havill wrote:Wage Slave wrote:havill wrote:Wage Slave wrote:havill wrote:Just added "can receive welfare" to my list on "Why would anybody want to become Japanese?"
http://www.turning-japanese.info/2012/0 ... ecome.html
Shouldn't that be:
"Have a right to receive welfare in exchange for paying your taxes."
Very very sad that you have to actually renounce your original citizenship just to be a normal part the social contract. Still, TIJ eh. Most of the Japanese people I know living in the UK would complain bitterly if they were treated the same way BTW.
Actually, no. You can receive welfare without paying (or have ever) paid or have been able to pay taxes. That's kind of the point of welfare.
Well yes, that's true, but nevertheless the provision of a welfare state is based on a kind of social contract between "the people" and the Government. The Japanese Government has decided that unless you are prepared to renounce your original citizenship you are not to be included as part of "the people". As I said, the Japanese people that I know living in the UK and contributing there would take strong exception to being treated like that and rightly so.
Just sad really and symptomatic of a regime that doesn't and won't get it.
So the "social contract" between "the people" (more on that in a bit) regarding welfare in the Japanese constitution is in Article 25, which says:第二十五条 すべて国民は、健康で文化的な最低限度の生活を営む権利を有する。
国は、すべての生活部面について、社会福祉、社会保障及び公衆衛生の向上及び増進に努めなければならない。
In the official English version:Article 25. All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living.
In all spheres of life, the State shall use its endeavors for the promotion and extension of social welfare and security, and of public health.
In case you're wondering why the Japanese constitution uses the word 国民 (legal Japanese national*) when the English version uses "People", that's because in Constitutional Law, "People", when used in an English language constitution, means nationals. For example, the U.S. Constitution says that the "people" elect representatives to serve in Congress. The U.S. Supreme Court (and other courts of the world) have made it clear that when the Constitution says "People" it's talking about the official people of the sovereign state/land: nationals/citizens. You can look at The Constitute Project and read all the other English language versions of the Constitutions of the World: it's clear that when Constitutions say "people", they mean "nationals" or "citizens".
Who exactly is a "kokumin" and who isn't? The Japanese Constitution addresses that in Article 10:Article 10. The conditions necessary for being a Japanese national shall be determined by law.日本国民たる要件は、法律でこれを定める。
And what is that law? It's the Nationality Law. And it makes it clear that Special Permanent Residents, Permanent Residents, etc., are not, but there is a way to become one. (and it's not that hard. Trust me. I know)
I noticed you used the word "regime". Are you saying that this is Abe or the LDP's fault? Because sorry, the nationality requirement has been in the law since 1950. The Supreme Court is not based on parties or left/right leanings. It's job is to literally interpret the law and constitution, not make it or bend it.
All they did was say that "kokumin" does not mean or include PR or SPR (a correct literal interpretation of Article 10 and The Nationality Law), and the welfare law (modified in NINETEEN FIFTY) says "kokumin".
There is a social welfare system for foreigners: it's called their country on their passport and their embassy. Japan is responsible for the welfare of its nationals, and your government (that's the one on your passport, not the country you happen to be in, even if you work there and have been there for a very long time) is responsible for your welfare; when you're on vacation in Thailand and the airport gets shut down due to riots, do you go to the Japanese embassy? No, you go to YOUR embassy, because it's YOUR government that is supposed to take care of you when you're out of the country and the shit hits the fan.
If you really want the Japanese government to be responsibly for your welfare, the solution is to legally link yourself to it. The process is called naturalization. I'm not going to sugarcoat it: In Japan, nationality is not just a reward for time logged or taxes paid. It's an ongoing FORWARD commitment (to past, present, and FUTURE laws, no matter where you are in the world) to the Japanese constitution and law. And one of the proofs of that exclusive commitment is yes, monogamy to her laws and constitution, ergo her nationality.
If you can't do that, that's your choice: you have permission to live and work in Japan as a non-national. But you shouldn't ever expect the rights that accompany nationality. And sorry, the J constitution says that the social contract is between kokumin and the nation. Which is pretty normal: most constitutions don't spend too many words worrying about people that legally belong to other lands.
Does that mean that foreigners will never get welfare? I doubt it. They will probably continue to give out welfare on a case by case basis per prefecture at discretion (or even make a new law/policy just for foreigners). The only thing that has changed is that the supreme court has clarified that the law (and the constitution) does not talk about non-Japanese having a RIGHT to it.
Yes, I did understand but thank you for all that anyway. It is still unjust, inequitable and exceptional. But hey - If you don't like it ......