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Korean teacher sues over rules restricting promotion of non-citizens

Han Yuchi

Just found this Hankyoreh article from October 28th about a public school teacher in Kobe who was stripped of a promotion because he was not a Japanese citizen:

…..the city’s educational commission has told him that a Korean who is not a Japanese citizen may not hold the position of “associate head teacher.” The school has also removed him from its school affairs committee and from his position as the vice chairperson of seven other school committees.

Kobe education officials and Han’s school are quoting 1991 Japanese Education Ministry guidelines that say a foreigner in Japan may only be promoted as high as a “full-time lecturer without time limit on appointment” who is entrusted only with “assisting” a Japanese teacher.

Han calls the ministry’s guidelines “ethnic discrimination and a violation of civil rights that has no legal basis.” The Association for Human Rights for Foreigners in Japan and local civic groups have lodged a formal protest with city education officials, claiming that the Education Ministry guidelines not only go against the spirit of the Korea-Japan Memorandum, they also go against the “fair treatment” clause regarding Japanese and non-citizens in Japan’s version of the Labor Standards Law.

If the situation is as the article depicts it, Mr. Han is facing some pretty unfair restrictions. While I happen to believe that members of the Zainichi Korean community in Japan who seek privileges of citizenship such as voting rights should naturalize and become Japanese (almost all who apply are accepted), I don’t think that qualified teachers should be denied promotions just because of their nationality.

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18 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - November 9, 2008 at 4:40 am

Categories: Discrimination, Foreigners in Japan Tags: Zainichi Koreans

http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

Well, we know that this story is simply impossible, because Japan has taken “every conceivable measure to fight against racial discrimination.”

Level3

Can you post the Japanese version of that phrase?
How about making T-shirts?
Who said it anyway? Was it in some report?

http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

I don’t think there is a Japanese version, as it’s a UN report.

http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/human/race_rep3.pdf (page 4)

Japan has taken every conceivable measure to fight against racial discrimination. The Constitution of Japan, the supreme law of Japan, guarantees equality under the law without any form of discrimination, as is evidenced by the provision laid down in Paragraph 1 of Article 14 that ‘all of the people are equal under the law and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin’. Based on this principle of the Constitution, Japan has striven to realize a society without any form of racial or ethnic discrimination, and will continue to make efforts to achieve a society in which each person is treated without any discrimination and respected as an individual and can fully develop his or her own personality.

As far as I know, the Japanese Education Ministry is part of the government, yet this so-called guaranteed equality doesn’t extend that far? There is a clause in the guidelines that specifically states foreigners are not equal.

http://whatjapanthinks.com Ken Y-N

And the USA constitution says that a NUSA or a naturalised citizen cannot be president…

You’ll find a lot of countries have laws barring foreigners from certain positions, but I do agree with James’ comment at the end of the article.
http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

I, too, think that Zainichi Koreans who have lived their whole lives in Japan and will continue to live the rest of their lives in Japan should apply for citizenship, but that’s beside the point on this issue.

As far as government positions barred from foreigners, I can understand the policy if it involves national security, but working for MEXT certainly doesn’t.

If you can rationalize this position as being off-limits for foreigners, then private industry has an equal basis for denying positions to foreigners as well, for fear of the inner-social-structure deteriorating and the business going under.

If foreigners are barred from the same promotional ladder as Japanese, then they are essentially relegated and limited to underclass positions. I think Mr. Han has a valid case. (I still don’t understand why he hasn’t taken Japanese citizenship, though. I don’t buy into the ‘clinging identity’ argument.)
The Overthinker

Leaving aside the obvious fact that President of the United States has a little more power than a assistant principal, I would argue that the US is wrong on that stance. After all, as the old saying goes, there’s no fanatic like a converted fanatic.

The trouble with laws like this Japanese one is that they are too blanket. What on earth is the risk to national security, for example, by having a foreign fireman?
http://www.japanprobe.com James

What on earth is the risk to national security, for example, by having a foreign fireman?

