Foreigners in Japan

“Gaijin Gulag” Victim Christopher Johnson Discloses Visa Information ( Work Visa Application Paperwork, But No Approval? )

Part I: Visa status announced, then deleted

A quick update on the ongoing tale of Christopher Johnson, a freelance journalist whose Narita Airport “Gaijin Gulag” story has been picked up by several major news websites (The Economist, Boing Boing, Reddit).

In my last post, I noted that Johnson’s refusal to disclose his visa status had created considerable controversy about his account of detention and deportation.

Johnson’s article is an ever-evolving work. He has been constantly editing his blog post, changing the wording of old passages and adding new information. His latest edit may have answered the big question about his visa.

It now has a new passage (emphasis added):

Though I had work visas dating back to 1989, and papers saying the government had acknowledged the receipt of my application to renew my work visa, I was detained at Narita airport and expelled.

If this is correct, it seems to confirm what many people had suspected: Johnson did not have a valid work visa. Paperwork stating that the government had received an application does not grant permission to enter the country. Should immigration officers have assumed that the application would be accepted? [UPDATE: Less than two hours have passed since I made this post, and Johnson has DELETED the above-mentioned passage from his blog post! Just how are we supposed to explain that? ]

I have been in similar situation. I applied for a visa renewal but during the month that it took to process the paperwork, my previous visa expired. I was told that I could remain in the country until I received the results of the renewal application. The validity of the re-entry permit in my passport was tied to the date of the previous visa. So if I left the country during that week of “limbo” between visas, there was a high risk that I might not be allowed back in. I was also not supposed to engage in work during the period between visas. If Johnson’s case was the same, it is baffling that he left the country before the new visa had been approved.

Oddly enough, Johnson has not changed an older passage about the visa situation:

I first had a work visa for Japan in 1989, and my last renewal began in 2008. I have never overstayed, and never broken laws in Japan.

Did he apply for a renewal in 2008 and not receive a response until 2011? I might be safe to assume that one of the two passages is wrong. Maybe the most recent one? It sure is hard to fully understand a situation when the details keep changing…

Johnson also added a passage about a “similar” case (taken from a credible source – an anonymous internet comment):

In an account similar to my own, a Canadian using the pseudonym “mxlx3″ explained his ordeal in a comment to The Economist’s Banyan blog. After 11 years working legally and paying taxes in Japan, he lost his $125,000 per year job, all his possessions in his apartment, and his Japanese fiancee, because bureaucrats messed up his renewal for a work permit. After his sponsored work visa expired, immigration officers told him to leave Japan and come back on a tourist visa while his new employment visa was being processed. But upon returning from Guam in 2002, he was detained and expelled.

Johnson has stated today that his visa status “has been explained,” but questions remain: had the previous visa expired? Why had he left the country before the renewal was processed?

Part II: Johnson Changes His Story Again

Update [Jan. 26]: For the past several days, a user called “imcanjapn” had been leaving comments on the Economist’s website, closely mirroring Christopher Johnson’s statements on other sites. After several users claimed to have “outed” him as Johnson’s sockpuppet account, he disappeared.

Now, Johnson himself has appeared on that comment thread, making new claims about his visa status:

Those who accused me of doing “visa runs”, “over-staying” or “gaming the system” for 22 years have been proven false. I had work visas dating back to 1989, and documents from the immigration department regional office in Tokyo in 2011 that acknowledged they were processing my application to renew my visa to continue working legally in Japan as a freelance journalist. Under new regulations, I was allowed to keep my passport during this time. Immigration officers in Tokyo kindly told me several times I could leave and return to Japan during this process, thanks to new procedures. I had no problem returning to Japan, on this same basis, from trips to Canada and Germany in 2011.

Commenting on the older version of his article, which stated that he several beers on the short morning flight, Johnson claimed that he was “not drunk or high upon arrival at Narita.”

