Research Series

Culture, Identity and Citizenshipin Japan and Canada

Edited by David W. Edgington, Norio Ota,
Nobuyuki Sato, and Jackie F. Steele

ISS Research Series No. 59

INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

Culture, Identity and Citizenship in Japan and Canada

Edited byDavid W. Edgington (University of British Columbia),
Norio Ota (York University),
Nobuyuki Sato (Chuo University),and Jackie F. Steele (University of Tokyo)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables, Figures, Photos and Graphs………………………………………...……………..5
Editors’ Preface……………………………………………………………………………………7
1. Keynote Presentation – Former Tsukuba City Councilor, Jon Heese, English is Spoken Here:The Challenge of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics…………………………………………………….10
2. Keynote Presentation – Past President and Professor Emeritus of Tsuda College, Masako Iino,
Japanese Canadians (Nikkei in Canada) and Their Identity……………………………………...17
3. Hiroko Noro, Voices of Kakehashi……………………………………………………………28
4. Norie Yazu, The Volunteer Interpreter Training Project……………………………………...39
5. Michiko Aramaki, Why Multicultural Co-Habitation is a Bad Idea for Japan………………..53
6. Ryoko Ishikawa, Multiculturalism for Women………………………………………………..70
7. Etsuko Kato, None of My Business……………………………………………………………77
8. Susan S. Lee, Gender and Disability in Canadian Workplaces: Lived Experiences, Diversity
Practices, and Cultural Shifts ……………………………………………………………………89
9. Brian Pendleton, “Excitement, Entertainment and Enlightenment”: Tokyo Hosts the Olympic
Games – 1964 and 2020………………………………………………………………………...105
10. Yasushi Aoyama, Urban Planning Challenge and the Olympic Games: Tokyo, 1964 and2020……………………………………………………………………………………………..115
11. Keisuke Enokido, Exploring Postmodern Urban Transformation through the Preparations forthe 2020 Tokyo Olympics………………………………………………………………………129
Contributors……………………………………………………………………………..……....139

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List of Tables, Figures, Photos and Graphs
TablesTable 1. Total number of high schools and high schools that teach languages other than English
in Japan (2003-2012)
Table 2. Number of test-takers of “foreign languages” of Center Nyushi and the breakdown by
language
Table 3. Profile of the seven “Gaidais” (names, languages studied, number of students)
Table 4. Sporting Events with KUIS students’ participation, their venues and foreign languages
used (2014)
Table 5. Curriculum of the 1st Volunteer Interpreter Training Seminar
Table 6. Demographics of Employees and Managers in Canadian Workplaces
FiguresFigure 1. Canadian English Modules <26. Saying you intend to do something>
Figure 2. Singapore English Modules <26. Saying you intend to do something>
Figure 3. The waterfront areas in Tokyo
Figure 4. The Tokyo Big Sight Building
Figure 5. Multiple-center urban design
Figure 6. The National Capital Region Central Loop Road owing to Ring-Forming Megalopolis
Structure Plan
Figure 7. Ring Road Structure Plan
Figure 8. The Heart of Tokyo
PhotosPhoto 1. A KUIS student at the Sochi Olympic Games (February 2014)
Photo 2. Photo 2: KUIS students at the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup in Tokyo (August 2012)©Kanda University of International Studies
Photo 3. Poster advertising the first “Volunteer Interpreter Training Seminar” with a red tag thatsays “Full. Thank you.” (April 13, 2015)
Photo 4. Lecture of “Understanding Different Cultures (Intermediate)” (August 25, 2015)
Photo 5. Shinkansen – Launching Ceremony

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Photo 6. Elevated Highway Construction
Photo 7. Construction Congestion
Photo 8. Olympic Village, Washington Heights
Photo 9. Sakai Yoshinori
Photo 10. Nihonbashi area Expressway
GraphsGraph 1. Gender of Interviewees in Vancouver
Graph 2. Age Groups of Interviewees in Vancouver

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EDITORS’ PREFACEThe eleven edited papers gathered in this volume were among those presented at the International
Conference on `Culture, Identity and Citizenship in Japan and Canada’ held in Tokyo at the
Canadian Embassy between May 20-23, 2015 at the Embassy of Canada to Japan, and Chuo
University Tokyo. The conference was organized jointly by the Japan Studies Association of
Canada (JSAC), the Japanese Association for Canadian Studies (JACS), and the Japan-Canada
Interdisciplinary Research Network on Gender, Diversity and Tohoku Reconstruction (JCIRN).
Other papers delivered at the Conference will be published in a separate format on the JSAC web
site.
The Conference theme was chosen to encourage dialogue on important issues surrounding culture,
identity and citizenship in both countries. For instance, debates over to what degree Japan andCanada should, or can, accept foreign refugees and migrant workers depends in part on
embedded cultural values in each country. In Japan, demographic evidence shows that a declining
and aging population will lead to a shrinking workforce, and many politicians and commentators
are saying ‘only immigration can save Japan’. Some propose bringing in 10 million migrants
over 50 years. Others, however, argue that Japan should retain its ‘no-immigration principle’.
Indeed, a central tenet of Nihonjin-ron — a popular genre of writing on national identity — isthat the Japanese are a homogeneous people (tan’itsu minzoku) who constitute a racially unified
nation. While Nihonjin-ron has been thoroughly discredited in academic writing, it remains
deeply rooted in popular discourse.
Canada was the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy.
Acceptance of multicultural policies gives Canadians a feeling of security and self-confidence,
making them more open to, and accepting of, diverse cultures. Proponents of multiculturalism
argue that all citizens in Canada can keep their identities, can take pride in their ancestry andhave a sense of belonging. Nonetheless, there are critics who point out that multiculturalism
promotes ghettoization and balkanization, encouraging members of ethnic groups to look inward,
and emphasize the differences between groups rather than their shared rights or identities as
Canadian citizens. Indeed, some propound that many Canadians no longer feel a strong sense of
belonging in Canada and cannot integrate themselves into society as a result of ethnic enclaves.
In this viewpoint, multiculturalism is often seen as hurting the Canadian, Québécois, andAboriginal culture, identity, and nationalism projects; and it perpetuates conflicts between andwithin groups.
Gender issues are intermixed with citizenship and identity matters. Can women rescue theJapanese economy? Yes, according to the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose‘womenomics’ policies have marked the first time that a Japanese government has made thepromotion of working women a signature feature of the country’s growth strategy. However,many commentators are not so sure, especially as Japan’s inability so far to generate a systemthat allows women to achieve a work-life balance has had dire economic and demographic
consequences. While Canada has long supported women in the work force, in terms of overall
gender equality Canada barely makes the grade in the top 20 countries. According to the fourmeasures used by the World Economic Forum (economic participation and opportunity,
education attainment, health and survival and political empowerment) Canada is outranked on7
gender equity by countries such as the Philippines, Ireland, Nicaragua, Latvia, Cuba and Lesotho,
as well as South Africa.
Clearly, issues of citizenship, culture and identity as well as gender are of critical interest to
scholars in Japan and Canada. Language issues were also important to the Conference theme.
Thus, in preparation for Japan’s hosting of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, it is suggested
that the country establish ‘special English zones’ where English would be designated as an
official language to be used by local people in return for tax reductions. In Canada, language
identity and politics have been prominent since federation, and today there are concerns about the
number of older as well as recent immigrants who are not being linguistically integrated into
Canada (i.e. not learning either English or French).
The JSAC Keynote speaker at the Conference, Jon Heese, while not an academic per se, spoke
about his own compelling personal story of growing up in `small-town’ Saskatchewan, Canada,
and how he went to live and work in Japan, initially without Japanese language skills. Over theyears he became both a local entrepreneur in Tsukuba city, Ibaraki, and then a municipal
politician. Based on his own challenges introducing `foreigner friendly’ signage programs in
Tsukuba he gives encouragement to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee to introduce similarplans in the years leading up to this important international sporting event.
The JACS Keynote speaker was Makino Iino. Her address focused on how Japanese Canadians(the Nikkei) expressed their identity and their citizenship in Canada in the difficult years
immediately after World War II. She points out the importance of local Buddhist churches(Bukkyokai) in Toronto, Canadian Nikkei involvement in sending relief supplies to Japanthrough the LARA program, and aspects of the repatriation of many Canadian Nikkei back toJapan.
The remaining papers in this volume fit well the theme of our Conference and report on scholarly
research carried out in both Canada and Japan, often with an explicit comparative methodology.
Thus, Hiroko Noro takes up the role of Nitobe Inazo as a kakehashi, someone who can bridge
cultures. Nitobe was a Japanese diplomat who coined a powerful metaphor of the “Bridge acrossthe Pacific Ocean”, referring to his own desire to be a bridge across which Western ideas could
flow to Japan and over which Japanese and Asian ideas could flow to North America. She argues
that given the globalization of business and current political realities, there is an urgent need forindividuals with `kakehashi’-like abilities. Norie Yazu shows how Nitobe’s ideas can be seen
today in the work played by Japan’s Gaidais or foreign/international studies universities thatspecialize in the teaching of foreign languages in Japan. Her paper focuses on the “Volunteer
Interpreter Training Project” established by the Gaidais and aimed at assisting foreign athletes
and visitors who will attend the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Michiko Aramaki injects a note of caution into the debate about Japan’s willingness to accept asubstantial number of migrants to fill its declining workforce needs. Through a review of thevarious debates over immigration in both Quebec and Canada, as well as Japan, she argues that
increased immigration and the current policy of `multicultural co-habitation’ may not be theanswer fixing `the Japanese population crisis’ or a shortage of labour. Ryoko Ishikawa is also
critical of Canada’s multicultural programs and underscores the need to address gender issues, as
giving political recognition to certain minority cultural groups rights in Canada and Quebec may

