This month’s column will offer my impressions about how much Japan has changed regarding the issues that have always been on my radar screen—society’s openness to newcomers. On that score, I have some positive developments to report.
We all know life can be tough, especially for people in Japan. But practicing being thankful, particularly if you can find someone to thank, isn’t just a matter of good fortune. Psychologically, the basic unit of survival is being part of a pair.
Exclusionary businesses have a long history in Japan, and people seem to be forgetting it. Here’s a reminder from somebody who has studied them more than anybody.
Japan’s internationalization is inevitable. So is teaching Japan’s future generations of diversity. If done wrong, educating about Japanese culture and society could do more harm than good.
Authoritarians are once again trying to racialize citizenship. In Asia, that’s quite normal. The problem is that conservative movements worldwide are similarly trying to shore up their dwindling popularity by undemocratically disenfranchising the very immigrants they had once invited over.
It’s tough to leave Japan when there’s so much to like and miss. But there’s also things to like and miss elsewhere, so it’s a matter of being self-aware about what you like.
The phenomenon of “working without a job” is gaining pace around the world, showing no signs of slowing down. But what does working without a job mean? Many readers may have no idea what I’m talking about. This phrase refers to working without employment; meaning that one has zero rights as workers under labor laws.
As you have probably have heard, SNA President Michael Penn will be moving his operations overseas. He’s leaving Japan. At his age, that’s probably a good idea. I speak from experience.
It’s the next stage of evolution in Japan’s variant of racial discrimination: a naturalized Japanese citizen was last year denied membership at a golf course—explicitly for being a former foreigner.
On March 27, 2023, the Tokyo District Court handed down a mixed ruling in the latest case of what is called academic harassment, or akahara. Courts increasingly handle such cases, and this one caused quite a stir in the public mind since the defendant was none other than celebrated art critic Michio Hayashi.
