Earlier today I posted about this forum’s roots in the Coalition Against Discrimination by the Prefectural University of Kumamoto:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/782855905121177:0
In this message, I’d like to say a few words about the importance of activist Arudo Debito’s work, both with regard to the cases in Kumamoto and in a broader sense.
First, let me address the question “Who is Arudo Debito?” Debito provides his own answer here
http://www.debito.org/?page_id=2
but I’d like to stress the importance of Debito’s work combating discrimination by Yunohana Onsen in Otaru, Hokkaido. If you click on the photo of Debito that you see below you can read Debito’s own account of this landmark case, which ended in the court finding in favor of Debito and against the onsen that banned foreigners.
Debito is a controversial figure, both among non-Japanese and Japanese. Among non-Japanese, some criticize him for being too strident and claim that his activism does more harm than good because of the backlash it creates. I will concede that Debito’s work has been the target of significant backlash. On the other hand, though, I think Debito’s work has contributed to the general acceptance the principal of equal treatment in Japanese society as a whole while the backlash has been focused primarily on Debito personally.
In regard to the RIGO case, I was very glad to have Debito “waiting in the wings,” so to speak. As readers of the Kumamoto International page may have noticed, Debito commented on the case and offered advice:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/779262532147181
In my behind-the-scenes discussions with city officials, I mentioned Debito’s involvement and the likelihood that he would be writing about the issue in the future. I believe that the city officials are people of good will and that they would have taken the issue seriously even if Debito were not involved. Nonetheless, I was very happy to be able to cite Debito’s interest in the case and point to the likelihood that the issue would get significantly more negative attention if a resolution was not achieved. Even if the city officials did not need additional incentive to take the case seriously, the possibility of the issue blowing up on the internet may have been a factor in the thinking of RIGO’s management.
So, thanks Debito, for your past work and for your willingness to come to bat in this case as well!
Finally, I’d like to point out that Debito played a very significant role in the Prefectural University of Kumamoto case I described in my last post:
He helped us both on the internet (he facilitated the creation of a written record on the web that was invaluable to me when I was preparing my book chapter on the issue — see link above) and by traveling several times from Hokkaido to Kumamoto on his own dime to show solidarity.
http://www.debito.org/otarulawsuit.html
Posted by Kirk