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leave women under oppressive cultural norms. She notes that government intervention may havecomplex outcomes as direct intervention to promote Canadian liberal values, say through the`interculturalism’ project in Quebec, may not always emancipate women in non-liberal cultures,and may even encourage retreat into minority cultural expectations. Etsuko Kato takes up issue of
the Japanese government’s Global Human Resource (gurǀbaru jinzai) program that encourages
young people, mostly young men, to gain international experience. She compares this official
support to the problems encountered by Japanese temporary residents in Canada, many of whom
are non-privileged women. The final paper in this section by Susan Lee discusses aspects ofculture and gender, as well as the challenges faced by those who have disabilities in the Canadian
workplace. By examining the lives of her interviewees, as well as current policies, she reveals a
number of cultural shifts in attitudes to employment equity and highlights various practices thatcan promote progressive changes.
This collection of conference papers ends with a group of essays that examine various plans andprograms leading up to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (this theme is also addressed in thepapers by Jon Heese and Norie Yazu). Brian Pendleton argues that while the 1964 Games
employed programs associated with technological innovation and modernity, they also illustrated
corruption, environmental destruction, and displacement of local citizens that provide cautionary
lessons worthy of consideration in the period leading up to 2020. Yasushi Aoyama’s essay was
written before the controversies surrounding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that emerged in 2015
around the cost and design of the new centerpiece stadium, also the dispute over the official logo
design. As an `insider’ in the team that worked to put the Olympic plans together he contends thatthe games will leave a lasting legacy for Tokyo in term of new infrastructure, especially thecreation of green open space, public transport and programs that will decentralize activities
throughout the Tokyo metropolitan area. Finally, Keisuke Enokido looks at the opportunities theTokyo Olympics will bring in terms of upgrading `heritage areas’ from the older 1964 Games,such as Yoyogi Park, and enhancing the waterfront and amenities of Tokyo’s Koto ward, one of
the city’s traditional shitamachi industrial area.
The editors wish to thank the contributors to this volume for preparing their papers, and we also
wish to acknowledge our editorial assistant, Natasha Fox, for her hard work in arranging thepapers for publication. Both the conference and this publication were funded part by a generous
grant provided by the Japan Foundation.
David W. Edgington
Norio Ota
Jackie F. Steele
Nobuyuki Sato9JSAC Keynote Presentation - English is Spoken Here: The
Challenge of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Jon Heese
Former Tsukuba City Councilor
1. Introduction
Good afternoon. As you heard, I was a city councilor in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. I was the third foreignborn politician to get elected in the whole of Japan. The first was from Finland, Mr. Tsurunen
Martei, who made it all the way to the Diet. The second was from New York, Mr. Bianchi
Anthony. The reason I am now a “former” politician was because I lost a “squeaker” election at
the prefectural level in 2014. Oh well!
Today I’m going to break up my talk into three segments. I can imagine that you are all
wondering who the heck I am, and how the heck did I ever get elected? I will address those topics
first and then finish with some of the issues I believe the city of Tokyo will have to deal with intheir headlong rush to the 2020 Olympics.
2. A Very Personal Introduction
First I want to provide you with some of my background so I am going to go way back to the turnof the 20th century. I come from a long line of German Mennonite immigrants. All my
grandparents came from the south-eastern part of the Ukraine. After the Russian revolution my
grandparents all left the Ukraine and eventually ended up in western Canada – a place called
Grunthal, Manitoba, to be precise, which is about 70 km south of Winnipeg. That is where myparents met, and where my older brothers and my sister, as well as myself were born.
In the summer of 1963, six months after I was born, my parents moved us all to northern
Saskatchewan so my father could start his new career as a Mennonite minister. For the first ten
years of his career, my father was “called” to serve in a different church every two years or so. I
say “called to serve” but the reality was, my father was a rather outspoken minister and was notafraid to call out racism, discrimination and other forms of unchristian behavior, so it took a few
tries before he found a community which would put up with his brand of religion. And that is
how we ended up central Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, central USA, and finally back to thesame place in southern Saskatchewan, Wymark, population 150.
As far as villages go, Wymark is as good a place as any, except for just about everywhere
else. It is so flat there you can see today who is coming to visit you tomorrow. It is so flat you cansee your dog running away for three days. Everybody knows everybody and knows exactly what
you had for dinner last night! All told, I spent 13 of my first 18 years in Wymark.
As I mentioned earlier, my parents had a religious bent. When God said, “go forth andmultiply”, my parents took that as a direct command and had a total of six kids - four boys andtwo girls. When Jesus said, “be charitable to the needy”, my parents responded by adopting five
more Native kids - two boys and three girls, so I became the 6th of 11. When Moses brought
down the 10 commandments and God mentioned that one should not take the Lord's name in vain,
it seems that “goddammit” or “weet bleeding kidneys of Christ”, were not the only offensive
words to God's ears. Even uttering a simple “damn”, or worse yet, “s---”, was enough get mymouth washed out with soap. You can understand why I have a life-long distaste for Zest soap! I
also have a life long love of swearing. If I happen to drop an F-bomb tonight, all I can say is “I’m10
really f------ sorry.” Honestly, I never could understand why God would create a whole glossaryof words and then command us not to use them.
I would understand if you think my parents were some kind of fundamentalist nut cases.
Having run into a few “fundies” in my day, I would like to stress how liberal in most things they
really are. As much as my parents tried to instill religion in us, their particular experimentproduced a bunch of free thinkers and atheists. And they still love us all anyway. If I had to point
to a major influence, it was my father's love of anything science fiction. Star Trek and its likevery much appealed to my father's sense of fairness and fair play. My mother’s values areunderpinned on just plain love, “forgive and forget” and “turn the other cheek.”
Pretty much any stray person always found a place at our table, and they even foundpresents under our Christmas tree if they showed up unannounced with one of my siblings. I haveplenty of other examples of my parents’ generosity, thoughtfulness and acts of kindness. As
much as I, personally, reject religion as an outdated form of thought control, I have nothing but
respect for how my parents tried their best to not just “talk the talk”. But “walking the walk” got
my father in plenty of hot water.
One of the more memorable of such events occurred in 1969. My father’s stance on fairness
had got him into trouble once again, so he decided to switch careers. We spent two years in thecentral USA, in a town of about 1,000 - Burrton, Kansas - where my father studied for an
Education degree in a nearby city while preaching every Sunday at the local church. About day
three after the start at my new school, one of my classmates, Avery, called me out at recess andwanted to know how many bombs Canada had. I had no clue, of course. But he puffed up hischest and proudly boasted how the Unites States had enough bombs to blow up the whole world
four times. An amusing anecdote to tell, but what continues to cause me stress is that Avery is
now in his early 50’s and potentially voting.
Living in the US was my first experience with non-Canadians. I will not say it had much ofa long-term influence, but it certainly gave me a sense of what it means to be Canadian. My
Kansas experience gave me something to compare my Canadian experiences to. And for thatmatter, all the other places I have been to in the intervening years. After my family returned to
Canada, union rules required a teacher be granted tenure after two years so it was not long before
my father no longer served at the whim of a congregation and our family life stabilized
considerably.
One of my high school adventures was a student exchange trip to Germany. If I have topoint to one turning point in my life, that was it. Those three months living abroad probably set
me on my path to where I am today. Although I had studied French in elementary school andGerman in high school, foreign languages did not seem like doors to communication. More likeobstacles to getting on the honor roll. But those 3 months in Germany opened my eyes! When I
came back in 1979, I was different –different inside and different than my classmates. I had seena very small slice of the world and I wanted more.
In September of 1983, rather than go to university, I once again boarded a plane toGermany. My plan was simple: I would find a job on a farm. Farmers always need help and bestof all, their English sucks. Luckily, the father of one of my friends did indeed find me a job on
the dairy farm of Heinrich Muth. Heinrich’s English ability pretty much consisted of counting to
10 and one phrase: “ F--- off, little boy”, which he’d learned from the allied soldiers whopatrolled the area when he had been child. Perfect! Heinrich and I milked cows twice a day, andas my proficiency improved we start telling off-colour jokes. The German language came alive
because of him. Most importantly, I achieved my goal of gaining fluency. And 30 years later, I
can still talk up a storm in German, even though I rarely get the opportunity to speak the11language anymore. Those damned Germans! They’ve all gone and learned English in the meantime. I have returned twice to polish up my language skills and each time I get so pissed because
everyone refuses to speak to me in German. I will order a meal in German, and they will reply inEnglish. I answer back in German. They smile and proudly answer again in English. Damn
Germans!
But I digress. In truth, I had only planned to spend less than a year in Europe and then headback to Canada for university. The problem was, I had no clue what I wanted to study. There
were plenty of subjects I would have been good or even great at. My high school math andtrigonometry scores were always in the 90s, I had very strong writing skills, I loved science,
history and music. But honestly, I did not feel there was any academic field I would be bad at
except art (unless you consider BS-ing an art). But I had no passion. I could easily have taken theGerman I had learned and spun it into some kind of foreign literature degree. But to me, German
was something to be experienced, not studied to death. So I took a different path by spending thesummer on a kibbutz in Israel.
I can see this is starting to sound like a travelogue so I’ll just cut to the chase. All told, I
spent 7 months in Israel, with a three months stint in France. I knew by the end of those two years
in Europe I needed to get training of some kind. I did not mind the various jobs that I did, except
they all were just too much like work for my liking! I did run into a few people who mentioned
how English teachers were always in demand. The idea stuck. And so like my father, I entered
the education department, majoring in Music. But like a dummy, I took a few tours here and there
so managed to stretch my Education degree over six years. Mind you, I did get to spend a term at
the University of Alberta as part of a four month study tour of the Soviet Union. And on the
return trip from Moskva, I stopped over in London for another four months.
In the spring of 1991, I finally received my Music Education degree. I did not fly to Japan
immediately because really had no cash. With no job, it would have been risky, even in the“bubble times”. So I worked for the summer, painting houses again. Then with $1,000 in mypocket, I took that big old jet airliner to Narita to start my new career as a certified teacher. My
first night in Tokyo I stayed in something called a “gaijin house”, a flophouse where foreigners
could stay by the night, the week or the month in shared accommodations. At ¥4,000 a night I
stayed in a room with 5 other beds. In the same building they also had beds for ¥2,000 a night,
shared with 20 other men. It was incentive to get out of Tokyo as soon as possible before I got
low on funds.
I know many of you have made many trips to Japan over the years. If you came during the“bubble”, I really do not have to explain anything. But if you have only heard about it, some ofwhat comes next will sound a bit crazy. How it influences my story is that the “bubble” was atime when ordinary Japanese really developed a taste for travel. Ordinary people had money toburn so new English schools were opening to service those travellers. The result was a free-forall in the English school business. When I arrived in the fall of 1991, there were 50 new English
teachers arriving at Narita every day. So it is no surprise, looking back, just how I managed to
end up in UEC - Ushiku English School. Really, just a few extra rooms in the owner’s (Mrs.
Kano) house. Interestingly, Kano-san had zero love for foreigners. Even a handsome
swashbuckler like myself. We nicknamed her Canoe-Head. In any case, through no fault of myown, she fired me after my one-month trial period. But I had made a few contacts by then. All thefriend-making skills I had learned moving around in childhood came in handy. I managed to hangon for the first critical 6 months. Though Canoe-Head was the first to fire me, she was not the last.
In 2 years I managed to be fired five times—twice from the same school! After which I asked theowner, Mr. Matsumoto, to be my nakodo, my best man at my wedding. I only mention these12
firings, not as a badge of honour or shame, just to show that things were really the wild-west atthat time.
After 6 years or so of teaching, I was 35 years old and had moved to nearby Tsukuba,
Japan's “science city”. I was totally bored and looking to the future. Most of the “old-time”
English teachers who were still in the business had their own schools. They had come 10 or 15
years before me and were in that first wave of new schools. I could see that although the optionof my own school was open to me, it would be risky and not very rewarding. In fact the market
was already saturated and the “bubble” was deflating. If I was going to start a real business, I
would need to get out of the teaching field entirely.
Because my parents had also taught me the evils of drink, I borrowed a bit of cash andopened my first bar, Gold Rush, with a couple of partners. Unfortunately, partners can be a real
trial at times so after a year I left. I married the lovely Noriko, my best friend and confidante, andtogether we opened up a new place, twice as big and more like the bars I was used to at home.
Live music, dancing, pinball, table soccer, we had it all and the customers came from all over
Ibaraki.
But luck was not on my side. A year or so later, some ass-hat truck driver was drinking anddriving, slammed into the back of a car, killing two children and injuring the parents. To makethings worse, someone had seen the driver on the highway, drinking and weaving, and with that
great new technology of the time, the cell phone, called the police and reported the clearly
inebriated driver. The police did nothing. The newspapers made a field day of it. The end result
was the beginning of draconian times, just as my bar was getting going.
The terrible accident, on top of many other scandals, made waves and got the wheels ofgovernment going. Within two years, which was very hasty for the national government, newlaws came down. Punishment for drunk driving went from a ¥50,000 fine and losing your license
for a month, to a ¥1 million fine and losing your license for a year. And it just became worse
from there. More importantly, instead of the police leaving the comfort of their easy chairs only
for their summer and winter drunk driving blitz, suddenly the cops were everywhere. They heldnightly breath checks and busted not only the drivers, but their passengers too.
My sales dropped 70% overnight. There were bars and restaurants closing every month.
And eventually we also had to close. But before we closed I spent some time trying to organize akind of bar and restaurant owners committee. As a group we could approach city hall to ask forrelief. In the mid 1980s, the Canadian cops also had swung the hammer hard and there too, bars
and restaurants suffered. The Canadian bar owners’ response was to organize with their city
offices and develop strategies to smooth over the transition. The Designated Driver program, forexample, came out of these cooperations. It was my hope we could start something similar
happening in Tsukuba - getting some night buses, for example. Unfortunately I seemed to be theonly who hoped something could be done.
3. How the Heck Did I Get Elected?
It was while trying to organize the bar and restaurant owners that I hit on the idea to actually try
to gain some real influence by running for city council.
Unlike in Canada where cities are divided into wards, at the municipal level in Japan, thevillages, towns and cities have only a single electoral constituency. All the candidates are put on
a list from which the voters can choose one name. Each voter must write the name of their choicefrom the list on the ballot. The top vote-getting candidates equaling the number of seats are
thereby elected. It is the ultimate Proportional Representation.

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In my first election during 2004, running for 33 seats, only 40 candidates participated. As
an American-born councilor in another city stated, “How much easier is it to be in the top 33 thanthe bottom seven?” And he was right. I took the number 2 position with 4,011 votes. Number 33
had about 1,750 votes. Now that I’ve been through a few cycles I have a better understanding of
the system. Months before the election, candidates are sounding out groups representing thesmallest political units of a few hundred locals for support. If a candidate cannot round up morethan 5 or 6 of such groups, they know they will need to fight for the “undecideds”, the swing
voters called fudǀhyǀ.
Fudǀhyǀ are a substantial block of voters. It is estimated that the average number of votingfudǀhyǀ is around 30%. This number is important for the likes of me. Although I cannot speak
for all fudǀhyǀ, I can describe how one close friend decided who to vote for in the election before
I became a candidate. First, candidates from Komeito, the political arm of the Sokkagakkai
religious group as well as the communists were automatically excluded. Second, any candidate
who came around too often with their stupid loudspeaker cars were also eliminated. Then fromthe remaining candidates, they just chose the best looking candidate!
Now we can snicker and look down our noses at the unsophisticated methodology, but thereality is that it is probably not much different anywhere else. Just saying! In my analysis,fudǀhyǀ do not vote so much for policy as they do for extraordinariness. Good looks are a hugeadvantage, as is celebrity—and in the case of the foreign-born candidates, our foreignness, or
perhaps more accurately, our not-Japanese-lookingness. Of the three Western-born politicians inJapan’s national government or in local municipalities (Tsurunen Martei is a politician in national
government and Bianchi Anthony is a councilor in a local city), each of us came in first in our
respective local elections. Mind you, it took me two elections to do it. I cannot speak for the othertwo, but I did not canvas the local political units, the equivalent of block organizations, forsupport. In fact, I am guessing that most of the 4,000 voters who elected me the first election had
no idea of who I was before they cast their vote. They likely saw my photo on the poster board
and thought OOOOO! That’s interesting. Personally, I do not care why. But I am glad they did.
But lest I leave the impression that I just walked into the election and cleaned up, I did havea few cards up my sleeve. First, I used to own a fairly substantial bar, which I ran for 7 years. I
calculate that I served around 2,000 customers a month. Though many of those customers wererepeats over the course of a year, without question I saw at least a thousand plus unique visitors.
Multiply that by 7 years, and I calculate that I had come in contact with at least 7,000 to 10,000
customers. Granted, half were foreigners and another quarter were not Tsukuba citizens. But thatstill left me with 1,700 to 2,500 potential votes. Granted again, half probably would not voteanyway, but it still gave me pretty good base to start.
Secondly, about three years before I even decided to run, I became quite active in the TV
industry. It meant going to Tokyo two or three times a week, but it got my face in front of theproletariat on a regular basis. Initially only a few people noticed, but slowly it became common
for people to watch for me on the documentary shows, the historical recreations of interesting,unusual or just plain absurd events. I even had a regular 90-second spot right after Japan’s mostwatched daytime drama. The icing, though, was my landing of the role of “Kai Doon” in 2007’s
most popular TV show, Nodame Cantabile. The show was so popular, they conveniently
rebroadcast the series in 2008 about 3 months before my first election. For years, junior and highschool girls were known to point and giggle when they saw me.
I have no idea whether my voters knew me from the bar, from TV or just voted for thehandsome foreigner. But as I mentioned earlier, I really do not much care. And it did not hurt thateveryone mentioned how much I look like Bill Clinton.

14As much as my political career may sound interesting, I have to admit, attending a lot of
meetings is not my kind of entertainment. I’m sure most of you can relate. But I do enjoy manyof the events as well as getting to meet ordinary people and hearing about their lives. Sometimes
they complain about this and that, but mostly they are very friendly to their pet exotic
representative.
4. A Foreigner-Friendly Tokyo Olympics
And speaking of meetings, I must now turn to some of the challenges sure to be waiting for theorganizers of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. I really don’t have much to offer in terms of advice
since I am not an expert, even though I did play one on TV. What I would like to do is offer aninsight as to the troubles I faced trying to encourage one of the most foreigner friendly cities inJapan—Tsukuba City—to make things even friendlier.
The city of Tsukuba has about 220,000 residents, of which around 7,000 are foreigners.
Around half of those foreigners are Chinese (2,600) and Koreans (900). The other half consist of
130 other nationalities. The largest group with 300, are from the Philippines. Canadians come in
at 17th with 72. I don’t know how many of the Chinese and Koreans are Zainichi, special
permanent residents, but we can assume quite a few. In my experience both Korea and Chinaborn residents seem to have an advantage in learning Japanese. However, there remains the restof us.
My first efforts to have the Tsukuba city administration “friendly things up” was to ask forthe city to make a clear delineation of the central bicycle path which dissects our city. I wanted toprevent accidents between pedestrians and cyclists. Most short-term foreign researchers working
in Tsukuba commute by bike, since the hassle of buying a car is just not worth the effort foranyone staying less than a year. The city kindly painted one side of the path blue and the otherred. Then they kindly painted instructions in kanji so that everyone would know which side waswhich! Since things in the city administration move rather slow, it was not until months later that
I saw the final result. Of course I brought up the topic again the next time on Council, asking forsimple icons that anyone can understand, and I received mixed results. From my perspective,
making the paths “foreigner friendly” also made things “kid friendly”, since most kids do notreally know enough kanji to read such signs until they’re at least in 3rd or 4th grade at school.
From my efforts to date, one would think I seem to be barking up the wrong tree in a forest
where no one seems be listening, except one. The cherry on top was when we built the brand newcity office in 2010. The signage at the “Foreigner Registration Window” was written only inkanji and hiragana!
Now I could whine and moan. And I do. But I do not really sense that it has done much
good. Part of the problem is that I just do not think the people who are tasked with deciding on
signage have much experience either traveling or even living abroad. They just do not have any
empathy for the plight of the non-Japanese speaker or reader. I do not sense that these deciders
have any ill feelings towards foreigners, just that they do things in such a way that they
themselves and their circle of co-workers deem normal. They do not remember what it was likenot to be able to read. Nor have they spent any time in a wheelchair or faced any of the otherhazards and barriers that a small minority of people face. My argument has always been, makethings as simple as possible so everyone can participate. But the city administrators hear this andthen make things as simple as possible for themselves. It is understandable.
Just what the Tokyo Olympic Committee plans to do is not my bailiwick. All I can hope isthat they make an effort to develop empathy in their “decider class” of civil servants. If they15


achieve this goal, I know it will make things a lot easier for me in Tsukuba. I certainly wish them
the best!
Finally, it has been my pleasure to introduce myself and my family. As you have seen,
becoming elected in Japan is certainly not an insurmountable project but something any serious
candidate can achieve. I also wish anyone involved in the Olympic organization committee thebest of luck. Thank you!

