxBear’s second-to-last sentence was logical (about Tepido/Japologism/JapanCircleJerk posters “instigating antagonism between and among NJ to create the landscape of gaijin polarization in Japan.”)

  RelaxBear’s third-to-last sentence was NOT logical (about Tepido/Japologism/JapanCircleJerk posters exercising their white privilege [in JAPAN?] to defend their actions in the name of free speech.”

  Citation please, for the absurd claim that whites in Japan have MORE free-speech rights than The Japanese Race in Japan.

  It seems to me that in whatever topic we discuss, RelaxBear’s vibe is basically, “Yeah, I understand the pain of race-based-discrimination which you gai-jin are suffering from in Japan, and now let me once again segue into diverting the subject to how the white majority individuals in America commit race-based-discrimination, and how whites in Japan are enjoying white-privilege here in Japan too!”

  This blog is about Japan, where “The Japanese Race” holds extreme power over the white race, as well as over EVERY other “Non-Japanese race”.

  This blog is about Japan, where “The Japanese Race” controlling the police and the courts unfairly makes lower arrests and unfairly gives lower punishments to their own race.

  This blog is about Japan, where “The Japanese Race” refuses to even pass a Civil Right Act outlawing race-based-discrimination in 2017.

  Bottom-line, RelaxBearLover, admit to yourself and to us, that here in Japan: “white race” minority individuals do NOT hold any power over the 100-something-million “Nippon-jin race” majority.

  — I think LLK is referring to an analytical paradigm within book Embedded Racism, which takes the theoretical trappings of Whiteness Studies and applies them to Japan to study the dominant power majority here — Wajin — as “Wajin Studies”.

  Reply
  • May 3, 2017 at 8:01 pm

    Loverilakkuma says:

    @Anonymous

    First, you obviously get yourself confused. “Whiteness” in my posting does not mean studying white people’s ideas. It is about how Japanese endogenous rhetoric(I call it “endogenous” because of its underlying assumption for claiming Japan’s one-and-only uniqueness, inside/outside dichotomy) functions similarly to “whiteness” by reifying the notions of segregation and alienation present in the contexts of legal, diplomatic, and family communication.

    Second, if you really believe “whiteness” is not visible in the Japanese society simply because it is a product of west, then you are being caught in the trap of system shaping endogenous rhetoric. Didn’t you find anything that stood you out about the incident, let’s say, backlash against foreign media correspondents? Crappy apologist blogs like Tepido/Japologism are no match to death threats, trolling on social media or harassment calls you may receive. Perpetrators are not just local Japanese. NJ are also key players in shaping the discourse of hatred that could not only polarize its community but also bring a serious injuries. No big deal to you because you are a privileged one(like white, or anything that privileges you)? Good for you. If you are aware that that’s the kind of logic many folks use.(“Example: your social plight due to race, culture, gender, or religion is NOT my concern. We have president D in the WH. Deal with it.”). Check out any discussion board on the articles dealing Japan’s human rights or NJ. Such type of snobbishness is well revealed in discussion forum and social media where lots of English-speakers leave comments.

    Finally, I am writing my comments based on my research experience and what I learned from my discipline. I make my posts on the blog for the development of constructive discussion.
    While I share the perspectives of most posters on human rights issues, I don’t have moral obligation to curry favor with anyone–regardless of her/his political view. And that includes you, Anonymous. Whether you like it or not is of little concern. But I will not tolerate any insult or groundless accusation. Use your discretion to engage or not. Your choice.

    @Debito
    It’s grounded specifically on “Critical Rhetoric.” Derived from Foucault, Hall, Habermas, etc. It’s kind of multi-disciplinary scholarships from both humanities and social science including communication, English, sociology, anthropology, psychology, etc.

    Reply
• May 3, 2017 at 4:14 pm

  Anonymous says:

  “It (either MOFA’s pamphlet or RelaxBearLover’s paper) is a rigorous critique of whiteness buried in the name of Wajin privilege by smacking down the very assumption that it only occurs in the western sphere.”

  Even with the Wajin privilege part included, the sentence still makes no sense at all.

