Japanese 311: Social Issues in Japan

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1 Japanese 311: Social Issues in Japan Final Paper: Citizenship Brian Gonzalez 12/17/2010

2 Brian Gonzalez 12/16/10 JAPN 311 A. Painter Social Issues in Japan Final Paper When one thinks of Japan as the Island nation to the east of Mainland Asia, what comes to your mind? Does the idea of being a land that has kept both the old and new ideas together in one nation because it has kept up with the times and it emulates western nations in terms of the laws. As a social Issue I decide to focus on the Japanese Laws and more specific to the citizenship laws that govern Japan because it is one of few countries that does not allow dual citizenship. Japanese law is something that has been enforced since after World War II, the reason as to why citizenship is con current Japanese citizenship is considered a Japanese social issue, what other options are there for the Japanese government. The Japanese law is a very strict law that does not allow for many foreigners to become nationals unless they are born in the country. According to the Website on the Ministry of justice in Japan there are two ways in which a person can become a Japanese National. One way is to become naturalized which means you need to establish residency, after an extended period of time living in Japan when the individual is granted the right to acquire citizenship, the individual will have to renounce their home citizenship and adopt the Japanese one. The other way that one could become a Japanese citizen is by being born on Japanese soil or having parents who are Japanese nationals. It does not matter if the parents are dead or alive just as long as one of the

3 Parents was a Japanese national before the time of death. The only problem with that rule is that once the child become of the age of 22 they must decide on whether they will be a Japanese national or not. IF they do not choose by their 22 nd birthday then they will lose their Japanese citizenship. This would mean that either the child picked what nationality they want to be before they are twenty two years of age. If not the government chooses for them and that would mean the end of their dual citizenship while they are young. As the law states there can be a chance to apply but it means waiting for the right time to go through the process because it takes some time. Those that wish to be naturalized take a lot longer than those born in the Japanese soil. There are exceptions in many cases, I can think of many soccer players that have come from many backgrounds and because they have both the money and fame they are able to acquire citizenship. This is one very few rare cases in which dual citizenship are permitted because of status in a society where the group is more important the individual. The way in which this small island nation conducts its business with citizenship would seem to only favor those with status and power as well as reputation. The whole idea behind the Japanese citizenship laws have been going since the end of the Second World War. After the occupation by the allied powers namely the United States forces forces there was a lot of changes to the way policy would be dealt in Japan. One big thing that came from the American occupation of the southern part of Japan was that unification of japan when they took their southern Island back. This meant the Ryukyu Islands and its people as well as the Ainu people were accepted as part of Japanese society.

4 Even though those people have been accepted into Japanese society they have still been discriminated against. Even now that japan is in the 21 st century there are still underlying issues that include both racism and discrimination. It would be the same story for any other race that was to get Japanese citizenship because they would still be looked down by society. There is already enough pressure from the economy collapse of the 90 s and now with more competition for Jobs in Japan there is a lot that could make for a troublesome scene. Japan is often cited as the only advanced industrial country that did not rely on foreign labor during the period of high economic growth (pg. 436, From Migrants to Citizens).This would seem to prove that Japan as a nation has been self-sufficient and therefore never even got migrant workers to work the land. During the Tokugawa period there were people that would be assigned the role of the farmers and their main job would be to make enough food to feed the country. The Japanese were known to have a system in place when they shut themselves from the rest of the world they were able to still survive. They had a system where no one could leave the country as well as relocate to neighbor villages. The reason why citizenship is a big issue in Japan is because Japan has a very slow and low birth rate. If there are more multi ethnic Japanese then it would seem that the government fears they will lose the ethnic Japanese that is well known globally. There have always been many reasons as to why the Japanese have a big problem with foreigners which include the following; xenophobia, declining birthrate, and prejudice. One social issue that has been explored in both the Japanese social issues class has been the fact that there are non-japanese citizens within Japan. After August 1945, the majority of Koreans in Japan rushed back to the Korean Peninsula. More than half a million Koreans,

