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Peter Tasker, author of numerous non-fiction and fiction works on Japan, argues that in "attempting to monster [Japan] into [[George Wallace]]'s Alabama, [Arudou] trivializes the real-life brutal discrimination that still disfigures our world and the heroic campaigners who have put themselves on the line to fight it."<ref name=Tasker>Text</ref> Alexander Kinmont, a former chief equity strategist of NikkoCitygroup, does not believe that a collection of bath-houses, "soaplands," massage parlors, and nightclubs is representative of Japan's civil rights situation in any meaningful sense.<ref name=Kinmont>Kinmont, Alexander. [http://www.japanreview.net/letters.htm"UN CERD and Representative Government: Sense or Nonsense?,"] Letters, ''JapanReview.Net'', June 2005.</ref>Tasker and Kinmont object to Arudou's statements comparing the institutionalized racial discrimination historically exhibited in the [[Racial segregation|segregated]] [[Southern United States|American south]] with the examples that, according to Arudou, show racial discrimination in Japan.<ref name=Tasker>Text</ref><ref name=Kinmont>Text 2</ref>
Peter Tasker, author of numerous non-fiction and fiction works on Japan, argues that in "attempting to monster [Japan] into [[George Wallace]]'s Alabama, [Arudou] trivializes the real-life brutal discrimination that still disfigures our world and the heroic campaigners who have put themselves on the line to fight it."<ref name=Tasker>Text</ref> Alexander Kinmont, a former chief equity strategist of NikkoCitygroup, does not believe that a collection of bath-houses, "soaplands," massage parlors, and nightclubs is representative of Japan's civil rights situation in any meaningful sense.<ref name=Kinmont>Kinmont, Alexander. [http://www.japanreview.net/letters.htm"UN CERD and Representative Government: Sense or Nonsense?,"] Letters, ''JapanReview.Net'', June 2005.</ref>Tasker and Kinmont object to Arudou's statements comparing the institutionalized racial discrimination historically exhibited in the [[Racial segregation|segregated]] [[Southern United States|American south]] with the examples that, according to Arudou, show racial discrimination in Japan.<ref name=Tasker>Text</ref><ref name=Kinmont>Text 2</ref>

Debito has been criticized for suppressing the opinions of foreigners in Japan, the very people he claims to be representing. "Matt" has claimed that posts on Arudou's blog from people whose opinions differ from his own are often deleted and that this is deception through omission.<ref>"Matt", "[http://www.occidentalism.org/?p=827 Debito suppresses the opinions of dissenting foreigners]", blog entry, [[6 February]] [[2008]], occidentalism.org (Matt's blog).</ref>


==Reviews of ''Japanese Only''==
==Reviews of ''Japanese Only''==

Revision as of 20:26, 7 February 2008

Debito Arudou
File:Arudou.jpg
Debito Arudou
Born
David Christopher Aldwinckle

(1965-01-13) January 13, 1965 (age 59)
United States California U.S.
NationalityJapanese
Known forActivism
Websitehttp://www.debito.org

Debito Arudou (有道 出人, Arudō Debito), a naturalized Japanese citizen, is a teacher, author and activist.

Background

Early life

Arudou was born David Christopher Aldwinckle in California in 1965.[2] He attended Cornell University, first visiting Japan as a tourist on invitation from Ayako Sugawara (菅原文子, Sugawara Ayako) [3] [4][5], his pen pal and future wife, for several weeks in 1986. Following this experience, he dedicated his senior year as an undergraduate to studying Japanese, graduating in 1987.[6] Aldwinckle then taught English in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, for one year, and "swore against ever being a language teacher again, plunging instead into business."[2] After returning to the United States to enter the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Aldwinckle deferred from the program in order to return to Japan, whereupon he married a Japanese national in 1989, spending one year at the Japan Management Academy in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture. In 1990, he returned to California to complete his Masters of Public and International Affairs (MPIA), and received the degree in 1991.[7]

Aldwinckle then joined a small Japanese trading company in Sapporo. It was this experience, he recounts, that started him down the path of the controversial activist that he would later become. "This was a watershed in my life," Arudou writes. "… and it polarized my views about how I should live it. Although working [in Japan] made my Japanese really good — answering phones and talking to nasty, racist, and bloody-minded construction workers from nine to six — there was hell to pay every single day."[2] Arudou said that he the object of racial harassment.[2] Aldwinckle quit the company. In 1993 he joined the faculty of Business Administration and Information Science at the Hokkaido Information University, a private university in Ebetsu, Hokkaidō, teaching courses in English as a foreign language. As of 2007 he is an associate professor.