  And we know that the MOFA pamphlet didn’t “smack down” the very assumption that something only occurs in the Western sphere, to the contrary the MOFA pamphlet promoted that assumption.

  And thus the logical assumption is that it is RelaxBearLover’s paper which is:
  a rigorous critique of “whiteness”, buried in the name of Wajin privilege.
  or
  a rigorous critique of “whiteness buried in the name of Wajin privilege.”

  Which is the problem with his post above.

  RelaxBearLover described his paper as a “critique of whiteness” (!)

  (which is not the kind of critique we can support, even though he unsuccessfully tries to use the phrase “Wajin privilege” in the same sentence.)

  Then RelaxBearLover complained about English-speakers in Japan using “white privilege” in Japan (!)

  (again, this is a typical drunken-Japanese-complaint we don’t want to encourage here, the absurdly false complaint of “whites holding more power in Japan than ware ware Nippon-jin.” Even though we dislike the posts from the specific group of posters he was referring to: Tepido/Japologism/JapanCircleJerk, RelaxBearLover’s claim of “white privilege in Japan” shows a major mistake in his current thinking about Japan.

  RelaxBearLover totally missed the point of Dr. Debito Arudou’s ground-breaking book Embedded Racism: the main analytical paradigm proves FALSE the American/European assumption that “whites are the dominant power EVERYWHERE”, by proving absolutely TRUE that the dominant power majority here in Japan are the Wajin = “The Nippon-jin Race”.

  Thus, RelaxBearLover can and should post on this blog about “Wajin privilege in Japan” = “Nippon-Jin Race privilege in Japan” = “Individual and Institutional Racism, perpetrated by the Japanese-race majority against ALL the non-Japanese-race minorities (including whites, yes, though this is a surprising new concept to the rest of the world, whites are a powerless minority race here) in Japan”.

  RelaxBearLover can NOT honestly post on this blog illogical inaccurate incoherent drunken sentences about his “critique of whiteness / critique of whiteness buried in the name of Wajin privilege” or his patently FALSE claims of “white privilege in Japan / whites having the privilege of more free speech rights than Japanese in Japan”.

  Reply
  • May 3, 2017 at 9:26 pm

    Loverilakkuma says:

    @Anonymous

    You are hitting keyboard before you try to comprehend and think. Your sentences are rambling.

    It all goes down to the problem with your assumptions:
    that “white privilege” and “Wajin privilege” are two different entities. They are separated, and there’s no connection between the two due to difference in naming. ”

    No wonder you didn’t get what/how “white privilege” in Japan means. Also funny you call it complaining(which I am NOT) for misappropriating the term. “White privilege” in this context is for those who are not only slamming us on a regular basis, but spewing hatred, cynicism, and invective on a daily basis for criticizing Japan or Japanese society. It’s virtually everywhere on the cyberspace. People are feeling a sense of threat from that regardless of where they live. That’s the reality.

    Most of the sentences mentioning my position on the issue including Debito’s work is based on your speculation. None of those reflect my writings or perspectives. You are going way off to the wrong field.

    What I am observing here is that when you have trouble understanding the ideas(not just mine but other people’s as well), you choose to start trashing down on that person, which is me –instead of asking the terms/words directly or indirectly.

    Now who is “irrational?”You call me “dishonest.” I’ll call you “childish.”

    Is this the way you communicate with people (whether on cyber or face-to-face)? I would not recommend it.

    — Okay, I think this discussion is devolving into ad-hominem on both sides. If it did not, it could continue longer, but no: I will allow one more post from Anonymous on this subject, and one answer from LLK, and then call this discussion closed. Please make your last remarks with good summations.

    Reply
• May 4, 2017 at 5:22 pm

  Anonymous says:

  This is a blog about “the Japanese race (Wajin) committing institutionalized embedded racism against all non-Japanese races (Gaijin)”.

  RelaxBearLover, in his three posts above, would divert the discussion to complaining about “the Caucasian race (Whites) committing institutionalized embedded racism against all non-Caucasian races (non-Whites)”.

