It's summer vacation, and a large number of foreign tourists are flying to Japan from all over the world. Japan's famous attractions are crowded, and even the Osaka garbage dump is crowded with foreign tourists.
For foreign tourists who love Korea pop culture, Tokyo's Shin-Okubo area is a must-visit destination.
Okubo is a thriving place for Japan's Hallyu culture. There is "Korea Town", which is a place of pilgrimage for K-pop stargazers.
Not only Koreans, but also Asian immigrants have moved in recent years, and it has become a gathering place for foreigners in Japan, and it has one of the highest rates of foreigners in Japan.
However, in this place of multicultural gathering and exchange, there has recently been an incident of discrimination against Chinese and Koreans.
The restaurant in Okubo recently posted a notice that Chinese and Korean people were not allowed to enter.
"Even though everyone now talks about diversity and tolerance, I just don't want to work against my conscience, and we don't allow Chinese and Koreans to enter."
Subsequently, the store also posted on social platforms: "It's so enjoyable to do this! ”
One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the matter continued to ferment on the Internet in Japan.
The strong culture of "exclusivity" is deeply rooted in Japan society, so some Japanese netizens support the store owner, believing that everyone should respect the store owner's choice, because the store "has the right to do so, which is also a form of multiculturalism."
However, some Japan netizens saw through this sophistry and immediately refuted that this is "clear racial discrimination", not the so-called "multiculturalism".
"Multiculturalism does not include racial discrimination. Multiculturalism originally refers to those cultures that have different characteristics. If it is only to restrict a few specific ethnic groups, it is not diversity, but exclusivity. ”
Japan netizens bluntly said that it is okay not to understand other cultures, but it is also not possible to discriminate against them.
"I think this kind of senseless discrimination or violence against a particular race is a very bad act. Although the coexistence of diverse cultures is advocated today, it is not realistic to allow people with different values and incomprehensible values to coexist.
Even if humans don't distinguish between you and me, bullying between humans will not go away, just like those who love each other will get divorced. I think that since we can't understand each other, we should keep an appropriate distance from each other, but only if we think about an appropriate approach. ”
Some Japanese netizens pointed out that if it is Japan who are discriminated against, then the boomerang will hit those who support the store.
"It would be nice to write in more detail, I don't know what the store has suffered before, but there should never be restrictions on a particular race in this kind of matter, because by doing so, he is pulling hatred and there will be people who feel hurt by it. If you see Japan refusing to enter the store abroad, it will hurt you even if you don't enter the store. ”
Sharp-eyed Japan netizens angrily accused the store of sensationalism, just to win attention and achieve publicity effects.
"Since you are refusing Chinese and South Koreans, why not use English instead of Japanese?"
Some Japan netizens said that the store is discriminating against foreigners, so as to achieve the purpose of "smearing Japan".
"You just have to support this kind of people, anyway, it will only have a negative impact on Japan in the end." The more people like this, the weaker Japan's national power will be, and you guys are really good! ”
After being bombarded by Japan netizens, the store owner vomited bitterness to the Japanese media, saying that he was also a victim.
Recently, many people have come to the door of the store to protest and demonstrate, which has affected the normal business.
Angry Japan netizens did not buy it, and then turned over the black history of the store, accusing it of having a bad service attitude, and previously posted an article complaining about Korea.
"Guests who are reluctant to spend money and have a bad attitude are generally kicked out by me. Today there are Korea guests again, and I will sweep them out directly. ”
As a service practitioner, he picks and chooses customers, which not only completely pulls down the "Japanese-style service" from the altar, but also is suspected of serious racial discrimination.
"In the United States and Europe, this kind of behavior is absolutely a crime. Just think about the denial of Africans in the United States, it is simply unthinkable. Even if the owner has the right to choose customers freely, it is limited to a certain person or a few people, and if the restriction is limited to hundreds of millions of people, it is clearly discriminatory.
I checked and found that this kind of behavior is also a crime in Japan, and there have been incidents in the past where a bathhouse in Otaru City was sentenced to pay compensation for the "refusal of foreigners to enter the country". If this store is also sued, it will eventually be sentenced to compensation. ”
Indeed, it is illegal in Japan to refuse entry to Chinese and Korean people such as the Okubo store.
Article 14 of the Japan Constitution stipulates that "all citizens shall be equal before the law without discrimination on the basis of race, creed, gender, social status or family status." This provision also applies to foreigners in Japan.
