text:
www.debito.org
ON RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA IN JAPAN
Reports to and from UN Special Rapporteur Mr Doudou Diene
(July 2005, January 2006, and May 2006)
INFORMATION SITE
沖縄タイムズ06年5月17日:ディエン国連特別報告者が講演:「基地の集中・騒音・環境破壊は沖縄に対する差別」
琉球新聞06年5月17日:「基地集中は差別 政府に是正再報告へ」
The Special Rapporteur welcomes information from people with knowledge on the ground.
E-mail Doudou Diene at sr-racism@ohchr.org
"As a world power in an era of globalization, Japan has to expand to the outside world. But its society is still closed, spiritually and intellectually centered."
--Doudou Diene of Senegal, special rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, who will arrive in Japan this weekend to assess the situation of minorities and foreigners in Japanese society. (Kyodo News, Friday, July 1, 2005) http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=quote&id=1478
Related article pre-visit:
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&id=342022
POST-VISIT UPDATE (Feb 15, 2006):
"RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IS PRACTICED UNDISTURBED IN JAPAN"
" IT CAN HARDLY BE ARGUED THAT JAPAN IS RESPECTING ITS INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS"
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, Sixty-second session, Report E/CN.4/2006/16/Add.2
Final report on this visit from Doudou Diene to United Nations, dated January 24, 2006.
Click here to page down to more details.
Read the Japanese translation by human rights group IMADR (pdf file) by clicking below:
ドゥドゥ・ディエン人種主義・人種差別に関する国連特別報告者による日本訪問報告書の発表
報告書の日本語仮訳(IMADR-JC訳・平野裕二監訳):
http://www.imadr.org/japan/jc/icerd.project/DieneReport060307forWEB.pdf
(Anchor site: http://www.imadr.org/japan/)
国連のディエン特別報告者の東京、大阪、沖縄訪問
2006年5月13日から18日まで、「現代的形態の人種主義、人種差別、外国人嫌悪/排斥および関連する不寛容に関する特別報告者」のドゥ ドゥ・ディエン氏は、昨年7月の訪問かつ本年1月の国連へ日本国内差別の現状の報告のフォローアップをしました。招待者の人権擁護団体「反差別国際運動日 本委員会」(IMADR-JC) の案内サイトは
http://imadr.org/japan/index.html
訪問のスケジュールは
http://imadr.org/japan/event/2006/dien.japanvisit.html
デェエン氏は沖縄に訪問し、現地の新聞はこう報道した:
沖縄タイムズ06年5月17日:「ディエン国連特別報告者が講演:『基地の集中・騒音・環境破壊は沖縄に対する差別』」
(記事はここで読めます:)
http://www.debito.org/rapporteur.html#ryukyu051706
東京と大阪訪問に関するニューズ報道(毎日、読売、共同通信のサイトではアーカイブを長期間的に検索する機能を設けてくれない)は持っていないので、すみません、英語のみの共同、Japan Times とVoice of Americaの記事は:
http://www.debito.org/rapporteur.html#relatedarticlesmay2006
私も大阪と東京での集会と記者会見に出席させていただきました。私の報告をもっと詳しく英語で記録したが (http://www.debito.org/rapporteur.html#mayfollowup ) 、約言すると、ディエンのスピーチらのポイントは
● 人種差別と排外主義は一回対処法を採って放置するものではない。絶えず対処しないといけないものである。差別はそもそも突然「変化」する現象である。
● 人種差別と排外主義は全世界に更に拡散している。「反テロ措置」として最新の変化の現しである。
● 最大の政府レベルからも適切な対処法は撤廃の法整備のみではなく、差別などを指摘、賠償かつ罰則する整備も不可欠。
● 差別の現しはそもそも氷山の一角である。よって潜在的な排外主義の原 因、差別の由来を対処するも不可欠。例えば、差別意識と意図はよく歴史から由来する。解決するために国連は援助ができる。例えば、UNESCOは以前アフ リカ、中央アジア、及び中途アメリカの各国の歴史専門家を集めて、各国が認められる地方の歴史の本を発行し、国家間の摩擦の緩和ともなったようだ。同様に 日中韓などの外交にとって役に立つのと思う。国連にそう推薦する。
● 取りあえず、ディエン氏は国連特別報告者として世界中の差別の実情を報告する。日本のみではなく、他国数カ国にも訪問し各国の締約した条約などの通りをどれくらい守っているのかを調査して報告する。よって、今回日本にてフォローアップを。
ブラボー、ディエンさん!行っていらっしゃい!また報告のために調査をしにきて下さい。
UPDATE MAY 2006:
Diene visits Japan again, Okinawa, Osaka, and Tokyo, May 13 through 18. Page down for more details.
Report to UN Special Rapporteur Mr Doudou Diene, delivered July 6, 2005, Tokyo, Japan
Author: ARUDOU Debito, naturalized Japanese citizen (debito@debito.org, http://www.debito.org)
(This version of the handout includes links to all citations and sources cited to subtantiate claims made within the report.)
CLICK HERE TO PAGE DOWN TO UPDATE, JUNE 12, 2005, WITH FULL REPORT OF MR DIENE'S JULY 3-12, 2005 JAPAN VISIT
● Racial discrimination (RD), as defined under the CERD, is getting worse in Japan, and the government (GOJ) is not taking effective measures to curtail or eliminate it.
● RD has been visible, via signs on businesses saying "JAPANESE ONLY" permitted entry, in at least fifteen Japanese cities since 1993: Public baths in Otaru (Hokkaido); Bars, baths, karaoke parlor, and restaurant in Monbetsu City (Hokkaido); Public bath and sports store in Wakkanai (Hokkaido); Pachinko parlor, restaurant, and nightlife in Sapporo (Hokkaido); Bars in Misawa (Aomori Pref); Disco in Akita City (Akita Pref), Bars in Koshigaya (Saitama Pref); Hotel in Shinjuku (Tokyo Shinjuku-ku); Women's (i.e. for women customers) Relaxation Boutique in Aoyama Doori (Tokyo Minato-ku); Bar in Ogikubo (Tokyo Suginami-ku); Stores and nightclubs in Hamamatsu (Shizuoka Pref); Public baths in Kofu City (Yamanashi Pref); Nightlife in Isesaki City (Gunma Pref) ; Bars in Nagoya City (Aichi Pref) ; Bar in Kurashiki (Okayama Pref). Photos of known exclusionary signs at http://www.debito.org/roguesgallery.html. Managements' criteria for refusing "foreigners" service has indeed been racial in nature, as many have turned away the author despite showing proof of Japanese citizenship.
● Japan's Administrative Branches, when alerted, have done nothing (Sapporo Bureau of Human Rights 1999-2000, Otaru Department of Public Health 1999), citing their lack of jurisdiction or punishment mechanism (cf. Japan Times (JT) article dated Jul 8 '03). Otaru City Government (1999-2005) cited the lack of a specific law against RD to enforce, claiming both to the media and in court they have no authority to stop private-sector businesses from displaying exclusionary signs (Otaru City 1999-2005), taking only cursory measures which were dropped once the media's attention shifted (cf. Arudou book JAPANESE ONLY Ch 1-3).
● Japan's Legislative Branches, both local and national, have refused to pass laws. Legislators (Otaru City, Wakkanai City, Monbetsu City, Sapporo City, Hokkaido Prefecture, Dietmembers Takemura Yasuko et al 1999-2004) have all claimed essentially it is "too early" for legislation). All draft anti-discrimination legislation submitted 2000-2004 to all cities and Hokkaido Prefecture have been buried in committee and voided with election turnover. Draft bill submitted to Diet Upper and Lower House in March 2004 has seen inconsequential movement. Thus, despite effecting the CERD in 1996, Japan nearly a decade later still has no law whatsoever against RD. GOJ argues (in response to CERD A/56/18 (2001), Japan's answer Section 5(1)) that Japan needs no specific legislation because the existing judicial system offers effective restraint and redress. It does not:
● Japan's Judicial System, as witnessed in the Otaru Hot Springs Lawsuit (2001-2005), refuses to hold the GOJ accountable for inaction to prevent RD. The Sapporo Lower Court ruled (2002) that Defendant Otaru City was not liable for damages, citing that legislation is "a political matter", and "not an absolute duty". Although courts ruled against the discriminatory bath house Defendant, it also ruled that Defendant was not guilty of RD in specific, rather of "unrational discrimination" (fugouri teki sabetsu), for superseding the "socially acceptable bounds of discrimination" (even though this legal argument has been criticized as invalid by the CCPR Committee twice, most recently CCPR/C/79/Add.102 1998, Section 11). Hence the ruling avoids any litmus test for RD in future legal precedent. On appeal, the Sapporo High Court (2004) affirmed the ruling for Otaru City, saying the lack of a law was "not legally actionable" on the part of Plaintiffs, citing the "separation of powers" (i.e. the Judiciary cannot force the Legislative to pass laws). The Supreme Court (April 2005) rejected the case for consideration, thus exhausting all domestic judicial avenues. Thus the Japanese Judiciary refuses to enforce the CERD (even though as a treaty it is considered "superior to domestic law"), and offers insufficient redress--in that everyone discriminated against must sue at great expense for many years, to receive a ruling that will not even judge the act as RD. I will make a more detailed presentation on the Otaru Lawsuit to the CERD Committee directly in Feb-Mar 2006.
● Meanwhile, official bodies are promoting fear and hatred of "foreigners" in Japan. Following Tokyo Governor Ishihara's 2000 speech to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, calling on them to round up "bad foreigners" on sight, the National Police Agency (NPA) and Immigration have made public statements and issued public signs and pamphlets warning people to be on guard for "bad", "criminal", "illegal" foreigner "gangs", without any sophistication of balancing reports with press releases depicting "foreigner as immigrant taxpayer and resident". The NPA has continuously distorted foreign crime statistics in their press releases (inter alia lumping visa violations together with violent crimes, and avoiding comparison with a rise in Japanese crime--cf. JT Oct 4 '02), while creating websites (still in existence at NPA central and Fukuoka division) for anonymous "snitching" on foreigners for any reason whatsoever (including a selectable option of "hatred" (ken'o) cf. JT Mar 30 '04). The National Research Institute of Police Science, incorrectly believing that foreigners and Japanese are genetically different, has received 175 million yen (2002-2006) from the GOJ to develop a DNA "foreignness index" in crime scene research (cf. JT Jan 13 '04). From late 2004 onwards, the NPA has bent amendments to hotel management laws (requiring tourists to display passports) to deputize hotel management--demanding photocopying of passports even for non-Japanese residents and citizens with international roots as a condition for stay (an illegal act, cf.JT Mar 8 '05), for "anti-terrorism" (the presumption being that foreign-looking people are more likely to be terrorists).