  #1. This is not the blog for such complaints about that power problem in White-majority countries.
  #2. In Japan, white races, like ALL non-Japanese races in Japan, do NOT hold privilege over the Japanese race.
  #3. In his effort to talk about “white racism against non-whites” he has rudely shortened his complaint to being against: whiteness!

  From the posts above, we are confronted with RelaxBearLover’s strange, rude, incorrect, racist definition of whiteness:

  “whiteness” = “something which my paper is a rigorous critique of”

  “whiteness” = “segregation and alienation present in the contexts of legal, diplomatic, and family communication.”

  “whiteness” = “functions similarly to Japanese endogenous (one-and-only uniqueness, inside/outside dichotomy) rhetoric by reifying such notions of segregation and alienation.”

  “White privilege in Japan” = “being used by those who are not only slamming us on a regular basis, but spewing hatred, cynicism, and invective on a daily basis.”

  Even though we dislike the posts from the specific group of posters he was referring to: Tepido/Japologism/JapanCircleJerk, RelaxBearLover’s claim of “white privilege in Japan” shows a major mistake in his current thinking about Japan.

  RelaxBearLover totally missed the point of Dr. Debito Arudou’s ground-breaking book Embedded Racism: the main analytical paradigm proves FALSE the American/European assumption that “whites are the dominant power EVERYWHERE”, by proving absolutely TRUE that the dominant power majority here in Japan are the Wajin = “The Nippon-jin Race”.

  Thus, RelaxBearLover can and should post on this blog about “Wajin privilege in Japan” = “Nippon-Jin Race privilege in Japan” = “Individual and Institutional Racism, perpetrated by the Japanese-race majority against ALL the non-Japanese-race minorities (including whites, yes, though this is a surprising new concept to the rest of the world, whites are a powerless minority race here) in Japan”.

  RelaxBearLover can NOT honestly post on this blog illogical inaccurate incoherent drunken sentences about “whiteness” or his “critique of whiteness / critique of whiteness buried in the name of Wajin privilege” or his patently FALSE claims of “white privilege in Japan / whites having the privilege of more free speech rights than Japanese in Japan”.

  Summary = In this blog, posts inserting racist ramblings about the problem being “whiteness in Japan” and “white privilege in Japan” are wrong and not welcome here.

  The problem in Japan is “the Japanese race” (Wajin) committing institutionalized embedded racism against ALL non-Japanese races (Gaijin).

  — Okay, LLK, last word, if you so choose.

  Reply
• May 4, 2017 at 8:02 pm

  Loverilakkuma says:

  As many of you here probably know, this is not the first time Anonymous and I had a heated argument in the past. I know who h/she is since I have seen the poster jumping down on my throat like a wildcat. That person has the habit of accusation and finger-pointing based on what h/she likes or dislikes. I know I am not alone in becoming a receiving end of accusation in this blog. I saw some people who got called out not just because of their positions that seem to go against the purpose of this blog, but also because of the ideas that h/she does not like(even though they are not necessarily problematic). I have no problem if the posters who get called out are in the wrong for obvious reasons (i.e., fallacious arguments, trolling). However the ideas that seem new(or foreign) but actually have close connections to any Japan-related issue in terms of effect, framework, methods, etc., does not deserve same kind of treatment–definitely not with a tone of accusation Anonymous is making here and elsewhere. That is simply uncalled for.

  I don’t think Anonymous is willing to figure it out the very concept I am elaborating on, since all I see in his/her post is a repetition of tirade and accusation. I made it very clear “whiteness” is strategic practice of discourse featuring centralization/segregation/alienation/appeasement for masking a tone of racial inequality. Denial of racism or avoidance of racial problems by Japanese ministry officials, media, corporations, politicians, and even some academic scholars(!) is a classic example. It’s not the matter of labeling Anonymous is bickering with. It’s about how exploitation of such cultural logic can be seen in particular segments of Japanese society. It’s about the practice of masking a visible inequality, promoting a good will in the name of hegemony, appeasing the anger toward visible discrimination while maintaining the system of inequality. Unlike Anonymous’s suggestion, in some contexts, you don’t even have to be entirely white to exploit the power of whiteness in Japan.

