Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

For the life of me, I cannot wrap my head around why Kim Hyon Hui is in Japan. She blows up KAL flight 858 in 1987, killing all aboard, is arrested, sentenced to death, pardoned, marries one of her bodyguards, writes a book about her days as a spy, and now leads a presumably comfortable but secluded life in South Korea. But because she met some of the Japanese abductees, Japan has seen fit to let her into the country despite her crimes where she has been kicking back at Yukio's summer pad in Karuizawa and is slated to take a helicopter tour of Mt. Fuji today. What the hell?

Unless she has a photographic memory or has extensively traveled to North Korea in recent years, Kim hasn't been a source of information for a very long time. Anything she knows about the abductees is over 20 years old now. She may have some comforting words to say to the Iizukas or Yokotas but that's about it. Sure enough, Shigeru Yokota, father of Megumi, said as much:

北朝鮮による拉致被害者・横田めぐみさんの両親の滋さんと早紀江さんは２２日朝、長野県軽井沢町で記者会見を開き、来日中の大韓航空機爆破事件実行犯の金賢姫（キム・ヒョンヒ）元死刑囚との面会した結果について、

滋さんによると、金元死刑囚はめぐみさんの写真は何度か見たことはあるが、会ったのは１度だけだと話したという。早紀江さんは「めぐみと近しいところにいた金さんと会えて、夢のようだった」と話し、金元死刑囚にベージュ色の上着をお土産としてプレゼントしたと話した。

Kim had nothing to offer that he hasn't already heard. Moreover, she only met Megumi once. But that hasn't stopped Prime Minister Naoto Kan from saying that he hopes Kim's visit will help resolve the abductee issue. Really? If this is Japan's idea of a diplomatic gesture, then its efforts to bring some sort of closure to the abductee issue are truly dead in the water. Let's have bread and circuses instead. After watching the coverage on TV, the one thing that sticks in my mind is this: Why is Japan pallin' around with a terrorist?

*I can't believe I quoted Sarah Palin. I feel dirty, but this visit by Kim doesn't make any sense to me.

F*cked Gaijin links to an entry by Jim Gannon on jetwit.com about how the JET Program has been put on the chopping block by the DJP jjigyo shiwake government waste panel.

As an exercise in teaching English, I think it can be said that JET is an abject failure. Japan has one of the lowest TOEIC scores in Asia and 23 years of JET have done nothing to improve it. As Gannon notes, the budget panel sees JET as a teaching program, not a cultural exchange project, hence its recommendations to essentially do do away with it [PDF in Japanese].

If you're a JET Alumni, you of course don't want to see the program go, but Gannon also notes that intellectuals and policy leaders are trying to convince Japan rethink its position. More importantly, Gannon writes, "For its part, the US State Department also seems to be taking the position that the JET Program makes valuable contributions to the long-term underpinnings of US-Japan relations and cutting it will be harmful."

Even if you believe the JET Program to be wasted effort in teaching English, this is where the real value in JET exists: the goodwill that Japan has bought over the years is invaluable. Teaching and cultural exchange aside, the JET Program has succeeded in creating a corps of "ambassadors" that are interested in and like Japan, and these people tend to want to continue to stay connected to Japan in some way after JET.

I know a few ex-JETS who have gone on to work at embassies in Japan, and I wonder what the ratio of people who go on to work in some Japan-related government or NPO capacity really is. If JET does get the axe, then Japan doesn't just lose a teaching program, but a valuable diplomatic tool as the State Department suggests.

Let's Japan has been lucky in the past to have others share their stories here. For 2010, LJ introduces the Kotatsu Commentator, who will be adding his voice here.
-Shawn

The Japanese government is in the middle of a delicate balancing act. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his coalition government are busy making inroads in a rising tide of Asian power, while preserving the close diplomatic relations with the empire that has helped provide their current prosperity.

The positive developments have been on the side of increasing the Japanese profile in Asian affairs, but many speculators and political junkies believe this move has come at the cost of Japanese/ American bilateral relations. Hatoyama had the opportunity to discuss Asian affairs with his counterparts, Primier Wen Jiabao of China, and President Lee Myung-bak of Korea at the second Japan-China-ROK trilateral summit meeting in October of 2009.

