Otter Nunc
Wed, Oct-09-02, 13:59
Caste, Ethnicity and Nationality: Japan Finds Plenty of Space
for Discrimination A key issue emerging in the run-up to the
2001 World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) is the refusal of
some States =96 particularly in the Asia-Pacific region =96 to
acknowledge the persistence of racial discrimination in their
own backyards even as many of them point an accusing finger at
other States. Japan is one State where an increase in Gross
Domestic Product has not led to a corresponding rise in
measures to tackle the scourge of discrimination. If the WCAR
is to succeed, States such as Japan need to take a critical
look at policies that have served to reinforce historical
prejudices within their own societies as well as those abroad.
Japan has five major minority groups: Burakumin (a caste-based
group); Okinawans (an indigenous group); Ainu (an indigenous
group); Japanese-born Koreans; and migrant workers from other
countries. Discrimination against many of these groups has its
origins in the imperialist and feudal periods in Japan's
history. In the eighth century, the Japanese expanded their
territory into the lands of the Ainu and Okinawans, two
indigenous groups whose lands have now been annexed into
modern day Japan. Discrimination from Japan's feudal society
also exists against the "outcasts" called the Buraku. Up to
this point, there have been no Burakus and only one Ainu in
the Diet, Japan's national parliament. For 35 years, Korea was
under Japanese control. During World War II, Japanese soldiers
forced many Korean women into sexual slavery. Migrant workers
have arrived in Japan in search of a better life, but instead
have faced a great deal of discrimination from Japanese
employers, the government and Japanese nationals. Doka
seisaku, a policy in which a nation endeavours to make the
lifestyles and ideologies of the people in its colonies
conform to its own, has affected many of these minority
groups. Japan has also followed a peculiarly dual policy with
regard to minority groups: forcing assimilation into the
cultural mainstream on the one hand and developing measures to
segregate them on the other. One of the first peoples to be
assimilated =96 but not accepted as equals =96were the Ainu.
Traditionally hunter-gatherers, the Ainu were the first
inhabitants of some outlying islands. They are currently
concentrated in the northernmost island of Hokkaido. Thought
to be of Caucasian origin, they make up less than 0.05 percent
of Japan's population. Until the eighteenth century, Japanese
relations with the Ainu =96 following failed attempts to
conquer them =96 were restricted to trade and, later,
intermarriage. It was only in the eighteenth century that the
Japanese established their authority over the Ainu islands,
then known as Ezo. The island of Ezo was turned into a
Japanese vassal state and was renamed Hokkaido. This was
followed by a concerted effort to integrate the Ainu into
Japanese culture =96 including making proficiency in Japanese
mandatory =96 which continued well into the nineteenth
century. Under the Hokkaido Kyu-Dojin Protection Act of 1899,
all schools were segregated with Ainu being taught Japanese
history by Japanese teachers who had no consideration for Ainu
culture and values. After about forty years, the educational
system in that form collapsed because Ainu children slowly
stopped attending school, placing them at a great disadvantage
in Japanese society. Today, most Ainu fall on the lower end of
the economic ladder and often perform cleaning and other
menial chores for much wealthier Japanese. A segregated school
system still exists in Japan, but a small shift in educational
policies allows those Ainu students who are interested to
continue their education. The twentieth century saw a number
of efforts by the Japanese government to revive Ainu culture,
including an acknowledgement of the Ainu as an indigenous
group with its own culture and language. Currently, only a
small number of Ainu are active in the preservation of their
culture, and the majority of the Ainu people cannot afford to
devote themselves to preservation activities. The treatment of
the culturally distinct Okinawans is another significant
concern. Together, the 160 islands of the Okinawan Perfecture
in the East China Sea, of which 48 are inhabited, are called
the Ryukyu Islands. Today, Okinawa houses approximately 1.3
million people who have a distinct culture and language from
mainstream Japanese. Their slightly darker skin colour and
Chinese cultural influences have been prejudicially used to
distinguish and discriminate against them. Despite previous
efforts by the Okinawans themselves, including adapting to
Japanese names and even hairstyles, they continue to face
significant discrimination. Japanese atrocities against the
loyal Okinawans during the Pacific War convinced the islanders
that they were merely expendable assets for the mainland
Japanese. Now, the desire to assimilate into Japanese society
has been replaced by a new pride in their culture and
traditions. Okinawans perceive themselves as a separate people
who simply live in Japan. American entrance into Okinawa was
the catalyst for a re-evaluation of their attitudes toward
mainland Japan. Okinawans generally harbour more animosity
toward mainland Japan than toward the American military which
has been stationed since the end of WW II and occupies 20
percent of the island. Okinawans feel that the rest of Japan
should share in the burden of providing land for the American
military. American military presence in Okinawa has also led
to intermarriage between Okinawan women and American men.