You may say that now, but you’d change your mind after a really big fire hit Tokyo and all the foreign firefighters decided to flee to their countries of nationality instead of putting out the flames!
Tomas

ah, the ol’ foreigners-are-honorless-cowards. well played sir, i was expecting the deportation-of-illegal-chinese card to be used again!

Pingback: Discrimination in Japan « Imbroglio
LB

I’m going to play devil’s advocate here. A schoolteacher is not a private-sector job. They are a form of public servant. Not “officially” labeled as such (and so different from government bureaucrats, police officers and firefighters, jobs officially 100% closed to non-citizens), but still in several very real ways “civil (public) servants”. As such, I am not absolutely convinced that they qualify for all the provisions of the “fair treatment” clauses of Japanese Labor Law.

That said, I don’t think the whole education system would fall apart if a non-citizen was promoted to even a senior position like a principal, school board member or even school district superintendent, but I don’t really have problems with a public institution, totally dependent on public funds and supervised by a government ministry, having a nationality clause on key positions.
PnetQ

This is not a case of racial discrimination, but discrimination against foreigners. Specifically speaking, it is about whether foreigners can serve as public servant. The questions to be answered are: 1) Can foreigners be employed as public servant? 2) If so, should there be any restrictions on positions they hold? 3) If so, what restrictions are considered as reasonable?

The Japanese Government is affirmative to both questions 1 and 2. Foreigners, most of whom I think would be Zainichi Koreans, are now working in the public sector, whether national or local, as doctors, nurses or teachers, but they are excluded from administrative positions. A likely problem, of which this case is an example, rises when a job regarded as non-administrative happens to come to discharge duties of administrative nature as a result of promotion

Years back, a law suit was filed by a public health nurse, who was a Zainich Korean, against her employer, if I remember correctly, Tokyo government. She had applied to a qualification test which was requirement for those who want to be promoted to higher positions than the position she held then. Her application was rejected on the grounds that the higher positions ensue administrative service. Therefore, she was not allowed to take the test. She lost the law suit.

I think everyone agree that there are cases where citizenship is required to serve as public servant. No one would argue a non-US citizen can be the FRB chairman for example. On the other hand, I am doubtful that there are any reasonable grounds to exclude the said public health nurse and Mr Han from the positions they seek. I’m afraid the Japanese national and local governments are unreasonably exclusive in this regard.

There is another strange aspect in Mr Han’s case. On the surface, Kobe educational committee’s rejection is not based on his nationality, but on his employment contract. He is being employed as a full-time lecturer (常勤講師), and School Education Law stipulates that a lecturer (講師) cannot be appointed to head teacher (主任). There are many Japanese full-time lecturers in public schools. Their number may be increasing to make up the reduction in the number of teachers (教諭). Usually lectures are employed on the yearly basis, and are supposed to assist teachers.

What is strange with Mr Han’s case is that he is being employed as “full-time lecturer without time limit on appointment” (定年まで働ける常勤講師) which seems very different from usual lecturers I explained above. This employment derives from, as JP quotes from Hankyoreh, the 1991 Education Ministry guidelines which exclude the job holders from participating in school administration.

The guidelines was coincided with the agreement between Japanese and Korean Foreign Ministers that nationality should be removed as a condition to apply to the examination to be put on the roster for public school teachers. At that time, Education Ministry seems to have created, by issuing the guidelines, this strange “full-time lecturer” with permanent employment for foreign teachers. Being put on a roster is not employment. Therefore, literally speaking, the guidelines may not breach the agreement. However, it surely is against the spirit of the agreement.

When we see this issue from this angle, it is not discrimination about promotion. It is discrimination from the outset of employment. The Japanese full-time lecturers employed on the yearly basis are in an assisting position because of their employment being temporary. The way for them to be employed as a teacher with permanent employment is available. To employ someone without limit of time, and put him in a secondary position not because of his qualification for the job, but nationality is unacceptable.