This is by definition racial profiling, and it is being sponsored by the GOJ. This has caused Japan's public image of "foreigner" to shift dramatically since 2000 from "misunderstood outsider" to "social menace"--so much so that on April 12, 2003, the GOJ published the results of a PM Cabinet poll, saying that only 54% of the public believe that foreigners should have the same right as Japanese, down from past results 65.5% (1998) and 68.3% (1993). A justice ministry official was quoted as citing "foreign crime" as the cause. Why "human rights for foreigners" are still being presented as an option to the public is uncertain (notwithstanding CCPR's criticism that "human rights standards are not determined by popularity polls": CCPR 1998 ibid, Section 7). This is quantifiable social damage, and in Japan's rapidly multiculturalizing society (with international marriages of around 40,000 couples per year--with the ethnicity of Japan's children unrecognized and unmeasured by Japan's Census Bureau), it is increasingly difficult to determine "Japaneseness" and "foreignness" on appearance alone. Japan is a racially diverse society, and RD must be checked, curtailed, and eliminated by legislation. The GOJ, despite its CERD obligations, will continue to refuse to establish anti-racial-discrimination laws for the foreseeable future.
ARTERY INFORMATI0N SITES
This report with links substantiating each claim made above:
http://www.debito.org/rapporteur.html
The Otaru Hot Springs Lawsuit information site:
http://www.debito.org/otarulawsuit.html
Photo Substantiation of Exclusionary Signs nationwide, and links to case studies:
http://www.debito.org/roguesgallery.html
Koizumi Cabinet policy push against "foreign crime":
http://www.debito.org/foreigncrimeputsch.html
National Police Agency racially-based campaigns against "foreigners":
http://www.debito.org/TheCommunity/communityissues.html#police
Japan Times newspaper articles on the NPA's "anti-terrorism" policies:
http://www.debito.org/publications.html#JOURNALISTIC
April 12, 2003 PM Cabinet survey on whether foreigners deserve equal human rights:
http://www.debito.org/jinkenreport0403.html
Case Study on the Ministry of Justice's Bureau of Human Rights' ineffectuality:
http://www.debito.org/policeapology.html
Information on the author: http://www.debito.org
His book: JAPANESE ONLY: The Otaru Hot Springs Case and Racial Discrimination in Japan (Akashi Shoten Inc 2004):
http://www.debito.org/japaneseonly.html
REPORT ENDS
(Freely Forwardable)
Hi All. Update:
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VISITS JAPAN
REPORTS DOMESTIC RACIAL DISCRIMINATION "DEEP AND PROFOUND"
A briefing from Arudou Debito (http://www.debito.org)
--Doudou Diene of Senegal, special rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, who will arrive in Japan this weekend to assess the situation of minorities and foreigners in Japanese society.--Kyodo News, Friday, July 1, 2005)
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=quote&id=1478
This report is organized thus (click to page down):
1) RAPPORTEUR DIENE'S NINE-DAY SURVEY AROUND JAPAN
2) INFORMATION PROVIDED HIM BY CONCERNED PARTIES
3) KYODO NEWS ARTICLE: PRELIM REPORT FINDS J DISCRIM "DEEP AND PROFOUND"; DIENE SNUBBED BY TOKYO GOV ISHIHARA
4) JAPAN TIMES, BBC AND VOA ARTICLES ON DIENE VISIT
First, cursory profiles of Mr Diene and his work may be found at
http://www.unic.or.jp/new/pr05-057-E.htm
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/gashc3798.doc.htm
Mr Diene's Japan schedule was a full one. According to primary sources, his schedule was as follows:
July 3: Arrives in Japan
July 4: Tours Osaka, meets local govt, Burakumin Groups
July 5: Tours Kyoto, meets local govt., Zainichi Korean Groups
July 6: Tours Tokyo, meets Tokyo govt., NGOs working for minority/foreigner rights
July 7: Meets national govt., then more NGOs, arrives Sapporo evening
July 8: Meets Sapporo and Hokkaido govt., Ainu in Biratori, Hokkaido
July 9: Meets Ainu in Nibutani, Hokkaido, arrives Nagoya evening.
July 10: Meets immigrant workers groups in Nagoya
July 11: Meets national govt., press conference to offer preliminary findings
July 12: Departs Japan
Mr Diene was here at the invitation of the Japanese government (GOJ), the first UN visit of its kind to Japan. He had specifically asked to be invited, and it would have been very bad form for Japan to refuse (especially these days when asking for a Security Council seat). I met with Mr Diene, his secretary, and two UN translators (French-Japanese; Mr Diene and I spoke English together) on four separate occasions, every day between July 5 and 8. An eyewitness account of the events follows:
JULY 5: UTORO, UJI, BETWEEN KYOTO AND NARA
This is an area designated for Zainichi Ethnic Koreans, with often ramshackle houses and rudimentary services (some houses did not have running water until 1988, and sewerage is still open-air). One hundred households in clear poverty abut a prosperous Ground Self Defense Forces base--which was originally built by conscripted Utoro residents before WWII, then changed hands to SCAP and back to the GSDF. Dirt-poor, most of the 230 residents have survived by being self-employed (as they would not be hired by regular companies). Even to the casual observer (taxis from nearest station Kintetsu Ohkubo don't know the area, no vending machines, even weak cellphone signals), Utoro is remote and laid fallow. Elderly residents (who were not grandfathered in when the national pension plans were revised in 1982 to remove the Nationality Clause) have no retirement funds (and are suing the government to get them in another long, class-action-style lawsuit), despite paying taxes and into the plan. The Utoro community also receives little to no social benefits for their tax outlay from the state for generations (even the local meeting house we met in was self-funded). To top it off, after an underworld Zainichi property developer bought up the whole parcel of land from Nissan in 1989 for a mere 2000 man yen, the residents have been threatened with eviction, and have been squatting ever since. That is what I remember after witnessing the tour and the tete-a-tetes between Mr. Diene and the residents.
On Diene's Utoro Visit:
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=342557
Japan Times Community Page on Utoro eviction threat (today, July 12, 2005)
http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20050712zg.htm
What impressed me right away about the proceedings was just how attentive Mr Diene was to all the presentations and cries du coeur from the old, withered residents, who described their lives of conscription for military ends and relegation to this land. Mr Diene even made sure to ask for experiences from people who were attending but not designated speakers. Also inspiring was the palpable sense of relief one felt in the residents--who seemed so happy at last to be telling their stories to, of all places, the United Nations.
This feeling carried over into the next days:
2) INFORMATION PROVIDED MR DIENE BY NGOS IN TOKYO
After Mr Diene spent the morning questioning regional governments (mornings were usually devoted to GOJ boilerplate, afternoons to residents), he arrived to hear more testimony from representatives of action groups and victims of discrimination. Attending were spokespeople from sixteen different groups, including Ijuuren, Zentoitsu Worker's Union, Shimin Gakkou Center, NUGW, JCLU, RAIK, Mintouren, Burakumin Liberation League, and Ainu and Okinawan indigenous people leagues. A Bangledeshi worker talked about losing the use of his arm after an accident in a Japanese factory, after neither the employer nor the police (who took him into custody for a visa violation) would afford him proper medical treatment. A doctor also talked about cases he witnessed in Immigration detention centers of beatings and illness (such as necrosis from untreated diabetes) from improper care of inmates. Others talked about egregious labor and family issues that result from a lack of an immigration policy. NUGW talked about the lack of job security for educators, and Ijuuren talked about hate speech in the political arena and in racism in police enforcement of laws.
I attended as an individual and was miraculously allowed a full 25 minutes to speak. To save time, I read from a handout (made public before, visible at http://www.debito.org/rapporteur.html). I also gave him (over the course of 3 days) three information packets, specifically including the following:
The Rogues' Gallery of exclusionary signs
A roundup of discriminatory activities in Japan
http://www.debito.org/handout.html
The exclusionism of the National Sports Festivals
http://www.debito.org/TheCommunity/kokutaiproject.html
The racially-based exclusionism of Imperially-sponsored English-language contests
http://www.debito.org/TheCommunity/takamadoproject.html
Academic Apartheid in Japan's university systems (written by Stephanie Houghton)
Artery site on the issue at
http://www.debito.org/activistspage.html#ninkisei
DNA Racial Profiling policy in Japan's National Institute of Police Science
http://www.debito.org/NPAracialprofiling.html
And more. What follows is a copy of the index I gave him for just packet two of supplementary materials, which I printed up and presented him in Sapporo on July 8 (it's amazing how easy it was to collate all this after a decade of reporting):
Further substantiation of signs and exclusionary attitudes, and how the GOJ's actions are ineffectual. Case studies:
1) CASE STUDY ON "JAPANESE ONLY" SIGNS IN MISAWA, AOMORI PREFECTURE, JAPAN
Dates, times, addresses, and photos of signs, from http://www.debito.org/misawaexclusions.html, with updates including similar situations in Akita City, Akita Pref., and Kofu City, Yamanashi Pref. 31 pages.
2) CASE STUDY ON WORLD CUP 2002 IN JAPAN, PARTICULARLY SAPPORO
a) Index page (http://www.debito.org/WorldCup2002.html) 2 pages.
b) One essay linked from this page entitled ESSAY ONE: "JAPAN'S WORLD CUP FIASCO" (http://www.debito.org/susukinosign.html#report) (18 pages), including a 2001 comment from a Miyagi Pref. Assemblyman about "unwanted pregnancies from foreigner hooligan rapes" which was never retracted. The rest of the essays can be accessed by going to the Index page in a) above.
3) CASE STUDY ON "JAPANESE ONLY" SIGNS IN MONBETSU, HOKKAIDO (Nov 18, 2003), on how we followed-up on our research (see Arudou Debito book JAPANESE ONLY pp 219-237) of years of exclusionary signs not only remaining within the city, but spreading to businesses not related to the nightlife trade. Includes New York Times article dated April 23, 2004 on the situation (printed in the International Herald Tribune as "Unwelcome Mat--Bars in a Japanese port keep Russians outside", from http://www.debito.org/iht042304.html). Total 14 pages.
4) CASE STUDY ENTITLED "RESTRICTIONS ON FOREIGN CUSTOM IN KOFU CITY, YAMANASHI-KEN, A REPEAT OF THE LOCAL AIDS PANIC EXCLUSIONS OF 1992". How an anti-foreigner panic resurfaced a decade later in public bathhouses in this city behind Mount Fuji (from http://www.debito.org/kofuexclusions.html) 19 pages.