Japanese naturalization

Aldwinckle became a permanent resident of Japan in 1996. He obtained Japanese citizenship in 2000, whereupon he changed his name to Debito Arudou (有道出人, Arudō Debito), whose kanji he says have the figurative meaning of "a person who has a road and is going out on it." To allow his wife and children to retain their Japanese family name, he adopted the legal name Arudoudebito Sugawara (菅原有道出人, Sugawara Arudōdebito)[5] — a combination of his wife’s Japanese maiden name and his new transliterated full name.[8] As reasons for naturalization he cited the right to vote, other rights, and increased ability to stand on his rights;[2] he later chose to renounce his U.S. citizenship.[9]

Family and divorce

Ayako Sugawara gave birth to two children, Amy Sugawara Aldwinckle (Ami Sugawara (菅原 亜美, Sugawara Ami) in Japanese), and Anna Marina Aldwinckle (Anna Sugawara (菅原 杏奈, Sugawara Anna) in Japanese). [10] [3][11][12] Aldwinckle described Amy as "viewed as Japanese because of her looks" and Anna as "relegated to gaijin status, same as I" because of physical appearances. [13] According to Arudou's writings, when he took his family to the Yunohana Onsen to test the rules of the onsen, the establishment allowed for Amy to enter the onsen and refused entry to Anna on the basis of their appearances. [11][12]

In 2000 he lived in Nanporo, Sorachi District, Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaidō with his family. [5]

Arudou divorced his wife in September 2006. Following the divorce[14], Arudou petitioned the Sapporo Family Court to delete his ex-wife’s Japanese maiden family name from his koseki, or Family Registry, thus officially changing his name to Debito Arudou in November 2006.[15]

Otaru onsen lawsuit

The original problematic sign

Arudou was one of three plaintiffs in a racial discrimination lawsuit against the Yunohana Onsen in Otaru, Hokkaidō. Yunohana maintained a policy to exclude non-Japanese patrons; the business stated that it implemented the policy after Russian sailors scared away patrons from one of its other facilities. After reading an e-mail posted to a mailing list digest complaining of Yunohana's policy in 1999,[16] Arudou visited the hot spring (onsen), along with a small group of Japanese, White, and East Asian friends, in order to confirm that only visibly non-Japanese people were excluded.[17]

Arudou assumed that when he returned in 2000 as a naturalized Japanese citizen, he would not be refused. The manager accepted that Arudou was a Japanese national but refused entry on the grounds that his foreign appearance could cause existing Japanese customers to assume the onsen was admitting foreigners and take their business elsewhere.[18]

Arudou and two co-plaintiffs, Kenneth Lee Sutherland and Olaf Karthaus, in February 2001 then sued Yunohana on the grounds of racial discrimination, and the City of Otaru for violation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, a treaty which Japan ratified in 1996. On November 11, 2002, the Sapporo District Court ordered Yunohana to pay the plaintiffs 1 million JPY (about $25,000 United States dollars) each in damages.[19] The court stated that "refusing all foreigners without exception is 'unrational discrimination' [that] can be said to go beyond permissible societal limits." [20] The Sapporo High Court dismissed Arudou's claim against the city of Otaru for failing to create an anti-discrimination ordinance; the court ruled that the claim did not have merit.[21] The Sapporo High Court upheld these rulings on September 16, 2004[22] and the Supreme Court of Japan denied review on April 7, 2005.[21]