He continues to claim that officials did not tell him the reason why he was given an expulsion order. Once again, he has implied that the Japanese government was out to get him because of his heroic truth-telling. Supposedly, Johnson used to work for NHK World, but was “blacklisted” by them because he started spreading the word about how NHK was “squandering of millions of yen of taxpayers funds on cash-cow programs which can’t be seen in Japan.” (Isn’t that the whole point of NHK World – to make programs for an audience outside Japan?)

If his latest claim about visa status is true, one wonders why he has evaded answering questions about his visa. Why would he hide that information, and lash out at people who asked about it? Why in the world would he leave such critical details out of the original version of his story. It makes no sense at all. Few of his critics are likely to trust him now.

One user on the FG forums responded to Johnson’s new claims with the following:

“Maybe Chris Johnson was lucky on his earlier entries, maybe they were during the life of the previous visa, or maybe the decision not to allow his renewal was made coincidentally during his time in Korea. Maybe he misunderstood what Immigration were telling him, and looked at it all a bit too optimistically.

Or maybe it is a global world conspiracy by NHK, Serbians and the nuclear industry specifically targetting him. I wonder which is more likely.”

Extra: Unlike those other foreigners…..

Update: Reading over Johnson’s article, I noticed one interesting passage in his blog post (emphasis added):

But I didn’t flee Japan like thousands of foreigners after the March 11 disasters. I made personal sacrifices to tell the world about the plight of disaster victims, to generate sympathy for Japan. I earned income from sources outside Japan, and spent it inside Japan.

I thought this whole “flyjin” issue was behind most of us, but since Johnson wants to bring it up, let’s take a look at the record. Some quick Googling found that Johnson did indeed stay in Japan after the disaster. However, while millions of us stayed at our homes and workplaces in Tokyo, Johnson joined the panic-stricken and got the got on a bullet train.

On March 16th, Canada’s CTV network aired a telephone interview with Johnson, who has bravely decided to stay in the city of Hamamatsu..which he claims could still be in harm’s way. Johnson implies that the people who didn’t flee Tokyo were the ones who had given in to fear.

(In the video, CTV has erroneously included “On the line from: Tokyo” at the top of the screen.)

—-Begin Transcript——

News anchor asked him how close he is to the exposed areas.

CHRIS JOHNSON: “…I’m not sure if I’m in the exposed area or not…..[explains that Hamamatsu is "a little over a hundred kilometers" southwest of Tokyo]…I decided to come here so that I could still be close to Tokyo but…uh…I wanted to get out before there was any sort of mass attempt at an escape…[mentions strong winds near Hamamatsu]….But if…if there is a meltdown, I am going to try to get down to Osaka or anywhere south, if I can.”

News anchor asked him if he is personally concerned.

CHRIS JOHNSON: “I think everybody is…COUGH excuse me..I am one of the LAST people I know to leave Tokyo. All my friends left earlier. Basically anybody that had small children we-were leaving. When I took the bullet train, the high speed Shinkansen bullet train here, it was just full of Japanese mothers with their babies. While their husbands were still working in Tokyo today. But even…uh…Sony for example..uhm..normally has 6,000 people working at their headquarters. They only had about 120 today. Everybody else has left.”

News anchor asks where people are going.

CHRIS JOHNSON: “They try to go to where they have relatives in other parts of the country that are outside the disaster zone. Or a lot of them go to Osaka, stay in hotels. In fact, I am told the Austrian embassy has relocated to Osaka. A lot of foreign journalists have moved down there too. So everybody is just sort of waiting and watching…and uh..fearful about the situation. But there are a lot of people still in Tokyo and a lot of people are not able to leave. They don’t know where to go. They don’t have a lot of money and a lot of people are sort of paralyzed with with shock and fear…”

—-End Transcript——

Small Update: Johnson’s own Twitter posts have directly contradicted the claims he made on Canadian television:

So on TV in March he claimed that all his friends had fled. On Twitter in January 2011, he’s saying that a large number of his friends did stay. So, which is it? They can’t both be true.

