Visible Minorities: Kimi Onoda and the Trauma of History
The Cabinet Minister in charge of policy towards “foreigners” is basically removing them from Japan. I see it as the natural outcome of Japan’s legacy of abuse towards its Visible Minorities.
Tag Archives: Okayama Prefecture
Visible Minorities: Reforming Japan’s Dickensian Foreign Trainee Program
News Item: video footage surfaced in 2020 of a Vietnamese “trainee” being physically abused by Japanese co-workers at a construction company in Okayama Prefecture, resulting in injuries including broken ribs and a broken tooth.
Brutalizing Japan’s Foreign Worker Underclass
A broken rib, a chipped tooth—a worker kicked and beaten frequently over a period of two years. This is not a horror story of a survivor of a Chinese labor camp in Xinjiang, but rather that of a Vietnamese “technical intern” in Okayama, Japan.
Visible Minorities: Pandemic Releases Antibodies Toward Non-Japanese
Treating outsiders like contagion has consequences: Society develops antibodies, and Japan’s already-normalized discrimination intensifies.
The Aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of October 2019.
Ibaraki Becomes First Prefecture in Japan to Recognize Same-Sex Couples
In a case of marked progress for Japan’s LGBT community, Ibaraki has become the first prefectural government to recognize same-sex couples through its issuance of “partnership declaration certificates.”
Party on the Eve of Disaster
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on July 16, 2018.
Emperor Akihito Feeling Unwell
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on July 5, 2018.
House of Councillors Election Vote Disparity
With the passage into law on July 28 of the House of Councillors electoral district reform bill, there has been some amelioration of the wide disparity in the weight of individual votes. Nevertheless, many believe that the reforms of the new law as well are far too timid. It will still remain the case that one person’s vote in some prefectures will have the weight of almost three peoples’ votes in other prefectures.
