Frenchman Denied Entry to U.S. Base Festival
The Japan Times is running an article about a Frenchman who is angry that he was denied entry to the Open Base Bon Odori Festival at the U.S. Navy Negishi Housing Complex:
But not everyone is welcome to these biannual events — perhaps surprising considering the international character of Yokohama. Eric Fior, 37, a French teacher living in Yokohama, has been denied entry to the event two years in a row.
“Two and three years ago they let me enter; only last summer they didn’t let me in,” he explains. “You need to show your ID to enter the base. I showed my ‘gaijin card’ to them at the gate. When they looked at the card they said I couldn’t enter. I asked why and he said, ‘Because you’re French.’
“They said there are new rules and French people cannot enter. I asked why and he didn’t give a reason.”
After being denied entry to last year’s event, the guy in the Japan Times article probably should have checked ahead of time to see if he would have been allowed into this year’s event. He didn’t. Instead, he showed up at the gate and was once again denied entry. He tried to argue with the guards, but they escorted him off the grounds of the complex.
It turns out that France is one of the many countries on the U.S. military’s restricted TCN list. The list contains other important U.S. military allies such Singapore, Israel, and Peru. NATO members Albania and Croatia are on the list too, as are several partner nations of NATO. People of nationalities on the list are not totally banned from entering U.S. military bases, they just have to apply in advance if they want to enter the grounds of a U.S. base.
The article tells readers that there is no indication that some nationalities might be turned down at the gate:
“There’s no indication beforehand that some groups aren’t allowed on,” he adds. “This part of Yokohama is very international. I have friends around here from all over the world: Ghanaian, Tunisian, American. I don’t see any problems in this community. If you come a long way for this event and you aren’t allowed in, then you simply have to go home.”
Some Googling found that other Friendship Day events on U.S. Military events often give advance warning that not all nationalities can show up on the day of the event and get in:
If you are not a U.S. or Japanese citizen and would like to attend the festival, call the Public Affairs Office at 042-552-2511 for additional information. [2010 Yokota Friendship Day Festival]
And a few notices could be found written in Japanese:
日本・アメリカ国国籍以外の方のご参加に関しては、現地にて断られる場合がございます。 [Yokosuka Navy Day Festival ]
根岸米軍基地親善フレンドシップデー 2010年4月24日(土）12：00～19：00
雨天：4月25日同時刻開催 場所：根岸米軍ハイツコミュニテイーセンター周辺
問い合せ：根岸米軍基地福利厚生課担当・・045-281-4120・・（日本語でも可のようですがもちろん得意の米語でも）と記載されていますが・・ピストル下げた衛兵というか・・ガードマンというか・・守衛というか・・が日本語で説明するところでは、当日はゲームやバンドライブや飲料などイベントが準備され、一応誰でも受け入れるようですが・・受け入れない国籍の人も有りうるので、パスポート（ビザは必要ないようです）or免許証or住民基本台帳など身分証明できるもの持参したほうがよいのでは・・荷物のセキュリテイチェックという制限もあるそうです・・ゲートの中には日本大使館や領事館はなさそうですからご留意ください！ [Negishi Housing Complex Friendship Day]
I could find a few online notices about the specific event mentioned in the Japan Times article, but most seemed followed the format below, leaving out a warning about certain nationalities being subject to tighter security restrictions:
45th U.S. Navy Negishi Bon Odori Festival
The U.S. Navy Negishi Housing will celebrate its annual Bon Odori Festival. It is an open gate festival. A full day of activities and entertainment is planned including the performance by the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet Band and local Japanese band, both American and Japanese food/souvenir stands, Bon dance, and more!
■Date&Time: August 21 (Sat) 2010 1500-2100 (Rain date is following day, same time)
■Venue: Negishi U.S. Navy Housing Area, Community Center Parking Lot
■Access:
1. From JR Negishi Line Negishi Station: City bus #21 (towards Sakuragi-cho) off at “Asahidai”, 8min. walk
2. From Yokohama Station: City bus #103 (towards Negishidai) off at Negishidai, 1min. walk.
■Fee: Free
■Inquiries: (045) 281-4120 or (045)281-4101●Note:
1. No personal vehicles allowed (please use public transportation)
2. Baggage checks will be conducted
3. ID check may be required. Please bring a valid photo ID, either Driver’s License with permanent address, Passport, Alien Registration Card or Resident Card. For middle school/high school students, please bring student ID. Children under 12 are not required any ID.