16

JACS Keynote Presentation - Japanese Canadians (Nikkei in
Canada) and Their Identity
Masako Iino
Tsuda College
Abstract
Historically, the Canada-Japan relationship has been a factor of great importance in influencing
the attitudes of the Canadian public towards Nikkei in Canada. This influence of Canada-Japan
relations on the status of Nikkei in Canada is most clearly observed when those relations
deteriorate. The Canadian government’s decision to remove and intern Nikkei at the time ofJapan’s attack on Pearl Harbor is a good illustration of how the position of Japan as a nation andher relations with Canada influenced the fate of Nikkei in Canada. Many Nikkei suffered from theaftereffects of such experiences during the war as forced removal from their homes, relocationand internment, and the government’s inquisitions on their loyalty. Scholars argue that these
mental traumas caused Nikkei in Canada to develop a very negative self-image of their identities.
I would like to argue, however, that there were Nikkei who felt strong ties with Japan andhad a positive self-image of their identities at the time of, and immediately after, WWII. In order
to illustrate a positive self-image of their identities, I would like to explore three incidents: (1)Establishment of the Bukkyokai in Toronto in 1946; (2) Involvement of Nikkei in Canada in
LARA relief activities between 1946 and 1952; and (3) “Repatriation” of close to 4000 of
Canada’s Nikkei to Japan immediately after WWII.
Keywords: Canada-Japan relations, Nikkei, identity, Bukkyokai, LARA relief efforts
1. Introduction
It is my great honour as well as pleasure to be part of the 2015 International Conference of theJapan Studies Association of Canada, “Culture, Identity and Citizenship.” I am particularly
happy to be part of it as it is such a memorable occasion that it is held in Japan. It is also a special
occasion for us, the members of JACS as well.
As one of the so-called Japanese Canadianists, who have been doing research on Canada
and Canada-Japan relations, hoping to contribute to the enhancement of friendly relations
between the two countries, I sincerely appreciate this opportunity of sharing with you what I havelearned so far in the field of Canada-Japan relations.
Historically, the Canada-Japan relationship has been a factor of great importance ininfluencing the attitudes of the Canadian public towards Nikkei* in Canada. This influence ofCanada-Japan relations on the status of Nikkei in Canada is most clearly observed when thoserelations deteriorate. The Canadian government’s decision to remove and intern Nikkei on theWest Coast of Canada at the time of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor is a good illustration of how
the position of Japan as a nation and her relations with Canada greatly influenced the fate of
Nikkei in Canada. This policy made all Nikkei in Canada aware of the close relationship between
Canada and Japan in the most extreme situation, as well as of the relationship between
themselves and Japan. That is: their identity and the status of their citizenship.
In my talk here, I would like to explore how Japanese Canadians saw themselves and theiridentities, and how they considered their citizenship, at the time of, and immediately after, WWII.
I am going to give you three incidents that illustrate their identities. (1) Establishment of the17
Bukkyokai* in Toronto in 1946; (2) Involvement of Nikkei in Canada in LARA relief activities
between 1946 and 1952; and (3) “Repatriation” of close to 4,000 Canada’s Nikkei to Japan
immediately after WWII.
*Teminology:
1. “Nikkei” means “people of Japanese descent” wherever they are, not only in Canada, but inthe U.S. or in South America, or even in Japan. You know that children of the Japaneseimmigrants who settled in South America, for example, started to come to Japan to find jobs in
the 1980s and have settled down in Japan. They are called Nikkei as well, and a great deal ofresearch has been done on them.
2. The term “Bukkyokai” is used to mean in English “Buddhist church” or “Buddhist temple.” Asa history of Buddhism in Canada shows, “Buddhist church” was the official term suggested by
the Mother Temple in Kyoto who sent "Kaikyoshi" (ministers) to Canada, and Buddhists
themselves chose to call their temple in Canada “church.” In the 1970s, however, some membersof the Buddhist churches started to call their churches “temples,” and the recent trend seems to bein favor of “Buddhist temple.” See Masako Iino, “Toronto Bukkyokai (TBC) to Nikkeijin: Saiteijuuki o Chushin ni” (The Toronto Bukkyokai [TBC] and Nikkei: Focusing on the
Resettlement Period), in Muneyoshi Togami, ed., Kosaku suru Kokka, Minzoku, Shukyo: Imin no
Shakai Tekio (Interlacing Nations, Ethnic Groups, and Religions: Social Adaptation of
Immigrants), (Tokyo: Fuji Shuppan, 2001), 213-42.
2. Background : Nikkei and the Canada-Japan Relationship
On August 15, 1945, Japan unconditionally surrendered to the United States, ending the war in
the Pacific and World War II. In Canada, many Issei, first generation Nikkei who immigrated to
Canada from Japan, recollect that they felt "happy" about the news that the war had ended, butthat they "deplored" Japan's defeat. The progress of the Pacific War, beginning with the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor, had significantly influenced their fates, and must have been of utmost
importance to the Nikkei population. It was natural that they were afraid that the outcome of thewar would decide how they would be treated by their government after the war, and so Japan’s
defeat came as a severe blow to them. This war meant conflicting emotions for many Nikkei, as
they wanted neither the country where they resided nor Japan to lose the war.
Many Nikkei also suffered from the aftereffects of such experiences during the war as
forced removal from their homes, relocation and internment, and the government's inquisitions
concerning their loyalty. Some Issei recollect that their experiences during the resettlement period
after their release from the relocation and internment camps were even harsher than those during
the war. To them, the end of the war meant starting from nothing, as when they arrived in
Canada as immigrants from Japan. In addition, because of Japan's defeat, they suffered various
mental traumas such as "losing pride as Japanese," "collapse of the family," and "suffering fromhumiliation as second-class citizens."
Many scholars argue that these mental traumas caused many within the Nikkei populationin Canada, especially Nisei, to feel ashamed of being of Japanese origin. Nisei with suchsentiments tried to distance themselves from anything that reminded them or made others realizethat they were Nikkei. They developed a very negative self-image about their identities. In otherwords, many Nikkei, especially Nisei, suffered from deteriorating international relations, becauseof their Japanese descent, in spite of the fact that they were Canadian citizens by birth. Theycame to feel ashamed of, or guilty about their origins, as many scholars argue. This sense of
shame, combined with racism which they felt was directed against them, caused many Nikkei to18
eliminate ties with Japan in order to survive in their country, Canada. Of course there were others
who felt it necessary to do so because it was natural to support their own government’s policies
since they were, after all, Canadian citizens.
3. Bukkyokai
While many Nikkei tried to distance themselves from things Japanese or things that remindedothers of their ties to Japan, some Nikkei in this immediate postwar period worked actively toestablish Bukkyokai in such places as Toronto, Ontario, where they resettled following thegovernment’s order, “East of the Rockies.”
The Toronto Bukkyokai, for example, played a central role in the development of the Nikkei
community around Toronto.㻌 Those Nikkei who built the Toronto Bukkyokai were open about
their Buddhist faith, especially when they faced feelings of antagonism toward Japan andanything related to Japan. Prior to the war, most of these Nikkei had been deeply involved with
the Bukkyokai in British Columbia, where most of the Nikkei in Canada lived before World War
II. The first Bukkyokai in Canada, the Honpa Canada Bukkyokai, was built in 1905 to serve the
Nikkei community, not only as religious institutions but also as social network centres. Within
thirty years, there were more than ten Bukkyokai in Vancouver and the surrounding areas.
It has been argued that mainstream Canadian society saw Bukkyokai as representing
Japanese culture and criticized their members for not assimilating into Canadian culture (Guiding
Light, 1959, 3)
Then, why did the Nikkei in Toronto decide to establish Bukkyokai, which was a visual
symbol of Japanese culture, in Toronto in 1946? Were those Nikkei who were involved with theactivities of Bukkyokai simply nationalistic admirers of Japanese culture who refused toassimilate into Canadian society? My analysis focuses on the publications of the Young Buddhist
Associations (Bussei): Otakebi (A War Cry) (Fairview Bussei, 1930) and Buddha (Bussei, 1935;
1940).
Many of the speeches in these publications deal with “Yamato damashii” (the Japanesespirit), and propose that those who have Yamato-damashii are representatives of Japan,
responsible for working, in Canada, for world peace. Many Nisei also express in their speeches
their pride in Japanese culture, which is exactly what their parents tried to instill in them. One
Nisei claims that he believes that it should be the “Nisei’s responsibility to cultivate the spirit ofrepaying obligations and appreciating virtue, to prosper together in peace, and to let white society
know the great Buddhist spirit of selflessness, because all of these virtues are disappearing inmodern society” (Fairview Bussei, Oratorical Contest Branch, ed., Otakebi 1930, 76). All thequotations from both Otakebi and Buddha in my paper are originally written in Japanese; alltranslations are my own.)
Even though those Nisei expressed their belief in Yamato-damashii, it is very important to notethat this did not mean they were aiming to remain Japanese in Canada. In their speeches they
make it very clear that they consider themselves Canadians and they should strive to be “good”
Canadian citizens who would contribute to enriching Canada’s culture” (ibid., 80).
This is, they argued, what Issei could not accomplish and is left in the hands of Nisei. It isclear that, although the Bukkyokai was vital to them for representing ties to Japanese culture, they
did not intend to remain Japanese Buddhists in Canada. They claimed they were Canadians who
happened to be Buddhist.
For many Nisei, to cherish Yamato-damashii in themselves was in fact vital to becoming
good Canadians, as expressed in many speeches in Buddha. One such speech advocates the idea
as follows:19…It is my sincere hope that, in order to become loyal citizens of Canada, Nisei should learn
first of all virtue as Japanese. Wake up to realize how valuable Yamato-damashi is. This
does not at all mean we are disloyal to Canada (Bussei, 1935, 70).
These Nisei voices clearly articulate their wish to be recognized as Canadian citizens in Canadiansociety, placing great value on Yamato-damashii even in 1940, when World War II had alreadybegun and there was an imminent fear that Japan might become involved in it. The Nisei who
published the special anniversary issue of Buddha in 1940 were keenly aware that they werealready confronted with a difficult situation. They felt the urgency of thinking about their place inCanada, at a time when the country their parents came from was to fight against it.
One Nisei considers explicitly the issue of assimilation in a time of war as follows:
Because they have “been taught” to assimilate into Canadian society, Nisei “have definitely
acknowledged themselves as being Canadian” both “in their ways of living” as well as “mentally.”
The war, however, has created a situation in which white people in this country say to Nisei,“You are a Jap.” The fact that he is called “Jap” now makes him admit that he “is certainly of the
Yamato race.” Then he asks himself, “What is assimilation in the true sense?” His answer is:“Assimilation in the true sense is not to assimilate with the white people who are superior to us,
but to stand in a status equal to that of the white, to accept, together with the white, the habits andthe values of Canada, and to contribute to Canadian culture.” “Whatever words the white people
throw at me, my country is not Japan, but Canada where I was born” and he should confront“oppression . . . with the firm faith in [his] blood” (Bussei, 1940, 15-16). He clearly expresses theidea that there is no conflict between the fact that he is a Canadian citizen born in Canada and the
pride he feels in being of Japanese descent.
The speeches and essays included in these publications clearly show that those Nikkei
believed that the teaching of Buddhism instilled Yamato-damashii in young Nisei. At the sametime, however, Nisei themselves repeatedly insist, in the speeches and essays, that they are
Canadians. They were trying to enunciate their identity to the outer world and in doing so they
were trying to confirm their own idea of identity. Crucially, Nisei who praised Yamato-damashii
declared that it did not contradict their consciousness of being Canadian citizens. Retaining andcherishing Yamato-damashii did not mean that they were disloyal to Canada. On the contrary,
they claimed that in order to become good Canadian citizens, they needed to have pride in thefact that they were of Japanese descent. As Buddhists, Nisei needed Yamato-damashii to believe
they were equal to other races. If they lost this sense of ethnic pride, they thought they would betreated as inferior and lose self-esteem both as Canadian and as Japanese.
It is clear why the Nikkei in Toronto needed the Toronto Bukkyokai immediately after they
settled in the area. The Bukkyokai served as a vehicle to give them confidence and self-esteem,
which was necessary for them to confirm their identity as Canadian.
4. LARA Relief Efforts to Japan by Nikkei in Canada
Another illustration of identity that Nikkei in Canada had immediately after WWII is theircontribution to the LARA relief efforts to Japan. LARA (Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia) isan organization established by civilians in the United States in March, 1946 with a special
commission for conducting relief activities. It was a federation of thirteen organizations and waslicensed by the American government to ship relief supplies in bulk to Asia for distribution to theneedy. It was the sole American agency through which welfare shipments in bulk received
exemptions and priorities provided by military government. The thirteen organizations included

