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Japan signed the ICERD in 1995, but writer Tony McNicol writes "Japan is an extraordinary embarrassment among major developed nations: There is no civil or criminal law to make racial discrimination in Japan illegal." Furthermore, he adds, "Racial profiling is old news in Japan, which makes us wonder: how will a country that so desperately needs immigrant labor adapt to a sudden influx of foreign faces?"
CHANGE
- Due to an economic downturn, crime has increased over the past seven years, yet arrest rates have fallen to an all-time low.
- Although crimes committed by foreigners only account for 4%, government and media blame outsiders.
- Economists predict that Japan will need millions of foreign workers to maintain global output, or low birth rates will ensure it is halved by 2050.
- Immigration advocates fear that prejudice will discourage foreigners from seeking to fill the need for labor.
- Japanese assume that citizens share the same race, therefore, racial discrimination cannot exist and additional legislation is unnecessary.
BI-ANNUAL GOVERNMENT REPORTING
Members agree to submit reports every two years. The first report was due in 1997 but Japan did not submit a report until 2001, at which time it submitted the first and second periodic reports as one document (actual due dates were January 14, 1997, and 1999). The Committee recommended submission of the third report jointly with the fourth on January 14, 2003 - these were never submitted.COMMITTEE CONCERNS
Concerns identified by the Committee regarding Japan's application of ICERD include:- The importance of acknowledging discrimination against "descent" and ensuring "that all groups including the Burakumin community are protected against discrimination."
- "the provisions of the Convention have rarely been referred to by national courts."
- The need for "specific legislation to outlaw racial discrimination."
- "racial discrimination...is not explicitly and adequately penalized in criminal law."
- "reports of violent actions against Koreans, mainly children and students, and...inadequate reaction on the part of the authorities."
- "unequal treatment with regard to access to higher education;" Japan must "undertake appropriate measures to eliminate discriminatory treatment of minorities, including Koreans."
- The need to "promote the rights of the Ainu, as indigenous people."
- Current practices of urging "Koreans applying for Japanese nationality to change their names to a Japanese name."