There you have it: Christopher Johnson did not flee Japan like thousands of other foreigners. No way. He only contributed to the English language news reports that exaggerated the exodus from Tokyo and encouraged others to flee. For his heroic service, he apparently deserves special treatment at immigration checkpoints.

For the latest information, check out these discussion threads about Johnson’s article:

• Forum thread on F-cked Gaijin.
• Discussion on Tepido.org
• Discussion on Debito.org
• Discussion on Reddit
• Discussion on the Economist website

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• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

27.8% Decrease in Foreign Tourists Visiting Japan in 2011

2011 saw a gigantic decrease in the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan:

The number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2011 totaled an estimated 6,219,000, down 27.8 percent from the existing record of some 8,611,000 in 2010.

There was also a drop in non-tourist foreign nationals entering the country:

According to government figures released Tuesday, the number of foreign nationals entering Japan dropped 24.4% from a record of 9.45 million in 2010 to 7.14 million in 2011.

New entries of foreign nationals – a figure that excludes working or studying expatriates that may have returned after home leave – made a similarly dismal showing. The Immigration Bureau of the Justice Ministry said new entrants fell from 7.92 million in 2010 to 5.45 million in 2010, slumping 31.2%.

The reasons are obvious: the March 11th disaster and the strength of the yen. People were worried about damage from the disaster and fearful of radiation from Fukushima. And the exchange rate makes vacationing in Japan far more expensive than it would have been several years ago.

NHK notes large drops in the number of tourists from neighboring countries that make up the majority of foreign visitors to Japan. There was a 32% decrease in Korean tourists, a 26.1% decrease in Chinese tourists, and a 21.6% decrease in tourists from Taiwan. Since November, the number of Chinese visitors has begun to recover to pre-disaster levels.

South Korean tourist numbers have not shown as great a rebound. The commissioner of Japan Tourism Agency recently visited Seoul to speak to the media and convince people that it is safe to visit Japan. He ended the press conference by singing the Korean national anthem:

It was kind of weird, but it helped draw attention to his mission…

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Christopher Johnson Under Fire For “Gaijin Gulag” Article

On January 18th, the Economist’s Banyan column copy-pasted Christopher Johnson’s sensational account his detention and deportation from Narita Airport. According to Johnson, immigration authorities may have singled him out unjustly because he was a journalist that wrote articles critical of the Japanese establishment:

“As a freelance journalist in post-meltdown Japan…..I was taking risks more than most foreigners. I wondered if I was being blacklisted due to my critical coverage of TEPCO, Japan Tobacco, Olympus, JAL, the yakuza, fascists, and state neglect of tsunami survivors and nuclear refugees.”

Johnson never specifies his visa status in the article. The Economist states that “his lawyer advised him not to discuss it.” This has made Johnson a target of strong criticism on the internet. Why write such an article and leave out one of the most important pieces of information?

—————–

Update:

More details have emerged about the visa.

—————–

And all this just so happened to occur when he was about to release a novel – which is an “uncompromising look at the inner turmoil behind the stoic face of Japan.” Quite a profitable coincidence.

Several of Japan’s expat blogs have been commenting on the case. One of the best posts is “How Bad is Japanese Immigration?” by Hiko Saemon. I encourage you all to read the full post, but here is a very short excerpt about visas:

I do not believe that Mr. Johnson would have been pulled up and deported from Japan for writing articles critical of Japan. I also don’t believe that he would be deported for no reason. I don’t believe that Mr. Johnson spent a day in detention, speaking to numerous English speaking staff and never understood why he was being deported.

The fact Mr. Johnson is not sharing his visa status also speaks volumes to me. Again, the Economist doesn’t add anything to this, but it seems to me, his visa status was very likely the reason he was not allowed to reenter Japan. That is to say, it was most likely known that he was violating the terms of his visa and his entry was denied. This comes back to my earlier point – IF that is the case, and Mr. Johnson was “trying his luck” at getting in and out of Japan working without a proper visa, he was asking for trouble.

