From: harkcom@spinach.pa.yokogawa.co.jp (Alton Harkcom)
Subject: Re: Fingerprinting Gaijin
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 00:19:04 GMT
	<1992Nov18.060308.27770@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Organization: Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

In article <1992Nov18.060308.27770@leland.Stanford.EDU>
   underdog@leland.Stanford.EDU (Dwight Joe) writes:

 =}>	TOKYO (UPI) -- Japan's Supreme Court on Monday upheld the government's
 =}>authority to fingerprint alien residents of Japan in a case that has
 =}>kept an American woman living in the nation from traveling abroad for
 =}>10n years.
 =}
 =}I won't comment on the morality of finger printing, but I wish to point
 =}out the following.  The Japanese gov't has been, in general, fairly unbiased
 =}in its treatment of foreigners, regardless of ethnicity.

   If the woman would have been of Korean ancestry, it is possible that
she would have been forced to have her fingerprints taken.  In the years
1986 - 1987 there were many news reports of police using a device to force
fingerprints.  One side effect was that it broke some fingers.  I believe
the device is no longer being used though.

   And the article didn't state whether the woman was a permanent resident
or not.  If she is not then they have given her special priveledges every
tiem she renewed her visa...

 =}(Note that Kathleen Morikawa is a Japanese by ethnicity but is an
 =}American citizen.  I applaud UPI for referring to her as an American.)

   So you know the woman?  If not then don't assume by her name that she
is ethnic Japanese as it might not be her 'real' name...

 =}Most Koreans have made a huge issue out of fingerprinting and
 =}citizenship.  For years (and very loudly) they have complained and whined
 =}about how the Japanese gov't is discriminating against them specifically.
 =}That was and continues to be a lie.  Koreans who do not have Japanese
 =}citizenship are treated in just the same way that other foreigners have
 =}been treated.

   Not quite.  Koreans must change their names to get citizenship...

 =}In particular regard to citizenship, most Koreans do not want citizenship
 =}but do want the rights that are associated with it.

   I have seen no statistics saying that "most" Koreans do not want
citizenship.  Many Koreans want citizenship but don't want to have to
give up their identity to do so...

 =}The Koreans have never
 =}once presented a case of a specific person who was denied citizenship by
 =}the Japanese gov't and who (1) wanted citizenship and (2) met the terms of
 =}citizenship.

   That (2) is the hanger.  Meeting the terms of citizenship is not as
easy as it sounds.

 =}The Koreans have to meet the same requirements for citizenship and residency
 =}that all the other foreigners must meet.

   How many Americans had to change to Japanese names to attain citizenship?
The soccer player Ramos still gets his name, why can't someone named Park???

 =}It's too bad that they can
 =}not bear to pledge allegiance to Japan and not Korea. 

   There was a TV drama about a young Japanese of Korean ancestry who
wanted citizenship.  The drama was produced to teach Japanese people
what problems such people face.  Changing names was a major hurdle to
overcome for most.  For those that did jump the hurdle, rampant
discrimination in hiring practices (perfectly legal) made it hard to
get a decent job.  Discrimination amongst some Japanese made it difficult
to keep previous jobs also.