Racial Justice and Equality - Part 3 - The View from Japan

Edited BY

G P Kennedy

Ian and Minako - Tokyo, Japan

 The tragic event of George Floyd’s death has raised awareness about the BLM movement and institutional racism in the U.S. more than ever before in Japan.

 

 This has left us upset and angry about what happened and that urged us to learn about the historical/social background and the reality.

Tokyo police beat a Kurdish man during a traffic stop

 Five days later, there was news about a Kurdish man who was held down and brutally treated by a police officer after he refused a police search of his car in downtown Tokyo.

 

 This case has brought home, for many people, that racial injustice is not irrelevant to Japan, and that triggered a call for change. Peaceful demonstrations and marches took place in major cities in Japan in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and protest against racism.

 

 In Tokyo 3,500 people joined the march and in Osaka and Kyoto 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence was observed prior to the rallies. The momentum seems to be building up and there are more demonstrations lined up in coming weeks.

 

 Whilst these demonstrations and comments in support of the BLM movement from some prominent figures were reported in the news, NHK, Japan’s public broadcasting organization faced a backlash and subsequently made an apology for their short video of the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. which featured caricatures that were deemed offensive and insensitive and lacking factual context, no mention of systemic racism or George Floyd.

 

Marching for racial justice and equality - Tokyo, Japan

 Japan may appear safe and peaceful on the surface from outside but there is no denying that discrimination does exist in the country.

 

 No matter how long a non-Japanese national lives in Japan, there are ‘us’  - Japanese - and ‘others’ – ‘Gaijin’ or Gaikokujin’ (means foreigners) within the social structures.

 

 This culture of us and others also extends to internal ethnic groups or other marginal minorities. The population of Japan is around 130 million. Immigrants make up only 2% of the population mainly from China, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and small numbers of Americans and Europeans. The other 98% are Japanese nationals. Some claim that Japan is an ethnically homogeneous country but this includes indigenous groups such as Ainu mainly in Hokkaido and Ryukyuans in Okinawa as well as mixed-race people, often called ‘hafu’, meaning half. 

 

 Japanese people of Korean or Chinese descent are subject to abuse and the deeply ingrained systemic racism in the fabric of society from Japan’s colonial rule era over East Asia.  Indigenous groups also face discrimination and obstacles for jobs, marriage and various other opportunities. Hafu children often get bullied for being different, and find it difficult to integrate even if they are born and bred in Japan.

 

 We also hear about inhumane treatment of detainees at the hands of immigration authorities.

 

 We moved to Japan from the U.K. almost four years ago. Fortunately we have been surrounded by lovely, kind locals and haven’t experienced any prejudice or struggles as an interracial couple. However we did notice from experiences of our own and our friends that many non-Japanese nationals find it difficult to secure long-term rental accommodation as most landlords insist that a Japanese name and Japanese guarantor’s name be on the lease.

 

 A survey showed that 40% of non-Japanese nationals who applied for a long-term rental accommodation being turned down because of their nationalities. It seems that it happens regardless of their origins.

 

 Japanese government is currently opening its door to more foreign workers in order to tackle the labour force shortfall caused by shrinking working-age population. It means Japan will gradually become more diverse and the society needs more inclusion and integration.

 

 The news of the BLM movement became a wake up call to stop ignorance and indifference, educate ourselves and question the existing racial injustice locally and globally, and call for change for true equality and an enriched harmonious society that diversity brings.