Japan to revise rules on alien registration cards For Korean-Japanese Citizens

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

May 23, 2009
Japan’s political parties yesterday agreed to repeal a rule that forces certain Korean-Japanese there to carry alien registration cards at all times.

The alien registration card has been cited as an example of Japanese discrimination against foreigners, especially Korean-Japanese who make up a large segment of society. Korean-Japanese there say the decision opens a new chapter for their human rights.

According to Japanese media reports, Japan’s ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito Party and the opposition Democratic Party tentatively agreed to withdraw a bill that was to make it mandatory for Koreans born in Japan to carry a “new certificate card for special residents.”

The Japanese government plans to replace the alien registration card with new certificate cards containing detailed information about foreign individuals living in the country.

The requirement to carry the card at all times will end in 2012 following a legal revision, according to reports.


Currently, when a non-Japanese citizen - including one born in Japan to foreign parents - intends to stay in Japan for 90 days or more, that person is required to file his or her address with the local government and carry an alien registration card at all times.

Even permanent residents, such as Korean-Japanese, are obligated to follow the alien registration law, enacted in 1952.Violators may be imprisoned with hard labor or subject to fines.




The problems for Koreans there date from the 1940s, during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea. The Japanese government issued alien registration cards to the workers it forcibly mobilized from Joseon, the name for Korea at the time, during World War II.

Of the up to 2 million Koreans drafted for labor in Japan, 1.6 million returned home after the war, but the rest stayed behind as stateless “special residents.” Today, Korean-Japanese are estimated to number 600,000.

The legal change, if made, will mean a second big historic step for ethnic Koreans in Japan. In 1993, Japan revised a related law to exempt special permanent residents from a finger-printing requirement, saying the practice was a violation of human rights.

It was being applied to all non-Japanese workers and students staying in Japan for one year or longer, as well as to foreigners married to Japanese nationals and other foreign permanent residents.

The alien registration card has been used as a tool of discrimination against ethnic Koreans, according to Kang Woo-suk, leader of a group representing Korean-Japanese.

“When a Korean-Japanese commits a traffic offense, police ask him to produce a driver’s license first. If the name on it shows a hint of Korean origin, police request an alien registration card,” he said. “If found without the card, it is considered a flagrant offense, subject to a fine of 100,000 yen [$1,061]. This kind of practice was prevalent up until early 2000.”

Over the past five to six years, as some Korean entertainers gained popularity in Japan, the strict enforcement against Japanese-Koreans has lessened, he added.

The alien registration system has also been a major obstacle to employment, promotion and business and school admission for ethnic Koreans, Kang said.

Such treatment of them has led an increasing number of Korean-Japanese to opt to become naturalized Japanese.

According to Kwon Chul-hyeon, Korea’s ambassador to Japan, around 7,000 to 8,000 Japanese-Koreans are becoming Japanese citizens each year.

“It is true that the human rights of ethnic Koreans are being greatly improved. But permission for their voting rights in local elections remains to be tackled,” said Kwon.

“Since Korean-Japanese are serving their duties as members of the Japanese society, they should have their rights guaranteed,” Kwon added.



JoongAng Daily

I thought this was a interesting article because it shows you what Koreans who live or are born in Japan have to go through. Along with Korean entertainers like DBSK, SS501,BoA and soon to be Big Bang when they work in Japan.

Spoons

~Korean-Japanese, are obligated to follow the alien registration law, enacted in 1952.
~Violators may be imprisoned with hard labor or subject to fines.
~Today, Korean-Japanese are estimated to number 600,000.
~The legal change, if made, will mean a second big historic step for ethnic Koreans in Japan
~The alien registration card has been used as a tool of discrimination against ethnic Koreans
~Such treatment of them has led an increasing number of Korean-Japanese to opt to become naturalized Japanese.
~Around 7,000 to 8,000 Japanese-Koreans are becoming Japanese citizens each year.

I wonder if this card deal applies to half Koreans like Miyavi (Korean name Lee Ki-Ah 이 키아) or Crystal Kay etc.
Does anyone have an answer to that?

Comments

[crypticbluerose.livejournal.com]

yay for advancements.
... wow i learned miyavi's korean name tonight. lol

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

lol He said he thought it was really cool when he was little cause of Bruce Lee.

[crypticbluerose.livejournal.com]

reminds of that bruce lee documentary i watched last night while being an insomniac. he changed the world, lol

(my itunes must have knew what i waz reading cuz it starrted playing a bunch of koreans living in Japan songs lol, mayavi, tvxq, june etc..)

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

Your computer is self aware!

[jia-zhang.livejournal.com]

THIS. I never knew that was his name. Knew he was half-Korean, just not his name. Wow.

