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<DIV>OOC: Changing the date of "Headaches" to 10 March, and keeping it in the
this WR. This post follows.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"The Strangers Amoung Us"</DIV>
<DIV>Prime Minister Shunichi Sato</DIV>
<DIV>Japan</DIV>
<DIV>10 March 2014</DIV>
<DIV>----------------------------</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Japan was a hard country to live in if you weren't Japanese; and unlike the
West where you could be American or Canadian just by crossing the border filling
out some form and jumping through some hoops, to be Japanese, you had to be born
of Japanese parents, who were in turn born of Japanese back until your
neighbours forgot, otherwise you were Gaijin.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato had grown up with that and was fine with it really, in some ways he
was even proud; while the rest of the world became a melting pot had Japan
retained it's identity. However he was also aware that the countries who
survived were like bamboo, they bent in the wind. So he too was willing to
bend.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>To that end he met with the Minister of Justice Matsumoto and Minister of
Education Sekihara to discuss plans for the future of Japan's non-native
populations, and it's one non-Japanese native one.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato sat down with the Ministers at his conference table just off of his
office and nodded as tea was served. "I know these are troubling subjects so let
us start with the easiest things first," he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The men nodded gratefully and the Justice Minister began.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"The Burakumin," he began speaking of Japan's untouchable class who
traditionally worked as butchers, leather workers and undertakers who by the
standards of Shinto were unclean due to their contact with death. "We were
discussing making looking into a person's family background illegal for
employers."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato nodded. "Yes," he said. "And firing Burakumin if their history is
discovered after employment."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Justice Minister inclined his head. "Yes."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato knew as well as the others this would be only a token gesture and
would effect only the most low level jobs, senior jobs, management and so on
would always involve some inquiry into the applicant's family history, however
under the law it would now have to be unofficial.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sekihara who came from the party's far-left asked. "What about marriage
arrangments?"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Matsumoto shook his head. "Impossible to legislate, families will always
want to know who their children are marrying and we have no right to interfere
with it."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Yes, but if these people are denyed marriage we are effectively committing
genocide."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato knew this was going to go on for a bit if he didn't step in.
"Sekihara-san, the Justice Minister is correct, we cannot interfere with the
actions of families."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sekihara frowned but nodded. "Yes, Mr. Prime Minister."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Genocide? Sato thought as he sat back and listened to the Justice Minister
spin out his proposal for the bill introduction, a touch over-dramatic,
Burakumin married all the time, yes, often to their own kind, but then it was
only a responsible for a parent to prevent their children marrying one of their
kind, what good would that do their children? His mind came back to the
present.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Have you informed the business community about our intent?" Sato
asked Matsumoto.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Yes, I mentioned it to a number of my aquaintances, it will be widely
known by now."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Good, the last thing they needed was to raise the ire of buisiness over
such a token law. "When do you see us moving ahead with this?"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"We will introduce it for it's first reading next week there is likely to
be no opposition."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato nodded. "Good, next then I suppose," he checked the agenda. "The
Ainu."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Japan's indiginous population. Again you could lay their problems at the
door of Shinto, which claimed that the O-Kami created Japan and the Japanese
people; another people being here first somewhat complicated that belief. Sato
for his part was perfectly fine reconciling his faith in Shinto with the facts
of science. The texts were works of men, the Kami, were a matter of faith.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sekihara took over. "We're adding to April's budget, with the approval
of the Finance Ministry, a billion yen for the preservation of the Ainu language
and special grants to schools in the Hokkaido region who provide classes in the
language to their Ainu students over the next three years."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato nodded. It was past due, the Ainu language was all but extinct and no
matter what the Kojiki might say, he felt the Ainu were part of his Japan and
worthy of preservation.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Matsumoto added. "They will also be allowed to be added to the Family
Registry without modification of their names," he said. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Family Registry was how you were counted in Japan, it was a census,
record of your birth, marriage, death and property all in one, and under
the existing laws you needed to have a Japanese name writeable in Kanji to be
added, meaning it had to be Japanese. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Very good," he said. "The next subject, the foreign
residents."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Well I think the amensity will be accepted by the people but we will have
a hard time of naturalizing the foreign communities in Japan. They are either
too different in the case of Westerners and the South Americans, or they are too
distrusted in the case of the Chinese and Koreans."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato frowned, this from the party who had four members of the Diet who were
foreigners born in Japan. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Matsumoto continued. "In particular the Koreans are a concern, the Korean
Residence Union and the Association of Korean Residents in Japan have both been
stirring up problems of late with the conflict in North Korea."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Korean Residence Union or Midran as it was called for short primarily
supported the South Korean side of the penninsula's dispute, and actively
supported it's people keeping their Korean identity while living in Japan; the
Association of Korean Residents or Chosen Soren was depending on who you ask
either strongly allied to, or a front for the government of old North Korea.