5) CASE STUDY: "INSTANT CHECKPOINTS" PARTS THREE THROUGH SEVEN
How a random racially-motivated police stop-and-search resulted in no police apology. Even the Ministry of Justice's Bureau of Human Rights not only refused to handle the situation, but also claimed that releasing requested documents regarding my case would be a violation of my own privacy. (from http://www.debito.org/policeapology.html) 22 pages.
More on state-sponsored fear of foreigners:
6) JAPAN TIMES ARTICLE MAY 24, 2005 (printed from website) ENTITLED "HERE COMES THE FEAR"--Japan's proposed Anti-terrorist Law (implemented 2006-7) creates legal conundrums for foreign residents. 4 pages.
http://www.debito.org/japantimes052405.html
7) REPORTS ENTITLED "POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM AND FOREIGN CRIME IN JAPAN", and "THE 2003 KOIZUMI CABINET ANTI-FOREIGN-CRIME-PUTSCH IS OVERLOOKED BY THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE PRESS" (from http://www.debito.org/opportunism.html and http://www.debito.org/foreigncrimeputsch.html respectively). Includes Japan Times article of Oct 7, 2005 "Time to Come Clean on Foreign Crime" ( http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20031007zg.htm ) referred to in the report. Total 18 pages.
How this situation is not changing legislatively or socially:
8) LOBBYING THE SAPPORO CITY ASSEMBLY FOR AN ANTI DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE (CHINJOU) SPRING 2004 (on one piece of legislation we have proposed, excerpted from http://www.debito.org/sapporocitylobby2004.html). Includes article from Hokkaido Shinbun newspaper with a picture of Olaf Karthaus and myself lobbying, and copies of the legislative proposals submitted. Total 28 pages.
9) JAPAN REPUBLISHES "LITTLE BLACK SAMBO" IN JAPANESE (from April 2005, despite protests).
Includes a parody which tries to illustrate what's wrong with this book by portraying the protagonist as a stereotypical Japanese. From http://www.debito.org/chibikurosanbo.html. 23 pages.
Index ends. I also put out a message to my mailing lists to have people send in their experiences of being discriminated against. Within hours of his arrival in Sapporo, I presented Mr Diene with twenty emailed experiences from people around Japan. (Thanks for the input, everyone!)
The first of the final two days we met, in Hokkaido, we spent looking at remnants of World Cup 2002 in Sapporo (two places still have exclusionary signs up more than three years after the event). Four of us (Mr Diene, his secretary, fellow Otaru lawsuit plaintiff Olaf Karthaus, and myself) then had a delightful evening without any handlers (he had cancelled all appointments that evening) just supping ramen in Susukino. To get to know a UN rep without his necktie on was surreal--and the very act of him being in Japan was a dream come true for many people.
Our final evening, July 9, was spent in Biratori's Ainu village, where friend and Ainu activist Kayano Shiro introduced us to his father, former Dietmember Kayano Shigeru, and told us about the hardships that Ainu have faced: illegal seizure of their ancestral lands for Nibutani Dam, denial of their ceremonial fishing rights, and a long history of being refused the right to be Ainu (practice of language and culture made illegal under the prewar Douwa Seisaku). Not to mention discrimination in employment, marriage, and access to public goods. Even today, the GOJ does not recognize the Ainu as a "full minority" (only a nominal one, from 1997), which would entitle them to government funding for cultural practices.
All of this clearly had an effect on Mr Diene's preliminary reports:
I reprint the whole article, as it is instructive:
DISCRIMINATION IN JAPAN "DEEP", U.N. REP SAYS AFTER NINE DAY-VISIT
Kyodo News, Monday, July 11, 2005 at 20:02 JST
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=&id=343139
TOKYO--Discrimination in Japan is "deep and profound," with government leaders lacking recognition of the depth of the problem and the public having a "strong xenophobic drive," a U.N. special rapporteur said Monday in wrapping up a nine-day visit in Japan.
Doudou Diene of Senegal, appointed by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, called for stronger political will at the highest level to combat the issue, for Japan to enact a national law condemning racism as is obligatory under international conventions, and to improve its public education about minorities in the country.
"It will be a long-term task to change people's mentality and it must be done through education," said Diene, special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
During his stay since July 3, Diene met with officials of both national and local authorities to determine the extent Japan is complying with its international human rights obligations. He also visited communities of minorities such as the aboriginal Ainu, the "burakumin," formerly social outcasts in feudal Japan, and people of Korean and Chinese descent.
From these meetings, Diene concluded there was a clear gap between the perceptions of the reality of discrimination between government officials and the minority communities.
Japan has liaisons nationwide that aim to eliminate discrimination against the "burakumin" and the Diet passed a law in 1997 to help preserve Ainu traditions and culture.
But citing cases in which the "burakumin" were listed by private groups and discriminated against in employment, Diene criticized the lack of government action to combat such practice and said, "I find this shocking and terrible."
"Japan has no comprehensive national law against discrimination," Diene said at a news conference. "I strongly recommend such a national law be drafted not only based on international instruments Japan takes part in, but that the minorities concerned have to be consulted."
A spokesman of the Justice Ministry, which Diene visited last Wednesday, declined to comment on the special rapporteur's remarks but said a human rights protection bill is under deliberation in parliament.
Describing the discrimination against the Ainu, "burakumin," and Korean and Chinese residents as being "deeply rooted" in historical and cultural aspects, Diene urged the Japanese government to set up an organ at the national level to promote equality for minorities.
Having examined samples of Japanese junior high school textbooks provided to him by the education ministry, Diene said Japan must ensure that the roles and contributions of minorities to the country be taught accurately and appropriately so that Japanese people have the right perception.
Without specifically naming Japan, Diene also criticized the current global trend in which xenophobic sentiment stemming from measures to combat terrorism and illegal immigration has "slowly made its way into the platforms of democratic parties."
Diene said he had requested a meeting with Tokyo Gov Shintaro Ishihara, known for his nationalistic views and controversial remarks against foreigners, but was denied an appointment.
But the special rapporteur gave a positive appraisal of the Japanese government's cooperation with his visit and said this indicated "in a positive way" that Japan is willing to accept recommendations to tackle the problem.
Diene said he shared his preliminary findings with the Japanese government Monday morning and will wait for Japan's response before completing a final report to be submitted to the Commission on Human Rights next March.
He will also present a summary of his findings in an interim report to the U.N. General Assembly this autumn. It was the first time a U.N. special rapporteur on racism has visited Japan. (Kyodo News)
4) JAPAN TIMES, BBC AND VOA ON DIENE
JAPAN RACISM "DEEP AND PROFOUND"
By Chris Hogg, BBC News, Tokyo Monday, 11 July, 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4671687.stm
An independent investigator for the UN says racism in Japan is deep and profound, and the government does not recognise the depth of the problem.
Doudou Diene, a UN special rapporteur on racism and xenophobia, was speaking at the end of a nine-day tour of the country.
He said Japan should introduce new legislation to combat discrimination.
Mr Diene travelled to several Japanese cities during his visit, meeting minority groups and touring slums.
Japan mulls multicultural dawn
He said that although the government helped to organise his visit, he felt many officials failed to recognise the seriousness of the racism and discrimination minorities suffered.
He was also concerned that politicians used racist or nationalist themes, as he put it, to whip up popular emotions. He singled out the treatment of ethnic Koreans and Chinese and indigenous tribes.
Mr Diene says he plans to recommend that Japan enact a law against discrimination, which he said should be drawn up in consultation with minority groups.
He said he would now wait for the Japanese government to respond to his comments before submitting a report to the United Nations.
UN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR RAPS JAPAN FOR DISCRMINATION
By Steve Herman, Voice of America, Tokyo11 July 2005
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-07-11-voa9.cfm
As Japan makes a push to join the U.N. Security Council, it is getting some unwelcome news. An independent investigator from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights says he will report that discrimination in Japan is "deep and profound."
After nine days traveling across Japan, visiting with officials, non-governmental organizations and minorities, the special rapporteur of the U.N. Human Rights Commission says he is troubled by what he heard.
Mr. Doudou Diene told reporters in Tokyo he found no strong political will to combat racism and discrimination. He also noted what he called a strong xenophobic drive among the Japanese public. "This xenophobic drive is expressed by associating minorities, certain minorities, to crime, to violence, to dirt," he said.
Mr. Diene said the worst discrimination appears to be the problems a Japanese social outcast group, known as "burakumin" face with finding housing and employment. He called their condition "shocking and terrible," and said their plight would be included in his preliminary report.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima said the situation is improving, because government has been working with the business community to reduce discrimination in the workplace. "We believe that those efforts have been bearing fruit. There are [sic] less discrimination in society right now in Japan, compared with 10 years, or 20-years ago," he said.
With a surge of Chinese students and workers in Japan in recent years, discrimination against other Asians including long-time Korean residents, is very much in the public eye.
The special investigator said racism against Koreans and Chinese is deeply rooted in Japan because of history and culture.
Mr. Diene lamented that he was not able to meet any state ministers during his visit and that Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, who has made controversial remarks about foreigners, was apparently too busy to meet him. But the independent U.N. official praised Japan's government for fully cooperating with his investigation, saying it had not hindered his visit in any way.
Mr. Diene said Japan needs to pass a national law condemning racism, discrimination and xenophobia. "As a special rapporteur, and based on international instruments, which are my basis of work, I will certainly strongly recommend such a national law," he said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Takashima said Japan is trying very hard to reduce the problem. "Because of the trend of the decreased birth rate in this country and very rapid aging society, we, after all, need to have the helping hand from various ethnicities, foreign workers, foreign workers and so forth," he said.
Mr. Diene's visit marks the first time a U.N. special investigator on racism has come to Japan.
He has made similar visits to more than 10 countries, and is to submit his final report to the U.N. General Assembly in March, after receiving an official Japanese response to his preliminary report, which will be issued in several months.
Mr. Diene declined to say whether Tokyo's human-rights attitude should have an influence on Japanese suitability for a U.N. Security Council permanent seat. He said that issue was not part of his mandate.
Many countries that have been targeted for criticism by special rapporteurs have chosen to essentially ignore their reports. As Mr. Diene notes, the U.N. investigators have "no guns or armies" to force any country to make changes.
