Ishihara Replies to Fukushima

[Mulboyne]

[YT]SrvijygvO0E[/YT]
(Japanese)

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara was in the news recently when he claimed it was no coincience the DPJ favours extending suffrage to permanent residents because a number of its leading lights [url=http://the-diplomat.com/tokyo-notes/2010/04/20/natural-born-voters/]are naturalized citizens or children of the same[/URL]. As the video clip above shows, he was rebuked by Mizuho Fukushima who accused him of discrimination and demanded he retract his remarks. Ishihara has now upped the ante by saying that he wasn't referring specifically to Fukushima and has no intention of withdrawing his remarks. He told a regular press conference that he was speaking in general terms but if Fukushima did feel she was being singled out, she could easily clear the matter up by making public her family register.

Source (Japanese)

[Behan]

Blinky is a twat.

[Mock Cockpit]

Japanese birthers....seen it all now. Fuck me.

[Kanchou]

I sort of hope it turns into a defamation suit... more interesting than half-hearted public apologies/bows anyway.

[Coligny]

I sort of hope it turns into a defamation suit... more interesting than half-hearted public apologies/bows anyway.

welll... yes and no...

I prefer my idiots loud mouthed... it's make it easier to spot them...

[Yokohammer]

Ishihara is a racist nazi jackass. I can't believe he's lasted as long as he has.

On the other hand, Coligny has an excellent point:

I prefer my idiots loud mouthed... it's make it easier to spot them...

[Kanchou]

Almost every single Japanese comment on the video says that "EVERY JAPANESE PERSON SUPPORTS ISHIHARA" and 90% of them pretty much insult Fukushima somehow.

[TennoChinko]

Actually, Ishihara kind of has a point... whether or not certain DPJ members are actually ethnic Koreans or descendants of naturalized Koreans as he insinuates, the DPJ's proposal to extend local voting rights to foreign permanent residents is all about catering to the kimuchi tribe.

[Yokohammer]

Almost every single Japanese comment on the video says that "EVERY JAPANESE PERSON SUPPORTS ISHIHARA" and 90% of them pretty much insult Fukushima somehow.

A number of the comments are repeats, and almost all of them seem to be coming from the same corner of the room. The way I read them the comments are more representative of Japanese contempt for Koreans, rather than general support for Ishihara.

Guys like Ishihara still want East Asian Co-Prosperity, as long as pure-blooded Japan is in charge of the whole show and can run it any way they want without interference from the lower castes. Totally unrealistic and counterproductive.

[McTojo]

And this is a good comeback for Ishihara. He's been silent for awhile. I must reiterate that life as a foreign minority is far better than being a part of a growing vocal minority in Japan. This fuels racist.

The majority of Japanese do not favor suffrage for permanent residents, so neither should the government. Japanese people are far too occupied with the economic downturn and job instability than to worry about a bunch of permanent residents who want to affect the country's politics.

If this gets out of control in the media it will fuel racism in Japan in a way that hasn't existed before. The fact that there's already a fine line between Japanese and foreigners is enough, adding suffrage as a legal right would make things worse not better.

Keep things simple and Japanese. That is the best way.

[Kanchou]

You know, as a former and future f*cked gaijin, I like the idea about giving permanent residents TOUHYOUKEN, but on the same TOU-KEN (BAD, BAD PUN), I would be against giving non-citizens suffrage in my own country.

So in a sense, I can't blame Japanese who are against it. But anyone who condones those sort of comments is a racist.

But I suppose you don't really hear the opinions of moderate and liberal Japanese online, since they couldn't be bothered, and all you hear is the 2ch/mixi/you-tube right-wing nationalists making offense comments...

One of the commentors actually had a point, which is that by complaining of being called a naturalized citizen, she is in a way insinuating that naturalized citizens are inferior.

[Yokohammer]

One of the commentors actually had a point, which is that by complaining of being called a naturalized citizen, she is in a way insinuating that naturalized citizens are inferior.

I think the issue is more that Ishihara used the fact that she and other members of the DJP are naturalized to slander their political position (i.e. it's no wonder they support voting rights for permanent residents ...").

To simply say that she is naturalized would not be an indictment of any sort. It's the context that counts, and the commenter you're referring to has omitted that context, or was incapable of grasping that context, in a way that slanders her personally as well. Deceptive.

To reiterate my personal position on this: I don't think Japan is obliged to give voting rights to non-citizens, I just don't like some of the arguments that are being thrown around.

[Kanchou]

I think it was very obvious that the poster was attempting to insult her by calling her racist, not that he actually cared about the plight of naturalized citizens.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Unfortunately, Ishihara is representative of a fairly large slice of the Japanese population, which also goes to explain why he has remained in positions of power for the past five decades.
While I don't agree with his argument in this instance and think it's low for him to call on Fukushima to make her personal details public, I do agree with his opposition to allowing foreigners to vote.
Many of the Japanese arguments against gaijin suffrage are absurd and fear-mongering, but they should be adhered to nonetheless simply because the right to vote theoretically means having a say in how the country is run; a privelage I believe should be restricted to citizens.
Rather than argue on the topic-specific right to vote in local elections, I think foreigners would be better off fighting for Japan to permit dual nationality. Foreigners who want to vote would be able to naturalize and have their say without the loss of their original citizenship.
Of course, this does nothing to erase the specter of "pure-born" versus "converted" (that Ishihara referred to in this spat). Personally, I believe naturalized Japanese could take the moral high ground by saying they made a conscious choice to take out citizenship rather than simply having had it bestowed upon them as a birthright. Of course, that will still mean sweet FA to those of Yamato blood.

[Mulboyne]

I don't have a problem with a society which prefers to restrict suffrage to citizens. It is interesting, however, to look at claims - also made by Ishihara - that permanent residents will put their own country's interests before those of Japan. I think this may be fighting yesterday's battle.

It's undoubtedly true that there is a core of Korean special permanent residents who do not wish to take Japanese citizenship. It's also true that westerners - a much smaller number in total - are often reluctant to naturalize while it means also giving up their existing nationality. On the other hand, I really don't think the new influx of Chinese have any similar qualms.

I can well imagine, in years to come, significant numbers of Chinese applying for naturalization. Ishihara has already called into question the loyalties of naturalized citizens so it will be interesting to see what kind of reaction there'll be to that trend.

[Number11]

Put more simply, I think that Ishihara prefers that there be no path citizenship.

[nottu]

[sublight]

I sort of hope it turns into a defamation suit... more interesting than half-hearted public apologies/bows anyway.

When we get to the point where the response to Blinky claiming "you're parents were immigrants" is "yeah, so?", then we'll know Japan has made some actual progress toward first-world status.

[Kanchou]

Japan: Third-World Country, With First-World Shopping.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Of course, they're peons.

For who?

[sublight]

For who?

The one peeing, of course.

[FG Lurker]

Japan: Third-World Country, With First-World Shopping.

I like this one better.