Multi-Ethic Japan?

Jamie · 10-26-2006, 03:06 PM

Quote:

This is the New Japan
Immigrants are transforming a once insular society, and more of them are on their way.
Newcomer Tahara Kiichi, the former Jayasinghe Nishanta, is originally from Sri Lanka
Tony Law / Redux for Newsweek
Newcomer Tahara Kiichi, the former Jayasinghe Nishanta, is originally from Sri Lanka
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Sept. 11, 2006 issue - A few years ago, when Milton Minoru Takahashi first set out to improve conditions for Brazilian guest workers living in Nagoya, he thought he'd be telling Japanese about soccer, samba and Brazilian beaches. They were the sales hooks the Brazilian-Japanese Takahashi?who works for a nonprofit foundation that aids the 60,000 foreigners in Nagoya?thought could open locals' eyes to the beauties of Brazilian culture. But, he says, "the Japanese didn't want to hear about those things. They wanted to talk about noise and garbage"?problems allegedly caused by the Brazilian immigrants in their neighborhoods.
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Takahashi now spends most of his time on more mundane tasks, trying to help his fellow Brazilians overcome the bewildering array of barriers to integration into Japanese society. But he still wonders why the Japanese government is largely indifferent to the problems facing foreigners. What would he like to see from Tokyo? "Action," says Takahashi. Something, anything, to acknowledge that there are immigrants in the country?and that they require recognition and support.

Takahashi's frustration underscores a critical disconnect in Japan?a split between what the country is becoming and what most Japanese want it to be. For mostly economic reasons, Japan must open itself to other ethnicities. Japan's population is not only aging rapidly, but starting to decline. By the year 2050, it is expected to fall from 128 million now to around 105 million. To keep the economy viable, experts say, the country must let in more immigrants?not just guest workers, but foreign-born naturalized citizens. A government panel acknowledged that in a report this summer, while at the same time recommending that the foreign percentage of the total population not exceed 3 percent, roughly double what it is now.

Consciously or not, ordinary citizens and government bureaucrats still cling to the notion that Japanese society is a unique, homogeneous culture. There is a conspicuous lack of public debate about how this insular country should adjust to the reality that more immigrants are coming?and that those already here are changing Japan. "The government has no [comprehensive] immigration policy," says Marutei Tsurunen. Rather, the approach is piecemeal, with different agencies issuing often contradictory regulations. Tsurenen should know. He's a former Finn turned Japanese citizen and the only naturalized member of the national Parliament, or Diet.

Travel around Japan today, and one sees foreign residents holding a wide range of jobs: there are Chinese short-order cooks, Indian software programmers, Bangladeshi used-car dealers, Brazilian textile-factory workers, Sri Lankan department-store cashiers. The overwhelming majority of the approximately 15,000 ex-foreigners who now hold Japanese citizenship are Chinese and Koreans?but increasingly one can also meet people like Kaoru Miki (formerly Colin Restall, born in the United Kingdom). "Generally people don't expect someone who looks like me to be a citizen," says Miki, 33, who makes his living translating software into English. He was naturalized this spring. [/b]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14640269...wsweek/page/2/

Kabir · 10-26-2006, 07:53 PM

Thats great, I have been to japan and i love that country. They are technologically advanced as well as culturally very developed. Love japanese.

Please open a Japanese language learning thread so people can seek help.

Kabir

funzone36 · 10-31-2006, 09:14 PM

^ That's great. Unfortunately, a majority of the Chinese population hates them for the crimes they did during WW2. Which is wrong to still blame them. They should get over it.

ply_europa4000 · 11-01-2006, 08:37 AM

Japan had changed, China, korea and taiwan should know this.

[penelope] · 11-13-2007, 02:59 PM

what happened between japan and china?? =/

ichigo · 04-18-2008, 02:20 PM

Ok, these are very important topics...

1) Foreign residents in Japan. Japan will certainly not become a "second USA" during our lifetime. There are foreigners and once foreign residents in Japan, but their number is not so high. As the above article states, attitudes towards foreigners are complex... In my experience, Japanese generally seem to be not very used to communicate to Western foreigners and don't suppose that communication is possible. (Of course there are exceptions.) -- Of course it depends on your expectations, your term of stay and your personal background, but in my view living in Japan is not so easy for many people.

2) War crimes -- that is what "happened between Japan and China", as well as in Korea and south-east nations, not to forget some Japanese nationals themselves. As this is an extensive topic, I'll open a new thread for that...