Nova Teacher’s ‘Volunteer Spirit’ Doesn’t Fall On Blind Eyes
Japanese officials were reportedly shocked and awed by images on television last week of Nova teachers in spite of not having been paid for months, turning up at shuttered branches across the country to do their duty.” We had no idea there were people willing to sacrifice so much to do their jobs” according to one official. “We will definitely have to look into this more closely” said another.
Unpaid Nova teachers shut out from their place of employment, showing up for work seemed to hit a nerve with many Japanese last week. “In Japan we don’t have a culture of volunteerism, I was very very surprised to see young foreign people willing to work in spite of not being paid” explained one housewife “If Japanese are not paid, they won’t work unless they are ordered to do so”she goes on “I understand the Japanese staff was not paid also, but they obviously were expecting to get their money soon. What got into those foreigners?”
This is the question officials in the Japanese government are asking themselves. “We were intrigued to see people not paid willing to volunteer themselves for the betterment of their employer and Japan. Japan needs more of these kind of people.” said a government spokesperson. A fact finding mission will be immediately dispatched to some of the countries these people come from to look into what this is all about. “We don’t foster a sense of volunteerism in our country, so it could be that because of their education or backgrounds, they are more readily willing to volunteer their time and energy, we will be definitely looking closely into this” said the government spokesman. “If in fact there are young people willing to volunteer their time and work for nothing in Japan, we need to take advantage of this for our own good.” In fact the Working Holiday Visa program which was implemented in the 1980’s may need to be revamped in light of this discovery.
“If there are young people from these western countries willing to give their services to us, we would be stupid not to take advantage of it. We had been looking into bringing over and employing nurses and such from low wage countries to take care of jobs for a pittance our people are not interested in doing, but if people from those other countries are willing to volunteer for nothing, then we would be stupid to hire Filipino’s, who would expect to be paid something. . It is much better for Japan to have these others who will work for nothing” an administration official explains.
“While it would be good for our young people to be less selfish and volunteer to do good deeds every now and then, we don’t think this is the sort of foreign value we would like to emulate in the Japanese social system.
“Who would be left to take advantage of it and be the bosses and CEO’s if everybody was a volunteer worker? That would not be good for Japan.”
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now that’s a painful comment against Filipino nurses and caregivers right there.
i’m sure that the foreigners are volunteering due to the unusual circumstances that they now face. but under regular circumstances, perhaps they would also appreciate getting paid. but losing one’s job and not getting paid is not usual. desperation brings out the best in others, so to speak.
still, filipino nurses and caregivers also work in unusual circumstances back in there home country, that’s why they leave for greener pastures in the first place. if the japanese think that they can run an economy of workers simply based on volunteerism, then they’ve got to think of context first. volunteerism will simply not happen when you want it and how you want it. it is caused by a myriad of causes, all stemming from one’s call to go beyond the call of duty, amidst insurmountable odds. and these conditions are not something you can command.
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Damn you again! I thankfully realized the satire halfway through, but I was truly hoping that this kind of selfless act had been going on and that people were taking notice. Does anyone know if anything close to this is happening (teachers still showing up to help students), or has David Markle shattered my optimistic hopes?
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Yes, it does happen — I worked in two small towns at three small branches, where it was easy to get to know students. Since the collapse my housemates and I have been doing volunteer lessons for students who want them — not only can we see students we had fun with, it means students can continue practicing while waiting to see what happens at NOVA.
Thankfully, I’ve saved quite a bit of money since I got here ten months ago, I paid for an open-ended return ticket before I left Australia, and resigned about a week before things fell apart. I’m a lot better off than most ex-NOVA teachers, so looking for a new job or private students isn’t really much of a worry for me. And what else am I going to do during the day while not working, considering I’ve already travelled in Japan? Sit around on the internet bitching and carrying on? :p
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well, you could volunteer your time helping out at the Nova Union soup kitchen.
Disclaimer: just joking;)
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I showed up to my branch on my scheduled day, but I only saw four of my students. They really only wanted to know what was going on and if I was ok.
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I knew it was removed from reality the moment it said that there is no culture of volunteerism in Japan. That said, perhaps a disclaimer in the text at the bottom might help, especially those who first language is not English.
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maybe I should just put a disclaimer after everything I write: Just joking?
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Oh man. Well put.
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huh? this is just like something out of the “daily show.” Wow. That official should be named for his ‘brilliance’ i.e. When you think these Filipinos will work for a pittance as tachinbos and nurses (2/3 the wage of a japanese at most) wait till you see these whities work for nothing! Nada, zilch!
“If there are young people from these western countries willing to give their services to us, we would be stupid not to take advantage of it. We had been looking into bringing over and employing nurses and such from low wage countries to take care of jobs for a pittance our people are not interested in doing, but if people from those other countries are willing to volunteer for nothing, then we would be stupid to hire Filipino’s, who would expect to be paid something. . It is much better for Japan to have these others who will work for nothing” an administration official explains.