At the press conference following the summit, Wen Jiabao was the first to speak, "Through this summit, the future direction for Japan-China-ROK cooperation has become clearer, the content of that cooperation has been further enriched, and our determination is now firmer than ever before. I am convinced that the future of our trilateral cooperation will become even more attractive through the joint efforts of our three countries' leaders, governments, and citizens." (1)

Japanese relations with both South Korea and China have had a strained and difficult past, but recent agreements and moves by the three signals that they value each other, as a cornerstone in the development of a strong and prosperous Asia.

Hatoyama, speaking at an APEC conference in Singapore in November commented at great length about the growing relations with Asian countries. He has been increasingly forward in his hopes for Asian cooperation and growing diplomatic and economic relations. He has been a leading voice on developing a more powerful East Asian community. In Singapore the Prime Minister said the following regarding relations with China and South Korea, "We should be encouraged by the fact that the ASEAN countries, China, the Republic of Korea and others have begun to play a constructive role in the region and in the entire international community while working together to promote their economic development." Hatoyama then went on to say, "United States has been playing and will continue to play an important role in ensuring the peace and prosperity of Asia, including Japan." (2)

Hatoyama, shortly after being elected even suggested that an East Asian Union be created, based on the European model. Under the proposal, Hatoyama proposed the eventual introduction of a single currency for the Union, but noted the introduction of such a Union would take time.

Huo Jiangang, a scholar studying Japanese Relations at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, "(has) listed the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue, free-trade agreements and unified currency among numerous difficulties before such a community is initiated. He also told the China Daily the following during an interview in September of 2009, "It is also hard for China and Japan to trust each other due to different value systems and fierce competition."(3)

The focus on Asia has cost Hatoyama some political capital with Obama and Washington. Hatoyama has in the past few months been busy paying lip-service to his American commitments. Hatoyama has recently said that the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-US security treaty should be viewed as an occasion to expand bilateral relations, according to an article in Tuesday's Japan Times newspaper.(4)

The current squabbling between Washington and Tokyo on the Futenma issue remains to be resolved and could hurt bilateral relations moving forward. According to a 2006 security agreement between Japan and the US, the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma located in Okinawa was scheduled to be moved Camp Schawb, also in Okinawa. However Hatoyama and his coalition government have reopened the issue, causing tensions in relations.

"The row over the base has underscored the Obama administration’s difficulties in finding common ground with Mr. Hatoyama’s slightly left-leaning Democratic Party government...Mr. Hatoyama has also seemed to pull away from Washington by allowing the Japanese Navy’s mission of refueling American warships in the Indian Ocean to end and telling Asian leaders that Japan has been overly reliant on the United States," writes Martin Fackler in a recent New York Times Article.(5)

As the Japanese government continues to examine the base issue in hopes of finding an amicable solution, officials have been stressing the importance of the US/ Japanese relationship. "Japan's diplomatic priority is to deepen its alliance with the United States, and resolving the disagreement with Washington over the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan is integral to this goal, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said in a policy speech Monday." (6)

As Japan moves to warmer relations with China and South Korea, they cannot cause serious and irreparable damage to their relationship with the current global superpower. It is obvious to many that the tide is shifting to a world increasingly run by Asian powers, but the shift will be a gradual one and will place Japan on a tight-rope for the near future. Japan has remained strong economically by being a relative mute power and Hatoyama's policy of strong statements and proposals on both sides of the fence will take a more balanced effort than he has currently provided. Domestically, Hatoyama can move away from American dominance, and remain popular at home. This of course will directly impact the defence of Japan and also could have economic consequences. Moving to a more pronounced role in Asian politics is dangerous long-term for Japan as the history of relations between Japan and China, and Japan and Korea suggests. One thing is clear; Hatoyama is engaged in a delicate balancing act, due to his Asian-centric statements and his countries commitments to American agreements.

(1) http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/hatoyama/statement/200910/10JCKkyoudou_e...
(2) http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/hatoyama/statement/200911/15singapore_e....
(3) http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-09/23/content_8724372.htm
(4) Hongo, Jun. "Budget to be government's top priority." The Japan Times 5 Jan. 2010: A2.
(5) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/world/asia/16japan.html
(6) http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100106a3.html

Here we have the sequel to the 12,000 yen give-away:

The government will give up to 39,000 yen in "eco points" to buyers of eco-friendly home appliances under a new environmental program.