U.N. CALLS FOR ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAW
Investigator says Japan must acknowledge its racism
Japan Times, July 12, 2005, By Masami ITO
http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050712a1.htm
The government urgently needs to acknowledge that deep discrimination against minorities, Korean and Chinese residents and other foreigners exists in Japan, an independent investigator said Monday.
Doudou Diene, appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Commission in 2002 as special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, was in Japan for more than a week on a fact-finding mission.
As a way to prevent further racial discrimination, a national law must be enacted, Diene, from Senegal, told a news conference at the United Nations University in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
Although Japan became a member of the U.N. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1995, it has yet to establish a national law to prevent discrimination.
Creating such a law "is the first step to combat racial discrimination," Diene said.
During his trip, Diene has met with central and local government officials as well as the Supreme Court and the National Police Agency.
Although some officials admitted there is discrimination, others said "there are social differences but no ethnic or racial discrimination," according to Diene.
At the news conference, Diene slammed the policy of the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau that urges people to report illegal over-stayers anonymously on its Web site.
"This policy encourages racial discrimination and xenophobia," Diene said. "It is basically just a measure to cast doubt on (foreigners) and such measures should be banned completely."
Diene also met with various NGO groups and individuals who talked about their experiences of discrimination in Japan, including Korean and Chinese residents, the indigenous Ainu people and Okinawans.
At a hearing last Wednesday hosted by the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, a nongovernmental organization, Diene met with various groups and individuals who discussed discrimination against foreign immigrants and asylum seekers.
A member of the nongovernmental group Solidarity Network With Migrants Japan spoke about what it denounced as discriminatory posters written by the police. She showed a copy of a police warning which said "Beware of bad groups of foreigners."
The group also charged that xenophobic remarks are being made by public figures, including Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, who has repeatedly emphasized that heinous crimes are being committed by illegal foreigners.
"A lot of countries possess a negative image of Japan through negative and xenophobic statements made by (Gov. Ishihara)," Diene said.
"In order to sweep away such images, (Japan) needs to show that it possesses a strong political will" to eliminate discrimination and to provide an actual implementation plan to ban racial discrimination, he added.
Diene said he will submit a final report on his visit to the Human Rights Commission in March 2006.
The Japan Times: July 12, 2005
Anyway, it's been a momentous week. We finally got our voices heard, and by a UN representative who listens and cares about the issues. Many thanks to Mr. Diene for his assiduity and careful research, and to all those out there for being ready to deliver the information at the right place, right time. Let's hope it gets us the Holy Grail of a law against racial discrimination in Japan at long last.
Arudou Debito
http://www.debito.org
This report and all links and articles involved will be archived at
DOUDOU DIENE'S FINAL REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS
REGARDING RACIAL DISCRMINATION IN JAPAN
/////////////////////////////////////////////////
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR DOUDOU DIENE REPORTS TO UNITED NATIONS
Doudou Diene, United Nations Special Rapporteur who visited Japan in July 2005 to survey racial discrimination and xenophobia, has just issued a report to the UN saying what we have been saying all along:
a) Racial discrimination occurs in many forms in Japan,
b) It is effectively unrestrained by the current legal and legislative system,
c) Japan needs a law against it, and should make passing one top priority.
The paper (at 23 pages, a surprisingly well-written quick read) is available in its entirety at
http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/sessions/62/listdocs.htm#item6
Page down to "E/CN.4/2006/16/Add.2, Mission to Japan", and click on "Advance Edited Version E" (link is the one letter E, so look sharp.) Document is in Word format. Dated January 24, 2006.
Or you can see it in its entirety in html format on www.debito.org, by clicking here.
What follows are excerpts from the report--the summary and table of contents--with concluding comments from me following:
ADVANCE EDITED VERSION
Distr. GENERAL E/CN.4/2006/16/Add.2
24 January 2006 Original: ENGLISH
Sixty-second session
Item 6 of the provisional agenda
RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON CONTEMPORARY FORMS
OF RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE,
DOUDOU DIENE, ON HIS MISSION TO JAPAN
(3-11 July 2005)
The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, in pursuance of his mandate, visited Japan from 3 to 11 July 2005. He assessed the factors of discrimination that affect various minority groups, including minorities resulting from the caste-like class system, indigenous people, descendants of former Japanese colonies, foreigners and migrant workers.
The Special Rapporteur concluded that there is racial discrimination and xenophobia in Japan, and that it affects three circles of discriminated groups: the national minorities - the Buraku people, the Ainu and the people of Okinawa; people and descendants of former Japanese colonies - Koreans and Chinese; foreigners and migrants from other Asian countries and from the rest of the world.
The manifestations of such discrimination are first of all of a social and economic nature. All surveys show that minorities live in a situation of marginalization in their access to education, employment, health, housing, etc. Secondly, the discrimination is of a political nature: the national minorities are invisible in State institutions. Finally, there is profound discrimination of a cultural and historical nature, which affects principally the national minorities and the descendents of former Japanese colonies. This is mainly reflected in the poor recognition and transmission of the history of those communities and in the perpetuation of the existing discriminatory image of those groups.
Concerning the policies and measures adopted by public authorities, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the adoption of a number of laws which promote certain rights of certain minorities, but notes with concern that the there is no national legislation that outlaws racial discrimination and provides a judicial remedy for the victims.
Finally, the Special Rapporteur formulates a number of recommendations, including the following:
The recognition of the existence of racial discrimination in Japan, and the expression of the political will to combat it;
The adoption of a national law against discrimination;
The establishment of a national commission for equality and human rights, whose mandate should bring together the most important fields of contemporary discrimination: race, colour, gender, descent, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age, religion and sexual orientation;
Focusing on the process of rewriting and teaching of history.
I. GENERAL BACKGROUND
A. Ethnic and demographic situation
B. Historical and social context
C. The legal system
D. The administrative structure
E. Methodology
II. PUBLIC AUTHORITIES' POLITICAL AND LEGAL STRATEGY
A. The Buraku people
B. The Ainu
C. The people of Okinawa
D. Koreans and other foreigners
E. Anti-discrimination legislation
III. PRESENTATION OF THEIR SITUATION BY THE COMMUNITIES CONCERNED
D. The Koreans
E. Foreigners and migrant workers
F. Discriminatory messages on the Internet
IV. ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR
V. RECOMMENDATIONS
Read the rest of the report on debito.org by clicking here.
COMMENTS: I might add that I am truly impressed with the depth, breadth, and level of commitment this report has to exposing and eliminating discrimination in Japan. Not least because it says incontrovertibly and officially what we have been saying all along: racial discrimination is manifold here and the Japanese government is not stopping it. Of special note is the heartrending section on the Korean enclave in Utoro, Osaka (page 14, from paragraph 54), Section III E on foreigners and migrant workers (page 16, paragraph 60 onwards), and the entire analysis and recommendations section (sections IV and V), which really tells it like it is and how things oughta be.
(The Otaru Onsens Case, I am elated to say, even gets a whole paragraph! (63) To me, this is six years of work come to fruition...)
Required reading for anyone in Japan. So go to it, everyone! Bravo M. Diene!
UN'S DOUDOU DIENE TO REVISIT JAPAN MAY 13-18
M. Doudou Diene, Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights on contemporary forms of racism, visited Japan last July 2005. He reported that "Japan is still closed, spiritually and intellectually centered" in a preliminary press conference. And in an official report to the UN in January, he said, "Racial discrimination is practiced undisturbed in Japan." "It can hardly be argued that Japan is respecting its international obligations."
More on what happened during his visit, the report we submitted to him, and links to his report to the UN at
Well, guess what. He's coming back! And this time to visit Okinawa, Osaka, and Tokyo. His schedule courtesy of human rights group IMADR-JC. Questions, contact Mr Morihara or Ms Hara at Tel: (03)3568-7709, Fax: (03)3586-7448, email: imadrjc@imadr.org, website: http://www.imadr.org. Translation errors mine.)
SAT MAY 13: TOKYO PUBLIC MEETING regarding Diene's January UN Report.
2PM-5PM. Location: Tokyo Matsumoto Seiichiro Kinen Kaikan in Tokyo (Roppongi 3-5-11)
Contact IMADR at details above for registration.
SUN MAY 14 Diene to Okinawa.
MON MAY 15 Diene meets Okinawa Pref. Governor, visits Naha and Henoko.
TUES MAY 15 Diene meets Ginowan Mayor, visits Futenma area.
3PM to 4PM Press conference in Naha (contact IMADR)
4PM to 6PM Conference (not public)
6:30 to 9PM PUBLIC MEETING IN NAHA (contact IMADR)
WEDS MAY 16 Diene to Osaka
1PM to 3:30 Visits Ikuno-ku, Osaka (not public)
4:30 to 6:30 PUBLIC MEETING regarding Diene's January UN Report
Location: Osaka Jinken Center, near JR Ashiharabashi Loop Line Station
Register with Buraku Liberation League 06-6568-7337 (Ms Komori)
FAX 06-6568-0714, or email udhr@blhrri.org by May 16.
7PM to 9PM PUBLIC PARTY in Tennoji, cost 3000 yen, reservations same place.
THURS MAY 17 Diene to Tokyo
Visits major political parties (TBD, ask IMADR Tokyo above)
12PM to 1:30 Foreign Correspondents' Club Press Conference (members only)
2PM to 3PM PUBLIC GATHERING AT DIET LOWER HOUSE REGARDING DIENE REPORT
Location: Shuugiin Daiichi Giin Kaikan (Be in lobby between 1:45 and 1:55)
4:30 to 5:30 Meeting with Fed. of Bar Associations (Nichibenren) (not public)
7PM to 9PM Conference at Osaka Keizai Houka Daigaku (not public)
That's all I know.
Hi all. Next week, I will be flying down to Tokyo to attend as many meetings as possible with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism M. Doudou Diene.
I will probably have some time to hand him a packet of information, which is where you come in:
1) IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO PASS ON TO M. DIENE?
2) WHAT I AM PASSING ON:
a) A FOLDER WITH REFERENTIAL MATERIALS
b) A VIDEO OF JAPANESE MEDIA ON ONSENS CASE AND FOREIGN CRIME
c) ANOTHER FOLDER WITH YOUR MESSAGES
I'm sure you all out there have something you'd like to comment on, something you think Japan should improve upon, or even just your experience with a Japanese police Instant Checkpoint, an exclusionary business, an apartment refusal, etc.
