Nipponica

In Japan, which is made up of just 2.66% foreign nationals, there is no such named conceit for the Japanese people or for the foreign population.

Still, just because there’s no recognizable “Japanese dream” doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. And as is increasingly apparent, the country needs a considerable increase in skills and talent from abroad to address its depopulation problem.

This is a great essay about the stories of some recent immigrants to Japan and how they chose coming here best choice for their future. The Japanese Dream is real but can be difficult to achieve unless you really work hard to integrate, compromise, and understand that it is a give-and-take process. Japan needs a part of you before it will take you in.

According to the complaint, in 2023, when the man was still a student, he visited hospitals in Kobe and Chiba Prefecture to look for a job, but his teacher and others pointed out that he was not allowed to do that during his on-the-job training period. He was told, "We have to punish you somehow" and "Will you waste a year?" suggesting that he would have to repeat the year. He was then demanded to apologize in front of all his classmates and submit a letter of reflection.

Preventing students from job hunting seems completely backwards.

Foreign residents are increasing in number in southwestern Japan's Kyushu region as well as in Yamaguchi and Okinawa prefectures at a rate exceeding the national average amid a labor shortage.

The trend emerged in the Vital Statistics released on July 24 by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, based on basic resident register data as of Jan. 1, 2024. It comes as the population of Japanese nationals continues to dwindle in these areas.

Another Hyogo prefectural government employee linked to power harassment allegations against Gov. Motohiko Saito was found to have died, in an apparent suicide, sources have said.

The employee, a former section chief, who was in charge of gathering funds for last year's victory parades for the Hanshin Tigers and the Orix Buffaloes, both professional baseball teams, and was recuperating from sickness, died in April, Saito said at a news conference Wednesday.

This guy needs to go. Now.

A total of 900 copies of the "Guidebook for Foreign Residents" have been published in English, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese and simple Japanese. The simple Japanese version has furigana readings for all of the kanji characters, which the city's Multicultural Affairs Division says it expects foreign residents not covered by the other five language versions will be able to use.

It is good that local governments are putting things like this together. Perhaps bits of it more general can be 'open sourced' for other municipalities to create similar guides for their residents.

On the morning of April 10 this year, when a chill remained in the air, Muslims gathered in a residential district of the Osaka Prefecture city of Ibaraki. They were there to celebrate Eid, marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. Altogether, about 300 people from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other regions visited the two-story Osaka Ibaraki Mosque, which is adorned with golden decorations. During prayer, the mosque was so full that some prayed on the rooftop.

A good story of local residents accepting and befriending members of a minority community. More of this needs to happen throughout the country.

The survey was conducted from April to May. It was initially anonymous, but was later switched to a named format. Valid responses in the latter format totaled 64,829, with 24,343 from junior high students, 7,286 from high school students and 33,200 from parents and guardians.

Asked whether the 12 single-gender prefectural high schools should become coed, 56% of junior high children said, "either is fine," while opposing views were neck and neck, with 18% saying the schools should be coed and 19% responding they shouldn't.

In contrast, 57% of high schoolers opposed coeducation across the board, with only 7% in favor and 33% indifferent. The most common answer for opposing coed school was that "both coeducational and single-gender schools should be options," cited by 35%.

This seems like a strange result and am curious about more detailed reasons that students and guardians resist coed schools and if those opinions are skewed towards one gender over another.

“The government’s responsibility is extremely serious,” Kishida told the victims in a meeting at the prime minister’s office. “I am sincerely sorry.”

“The old law was an inexcusable violation of human rights which tramples on individual dignity,” he said.

Better late than never.

I'm concerned about the trend toward exclusion. Even regarding accepting immigrants, the situation in Japan differs from that in the West, which has been accepting immigrants for a long time. We live in an age where anyone can travel abroad, but it seems that Japanese people are still not used to foreigners. I sometimes get the impression that Japan is unilaterally imposing its values and customs on them. And even on matters where we should be treated equally, I feel that Japanese people are given priority.

Places like this are key to helping newcomers to get the simple things done in Japanese society that most people think are simple. Just setting up a phone contract or bank account is hard to impossible for those that don't know the procedures and rules. I got lucky when I first came here as my university helped with all the initial bureaucracy but most do not have the luxury. And huge respect for the Japanese that recognize this problem and are doing something about it.

Tactical voting, unity and impassioned pleas from some of the nation’s biggest celebrities helped a left-wing coalition score a surprise win over the far-right in France’s legislative election on July 7. The result is widely being hailed as a victory for French democracy, and a display of unity in the face of creeping extremism.

Nearly 10,000km away in Tokyo, there is no such enthusiasm. The same day, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike secured a third term at the helm of the world’s largest metropolis by population. Instead of the tactical voting seen in France, there was voter apathy in Tokyo.

Credit to the French people for actually deciding to participate in the democratic process. Voting apathy in Japan is far from a new phenomenon and the lack of engagement from the populous just keeps the same faces and parties in power. Perhaps that is the secret plan of the electorate but I'm willing to bet that something more deep-seated is to blame for a lack of interest in government.