Mulboyne (at the FG forums) has also commented on the importance Johnson’s visa status:

What comes across in his account is a total disbelief that Immigration had any right to deny him entry. If he had a valid status of residence then that would be understandable. Even if he later exaggerates, we would know he’s writing his account from a position of genuine and justified outrage.

If he had no valid status of residence then his account is in a parallel universe. As onlookers, instead of justified outrage, we see an unjustified sense of entitlement. Anger, which should be partly directed towards himself for his predicament, is entirely directed elsewhere. When he blames everyone except himself, his overall credibility is in question.

Johnson has not been friendly towards people who have asked him about his visa status. His display of rude arrogance in a public Twitter conversation with Jake Adelstein and Tokyo Reporter has done little to inspire confidence in his story.

The article has changed considerably since Johnson first posted it online. The latest update has added some information about visa status:

I first had a work visa for Japan in 1989, and my last renewal began in 2008. I have never overstayed, and never broken laws in Japan.

But it is still not specific, and has failed to end speculation about whether Japanese immigration authorities had a valid reason to deny him entry. As some have pointed out, a 3 year work visa issued in 2008 could have expired while Johnson was out of the country.

There are also some highly unlikely and possibly wrong parts of the article. His most shocking claim – that security guards threatened him to sign papers at gunpoint – is extremely unlikely because gun control laws in Japan do not allow private security guards to carry firearms. The article seems full of exaggerations, like his complaint that he was forced “onto a flight to Canada without much winter clothing for minus 40 temperatures in Alberta” ( he had been visiting Seoul, where temperatures were much lower than those in Alberta). Johnson also states that he had a “few beers” on the 9:00AM flight from Seoul to Narita, a trip that typically takes about 90 minutes.

For the latest information, check out these discussion threads about Johnson’s article:

• Forum thread on F-cked Gaijin.
• Discussion on Tepido.org
• Discussion on Debito.org
• Discussion on Reddit
• Discussion on the Economist website

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• Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)

American Man Missing After Trip to Mt. Fuji

A search is underway for Matt Johnson, an American man who disappeared after apparently going on a hiking/camping trip to Mt. Fuji:

Johnson has been an engineer in Eaton Corp.’s vehicle business unit in Galesburg since 2003, according to a company statement published on the website for television station WOOD-TV 8. He went to Japan on a business trip on Jan. 8.

Johnson’s car was found at the base of the mountain, the highest peak in Japan at 12,385 feet, but rescuers were unable to begin searching for him until 5 p.m. Tuesday, local time, because 16 inches of snow had fallen.

Friends and family have set up a “Please Pray for Matt Johnson” Facebook group. Over 900 people have joined the group.

Most travel guides warn against visiting Mt. Fuji in the winter months. There are also numerous warnings issued by Japanese authorities, such as this one on the Fuji-Yoshida city homepage:

Mt. Fuji is 3776m above sea level and has conditions that kill climbers every year. The official climbing season is limited to two months, July and August. It is considered very dangerous to climb during the off-season.

Winter conditions on the mountain are similar to those found on 8000m Himalayan peaks and are dangerous for even the most professional alpinists.

Three Deadly Reasons to Stay off Mt. Fuji in the off-season:
● Avalanche. Mt. Fuji is the perfect domain for avalanches due to its steep slope and lack of vegetation. When a slab of ice breaks free, hikers are pummeled against snow, ice, and trees and buried as if encased in wet concrete.
● Winds. Strong winds literally blow climbers off the slippery slopes. There have been several cases of tents flying off of the slopes with their occupants onboard.
● Hypothermia. Though not limited to the off-season, hyperthermia is a life-threatening condition that proves fatal if not diagnosed and treated properly. It is the result of a hiker’s core body temperature dropping and internal organs succumbing to the cold.