Children of mixed blood have faced even greater discrimination
than their Okinawan relatives. According to Japanese law,
children of mixed Okinawan and American blood do not qualify
for citizenship; they have consequently remained stateless.
=A0 Japanese traditions that distinguished between
"acceptable" and "unacceptable" occupations remain the core
element of conflict between the majority and the numerically
largest and physically least visible minority group called
Burakumin or Buraku. During the Tokugawa era, Japan's
population was ranked in four tiers based on neo-Confucian
ideology. Modern day Buraku people descended from the two
lowest groups
=96 comprising beggars, itinerant entertainers, fugitives,
=and those
performing tasks such as animal slaughter and disposing of the
dead. They have accordingly inherited the prejudice inherent
in the rigid caste system. Ethnically, linguistically,
culturally and religiously, the Burakumin, who make up about
two percent of the population, are indistinguishable.
Unfortunately, this social context has both stigmatised the
Buraku and forced many to attempt "passing" for mainstream
Japanese. Burakumin who are caught trying to "pass" are
severely punished. The punishment is often in the form of
social ostracism experienced in the workplace and through
discriminatory graffiti in public places.=A0 The Burakumin
continue to be disadvantaged. Although advances have been
made, Japanese society, in general, still views Burakumin as
being destined to live an unsavoury life. The workplace,
educational and governmental institutions continue to
perpetuate these biases, placing the Burakumin at a
disadvantaged position in society. Employers in all sectors
continue to refuse hiring a person if he or she is Buraku.
Discrimination has not been confined to employment, but
affects all aspects of the Burakumin's lives, including social
services, housing, and social relations. As one indicator of
societal prejudice, wedding engagements are often broken off
because either the bride or groom is discovered to be Buraku.
The Buraku are segregated into ghettos pre-dominantly located
in the Awaji district. Despite government efforts to address
the situation, poor supervision of project implementation has
prevented any significant improvement in their living
condition. Educational and environmental standards are lower
in these ghettos. The rate of high school dropouts is
significantly higher among Burakumin. A labour shortage in
1989 forced Japan to open the door to foreigners. Foreign
labour =96 mainly from China, Iran, Malaysia, Peru, the
Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand =96 comprises
about 1.5 percent of the workforce. Wages of undocumented
workers in Japan are low compared to those of average Japanese
workers. According to the Immigration Bureau of the Justice
Ministry, which issues annual statistics in a report entitled
"Regarding Cases of the Violation of the Immigration Control
Act", 80 percent of undocumented workers receive less than
10,000 yen a day. Contrasting this with the statistics of the
Labour Ministry on Japanese workers, who receive on average
16,000 yen per day, it is easy to see that migrant workers are
being used as cheap labour by Japanese companies. The Minimum
Wage Law and Social Insurance apply to foreigners who work in
Japan. However, Japanese companies generally neglect to pay
social insurance that foreign workers are entitled to have.