20
such religious organizations as Church World Service, American Friends Service Committee, andCatholic World Relief, as well as social welfare and labour organizations such as the Salvation
Army and the AFL-CIO.
When WWII ended with Japan's surrender, as defeated countries always are, Japan wascompletely devastated. The majority of Japanese were experiencing difficulty in securing foodand clothing sufficient to allow them to survive. It was to Japan in this situation that the relief
supplies were sent by LARA. The Japanese called this aid, "LARA relief supplies" or "LARA
materials." Relief activities continued from 1946 to 1952. According to the Japanese government
record (Ministry of Welfare, LARA no Seika (The Results of LARA), June, 1952), the supplies
that were sent during the period included 16,704 tons of food, clothing, medicine, shoes, soap,
etc., as well as 2,036 goats and 45 milk cows. The record says that "if these supplies could be
calculated in terms of the Japanese yen, the value of this aid would be far over forty billion yen."
The value assigned to LARA aid is reflected in the statement below:
The LARA gift as a symbol of love of neighbor gave hope to the people in desperation andpoverty, and they now live each day with hope and appreciation of the love of mankind thatreaches beyond the national border shown by LARA…LARA supplies have been very
useful for social welfare and its management in Japan. Both materially and mentally,
LARA makes great contributions toward the recovery of postwar Japan from total
devastation.
The Emperor and Empress are greatly interested in LARA supplies. Thus the entire nation
expresses respect and appreciation for the kindness of LARA. (Bureau of Social Policy,
Ministry of Welfare, “LARA Kyuen Busshi ni Tsuite ” (On the LARA Relief Supplies)
January 1951, 12).
People with good will and intentions in North and South America contacted one of thesethirteen organizations which participated in LARA and contributed relief supplies to it. LARA
then sent them to devastated Japan as "LARA relief supplies." What should be noted here is thattwenty percent of all relief supplies were contributed by Nikkei populations in North and SouthAmerica (Ministry of Welfare, “LARA Kinenshi” (Commemorating LARA), 1952). Immediately
after the end of the war, benevolent Americans and Canadians started to send relief supplies todefeated countries, but they were exclusively interested in sending them to European countries. It
was Nikkei who brought their attention to the situation in Japan; Nikkei started and promoted asystem that enabled the supplies to go to Japan.
In 1952, when the LARA Program ended, the Japanese Ministry of Welfare requested theMinistry of Foreign Affairs to investigate how Nikkei populations had been involved in LARA
activities. The detailed results were reported as “Report on Relief Organizations Established byFellow Japanese in North and South America.” According to the report, there were thirty-six
Nikkei relief organizations. Some of them had been established for social purposes but took thisopportunity to participate in relief activities for Japan. Others were newly founded at the timewith the express purpose of sending relief supplies to Japan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Beishu
Kakkoku no Zairyu Doho ni yotte Kessei Sareta Kyusai-dantai Shirabe” (Report on Relief
Organizations Established by the Fellow Japanese in North and South America), 1952).
Relief activities for Japan started in Canada a little later than those in the U.S. The Nikkei
in Canada were eventually released from “interior housing centres.” But they were not allowed toreturn to British Columbia, where more than 90% of Nikkei in Canada had resided before the war,till as late as 1949, at least 3 years later than Nikkei in the U.S. were allowed to return to the West21
Coast. At the end of 1942 the Canadian government opened the so-called Placement Agencies for
Nikkei in three places. One in Lethbridge, Alberta; another in Winnipeg, Manitoba; and one in
Shriver, Ontario. These agencies were expected to help Nikkei in settling down and finding jobs
in these places.
Many Nikkei moved east, “inspired,” or rather “forced,” by the slogan “To the East of theRockies,” and Toronto, Ontario, was one of their major destinations. The Nikkei population of
Ontario was 234 in 1941. It increased from 350 in 1942 close to 3,000 in 1945, and became 3,742
in 1946, and 6,616 in 1947 (Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 1991). But it did not mean
they moved east willingly. They moved because they were forced to make a decision by thesequence of events starting from the Nikkei dispersal plan and the ensuing deportation plan (or“repatriation plan” in the terms the Canadian government used) that the Canadian government
announced in 1947.
In this context Toronto was the place where relief activity started first in Canada. It was
first undertaken by some Church ministers who learned about devastation in Japan and contacted
ministers working as missionaries among the Nikkei in Canada, in order to discuss relief in Japan.
In November, 1946, they decided to form the Ontario Committee for Relief in Japan, with their
headquarters in the United Church of Canada in Toronto. The committee activities lasted for 2
years, until 1948. During that period $200 and 62 million pounds of used clothes were donatedand collected by those with good will. With the money donated to the committee, they purchased
powdered milk to be sent to Japan along with the used clothes as LARA relief supplies. The
Canadian Friend’s Service Committee in Toronto contributed to the relief activities by accepting
the materials and paying the shipping cost from Toronto to the LARA office in New York, whichshipped the materials to Japan.
According to the Japanese government records, half of the contributions collected in
Toronto in the form of both cash and used clothes were from Nikkei in the area. The used clothes
were collected, washed, mended, and packed by volunteer Nikkei women. In all they packed 55
boxes with 130 pounds of used clothes, according to the government records. The committee wasdissolved in 1948, when each of the five major Churches in Canada started to be independently
involved in relief activities. The Japanese Canadian Citizens Association (JCCA) then took over
the job and collected contributions by visiting individual households. JCCA had been formed in
Toronto “to represent Japanese Canadians in their demand for equal rights enjoyed by other
Canadians” in 1947, only a year before they started relief activities. And yet, according to therecords, in 1949, a year after the association (JCCA) started its activities, they collected $5,364,
with which they bought 13,200 pounds of powdered milk to be shipped to Japan. It is surprisingthat such a significant amount of money and relief materials were collected at a time when people
were struggling to resettle in a new environment, which was not always friendly to them. Relief
activities were not confined to the Toronto area; in 1950, $3,818 of the $4,013 total contributions
was from the JCCA in Alberta (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Beishu Kakkoku).
Although many Nikkei in Canada felt ashamed and distanced themselves from things
Japanese, some were more concerned about the plight of the Japanese in Japan than with theirown condition. These people came forward as members of the Nikkei community in order to help
them. It had only been a few years since those same Nikkei, many of whom were citizens ofCanada, had been classified as enemy aliens, and removed from their homes, and interned incamps. There were even some Nisei who were willing to help Japanese in Japan, the country of
their parents or grandparents, even as others felt stigmatized by their ties to Japan. Those who
sent packages individually to their relatives in Japan may have done so out of individual22
motivation, rather than as a collective effort on behalf of "Japan." LARA activities, however,incorporated both individual motivations and compassion toward the Japanese as a whole.
Naturally, I do not mean to suggest that the only motivation for these Nisei to participate ingeneral relief activities was their personal ties to Japan. But, clearly they could have chosen to
give humanitarian aid to European people in order to avoid demonstrating their ties to Japan.
5. The “Repatriated” Nikkei
The third topic is the Nikkei who were “repatriated” (or rather, “deported”) to Japan immediately
after WWII. In April 1945, the Department of Labour issued an order to those Nikkei remaining
in housing centres to choose either to resettle east of the Rockies or to apply for “repatriation” toJapan (Adachi, 1976, 307-334; Roy et al., 1990, 139-191; Takata, 1983, 143-148). The Canadiangovernment used the term incorrectly, because, to many of the Nikkei who signed the documentagreeing to be shipped to Japan, Japan was a country they had never even seen.
The choice between resettling east of the Rockies or going to Japan was of course difficult
for any Nikkei. For them in the confused atmosphere of the housing centres, it was not a simple
question of loyalty. For some, to remain in Canada meant hasty plans to reestablish themselves inan unfamiliar setting of the East, a difficult problem for those with young children. Still many
moved east, simply because they did not want to be sent to Japan. Some Nikkei decided to go to
Japan, because they thought that was the only way to keep their family intact. Some chose to doso because they were offered free passage to Japan. Some agreed to go to Japan because of filial
duty, simply because their parents decided to go.
Under pressure to choose between going east or being shipped to Japan, more than ten
thousand applied to go to Japan by the end of the war. But by the end of March 1946, many
revoked their applications. After all the confusion, the order was withdrawn in 1947. By then,already a total of 3,964 individuals had left Canada for Japan. Of these, 1,355 (about one-third)
were Japanese nationals. 630 were naturalized Canadians. 1,979 (about half) were Canadian-born.
And one-third of these Canadian-born Nikkei were under the age of sixteen (Department ofExternal Affairs, 1952).
In Japan, they had a difficult time. The complete destruction of the cities and the burned
fields shocked them. One Sansei who arrived in Japan in 1945 when she was thirteen years old
writes in her memoir as follows:
At first it was excitement, after a long voyage and seeing a new foreign country before oureyes, but all hopes and expectations turned to despair when we witnessed the war-torncountry before us… We were simply stunned at the situation we found ourselves in.
…Meals were a bowl of thin watery soup with a few dumplings, or rice cooked likeporridge with more soya beans than rice in it…. (Nakayama and Maeda 2011, 51).
The governmental system was in chaos, food was scarce, there was such a shortage of
housing that two or three families often occupied a single house. Some records show that families
who were fortunate enough to have relatives in the countryside moved to farms where food wasmore widely available, but even there, one Nisei recalls in his “Memoirs,” written in Japanese,“there was no salt nor sugar. The best supper dish was a big bowl of cooked wheat and rice in aratio of 4 to 1. We usually ate steamed sweet potatoes … I closed my eyes and swallowed.”
Those Nikkei who had been advised by their friends and relatives to take goods rather than cash
to Japan, often bartered their belongings for basic food (Nishikihama, 1977).

23

One Nisei wrote to his Canadian friend, “We could taste the bitterness of the disasters ofwar, especially after putting eyes on so many homeless orphans, foodless, clothesless, begging
for food and money; staggering on street sides, sleeping on the cold ground” (British Columbia
Archives and Records Service, 1947). In the letter sent to his friend in Canada, one Issei wrote, “I
am regretting the rashness with which I decided to leave Canada” (The New Canadian, August
24 & 31, 1946). Even for Issei, post-war Japan was like a bad dream that was completely
different from the Japan he once knew. It was such a disillusionment. They realized that
hopelessness and suffering reigned in Japan.
Finding jobs was difficult. It was difficult for anybody in Japan to find a job then. Those
who were fluent in English and Japanese, however, found themselves in great demand astranslators and interpreters at companies as well as GHQ. Many Nisei found their limited
knowledge of the Japanese language caused difficulties at school or in finding employment.
Even these fortunate few were bothered by differences in customs and way of life. The
clash of cultures was sharpest in rural areas where people were bound tightly by tradition andconvention. Some Nisei felt they were not accepted there (author’s interviews, Tokyo, Jan. 16,
1987 and Feb. 2, 1987).
They were also frustrated by the complete failure of the Japanese government to recognize
their problems. The repatriation of Japanese from Manchuria, Korea, China, and Southeast Asia
was creating great public concern. At that time, more than 6 million Japanese nationals were stilloverseas. The newspapers were full of articles on the millions yet to be repatriated (Wakatsuki,1991). They had little space or sympathy for the Nikkei from Canada.
Initially, Japan’s Repatriation Bureau in the Department of Welfare refused to consider the
Nikkei from Canada as “repatriates” since they had returned (or come to Japan) voluntarily andnot as refugees. Moreover, whereas refugees had often fled with only the poor clothing on theirbacks, the Nikkei from Canada had arrived “dressed like gentlemen” and carrying plenty ofbaggage (Nishikihama, 1977). This observation was not quite correct but it suggested that theJapanese government did not understand why they had come to Japan.
Then some Nikkei from Canada organized the National Federation of Repatriates from
Canada and petitioned the Japanese government for recognition of their status as war repatriates
so they might receive compensation for their war losses. They did not associate themselves withthe general organization of repatriates because their losses had resulted from the outbreak of the
war rather than from Japan’s ultimate defeat. Even though the government could not findevidence of involuntary repatriation, the Repatriation Allowance Act of 1957 included them andprovided a small grant-in-aid (Koseisho, 1963).
This did not satisfy everyone. Calling on their status as former Canadians, in 1960 and
1961, branches of the National Federation of Repatriates from Canada appealed to the Canadianembassy in Tokyo for financial compensation for the “hardships caused by the War” and “theunavoidable circumstances of our repatriation.” Though the petitioners claimed that many
repatriates had “died from poverty and malnutrition” and that financial distress had consigned thesurvivors to a living standard 25 percent below that in Canada, embassy officials were notimpressed since the repatriates appeared not to be “badly off in terms of Japanese standards ofliving” (Department of External Affairs Records; Roy, et al. 1990, 190) .
When they were petitioning Canada, they were, at the same time, seeking compensationfrom Japan under the Japanese Peace Treaty of 1951. Thus, Issei who were dispossessed by the
Canadian government and repatriated to Japan sought compensation from the Japanese
government. The search for compensation became a political and judicial one in Japan.

24In 1967 the Diet of Japan passed the Law Relating to Special Allowances for Repatriates(Akiyama Collection). Then, in 1968, the Japanese government eventually suggested that thestate pay compensation as a special measure, even though it had no legal responsibility for therepatriate’s losses.
The Japanese public was sharply critical of this result. Many who had suffered losses andhardships during the war could not understand why those Japanese Canadians should receive
special treatment or why tax money should be spent for this purpose (Hanrei Jiho; Yomiuri
Shinbun 1965; Asahi Shinbun 1965; Mainichi Shinbun 1966). Thus those Nikkei who were
dispossessed in Canada felt they were welcomed neither in Japan nor in Canada. They would
describe themselves “torn between Japan and Canada.” The repatriation question made Nikkei
more conscious of the value of Canadian citizenship.
And yet, some of the Nikkei who were shipped to Japan and have remained there consider
themselves Japanese. One such Nikkei respond to a question, “Do you feel Canadian, orJapanese?” “Japanese, definitely.” He continues, “I can’t imagine what my life would have been
like if I had stayed in Canada. . . . I don’t want to go back to Canada” (Nakayama and Maeda
2011, 67).
6. Conclusion
The three incidents described above illustrate that the Nikkei who remained in Canada and those
who were sent to Japan during and immediately after WWII all experienced hardships because
they were of Japanese descent. They were forced to think about their identities and the meaningof citizenship, often in the most extreme situations. Many scholars argue that they tried to
distance themselves from things that reminded them or made others realize that they were Nikkei.
Still, you cannot generalize that all of those Nikkei developed a very negative self-image
about their identities. Those Nikkei who established the Toronto Bukkyokai in 1946 claimed thatin order to be good Canadian citizens, they needed to have pride in the fact that they were ofJapanese descent. Those Nikkei who were involved with the LARA relief efforts to Japanbetween 1946 and 1952 regarded their ties to Japan as very important even when they themselves
were going through very difficult times. The Nikkei who were sent to post-war Japan, completelydevastated from the war, keenly felt that they were torn between Japan and Canada. Many ofthem considered they were not accepted by Japanese society, wanting to return to Canada. And
yet, there were Nikkei living there who claimed that Japan was their country. The threeillustrations make it clear that Nikkei in Canada, during and immediately after the war between
their own country and the country where their parents had come from, had a positive self-image
about their identity.
References
Primary sources:
Akiyama Collection Tokyo.
British Columbia Archives and Records Service, Awmack Collection, letter, March 8, 1947.
Bureau of Social Policy, Ministry of Welfare, ‘LARA Kyuen Busshi ni Tsuite’ (On the LARA
Relief Supplies), Jan. 1951.