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It is time for all Nova visas to be revoked. The government is preparing lists of those sponsored by Nova, and their visas will be invalid very soon. They will be given an opportunity to pay for a discount ticket home. If they cannot pay, their visa will expire and they will be arrested as OVERSTAYER. Japan does not need failures! Go home Nova teacher, before the governemnt makes your life very difficult!
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This is some quality trolling!
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Not a bad effort, but doesn’t include enough vitriol, or charges that they are terrorists. I would have done my own version, but his site is obviously a parody site of ultra-right extremist 2ch fantasies, so won’t bother.
BTW, for what it’s worth, working visas in Japan do NOT expire if you lose your job. The visa is given to you by the Japanese government, which has allowed you to stay for the time allotted. You are not allowed to do any work that you are not specifically allowed to do, but you do not have to leave the country. Only in exceptional circumstances would the govt cancel the visa, and losing your job as the company goes bankrupt is nowhere near there.
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Sounds a little more like insulting the Japanese system rather than making light of the NOVA teachers’ predicament.
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It just shows how lightly people are taking a very serious situation, because the victims being targeted are foreigners. This is not a laughing matter. Many foreigners have been screwed by a very unscrupulous employer. It’s about time the Japanese government stepped up to the f**king plate and help sort this tragedy out. Nova teachers are owed two months pay. Some are in dire need of help. In my opinion, all that is going on is a delaying tactic to prevent workers from applying for unemployment pay.
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You are right, it is a serious situation. It may come as a surprise to some people but Japan takes a very dim view of people who apply for public assistance. This is not the UK or Australia where you can walk into the PA office and walk out with a check in your hand 30 minutes later. The system is made to ‘encourge by hunger’ the applicant into finding work on their own. That is why they have the months and months to wait till getting anything from UI. The welfare system is even worse, forcing recievers to sell everything they have, even a car, and contacting distant relatives to beg for help. It is a degrading system and many commit suicide while waiting for even subsistance level help from the government.
The situation is worse for foreigners because they can’t just walk into the 7/11 and get a job tending the register or line up at for most of the day jobs at Hello Work. Some foreign embassies have enough insight and compassion to recognize this and have offered loans for those without the funds to get back to a more civilized (at least for them) country. Others including the worlds supposedly richest superpower, remain closed eyed and closed fisted, but this is another subject.
Serious indeed.
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Here’s a real-life version of the same idea (at least I didn’t spot any ’satire’ warnings…):
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200711050053.html
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I really don’t like these satirical posts on what is otherwise a great news site.
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I go to a great pizza place and on the menu they have a shrimp and tuna pizza. I don’t care for shrimp and tuna on my pizza so I just skip over it.
I also don’t particularly care for rugby the sport.
I wouldn’t think of asking the restaurant to remove the item from their menu I didn’t care for or ask people who enjoy rugby to not partake in it because I don’t care for it.
Can’t you just do the same?
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No?
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For those of you concerned about your visa status:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/index.html
Q17 I heard that my status of residence would not be revoked even if I fail to engage in my intended activity relating to my status of residence for three months because of “justifiable reason.” It is true?
A. Your status of residence will not be revoked even if you stay in Japan with one of the statuses of residence as listed in Annexed Table I of Immigration Control Act (Engineer, Skilled Labor, College Student, etc.) and have “justifiable reason” for failing to engage in your intended activity relating with your status of residence for three months. The immigration control authority listens to your opinions when evaluating if or not you have ” justifiable reason” on a case-by-case basis. For example, the immigration control authority might not revoke your status of residence in the following cases because you are regarded as having ” justifiable reason.”
1. After losing your job due to bankruptcy of your employer, you go about getting a job, including actually visiting a company for an interview in order to seek for a new job;
2. After Japanese-language school you have been attended was closed down, you are working on necessary procedures to enter a different Japanese-language school; or
3. You need long-term hospitalization for medical treatment and have no choice but to take a temporary leave from university, but intend to go back to the university after coming out of the hospital.
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Note that this is concerned with people who enrol in language schools etc and then drop out to work on the sly. It may be worded more generally, but it’s designed to stop semi-illegal labour migrants who come under the guise of something like “pre-college” or “trainee” and never show up. I would not imagine ex-NOVA teachers need to worry, as I assume most of them are looking for new work anyway, and the facts of their case are very well known. Those ex-NOVA teachers who are still worried should phone the controlling immigration office for their area (eg Tokyo for Kanto, Nagoya for Chubu, etc) where there will be English-speaking officers, and get the direct lowdown.
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Note too the comment (5) in this section: “The foreign national staying in Japan under any of the statuses of residence prescribed by law has not made a false statement in the application for permission, but due to subsequent changes in circumstances, he does not need to stay in Japan any longer; e.g., where a foreign student who has been expelled from school due to non-attendance does not go to another school and is not expected to engage in activities as a foreign student in the near future.”
(http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/index.html)
That spells out more clearly the real aim of revocation of status and why.
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