Workers who remain in Japan undocumented after their visas
expire run an even greater risk because companies can easily
find loopholes that enable them to avoid paying such illegally
overstaying foreign workers. These undocumented workers are
often reluctant to protest, as it would result in their
deportation. Foreign workers, even if they are not permanent
residents, are also legally entitled to workman's compensation
for accidents. Both the Labour Standard Law and the Workers
Accident Compensation Insurance Law are applicable to migrant
workers, but workers rarely receive compensation for
job-related accidents. According to the Japan Civil Liberties
Union, less than 10 percent of undocumented workers who
experienced a work-related injury received compensation. In
1910, Japan invaded Korea and began its 35-year-long
colonisation. Many Koreans were kidnapped from their homeland,
taken to Japan and used as slave labour. Japan's colonisation
is the historical root of the discrimination against Koreans
that followed. From 1920 to 1934, Japanese authorities
initiated a project in Korea to increase rice production.
However, a major proportion of the rice produced was exported
to Japan, resulting in famine and a devastated economy. Many
Koreans, therefore, voluntarily migrated to Japan in search of
employment. Today, even third- and fourth-generation Koreans
who are born in Japan are considered Korean nationals and
foreigners. Long-time residents can now apply for Japanese
citizenship and be naturalised under the 1950 Nationality Act,
but they must first show "proof of assimilation". The
government's assimilation policy was directed towards the
elimination of Korean ethnic consciousness. Japanese was the
only language allowed to be spoken in public. Koreans were
forced to give up their names and adopt Japanese ones. Most
Korean youths today go through some sort of identity crisis.
The post-war Japanese government moreover negated both
Koreans' rights as Japanese citizens and as foreigners at the
time of the San Francisco Treaty in 1952. Discrimination by
the Japanese kept alive the Koreans' wish to return to Korea.
Korean parents in the meantime built schools for their
children that taught Korean history, language and customs in
preparation for their future return to Korea. However,
Japanese authorities clamped down, claiming there was no need
to be educated as "foreigners" if the Korean children were
Japanese citizens. While shutting down Korean schools on the
one hand the government stripped Koreans' right to vote in
1945 and in 1947. The Alien Registration Law requires
fingerprinting of foreigners and an obligation to carry their
Alien Registration Certificate at all times. Even permanent
residents are obliged to follow the Alien Registration Law.
Violators may be imprisoned with hard labour for up to one
year or fined 200,000 yen. By early September 1983, 28 foreign
residents, 24 of whom were Korean, refused to be
fingerprinted. The Japanese Ministry of Justice responded to
the Korean students' defiance by refusing to issue them
re-entry permits and arresting them. Japan has yet to provide
adequate reparations for the abuses committed against Korean
"comfort women." During World War II, approximately 200,000
women, most of whom were Korean, were forced to service
Japanese soldiers in army brothels as so-called comfort women.
The Japanese government has established the Asian Women's Fund
to compensate the victims, but this has been criticised by
international non-governmental organisations. Post-war Japan
has both a moral and a legal responsibility as a state to
apologise publicly and to compensate the victims. A resolution
passed by the UN Sub-Commission reiterates that "states must
respect their international obligations to prosecute
perpetrators and compensate all victims of human rights
violations" the remedy for which cannot, according to
international law, be extinguished by peace treaties,
agreements, amnesty or similar means. Societal attitudes,
which lie at the root of discrimination, need to be altered,
while domestic and international legal provisions need to be
implemented if racial discrimination is to be eliminated in
Japan. While changing societal attitudes takes more time, the
government can begin with short-term measures such as
ratifying and implementing international conventions. Japan
ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in 1995, but with a
reservation to Article 4 (a) & (b). Japan is yet to ratify:
(1) the International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families;
or (2) the First and Second Optional Protocol to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In March
2001, Japan completed its state periodic report before the UN
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In its
concluding observations, the Committee criticised Japan's
conspicuous lack of domestic legislation to implement its
obligations under ICERD: The Committee is concerned that the
only provision in the legislation of the State party relevant
to the Convention is article 14 of the Constitution. Taking
into account the fact that the Convention is not
self-executory, the Committee believes it necessary to adopt
specific legislation to outlaw racial discrimination, in
particular in conformity with the provisions of articles 4 and
5 of the Convention. With its commitment to pacifism and its
contribution to development-related issues, Japan is perhaps
best placed among Asian nations to lead the struggle against
racism. It can do so only by first changing itself. =A0
for Discrimination A key issue emerging in the run-up to the
2001 World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) is the refusal of
some States =96 particularly in the Asia-Pacific region =96 to
acknowledge the persistence of racial discrimination in their
own backyards even as many of them point an accusing finger at
other States. Japan is one State where an increase in Gross
Domestic Product has not led to a corresponding rise in
measures to tackle the scourge of discrimination. If the WCAR
is to succeed, States such as Japan need to take a critical
look at policies that have served to reinforce historical
prejudices within their own societies as well as those abroad.