25


Buddha (published by the Kitsilano Bussei, 1935 and 1940).
Department of External Affairs Records, Acc. 84-85/019, vol. 737, file 9890-40,
Memorandum for file, May 10, 1952.
Department of External Affairs Records, vol. 3005, file 3463-v-40.
New Problems Confronting the Busseis and the Church, Guiding Light, December 4, 1959, 3.
Hanrei Jiho [Journal of Leading Cases], no. 538.
Asahi Shinbun, Dec. 16, 1965.
Mainichi Shinbun, Sept. 18, 1966.
Yomiuri Shinbun, July 9 1965.
Koseisho Hikiage-engo-kyoku (Repatriation Bureau, Ministry of Welfare) ed., Zoku-zoku
Hikiage-engo no Kiroku (Sequel to the Sequel of the Record of the Repatriation Bureau),
1963.
Nakayama Nobuko and Maeda Jean. 2011. Japanese Canadian Stories from Japan. Tokyo.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Beishu Kakkoku no Zairyu Doho ni yotte Kessei Sareta Kyusaidantai Shirabe (Report on Relief Organizations Established by the Fellow Japanese in
North and South America),1952.
Ministry of Welfare, LARA no Seika (The Results of LARA), June, 1952.
Ministry of Welfare, “LARA Kinenshi” (Commemorating LARA), 1952.
Otakebi (A War Cry) (published by the Fairview Bussei, 1930), Repatriation Bureau,
Ministry of Welfare, ed., Zoku-zoku Hikiage-engo no Kiroku (Sequel to the Sequel of the Recordof the Repatriation Bureau), 1963.
Nishikihama Konosuke. 1977. Omoide no Ki (Memoirs). UBC Special Collections, box 8, file123.
The New Canadian.
Books and papers:
K. Adachi (1976) The Enemy That Never Was: A History of Japanese Canadians, Toronto,
McClelland and Stewart.
M. Iino (2010) Bukkyokai and the Japanese Canadian Community in British Columbia, in D.
Ryuken Williams and T. Moriya (eds.) Issei Buddhism in the Americas, Champaign,26


University of Illinois Press. 27-40.
M. Iino (2001) Toronto Bukkyokai (TBC) to Nikkeijin: Sai-teijuuki o Chushin ni (The Toronto
Bukkyokai [TBC] and Nikkei: Focusing on the Resettlement Period), in M. Togami, ed.,Kosaku suru Kokka, Minzoku, Shukyo: Imin no Shakai Tekio (Interlacing Nations, Ethnic
Groups, and Religions: Social Adaptation of Immigrants), Tokyo, Fuji Shuppan.
P. Roy, J. L. Granastein, M. Iino, & H. Takamura (1990) Mutual Hostages: Canadians andJapanese During the Second World War, Toronto, University of Toronto Press.
T. Toyo (1983) Nikkei Legacy: The Story of Japanese Canadians from Settlement to Today.
Toronto, NC Press Limited.
Y. Wakatsuki (1991) Sengo Hikiage no Kiroku (An Account of Postwar Repatriation) Tokyo,
Jiji-tsushin-sha.

27

Voices of “Kakehashi”: The Role of Japanese Language inConstructing Intercultural Identity among Speakers of Japanese inMulticultural Canada
Hiroko Noro
University of Victoria
Abstract
In attempting to keep up with our rapidly globalizing world, companies and individuals havebeen forced to develop a more global mindset and we are increasingly aware that persons wholive and work between cultures play a vital role in this process. Anil K. Gupta et al. (2002, 1)
defines a global mindset as “one that combines an openness to and awareness of diversity acrosscultures.” In Japanese, such persons who bridge cultures are metaphorically referred to as
Kakehashi, a term that literally means, “bridge across.” Given the globalization of business andcurrent political realities, there is an urgent need for individuals with Kakehashi-like abilities.
This paper explores diplomat Nitobe Inazo’s legacy, and more specifically how his
powerful metaphor of the “Bridge across the Pacific Ocean” has influenced the educational
community in Canada. The Japanese language schools, known as nihongo gakko, played a keyrole in keeping the bridge metaphor alive. The Kakehashi metaphor as it is engaged in thepresent paper serves as an epistemological heuristic to reframe the significance and the role of theJapanese language in Canada.
Keywords: Japanese language, heritage language school, intercultural identity
1. Introduction
In attempting to keep up with our rapidly globalizing world, companies and individuals havebeen forced to develop a more global mindset and we are increasingly aware that persons wholive and work between cultures play a vital role in this process. Anil K. Gupta et al. (2002, 1)
defines a global mindset as “one that combines an openness to and awareness of diversity acrosscultures.” In Japanese, such persons who bridge cultures are metaphorically referred to as
Kakehashi, a term that literally means, “bridge across.” Given the globalization of business andcurrent political realities, there is an urgent need for individuals with Kakehashi-like abilities.
The present paper is inspired by this metaphor of the bridge and by its creator, Inazo Nitobe(1862-1933), arguably Japan’s most respected international diplomat. Nitobe is renowned for his
life-long dedication to the promotion of understanding between nations and peoples with adiversity of cultural values.
The field of Japanese immigration history, especially those accounts centering on theimportance of Japanese language and Japanese language schools for the overseas Japanesecommunities, provides us with rich historical resources on many concrete cases of Kakehashi(Sato, 1954; Adachi, 1976; Matsubayashi, 1985; Oshiro, 1985; Ichioka, 1988; Morimoto, 1989;
Aoki, 1991; Kojima, 1993; Fujii, 1997; Azuma, 2003). Since the first official Japaneseemigration to Hawaii in 1885, discourses surrounding second-generation Japanese children haveflourished in Japan. In fact, the Kakehashi concept became so pervasive among pre-WWII
overseas Japanese communities that many second-generation Japanese came to embrace its tenets
as well. Often such discussions took place amongst intellectuals, social critics, educators, andgovernment officials and were circulated in the form of books, articles, and public lectures. There28
are three notable characteristics of the Kakehashi ideology that emerge from these discourses: 1)
an emphasis on bicultural/bilingual development of “peaceful ties” between Japan and hostcountries; 2) an emphasis on Japanese language education for Nisei (Second Generation
Japanese); and 3) an emphasis on Yamato damashii (Japanese spirit).
This paper explores diplomat Nitobe’s legacy, and more specifically how his powerful
metaphor of the “Bridge across the Pacific Ocean” has influenced the educational community in
Canada. The Japanese language schools, known as nihongo gakko, played a key role in keeping
this metaphor alive. The Kakehashi metaphor as it is engaged in the present paper serves as an
epistemological heuristic to reframe the significance and the role of the Japanese language in
Canada.
2. Kakehashi – Prewar Period
Our Resolutions, Sumiko Suga, Alumni Association of Vancouver Japanese Language
School: To achieve prosperity in the future, we must plan our future, since Canada is ourplace of permanent residence. We must share our lot with Canadians, by improving
ourselves, understanding Canada and thinking for Canada. This way of thinking will leadto the ultimate expansion of the Yamato nation and represents our loyalty to ourmotherland, Japan.
Therefore we should, to the best of our ability, become exemplary Canadian citizens
of Japanese origin. In doing so, we should demand that Canada acknowledge our ability,
which could result in enfranchisement and employment equality. In addition, we should
endeavour to build the civilization of the Pacific era, by introducing Japanese culture into
Canadian culture. I believe that this is what the Issei generation was not able to accomplish,
but what we, the Nisei are expected to accomplish (Suga, 1930, 48-55).
The passage above is part of a speech made by a female Nisei graduate of the Vancouver
Japanese Language School at a Japanese speech contest held in 1930. Her speech encapsulates
the very essence of Japanese language education for Japanese Canadian children; to raise
Canadian-born children of Japanese heritage to become “Bridge(s) across the Pacific” by being
fully bilingual in Japanese and English. Being fully bilingual in both languages presupposes thatthose children are also bicultural as both Japanese and Canadian or more broadly bicultural asboth Japanese and Western.
Abiko Kyutaro, publisher of the Nichibei Shimbun Japanese language press in San
Francisco, was one of the earliest advocates of Kakehashi-ron (“Kakehashi theory”), and, in the
mid-1920s, he initiated an educational program for sending Nisei students to Japan based on the
Kakehashi ideology (Azuma, 2003). In 1925 and 1926, Abiko's Nichibei Shimbun newspaper
sponsored Nisei kengakudan, or study-tour groups, which traveled throughout Japan on threemonth excursions (Azuma, 2004, 5-6). Thereafter, the Kakehashi bridge concept became so
pervasive in the Japanese community that both Issei and Nisei generations began to internalize
the ideology. As Azuma (2003) states, Issei leaders convinced themselves that the centre of theworld had been shifted from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They believed that history would enter
into a new “Pacific Era,” whence the United States and Japan would emerge as the pivotal
powers. These two areas represented the West and the East, but in the immigrant vision theywould fuse the best of the divided worlds into one.
Although Azuma’s argument centers on the prewar Japanese community in the UnitedStates, it could be applied to prewar Canada as well. Born as Canadian citizens of Japanese29heritage, the Nisei inadvertently became saddled with the mission of facilitating this fusion
process. As bridges of understanding between the two nations and the two worlds, their position
was crucial especially as prewar Japanese language schools were under constant attack by antiJapanese campaigners. Critics in mainstream society contended that the workload of daily classes
at Japanese schools was an additional strain on the children and therefore conflicted with andhindered the public school program. More significantly, the Japanese language schools wereviewed by many white British Columbians as agents for the fostering of Japanese nationalism in
the Japanese community. Some British Columbians were convinced that the Japanese immigrants
were nationalists, steadfastly loyal to the Japanese Emperor and therefore disloyal to Canada;
they held a strong belief that these Japanese immigrants could never be integrated into
mainstream society in the province. Such attitudes surely influenced the shift in advocacy forJapanese schools to become organs of supplemental rather than core education.
The Japanese language schools were so concerned about campaigns against them that by
1923 they had founded the Japanese Language School Educational Society in order to provide aforum for the problem to be discussed among the teachers and community leaders. The Society’s
first mandate was to encourage Japanese language schools to take responsibility for promoting
better understanding and cooperation with white majority groups and, above all, with the generalpublic (Sato, 1954, 58-88). Many of the Japanese language teachers already had a sense ofmulticulturalism being that Canada was a country to which people came from all over the world.
They were attune to the fact that the best candidates for mediating the relationship between
Canada and Japan were the Canadian-born Nisei, and it would be the Nisei responsibility to study
the Japanese language and culture and to further transplant their cultural heritage onto Canadiansoil. Providing Nisei with Japanese language education was beneficial for both Canada and Japanand the mutual understanding between the two countries was a commonly cited reason for theoperation of these schools.
Many teachers in Japanese language schools were keenly aware of the fact that Nisei had to
be Canadian first and foremost. Through their direct engagement with public schools andinteractions with anti-Japanese language school agitators, these teachers were aware of the
prejudices faced by their students. They also saw their graduates experience issues with finding
proper employment. It would have been very difficult for Nisei to confront the harsh reality ofthese prejudices unless they had had a strong sense of pride and self-worth as Japanese. There
was a need to show how being a Canadian citizen of Japanese origin was a benefit rather than astigma and the teachers felt this could be achieved through the teaching of language and culture.
This was not to be an “either-or" approach of the kind that many people of the time fell into
adopting. Mr. Aoki, a former principal of a Japanese language school in Cumberland, expressed
his idea of "cosmopolitanism" at an Educational Society meeting as thus: "The concepts ofcitizenship and ethnic origin are often confused; being a Japanese national and having a Japanese
ethnic background are two different things. Canadian citizenship can coexist in harmony with aJapanese ethnic background. The Japanese language schools teach Nisei pupils the virtues ofJapanese culture so that they can become better Canadian citizens” (Sato, 1954, 178).
Issei parents had a slightly different desired outcome for sending their children to theJapanese language schools but it overlapped with the schools’ goal to produce better citizens. The
parents’ main hope was that the Japanese schools would be a powerful means of instilling in theirchildren a sense of pride in their background. As Adachi states, “Without always being aware of
the fact, the Issei were seeking to bring up their children as compromise Canadians, capable ofliving in two worlds (Adachi, 1976, 128). During my interview with Mr. Ogaki, a former studentof one of the language schools, he remembered his teacher's remarks about the Japanese spirit:30"My sensei (teacher) used to tell us that having a Japanese background was nothing to beashamed of. That is something we should be proud of.” He recalled his teacher's lecture on theconcept of Yamato damashii ( Japanese spirit ) and how Yamato damashii consists of on (a senseof gratitude and obligation), truth, sacrifice, honour and responsibility. Mr Ogaki attributed theenhancement of students’ identity and self-esteem to learning Japanese at the language school.
3. Kakehashi –Postwar period
Anti-Japanese hysteria climaxed with the outbreak of World War II. On February 26, 1942, theDominion Government announced a complete evacuation of all persons of Japanese origin fromthe Pacific Coast. Of the 22,000 Japanese Canadians forced to leave, more than half chose to stayin the mountainous interior of British Columbia. The British Columbia provincial government
refused to offer education for the Japanese Canadian children. It was the British Columbia
Security Commission, the federal agency created to move and resettle the evacuees, which took
responsibility for establishing and administering schooling in the internment camps. The Security
Commission placed a ban on the use of the Japanese language by pupils and teachers in campschool facilities. This historical event robbed prewar Japanese Canadians of their sense ofcommunity and, in that moment, Japanese as a heritage language in Canada was destroyedcompletely. Consequently, Japanese was not passed on as a heritage language from second
generation Japanese Canadian parents to their third generation Japanese Canadian children.
As the war was approaching its close, the federal government ordered the dispersal of theJapanese across Canada further shattering their sense of community. In the House of Commonsin 1944, Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced that:
They will have to settle in such a way … that they do not present themselves as an
unassimilable or colony which might again give rise to distrust, fear and dislike. . .
The sound policy and the best policy for the Japanese-Canadian themselves is to
distribute their numbers as widely as possible throughout the country where they
will not create feelings of racial hostility (Debate: House of Commons, 5917).
Responding to the “dispersal policy,” the Japanese were again either forced to move and reestablish themselves in areas other than the West Coast, or be repatriated to Japan. Even before
the dispersal policy of 1944 was enacted, the Ministry of Labour had attempted to persuadeevacuees to move eastward. In 1943, 1,084 evacuees moved to Manitoba for beet farming and by
the end of the year, 1,650 were in Ontario. The number of Japanese Canadians in Ontario
escalated upwards to 8,581 within a decade and the city of Toronto became the largest center ofJapanese Canadian re-settlement by the early 1970s. Prior to World War II, Vancouver had thelargest concentration of Japanese Canadians but it was not until 1949, with the removal of the
final restrictions imposed under the War Measures Act, that they were finally able to gain fullrights of citizenship and move freely anywhere in Canada including being able to return toVancouver and the coast. With the return of Japanese Canadians to the West Coast, the Japanese
Canadian Citizens’ Association was created in 1954 to help facilitate the rebuilding of the Nikkei
community in British Columbia.
Regardless of the restrictions being lifted on Japanese resettlement on the coast, Toronto
still retained the highest concentration of Japanese Canadians. Subsequently, in 1956, after a
moratorium of 26 years, immigration from Japan resumed and three distinct groups began toemerge in the Japanese community in Toronto: 1) prewar immigrants, the first generation and31