  I will not stop using the term “whiteness” because 1) it clearly draws similarities to practice of racism in Japan; and 2) perpetrators include both Japanese and NJ (although they play differently in terms of stake-holdings; and3) perpetrators of racial practice try deny its existence in all kind(e,g., making excuses…) I have no reason to do so just because Anonymous thinks.

  If Anonymous still has an issue, and has temptation to itch for fight, that’s his/her choice. I am not expecting to engage in accusation content. Neither am I expecting him/her to agree with me or considering as an online friend (even though I agree with Debito or other posters).

  The problem in Japan is more profound and diverse than Anonymous thinks. Non-Japanese are receiving scorns and accusations from both Japanese and non-Japanese community as well–because of who they are and what/how they are fighting back against the system reflecting on their social plight. We need to look at the problem in Japan more deep and profound–rather than a cookie-cutter monologic way of thinking like Japan is Japan/Other country is other country.We need to go beyond such dichotomy as Wajin vs. Hakujin or Wajin vs. non-Japanese to figure out how discourse creation polarization in the NJ community or drive a wedge between Japanese and NJ.

  — Okay, that concludes this thread. Thanks for the conversation.

  Reply
• May 8, 2017 at 12:48 pm

  Jim Di Griz says:

  Mystery ‘I’m glad I’m Japanese’ posters popping up in Kyoto tourist spots showing no affiliation.

  https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/'i’m-glad-i’m-japanese'-posters-in-kyoto-spark-outrage-among-japanese-twitter-users

  It’s a kind of passive-aggressive racial harassment and hate-speech- very Japanese indeed!

  Reply
  • May 8, 2017 at 12:51 pm

    Jim Di Griz says:

    Oh yeah, at the bottom it says ‘let’s raise the japanese flag with pride in our hearts’.

    Reply
    • May 11, 2017 at 1:25 pm

      Jim Di Griz says:

      So, it turns out the posters were propagated by a Shinto group, and proving that right-wing nutjobs are idiots, the ‘proud Japanese woman’ pictured is actual a stock image from Getty Images of a Chinese lady;

      http://en.rocketnews24.com/2017/05/11/the-woman-on-the-im-glad-im-japanese-posters-spotted-in-kyoto-shes-actually-chinese/

      I really think that the creators of these posters should be prosecuted for hate crimes.

      日本人じゃなくて良かった T-shirts anyone?

      Reply
• May 9, 2017 at 10:01 am

  Andrew in Saitama says:

  I’m surprised this one hasn’t been making the rounds at debito.org.
  http://nextshark.com/korean-internet-star-told-go-fck-korean-restaurant-japan/
  I first saw it on one of those news/infotainment programs during Golden Week and was pleasantly surprised that none of the panel were trying to justify what had happened (although one suggested that putting the video up was a nasty payback… go figure)
  Another panel member even went so far as to talk about fake news by hate sites that report alleged crimes by Koreans.
  At the time of the program, the restaurant owner had posted two apologies on his website, but still hadn’t re-opened the restaurant.

  Reply
  • May 9, 2017 at 11:18 pm

    Jim Di Griz says:

    Thanks for posting! Like the “I’m glad I’m Japanese” posters, this is also a ‘Kyoto thing’.

    Reply
• May 11, 2017 at 5:22 pm

  john k says:

  It is on the beeb now too:

  “A poster promoting national pride has been the source of much confusion in Japan in recent weeks….”

  * http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39880212

  Reply
  • May 11, 2017 at 11:41 pm

    Jim Di Griz says:

    I like the shinto groups pathetic rationalization of being found out for unwittingly using a picture of a Chinese lady; “It doesn’t matter”?

    Seriously? Their stupid pro-Japanese racist poster features a Chinese, and “it doesn’t matter”? Ha, ha, ha!

    Reply
• May 11, 2017 at 8:52 pm

  Anonymous says:

  In my opinion, I suspect the BBC (and likely all major media outlets who Japan wants to control, to limit damage of reporting about Japan’s reality of Embedded Racism) probably receives bribe money from Japan (through “some ownership of stock”, or through more secret direct payments ) and thus someone has been told to try to “lesson the blow” of this story, by captioning the poster “A poster promoting NATIONAL pride” (which makes many readers think, “What’s wrong with that, national pride posters are legal, aren’t they? Why are people complaining about national pride posters? Poor innocent Japan getting picked on again for doing nothing wrong…”)

  when the TRUE intention of the poster was to be “A poster promoting RACIAL pride” and “a poster defining Japanese Nationality as being limited to THE JAPANESE RACE ONLY.”