Well, write it up and send it to me. I'll print it up (like we did last time), slot it in a folder, and pass it on. I've found M. Diene to be very receptive to voices from the general public.
a) Keep it under 1000 words. I'm sure he'll have enough to read on this trip.
b) Try to make the issues less interpersonal (not: "some guy wouldn't sit next to me on a subway"), and more systematic ("a cop knocked me off my bike because I didn't stop fast enough, then refused to apologize because he told me it was for prevention of foreign crime", sort of thing).
c) Try to be as specific as you can with dates, times, and places. Don't sweat it too much, though.
d) Please submit with your name and contact details, in case the UN has to confirm details later.
If you want to submit, please do so by NOON on Tuesday, May 16, to debito@debito.org.
For clerical sanity, please put somewhere in the title/subject line "Diene submission". Thanks.
2) WHAT I AM SUBMITTING:
c) A SECOND FOLDER WITH OUTSIDE REFERENCES
Here are excerpts of the summary writeups I will be including with the submissions, FYI:
FOR THE FIRST FOLDER:
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST FOLDER IN BRIEF, WITH SUMMARY POINTS
Welcome back Special Rapporteur Diene. We are very glad to have you here again. In some ways, things have gotten worse since your visit last July 2005. This handout will update you on some developments.
JAPAN'S JUDICIARY WILL NOT PROTECT AGAINST RACIAL DISCRIMINATION.
1) Japan Times article, Feb 7, 2006, "Twisted legal logic deals rights blow to foreigners", regarding the Steve McGowan Lawsuit. An African-American resident of Kyoto, McGowan, barred entry from an eyeglass store because the owner expressly "does not like blacks", loses his case on technicalities. The judge, citing doubts about McGowan's Japanese language ability, provides legal precedent for future decisions where foreigners' testimony can be discounted or ignored because they are not native speakers.
http://www.debito.org/mcgowanhanketsu.html#japantimesfeb7
JAPAN'S ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCHES BEND LAWS TO TARGET FOREIGNERS.
2) Japan Times article Oct 18, 2005, "Ministry missive wrecks reception". Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is caught issuing written directives to all hotels demanding that all foreign guests display their passports for photocopying and notification of local police. Even though recent revisions to hotel laws limit this practice to foreign tourists. Not only does this misinterpretation deputize hotel clerks with powers legally reserved only for police, it enables clerks to refuse foreigners lodging, eroding the only law in Japan which once clearly protected even foreigners against refusals of accommodation (since Japan has essentially no protection against refusals of apartments and living space). All in the name of, quote, "control of infectious diseases and terrorism" (which of course only foreigners do). Enclosed is a copy of the original MHLW directive obtained from a hotel.
JAPAN'S ANTI-TERRORIST POLICY PROPOSALS INCREASE POLICING POWERS PARTICULARLY OF FOREIGNERS.
3) Japan Times article Nov 22 and 29, 2006, "The 'IC you' card". Japan's "Action Plan for Pre-Empting Terrorism" will be tracking only all foreigners (reinstating once-abolished fingerprinting requirements), not Japanese, at "data-swiping stations" nationwide. Discusses the ideology behind the policy and the potential for abuse. Readers' reactions in a follow-up article enclosed.
4) Japan Times article May 24, 2005, "Here comes the fear". Discusses in more detail the abovementioned "Action Plan" approved by the Diet. Enclosed is Mainichi Shinbun article Feb 8, 2006, demonstrating that the Japan Times article's dire predictions about the future under the policy are indeed coming true.
LEGISLATIVE MOVES TO PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS STYMIED
5) Japan Times article May 2, 2006, "How to kill a bill". Describes the legislative process behind Japan's historic first law outlawing racial discrimination--a local ordinance in rural Tottori Prefecture. Passed by the Tottori Prefectural Assembly in Oct 2005, the ordinance was by March 2006 unpassed by the same assembly due to an alarmism that gripped the media. This echoes the same alarmism found in Japan's Diet--the fear of giving foreigners, particularly North Koreans, any power over Japanese--which caused the death of two other human rights bills in 2003 and 2005.
HUMAN RIGHTS JUDICIAL ACTIVISM IN JAPAN
6) Japan Times article Jan 3, 2006, "Lawsuit-free land a myth", debunking the claim which critics use against foreign courtroom activists that "Japanese do not sue", and describing what lawsuits have done to further human rights in Japan. This article, however, came out before the McGowan Lawsuit (article 1 above) defeat.
ASSIMILATION IN JAPAN: ENCOURAGEMENTS AND BARRIERS
7) Japan Times article Jan 24, 2006, "Taking the 'gai' out of 'gaijin'", which appraises the inevitability of immigration to Japan (even Tokyo Gov. Ishihara recognizes a foreigner-friendly policy is necessary), and what measures Japan must take to assimilate them properly into society.
8) Japan Focus article Jan 12, 2006, "The Coming Internationalization: Can Japan assimilate its immigrants?" This academic paper gives more detail and statistics on the points mentioned in article 7 above.
http://www.debito.org/japanfocus011206.html
9) "Academic Apartheid Update Oct 2005", an overview of the evolution of Japan's labor market, where the "contract workforce ghetto" that foreign workers have been assigned to for generations has now been implemented for Japanese as well. According to the National Union of General Workers, term-limited contract work permeates the workforce, where 20% of all Japanese men, 50% of all Japanese women, and 90% of all foreign workers are in this insecure job status. How can immigrants establish stronger roots and assimilate without a steady and stable job?
http://www.debito.org/acadapartupdateoct05.html
UPDATES ON "JAPANESE ONLY" POLICIES NATIONWIDE
10) "Japanese only" plane tickets: Evidence demonstrating that H.I.S. Travel Agency, one of Japan's largest, has had two different pricing structures, charging foreigners substantially more than Japanese customers for the same ticket, and reserving other tickets for Japanese nationals only.
http://www.debito.org/HISpricing.html
11) Map of location of "Japanese Only" signs nationwide (with two more new signs sent the author in April and May 2006, from Tokyo Ikebukuro and Hiroshima)
12) Powerpoint presentation, "JAPANESE ONLY, Racial Discrimination in Japan", delivered in March 2006 at several educational institutions in the United States, including University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies, Columbia University School of Law, New York University School of Law, and Amherst College. All 50 slides of the presentation are included.
http://www.debito.org/arudounewpresentation.ppt
FOR THE VIDEO:
OTARU ONSENS TAPE (1999-2003) SHOWING TELEVISION BROADCASTS DEPICTING ISSUES OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN THE JAPANESE MEDIA
1) TV ASAHI NEWS STATION on ANA BORTZ DECISION (Nationally broadcast October 12, 1999) (10 minutes). Describes the first court decision (Shizuoka District Court) regarding racial discrimination in Japan, citing the UN CERD Treaty, and the fact that Japan has no law against racial discrimination. Some additional interviews with Nikkei Brazilian residents of Shizuoka Prefecture, their treatment, and "Japanese Only" signs.
2) HBC TV award-winning documentary on OTARU ONSENS (PUBLIC BATHHOUSE CASE (Locally broadcast March 27, 2001) (1 hour 2 minutes). Gives a thorough rundown of the issue and expresses it from a more "Japanese point of view" (i.e. the issue is portrayed more in terms of cultural differences, not racism). It also has extensive quotes from Japanese saying what they don't like about foreigners (they stink, they might be diseased, they don't follow the rules, they look scary etc.).
3) TV ASAHI tabloid show "KOKO GA HEN DA YO NIHONJIN", on exclusionism in Wakkanai, Monbetsu, and Otaru (Nationally broadcast Feb 28, 2001) (16 minutes). This is a revolutionary show with foreign panelists speaking Japanese to Japanese TV personalities regarding various issues of the day. Very critical at times of Japan, this show became famous for usually generating more heat than light, and for baiting foreigners with cries of "Go home if you don't like it here!" very often. This episode offers Otaru Onsens Lawsuit Plaintiffs Karthaus, Sutherland, and Arudou for dissection, by foreigners who claim that the lawsuit is basically Americans (even though Karthaus is German and Arudou Japanese) being legalistic, hypocritical, and profit-seeking. According to media sources, foreign panelists were especially chosen if they were antipathetic towards the lawsuit, as it would make for better television. The Japanese panelists, however, were in fact very supportive. Bonus footage of a Russian and an African panelist flying up to Wakkanai, Otaru, and Monbetsu, three Hokkaido cities with "Japanese Only" signs for years (Wakkanai and Monbetsu still to this day have them), and getting refused entry at several establishments for being foreign.
4) HBC NEWS (Locally broadcast March 27, 2001) on the OTARU ONSENS LAWSUIT FIRST HEARING (3 minutes). This gives a rundown of the arguments used by all sides to the lawsuit, with the Defendant Otaru City claiming in court that they are not bound by the ICERD because they are a local government, and the Defendant Yunohana Onsen claiming that they are the victims in this case.
5) VARIOUS NEWS AGENCIES (Dosanko Wide, Hokkaido News, STV, and HBC) with various angles on OTARU ONSENS LAWSUIT FILING (Locally broadcast February 1, 2001) (15 minutes total). NB: The HBC segment contains the only public interview given by Defendant Yunohana Onsen owner, a Mr Hashimoto, explaining the deeds that foreigners have done to damage his premises. The final interview was given live (the only way Hashimoto would agree to be interviewed, according to media sources, so that his comments would not be edited), where he states that he has never met the Plaintiffs (of course; he always refused to do so). An interesting viewpoint of a person who runs Yunohana's Onsen chain (now expanded to three outlets), which to this day refuses entry to any foreigner who does not "speak Japanese".
6) UHB SUPER NEWS Beginning of the new year special on THE YEAR 2001 (Locally broadcast January 3, 2002) (15 minutes). Discourse on the nature of internationalization in Japan. Also brings in the spectre of foreign crime and terrorism, first brought up from April 2000 with the "Ishihara Sangokujin Speech", and later used to justify further exclusionism towards foreigners. Fear of foreigners has been fanned by the government and the media for years now, and the final show is a good example of it.
7) NHK CLOSE UP GENDAI on FOREIGN CRIME (Nationally broadcast November 7, 2003) (26 minutes). Three years after Ishihara's public declaration against foreigners, it is clear how foreign residents will now be portrayed: Foreigners and the crimes they bring are now a subject of fear, and this show offers a guidebook of "foreign crime methods" with no comparison whatsoever to statistics of crimes by Japanese (except those connected again with foreigners). A Public Service Announcement posing as a news special.
(NB to readers: If you would like a copy of this video at nominal cost, please let me know after May 21, 2006.)
Thanks for your help, everyone!