successive generations; 2) the postwar immigrants and their families and; 3) expatriate Japanesecitizens and their families on overseas business assignments. Although these three groups appear
very similar to outsiders, there are clear divisions according to social class, occupation, andsocio-historical background. The prewar immigrants group is the product of the dispersal policy
the government implemented at the end of World War II. This policy and its consequences
hindered the development of a sense of community usually characterized by an understanding ofcommon needs and mutual assistance. For example, in the 1950s, more than half of the nation’s
population of Japanese Canadians resided in Toronto but studies show that they maintained a low
degree of Japanese residential concentration and also a low degree of social interaction(Wangenheim, 1956).
The virtual closure of immigration from Japan between 1930 and 1956 resulted in a sociocultural gap between the prewar immigrants group and the postwar immigrants group. The
average postwar immigrant did not experience World War II. They grew up with postwar Japan’s
economic recovery and development. Whereas the prewar generation of Japanese Canadian
immigrants needed to support one another in order to survive economically under anti-Japanesediscrimination, the postwar generation of Japanese Canadian immigrants were very independentand economically self-sufficient. As a group, they tended to be highly educated professionals andwere employed in various areas of the Canadian occupational structure.
Most of the postwar immigrants were drawn to urban areas. According to Ueda’s study of
the Japanese community in Toronto (1978), 72.3 percent of the postwar immigrants among her
respondents were employed and 14.4 percent of them were self-employed. These immigrants
were characteristically highly educated and technically qualified. They tended to be independent,
individualistic, and competitive. The postwar immigrants exhibited a diverse range ofoccupational backgrounds and they were also dispersed throughout the metropolitan area. This
residential dispersion cannot be attributed to the dispersal policy enacted by the government at
the end of World War II. Rather, such dispersion should be regarded as one of the group’s naturalcharacteristics: They choose where to live based on factors such as proximity to place of
employment rather than proximity to ethnic networks.
Unlike the prewar immigrants that relied on the support of organizations like the abovementioned Japanese Canadian Citizens’ Association, postwar immigrants did not feel the need toestablish an institutionally complete social organization in order to secure employment. In
general, immigrants that are equipped with adequate vocational training in technical andprofessional skills and that have a good command of English are far more likely to be able secure
employment without help from their ethnic community. As evidence of this, the participation of
postwar immigrants in associations and clubs is quite low. Most of those who are involved in
ethnic associations or clubs do not belong to ones formerly established by the prewar Japanese
Canadian communities. They tend to belong to organizations founded by the postwar immigrants
themselves. It can be concluded that in Toronto the formal interaction between the prewar
immigrants group and the postwar immigrants group is very small. Not only in the formal sphere,
but also in the informal sphere, the interaction between these two groups is rare.
It is difficult to draw a boundary between the second and third group of immigrants in theJapanese community. Both the postwar immigrants and the expatriates on overseas businessassignments speak Japanese and share a common culture. They are also highly educated.
Although the material status of immigrants may generally be characterized as “middle class”(Ueda, 1978), the dividing line between the two groups cannot easily be drawn based on theirsocio-economic state of living. Regardless of the similarities, there is a division that stems fromthe stigmatized class relations that are historically rooted in the development of Japanese32capitalism (Ueda, 1986). In the prewar era, the Japanese who emigrated to North America andLatin America were poor farmers and fishermen who left the country because they could not findany other means of survival. They became stigmatized because they migrated and the stigma
remains to this day. Despite the fact that postwar immigrants did not emigrate from Japan to
Canada for reasons of economic survival, they are still viewed as having given up their homecountry because they failed to fit into society. By contrast, expatriate Japanese on overseas
business assignments are considered to be “elites” because they were chosen by theirorganization to be stationed abroad.
Ueda (1986) points out that, in Japanese organizations, positions for overseas work weretypically very competitive, and those who were selected were treated as, and expected to be,
representatives of Japan. They took pride in their status not only as business personnel of aparticular corporation but also as goodwill envoys of Japan. The people of Japan used to place ahigh value on the experience of overseas work and it was treated as a great undertaking; a factthat created and reinforced the glamorous image of the life of expatriate executives and managers.
Among corporate expatriates and their families a sense of being an elite was internalized throughthis process of selection and perceived moral obligation.
The members of the expatriate corporate community have a strong “we” consciousness.
Although they work for different companies that are often in intense competition, their culturalcharacteristics, social class, common language, their way of life and their goals as corporate
expatriates bring them together. As of 1983, the Toronto Japanese Association of Commerce andIndustry (Shoko-kai) lists 101 firms and its membership is exclusively for Japanese citizens on
business visas. Except for honorary members of the diplomatic community, it is not open to local
employees who work for the firms, nor to Japanese Canadians or postwar Japanese immigrants
who operate small businesses in Toronto. Although it does not have a specific geographical area,
the Shoko-kai exists exclusively for members of the expatriate corporate community. Thus, thiscommunity exists as a distinctive group separate from Japanese Canadians and postwar Japaneseimmigrants.
This diversity amongst the Japanese immigrant and expatriate communities has had asignificant impact on the development of Japanese language schools throughout Canada. The
impact can be illustrated by looking at the history of one particular Japanese language school, theToronto Japanese Language School, opened in 1949 and the first of its kind in the province ofOntario. Founders established the school because they believed in the importance of Japanese
language maintenance in raising their children as Japanese Canadians. The school was very
successful and in subsequent years it expanded to include two campuses. By the late 1960s andthe early 1970s, two main factors led to an increase in the Japanese population in Toronto thatwould change the course of Japanese language education in the city: 1) a relaxation of
immigration laws after 1966 attracted new immigrants to Canada; and 2) an increase in thenumber of Japanese expatriates employed at overseas branches of Japanese firms as describedabove. Initially, both the postwar immigrants group and the Japanese expatriate group sent theirchildren to the Toronto Japanese Language School, which had originally been established for thedescendants of the prewar immigrants group. However, the three groups had little in common
with one another with respect to their expectations for the school and their preferred educational
ideology. Subsequently, both the postwar immigrant community and the expatriate community
set up their own schools.
In 1974, the Japanese School of Toronto Shoko-kai Inc. was established to help thechildren of expatriate members keep up with the Japanese public school curriculum during theirstay in Canada. One of the important missions of the Association is to manage the Japanese33Saturday School. In addition to helping members’ children keep up to date with the Japanese
school curriculum, it also assists in the re-integration of students when they return home to Japan.
The school, known as Hoshuko, includes over 400 students from kindergarten to high school andemploys approximately 40 teachers. A board comprised of Shoko-kai members and headed by
the Director of the Education Division manages the school. The Board works closely with the
Principal and Vice Principal who have been seconded by the Japanese Ministry of Education forthree-year terms.
In 1976, the postwar immigrants group founded the Toronto Kokugo Kyoshitsu (Toronto
Japanese Language Classroom). The school was designed for children that have already acquired
Japanese language skills in their home environment. This group did not agree with the policy ofteaching Japanese as a second language that was implemented in the Toronto Japanese Language
School, As the number of students increased, the parents’ opinions and expectations concerning
Japanese language education came into conflict, resulting in the creation of a number of different
schools for the Canadian-born children of the postwar immigrant group.
During the same period, the educational system began to respond to increased diversity
amongst Canadians by expanding heritage language programs in the public schools. The support
for heritage languages was directly related to federal and provincial multiculturalism policies.
Heritage language education was seen as an essential part of the Canadian cultural mosaic. It also
reflected a response to pressures from various cultural groups, especially Ukrainian Canadians,
for inclusion and recognition (Tavares, 2000). Throughout Canada in the 1980s, newer
ethnocultural groups were emerging as important demographic and political factors. Thus fromthe mid-1980s to the early 1990s, there was a significant growth in the number of heritage
languages offered. For example, in Manitoba between 1984 and 1990, new curricula for
Portuguese, Filipino, and Mandarin were developed and implemented, primarily in Winnipeg
School Division No. 1. These languages were offered in addition to the "older" languages such as
Icelandic, German, Hebrew, Spanish, and Ukrainian already taught as "language of study"
programs in various public schools. In Saskatchewan, a system was devised whereby students
could receive high school credits for heritage languages taught by community groups ororganizations that followed the guidelines of Saskatchewan Education (Tavares, 2000).
During this period, the term "heritage languages" came to be preferred by ethnoculturalcommunities and multicultural education activists. It tended to reinforce the idea that languages
other than English or French were not "foreign" languages, as they were spoken by many
Canadians and were part of their Canadian heritage. The maintenance of these languages waspresented as a rational extension of the efforts to recognize and celebrate Canada's multicultural
heritage and was in keeping with multicultural policies espoused by various levels ofgovernments.
Changes in immigration policies and federal support for official multiculturalism led to aflorescence of heritage language education. The main clients of the newly established Japanese
language schools were the offspring of postwar Japanese immigrants. At its peak in the early
1990’s, there were twenty privately run Japanese language schools operating in Vancouver. The
oldest and largest of these schools was the Vancouver Japanese Language School, with over 400
students enrolled.
4. Kakehashi-Diversity, Hybridity, InclusivenessJapanese language as a heritage language in Canada displays the intricate balance of opposing
forces of language preservation and language attrition. In the case of the Japanese Canadian
community, generational words like Issei, Nisei, Sansei (first-generation, second-generation,34


third-generation respectively) are no longer appropriate for future generations. For example, at
most of these Japanese language schools, more than 50 percent of the students come frominterracial families where one parent is a Japanese native. As the Japanese Canadian community
expands in new directions, the culture and the identity of “Japanese Canadian” naturally evolves
as well. In response to changing student profiles, Japanese heritage language schools have also
evolved.
Beginning in the early 1990s, another factor that has led to changes in Japanese language
education is the strengthening role of Japan in the global economy. At the height of Japan’s
economic boom, the Japanese language attained its global status. Interest in Asian languages,
such as Japanese, Mandarin, and, to a lesser extent Korean, resulted from a growing awareness of
the impact of globalization and the significance of Asia in the new global economy. Japanese andMandarin language programs were introduced to public schools in British Columbia. The
significance of these programs is that they were not introduced as "heritage" programs targeted at
Canadian students of Japanese or Chinese origin, but were primarily directed at students with noheritage connection to either language or culture but with an interest in Asia-Pacific studies. In
fact, the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, a joint business and government-funded agency,
promoted the introduction of Japanese language curricula throughout Canada, as did the JapanFoundation. For example, the Asia-Pacific Foundation funded the development of the Alberta
Japanese Language and Culture Program. Increased trade and growing investment by Japan in
British Columbia means that Japanese language and cultural knowledge have taken on newimportance in this province. As Japan's global role widens to include business, science, politics
and social development, individuals require cultural and linguistic knowledge about Japan. The
involvement of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada in promoting Japanese and other Asian
languages points to another emerging trend of corporations and business organizations beginningto actively support and promote "international" language education. Interestingly, there was not
the same level of interest from this sector during the push for heritage language education.
The Japanese heritage language schools in British Columbia, especially in Vancouver, havesurvived both the competition from the provincially run Japanese language programs and a
decline in population among Japanese Canadian children born to postwar Japanese immigrants.
They did so mainly by opening their doors to learners without a Japanese background and by
expanding their programs to incorporate two streams of curricula, namely a heritage language
stream and an international language stream.
In contrast, the Japanese heritage language schools in Toronto have continued to emphasize
their role of educating the offspring of postwar Japanese immigrants by focusing their attention
on the importance of Japanese spoken at home. Unlike the schools in Vancouver, they did not opt
for opening up their programs to include non-Japanese speaking students. One exception is aJapanese language school originally designed for the descendants of prewar Japanese Canadians.
This school is the oldest among the schools in Toronto and is still in operation. Its curriculum isintended for non-Japanese speakers to learn Japanese as an international language rather than aheritage language.
New clients at Japanese language schools in Greater Vancouver are not only from intermarried families, but also from non-Japanese Asian families. Many of them came to the city with
their parents when they were young. They are from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, andKorea. They are familiar with Japanese pop culture such as Japanese animation, comics and pop
music. They are so immersed in the Japanese pop culture that they feel more comfortable with theJapanese language and culture than the English language and Canadian culture.

35

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The Japanese language schools in Vancouver have constantly adapted to societal andpolitical shifts. For instance, during the prewar anti-Japanese period, they functioned ascommunity centers offering moral and practical support to Japanese immigrant families. They
were central agents in constructing and negotiating the ethnic identity of the community. With the
decline in population of Japanese Canadian children, they have sought a group of new clientsfrom non-Japanese Asian families. They draw nourishment and vitality from both the historicaland contemporary landscapes related to Japanese and Japanese Canadian cultures. In addition, theCanadian policy of official multiculturalism seems to have taken root among the wider
population. It tends to reinforce the idea that languages other than English or French, i.e.,
Canada’s two official languages, are not "foreign" languages, since they are spoken by many
Canadians and are part of their Canadian heritage. Learning these languages is presented as arational extension of the efforts to recognize and celebrate Canada's multicultural heritage and isin keeping with multicultural policies espoused by various levels of government. The attention to
the diversity within the specific culture/language group and making sense of the group's
contemporary social and political condition demonstrates an attempt to achieve a meaningful andless stereotypical approach to exploring culture.
5. Conclusion
Since their inception, Japanese language schools in Canada have experienced both continuity andchange. They have adapted not only to historic and political change but also to the shifting
dynamics of their students’ profiles as evidenced in the development of curricula that reflects adiversity of needs for Japanese language study. According to Kitahara (2012), it is the Japanese
language that ties together people of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. As briefly
evidenced above, Japanese language and the Japanese language schools have served to bridge
speakers (more precisely, “the users”) of Japanese on a number of levels, namely cognitive,
interpersonal, communicative, affective, and social.
In more recent years, Japanese language schools have undergone a transformation frombeing educational institutions specifically intended for Canadian-born Japanese Nisei to ones
promoting Japanese language and culture among non-Japanese learners. While there have been
many changes, there are a few elements that remain constant, namely the passion for Japanese
language and culture education among teachers and parents and the adaptability of the language
schools. They have also remained a constant for the students who view the Japanese language
schools as places where they can nourish long-term friendships; a place where they can meet withpeople from a similar family culture with respect to customs and foods.
Dr. Ted Aoki, a renowned scholar and educator in curriculum studies as well as a Japanese
Canadian that spent his life living between two cultures and languages, popularized the conceptof “in-betweenness”, a discourse that helps us to conceptualize the very nature of Kakehashi.
Described by Smith (2003, xv) as “the master of in-between”, Dr. Aoki’s main concern was therejection of divisive binary approaches, that he felt forced us to choose between “this” or “that”,
resulting in a social structure based on insider vs. outsider delineations. Drawing from theexplanation presented by Dr. Aoki and his disciples, “in-betweenness” can be understood as
closely related to our concept of Kakehashi; a bridge is neither here nor there, but at the sametime it is here and there as it exists in-between two points of contact. Homi Bhabha’s notion of“the third space” (1994), where identity negotiation takes place through projecting an outlook inwhich one sees and identifies with others’ perspectives is also very closely related to the conceptof “Kakehashi” that shapes this paper. In order to map the realities of Kakehashi of diverse36linguistic and cultural backgrounds and to conceptualize Kakehashi identities, we need to gather
concrete cases based on individuals who are not only of Japanese origin, but also individuals of
non-Japanese origin who have achieved high linguistic proficiency in Japanese.
References
K. Adachi (1976) The Enemy That Never Was, Toronto, McClelland & Stewart.
T. T. Aoki (1991) Bridges That Rim the Pacific, in T. T. Aoki (ed.) Inspiriting Curriculum andPedagogy: Talks to Teachers, Edmonton, Curriculum Praxis, Department of Secondary
Education, University of Alberta, 41-42.
E. Azuma (2003) The Pacific Era has Arrived: Transnational Education among JapaneseAmericans, 1932-1941, History of Education Quarterly, 43 (1), 39-73.
H. K. Bhabha (1994) Location of Culture, London /New York, Routledge.
S. Fujii (1997) Tokyo Bunka Gakuen no tanjo to sono seishin: shodai kocho Nitobe Inazo tosoritsusha Morimoto Kokichi (The inception of Tokyo Bunka Gakuen and its spirit: firstprincipal, Nitobe Inazo and its founder, Morimoto Kokichi), Tokyo, Tokyo Bunka
Gakuen.
A. K Gupta & V. Govindarajan (2002) Cultivating a Global Mindset, Academy of Management
Executive, 16,1.
Y. Ichioka (1988) The Issei: The World of the First Generation Japanese Immigrants, 18851924, New York, The Free Press.
S. Kitahara-Takano (2012) Tsunagaru Nihon kara Kokusaika suru Nihon e-Rio de Janeiro nonihongojin kara miru nihongo nihon bunka no chuutairyoku (From Linking Japan toInternationalizing Japan-a Case of Bridging Capacity of Japanese Language and Culture
Among Japanese Speakers in Rio de Janeiro), International Symposium Report: Towards a
Construction of International Japanese Studies, Tokyo, International Center for JapaneseStudies, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 119-125.
M. Kojima (1993) Dainiji Sekai Taisen zen no Zaigai Shitei Kyouiku Ron no Keifu (A Historical
Overview of Debates on Overseas Japanese Children in the pre-WWII Period), Kyoto,
Ryukoku University.
Y. Matsubayashi (1985), The Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii and California from 1892 to
1941, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of San Francisco.
T. Morimoto (1989) Language and Heritage Maintenance of Immigrants : Japanese Language
Schools in California, 1903-1941, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, UCLA.
G. Oshiro (1985) Internationalist in Prewar Japan: Nitobe Inazǀ, 1862-1933. Unpublisheddoctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia.

