How was ZAINICHI treated - seeing Maeda

There is no wrestling freak who doesn't know Akira Maeda, who started UWF, a wrestling league in 1984 as a leader of wrestling world.

He is also known to be a ZAINICHI, which means "North or South Korean staying in Japan". He's the third generation.

I saw a documentary TV program following the life of Akira Maeda, and it was very interesting:

His grandparents came to Japan from South Korea to earn money. They spent a hard time in Japan, and so were his parents. After WWII, they decided to stay in Japan and give birth to a baby boy, Akira Maeda.

His father divorced his wife, finding another woman, letting Maeda alone sometimes. Maeda, released to the harsh world at a young age, realized that only power can rule. What he was doing at that time was to look for muscular men to do street fight.

He once ran into a discrimination against ZAINICHI when he proposed a marriage to a Japanese woman and talked to her parent. He was turned down, "We made a rule not to marry those people," said the parent. Maeda destroyed the house as a revenge.

After experiencing many bumpy times in his juvenile, he ran into wrestling, which lead him to his new career.

Hmmmm..... let me make a comment on his talk a little bit. He destroyed the woman's house? I think that's why he is turned down! Plus, obviously he was so violent to continue street fighting. No wonder he was turned down. I think it's not because he was zainichi. He was just not decent.

But it must be noted that he changed his discipline, trying to be a justice side. He disclosed his secret about himself being a zainichi to mass media a decade ago. It must take a lot of nerve for him to confess that he is a zainichi, and he's got a courage. You've got to remember there are many good zainichi contributing to society while some others commit crimes. It's for sure that his deed encouraged many zainichi who didn't find any confidence about their entity. Now he is designated as one of the greatest wreslers respected by many supporters from both sides.

Let me pick up other his talkings :
Maeda: "I got Japanese nationality in 1984. I don't have a good feeling about Korean nationality because it looks like a brand only existing in paperwork. My relatives studied hard and failed to get a job. "

Interviewer: "Did you notice any discrimination throughout your career?"
Maeda: "Not in daily life. But when it comes to troubles, they whisper that they'd never understand Maeda because he's zainichi. "

Interviewer at the studio: "He also left us a couple of lively remarks such as 'The enemy of zainichi is zainichi' or 'Be a good man if you don't wanna suffer from a discrimination.' "



I've found another interview in June 15, 1999, in "OneKorea News":
Maeda:"When I confessed my place of origin, many zainichi people gathered to me, and complain about discrimination against zainichi by Japanese. But I don't like those people. Why? because other zainichi who went back to North Korea in 1960's, in contrast to us, are having a more serious discrimination in North Korea. But people here never look at the fact and only accusing of the discrimination in front of them."
(Let me add a comment. zainichi who went back to either Korea are called half-Japanese there and subject to a greater discrimination in Korea. It is partly because they can't speak enough Korean. But Korean people's mind is that zainichi were sneaking out of Korea, escaping conscription or Korean war.)

Women-only train coach

More and more train companies have introduced women-only coaches for preventing perverts from indulging themselves.

The number of sexual criminals on trains never decreases, and this problem has annoyed train companies.

National Railroad, the former public company introduced this system once, but they abolished it by 1973 because "the service should be equally provided since men and women pay equally. They must have the same right to choose any coach." by the head of Tobu railroad company.

Throughout the discussion for over 30 years, they decided to restart this system, and we can see those coaches in the last coach in the train.
Obviously, it means that men have to be patient with crowded coaches without the right to choose. Plus there are still objections about this system mostly from men. However, as far as I am concerned, no women are feeling uncomfortable about it.



The change of the train system is widely reported in TVs. "It's very safe without men" says the interviewee who is using the train. But I think she doesn't have to worry in the first place.

Careless Koizumi

It's very careless of Koizumi to be caught like that by Korean Massmedia. It's OK to bow in Japan, but if he does so when he is abroad , it means he shows his obedience.

Also unbelievable fact is that he can't speak English even just a simple sentence. Look at Tony Blair speak French very well. If you think you don't speak English, don't try. He looks just pathetic.
He ought to be more and more sensitive about diplomatic protocols.


BTW, this pic is coming up with the headlines after APEC taken place in Korea Nov. 2005. It's very sad that the most sold newspaper in Korea making fun of diplomacy. I'd say their ethos is just based on resentment.

American should remember that Kim Young-Sam met Clinton the other year at the White house, and he used brusque expressions to Clinton, which is like bosses telling something to his subordinate.

Who is Aso? The new foreign minister?

Tarou Aso, the former minister of public management was appointed Oct. 31th the Foreign Minister of japan. Don't call him asshole. He is Aso.

He looks very difficult, because his mouth is disformed. But I found a charming aspect of him.
He threw a party to comfort supporters the other day, disguising himself as a shogun, dancing like a fool.

As for his stance, it seems to be a bit aggressive. "Don't provoke massmedia to a quarrel," his wife advised to him.

Aso Taro's Biography:
He is known to have British accents because of his studying history in London University.

He allowed someone to witness him reading a comic book in Narita Airport. Well, I must say that he is VERY wierd.

But the policy is quite normal, having a hostile policy against China. This is one of Koizumi's aims. Dove politicians have been eliminated from his cabinet.