Arudou Debito in Sapporo, Japan
debito@debito.org
SECOND FOLDER OF ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY, MAY 2006:
ISSUES FOR SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR DIENE TO BE AWARE OF
Provided by cyberspace mailing lists, collated by ARUDOU Debito, Sapporo, Japan (debito@debito.org, www.debito.org)
LIST AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS
1) Photos of newfound "Japanese Only" signs in Okinawa, with brief commentary from the sender. Point: Evidence that without racial discrimination laws in Japan, the problem continues to spread.
2) "An Introduction to Discrimination Concerning Children in Japan" by Mark Smith of the Children's Rights Network. An overview of the problems caused by Japan's weak laws regarding parents' rights of access to and support of children in the event of divorce. Although these problems affect divorcees in Japan regardless of nationality, international divorces are particularly problematic because even in court, the foreign parent essentially has few to no rights vis-à-vis access and custody of children (which has made Japan a haven for international kidnapping and intercontinental child abductions). Supplementary documentation, a) "What Child Custody and Visitation in Japan Show us about the Japanese Court System" by Colin P.A. Jones of Doshisha University, and b) "A Critique of Japan's Second Periodic Report on the CRC by Japan" by a coalition of NGOs, is also included.
3) Case study on the emergent power of the Japanese Police Forces under a new "Conspiracy Law". Documents are arranged to lead you through the issue: A) "Japan Times (2005) on Detentions and Extralegal Powers..." describes how much power Japan's law enforcement has over criminal investigations and suspects (and how, with the police's tendencies towards racial profiling, this will lead to further foreigner targeting and scapegoating). B) Asia Times, May 12, 2006, "The return of 'thought crimes' in Japan" describes what's wrong with the "Conspiracy Law" currently being debated by the Diet. Then c) four Japan Times articles ("Terrorist kept calling Japan", "NPA report...", "I want to to clear my name...", "Alleged al-Qaeda link seeks vindication") depicting the Himu Case, of a Bangladeshi falsely accused in 2004 of having terrorist links. Point: Even before any Conspiracy Law, the Japanese police already have used their extensive investigative and media powers to target and defame foreigners with very tenuous connections to the accused, destroying lives and livelihoods, offering no retraction or apology to set the record straight or rehabilitate the victim if mistakes are made. Now, the likely passage of the Conspiracy Law , in this age of fears of terrorism (with "terrorism" explicitly seen as an overseas phenomenon by the National Police Agency; see Japan Times article May 24, 2005, "Here Comes the Fear", contained in Folder One), will grant powers to target foreigners even more. Simply being a friend or neighbor, or even by chance having the same nationality of a foreign suspect, will be enough to warrant arrest on charges of possible "conspiracy", causing grueling detentions and destroyed reputations.
4) "From Harassment to Victory?", by Kevin Dobbs, a case study of a labor dispute involving foreign employees (in this case, language teachers), who for generations in Japan have been subject to inferior job conditions and unstable term-limited contract labor. This case involves a years-long struggle between Dobbs and his Chinese wife, and their employer, Tochigi Prefecture's International University of Health and Welfare. This story is atypical only in the fact that taking the issue before the government-sponsored Labor Board actually resulted in a victory for the foreign worker.
5) Email from Steve van Dresser regarding Japan's "guarantor" system, and how it further disenfranchises foreigners from the rental apartment market.
6) Email testimonies from Anthony Keyes and Mark Campbell, with more on Japanese police and their treatment of foreigners: Frequent stops and seizures (particularly when riding bicycles), ignoring laws that do not require foreigners to carry passports everywhere etc.. These stories, unfortunately, are Legion, and I, as one point man for reports regarding rights violations in Japan, receive them several times monthly (in recent months, weekly) as crackdowns intensify. ENDS
FOLLOW-UP REPORT ON DIENE'S TOKYO AND OSAKA VISITS, MAY 17 AND 18, 2006
by Arudou Debito
///////////////////////////////////////////////
1) MEETING WITH UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR DIENE IN OSAKA AND TOKYO
2) LINKS TO RELATED ARTICLES
3) ATTENDING UN SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN PRESS CONFERENCE
1) MEETING WITH UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR DIENE, OSAKA AND TOKYO
I met M. Doudou Diene for the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth times over two days (May 17 and 18) in Osaka and Tokyo respectively. In Osaka, he attended a hearing of human rights groups and a dinner. In Tokyo, he gave a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ), and attended a hearing for Dietmembers in an Upper House conference room (BLL rep Matsuoka Tohru and Shamintou Party Leader Fukushima Mizuho attended, while several other Dietmember offices sent their meishi with regrets; no contact whatsoever, sadly, from Tsurunen Marutei's office). There were also several other meetings I could not attend in his very busy six-day schedule, available at http://www.debito.org/rapporteur.html#May2006
M. Diene listened attentively to all speakers, then comments about his role in the fight against racial discrimination worldwide. As Special Rapporteur, although he does represent the UN in name and ideal, Diene does not receive a salary, from the UN or any interest group. He thus is not beholden to anyone and has the freedom to pick his sites of investigation. His procedure is to talk to both the members of civil society and the government (he formally requests to speak to the highest echelons of any local and national government; they can and do refuse), then give his recommendations based upon his findings. His reports to the UN, by the way, do not focus exclusively on Japan; his backlog of articles and movements elsewhere may be found on the United Nations website by typing "Special Rapporteur Doudou Diene" on their search engine, at
http://www.un.org/search/
I did not audio record Diene's speeches, but to paraphrase his points from memory:
1) Racism, xenophobia, and related intolerance is not something you deal with just once--it is something you keep combatting, as it is a mutating phenomenon. Which is one reason he returned to Japan this time on the invitation of rights group IMADR (www.imadr.org), to follow up on his July 2005 initial visit and January 2006 report.
2) Racism etc. is on the increase worldwide. More governments are using the new mutation of intolerance--i.e. the fear of terrorism--as a means of justifying increased discrimination and decreased civil liberties for peoples within their borders. Meanwhile, more politicians are bringing xenophobia out of the political fringes and using them for populist purposes during election campaigns. Even prominent intellectuals are using increasingly sophisticated arguments to justify what amounts to racist practices and increased intolerance (he cited Samuel Huntington's book "Who Are We?", an extension of Huntington's earlier thesis that cultures inevitably clash, as an intellectual's view of foreigners threatening an "American Creed').
3) To combat racism, one needs the rule of law and policy measures at the highest levels of government to expose and deal with it (which is where Japan is particularly culpable, as it lacks a law forbidding racial discrimination). There must be a means to address, redress, and punish.
4) However, racism is merely the tip of the iceberg--one must also have an intellectual and ethical strategy. The expression of underlying attitudes and values in a society is what encourages negative reactions towards peoples on a grand scale. Education is essential to change those attitudes, along with a complete rewrite of history to remove those bones of contention--problematic interpretations of the past along nationalistic lines. He proposes that UNESCO convene an assembly of the best historians from all countries within a region, and write an agreed-upon historical account to resolve future disputes and ameliorate potential frictions between countries and peoples. (UNESCO, he notes, has already done this on the genesis of Africa, Central America, and Central Asia.) Unless you deal with the deeper root causes of intolerance, there is little hope for a lasting resolution of it, he concludes.
5) Until then, Diene intends to file his reports with the UN in the considerations of the promises Japan has made to the international community, gauging how closely Japan is following the international instruments it has signed.
6) Now that Japan has been elected to the newly-formed UN Human Rights Council, with 46 other member states (see Kyodo brief at http://www.crisscross.com/jp/news/372161), Diene welcomes Japan's increased responsibility and international scrutiny of its own internal human rights issues.
(More on this new body at:
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/ga10449.doc.htm
http://www.un.org/ga/60/elect/hrc/ )
COMMENT FROM DEBITO: Frankly, I found M. Diene's breadth, depth, and accomplishment of thought--on both the concept of discrimination and the strategy for securing human rights--to be breathtakingly inspiring. Now here is a man I am happy to have in a position of spokesman for our cause, not only because he knows what he's talking about, but also because he actually *CARES* about the outcome for people around the world (and must be tirelessly processing an enormous amount of information during his travels!). He shows a tenacity of belief and action that I can only hope to emulate somehow. Although I don't share (yet) his faith that Japan will actually feel any more compunction to create an anti-discrimination law by mere dint of being on the Human Rights Council, I am willing to take a wait-and-see attitude, and gear up to make the case later before the Council myself that Japan's legislative, administrative, and judicial branches have little to no intention to follow the treaties it signs.
To that end, in addition to the folder and video of referential materials I gave him
(see http://www.debito.org/rapporteur.html#may2006 for contents),
I also included a second folder with reports regarding, inter alia, Japan's awful record vis-a-vis international divorce (and its status as extralegal haven for child abductions, see http://www.crnjapan.com), the potential further targeting of foreigners in specific under the proposed Conspiracy Law ("Kyoubozai Houan", citing the al-Qaeda witch hunt of 2004 and the Himu Case, see http://www.debito.org/japantimes102305detentions.html ),and issues involving foreign educators and the parochial house renting "guarantor system". Let's hope it all means something in the end.
(For those who wish to contact M. Diene with a concern (he said several times that he is emailable), his email address care of the UN is sr-racism@ohchr.org. Address it specifically to Doudou Diene. Mention my name if you want.)
2) RELATED ARTICLES COVERING DIENE'S VISIT
Eric Johnston also attended the May 17 Osaka Meeting (although the Japan Times was sadly absent from the Tokyo venues). This is what how he portrayed the event:
ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAW NEEDED
Racism rapporteur repeats criticism
By ERIC JOHNSTON, Staff writer
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060518a6.html
The Japan Times: Thursday, May 18, 2006
OSAKA -- The U.N. rapporteur on racism repeated Wednesday his strong criticism of the Japanese government's attitude toward combating the problem, saying the country needs an antidiscrimination law.
"Japanese human rights groups and others, in linkage with the international community, can move toward creating an antidiscrimination law which will hopefully lead to addressing the deeper causes of racism and xenophobia," said Doudou Diene, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
Meeting in the afternoon with nearly three dozen human rights representatives, including foreigners' rights activists, Diene heard about the discrimination faced by the Korean, Okinawan, and Japanese-Brazilian communities, as well as descendants of the former "buraku" outcast class, and about specific incidents of government and corporate discrimination against foreigners.
In a scathing report released in January, Diene said racism in Japan is deep and profound.
At Wednesday's meeting, he repeated the call in his report for the government to protect its ethnic and cultural minorities through legislation outlawing racism.
