What is a conference representing foreigners?
The 1990s was a time when a large number of newcomers from abroad came to Japan and began to settle there, notably from South America rather than from other Asian countries. With the revision of the Immigration Control Act, Japanese descendants appeared on the labor market, and although they were called dekasegi workers, they are now settling down, so it would be more appropriate to classify them as immigrant labor. They are the descendants of Japanese who emigrated overseas before and after the war, but with different nationalities, cultural backgrounds, customs and values, and little knowledge of the Japanese language, life in Japan created more friction and misunderstanding than they had expected.
Local governments also began to take action from a fairly early stage, and the national government also set up consultation centers through the Ministry of Labor (now the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare). Living guidebooks were published and distributed in large numbers in multiple languages, and Japanese language classes began to be held all over the country by international exchange associations and private organizations.
It was the first time in history that Japan had accepted so many foreigners in such a short period of time, and the government, which was busy dealing with the situation, was not united in its efforts. Some places, such as Oizumi Town in Gunma Prefecture, responded by translating many of the documents related to administrative procedures into Portuguese, while others only deployed counselors with a limited budget. The problem is that many institutions are caught in a dilemma about how long and to what extent they should provide administrative services in multiple languages.
On the other hand, as foreign residents began to report various requests to international associations and local government consultation desks, Kawasaki City established the first conference for foreigners by ordinance in 1996, where foreigners could take the lead in discussions1. The following year, Tokyo Metropolitan Government established one , and in December 1998, Kanagawa Prefecture established the Kanagawa Conference for Foreign Residents2. I was a member of this conference for the first term, and we discussed many issues with other foreign members, exchanged information, and, with the cooperation of the government, held study sessions and inspections to grasp the actual situation and propose policies. Based on the proposals made at that time, the NPO "MIC Kanagawa" was established , which trains and dispatches medical interpreters3, and the "Kanagawa Living Support Center" was also established, specializing in real estate consultations4 .
Other local governments have also started to set up advisory councils such as foreign representatives councils, which come in a variety of forms.5 Some councils have all foreign members, while others include Japanese experts. Some are appointed by recommendation, while others are open to public applications. Basically, they raise issues and share awareness among the parties involved, and by doing so, they come up with proposals aimed at coexistence and symbiosis with foreigners, and sometimes the content is examined so that it can be reflected in the relevant policies of the local government.
Some foreign members also sit on other advisory committees, and therefore indirectly take measures that are favorable to the internationalization of Japan (such as promoting tourism and relaxing the conditions for entering public housing). 6 Naturally, major issues are related to the national legal system, but some foreign members see these forums as a place to negotiate and exert their influence with local governments, which exposes conflicts and differences of opinion among members. If Japan does not have a clear integration policy for foreigners and a strategic multicultural policy, this will result in the proliferation of such policies and an increase in the financial burden.
Local governments also seek ideas and wisdom from foreigners themselves. However, 18 years have passed since these newcomers (Japanese people from South America, Filipinos, etc.) began coming to Japan, and issues such as how to separate and put out garbage, noise in housing complexes and residential areas, children not attending school, and overdue taxes (including national health insurance), which have been pointed out since the beginning, are still on the agenda. In light of this, it can be said that the internationalization policies of local governments to date, and the multicultural coexistence policies that have been attracting attention in recent years, have not been very effective. Although they are said to support the independence of foreigners, there are many systems that hinder independence, and there are elements that make one suspect that these meetings are actually just securing and expanding the budgets of local governments and related organizations. Even if policies without principles are implemented in a multifaceted manner to address all ``issues,'' they are not very effective, and on top of that, they are not very appreciated by the people involved.
As I have pointed out before, my philosophy is to "not do anything that you are not asked to do" and "even if something seems necessary, investigate the actual situation first and provide support where it will be primarily effective in solving the problem." However, even after changing the name of the support project, in the end, it seems that they are just repeating almost the same things as before, and nothing has been fundamentally solved; in fact, it even seems that they are getting further and further away from a solution.
What is the conference that represents the needs of local governments with large foreign populations?
As the number of Japanese workers in South America increases, some local governments have established the "Conference of Cities with Large Foreign Populations" to deepen cooperation to solve various problems.7 The first meeting was held in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2001, and the number of member cities has gradually increased, to the present day, 26 cities. Every year, local governments take turns holding a general meeting to announce recommendations and declarations. Bureaucrats from central government ministries and representatives of the business world are also welcomed, and requests are submitted on various issues. The 2008 conference was held in Tokyo, with the secretariat based in Minokamo City, Gifu Prefecture, to strengthen its appeal to the government.