He commemorated a Korean victim of a subway accidents on his way back from a meeting between Japanese and Korean foreign ministers Nov. 15th. The commemorated is a Korean (26) who tried to save a Japanese kid into the rail and run over by a coming subway in 2001. Aso's visit is reported from Kookje, ytn, and sbs, all Korean media, as far as I know.
This activity could be his performancee, but we need to calmly observe his intention. Funnily enough, none of Japanese massmedia didn't report it, but repeat Korean demand that Koizumi don't visit Yasukuni shrine.
I perceive that the Japanese massmedia are the only ones which foment both citizens.
IT CLEARLY SHOWS AN ASPECT OF A LOT OF CENSORSHIPS HAPPENING IN JAPAN! IT IS NO LONGER A DEVELOPED COUNTRY.

Anti-discrimination is the most troubousome.

I picked up an article from Japan Times about the suspicious discrimination existing in Japan.

It says that the united nation reported July 2005 that Japan should work on improvement of discrimination against foreigners in Japan such as Korean(zainichi), Chinese or other countries people.

Knowing the article, a funny guy enough to call a branch of UN made a question:
Guy: Who invited the investigater, Diene, from the UN?
UN: The group "IMADR (http://www.imadr.org/index.html)."
Guy: Wmm, then who is the director of IMADR?"
UN: "It's Kimihide Mushanokouji."
Guy: "Don't you know that he is the prominent supporter of Juche philosophy? (Juche philosophy was advocated by Kim Il-sung, the former general secretary of North Korea, basing it on communism. Needless to say, the policies led by the philosophy resulted in the dictation with no human rights)"
UN: "Really? I didn't know that!"
Guy: "Please report it to your superior. This investigation is thus not reliable."
UN:"...OK"

Well, as I thought, this activity of UN is closely connected to anti-Japan movement, hiding behind mass media.

What is their purpose?
It's very simple. They don't want to terminate the aid or deduction provided by Japanese government.

It's because once they are admitted to be the sufferer, they (zainichi) can continue to have:
1.The exemption of base charge of electricity and gas
2.The deduction of the fee of public transportation
3.The exemption of state tax
4. The exemption of fixed asset tax
5. Welfare benefits of $400 per person a month + rent $500
6. The exemption of inheritance tax
and so on. No wonder they still want Japan to have discrimination.

However, I would have to defend my very good friend, who is zainichi (Korean immigrated in Japan). He studied hard and entered the top university, and is now employed in a famous company. Besides him, there are so MANY sincere zainichi who want to calmly live as a normal citizen. As a human, I hope that good zainchi people flourish in Japanese society.

The problem is few other zainichi, whose demands seem a little bit far from ordinary zainichi. Those who are reluctant to release their privileges now manipulate massmedia or even united nations.

I quoted the article posted in Japan times. You've got to read between the lines every time you read newspapers.

July 12, 2005

U.N. calls for antidiscrimination law
Investigator says Japan must
acknowledge its racism

By MASAMI ITO
Staff writer

The
government urgently needs to acknowledge that deep discrimination against
minorities, Korean and Chinese residents and other foreigners exists in Japan,
an independent investigator said Monday.
Doudou Diene, appointed by the U.N.
Human Rights Commission in 2002 as special rapporteur on contemporary forms of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, was in Japan
for more than a week on a fact-finding mission.

As a way to prevent
further racial discrimination, a national law must be enacted, Diene, from
Senegal, told a news conference at the United Nations University in Shibuya
Ward, Tokyo.

Although Japan became a member of the U.N. International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1995, it
has yet to establish a national law to prevent discrimination.

Creating such a law "is the first step to combat racial discrimination," Diene said.
During his trip, Diene has met with central and local government officials as well as the Supreme Court and the National Police Agency.
Although some officials admitted there is discrimination, others said "there are social differences but no ethnic or racial discrimination," according to Diene.
At the news conference, Diene slammed the policy of the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau that urges people to report illegal over-stayers anonymously on its Web site.
"This policy encourages racial discrimination and xenophobia," Diene said. "It is basically just a measure to cast doubt on (foreigners) and such measures should be banned completely."
Diene also met with various NGO groups and individuals who talked about their experiences of discrimination in Japan, including Korean and Chinese residents, the indigenous Ainu people and Okinawans.
At a hearing last Wednesday hosted by the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, a nongovernmental organization, Diene met with various groups and individuals who discussed discrimination against foreign immigrants and asylum seekers.
A member of the nongovernmental group Solidarity Network With Migrants Japan spoke about what it denounced as discriminatory posters written by the police. She showed a copy of a police warning which said "Beware of bad groups of foreigners."
The group also charged that xenophobic remarks are being made by public figures, including Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, who has repeatedly emphasized that heinous crimes are being committed by illegal foreigners.
"A lot of countries possess a negative image of Japan through negative and xenophobic statements made by (Gov. Ishihara)," Diene said.
"In order to sweep away such images, (Japan) needs to show that it possesses a strong political will" to eliminate discrimination and to provide an actual implementation plan to ban racial discrimination, he added.
Diene said he will submit a final report on his visit to the Human Rights Commission in March 2006.

Those movements by zainichi obviously make far-rightist stiff, leading to biased opinions towards zainichi. But things are getting better. Most of zainichi are now leading happier life ever. Cheers for the patience of zainichi and Japanese.