Manichi newspaper (Hyogo), August 30, seems to have reported this issue, but I was unable to find the article in the Mainich site. Instead, I found a site quoting the Mainichi article. The site is against making this an issue, so the tone is rather derisive. The text they quote would be correct, anyway. Yes, the site is in Japanese. Here’s the link.
http://birthofblues.livedoor.biz/archives/50702001.html

leitmotiv

“This is not a case of racial discrimination, but discrimination against foreigners. ”

I thought international standards of discrimination can not apply in Japan due, in part, to the average Japanese person not differentiating between nationality and ethnicity. Now Japan should be excused for the opposite? Because the two ARE in fact seperate?
PnetQ

leitmotiv,

I’m not sure what you are arguing, so let me restate.

I think you are saying:
Nationality and ethnicity are one and the same to the Japanese. When discrimination due to nationality occurs, it is always, in essence, also discrimination due to ethnicity in Japan. To argue that Mr Han’s case is discrimination against foreigners doesn’t make sense because it is also a case of ethnical discrimination due to the Japanese notion of nationality and ethnicity. For this reason, this case shouldn’t be excused.

First, I’m not saying this case should be excused because this is a case of discrimination against foreigners. I have written in my post that the educational committee’s decision to prevent Mr Han from assuming the position at issue is unreasonable although there can be some reasonable restrictions on positions held by foreigners in the public sector.

Second, this should be regarded as discrimination due to nationality, not ethnicity. If Mr Han had naturalized and held Japanese citizenship, this incident wouldn’t have occurred. There are many naturalized former Zainich Koreans in Japan. I cannot deny the possibility that they may suffer subtle discrimination in their lives, but I’m quite convinced that such a problem as Mr Han’s won’t happen to them.

Third, I agree with you in that the Japanese usually don’t distinguish between nationality and ethnicity. However, that doesn’t mean they cannot deal with the two notions distinctly. Are you going to argue that Japan cannot be allowed to control the flow of foreign laborers into the Japanese labor market because such restriction is, from the Japanese point of view, racial discrimination? Isn’t it absurd?

Marc

With naturalization (to Japanese) being relatively easy (especially for anyone who was born & raised here like Han Yuchi), it almost begs the question whether the plaintiffs in these highly publicized cases have another agenda on their minds.

In Han’s case, he happens to be South Korean. However, what if his allegiance – as more than half the Zainichi are in Japan – were to Kim Jong Il and the North Korean regime. No difference?

The Overthinker

Which is precisely the reason there are restrictions. In general, I would imagine that the reason for many of the restrictions on foreigners in Japan are not due solely to them being foreigners as such, but to a lot of them being North Koreans. It’s as if one of the major minorities in the US was Russian communists. I can see how this could breed suspicion. So while there would be restrictions normally, I suspect that the worry over Nork is and has been a significant factor.

putang

after all, is there a country which is perfectly fair to another citizens? if jp govermment interfere with him to obtain jp citizenship regardless he has qualifications, it must be a racial discrimination. if not, it may be complicate matter regarding of his racial pride. please imagine he would say ” i do not want to be american citizen but us government should treat me as same as american citizens.”
putang

after all, is there a country which is perfectly fair to another citizens? if jp government interfere with him to obtain jp citizenship regardless of his qualification, it must be a racial discrimination. if not, it may be complicate matter regarding of his racial pride. please imagine taht he would say ” i do not want to be us citizen but us government should treat me as same as us citizens.”
http://www.usguyintokyo.com Dave Faulkmore

A lot of apologists, making excuses for what we all know is common job discrimination against foreigners. Admit it, you don’t need to do statistical analysis to realize that foreigners in Japan are getting the shaft by Japanese. And the J gov’t is complacent and in fact active participant in this discrimination.

Guys get a backbone and call a spade a spade.

Korean teacher sues over rules restricting promotion of non-citizens

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