Those wishing to climb Mt. Fuji in the off-season face considerable danger and a lack of:
●Rescue Personnel
●Mountain Huts. Most mountain huts close at the end of season, but some stay open into September. After September, there is no lodging, food, or water on Mt. Fuji.
●Transportation. The road to the 5th Station is closed for most of the year. Buses, if running, are infrequent and thus climbers become stranded on the mountain over night.

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Korean Festival vs. Thai Festival (Fake Korean Wave?)

The following video is near the top of YouTube Japan’s most viewed ranking for today (with over 150,000 views):

The video compares footage from two events held in Tokyo: a Thai food festival and a Korean food festival. Apparently there were some press reports claiming that over 200,000 people attended the Korean food festival, but the video shows otherwise. The Thai festival, on the other hand, was packed with visitors.

The video is meant as evidence that the media is fabricating the “Korean Wave” in an effort to shove Korean culture down the throats of the Japanese people. The uploader also states that Koreans in Japan are more likely to commit crimes than Thais in Japan.

The 200,000 claim does seem to be an exaggeration. The media could have been deliberately distorting the truth, or could have just been lazy and accepted whatever the event organizers told them. But is it evidence that the whole “Korean Wave” has been manufactured by the media? I would argue that this video tells us very little about the popularity of Korean culture in Japan because:

• The Thai festival was held in summer, when people like to visit outdoor food tents. The Korean festival was held in the freezing cold of January.
• Thai food is less common in Japan, making it more exotic and special. I attended the Thai festival in 2010 because I don’t have many opportunities to eat Thai food. Korean restaurants, on the other hand, are almost as numerous as McDonald’s or Yoshinoya: they’re everywhere.
• If one were to visit Shin Okubo, the center of the “Korean Wave” in Japan, one would find huge lines outside of its Korean restaurants. Even in winter.

The crime claim may also be exaggerated. Thai people in Japan commit less crimes than Koreans because there are far fewer Thais in Japan. The actual rate of crime, however, may be different from what the video uploader claims.

If the conspiracy theorists want to prove that Korean pop culture and food are not actually popular in Japan, they’re going to need better evidence than this video.

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Escaped Convict Remains At Large

A 40-year-old Chinese inmate escaped from a prison in Hiroshima on Wednesday:

Li Guolin was sentenced to 23 years in prison after firing a handgun at a police officer after breaking into a house during an attempted burglary in 2005.

Elementary and junior high schools around the prison were on high alert in the morning, with children walking to school accompanied by parents or other guardians.

The Hiroshima city board of education has instructed elementary and junior high schools, as well as kindergartens in the vicinity to organize children into groups when going to or leaving school.

“Children seem worried. I hope the case will be resolved without anyone getting hurt,” said Yukio Kubo, the principal of Yoshijima Elementary School, which is about 500 meters south of the prison.

According to the police, Li was only in his underwear when he made his escape by scaling a 5-meter-high outer wall.

Footholds were recently attached to the wall for construction work, and the sensors and alarms on the wall had been switched off, the police said.

A security guard said he saw a man jump off the wall at around 10 a.m. Wednesday. “He fell on his rear and turned over. Then he ran off at a steady trot,” he said.

As noted by the BBC, it is Japan’s first jail-break in over 20 years.

Many of the English language reports about the escape are emphasizing how the convict was wearing underwear. Some, such as the AFP, have used stock photos of underwear. However, as the images from the Japanese media show, this prisoner was not nearly nude. It was white-colored long underwear. If somebody saw him, they may not have realized that he was an escaped criminal.

Li is no longer believed to be wandering around in his undies. Through a DNA test on an empty beer can , police have confirmed that he broke into a house 1.5 kilometers from the prison, had a meal, and stole a North Face jacket and some Uniqlo clothing.

UPDATE: He has been captured.

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