Summer is the best time for teenagers to take a break from the school environment, and experience the world of work. In North America, junior high and high school students are given the opportunity to learn the value of a hard day's work, through various summer youth employment programs. In Japan, however, youngsters are confined to school club activities and prep schools; otherwise they are left astray and for the most part given money to spend any way they wish.
Kenji, an acquaintance's 16-year-old son, doesn't care about finding a job this summer. "We have bukatsu (club activities) during the summer vacation, and I have no time to work," Kenji innocently said. "Besides, we must go to juku to study for juken because our parents want us to enter a good university."
Kenji doesn't work, but he always has money to go out and have fun with friends. He owns a brand new scooter, a trendy cell phone and an expensive iPod. His mother tries to buy him anything he asks for, even if it means straining her purse. "I've spoiled him," she admitted. "If he could work, it would be a valuable lesson for him because he doesn't know the value of money." Still, she encourages her son to exclusively focus on academics and bukatsu which she believes will propel him to a "stable" civil servant job in the future.
Like Kenji, many Japanese teenagers are missing out on the practical experience of summer youth employment, which undoubtedly imparts confidence in the ability to compete in the permanent job market. I'm not saying that extra schooling and club activities are terrible things, but there should be a balance of studying, working and playing in young adults' lives.
Even if youth employment is not based upon real economic need, I believe it enables teens to mature into productive adults. When young people are exposed to the world of work, they reap a wealth of benefits that remain with them for a lifetime. They learn the value of hard work, personal initiative and self-reliance. They also learn how to carry out instructions, how to collaborate with others effectively in the workplace, and ways to manage time and money. Through summer jobs, earnest teens may even meet career mentors who can provide future job recommendations.
Young people no longer have a career path carved out for them when they leave school. A degree from a "good" university guarantees nobody a job these days, and there's just no such thing as lifelong employment anymore.
To better prepare our children for an ever-changing world, help them reach their potential and deal with whatever life throws at them; we must nurture a culture of creativity and resilience. Now more than ever working-age students need to be exposed to the world of work, and be taught how to think like entrepreneurs. Then, they'll be able to create their own inspiring businesses and community projects, and be more innovative within their careers and society.
Shukan ST: July 17, 2009 . By Joel Assogba (Published in The Japan Times ST)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 06, 2009
Calderon case shows need for new mind-set
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO, The Japan Times
By JOEL ASSOGBA
Chikugo, Fukuoka
Dear Japanese lawmakers,
In mid-March, I opened up my newspaper to find an article about the government granting one-year temporary resident status to Noriko Calderon, an ethnic Filipino girl. I was shocked by the news because Noriko was born and raised in Japan. And just like most of her ethnic Japanese counterparts, Noriko said she loves her native country. Still, the Japanese government treated her like an "alien." As far as I am concerned, Noriko is not a foreigner, and she shouldn't need any special permission to live in Japan. Sure, her parents are from the Philippines, so she is of Filipino ancestry. But for that matter, all the children born to Japanese parents in Brazil, the U.S. and the Philippines are of Japanese ancestry. Does that make them "aliens" in their countries of birth?
People of Japanese ancestry, or nikkeijin, have been accepted as full members of other societies. According to the Association of Nikkei and Japanese Abroad, there are about 2.6 million of them living in their adopted countries. Some have even become lawmakers in their country of birth or adoption. But the contrast with Japanese attitudes is sharp. The government here maintains a racist and xenophobic system under which people who fulfill every internationally accepted qualification for citizenship are denied it.
Each year, I give about 60 lectures to PTAs, students and ordinary citizens around Japan to promote multiculturalism. There is a profound problem here in that the fight against racism and discrimination hasn't been taken seriously. The hurdle is a lack of knowledge and sensibility when it comes to tackling these matters. I believe the public would react positively to an educational campaign about these issues, but there is a real lack of political push in this fight.
The majority of Japanese people still firmly believe that the key to Japanese identity is found in the blood. A Japanese is not someone born in Japan or someone who became Japanese through naturalization, but someone born to ethnic Japanese parents. This is a very racist concept, and doesn't fit with the present, more multiethnic reality of Japanese society. Now, a remarkable new debate is needed to change the Japanese concept of citizenship.
