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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| January 15, 2004 |
Is Japanese Society Difficult to Live in? |
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| (from left) Nobuhiko Kadooka, Ryuhei Kawada, and Kim Boong Ang |
The day before Peace Boat arrived Mumbai, Ms. Ryeong Ha Kum, a staff member from Peace Boat, held a panel discussion entitled 'Is Japanese Society Difficult to Live in?' The panel discussion gave participants an opportunity to reflect upon ethnic and cultural diversity in Japan, and the issue of discrimination against minorities. Japan is often referred to as a homogenous country, and its people do not often talk about the presence of minorities openly. Three panelists, Mr. Boong Ang Kim, Mr. Ryuhei Kawada, and Mr. Nobuhiko Kadooka, represented three different minority groups and willingly shared their life experiences with the audience.
Unlike in the United States, where people of different colours and races live together and so-called 'minorities' are quite visible, it is not as easy to identify minorities in Japan at first sight when they are walking down the street. You would not know that Mr. Kim, Mr. Kawada, and Mr. Kadooka are members of minority groups until they open their mouths to speak and tell you what kind of backgrounds they come from.
So why do they tell people that they come from marginalized groups in society, knowingly risking their reputations, relationships, jobs, and families? It is because various forms of discrimination, as invisible as they may seem, do exist in Japan. And the three speakers believe that they need to continue voicing what is happening in order to eradicate the discrimination that keeps them 'at arms length' in society, and the pain experienced by all who are similarly marginalized. |
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Profiles of the Panelists
- Mr. Kim Boong Ang is a third generation Korean resident in Japan* (Zainichi Korean) and a member of Organization of United Korean Youth in Japan (KEY). He, along with Mr. Kawada, joined the ship from Tokyo to participate in the World Social Forum 2004 in Mumbai, India with others from Peace Boat. Born and raised in Japan, Mr. Kim said he had never taken his identity as Zainichi Korean seriously until he entered university in Tokyo and met many other Zainichi Koreans. After learning the history and status of Zainichi Koreans in Japan, he changed his name from Japanese to Korean in his second year of university. Through working for KEY, Mr. Kim aims to raise the general public's awareness of discrimination against Korean descendants in Japan, and teach often confused Zainichi Korean youths to be proud of their own heritage.
- Mr. Ryuhei Kawada, from non-governmental organization Human Rights Activist, was born with haemophilia, and at the age of ten, was infected with HIV by contaminated blood products used for treatment. When he was 19, he disclosed his HIV positive status to the public and embarked on a class-action lawsuit against the Health and Welfare Ministry. As a university lecturer and a human rights activist, he works to fight against not only prejudice against people living with HIV, but against all forms of discrimination in Japanese society.
- Mr. Nobuhiko Kadooka is a freelance journalist. He has published books on the theme of discrimination against Buraku-min (people from areas categorized as Buraku) and what it is like to grow up in a Buraku community. The concept of Buraku came into existence as a result of legalized discrimination against people regarded as outcastes during the Edo Shogunate. Although the central government liberated them from their status in 1871, de facto discrimination remains even today. Mr. Kadooka seeks to educate the public about the discrimination against Buraku-min through writing essays and giving speeches on the issue in rather comedic style.
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| * Zainichi Korean describes Korean people still living in Japan as a result of mass mobilization and forced removal by the Japanese government during colonization of the East Asian region in the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century. |
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