Howling Racism Supported by Amazon, Family Mart, 7-Eleven, and more

First, some background. . . (To get to the meat of the issue, scroll about halfway down.)

Suppose 1.8% of a country's population was convicted of 0.6% of a country's crimes. Not bad, right? Now suppose that that minuscule minority were foreigners in the country in question and that the overwhelming majority of those crimes were visa-related, e.g. a person overstays his visa, works more hours in a week than his visa permits, or has a visa to work as a teacher, but picks up a part-time job waiting tables.

Now, add to those crime figures the fact that the country in question has a 99% overall criminal conviction rate and that evidence suggests members of the tiny foreign minority are vastly more likely to be stopped, harassed, or arrested than non-foreigners. Thus, the actual number of crimes committed by foreigners is likely to be even less than the 0.6% of which they are accused.

There's more. Like many minority groups around the world, foreigners in this country are not only assumed to have criminal leanings and, thus, are more likely to be inaccurately accused of or convicted of crimes large and small, but every crime committed by a foreigner - real or not - is writ large in the public consciousness. For instance, a robbery committed by a foreigner will grab front page headlines throughout the nation for weeks or more, whereas a murder by a native-born citizen will be buried in the local section and disappear from all sorts of media in a day or two unless it's particularly gruesome.

You'll notice that I've been using the term "foreigner" with no explanation. That's because all foreigners are the same in this country. This may surprise those of you reading this, considering the variety of ethnicities, nationalities, and cultures that comprises this on line community. We're all the same. Not in a positive "We're all human" kind of way, but in an interchangeable sort of way. For example, I am a 28-year-old, stocky white guy of average height with very short hair. You probably look quite different from me. Chances are, you and I are unlikely to be mistaken for each other, whatever your ethnicity, build, or age. However, should I commit some offense - let's say I smoke at bus stop, which is prohibited - you have done it, too.

It's not that I smoked at a bus stop, or even that stocky white guys smoke at bus stops, it will be that "foreigners" smoke at bus stops. You might be tall, dark, handsome, and skinny as a rail, with long, flowing locks. We might never have met or even passed through each others' home towns, but you, dear reader, have been made a presumed bus stop smoker by me. Sorry.

We're not talking Mississippi in the 1950s, but we're not far enough away from that atmosphere. We're talking about Japan in 2007. The world's second-largest economy. One of the world's foremost technological innovators. A country with one of the world's highest standards of living, high levels of education, an actual 99% literacy rate, low crime, virtually no civil unrest, low unemployment, and no war or direct involvement in war in over six decades. Japan also has one of the world's highest rates of international travel. With a population a Spain-sized chunk smaller than half of the US's, a higher number, not percentage, but number of Japanese people have traveled outside of Japan than Americans have traveled outside of America.

In other words, the contributing factors often found in cases of racism and discrimination don't seem to be here.

What do exist, though, are two particular, interconnected vestiges of an isolated past.

First, Nihonjinron. Nihonjinron is the pseudo-academic study of what makes the Japanese superior to other peoples. While not widely believed these days, it is not widely discredited, either. Manga explaining why the Chinese are degenerate demi-humans, for example, or why Koreans are a threat to Japanese society are perennial bestsellers. Such manga are joined by regular books on the same sort of theme. These aren't the products of the fringe, either. They are often written by pseudo-academics in tenured positions at some of Japan's finest universities, where courses in Nihonjinron are making a comeback as part of the curriculum, and can be easily found in bookstores, convenience stores, and even the gift shops of the National Diet Building and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Second, the rather high prevalence of xenophobia. Only 1.8% of those living in Japan are not Japanese citizens and, of that 1.8%, a third were born in Japan and are often second, third, or even fourth-generation descendants of Koreans or Chinese who immigrated to Japan during the colonial era, often as forced labor. Japanese society generally views itself as homogeneous. Foreign Minister Aso Taro said, in 2005, that, "Japan has one race, one culture, one society, and is the only such country in the world," with the clear implication that this was something to proud of. Nevermind that it's demonstrably untrue. It is widely perceived as being true, which may contribute to xenophobia.

The Foreign Crime File

This lovely little magazine, with demonic-looking drawings of depraved foreigners on the cover, and which you can see on the site of Hokkaido University Professor, naturalized Japanese citizen, and human rights activist Debito Arudou, contains such choice elements as an article called "Catch the Iranian!" and a picture of a Black man leaning against a subway entrance with his presumably Japanese girlfriend or wife and his hand on her backside.

The caption, in big, bold print over the photo? "Oi, [N-word]! Don't touch that Japanese lady's ass!"

What this has to do with foreign crime, I have no idea.

Now, racist publications exist everywhere. The problem in Japan, and with The Foreign Crime File, in particular, is that it can be found, prominently displayed, in convenience stores and bookstores.

Don't like it? Well, this is a situation you need not be in Japan to remedy.

What You Can Do (The point.)

The following stores carry this deplorable magazine in Japan, but are also active in the US and Canada:

Family Mart, which has recently expanded to the Los Angeles area, where it is called Famima. This chain of convenience stores carries the magazine in ample supply throughout Japan.

7&Y. This is the on line branch of the 7&I Holdings firm, the parent company of convenience store 7-Eleven. (Yes, 7-Eleven is a Japanese company.)

Amazon.co.jp, the Japanese subsidiary of Amazon.com.

For starters, don't shop at these stores and ask others not to as well. A boycott. Family Mart thinks Famima is going to be a big hit in LA, then the rest of the US and Canada. Let's see that that doesn't happen until they stop hawking racist publications. 7-Eleven was a mess; bankrupt. It's Japanese subsidiary split off, then turned around to buy the parent company and is on its way to turning the franchise around. Let's put a bump in that road. Amazon aims to sell everything under the sun, even if it means helping racists make money and spread their message. Do you want your money to support racists?

If you want to do more, you can call Family Mart USA at (310)214-1001, fax them at (310)214-7200, or e-mail them at info@famima-usa.com. Ask them why they're so cool with supporting and spreading racism.

Of course, contacting 7-Eleven and Amazon would be in order as well.

Spread the word. Contact local media, blog about this, visit the boycott supported by Debito.org, Japan Probe, and Trans-Pacific Radio.

Japan has trouble with the UN Commission on Human Rights. The UN's rapporteur on racism and discrimination, Doudou Diene, has issued scathing reports on Japan in the past and is visiting Japan later this month, where he will find that Japan has yet to comply with human rights treaties it has already signed and has not implemented any of the policies or strategies it agreed to look into the last time the UN came calling. This at a time when Japan wants a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Write to the UN. Let them know things are not looking up.

Spread the word in any way you can. Freedom of speech is great, but it doesn't mean those of us who are apalled by racism should turn a blind eye to it.

Back To Top