I have attended several of the conferences and have read the handouts, and I would say that this conference should be called the "Conference of Cities with a Large Brazilian Population." Looking at the data on member cities as of the end of 2008, the conference is made up of 26 cities in seven prefectures (Gunma, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, and Shiga), and the top three nationalities of registered citizens are all Brazilian. China and Korea, the Philippines, and Peru come in second and third, but in absolute terms, the numbers are very small. What is notable is that the population of foreigners is high in each municipality as a percentage of its population, and that among them, Brazilians make up the overwhelming majority8 .
I will mention two issues. The first is the problem of not being enrolled in social insurance. The conference seems to be calling for an insurance system that is separate from pension contributions according to the employment status of foreigners, but it is not easy to completely change the system to target foreigners. The Japanese pension system also has various problems and is obviously not a panacea, but it is more reliable than the immature systems of South American countries, and disability pensions and other benefits are fully provided in case you are unable to work due to injury or illness. There is an aspect of the workers' argument that "I don't want to join because I will return to my country in a few years, I don't want to pay, the premiums are too high" is extremely selfish. 9 Also, not all foreigners are calling for a separate pension system.
Another issue is the problem of Brazilian children not attending school. 10 Reading the petition from the Conference of Cities with High Population, it lists the need for an increase in the number of bilingual teachers or assistants and for mother-tongue education. It also points out the need for support for foreign schools and the relaxation of conditions for accreditation of various schools. In fact, the latter conditions have been relaxed considerably, but the Brazilian schools that have sprung up like bamboo shoots are all private schools, and with a few exceptions, the quality of teachers and the management skills of school leaders are low. Only about half of the nearly 100 schools are accredited by the Brazilian government (Ministry of Education), the financial base is weak, and the quality and treatment of teachers is low. As a result, despite the efforts of the Brazilian government, the quality of compulsory education is far below that of the home country. It is the responsibility of the country, which has neither a philosophy nor a clear immigration policy, to have created this situation.
The responsibility of the Japanese government is to guarantee compulsory education to these foreign children, and to implement an education that brings them closer to Japanese people while providing support for Japanese language learning within the system.11 At this point in time, all support is indirect and lacks proactiveness toward integrating them into society. The easy acceptance of foreign schools so that they can return home whenever they like is simply an attempt to avoid responsibility.
In addition, the support for native language education (acquisition of Portuguese) requested by some local governments and foreign organizations is completely unreasonable. There is nothing wrong with acquiring Portuguese within the Brazilian community using one's own financial resources and securing teachers, but for the Japanese side to implement such a request as part of education is a distortion of multicultural coexistence.12 Japanese who emigrated to South America have certainly established Japanese language schools in settlements and cities and made efforts to teach Japanese as a heritage language, but they would never think of asking the governments of the countries they emigrated to for such unreasonable assistance. There are certified bilingual Spanish-Japanese schools in Mexico and Argentina , but this is because they meet all the strict conditions as legitimate educational institutions.13
Japan, which has little experience accepting immigrants, does not understand the most basic of things, and unnecessary considerations and support measures are making it even more complicated to resolve the issues of not being enrolled in pension schemes and children not attending school.
Another limitation of the Council is that it does not cover all foreigners and all major municipalities with large foreign populations. Kawasaki, Yokohama, Fujisawa, Yamato, and Aikawa in Kanagawa Prefecture are not included, as are Chiba, Saitama, and Tokyo. These municipalities have different approaches and policies to address the issues, and are working to address them, rather than the more politically-themed Council.
