Welcome back to JBC¡¯s annual countdown of the top issues as they affected Non-Japanese (NJ) residents of Japan. We had some brighter spots this year than in previous years, because Japan¡¯s government has been so embarrassed by hate speech toward Japan¡¯s minorities that they did something about it. Read on:
10 Government ¡°snitch sites¡± close down after nearly 12 years
We¡¯ve named and shamed this before (¡°Downloadable Discrimination,¡± Zeit Gist, March 30, 2004). From Feb. 16, 2004, Japan¡¯s Immigration Bureau had websites where anyone could anonymously rat on foreigners for any reason whatsoever ¡ª including (as a preset option) the xenophobic ¡°repugnance and anxiety¡± (ken-o fuan). This occasioned calls for abolition from rights groups, including Amnesty International, and government leaders. As the Japan Federation of Bar Associations pointed out in 2005, ¡°The program has ordinary citizens essentially spying on people suspected of being illegal aliens, which serves only to advance prejudice and discrimination toward foreigners.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.