Japan has five major minority groups: Burakumin (a caste-based
group); Okinawans (an indigenous group); Ainu (an indigenous
group); Japanese-born Koreans; and migrant workers from other
countries. Discrimination against many of these groups has its
origins in the imperialist and feudal periods in Japan's
history. In the eighth century, the Japanese expanded their
territory into the lands of the Ainu and Okinawans, two
indigenous groups whose lands have now been annexed into
modern day Japan. Discrimination from Japan's feudal society
also exists against the "outcasts" called the Buraku. Up to
this point, there have been no Burakus and only one Ainu in
the Diet, Japan's national parliament. For 35 years, Korea was
under Japanese control. During World War II, Japanese soldiers
forced many Korean women into sexual slavery. Migrant workers
have arrived in Japan in search of a better life, but instead
have faced a great deal of discrimination from Japanese
employers, the government and Japanese nationals. Doka
seisaku, a policy in which a nation endeavours to make the
lifestyles and ideologies of the people in its colonies
conform to its own, has affected many of these minority
groups. Japan has also followed a peculiarly dual policy with
regard to minority groups: forcing assimilation into the
cultural mainstream on the one hand and developing measures to
segregate them on the other. One of the first peoples to be
assimilated =96 but not accepted as equals =96were the Ainu.
Traditionally hunter-gatherers, the Ainu were the first
inhabitants of some outlying islands. They are currently
concentrated in the northernmost island of Hokkaido. Thought
to be of Caucasian origin, they make up less than 0.05 percent
of Japan's population. Until the eighteenth century, Japanese
relations with the Ainu =96 following failed attempts to
conquer them =96 were restricted to trade and, later,
intermarriage. It was only in the eighteenth century that the
Japanese established their authority over the Ainu islands,
then known as Ezo. The island of Ezo was turned into a
Japanese vassal state and was renamed Hokkaido. This was
followed by a concerted effort to integrate the Ainu into
Japanese culture =96 including making proficiency in Japanese
mandatory =96 which continued well into the nineteenth
century. Under the Hokkaido Kyu-Dojin Protection Act of 1899,
all schools were segregated with Ainu being taught Japanese
history by Japanese teachers who had no consideration for Ainu
culture and values. After about forty years, the educational
system in that form collapsed because Ainu children slowly
stopped attending school, placing them at a great disadvantage
in Japanese society. Today, most Ainu fall on the lower end of
the economic ladder and often perform cleaning and other
menial chores for much wealthier Japanese. A segregated school
system still exists in Japan, but a small shift in educational
policies allows those Ainu students who are interested to
continue their education. The twentieth century saw a number
of efforts by the Japanese government to revive Ainu culture,
including an acknowledgement of the Ainu as an indigenous
group with its own culture and language. Currently, only a
small number of Ainu are active in the preservation of their
culture, and the majority of the Ainu people cannot afford to
devote themselves to preservation activities. The treatment of
the culturally distinct Okinawans is another significant
concern. Together, the 160 islands of the Okinawan Perfecture
in the East China Sea, of which 48 are inhabited, are called
the Ryukyu Islands. Today, Okinawa houses approximately 1.3
million people who have a distinct culture and language from
mainstream Japanese. Their slightly darker skin colour and
Chinese cultural influences have been prejudicially used to
distinguish and discriminate against them. Despite previous
efforts by the Okinawans themselves, including adapting to
Japanese names and even hairstyles, they continue to face
significant discrimination. Japanese atrocities against the
loyal Okinawans during the Pacific War convinced the islanders
that they were merely expendable assets for the mainland
Japanese. Now, the desire to assimilate into Japanese society
has been replaced by a new pride in their culture and
traditions. Okinawans perceive themselves as a separate people
who simply live in Japan. American entrance into Okinawa was
the catalyst for a re-evaluation of their attitudes toward
mainland Japan. Okinawans generally harbour more animosity
toward mainland Japan than toward the American military which
has been stationed since the end of WW II and occupies 20
percent of the island. Okinawans feel that the rest of Japan
should share in the burden of providing land for the American
military. American military presence in Okinawa has also led
to intermarriage between Okinawan women and American men.