  While it’s funny to laugh at the schadenfreude of the racists who put this together being too lazy/stupid/cheap to actually pay for a “real Japanese race” model…

  let’s not forget the main point: “Proud to be Japanese Race” posters and “Japanese Race Only” signs still legal in Japan.

  Those who attempt to minimize public outrage about such signs, by falsely claiming “they are merely limiting to Japanese nationality”

  instead of admitting the truth (they are brazenly limiting to Japanese race)

  such minimizers are being ignorantly naive or are purposefully lying, and EITHER way:

  such reporters and commentators are thus enabling Japan’s Race-Based “Japanese (Race) Only” posters and signs to continue un-outlawed and un-penalized in 2017.

  Reply
• May 22, 2017 at 12:51 pm

  Jim Di Griz says:

  UNHCR blast Abe personally in open letter over Conspiracy Bill, saying it is ‘seriously flawed’, and ask for point by point rebuttal.
  Get slammed by Suga instead, who UN then blast in email!

  https://japantoday.com/category/politics/Japan-protests-against-U.N.-privacy-expert's-queries-on-conspiracy-bill

  UN finally waking up to the fact that Abe believes human rights are compatible with Japanese culture. Took them long enough! It’s not as though Abe has made a secret of it.

  Reply
  • May 23, 2017 at 12:09 am

    Jim Di Griz says:

    Dr. Debito, contributors and commentators here could now potentially be breaking the law by ‘conspiring’ to change Japanese institutions and society.
    Stifling civil society and debate is the purpose of this legislation for now, later it will be used to criminalize the wider society when dissatisfaction with failed LDP policies leads to (even more) reduced standards of living, and poorer quality of life.
    Zimbabwe, N.Korea, Japan. Maybe Japan really will be the first country in history to have a Summer Olympiad cancelled TWICE!

    Reply
• May 23, 2017 at 9:27 pm

  Jim Di Griz says:

  Good grief, national pride must really be bottoming out in Japan;

  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/24/national/science-health/long-taboo-expert-says-japan-must-examine-male-infertility-amid-falling-birthrate/

  Japanese government pays for research that discovers that Japanese men have a higher sperm count that Northern Europeans. That’s nice for them.

  Reply
• May 30, 2017 at 4:32 am

  Jim Di Griz says:

  U.N. Human Rights expert totally sees through Japan’s tatemae, and incisively blasts Japan in report! Well worth a read, he says that which Japan tries so hard to hide.

  I especially thought that this comment was exemplary;
  “Government influence over how textbooks treat the reality of the crimes committed during the Second World War undermines the public’s right to know and its ability to grapple with and understand its past,”

  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/30/national/social-issues/u-n-rights-expert-airs-concern-japans-freedom-expression/

  Reply
  • May 31, 2017 at 1:28 am

    Jim Di Griz says:

    Japan is the only country to consistently reject and refute UN criticism of it on human rights issues.

    http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/31/national/abe-government-clashes-u-n-rapporteurs-critical-japan/

    Reply
• May 30, 2017 at 6:01 pm

  Jim Di Griz says:

  Abe’s Japan is far from being the ‘beautiful country’ he claims to envision. In fact, it’s become a very dark, nasty, oppressive, and dangerous place, far removed from concepts of inalienable human rights and the rule of law.
  Secrecy laws, conspiracy laws, ‘security’ legislation, school scandals involving Abe’s right-wing friends and his former employers, and now this;
  Friend of Abe rapes woman, police drop case.
  Abe’s wife even ‘liked’ the accused Facebook page where he ‘slut-shames’ (I believe the expression is) the victim. That Abe, he really does want to create a society where ‘women shine’ (死ね？).

  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/30/national/crime-legal/former-tbs-reporter-close-abe-ties-accused-rape/

  Japan has electricity, but it’s not a modern country. It’s a kleptocracy.