37

T. Sato (1954) Bankuubaa Nihongo Kyoritsugo Gakko Enkakushi (History of Vancouver
Japanese Language School), Tokyo, Nichibo Publishing.
D. G. Smith, (2003) Preface: Thoughts on Living In-Between, in E. Hasebe-Ludt & W. Hurren(eds.), Curriculum Intertext: Place/Language/Pedagogy, New York, Peter Lang
Publishing, Inc.
S. Suga (1930) Watakushidomo no kakugo (Our resolution), in Otakebi: Zaika Seinen
Yuuben Taikai (War Cry: Speeches by Young Japanese Canadian Issei and Nisei) ,(ed.) Fairview Buddhist Youth Association, Vancouver, Uchida Bookstore, 48-55.
A. J. Tavares (2000) From Heritage to International Languages: Globalism and Western
Canadian Trends in Heritage Language Education, Canadian Ethnic Studies, 32(1),156-171.
Y. Ueda (1978) Post-war Japanese Immigrants in Metropolitan Toronto: Process of Acculturationand Social Integration. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Toronto.
E. D. Wangenheim (1956) The Social Organization of the Japanese in Toronto: A Product ofCrisis. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Toronto.

38

The Volunteer Interpreter Training Project: The Challenge of Seven
Foreign Studies Universities (Gaidais)
Norie Yazu
Kanda University of International Studies
Abstract
In 2014, Japan’s seven foreign studies universities (gaidais) launched a project to train theirstudents and graduates with a view to deploying them as volunteer interpreters using 27
languages during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. They are expecting more than 10,000
applicants over the next five years until the opening. As the world’s lingua franca and the mosttaught foreign language in Japan, English is the main target language of this project. As the headof this project, Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) established the secretariat forthis project on campus at the end of March 2015 and hosted the first training seminar, focusing
on English, at the end of August 2015. A series of courses are taught in this ongoing seminar,
including linguistics, expressing Japanese culture in English, cross-cultural communication skills,
interpreting skills and the practice of hospitality. This article first presents an overview of thesituation of English in educational institutions in Japan and describes the background and thecontents of the Volunteer Interpreter Training Project, focusing on one of the seminar courses
taught by the author.
Keywords: Tokyo 2020 Olympics, volunteer interpreter, English education, Gaidai, World
Englishes
1. Introduction
On September 8, 2013, Tokyo won the race to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The scene of Jacques Rogge, then president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC),announcing the winning city and flipping over the card that read “TOKYO 2020” is still fresh in
our memory. At the moment of this announcement, the Japanese delegation in Buenos Aires andJapanese supporters at home, who gathered in public viewing sites or stayed up all night for theannouncement, jumped and wept with joy and started to celebrate. Jubilations that ran throughJapan still continue today and are expected to mount as the countdown to the opening of theGames begins.
The support among the Japanese population for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has not always
been strong since Japan announced its candidacy for hosting the Games. A public opinion survey
conducted and released by the IOC in May 2012 revealed that the people’s support for hosting
the Olympic Games was only 47% in Tokyo as opposed to 78% in Madrid and 73% in Istanbul.
This was seen as an obstacle to winning the bid for hosting the 2020 Games in Tokyo. According
to a survey by the Nikkei, it went up to 66.2% after the 2012 London Olympics, in which Japan
won a record of 38 medals (Oishi, 2013). Then a survey conducted one week after the IOC’sannouncement in September 2013 reported that 83% of the respondents said they were happy tohost the Olympic Games in Tokyo (The Yomiuri Shimbun, 2013).
The results of the above opinion polls corroborate my observation of the attitudes ofuniversity students in my workplace. Students did not seem to show much interest in hosting the
Olympics in Tokyo until the decision was made. Realizing that this was not a dream, many of39

them started to show excitement and took interest in whatever they could do to be involved in
hosting the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
This article focuses on the “Volunteer Interpreter Training Project” launched by thenation’s seven “foreign/international studies” universities (gaidais), which specialize in theteaching of foreign languages. Although various languages are taught in these universities,
English, the world’s lingua franca and the most studied language in Japan, is the main target
language of this project. English education has been regarded as crucial in Japan since the Meiji
Restoration. First, a historical overview of the situation of English in educational institutions inJapan will be presented.
2. Overview of English in educational institutions in JapanAs a Canadianist, I was proud and enlightened to learn from Shannon’s book, Finding Japan:
Early Canadian Encounters with Asia, that the first “English teacher” in Japan was a Canadian,
who managed to arrive in Japan at the end of the Edo era just before U.S. commodore Perry andthe “Black Ships” forced Japan to open its doors to the western world. Ranald MacDonald, bornand raised on the west coast of North America then controlled by the Hudson’s Bay Company inpre-confederation Canada, made it to Japan, his dream country, as a stowaway in 1848. He wascaptured off Hokkaido and sent to Nagasaki to teach English to a small group of scholars who
were eager to learn English and about the western world (Shannon, 2012, 16-22). Several
foreigners had entered Japan during its 200 years of seclusion, but Shannon argues that
MacDonald was “the only one that entered deliberately, alone and unarmed” (ibid., 20) and was
willing to make friends in Japan.
Since MacDonald’s odyssey to Japan, English, among other foreign languages, has slowly
been established as a subject of foreign language most taught in schools in Japan. It was in 1872,
the 6th year of the Meiji era, that English was first taught in a number of public elementary
schools in Japan. Since then, English had been taught sporadically in several schools especially inplaces such as Kobe and Yokohama where people were exposed to foreigners due to international
trade until the early 1880’s. Arimasa Mori, who was appointed the first Minister of Education ofJapan in 1885, emphasized the importance of English and institutionalized English education in
Japanese public schools (Butler-Goto, 2005, 25). The number of schools which taught English
saw an increase towards the end of the Meiji era, but with the rise of Japanese nationalism andthe military movement, which led to the two world wars, there were times when the teaching ofEnglish was suspended until the end of World War 2.
Enthusiasm for learning English among the Japanese population began to grow after WW2
when the Allied Forces took over Japan, and accelerated after Tokyo won the race to host the1964 Olympic Games in 1959. While high schools began to require English as one of the subjectsof their entrance examinations, Nihon Eigo Kentei Kyokai, or the Eiken Foundation of Japan(formerly the Society for Testing English Proficiency), a public-interest incorporated foundation,
was established in 1963 in Japan (Website of Nihon Eigo Kentei Kyokai). Since the 1960’s,
language schools, teaching English in particular, have emerged one after another while
universities and colleges have increasingly established departments that specialize in the English
language or English literature.
Nowadays, almost all junior high schools and high schools in Japan teach English as one of
the main subjects while the teaching of languages other than English remain scarce. As seen in
Table 1, the latest data as of 2014 show that out of 4,693 high schools, only 708 schools, or
14.3%, teach foreign languages other than English. This number increased slightly until 2007 but

40
has been declining since then. According to Yamazaki, the most taught language other thanEnglish is Chinese, followed by Korean, French, German and Spanish (Yamazaki, 2014, 13).
Table 1. Total number of high schools and high schools that teach languages other than English
in Japan (2003-2012)
2003

Year
Total number of high schools

2005

2007

2009

2012

2014

5,450 5,418

5,313

5,183

5,022

4,963

Number of high schools
653
750
790
731
713
708
which teach languages otherthan English
Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) (2009, 2014);
and Yamazaki (2014)
Statistics from the National Center for University Entrance Examinations or Daigaku
Nyushi Center (DNC) show a stronger inclination towards English in Japanese education.
Although the test-takers can choose from English, French, German, Chinese and Korean as the“foreign language” subject in the National Center Test for University Admissions (or Center
Nyushi), an overwhelming majority chooses English. The latest data as of 2014 show that out of
526,108 test-takers 891 choose languages other than English (see Table 2) (National Center for
University Entrance Examinations, 2015). This is only 0.17% of all the test-takers of the “foreign
language” subject. The most chosen language is Chinese, followed by Korean, French andGerman. This trend, remaining unchanged since this examination system started in 1990, implies
the firm dominance of English towards the end of secondary education. Furthermore, comparing
these data with those of Table 1, we can argue that languages other than English are mostly
taught as the “second foreign language” in high schools, with English regarded as the first andthe most important language to acquire for success in the university entrance examinations.
Table 2. Number of test-takers of “foreign languages” of Center Nyushi
and the breakdown by language
㻌

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

499,630

497,101

512,451

519,867

525,217

833

870

820

807

891

Chinese

397

460

364

389

449

Korean

189

142

167

151

161

French

141

152

165

142

134

German

106

116

124

125

147

Year
EnglishOther than English

Total number of test500,463 497,971
513,271 520,674 526,108
takers
Source: National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC) website

41Over the past few decades, the government has planned and taken measures to introduce
the teaching of English even in elementary schools. Following the decision made by the Central
Education Council of 1996, elementary schools were required to include 3 hours of “period for
integrated studies” per week in their curricula from 2002. Most schools used this period for“international understanding” education, the content of which was virtually equal to the teachingof fundamental English conversation in most schools (Butler-Goto, 2005, 30). Then, following
the recommendation of the Central Education Council in 2006 which announced that English
should be a compulsory subject in elementary schools, the teaching of English has been gradually
introduced into the 5th and 6th grade curricula (MEXT, 2008, 6)
In December 2013, MEXT announced an action plan entitled English Education Reform
Plan Corresponding to Globalization to further promote teaching of English in elementary andsecondary schools in Japan. The preamble of this plan reads as follows:
In order to promote the establishment of an educational environment which corresponds toglobalization from the elementary to lower/upper secondary education stage, MEXT is
working to enhance English education substantially throughout elementary tolower/secondary school upon strengthening English education in elementary school in
addition to further advancing English education in lower/upper secondary school.
Timed with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, in order for the full-scale development of new
English education in Japan, MEXT will incrementally promote educational reform from FY
2014 including constructing the necessary frameworks based on this plan. (MEXT, 2013, 1,
underline by MEXT)With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in mind, MEXT’s determination to push this English
education reform through schools was apparent in this plan. It advocated moving up the starting
year of English education from the 5th grade to the 3rd grade. As for the number of English classes
per week, it suggested one to two classes for 3rd and 4th year pupils and three classes for 5th and6th year pupils (MEXT, 2013, 2).
As the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approaches, such fervour for English is
expected to culminate not just among the public sector, educational institutions and students but
also in various private enterprises eager to take part, one way or another, in the coming Olympics.
3. The challenge of the seven Gaidais towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
In June 2014, the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOKYO
2020) signed a partnership arrangement with 552 universities and junior colleges from every
prefecture in Japan to promote Olympic values towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. According to
its website, this partnership will “utilize the resources of TOKYO 2020 and the universities topromote Olympic education, help keep Olympism at the heart of Japanese society and raiseawareness of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.” The belief that post-secondary
educational institutions are ideal bodies to establish cooperation with the young Japanesegeneration underlay this decision made by TOKYO 2020.
Only three days after the aforementioned partnership was announced, the nation’s seven
universities that bear the word “foreign studies” or “international studies” in their names, in short“gaidais,” gathered and signed the Charter of the National Association of Universities of Foreign
Studies. The purpose was to promote further exchanges among students, teaching staff andresearchers and improve the quality of higher education and research activities. These sevenmember universities are, in alphabetical order, Kanda University of International Studies, Kansai

42Gaidai University, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies,
Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies, Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo Universityof Foreign Studies. Together, the seven Gaidais have over 30,000 students encompassing 27
languages. Table 3 shows the languages these universities teach as major languages in theirrespective schools.
Table 3. Profile of the seven “Gaidais” (names, languages studied, number of students)
Name of “Gaidai”

Languages studied

number of
students
1 Kansai Gaidai U.
English, Chinese, Spanish (3)13,0002 Kanda U. of Int’l English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, 3,800
Studies
Portuguese, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese (9)3 Kyoto U. of Foreign English,
Japanese,
Chinese,Spanish,Studies
Portuguese, German, French, Italian (8)4 Kobe City U. of English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian (4)Foreign Studies
5 Tokyo U. of Foreign English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish,Portuguese, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese,
StudiesGerman, Polish, Czech, French, Italian,(Tokyo Gaidai)
Russian, Mongolian, Malay, Philipino, Lao,
Cambodian, Burmese, Urdu, Hindi, Bengal,
Arabic, Persian, Turkish (27)
6 Nagasaki
U.
of English, Japanese, Chinese, German, French,
Foreign Studies
Italian (6)7 Nagoya U. of Foreign English, Japanese, Chinese, French (4)Studies

4,500
2,100
3,000

700
3,700

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies stands out in the number of languages it teaches. The
27 languages include Mongolian, Lao, Cambodian, Burmese and Bengal, which are not taught as
majors in any other post-secondary educational institutions in Japan. Some of these Gaidais havealready signed bilateral agreement for exchange of students, teachers and staff members or joint
research projects, but from the onset this association apparently had the scheme for contributing
to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics while promoting the raison d’être of the Gaidais.
The first project of this association was proposed by Kanda University of International
Studies (KUIS) in November 2014. This is the “(Sports) Volunteer Interpreter Training Project,”the purpose of which is to provide TOKYO 2020 with human resources equipped with foreign
language skills from the seven Gaidais and deploy them in the venues of the Olympic games.
KUIS, which heads the project, set up a secretariat on its campus in March 2015 with a view todirecting this project and announced that the first “Volunteer Interpreter Training Seminar” will
be held at KUIS in August 2015. They are expecting more than 10,000 applicants over the next
five years until the Olympic Games opening.
The reason why KUIS took the initiative is because KUIS has had experience training andactively sending 820 students to over 100 sporting events held in and outside the country as
volunteer interpreters since 2007. Table 4 shows the sporting events in which the KUIS students
participated in 2014 starting with the Sochi winter Olympic Games.