A few open-minded lawmakers are willing to consider granting citizenship to anyone born in Japan, and to offer dual citizenship to those with foreign-born parents. But the idea always comes up against opposition from the most conservative politicians. They argue that Japan, unlike America or Canada, is not a country of immigrants. The more rightwing Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers claim Japan is an ethnically homogenous nation.
Japan's political culture has not caught up the reality. While hundreds of thousands of Japanese have chosen to marry foreign nationals and have children in Japan, the government still treats foreigners as intruders. Neither the government nor civic organizations have significant programs to help foreigners integrate. The country still has no law regulating immigration.
The debate about liberalizing citizenship laws needs to be stepped up, particularly considering the large number of babies born here that are currently classed as "non-Japanese." The largest group of foreigners in Japan are ethnic Chinese and Koreans, but these people, who pay taxes and often feel more Japanese than Chinese/Korean, can become Japanese citizens only with great difficulty. They cannot get dual citizenship either, as Japan does not admit the concept.
Redefining Japanese citizenship by birth or choice instead of blood will certainly encourage Japanese people to accept foreigners. It would provide relief for millions of people who are now destined to live in a country where they feel they will never fully belong.
Most people take pride in their heritage, and this is important. But to function effectively in the 21st century, we must reach beyond our ethnic and cultural borders and work to create moral and just communities that foster the common good.
HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO, The Japan Times
By JOEL ASSOGBA
Chikugo, Fukuoka
Dear Japanese lawmakers,
In mid-March, I opened up my newspaper to find an article about the government granting one-year temporary resident status to Noriko Calderon, an ethnic Filipino girl. I was shocked by the news because Noriko was born and raised in Japan. And just like most of her ethnic Japanese counterparts, Noriko said she loves her native country. Still, the Japanese government treated her like an "alien." As far as I am concerned, Noriko is not a foreigner, and she shouldn't need any special permission to live in Japan. Sure, her parents are from the Philippines, so she is of Filipino ancestry. But for that matter, all the children born to Japanese parents in Brazil, the U.S. and the Philippines are of Japanese ancestry. Does that make them "aliens" in their countries of birth?
People of Japanese ancestry, or nikkeijin, have been accepted as full members of other societies. According to the Association of Nikkei and Japanese Abroad, there are about 2.6 million of them living in their adopted countries. Some have even become lawmakers in their country of birth or adoption. But the contrast with Japanese attitudes is sharp. The government here maintains a racist and xenophobic system under which people who fulfill every internationally accepted qualification for citizenship are denied it.
Each year, I give about 60 lectures to PTAs, students and ordinary citizens around Japan to promote multiculturalism. There is a profound problem here in that the fight against racism and discrimination hasn't been taken seriously. The hurdle is a lack of knowledge and sensibility when it comes to tackling these matters. I believe the public would react positively to an educational campaign about these issues, but there is a real lack of political push in this fight.
The majority of Japanese people still firmly believe that the key to Japanese identity is found in the blood. A Japanese is not someone born in Japan or someone who became Japanese through naturalization, but someone born to ethnic Japanese parents. This is a very racist concept, and doesn't fit with the present, more multiethnic reality of Japanese society. Now, a remarkable new debate is needed to change the Japanese concept of citizenship.
A few open-minded lawmakers are willing to consider granting citizenship to anyone born in Japan, and to offer dual citizenship to those with foreign-born parents. But the idea always comes up against opposition from the most conservative politicians. They argue that Japan, unlike America or Canada, is not a country of immigrants. The more rightwing Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers claim Japan is an ethnically homogenous nation.
Japan's political culture has not caught up the reality. While hundreds of thousands of Japanese have chosen to marry foreign nationals and have children in Japan, the government still treats foreigners as intruders. Neither the government nor civic organizations have significant programs to help foreigners integrate. The country still has no law regulating immigration.
The debate about liberalizing citizenship laws needs to be stepped up, particularly considering the large number of babies born here that are currently classed as "non-Japanese." The largest group of foreigners in Japan are ethnic Chinese and Koreans, but these people, who pay taxes and often feel more Japanese than Chinese/Korean, can become Japanese citizens only with great difficulty. They cannot get dual citizenship either, as Japan does not admit the concept.
Redefining Japanese citizenship by birth or choice instead of blood will certainly encourage Japanese people to accept foreigners. It would provide relief for millions of people who are now destined to live in a country where they feel they will never fully belong.