Children of mixed blood have faced even greater discrimination
than their Okinawan relatives. According to Japanese law,
children of mixed Okinawan and American blood do not qualify
for citizenship; they have consequently remained stateless.
=A0 Japanese traditions that distinguished between
"acceptable" and "unacceptable" occupations remain the core
element of conflict between the majority and the numerically
largest and physically least visible minority group called
Burakumin or Buraku. During the Tokugawa era, Japan's
population was ranked in four tiers based on neo-Confucian
ideology. Modern day Buraku people descended from the two
lowest groups
=96 comprising beggars, itinerant entertainers, fugitives,
=and those
performing tasks such as animal slaughter and disposing of the
dead. They have accordingly inherited the prejudice inherent
in the rigid caste system. Ethnically, linguistically,
culturally and religiously, the Burakumin, who make up about
two percent of the population, are indistinguishable.
Unfortunately, this social context has both stigmatised the
Buraku and forced many to attempt "passing" for mainstream
Japanese. Burakumin who are caught trying to "pass" are
severely punished. The punishment is often in the form of
social ostracism experienced in the workplace and through
discriminatory graffiti in public places.=A0 The Burakumin
continue to be disadvantaged. Although advances have been
made, Japanese society, in general, still views Burakumin as
being destined to live an unsavoury life. The workplace,
educational and governmental institutions continue to
perpetuate these biases, placing the Burakumin at a
disadvantaged position in society. Employers in all sectors
continue to refuse hiring a person if he or she is Buraku.
Discrimination has not been confined to employment, but
affects all aspects of the Burakumin's lives, including social
services, housing, and social relations. As one indicator of
societal prejudice, wedding engagements are often broken off
because either the bride or groom is discovered to be Buraku.
The Buraku are segregated into ghettos pre-dominantly located
in the Awaji district. Despite government efforts to address
the situation, poor supervision of project implementation has
prevented any significant improvement in their living
condition. Educational and environmental standards are lower
in these ghettos. The rate of high school dropouts is
significantly higher among Burakumin. A labour shortage in
1989 forced Japan to open the door to foreigners. Foreign
labour =96 mainly from China, Iran, Malaysia, Peru, the
Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand =96 comprises
about 1.5 percent of the workforce. Wages of undocumented
workers in Japan are low compared to those of average Japanese
workers. According to the Immigration Bureau of the Justice
Ministry, which issues annual statistics in a report entitled
"Regarding Cases of the Violation of the Immigration Control
Act", 80 percent of undocumented workers receive less than
10,000 yen a day. Contrasting this with the statistics of the
Labour Ministry on Japanese workers, who receive on average
16,000 yen per day, it is easy to see that migrant workers are
being used as cheap labour by Japanese companies. The Minimum
Wage Law and Social Insurance apply to foreigners who work in
Japan. However, Japanese companies generally neglect to pay
social insurance that foreign workers are entitled to have.
