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.
A long-term Non-Japanese resident friend, married with a Japanese husband and adult kids, recently told me about a new development in their relationship: Christmas was no longer to be celebrated in their household.
News Headline: “Prosecutors drop case over death of detained Sri Lankan woman.”
Henry Johnstone Morland Scott-Stokes, patrician among Japan’s foreign correspondents since 1964, recently died in Tokyo at the age of 83, but not before he did untold damage by performing as a foreign handmaid to Japan’s fascists.
Women’s healthcare in Japan is treated as a lower priority than men’s healthcare; in particular, women’s reproductive rights are neglected.
The Covid pandemic has led many foreign workers to desert their places of employment in Japan, and some of them have become runaway workers and even illegal overstayers.
Visitors to Japan’s main international hub are still greeted by a sign saying “Down With Narita Airport,” a giant middle finger waved by diehards from a different era.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are now past. This is a postmortem.
Although Japan is commonly thought to have one of the lowest poverty rates among G7 nations, the actual figures tell a different story, puncturing a myth that remains dear to some Japanese conservatives and other observers.
Among Japanese corporate leaders there are a handful who openly and proudly espouse racist views with little or no penalty from the government or business partners.