  Reply
• June 3, 2017 at 8:18 pm

  Jim Di Griz says:

  Inada LOSES defamation suit against Mainichi Shimbun.

  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170602/p2a/00m/0na/007000c

  Mainichi printed that she had very close links to anti-zainichi Korean hate group, cited by the NPA (Police) as a dangerous group.

  She took the paper to court over the allegations last week and LOST!

  How does she still have a job?

  Reply
• June 4, 2017 at 2:07 am

  Jim Di Griz says:

  Harajuku store has anti-NJ hate speech signs reading;

  “MOTHER F——- KISS MY ANUS. F—- OFF Mother F——-… foreigner. Sneaking PHOTO.”

  When challenged by Japan Times journalist, store staff insist signs meaning is really;

  “Please refrain to taking photos.”

  I don’t believe them. BS excuse.

  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/06/04/national/tackling-signs-japan-youre-not-welcome/

  OMOTENASHI? Ha, ha, ha!

  Reply
  • June 4, 2017 at 6:34 pm

    Jim Di Griz says:

    Thanks for commenting on this over at JT Dr. Debito.

    It IS a racist and offensive sign. I think that the owner of the store can’t see how offensive it is, he thinks it’s ‘gaijin humor’. It seems to be a (all too familiar) case of Japanese having an extremely superficial ‘understanding’ of NJ culture; all Japanese are polite V’s all ‘gaijin’ are rude, all the time, so it’s not rude for a Japanese to be rude to NJ.
    The guys store has other signs that have slurs directed at the disabled, homosexuals, and HIV. All ‘gaijin humor jokes, ha ha!’

    Over at JT, the trolls in the comments section are repeating the ‘if you don’t like it, go home’ mantra. But the thing is that the GOJ doesn’t want NJ to ‘go home’, it wants NJ to come to Japan for the Olympics and go home wowed. Well, they will be ‘wowed’, but not in the way GOJ is hoping.

    Reply
  • June 6, 2017 at 4:52 am

    Loverilakkuma says:

    I just came up with another dumb excuse by those who would love to pull that kind of anti-NJ stunt:

    >”We accidentally pick up these cuss words cuz we are a big fan of Rob Zombie, and we love to sell out coolness like him. We didn’t know the actual meaning of these words. So we are not racists, right!?”

    I guess the best way to fix their problem is …, well, let these ignorants be eaten alive in their own land.

    Reply
• June 4, 2017 at 8:44 pm

  Baudrillard says:

  HI Debito, I read the article at the Japan Times link above and noticed you concluded with ” I would never advocate that people pull the signs down quietly in the middle of the night. Never ever.””

  I used to do this- pull down the signs at night. Just want to know why I shouldn’t have. The signs used to come back up again, and then I would pull them down, so I guess I was making work for the offending shopkeeper and so why not?

  — Because the censors at the JT said I could not look like I was advocating this. Switch on your sarcasm filter.

  Reply
• June 11, 2017 at 9:18 pm

  Jim Di Griz says:

  So I was just being told that JT has been sold 100% to a Japanese marketing company.
  That’ll be the end of Japan’s oldest English language newspaper then. I will be sorry to see it go, but I think it deserves putting down.
  Whilst articles by Hoffman, Pesek, Kingston, Brasor, and Dr. Debito have always been great for saying the things that Japanese journalists are too afraid to say, the JT is filled with ‘news’ about other countries (overwhelmingly, but not exclusively the U.S.) in a misguided attempt to ‘give NJ what they want’ (i.e. give white American English teachers in Japan what JT thinks they want), whilst at the same time patronizing readers with a ‘the west is just as bad, even worse, than Japan’ attitude. In addition, ‘moderation’ of the comments sections is an oxymoron which sees balanced people not bother to comment in the face of racist right-wing trolling and flaming to an extent that would be criminal in a country with real hate-speech and discrimination laws, whilst JT also allows that one Japanese guy (can’t remember his name; Haruki….?) to post a regular right-wing revisionist, Japanese war crimes denying column from the mainland USA.
  In the final analysis, the demise of JT is symptomatic of the declining international relevance of Abe’s Japan. Good riddance.