Most people take pride in their heritage, and this is important. But to function effectively in the 21st century, we must reach beyond our ethnic and cultural borders and work to create moral and just communities that foster the common good.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Concept of Japanese citizenship
Sunday, June 28, 2009
READERS IN COUNCIL (The Japan Times)
By JOEL ASSOGBA
Chikugo, Fukuoka
In mid-March I found an article about the Japanese government granting one-year temporary resident status to Noriko Calderon, a Japanese-born Filipino girl. Noriko's parents, facing deportation for being undocumented workers, thought it was better for their daughter, who speaks only Japanese, to stay in Japan and continue her middle school. I was shocked by the news because Noriko was born and raised in Japan. She said she loves this country; still, the government treated her like an "alien."
My first reaction was to ask the justice minister, "Why does Noriko need a special permit to stay in her country of birth?" Sure, one could argue that she is of Filipino ancestry, but for that matter, all the children born to Japanese parents in Brazil, America, Canada, Peru, Australia or France are of Japanese ancestry. Yet, nikkeijin have been accepted as full members of other societies. The largest of these foreign communities are in Brazil, the United States and the Philippines. Descendants of emigrants from the Meiji Era still have recognizable communities in those countries. Some have even become lawmakers in their country of birth or adoption.
By contrast the government in Japan persistently maintains a racist and xenophobic system under which people who fulfill every internationally accepted qualification for citizenship are denied it. There is a real lack of political push in this fight. The majority of Japanese people firmly believe that the key to Japanese identity is in the blood. A few open-minded lawmakers are willing to grant citizenship to anyone born in Japan and to allow dual citizenship for those with foreign-born parents, but the idea is always opposed by most conservative politicians. They argue that Japan, unlike America or Canada, is not a country of immigrants. The Liberal Democratic Party goes even further to the right: It says Japan is an ethnic Japanese nation. That, however, is no longer the reality.
The country still has no law regulating immigration. Many new babies born in Japan are not Japanese. The largest group of foreigners are ethnic Chinese and Koreans, but these people, who pay taxes and often feel more Japanese than Chinese or Korean, can become Japanese citizens only with great difficulty.
Redefining Japanese citizenship by birth or choice — instead of by blood — will encourage Japanese people to accept foreigners. It would provide relief for millions of people now destined to live in a country where they will never fully belong.
READERS IN COUNCIL (The Japan Times)
By JOEL ASSOGBA
Chikugo, Fukuoka
In mid-March I found an article about the Japanese government granting one-year temporary resident status to Noriko Calderon, a Japanese-born Filipino girl. Noriko's parents, facing deportation for being undocumented workers, thought it was better for their daughter, who speaks only Japanese, to stay in Japan and continue her middle school. I was shocked by the news because Noriko was born and raised in Japan. She said she loves this country; still, the government treated her like an "alien."
My first reaction was to ask the justice minister, "Why does Noriko need a special permit to stay in her country of birth?" Sure, one could argue that she is of Filipino ancestry, but for that matter, all the children born to Japanese parents in Brazil, America, Canada, Peru, Australia or France are of Japanese ancestry. Yet, nikkeijin have been accepted as full members of other societies. The largest of these foreign communities are in Brazil, the United States and the Philippines. Descendants of emigrants from the Meiji Era still have recognizable communities in those countries. Some have even become lawmakers in their country of birth or adoption.
By contrast the government in Japan persistently maintains a racist and xenophobic system under which people who fulfill every internationally accepted qualification for citizenship are denied it. There is a real lack of political push in this fight. The majority of Japanese people firmly believe that the key to Japanese identity is in the blood. A few open-minded lawmakers are willing to grant citizenship to anyone born in Japan and to allow dual citizenship for those with foreign-born parents, but the idea is always opposed by most conservative politicians. They argue that Japan, unlike America or Canada, is not a country of immigrants. The Liberal Democratic Party goes even further to the right: It says Japan is an ethnic Japanese nation. That, however, is no longer the reality.
The country still has no law regulating immigration. Many new babies born in Japan are not Japanese. The largest group of foreigners are ethnic Chinese and Koreans, but these people, who pay taxes and often feel more Japanese than Chinese or Korean, can become Japanese citizens only with great difficulty.
Redefining Japanese citizenship by birth or choice — instead of by blood — will encourage Japanese people to accept foreigners. It would provide relief for millions of people now destined to live in a country where they will never fully belong.
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