Diene's report pointed out that Japan is party to the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, but has not yet ratified a U.N. convention to protect migrant workers.
The January report came nearly six months after Diene, at the invitation the International Movement Against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism Japan Committee, traveled around the country meeting with representatives of the Ainu, "buraku" descendants, and Korean communities as well as foreign migrant workers.
On this current unofficial visit, also arranged by IMADR, Diene came to Okinawa on Saturday and met local government officials and residents opposed to the U.S. bases.
After speaking Monday to people living near U.S. Kadena Air Base who have filed a lawsuit about the noise near, Diene told reporters he heard the noise from F-15s taking off from Kadena and better understood the situation after talking to them.
Diene also met people living beside the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and later toured the waters off the marines' Camp Schwab near Nago, where a replacement facility will be built.
Diene was to have meetings with Foreign Ministry officials and human rights lawyers in Tokyo on Thursday.
The Diene report and his visits -- last July and this week -- have drawn a mixed reaction here.
Human rights activists have welcomed it for detailing the economic, social and political discrimination that various ethnic and cultural minorities face and for urging the government to adopt national antidiscrimination legislation.
Critics, however, have said the report is flawed because Diene is in Japan at the behest of a group with a political agenda.
They have charged that the Japan portrayed in his report reflects only the views of IMADR and its allies, and the paper is not an objective analysis of the situation for minority groups. As of this week, the Diene report and his recommendations have been endorsed by 77 groups in Japan, including human rights organizations, religious groups and unions.
"My report does reflect certain limitations. I am only in a given country for about 10 days, and I have not been able to meet everybody I would have liked to meet," Diene said.
JAPAN TIMES ARTICLE ENDS
Kyodo's take in English here:
Voice of America's take, with a photo of Diene (and, ahem, yours truly):
The Okinawa Times and Ryukyu Shinbun (Japanese), with headlines reading "The concentration of US bases, noise, and environmental destruction is discrimination towards Okinawa":
(Finally, someone goes down there to report on the situation! Even former President Bill Clinton irresponsibly refused to accept former Okinawa Governor Ota's invitation to visit in the late 1990's.)
Final word on Diene for the moment: His trips have been an enormous boost for the human rights groups in Japan, and his statements have legitimized for the whole world to see the issues that Japan's emerging civil society have been taking up for years. The government (there was AFAIK no Diene meeting with PM Koizumi or with Tokyo Gov. Ishihara. Again) and the Japanese media again generally turned a blind eye. But I have a feeling that with M. Diene, there will be more follow-ups. I hope to see him again, next time in Geneva, very soon.
3) UN SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN PRESS CONFERENCE
Another highlight of this trip was meeting up with a reporter from the Italian press at the FCCJ, who had actually read my book JAPANESE ONLY (I want to hug anyone who does!), and who invited me to join him as a guest at the Japan Press Club for Kofi Annan's hourlong press conference on May 18.
More on Annan's trip to Japan and South Korea at:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060513b7.html
Attended by all the major press, Annan gave a masterful presentation (would not expect anything less of a world leader of his calibre) with the appropriate gravitas, wit, and sincerity. He was excellent at avoiding pointing fingers at specific countries, explaining earnestly why he would not broach certain topics, and giving you the feeling that he was not dodging questions while necessarily doing so. I was aglow at how well he did it. Learned a lot.
Three examples (paraphrased from memory, not quotes; all rendering errors mine):
1) How to dodge a question effectively:
When asked about what was talked about with that day's meeting with the Emperor, Annan said:
"If I were to disclose what is talked about every time I meet a monarch or emperor, it will get around. And the next time we meet, we will only talk about the weather or their grandchildren. I do not want this to happen. So I don't want to go into details on this. I will say, however, that we did talk about important world issues of the day and that we had a very constructive conversation."
2) How to rebuke criticism:
When asked about the illegality of the Iraq war and the irrelevance of the UN regarding unilateral action by "coalitions of the willing" led by the US:
"People are tending to see the UN as irrelevant. However, you must realize that it is not just something out in space like a satellite. The UN is made up of those countries, it IS those countries, even those critical of the UN, and they make the UN what they put into it. We are not a pacifist organization--we understand the use of force at the appropriate, agreed-upon juncture, and have used it from time to time as the record shows. We do not see coalitional action like this as constructive. The UN is doing the best job it can, but for it to work people have to be willing to work within it. Going outside of it when you do not get your way is not in my view the best path." [or something to that effect--grand paraphrasing here]
3) Asking the question:
You know I was tempted to raise my hand--it's not every day you could ask a question to the leader of the United Nations! However, only authorized journalists are allowed to raise their hand at these functions. Fortunately, my reporter friend did it for me:
Question: "Japan yesterday passed a law reinstating fingerprinting for foreigners (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060518a2.html). Special Rapporteur Doudou Diene is also here investigating the situation of racism and xenophobia within Japan. Do you have any comment concerning Japan's election to the Human Rights Council and its domestic situation vis-a-vis xenophobia?"
Annan's answer: "I was unaware that Japan had passed this law. I am aware that Diene is here but we have not met to discuss his trip or findings. I am distressed that many countries worldwide are increasingly legislating xenophobic tendencies in the name of fighting terrorism, and I would hope that people will understand that legislating away civil liberties for peoples within its borders is not the proper path to take."
Best we could have hoped for in this situation. A seed is planted.
Arudou Debito in Sapporo
POSTSCRIPT: Turns out the above press conference was recorded and rendered on the UN website. See entire text at
"Tokyo, Japan, 18 May 2006 - Secretary-General's Press Conference at the National Press Club"
http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=876
Guess my memory wasn't all that bad after all...
ANOTHER TAKE ON THE UN RAPPORTEUR DIENE TRIP
(sent out May 27, 2006)
Last update, I gave a synopsis of Doudou Diene's trip last week to Tokyo, Osaka, and Okinawa, sponsored by IMADR. I received a response from Trevor Bekolay, student at Kokugakuin University and University of Manitoba, who offered his take on the trip (particularly Diene's May 13, 2006 Tokyo meeting, which I was unable to attend). Forwarding with permission:
Just to add to your email about meeting with UN Special Rapporteur
Diene, I as well had the opportunity to meet him at the public meeting
on May 13th at IMADR's building. The meeting consisted of but 20
people (I was a bit surprised, myself). Most of the points that he
made you already included in your email, so if I repeat some things, I
apologize....
The three-hour meeting included statements from IMADR, the NGO
representative, Dr. Diene himself, then about half of the time was
allotted to questions from those who attended. Here are the notes I
made on what I heard:
"Dr. Diene received a fair amount of negative media coverage after the
initial UN report due to the possibility of omissions which are
believed to be added to Diene's report. IMADR attempted to address
these problems in their open letter to Dr. Diene, but the purpose of
the meeting really, was for Diene to receive feedback on the report,
especially of issues that were omitted in the original report. He
stressed that one does not have to be in a group, any individual can
inform the Special Rapporteur of individual cases of racism and
discrimination which will immediately be acted upon. Basically, the
UN is starting to police Japan's government more closely, to determine
if they should remain in Human Rights groups in the UN.
"The report's goal is to be the first step in starting social change,
not just a report on the current situation. The responsibility of
activist groups like IMADR is to inform Diene of new developments.
Give as much information as possible so he can give a good report to
the UN. Consider how the report can be used as part of the fight
against racism in Japan.
"Question Period: Mainly specific issues, such as pension issues for
disabled Zainichi Koreans. However, a representative for the Civil
Liberties Union seemed to be there to defend the Japanese right to be
racist. He mentioned the issue of freedom of expression vs. racial
discrimination. He claimed that freedom of expression isn't well
protected in Japan, so only public servants are punished for making
racist remarks in public forums. He gave two examples of problems
with freedom of expression: one in which public servants who were
distributing political leaflets were arrested, and one in which
environmentalists were arrested by SD forces while distributing
political leaflets."...
JAPAN TIMES COLUMN ON DIENE'S MAY 2006 VISIT
JUNE 27, 2006, BY ARUDOU DEBITO
Back to the Cover Page
"The Community" Page
Go to the "Residents Page"
Go to the "Activists Page"
Portions Copyright 2005-2006, Arudou Debito, Sapporo, Japan


text:
Melodic Tonic '18 January 31st
Published on January 31, 2018 February 1, 2018 by Hollie Daugherty
A mildly psychedelic haze winds through the Melodic Tonic '18 January 31st edition. These six singles run the gamut from indie psych rock and quirky synth-funk to mellower folk-pop and singer/songwriter fare. Let's get started with one of two collaborative projects featured today.
Dungen & Woods – "Turn Around" (Stockholm, Sweden & Brooklyn, USA)
RIYL: Dungen, Woods
If we gave out awards for favorite indie labels at the end of each year, Mexican Summer would be in the running thanks to their Marfa Myths EP series. These releases showcase collaborative efforts between impressive indie artists, including Cate LeBon and Deerhunter's Bradford Cox, Ariel Pink and Weyes Blood, and now Dungen & Woods. This is the musical pairing you never realized you needed.
"If you close your eyes you'll see…" is one line from "Turn Around" you'll be humming for the next few weeks. This song's breezy, summery psych pop tones invite you to do just that: close your eyes and become lost in the stunning joint effort of these two indie bands. The collaboration between Dungen's Gustav Ejstes and Reine Fiske with Woods' Jeremy Earl and Jarvis Taveniere is impressive: both groups transcend geographical and language differences to create a fluid stream of dreamy, psychedelic folk-rock. The lyrics "There's a vision of light trapped inside your brain" take on new significance as Dungen & Woods invite you to view their prismatic visions. Do yourself a favor and take a long, engaged look.
Myths 003 arrives March 15 via Mexican Summer with pre-orders here.
Website: Dungen & Woods | Facebook: Dungen & Woods | Instagram: Dungen
Sego – "Cigarette Kids" (Los Angeles via Utah, USA)
RIYL: The Strokes, Arcade Fire, Parquet Courts, Caveman
Sego have maintained a fairly low profile since dropping their last single (the infectiously buoyant "Whatever Forever") in late 2017. Hopefully that's because the duo of Spencer Peterson and Thomas Carroll have been hard at work on an album. (Knock wood.)
"Cigarette Kids" is a bold display of their talents. They take an otherwise straightforward hook and transform it into pure ear candy with an hypnotic bass line you can't get out of your head. If you threw Arcade Fire into a studio with The Strokes and Caveman, they might craft a tune as irresistible and fun as this. But the difference between those bands and Sego is simple: the guys in Sego understand that a little bit of vintage goes a long way. They keep the echoes of '80s New Wave to a minimum which allows the indie rock elements shine. Look no further than "Cigarette Kids" for that perfect balance of retro and modern.