Both groups were actively lobbying for Japan to oppose the Chinese mission in
North Korea, for once in their organizational lives agreeing on something.
However a couple of violent protests had coloured them poorly in the country's
perception.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"I see what you mean," Sato said. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Matsumoto nodded. "Yes, and in reguards to Chosen Soren, Koancho wanted
permission to quietly contact the Chinese intelligence community about any
information they might have on Chosen Soren's activities during the Kim
regime."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"They have it, to what end though?"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"We have an opportunity here to prove if they had anything to do with the
abductions of Japanese citizens and arrest foreign intelligence assets on
Japanese soil."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato nodded. "Let's approach the North Korean's too, bribe them if
nessissary, I am sure some of the members of the Provisional Government would
have access to the information we're after."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Matsumoto grunted his agreement. "I'll make sure Koancho begins looking
into this. Now, are we going ahead with these changes for the foreigners
currently living in Japan?"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato sat back and then shook his head. "No, not yet, we'll see how our leak
to the media plays with the public. If there seems to be support we'll move
forward, if not, then we'll put it on a shelf for a while. However unless there
is strenuous objection from your ministry or the cabinet, I'd like to allow
non-Japanese spouses of Japanese citizens on the Family Registry, with kana-ized
names. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Matsumoto made another agreeing noise. "I do not think anyone in the
ministry will disagree to that, however the family registry is managed at a
local level, I would appreciate if we could speak with the local governments
before there is any public announcement of our plans."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato nodded. "Of course."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>He turned to Sekihara. "And you had one last intitiative for in reguards to
language?"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Minister nodded. "Yes, my Ministry would like to support classes in the
languages of the Ryukyu islands in schools in that region."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sato nodded. He'd read the report, it was sound, support for in class
studies of those languages and funds for after school programs as well, all for
around three billion yen over five years. Expensive yes, but culturally
important. "I approve, we'll introduce it in the budget."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Shortly after the meeting ajourned.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>note: billion yen aprox 10 million USD</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Actions:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>1. Propose a bill that makes looking at a person's family history illegal
for perspective employers, the same bill also proposes to make firing a
Burakumin an offence. Both crimes will be punishable with fines of $10,000 USD.
The Japanese business community will be given advance warning as not to blind
side them.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>2. Add 1 billion yen (10 million USD) over three years to
the budget for classes in the Hokkaido region aimed at teaching the Ainu the
Ainu languange. Additionally a bill will be proposed to add the Ainu to the
Family Registry without requiring them to choose a Japanese name.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>3. Continue to debate naturalization of Japan's foreign residents.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>4. Allow foreign spouses of Japanese citizens to be entered into the Family
Registry without needing to choose Japanese names. (Currently foreign spouses
are added as a footnote and any children are listed as illegitimate)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>5. Add 3 billion yen (30 million USD) over five years to the budget for
classes to teach the languages of the Ryukyu's in the Okninawa prefecture.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>