If you think you can use those points to purchase more stuff, just like you would if you were shopping at a major electronics retailer, you'd be mistaken.

Under the plan, buyers of environment-friendly appliances can earn "eco-points," and redeem the points for goods or gift certificates. For example, those who buy a 46-inch digital television set can receive 39,000-yen worth of eco-points, the highest figure available, according to a release by the government.

Buyers, however, have to wait until after June, after the supplementary budget bill for fiscal 2009 passes through the Diet, to find out how to apply for the points, and are likely to be able to redeem the points in July at the earliest. Since consumers were withholding from buying products as they waited for the program to come into effect, the government decided to start the point-earning period earlier than initially set.

Are you kidding me? I'm supposed to happily fork over hundreds of thousands of yen to purchase electronics in exchange for gift certificates? Plus, I have to wait to find out how to apply for the points and for what I can redeem them? They literally have not thought this plan through.

Like the 12,000 yen give-away, eco points aren't going to boost consumption, especially when Japan's manufacturers are posting record losses, people are losing their jobs, and the government publicly mulls raising the consumption tax.

According to the Ministry of Justice, effective April 1, 2010, you will have to show your health insurance card--either kenko kokumin hoken (National Health Insurance) or shakai hoken (Company Health Insurance)--when you apply to renew your visa or change your visa status. If you do not belong to one of these plans, you will be encouraged (forced?) to join or your visa could possibly be revoked.

How do you get coverage? You can apply for kenko kokumin hoken at your ward office; you can apply for shakai hoken through your employer.

It'll be interesting to see how the eikaiwas react to this. For decades, they have avoided enrolling their employees into the system by playing with the number of hours worked per week, a subject that was brought up here back in 2005..

h/t otakuman

Related links

• Employees’ Health Insurance from the Social Insurance Agency
• Public Social Welfare System FAQ from the General Union

The Japan Times recently reported on a proposal to replace the current alien registration card with a new zairyu (residence card). The article notes that the key benefit to foreigners is the extension of the visa from three to five years.

Debito now has scans of the proposal posted on his blog and Joe Jones at Mutant Frog lists the key points:

• Initial registration will still be done at city hall—“to the Minister of Justice by way of the mayor.” Address changes will also be made to the local government where the holder resides, but other updates will go directly to Immigration (or to whichever Justice Ministry office is designated for that purpose).
• Separate re-entry permits will no longer be required for short trips out of Japan, so long as the foreigner has their zairyu card when they return. (Re-entry permits may stick around for use on longer trips out of Japan.)
• Eligibility to work will now clearly show up on the face of the card as either “free to work,” “restricted to activities within status of residence” or “may not work without separate permit.”

The visa extension and easing of re-entry permit requirements are welcome changes, but beyond this, it appears that the changes are minor. The real benefit appear to be for the police and government.

By now, you're no doubt aware of finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa's embarrassing press conference in Rome:

I was going to say something snarky, but the video speaks for itself. Tobias Harris, however, has a more sober perspective:

The bigger question, beyond Mr. Nakagawa's fitness for office, is Aso Taro's capacity for governing. When Mr. Aso named Mr. Nakagawa as his finance minister, I suggested that naming Mr. Nakagawa as finance minister was akin to John McCain's naming Sarah Palin as his running mate — not because Mr. Nakagawa is as abjectly clueless as Mrs. Palin, but because both choices suggested that the choosers were unserious about governing, as they handed important posts to manifestly unqualified individuals for wholly political reasons (Mr. Aso to reward an important ally in the party, Mr. McCain to shore up his support among conservatives and to try to poach disgruntled Hillary voters). Now we learn that Mr. Aso handed an important post in the midst of a "once in a century economic crisis" to not only a political ally with little background or expertise in financial and economic affairs, but to a political ally with little background or expertise in financial and economic affairs struggling with a medical problem that can affect his ability to perform his duties.