Workers who remain in Japan undocumented after their visas
expire run an even greater risk because companies can easily
find loopholes that enable them to avoid paying such illegally
overstaying foreign workers. These undocumented workers are
often reluctant to protest, as it would result in their
deportation. Foreign workers, even if they are not permanent
residents, are also legally entitled to workman's compensation
for accidents. Both the Labour Standard Law and the Workers
Accident Compensation Insurance Law are applicable to migrant
workers, but workers rarely receive compensation for
job-related accidents. According to the Japan Civil Liberties
Union, less than 10 percent of undocumented workers who
experienced a work-related injury received compensation. In
1910, Japan invaded Korea and began its 35-year-long
colonisation. Many Koreans were kidnapped from their homeland,
taken to Japan and used as slave labour. Japan's colonisation
is the historical root of the discrimination against Koreans
that followed. From 1920 to 1934, Japanese authorities
initiated a project in Korea to increase rice production.
However, a major proportion of the rice produced was exported
to Japan, resulting in famine and a devastated economy. Many
Koreans, therefore, voluntarily migrated to Japan in search of
employment. Today, even third- and fourth-generation Koreans
who are born in Japan are considered Korean nationals and
foreigners. Long-time residents can now apply for Japanese
citizenship and be naturalised under the 1950 Nationality Act,
but they must first show "proof of assimilation". The
government's assimilation policy was directed towards the
elimination of Korean ethnic consciousness. Japanese was the
only language allowed to be spoken in public. Koreans were
forced to give up their names and adopt Japanese ones. Most
Korean youths today go through some sort of identity crisis.
The post-war Japanese government moreover negated both
Koreans' rights as Japanese citizens and as foreigners at the
time of the San Francisco Treaty in 1952. Discrimination by
the Japanese kept alive the Koreans' wish to return to Korea.
Korean parents in the meantime built schools for their
children that taught Korean history, language and customs in
preparation for their future return to Korea. However,
Japanese authorities clamped down, claiming there was no need
to be educated as "foreigners" if the Korean children were
Japanese citizens. While shutting down Korean schools on the
one hand the government stripped Koreans' right to vote in
1945 and in 1947. The Alien Registration Law requires
fingerprinting of foreigners and an obligation to carry their
Alien Registration Certificate at all times. Even permanent
residents are obliged to follow the Alien Registration Law.
Violators may be imprisoned with hard labour for up to one
year or fined 200,000 yen. By early September 1983, 28 foreign
residents, 24 of whom were Korean, refused to be
fingerprinted. The Japanese Ministry of Justice responded to
the Korean students' defiance by refusing to issue them
re-entry permits and arresting them. Japan has yet to provide
adequate reparations for the abuses committed against Korean
"comfort women." During World War II, approximately 200,000
women, most of whom were Korean, were forced to service
Japanese soldiers in army brothels as so-called comfort women.
The Japanese government has established the Asian Women's Fund
to compensate the victims, but this has been criticised by
international non-governmental organisations. Post-war Japan
has both a moral and a legal responsibility as a state to
apologise publicly and to compensate the victims. A resolution
passed by the UN Sub-Commission reiterates that "states must
respect their international obligations to prosecute
perpetrators and compensate all victims of human rights
violations" the remedy for which cannot, according to
international law, be extinguished by peace treaties,
agreements, amnesty or similar means. Societal attitudes,
which lie at the root of discrimination, need to be altered,
while domestic and international legal provisions need to be
implemented if racial discrimination is to be eliminated in
Japan. While changing societal attitudes takes more time, the
government can begin with short-term measures such as
ratifying and implementing international conventions. Japan
ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in 1995, but with a
reservation to Article 4 (a) & (b). Japan is yet to ratify:
(1) the International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families;
or (2) the First and Second Optional Protocol to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In March
2001, Japan completed its state periodic report before the UN
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In its
concluding observations, the Committee criticised Japan's
conspicuous lack of domestic legislation to implement its
obligations under ICERD: The Committee is concerned that the
only provision in the legislation of the State party relevant
to the Convention is article 14 of the Constitution. Taking
into account the fact that the Convention is not
self-executory, the Committee believes it necessary to adopt
specific legislation to outlaw racial discrimination, in
particular in conformity with the provisions of articles 4 and
5 of the Convention. With its commitment to pacifism and its
contribution to development-related issues, Japan is perhaps
best placed among Asian nations to lead the struggle against
racism. It can do so only by first changing itself. =A0