The concept of multicultural coexistence tends to be seen as if everything it includes is "good," but there is a risk that it will result in obscuring the true nature of various issues. Furthermore, misguided policies may even negate the responsibilities and efforts that foreigners must fulfill as immigrants or local residents. When Spain's Minister of Labor and Migration, Corbacho, took office in April 2008, he pointed out that "immigrants can be seen in cities and districts all over Spain, but coexistence will not work if the last people to arrive (register as residents) make the rules of social life," and emphasized that it is important to understand Spanish culture and social norms.14
note:
1. Kawasaki City Foreign Residents Representatives Conference
http://www.city.kawasaki.jp/25/25zinken/home/gaikoku/kaigi/index.htm
2. Kanagawa Prefecture "Kanagawa Prefectural Council of Foreign Citizens"
http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/osirase/kokusai/seisaku/gaikokuseki/gaikokuseki-index.htm
3. MIC Kanagawa "Multilingual Community Resource Kanagawa" NPO
http://www.clair.or.jp/j/forum/forum/closeup/178_1/index.html
http://mickanagawa.web.fc2.com/top_page.html
4. Kanagawa Living Support Center (NPO)
http://www.sumasen.com/
5. Foreigner Conferences - Nationwide Conferences (based on the website of Professor Yamawaki of Meiji University)
http://www.kisc.meiji.ac.jp/~yamawaki/kyosei/gaikokujinkaigi.htm
They are also installed in other municipalities.
6. Korean and Chinese residents of Japan participate in advisory committees related to the tourism industry and urban development, in part due to their business activities. The author served as a member of the Kanagawa Prefecture Housing Policy Forum for two years from 2001, and later served two terms as a member of the Yokohama City International Community Development Committee.
7. Conference of Cities with Large Foreign Populations
http://homepage2.nifty.com/shujutoshi/
http://www.city.hamamatsu.shizuoka.jp/admin/policy/kokusai/conferenceindex.html
8. The number of registered Brazilians is estimated at 320,000 (immigration statistics at the end of 2007), and the Brazilian population in these 26 cities is 128,167 (about half). There are about 60,000 Peruvian nationals, but only 5,924 in these cities.
9. South American countries have concluded social security agreements within the region and with Italy and Spain, but the effectiveness of these agreements is very limited because there are many illegal workers and people who do not pay pension contributions in their home countries.
In Japan, there is a "Pension Withdrawal Lump Sum System" for foreigners, and many Brazilians use this system. A maximum of 36 months' worth of pension can be refunded, but the government is reluctant to expand it beyond that, because it goes against the purpose of the pension system. In recent years, it has been pointed out that there are many deficiencies in pensions, even among Japanese non-regular workers and dispatched workers, and the increase in the number of people who are not enrolled in the National Pension System and those who are in arrears with their contributions has become a social problem, so the review of the system may be carried out from that perspective.
10. It cannot be said that children of Peruvian or Filipino nationality are not in the same situation, but they generally attend Japanese schools, and it is not a "major issue" for local governments. In the case of Brazilians, on average 20% are in the same situation, and some surveys have shown that the ratio is more than double by the time they reach junior high school. The rate of progression to high school is still low overall, with only about 10% graduating.
11. Japanese language education for South American Japanese descendants and Spanish language education for Japanese workers in Japan
http://www.ideamatsu.com/nihongo/nikeijin/1100-4-1.htm
Children of foreigners: The only option is to make compulsory education compulsory. "Musashi No. 51, 2006, April"
http://www.ideamatsu.com/nihongo/nikeijin/1100-1-25.htm (Japanese)
http://www.ideamatsu.com/educacion/200-6-5.htm (Spanish)
For more articles and columns about Japanese Americans, please see the author's website:
http://www.ideamatsu.com/nihongo/nikeijin/indice-nikkeijin.htm (Japanese)
http://www.ideamatsu.com/educacion/edu-indice.htm (Spanish)
Many of the author's columns about Japanese Americans are also posted on the Discover Nikkei website, the Japanese American National Museum.
http://www.discovernikkei.org/forum/ja/taxonomy/term/98 (Japanese)
http://www.discovernikkei.org/forum/en/taxonomy/term/99 (Spanish)
12. It is important to respect the unique cultures and languages of foreigners in a multicultural coexistence policy, but it is problematic for local governments to indirectly use public funds (subsidies from international associations, etc.) to help preserve the mother tongue of such groups. Respecting ethnic education and ensuring compulsory education are not contradictory, but the latter should take precedence. This is the case in Brazil and Peru, where general Japanese language schools and Korean schools are simply private schools and do not conflict with regular local schools. Even here in Japan, Peruvians and Brazilians are not actively seeking government support for such projects.
13. While local governments may have provided some convenience to Japanese immigrants, they are unlikely to provide funds for schools in foreign communities.
14. This statement was covered by radio, television, and other media. In Spanish it says, "The death penalty for immigration is a group in a strait, a group in a barricade and a group in a city, but my opinion is that a group in a strait, in a barricade, can work with the last norm that it should be embarrassed."
© Alberto J. Matsumoto
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