5 however, could not or did not return immediately and remained in Japan. Some Korean migrants even came back to Japan after seeing social and political turmoil in Korea (pg. 440, From Migrants to Citizens). This point proves that fact that there are many Koreans within Japan and cannot return to their native Korea so therefore they must renounce their old citizenship and their children are born Korean Japanese. I can see that no matter the other ethnicity within japan it anyone other than Japanese nationals is looked down upon by Japanese society. There are many more foreigners that started going to visit Japan and overstayed their visa. For example Japan has set a strict rule to keep anyone from the Middle East out like for example the Iranians. There are also other like the Chinese, and many who have come from all parts of the world to experience something different like Japan. There is a lot of controversy over how other get discriminated against, even more the Koreans even though they are the closet to being like the Japanese. Even as Japan is a very proud nation that holds its culture to be one that is unique only to the country there are newer ideas being shoved in. The foreign influence on the youth culture is an old phenomenon, but continuing popularity from of all things American or the resent rise of black street culture or Asian culture as object of emulation reflect the situation where identify boundaries are being crossed right and left (pg. 81, Censoring History). This quote shows that even now the influence of the rest of world have been reaching even this conservative small island nation. If the newer generation is not getting along with what has already been established by the older generation then there will be problems with the way that things run in the country. The newer generation likes foreign influence but the problem is that if they get too into another culture then they begin to lose their culture

6 That forms a big key part in the citizenship debate that is a social issue of japan is the acceptance of foreigners. It may even include the Japanese who were born in Brazil and immigrated back to japan, but because they could not adapt to the living conditions and custom there was a big prejudice against them and from my readings it mentioned that the Japanese called them a failure to the Japanese way. I may seem that the more people notice that people look past all the good that japan has to offer then all the negative aspect begin to surface like all other societies. A key issue that would most likely come up in debate would be the fact that the Japanese are at a loss with identity and if there is more foreign influence then it would seem that it would just continue to have people confused about what they are. For example there is a Korean town and a China town in Japan. That already is sign of how the country is diverse yet restrict people to certain parts of the country because Japan believes in being Homogenous and only allowing the national ethnicity be known. The Japanese view the rate in foreigner whether they be from within the country or outside as a big problem because there is a lot of crime that is associated with foreigners. For starts the Japanese government has this police that are called good citizen standings which mean that the person who would like to gain citizenship is put under surveillance to prove that b they have good moral and character. This would make it unfair to anyone else that is trying to get citizenship because should anything happen not only will they not be allowed to acquire their citizenship but they will also have to deal with Japanese. The issue with gaining citizenship in Japan in how hard it is to get all documentation because not only is it required to have all the legal documentation done in Japan but the

7 documentation from you home country must be found as well. In a country that already distrust foreigners and will not allow them to rent property and will not even let them do much without getting questioned. The only exception to the rule is if someone were to be a white male then the police officials are a little bit more lenient. The Japanese government has their reason as to why do not trust many foreigners. The Japanese government thus perceived incoming foreign nationals primarily as problems of public security and social order (pg. 441, From Migrants to Citizens). This statement is true in the context that the Japanese government has to deal with its own internal problems. They have the Yakuza who are already taking part in drug and human trafficking ordeals that other foreigners are seen as trouble makers. This could give the law enforcement in japan more of a reason to after many of the foreigners that come into the country illegally because they want to keep order and safety in society. The way in which this government differs from other types of government is that there in the western part of the world that will now allow dual citizenship include: Germany, the Middle East, Africa, and few South American countries. It would seem that Japan is not alone in not letting other join in on getting dual citizenship because it goes back to the way the population affects the way the country is able to run and how it works. For example in countries that have large amounts of immigrants there is a lot of issues regarding human rights and what to do about the big population. That is a hot topic with constant debate on what to do about such matters that involve citizenship. For example compared to the United States of America Japan are a small country that runs on the parliament system of England and other European countries. In the Unites States the