[dream-raine.livejournal.com]

*loves the poster for posting this article*

It's really food for thought. And it's somehow really awesome if the success of Korean entertainers in Japan results in the changing of society and lessen discrimination.

Have no answer to your question though...

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

ty bb♥

I'm so glad that Korean entertainers are starting to change Japanese opinions on Koreans. I'm really happy when I see Korean and Japanese companies/actors/singers working together. And I'm excited about the Korea-Japan project audition show ‘Great Tokyo Girls’.

[carrotsandroses.livejournal.com]

Great article. I have nothing insightful to say about it though D:

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

:P It's ok. Glad you enjoyed it. I always find this stuff so interesting.

[jia-zhang.livejournal.com]

I think this all began when Japanese ahjumma discovered Bae Young-joon.

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

rofl srsly. he has done so much for the impression of koreans.

[jia-zhang.livejournal.com]

The ahjummas are a force of nature...like the ocean or something, and Bae Young-joon is the moon. The man should just change professions and become a politician. He'd be swimming in votes. Seriously, I never got what the big deal was about him. >_>; He unnaturally reminds me of Harry Potter, and I'm not sure why.

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

lol if he became the president of korea all the ajummas would suddenly apply for korean citizenship.

[aici-rua.livejournal.com]

lol, KOREA WOULD BECOME OVERPOPULATED BECAUSE OF THE AJUMMAS

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

perm shops would spring up on every corner.

[aici-rua.livejournal.com]

Eccentric colored leggings would be the new hot thing.

The young would be forced to work twice as much to support the ajumma's spending.

The young will die from stress.

Since most of the young are gone, the ajummas will appoint hot men to the office.

Bae Young-joon will be named dictator and as his first law requested by the ajummas, all families must keep a poster of his face in every room and all his products and business ventures must be supported.

Ajummas will rule Korea.

South Korea will be renamed as Bae Young-joon.

... next stop, THE WORLD.

[risu-risu.livejournal.com]

i actually think that pressure from human rights groups & others abroad has had some influence. especially after the whole thing where the japanese government was offering to paying immigrants from south america to leave & never come back (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/business/global/23immigrant.html?_r=1) came out.

[risu-risu.livejournal.com]

not "to paying", "to pay". geez D:

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

Whoa. I am totally stunned at this article.

[risu-risu.livejournal.com]

in all honesty i was shocked when i read it. i guess it was kind of silly to hope the government was getting better & more progressive.

stay classy japanese government.

[kawaiiairbender.livejournal.com]

it's horrible but I'm not, the Japanese govt barely ever suprises me :/

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

gurl, sexy koreans can create change!

[xradiostatic.livejournal.com]

japan's rules on alien registration cards are changing a lot, wow. i keep reading about new things about the changes to take place in 2012. it's really interesting to read.

i had no clue that miyavi was half korean. o:

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Sadly there was some backlash when he came out to fans.

[risu-risu.livejournal.com]

backlash? seriously? i heard he was half korean, but i didn't know that it was such a big deal to his own fanbase.

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

A lot of fans refused to believe him and said he was joking just to shock people.

[risu-risu.livejournal.com]

wow. that is sad.

[toshiya.livejournal.com]

okay... I seriously didn't know miyavi was half korean.

[canyoucelebrate.livejournal.com]

Wow I didn't even know Japan was so discriminatory in the first place :O

[queefing.livejournal.com]

Japan is probably one of the most racist and discriminatory places on earth, sadly. :(

Theyre even discriminatory towards their own people if theyre descendants of what they view as undesirable occupations! Google "burakumin".

[subpain.livejournal.com]

Very true. I think the reason why a lot of Westerners are blissfully ignorant to this going on is that it's all swept under the rug (Something Japan loves doing) and most of the time it isn't directed to white people.

I love Japan as much as the next person, I've even lived there for a year, but their government is just ridiculous and they're so xenophobic and stuck in the past.

[mihsayam.livejournal.com]

But aren't Koreans as discriminating against the Japanese too? I would even say that in terms of xenophobia, Japanese are even more tolerating to foreigners than Korea is. Racism in Korea's pretty whack.

I say they go both ways. XD Both are pretty xenophobic.

[halcyon-morn.livejournal.com]

This. I don't think you can really quantify xenophobia, but foreigners certainly face similar obstacles and styles of discrimination in both countries, and this article strikes me very much as a pot-and-kettle deal. It's particularly so since the South Korean government has never been there for ethnic Koreans in Japan; the North actually did a better job with this, at least at the beginning, and this is one of the reasons that Zainichi communities in Japan have been primarily pro-DPRK despite being mostly of Southern origin.