For example, the store asks the customer to leave the store on the grounds that it is a foreigner; Judging from the appearance of the customer, the customer is a foreigner and refuses to enter; Privately run public baths are denied entry to foreigners; Refusal to become a member of a golf club on the grounds that he or she does not have Japan nationality is racial discrimination and violates Article 14 of the Japan Constitution.
But in real life, it is not easy to prosecute Japan's racists under Article 14 of the Japan Constitution.
From 2013 to 2015, the president of Fuji Housing in Osaka often took the lead in promoting racist rhetoric, distributing posters filled with hatred of Koreans to all employees, arguing that "Koreans are doing bad things in Japan" and that "Koreans are liars."
A female Korea employee of the company filed a lawsuit with the Osaka District Court after arguing that the actions of the company and its chairman were racially discriminatory and violated Article 14 of the Japan Constitution.
The lawsuit lasted for five years and was not resolved until July 2020.
The Osaka District Court held that the company and the chairman had only violated the woman's personality rights, and ordered the company and the chairman to pay 1.1 million yen in damages, without mentioning "racial discrimination."
Even though Japan acceded to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1995, the inaction of Japan's judiciary has tolerated racial discrimination in Japan to a certain extent.
For a long time, some Japan have practiced "racial discrimination" in the name of "freedom of speech."
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination pointed out the high level of racial discrimination in Japan 10 years ago.
In the decade since 2003, there have been more than 360 racist demonstrations and speeches in Japan, and some far-right groups and individuals have spread racial discrimination and hate speech, discriminating, harassing and provoking foreigners in Japan, the committee said.
However, the Japan government has never investigated or punished such acts, which has led to increasing racial discrimination and a rise in populism.
Even though it has been severely criticized by the United Nations in public, the Japan government has made little change or progress in eliminating racial discrimination.
Now, ten years later, Japan still has not enacted a national, normative law to eliminate racial discrimination, and Japanese people will not be truly punished for racial discrimination and other hate speech.
In recent years, there have been occasional cases in Japan that refuse to allow certain people to enter, as is the case with this Okubo store. It is extremely undesirable for such Japanese to win attention by inciting national sentiments, clinging to a specific cultural form, excluding dissidents, and rejecting the development of diverse cultures.
On the surface, these Japan arrogantly believe that "shopkeepers have the right to choose customers", but in the context of the global efforts to eliminate racial discrimination and build a community with a shared future for mankind, this practice is undoubtedly promoting racial discrimination.
What's more, the Japan government is now committed to "tourism nation", and the consumption of foreign tourists in Japan has greatly boosted the already weak Japan economy.
In the first half of this year, there were about 18 million foreign tourists visiting Japan, and in June, the number of foreign tourists reached 3,135,600 in a single month, both of which hit record highs. Among them, Korea topped the list with 703,300 people; China ranked second with 660,900 people.
According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the total spending of foreign visitors to Japan in the first half of this year reached a record high of 3.9 trillion yen. At this rate, it will be close to 8 trillion yen per year.
However, the Japan government seems to only want to harvest foreign tourists frantically, but it has not really taken practical actions to ensure the travel experience of foreign tourists.
For example, in this summer, a large number of foreign tourists flocked to the city, and the Japan aviation fuel was already running out.
There are 15 airports in Japan, and only 140 flights per week can be fixed, and no new flights can be added, resulting in a shortage of air capacity. The reason behind this is the lack of manpower of the crew and tanker truck drivers who transport fuel. At present, the Japan government has no relevant solution.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who proposed "tourism as a nation", will only blame foreign tourists for creating "excessive tourism" and affecting the normal work and life of Japan, but instead of facing the needs of foreign tourists and Japan at the government level, he will not take action and allow the contradictions between the two sides to intensify.
This attitude of the Japan government is also reflected in the face of serious racial discrimination in the country.
"Freedom of expression does not mean allowing hate speech and behaviour to run rampant that could lead to violence against certain groups of people."
This was stated by Anwar Ibrahim, then a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, at a press conference in 2014 about racial discrimination in Japan.
The elimination of all forms of racism and the equal enjoyment of dignity and rights by all are the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations and the embodiment of international fairness and justice.
Therefore, we should respect each other and have friendly exchanges among civilizations amid the collision of diverse cultures.