8 action of acquiring citizenships just as hard or harder to get. Since both countries require some time and there is a time period in which citizenship is possible to obtain. Japan has more restrictions for those who acquire the citizenship and would like to take part in the Japanese politics. For example there was a time foreigners could get denizens which was partial citizenship in Japan, and that meant that they had partial rights when it came to many things; therefore it would make more sense to get full citizenship. The best solution to the situation would be for the Japanese government to take dual citizenship more accessible to foreigners so as t have more income and more people living in Japan. Japan has the oldest living population and there is a declining birth rate therefore it should make sense to allow foreigners to take over the jobs that the older generation cannot handle anymore. I am not saying do it now but if there were to be legal reform later on it would be great to have dual citizenship accessible. With the dual citizenship is would make travel time a lot faster between countries. I believe that if enough people were to get together then it would simply mean that the Japanese government would have to listen to their demands. This way if they protested it would show the government that they are serious and that it. From what I understand there is a loop hole, in that if the child is a Japanese citizen then he can still say get his American citizenship and hold dual citizenship even without the Japanese government knowing. A way in which the people who are looking for citizenship are able to get it in most countries is by getting married to a national. The only problem with that is that in Japan you are either born or renounce your former citizenship. With that in mind many who do marry Japanese citizens choose to keep their old citizenship and just a work visa that needs to get renewed every

9 couple of years. The easiest way for students to get past this is getting a student visa that allows them to study in japan for a few years. Another solution that could be proposed is that there be worker program for immigrants that wish to go to Japan and work there even if they are not considered residents. I mean the fact Japan would only allow anyone with the skill necessary with a white collar job to go would mean that there are jobs out in Japan that not many people would like to do. For example in the USA there are jobs like cleaning and picking up fruit and vegetables that an American citizen would not like to do but have illegal immigrants do it for them. I believe that no matter where you come from originally, if you are willing to invest the time into learning the language and working hard, then there is no reason as to why not get a citizenship from one country and keep the old citizenship from you old country, Your children may not know much about their ethnic country but you can learn with them more about the home country. It may seem like such a very clique thing to say about any issue regardless of what country it is or its reputation. I believe that many countries would benefit from having dual citizens because that means people can move around and work for while in on country or another. There is always room for improvement in the government system and the more people speak out against what is believed to be wrong then hopefully it will get changed. The one time was really united was for protest (Klusmeyer, 2000) (Seldon, 2000) (nationality Law, 2006) Japan is the Ukyo o e of the world, because it is a distant land to east and it has kept up with the times while still preserving the culture for thousands of years. The more people are introduced to the language and the more people study more about the culture as well as the economy, the more they are intrigued. Curiosity brings many from all over the world to this very

10 small and mysterious island. Although many wish to visit and perhaps stay, the citizenship laws that are set in place will hinder many and will probably not want to make them stay. Except for those who either find a loop whole in the system or they are just willing to renounce their old citizenship and are prepared for a new life in Japan. Either way as long as people continue to like the mystery that is behind Japan and can only be experienced only if one visit the place, then more and more people will continue to visit. Works Cited nationality Law. (2006). Retrieved 12 10, 2010, from Ministry of Justice: Klusmeyer, T. A. (2000). From Migrants to Citizens. Washington D.C.: Carnagie Endowmment for International Peace. Seldon, L. H. (2000). Censoring history: Citizenship and Memory in Germany, Japan, and the United States. Armink, New York: East gate.

REVIEW. THE FORGOTTEN ISLANDS Okinawa and Jeju: Bases of Discontent Scott Kardas

REVIEW. THE FORGOTTEN ISLANDS Okinawa and Jeju: Bases of Discontent Scott Kardas REVIEW THE FORGOTTEN ISLANDS Okinawa and Jeju: Bases of Discontent Scott Kardas THE FORGOTTEN ISLANDS Scott Kardas Yonsei University Donald Kirk, Okinawa and Jeju: Bases of Discontent (New York, NY: Palgrave