Not many Japanese people realize how many foreigners with the
right of permanent residence are living in Japan, because their
appearance or the way they talk is exactly the same as the
Japanese. The reason for this is that many of them were born in
Japan and brought up in Japanese society. Many of them can speak
not their national language but only Japanese, and also know
little about their native countries. Although they have been
brought up as a part of Japanese society, there are several
disadvantages that exist for them in Japan.
They have some problems. First, they have no suffrage. Even
when they become twenty years old, they cannot have the right to
vote. Second, they have to carry their Alien Registration Card
with them all the time. Third, they are not able to work for
public jobs such as civil servants. These restrictions are not
fair at all. If these three things are applied to foreigners who
come to Japan just for sightseeing or working, it can be
understandable and justified. However, it is nonsense to apply
these three rules to foreigners who have the right of permanent
residence.
There are some forms of discrimination against them, too. I
will mention two examples based on the experiences of friends of
mine. The first happened at Yokota Base. One of my best friends,
who is Chinese, but has the right of permanent residence, was not
allowed to enter the base while some other Japanese were. Second,
his sister, who was going to marry soon, was not allowed to go on
a honeymoon in Korea because of her nationality.
There are also problems about changing one's nationality. It
is possible for foreigners who have the right of permanent
residence to change their nationality into Japanese. However,
their relatives are usually closely-knit and are very proud of
their own nationality, so it is very hard for them to change
their nationality to Japanese. There are some invisible pressures
clinging to them that never go away.
All these things were poured out from my Chinese friend's
mouth. He told me about these things with tears and with anger.
What he kept asking was why he had to be treated that way. He was
born in Japan and brought up Japanese. He went to the same school
that I went to, studied the same things that I studied, and had
the same lunch that I had. He has spent his life exactly the same
as Japanese do. He never went to China and knows only a little
about China. He is completely Japanese, but he is nevertheless
treated differently from Japanese.
The last word he said, which struck me the most, was, "I feel
like I am a half Japanese because I do not care about the notions
of my relatives. One thing, however, that I especially hate is
the Japanese attitude towards us. If I change my nationality into
Japanese, everything around me will go well. People who had
treated me differently will suddenly stop treating me that way.
Inside me, I am not changed at all, and all I change is just the
surface. Japanese people tend to judge others not from the
inside, but from the outside. That's why I do not want to be
Japanese!" I could not say even a word.
In the process of internationalization, we have to face these
kinds of problems someday soon. No, we are already facing these
problems. For this reason, it is about time for us to tackle
these issues seriously. We have to find out the best solutions as
soon as possible. Our Policy Studies faculty might be helpful.
Why don't we start?
by Hitoshi Iizawa