Kyōgaku no Gaijin Hanzai Ura File - Gaijin Hanzai Hakusho 2007

Main article: Kyōgaku no Gaijin Hanzai Ura File - Gaijin Hanzai Hakusho 2007

In February 2007, Arudou commented on Kyōgaku no Gaijin Hanzai Ura File - Gaijin Hanzai Hakusho 2007 (Secret Foreigner Crime Files) a mook (magazine/book) published by Eichi Suppan on January 31. The mook contains images and descriptions of what the magazine says are crimes committed in Japan by non-Japanese, including graphs breaking down crimes by nationality. The magazine includes a caption describing a black man as a "nigga", an article entitled "Chase the Iranian!" and calls Tokyo a "city torn apart by evil foreigners."[23] Arudou posted a bilingual letter for readers to take to FamilyMart stores protesting against "discriminatory statements and images about non-Japanese residents of Japan."[24]

Publications

Arudou has written a book about the 1999 Otaru hot springs incident. Arudou originally wrote the book in Japanese; the English version, Japanese Only — The Otaru Hot Springs Case and Racial Discrimination in Japan (ISBN 4-7503-2005-6), was published in 2004 and revised in 2006.

Arudou has also written several textbooks on business English and debating in addition to many journalistic and academic articles.[25]

Criticism

People, including me, are fascinated by Debito Arudou because we wonder why he wanted to become Japanese in a country where he finds so many wrongs.

— Robert C. Neff [26]

Anna Isozaki, one of Arudou's former colleagues who was initially active in the BENCI (Business Excluding Non-Japanese Customer Issho) project (unconnected to Arudou's "Community in Japan" project), said that Arudou has an unwillingness to co-operate within a larger organization and that Arudou felt resentment against being told to separate "the apparent center of activity from himself." [27]

Alex Kerr, author of Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Japan (ISBN 0-8090-3943-5), believed that Arudou's tactics are "too combative." Kerr said that he was doubtful "whether in the long run it really helps." According to Kerr, "in Japan… [the combative] approach fails." Kerr said that "gaijin and their gaijin ways are now part of the fabric of Japan's new society," and feared that Arudou's activities may "confirm conservative Japanese in their belief that gaijin are difficult to deal with."[28] On 7 April 2007, Arudou publicly criticized Kerr’s comments on his personal blog and mass e-mail newsletter lists. Following Arudou's public criticisms, Kerr responded in an open e-mail posted by Arudou elaborating on his initial impressions of Arudou’s tactics, his current impressions of Arudou’s newsletter and website, and Kerr’s own distinct techniques for being critical in the field of “traditional culture, tourism, city planning, and the environment” — “to speak quietly, from ‘within.’” Respecting Arudou's "undoubtedly combative" tactics, Kerr now concluded by stating: “I wholly support [Arudou’s] activities and [his] methods.”[29]

Responding to Arudou's statements regarding the United States Department of State in the Hokkaido International Business Association (HIBA), Alec Wilczynski, Consul General, American Consulate General Sapporo, said that Arudou's statements contain "antics," "omissions," and "absurd statements" as part of an attempt "to revive interest in his flagging ‘human rights’ campaign." On his website Arudou responded with the statement "A surprising response from a diplomat," and posted commentary from an associate regarding the renunciation of Arudou's United States citizenship.[9]

Gregory Clark, Akita International University Vice-President, views the lawsuit as the product of "ultrasensitivity" and "Western moralizing."[30][31] Yuki Allyson Honjo, a book critic at JapanReview.net, criticized Clark's statements and referred to him as one of a group of "apologists." [32] Clark responded to Honjo's criticism, believing that Honjo mis-characterized his statements. Honjo responded by saying that her use of the word "apologist" applied to Clark's particular stance on Arudou's case and not as a sweeping generalization of Clark's character. Honjo maintained her stance regarding Clark's statements. [33]

Robert Neff, author of Japan's Hidden Hot Springs (ISBN 0-8048-1949-1), believes that much of Arudou's campaign is divisive, stating: "I think much of his campaign is faux because most of the places he is going after are in Hokkaido trying to protect themselves from drunken Russians. I have bathed and/or stayed at well over 200 onsen establishments and been stopped only once."[26]

Arudou and his family should not have been excluded from the onsen in Otaru, but I suspect I am not alone in objecting to the way this unpleasant, but essentially trivial incident has been parlayed into a career opportunity.