Mr. Mori, in the same TV appearance mentioned previously, said that had he not been on a trip to the US when the Aso cabinet formed, he would have protested Mr. Nakagawa's being named the finance minister.

It is too late to lament the original mistake. With the government's committing to the story that Mr. Nakagawa was simply doped up on cold medicine, it may be too late to fix the mistake without mortally wounding a government already nearing death. It is entirely conceivable that this scandal, with its international ramifications (mostly in terms of Japan's pride), could set in motion a train of events that will bring down the government and trigger an election, the final blow to the prime minister's support within his own party.

The LDP is in free fall with Taro Aso's popularity sinking to single-digit territory. Aso has promised that Japan would be the first nation to get out of the recession depression, so who does he send to combat this once-in-a-hundred-years crisis? A man with a known drinking problem.

Given that Japan's economy has dropped off a cliff, maybe getting doped up on booze and meds isn't such a bad idea.

1. Announce massive stimulus package and tell everyone that you're handing out money. Don't say how much everybody is getting. Also mention under your breath that you plan to hike the consumption tax in a few years.
2. Eventually decide that ¥12,000 will be given per person with an extra ¥8,000 for each person 65 or older or 18 or younger, except for high-income households.
3. Tell municipal governments that they are in charge of handing out the cash and determining what constitutes a high-income household.
4. Helpfully suggest that ¥18 million is a high income, but also ask that rich people voluntarily refuse the cash handouts.
5. Ignore your previous advice and suggest that politicians get the ¥12,000 handout, too because they spend a lot of money and are good at stimulating the economy.
6. Argue over the merits of cash handouts while factories close, workers lose their jobs, and the newly unemployed start living in parks.

Who knew that giving away ¥2 trillion would be so complicated?

A recent article in the Sankei Shimbun notes that a committee has been set up by the LDP to review the Nationality Act with a view to amend Article 11 that states dual citizenship is unlawful.

The impetus for the committee comes not from a sudden burst of altruism, but from the fact that Nobel Prize winner Yoichiro Namba has American citizenship. (And that is embarrassing for Japan or denies it greatness somehow?)

Following the announcement of the Nobel Prize for physics, the Japanese press enthusiastically reported that 3 Japanese had won the prize while the rest of the world reported that 2 Japanese and 1 American had won. Read here for an overview.

I'd certainly consider taking Japanese nationality and I'm sure my wife would have fewer worries about leaving Japan knowing that she would able to keep her Japanese passport. Dual citizenship is not going to become a reality any time soon, but it promises to be an interesting debate to follow.

(h/t to MacGyver)

Original article

ノーベル賞が思わぬ余波！　国籍法改正を検討　自民法務部会　

2008.10.10 18:25

ノーベル物理学賞を受賞受賞した南部陽一郎米シカゴ大名誉教授が米国籍を取得していたことを機に、自民党法務部会の国籍問題プロジェクトチーム（座長・河野太郎衆院議員）は１０日、二重国籍を認めない国籍法改正の検討を始めた。南部氏はすでに日本国籍を喪失しているが、ノーベル賞受賞が思わぬ波紋を広げたようだ。

国籍法１１条は二重国籍を原則認めておらず、出生地で国籍を決める「属地主義」の米国などで生まれた日本人は２２歳までにどちらか一方の国籍を選択することになっている。

外国籍を取得した人はその時点で日本国籍を自動的に失うが、地方法務局に届け出なければ、戸籍はそのまま残る。個人情報を外国政府に照会することはできないため、実態把握は難しいが、法務省では、外国籍取得者の約１割しか届け出ていないとみている。

日本に戸籍が残っていれば、旅券取得や選挙の投票などが可能となり、犯罪に利用される懸念がある。一方、国際結婚などで政情不安な国の国籍を取得した人には日本国籍を残しておきたいとの思いも強い。

法務省は法改正に慎重だが、ＰＴでは「正直者と有名人がバカを見る制度だ」（河野氏）、「二重国籍を積極的に認めた方が日本人が世界に雄飛しやすい」（猪口邦子衆院議員）など改正論が根強い。ＰＴは二重国籍の実態や問題点を洗い出していく方針だが、国籍は「誰が日本人か」という国家の根本問題だけに論争を呼びそうだ。