Kyushu town bans foreign students
In a letter to the Japan Times, Chris Flynn[is this link correct?] announced that he would like to start the “Dejma Awards,” which would be awarded “to those in Japan who actively try to shield themselves from foreigners and foreign influence, culture and ideas.” He had a suggestion for the first nominee:
I would like to nominate the Setaka Town Assembly (Fukuoka Prefecture) for this year’s award. The town was trying to attract a university to establish a campus in town, and in the process asked for comments from the townsfolk.
A group of residents submitted a deposition opposing a campus that did not reject foreign students. They were worried about the crime such students would bring. That’s right — the residents wanted a university as long as there were no foreign students. The town assembly voted to accept the proposal without debate.
On the Setaka town homepage there is an English greeting from Mr. Takeki Onimaru, the mayor of Setaka. It contains the slogan “Striving to make a wonderful town full of vitality and warm heart.” I guess the warm heart thing doesn’t apply to foreign students[most foreign students in Japan are Asian, usually from China or Korea], who have been coldly excluded as criminals in the minds of Setaka’s townsfolk…
[Via FG]
Update: According to this Japanese language article, the “no foreigners” rule is no longer in effect. While the town government did initial pass the rule, complaints surfaced:
someone found out about it, complained, and the town government then made an announcement that there were portions of the list of demands that were inappropriate and removed the part about the foreign students.
The people however were not happy at all, and said they can not agree with the revised list of demands as the governments explanation was insufficient. They cited their complains being about the change to allow foreign students. Yet never the less on the 20th of December at a special hearing about the plans, the people agreed on their demands (as well as including foreigns in their little utopian society) without talking specifically about them.
Thanks, Darin!
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As someone who has a good amount of family in fukuoka area, I can safely say that disallowing gaijin in that area is nothing but a favor to those excluded souls. That hood is BORING.
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Probably they don’t know what the university is for.
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http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nnp/national/20061221/20061221_025.shtml
That’s the only article I could find about the issue. When making plans to invite someone to build a university, the town asked for ideas from the people in the area that the school would be built in what kind of ideas/restrictions they would like to be in place. One of the things that got on the list of demands from the general public was to not allow foreign students. The town government accepted the people’s requests without any questions asked. (Meaning either a, the town government agreed/or didn’t care, or b, they didn’t even bother reading the people’s list of demands. I’ll leave that decision up to everyone as individuals, because the article includes no evidence to support either claim.)
However later down the line someone found out about it, complained, and the town government then made an announcement that there were portions of the list of demands that were inappropriate and removed the part about the foreign students.
The people however were not happy at all, and said they can not agree with the revised list of demands as the governments explanation was insufficient. They cited their complains being about the change to allow foreign students. Yet never the less on the 20th of December at a special hearing about the plans, the people agreed on their demands (as well as including foreigns in their little utopian society) without talking specifically about them.
What interests me is the wording used to describe what the people were upset about.
外国からは一切入学させない確約
They wanted a absolute promise that no students would be accepted from abroad. However it doesn’t specify foreigners, just where they are coming from. This becomes an issue because of 帰国子女 or Japanese students coming from abroad. A Japanese person who has gone to school abroad for example is not treated as a ‘normal’ Japanese applicant to Japanese universities, and depending on the university is lumped together with all other foreign students or handled all together in a separate way.
I would understand this wording to also demand the exclusion of all Japanese students who will be coming from a foreign country for the purpose of entering the university. I would have liked to see the public from the area explain what they define 外国からは一切入学させない to be, and if 帰国子女 are included or not before the government shot them down. That would have been interesting.
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It would be. I’m glad one of us can interpret the article directly from the Japanese. But all this is indicative of a neverending struggle in Japan; most of the populace is absolutely in denial that such discrimination exists. Yet, as foreigners, we probably see more of it in a year than they will in a lifetime.
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