— Peter Tasker [34]

Peter Tasker, author of numerous non-fiction and fiction works on Japan, argues that in "attempting to monster [Japan] into George Wallace's Alabama, [Arudou] trivializes the real-life brutal discrimination that still disfigures our world and the heroic campaigners who have put themselves on the line to fight it."[34] Alexander Kinmont, a former chief equity strategist of NikkoCitygroup, does not believe that a collection of bath-houses, "soaplands," massage parlors, and nightclubs is representative of Japan's civil rights situation in any meaningful sense.[35]Tasker and Kinmont object to Arudou's statements comparing the institutionalized racial discrimination historically exhibited in the segregated American south with the examples that, according to Arudou, show racial discrimination in Japan.[34][35]

Reviews of Japanese Only

Yuki Allyson Honjo, reviewer for JapanReview.Net, writes that Japanese Only did not develop Arudou as a three-dimensional character, did not correctly discuss Japanese citizenship laws, did not provide a valuable resource for other activists, and did not establish a clear purpose. Honjo says that she personally knows Arudou. [32] Arudou says that they agree on political matters and "personally we do not get along."[36]

Arudou responded to Honjo's criticism, saying that her criticism did not fairly address the book. The editors of JapanReview.Net said that they believe in Honjo's criticism of the work. [37]

Arudou posted a lengthy critical response to Honjo's review on his website. [36] Former BENCI member Bern Mulvey posted a critical response to Honjo's review on Arudou's website; Mulvey believed that the Honjo review consisted of a personal attack and little of a book review. Mulvey said that Honjo held membership in Tony László's Issho Kikaku. [38] The JapanReview.Net editors posted a response to Mulvey's text; JapanReview.net says that the review did not originate from personal motives and that Honjo does not personally know László. [39]

