Mulboyne wrote:The Sankei concurs that foreign polygamy could become a drain on Japan's finances

bolt krank wrote: but the way he phrases it makes him seem quite unintelligent.

nottu wrote:?????????
You got to lay off the vodka.

Mulboyne wrote:[YT]xXkXw8NVyfI[/YT]

Tamura's Arab prince comment is at the 7:06 mark. If you are really interested, there are 4 earlier videos in the series showing his complaints in full. I can't help thinking he looks like he should be running a hostess bar somewhere.

nottu wrote:and California

Screwed-down Hairdo wrote:What is it about this cuntry that they get so up in arms about what is a trivial sum when compared with the enormous amount of debt it is racking up to maintain its bloated and irrelevant bureaucracy and industry?
Why does this cuntry always go for the easy targets instead of dealing with the real issues?

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has tightened conditions for paying child-care allowances to foreigners who reside in Japan and claim to have children in their home countries, ministry officials said. The move is aimed at preventing foreign residents from illicitly receiving expensive allowances by falsely adopting children in their home countries or using other tricks to deceive Japanese authorities. The ministry has notified local governments across the country of its decision. Before providing child-care allowances, local governments are required by the ministry to confirm that such recipients meet their children in their home countries at least twice a year by checking their passports, and make sure that they send money to their children at least once every four months.

The ministry took the measure out of fear that a large number of foreigners would falsely adopt children in their home countries for the sole purpose of illegally receiving child-care allowances in Japan. The number of foreign residents' children who receive child allowances while living in their home countries remains unclear, according to the ministry. Some local governments have expressed concern that the measure would increase their workload.

Mulboyne wrote:The ministry took the measure out of fear that a large number of foreigners would falsely adopt children in their home countries for the sole purpose of illegally receiving child-care allowances in Japan.

Mulboyne wrote:Mainichi: Gov't gets tough on allowances for foreigners who claim to have children in home countries

Screwed-down Hairdo wrote:Yesterday I received a fear-mongering pamphlet in my mailbox...

Yokohammer wrote:Was it properly printed, or just a photocopied thing?
Were there names and phone numbers to contact, or was it anonymous?

I've seen a couple of these things in the past (one a "we must drive all black people from our neighborhood because they're criminals and are corrupting our children" rant, complete with a really offensive sambo-style caricature), but they were cheapo photocopy jobs obviously done by someone with a chip on his or her shoulder.

Screwed-down Hairdo wrote: I'm sure -- my belief is that it is spearheaded by the young as opposed to the fogies who are the same old corrupt bogies that run most countries).

Screwed-down Hairdo wrote:...a pamphlet like this being handed out is another sign to me of the increasing strength of nationalism and anti-foreigner sentiment I've noticed popping up over the past few years...

Mulboyne wrote:I always found the "rising nationalism" claims in the overseas press - which can be roughly dated back to Koizumi's first Yasukuni visits - to be overplayed. However, since the LDP lost power, a number of conservative voices appear to be off the leash. As Number 11 says, fear-mongering is not a new tactic in the world but conservatives voives in Japan do seem to be enjoying the political capital they can get from inventing bogeymen. When some of these guys were in government, they couldn't make these claims so freely because they were restrained by the need to come up with workable economic policies, introduce social legislation and maintain diplomatic relations.

Yokohammer wrote:I actually think there is a rising current of nationalism going on, but I don't think it's a population-wide trend. As you imply, the hard-liners are gaining a voice and drawing a crowd. After a long period of sitting on the sidelines, Japan is beginning to to regain its national pride and confidence. Part of it is probably also a reaction to other asian nations dancing in what was once Japan's spotlight. Regaining confidence is fine as long as it's kept in perspective, but this type of resurgence usually starts with an overreaction that swings way too far to the right. I think that's what we're seeing, and that we're going to see more of it for a while. It's probably just part of the "adjustment" process. At the same time I'm pretty sure we'll see some ugly incidents, but those will function as wake-up calls that will serve to push things back toward a more reasonable groove.

Just my personal analysis, but that's my theory and I'm stickin' to it!
(Until I change my mind again.)