4. The entry may be limited depends on the circumstances.
Point #4 might be interpreted as a warning to other nationalities, but it’s too vague to be helpful to anyone. A promotional poster for the event also does not include information about restricted nationalities.
To avoid this kind of bad press, the Navy should have followed Yokota Airbase’s example and used an announcement that clearly notifies non-Japanese that they should check about entry restrictions.
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Categories: Foreigners in Japan
Japanese Girl + Dangerous Job
A Japanese “Danger Hunter” visits the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas and finds out what it’s like to perform maintenance on its thrill rides:
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Categories: Japanese Girls, Japanese TV
Kamikatsu: Japan’s First Zero-waste Town?
The small town of Kamikatsu in Tokushima prefecture is aiming to become a “zero-waste” area that recycles trash and uses renewable energy sources: Read more…
Categories: General Japan
George Shima: The Potato King
Do you know the story of the Japanese man who became the “Potato King” of California? Here’s a short clip about him from a TV Tokyo show about Japanese people who have impacted the world outside Japan:
Ushijima Kinji [George Shima] came to America in 1888. He started out as a house servant and farm laborer, but through hard work and thriftiness, he was able to buy some land to start his own farm. It was cheap swampland that few people considered worth owning, but Ushijima apparently knew some traditional Japanese land reclamation tricks that could turn those swamps into suitable farmland. He used the land to grow potatoes, and by 1913 he had over 28,000 acres in production, earning himself the nickname “Potato King.” His economic achievements are credited with helping the growth of Stockton, California from a small town into a sizable city. The video also mentions how he donated lots of potatoes to earthquake victims.
Read more about him in Wikipedia.
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Categories: General Japan
Greenpeace Activists Found Guilty of Theft
In 2008, two members of Greenpeace stole a package from a shipping company’ warehouse in Aomori. Their organization subsequently held a press conference announcing that its members had committed an illegal act of theft. The men were subsequently arrested and charged with theft and trespassing. A few minutes ago, a Japanese court ruled they were guilty, but that they would not be going to jail: they were given suspended sentences.
The package they stole was the property of a Japan whaling ship crew member. It contained whale meat. Greenpeace said it stole the package to expose that the meat was “stolen” and “smuggled” by the man, while the Japanese whaling program said that it is common for crew members to receive whale meat as a gift for their hard work. The Japanese authorities accepted the gift explanation, and deemed that the whalers had committed no illegal act. Greenpeace, on the other hand, had broken the law.
Given the fact that the two Greenpeace members freely admitted that they had entered a private building without permission and committed theft, a “not guilty” verdict was completely out of the question. A suspended sentence as probably the best result they could hope for, yet Greenpeace is already denouncing the court decision:
Greenpeace continues to assert its right to act as an extralegal police force, committing crimes in the name of what it perceives to be justice. It’s quite possible that the lenient sentence handed down today could encourage other acts of vigilante “activism.”
Side note: It’s kind of funny that Greenpeace has encouraged the international media to call the two men “the Tokyo Two” when their crime and trial are actually took place in Aomori, quite far from Tokyo.
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Categories: Japanese Food
Diaper-headed Man Robs Convenience Store
A man has been arrested in Tokyo for robbing a convenience store. At the time of the robbery, he was armed with a knife and wearing an adult diaper on his head:
The criminal, a 55-year-old South Korean citizen named Kim Byung-il, later turned himself in. Kim was unemployed, and told police he robbed the convenience store because he wanted money. Apparently he was unable to afford a typical disguise, so he just cut eye-holes into one of his diapers and used it as a mask. (He regularly wore them because he had some sort of bladder problem.)
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Categories: Foreigners in Japan, Odd / Strange