  Reply
• June 12, 2017 at 3:13 am

  Jim Di Griz says:

  Priceless!
  Abe’s LDP envoy to South Korea to improve relations under the new administration tells a gathering of South Korean politicians to ‘exterminate’ Koreans seeking to disrupt the ‘comfort women’ deal.
  South Korean government advises him to ‘speak cautiously’ on the issue.
  Cue outrageous indignation from Suga in 3, 2, 1…

  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/06/12/national/south-korea-urges-japan-cautious-commenting-comfort-women-issue/

  Reply
  • June 12, 2017 at 1:15 pm

    Jim Di Griz says:

    A report on Japan Today quotes this LDP guy as saying;
    ‘Those plotting schemes should be eradicated’.

    https://japantoday.com/category/politics/s.korea-says-japan-should-be-careful-over-reported-remarks-on-'comfort-women‘

    It’s a really telling incident;
    The most ‘diplomatic’ and ‘sensitive’ LDP politician Abe could find to carry out his will, goes to Korea and starts acting like a brown shirt, accusing Koreans of conspiracies (gasp!) and telling Korean politicians to ‘eliminate/eradicate’ these people.

    If this is how the LDP thinks it is appropriate to even talk about ‘conspiracies’ in a foreign country, how badly do you think that they will act on what they see as ‘conspiracies’ in Japan? These people are mentally unstable.

    Reply
• June 15, 2017 at 4:16 pm

  john k says:

  Don’t you just love the “unique” Japanese way of doing business:

  “Takata shares suspended ahead of expected bankruptcy…..In January, Takata agreed to pay $1bn in penalties in the US for concealing dangerous defects in its exploding airbags. It also pleaded guilty to a single criminal charge….” *

  Time and time again…cover up after cover up until some external company/country identifies the major flaws…..makes Trump look squeaky clean!!

  * http://www.bbc.com/news/business-40298169

  Reply
• June 15, 2017 at 7:29 pm

  Jim Di Griz says:

  I can no longer comment on Debito.org, and frankly neither can anyone else. Japan is now a straight-up police state with the power and tools to invade everyone’s privacy, and make anyone disappear ‘no questions asked’.

  Colin Jones explains far better than I can;
  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2017/06/14/issues/conspiracy-theory-becomes-frightening-reality-japan/

  Thank you everyone. Good bye and good luck.

  Reply
• June 16, 2017 at 6:33 pm

  Anonymous says:

  Thank you Jim, for all your honest, important, enjoyable posts so far.

  I hope to still see your posts continue, but understand if not possible.

  Either way, I am grateful for your years of posts, and hope you fare well. 🙂

  Reply
• June 17, 2017 at 2:15 pm

  Loverilakkuma says:

  We just saw the collapse of Suga saga and LDP lapdogs amidst an ugly kake-gakuen scandal. Cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga ate dirt as his attempt to discredit Cabinet Office’s internal memo to the MEXT(a.k.a. Abe’s intent) failed miserably. He tried to disprove the existence of memo itself by framing it as a made-up by an ex-MEXT bureau Maekawa(calling it ‘kaibunsho’ phony document), and Abe’s aides affirmed that the letter was real. One of those was Kozo Yamamoto, Minister of Regional Economic Reform, who said that he was the one ordering the revision of letter that was to be sent to the MEXT. That was this past Thursday. And the next day(Friday), this same man stood up during DPJ’s Q&A session and made a completely opposite statement. He took back his previous statement and flip-flopped, saying “it was all made by someone in the MEXT[which he refers to Maekawa].”

  His behavior highlights LDP lapdogs’ fundamental problem with accountability–especially a fallacious logic to equalize with 説明責任 in Japanese. And the DPJ’s dogged effort to ask Suga to recant his ”怪文書” remark. That’s totally unnecessary since MEXT’s investigation and Abe’s two aides testimonies proved Suga wrong about the invalidity of the memo. They should have spent more time focusing on the core issue–rather than scattering around his ridiculous comment. They just missed their great opportunity due to their horrible argumentation and accountability strategy.

  Reply