This single is out now on Amazon while the group's back catalog is available at Bandcamp.
Wye Oak – "The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs" (Baltimore, USA)
RIYL: ABBA, First Aid Kit, tUnE-yArDs
Speaking of Marfa, Texas – that's where Wye Oak partially recorded their upcoming album, The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs. Since the American indie folk-rock duo hail from there and Baltimore, the album is a hybrid product born of vastly different climates and styles. The album's title track bears both East Coast energy and Texas warmth, fueled by Jenn Wasner's powerhouse vocals and Andy Stack's driving percussion.
The music world took a few years to recognize Wye Oak. The title track from their 2011 album, Civilian, caused jaws to drop worldwide and brought deserved recognition. If this single is any indication, their new album will surpass Civilian. That album was stark and emotionally raw; this song is vivid and forward-focused. The album's release date of April 6th can't arrive soon enough.
Bandcamp and Merge Records have pre-orders while the band's website has a full list of 2018 tour dates that begin February 16 in New York City.
Creep Show – "Modern Parenting" (Cornwall, England)
RIYL: John Grant, Cabaret Voltaire, Wrangler
Fans of John Grant feel like they belong to an exclusive society that involves secret handshakes. Hearing a Grant tune wafting from a stranger's earbuds usually results in a wide-eyed, raised brow nod of approval due to his indie cult status. Now after releasing four solo albums this decade, Grant is teaming up with a few equally talented musician friends for a fun, quirky project called Creep Show.
"Modern Parenting" is a musical Frankenstein – a creation borne of madness and mayhem – that could only work with John Grant at the helm. Yes, we realize "Gothic synth funk" isn't an actual genre. But imaginative expression transcends genre boundaries, so just go with it. Go on; open the creaking door that leads into the Tim Burton-esque musical world created by John Grant and former Cabaret Voltaire frontman Stephen Mallinder. "Modern Parenting" is a funkified fairytale brought to life.
Creep Show also includes Phil Winter (Wranger, Tunng) and English electronic artist/producer Benge.
Pre-order the group's debut album, Mr. Dynamite, from Bella Union or iTunes ahead of its March 16 release date.
O Emperor – "Make It Rain" (Cork, Ireland)
RIYL: John Grant, Dan Bejar, Mac DeMarco
If you're feeling daring, take a stab at identifying the genre for this dazzling gem from Irish band O Emperor. The only rule is this: use just three words. So what's your verdict? Indie folk pop? Folksy baroque psychedelia? Or is your brain so melted from the freshness that you can only mutter "Damn, that's brilliant!" repeatedly? If it's the latter then we sympathize from first-hand experience. There is simply no easy way to label these guys, a conundrum that makes them all the more appealing. They have shed the Kodaline-meets-Calexico tones of their 2012 debut, Hither Thither, and revealed a maturer yet ever kaleidoscopic sound.
"Make It Rain" fuses the experimental whimsy of John Grant and Mac DeMarco with the rich textures that make Dan Bejar (Destroyer, The New Pornographers) such a delight. The result here is a heady song that never takes itself too seriously. Instead, "Make It Rain" makes you want to plunge into its technicolor waters and explore the depths below. Perhaps there is a new album waiting to be discovered down there? Time will tell.
Until a new album arrives, you can find this single on their Bandcamp page.
Benjamin Lazar Davis – "A Love Song Seven Ways" (New York City, USA)
RIYL: The Beatles, Sufjan Stevens, Father John Misty
If you need refuge from the world, you can find it amidst the billowy layers of dreamy folk-pop on this gorgeous single from Benjamin Lazar Davis. While you may not recognize his name, this member of Okkervil River makes lush music your soul will instantly recognize as therapeutic. With its dream-folk vibe that evokes both The Beatles and Sufjan Stevens, it's hard not to fall under the spell of "A Love Song Seven Ways" from his forthcoming debut album, Nothing Matters.
This gem of a tune begs to be heard while basking in some filtered afternoon sunlight. Even if the weather outside your window remains in the single-digit range, you'll be too nestled in this song's cozy, chamomile-ayahuasca warmth to notice. Say hello to instant bliss.
Nothing Matters arrives April 20 from his own 11A Records with pre-orders on Bandcamp.
Music, Singles, The Revue11A Records, Bella Union, Benjamin Lazar Davis, Creep Show, Dungen & Woods, experimental art funk-pop, indie dream folk-pop, indie folk-rock, indie psych dream-pop, indie psych pop-rock, indie psychedelic pop-punk, indie singer/songwriter, melodic tonic, Melodic Tonic '18 January 31st, Merge Records, O Emperor, Sego, Skilled Mechanics, wye oak
Weekend Stream for July 11: Morrissey, Trampled by Turtles, Honeyblood, and Luluc
Mundo Musique: Courtney Barnett, Hydrothermal Vents, and a Super-Indie Group from Montreal
New Single: First Single, "Cash is Money" by HOMESHAKE
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
5 Problems of Ad Tech To be Solved Not To End Up The Era of Free Internet
Julia | August 8, 2016
Current publishers place too much poor quality advertisements on their internet pages and sites , which turns the whole Web space into a clickbait labyrinth. As the loads of information on the Internet increased too much, it became too hard to track all the traffic. In addition, this is the opportunity for shady resources to publish ads as the established publishers. They use such situation to deceive ad metric system and to monetize so-called phantom website visitors, or the visitors, who clicked the link unwillingly and came to their site with this popups. Established publishers refused to use Google as a platform for traffic, and they started to deal with shady brokers to help them earn money through unwilling visitors.
Due to these conditions smartphone industry and apps creators are fighting together against online ads hell, by producing and developing different ad-blockers. In case the ads industry wouldn't care about consumer's desires and needs it's future can be predicted as a strong decline and, as a result, the total crush.
This overload with shady website link ads on Google and other searсh platforms made people to use Facebook and other social media as a main mean to get news. Moreover, Facebook is leading as a news resource comparing by traffic volume with Google. Outbrain and Taboola as traffic brokers became popular too. Advertisement publishers are not interested about the place from which their audience is coming from, as well as the place where the ad was shown until it isn't connected with the illegal or adult content.Virtual assistant is a great resource to hire an assistant to solve the problem of ads and shady websites, as virtual assistant can prepare the list of such websites and find specialists to find a clear platform and ad publisher for your business.
Talking about the tendency of shady resources to publish ads as the established publishers: for example, let's look at toastedballs.com. It has 50 mln viewers a month, mostly, males, with an incredibly miserable interaction of users with content, but virtually this website has no backlinks, inappropriate traffic. This situation means that all these viewers were bought with adult popups, the ad tech is from Criteo, paid on a CPM base. Criteo is not interested about the place from which their audience is coming from, though they rely on algorithms. Analyzing such type of approach, it's easy to come to the idea that Criteo investing into a useless website to earn cash from adult traffic.
Traffic brokers are proposing traffic laundering through creating a chain of many shell sites to redirect traffic, which was gained through unwilling visitors, deceived by popups, fake browser tabs or pop-unders and the most part of these viewers are lead to the low end web sources. All this system serves to overcome the ads' metrics and monetize the "empty" numbers of visitors.
You will be sent for less than a second to different shell sites in case your IP shows you're valuable for the ads tech business. The purpose of such algorithm is to raise the rate and quality of visitors for these web resources. It allows them to conclude contracts that are more profitable and earn more money. (Scheme #1)
Even the huge brands and worldwide known labels like Adobe, Alliance Data, Omnicom display ads through these shell sites, nevertheless, it's not their fault, it's because of their advertising agencies, which failed to find out they're dealing with "bad guys", who are gaming with ads tech.
Problem #1:
The scheme is designed for websites, which has no possibilities to convert traffic into money directly through ads as the content they have is not legitimate. You can recognize these websites with the help of Alexa, all of them were launched in autumn 2015, and their audience coming from traffic brokers. The demographic map is remarkable: for example, rich males from Caucasus, well educated, at the age of 25-44.
Couple years ago Google was the ruling authority on the Web, and all the publishers played according to it's rules to get the higher place in the list of search results. But recently, as social media conquered the Internet and users started to pay more attention for recommendations from social media, ad tech creators has concentrated on catchy headlines, forgetting about clean HTML. Such conditions lead to the clickbait boom on the Internet. (Problem #2)
Another way to get money from the number of visitors for traffic brokers is to conclude long-term contracts with huge established labels (for example, Times Inc) to place their banners as a recommendation under each article with a catchy headline (rumors about celebrities). These banners have to attract new visitors on a regular basis through clickbait.(Problem #3)
Recommendation banners leading to shell websites
The links such brokers demonstrate through the banners are differs a lot from the content on the webpage, as well as from the IP of a user. What's even worse, is that about 50% of them sent the user to different shell sites, overloaded with ad. Nevertheless, it's quite enough to pay 3 cents to Taboola for each viewer as the CPR is high. In this way OutBrain attracted Times Inc to conclude a contract in 2014 with an income of $100 mln for Times, but according to the information above this deal would bring more damages than profit for the brand, as Times readers will be constantly sent to shady websites with trashy content.
Users are so over fatigued with tons of ads and clickbait hell, so that smartphone designers and Google started to produce adblock programs, the popularity of adblockers is a protest against new format of the Web. But the further popularization of this tendency would bring losses for all. The problem is that ad blockers can't help to end up the main issue, the evolution of the Internet is highly needed.
The wave of adblock programs and other browser programs to avoid ads made digital marketing ineffective. That means ad tech needs evolution too, until they wouldn't change, the situation will be getting even worse.
Ad publishers are focused on short-term perspective, not caring much about the quality of the content, trying to maximize the income and save more money on advertising technologies.
They have to interact with Internet users to understand which kind of ads is appropriate for them, because ads is the necessary evil to keep the Web free for use.
In case both users and ad tech producers want Internet to stay free, they have to think how to create a system to satisfy common needs and find a respective compromise. Ad designers need to assess the nature of advertisement space and concede that Internet clients can't perceive huge loads of various advertisements, also, they should concentrate on quality. The payment for the prime promotion space must be reasonable, to provide the rules maintenance by ad publishers, and stop to sponsor traffic brokers and other shady structures.


Is there any way to improve image quality?
You can upload images up to 1200 x 670 pixels with a Pro account. These are used on the Shareable view for larger slideshows, as well as in exported PDFs for sharper images, even when zooming in.