Notes

  1. ^ Brooke, James (12 May 2004). "LETTER FROM ASIA; Foreigners Try to Melt an Inhospitable Japanese City". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e Arudou, Debito. "A Bit More Personal Background on Arudou Debito/Dave Aldwinckle," Debito.Org
  3. ^ a b "THE JUUMINHYOU MONDAI: WHAT IT MEANS TO BE "LEGALLY NONRESIDENT" IN OUR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE," Arudou Debito
  4. ^ "Wife," Arudou Debito
  5. ^ a b c "French, Howard W. (29 November 2000). "Nanporo Journal; Turning Japanese: It Takes More Than a Passport". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ A brief mention of Aldwinckle and his book, Japanese Only, is made in the Cornell Alumni Magazine Online, Mar/Apr 2005 Volume 107 Number 5, available at: <http://cornellalumnimagazine.com/Archive/2005marapr/depts/Authors.html>. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
  7. ^ A brief biographical sketch of Aldwinckle and other 1991 UCSD IR/PS alumni is available at the official university website. See: <http://irps.ucsd.edu/alumni/class-notes/class-of-1991.htm Class of 1991>. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
  8. ^ Arudou, Debito. "What's in my Name? Japanese Naturalization Update," Debito.Org, August 24, 1999. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  9. ^ a b Arudou, Debito. "How to Lose Your American Passport," Debito.Org, January 10, 2003. Cite error: The named reference "American_Passport" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. ^ "JAPANESE EDUCATION PART ONE ENTERING YOUCHIEN (KINDERGARTEN)," Arudou Debito
  11. ^ a b Arudou, Debito. "Japanese Only Presentation in English," Arudou Debito
  12. ^ a b Arudou, Debito. "Japanese Only Presentation in Japanese," Arudou Debito
  13. ^ "Dave Aldwinckle - daughters," Dave Aldwinckle's website on voicenet.co.jp
  14. ^ Arudou, Debito. “Debito.org Special Edition Newsletter: How to Get a Divorce in Japan,”, December 2, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-14
  15. ^ Arudou, Debito. “Debito.org Newsletter: Bianchi, Johnston, Immigration, & losing my name,” December 14, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  16. ^ Arudou, Debito. Japanese Only — The Otaru Hot Springs Case and Racial Discrimination in Japan, (Tokyo: Akashi Shoten, 2004), pp. 14–29.
  17. ^ Arudou, Debito. "The Trip to 'Gaijin-Okotowari' Onsen," Debito.Org, September 19, 1999.
  18. ^ French, Howard W. "Turning Japanese: It Takes More Than a Passport," The New York Times, November 29, 2000
  19. ^ "THE WORLD; Japanese Court Ruling Favors Foreigners; Bathhouse must pay three men who were denied entry." Los Angeles Times. November 12, 2002.
  20. ^ Arudou, Debito. "The Otaru Lawsuit Decision and its Possible Effects," Debito.Org, November 12, 2002.
  21. ^ a b Newswire, "City Off the Hook for Bathhouse Barring of Foreigners," The Japan Times Online, April 7, 2005. According to the Sapporo High Court ruling, "The convention has only general, abstract provisions recommending appropriate measures to eliminate racial discrimination, and the Otaru government does not have any obligation to institute ordinances to ban such discrimination." For a look at the original (Japanese) Supreme Court decision, see "Japan Supreme Court Decision on the Otaru Onsen Case," Debito.Org, April 7, 2005. Cite error: The named reference "Otaru_Case" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  22. ^ Arudou, Debito. "Preliminary Report on the Otaru Onsen Lawsuit: Sapporo High Court Decision," Debito.Org, September 16, 2004.
  23. ^ Arudou, Debito (1 February 2007). "Gaijin Hanzai File" pubs spectre of evil foreign crime". Debito.org. Retrieved 2007-02-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ Stuart Biggs and Kanoko Matsuyama (7 February 2007). "Japan Store Withdraws `Foreigner Crime File' Magazine". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2007-02-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ "Debito Arudou/Dave Aldwinckle's Publications," Debito.Org
  26. ^ a b "Interview with Robert C. Neff," JapanReview.Net, January 31, 2005. Cite error: The named reference "Neff" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  27. ^ Isozaki, Anna. "Narratives: a Matter of Perspective," Letters, JapanReview.Net, June 2005.
  28. ^ McNicol, Tony. "Japan Sees Beginning of Change: Tony McNicol Talks to Dogs and Demons author Alex Kerr," The Japan Times Online, October 25, 2005.
  29. ^ Arudou, Debito. "Alex Kerr falls into 'Guestism' arguments with unresearched comments," Newsletter, Debito.org, 7 April 2007. Retrieved on 8 April 2007
  30. ^ Clark, Gregory. "Destroying a Fragile Trust," Opinion, The Japan Times Online, February 12, 2001
  31. ^ Clark, Gregory. "Racist banner looks frayed," Opinion, The Japan Times Online, February 17, 2005
  32. ^ a b Honjo, Yuki Allyson. "The Dave and Tony Show," JapanReview.net
  33. ^ "Gregory Clark Responds," JapanReview.net
  34. ^ a b c Tasker, Peter. "Opportunism Trivializes Real Discrimination," Letters, JapanReview.Net, June 2005. Cite error: The named reference "Tasker" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  35. ^ a b Kinmont, Alexander. "UN CERD and Representative Government: Sense or Nonsense?," Letters, JapanReview.Net, June 2005. Cite error: The named reference "Kinmont" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  36. ^ a b "A Critique of JapanReview.net's book review entitled "The Dave and Tony Show" released January 2005 which compares book JAPANESE ONLY with Oguri Saori's manga DAARIN WA GAIKOKUJIN," Arudou Debito
  37. ^ Arudou, Debito. ""The Dave Show" Revisited," Letters, JapanReview.Net, June 2005.
  38. ^ "Mulvey, Bern. The Yuki and Paul Show," Arudou Debito
  39. ^ "And finally...," Japanreview.net
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