43

Table 4. Sporting Events with KUIS students’ participation, their venues and foreign languages
used (2014)
Foreign languages used
Month
Venue
(number of students)
Sochi
Sochi Olympic Games
Jan.- Feb.
English (1)(Russia)
Japan-US Children’s BaseballFeb.
Kanagawa English (10)GamesInternational Rugby (Sevens) 2014
March
Tokyo
English (2), Spanish (2)Tokyo Tournament
SIU World Figure Skating
March
Tokyo
English (2), Chinese (1)Championships
2014 World Aerobics
April
Tokyo
English (6)Championships
World Table Tennis Championships
April-May Tokyo
English (25)2014 Tokyo Tournament
Fencing World Cup 2014 Tokyo
English (4), Korean (1),
May
Tokyo
Tournament
Chinese (1), Portuguese (2)J League Jeff United Chiba
May-Aug. Chiba
Korean (3)Rugby Top League “Kubota
Aug.
Chiba
English (1), Korean (2)Spears” Training
Real Madrid Junior Camp
Aug.
Tokyo
Spanish (3)Karate Dream Cup 2014
Aug.
Tokyo
English (9)International Tournament
Dream Asia Project
Sep.
Tokyo
Vietnamese )2)
Incheonth
The 17 Asian Games - Incheon
Sep.-Oct.
English (2)(Korea)2014 Japan Wheelchair Rugby
Oct.
Chiba
English (3)Games
Chiba Aqualine Marathon 2014
Oct.
Chiba
Korean (2)J League Jeff United Chiba
Oct.-Dec. Chiba
Korean (3)KWF World Karate Championships Nov.
Chiba
English (6), Spanish (4)English (7), Chinese (2),Fencing World Cup 2014 Tokyo
Nov.
Tokyo
Korean (2), Spanish (2),Tournament
Portuguese (2)2014 World Sambo Championships Nov.
Chiba
English (7)IBSA Blind Soccer World
English (6), Spanish (4),
Nov.
Tokyo
Championships 2014
Portuguese (3)Source: KUIS internal document

44



Photo 1: A KUIS student at the Sochi Olympic Games (February 2014)

Photo 2: KUIS students at the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup in Tokyo (August 2012)©Kanda University of International Studies
The first “Volunteer Interpreter Training Seminar” held from August 24th to 27th 2015
focused only on English and the number of applicants to be admitted was 200. Those who were
eligible to apply were students and graduates of the seven Gaidais. The fee was set at 10,000 yen
for the whole seminar. Upon completion of all the courses of the seminar, the students will
receive a “certificate” and could be registered with the “Volunteer Interpreter Human Resources
Bank” if they make a request.
This project has caught much media attention. The Japan Times ran the story under theheadline “Universities plan army of volunteer interpreters” (Kameda, 2015). The first seminar
had the honour of being supported officially by public and semi-public sectors such as MEXT,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan Tourism Agency, Chiba Prefecture, TOKYO 2020, JapanesePara-Sports Association, and the Hospitality Organization.
Surprisingly, the fixed number of applicants was reached quickly within a few days after
KUIS started accepting applications online on April 6, 2015. The total number of applicantssurpassed 1,000 on July 31, the day of deadline.

45

Photo 3: Poster advertising the first㻌 “Volunteer Interpreter Training Seminar” with a red tag thatsays “Full. Thank you.” (April 13, 2015)
With the overwhelming number of applicants, the organizers of this project, fully aware of
the responsibility attached to it, are now planning to expand the project to accommodate futureapplicants. The first seminar, the content of which will be discussed in the next section, wasgreatly appreciated by many of the participants.
4. The contents of the “Volunteer Interpreter Training Seminar”
The first seminar opened with a keynote speech given by Mr. Yuichi Ueno, chairman of thecommittee of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. It was followed by an array of 15 courses in the fieldof Sports Culture, Linguistics, Intercultural Communication, Interpreting Skills, Medical
Knowledge and the Practice of Hospitality (Omotenashi) as seen in Table 5.
Table 5. Curriculum of the 1st Volunteer Interpreter Training Seminar
Day 1
Title of speech/course
Speaker/Instructor
Greetings
President of KUIS
Keynote Speech
Chairman of the 2019 Rugby World Cup
Professor (Tsukuba U.) / Board member ofSports Culture 1
TOKYO 2020
Board member of the Japanese Para-Sports
Sports Culture 2
Association and the 2019 Rugby World Cup
Omotenashi (Hospitality) classSpecialist in Manners, Former cabin attendant

46


Day 2
Title of course
Understanding Japanese Culture in English(Basic)Understanding Different Cultures (Basic)
Understanding Japanese Culture in English(Intermediate)
Understanding Different Cultures(Intermediate)

Instructor
Professor (KUIS)
Board member of TOKYO 2020, Former
Olympian volleyball player
Professor (KUIS)

Board member of TOKYO 2020, Former
Olympian volleyball player
Day3
Title of course
Instructors
Global Human Resources Training in Sports
Two Professors (KUIS)
and Language Education
1st & 2nd year students (Basic)
3rd & 4th year students (Intermediate)
title of course
instructors
title of course
instructors
GeneralProfessor (KUIS)World Englishes
Professor (KUIS)Interpreting Skills
Medical
Medical interpreter /MedicalSpecialist in
Knowledge
Medical doctor
Knowledge
acupuncture andmoxibustion
Professor (KUIS) /Professor (KUIS) /Simultaneous
SimultaneousInterpreting Skills Simultaneous interpreter Interpreting Skills
Interpreter & Translator
Interpreting Skills Rugby team interpreter
Interpreting Skills
NHK Sports interpreter /in Sports
in Sports
Former interpreter ofbaseball (Lotte Marines)
Day 4
Title of course
instructor
Trends in Inbound Tourism Strategy
Tourism business consultant
1st & 2nd year students (Basic)
3rd & 4th year students (Intermediate)
title of course
instructors
title of course
instructors
Specialist in Hospitality Hospitality
Hospitality
Chairman of Hospitality/ ex-NHK announcer
Certificate Exam
Certificate Exam
Organisation
Grade 3 Training
Grade3 Training
title of course
instructor
Former Japanese National Rugby Team Player /What we can learn from Athletes
Director of Japanese National Rugby Team(2008-2012)
General studies of Linguistics, Intercultural Communication and Interpreting Skills weremainly lectured by instructors of KUIS. Courses on Intercultural Communication were
exclusively allotted on Day 2. One of them was a course about Japanese culture lectured in
English by a non-Japanese specialist of Japanese Studies. Another was lectured by a former
Olympian volleyball player.

47

Photo 4: Lecture of “Understanding Different Cultures (Intermediate)” (August 25, 2015)
In order to familiarize the students with the specificity of interpreting in the sports milieu,
two courses of Interpreting Skills were lectured by an incumbent interpreter of a rugby team andan NHK sports interpreter. Courses on Sports Culture were lectured by a board member ofTOKYO 2020, a board member of the Japanese Para-Sports Association and a board member ofthe 2019 Rugby World Cup. Medical Knowledge was lectured by a specialist in acupuncture andmoxibustion and an interpreter specializing in medical matters.
Courses of “Omotenashi (hospitality),” a keyword in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, were thespecial feature of this seminar. A recognized specialist in the studies of manners was invited togive a lecture and students were also trained to be able to pass grade 3 of the Hospitality
Certificate Examination. The last day started with a lecture on Tourism and concluded with a talkgiven by a former rugby player and ex-director of the National Rugby Team.
From the discipline of Linguistics, “World Englishes” was lectured by the author. This is afield of Sociolinguistics that has been studied extensively by researchers worldwide in the pastfew decades. KUIS has been developing jointly with Tokyo University of Foreign Studies(TUFS) a free online learning website which depicts the linguistic and cultural differences inmajor English varieties of the world. “KANDA×TUFS English Modules,” as it is now called,were conceived with a view to dealing with the problems that educators and learners of English
began to face as diversification of English varieties became salient in Japanese educational
institutions.
The English variety taught in Japanese schools is basically standard American English.
English textbooks in Japan contain American vocabulary and grammar and audio teachingmaterials are recorded with American (or Canadian) voices. Nowadays, however, there are more
non-Americans than Americans teaching in all kinds of educational institutions in Japan. At theuniversity level, for instance, KUIS has over 70 native speakers of English coming from suchcountries as the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, etc. Students who learn
English from British, Australian or New Zealander instructors are often perplexed to see themwrite “colour” instead of “color,” “organise” instead of “organize,” “learnt” instead of “learned,”and hear “weekend” pronounced with the stress on the second syllable instead of on the firstsyllable, and many other words pronounced differently from North American English. Thinking
that American English is “correct,” the students tend to stigmatize all other English varieties,
unless they take courses of linguistics such as English phonology and Sociolinguistics, which
systematically teach language variation.

48


In first and secondary educational institutions, where such courses are not taught, confusion
especially among the instructors is observed as diversification of English varieties accelerates inJapan. The Assistant Language Teachers (ALT), employed in elementary, junior high and highschools, come from 42 different countries according to the latest data (JET Programme website,2014). The most numerous are the Americans, followed by the British, Canadians, Australians,
New Zealanders, Irish and others including Asian nationals, such as Singaporeans and Indians.
Moreover, surveys and accounts have revealed that many elementary schools employ Philippino
residents in Japan as assistants in their English activities. Japanese instructors of English often
show anxiety when they work with their non-American foreign assistants and hear somethingother than American English coming out of their mouth.
The “KANDA×TUFS㻌 English Modules,” which provide the users opportunities to learn
linguistic and cultural differences in English, can help to solve such problems observed in
educational institutions in Japan and elsewhere. The main features of this website are as follows(Sekiya, Yazu & Murphy, 2015):
1) An unprecedented large-scale e-learning material in Japan, equipped with videos, whichteaches the “differences” among English varieties
2) Fast and natural speed of utterance in the videos (unlike ordinary teaching materials ofEnglish) to depict natural conversations between native speakers of English
3) Ubiquitous use of this website made possible with its “mobile version”
4) Academic contents based on research in English phonology and phonetics,
Sociolinguistics, Second Language Acquisition and Dialectology
5) Useful not only in classes at university level, but also for other groups of people
including teachers and students of high school (or even junior high and elementary
school) and businesspeople
6) Free of subscription and charge, funded by the Japanese government (Grants-in-aid for
Scientific Research (Kakenhi) granted by the Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science)
The modules of six varieties of English have been released as of August 2015. They are
American, British, Australian, New Zealand, Canadian and Singapore. The first five are theworld’s main English varieties spoken in countries which Kachru describes as “Inner Circle”,
where English is spoken as the native language or the first language of the people born and raised
there (Kachru, 1985). Singapore is categorized by Kachru in the “Outer Circle,” where English
serves as an official language and the lingua franca for at least the educated population. Recent
studies, however, have shown that it is shifting towards the “Inner Circle” as young Singaporeans
are increasingly observed to speak English as their first language in recent years (Yazu, 2015, 623).
Each English module contains 40 videos. The first 20 are distinct scenes with different
storylines for each variety whereas the latter 20 are scenes with common dialogs and the samesetting with minor modifications expressing the uniqueness of each variety. Viewers can compare
different varieties juxtapositionally in the latter 20 dialogs. Each video shows the English script
and the Japanese translation along with the description of the vocabulary, pronunciation and thegrammar peculiar to each variety. The webpages of one of the common dialogs of the Canadianand Singapore versions are shown below.

49

Figure 1: Canadian English Modules <26. Saying you intend to do something>Source: http://labo.kuis.ac.jp/module/module/en_ca.html#/jp-26

Figure 2: Singapore English Modules <26. Saying you intend to do something>Source: http://labo.kuis.ac.jp/module/module/en_sg.html#/jp-26
In my lecture this online learning material was used to make the participants, the would-be
volunteer interpreters in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, pay attention to the differences in English

50

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varieties, learn their main features and drop the idea that American English is superior to other
English varieties. English is the only language in the world whose number of the non-mothertongue speakers exceeds that of the mother tongue speakers. Internationalization of a language
does not accompany homogenization, but rather diversification. As the lingua franca of the world,
English is destined to be spoken with different accents, vocabulary and grammar. Learners ofWorld Englishes would know how English varieties “differ linguistically and socio-culturally andhow each variety reflects the cultures of its speakers” (Kirkpatrick, 2007, 3) and understand thatone variety is neither superior nor inferior to the others. Interpreters, whether professional or
volunteer-base, should be aware of this situation and be willing to understand different varieties
of English especially in the context of hosting the Olympic Games.
5. Conclusion
The thought of hosting the Olympics has given Japan hope and courage especially after thedisastrous Tohoku earthquake of March 11, 2011. This article shows the enthusiasm for the 2020
Tokyo Olympics among the staff members and the students of the seven Gaidais. The “Volunteer
Interpreter Training Project” being the first Olympic-related project to be launched, the Gaidais
did not know what to expect. Having finished the first “Volunteer Interpreter Training Seminar,”
the Gaidais now know that there is great demand for such an event.
What this article depicts is only the tip of the iceberg. Other universities, public sectors andvarious private enterprises are also gearing up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We should bear inmind, however, that the spirit of “Omotenashi,” a word emphasized since the bidding campaign,
is not realizable without mutual intelligibility. Respecting different varieties of English is one of
the important keys for users of English to successful performances of “Omotenashi.”
References
Y. Butler-Goto (2005) English Language Education in Japanese Elementary School: Analyses
and Suggestions Based on East Asian Perspectives, Tokyo, Sansei-do.
Daigaku Press Center (2015) ࠕ඲ᅜ 7 እ኱ࡀ༠ຊࡋࠊᏛ⏕ࡢ㏻ヂ࣎ࣛࣥࢸ࢕࢔ேᮦ⫱https://www.u-presscenter.jp/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=7480,
accessed August 2015.
JET Programme, http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/introduction/history.html, accessed August
2015.
B.B. Kachru (1985) Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in
the Outer Circle, in R. Quirk and H. Widdowson (eds.), English in the World, Cambridge
University Press, 11-30.
M. Kameda (2015) Universities plan army of volunteer interpreters, The Japan Times (February
10, 2015).
Kanda University of International Studies (2014) 䛂඲ᅜእ኱㐃ྜ᠇❶ㄪ༳ᘧࢆᣲ⾜(2014.06.27)ࠖ

51

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http://www.kandagaigo.ac.jp/kuis/kuis_news/detail/0510_0000002028.html, accessed
August 2015.
Kanda University of International Studies, “KANDA×TUFS㻌 English Modules,”
http://labo.kuis.ac.jp/module/index.html
A. Kirkpatrick (2007) World Englishes, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2006) ࠗ୰ኸᩍ⫱ᑂ㆟఍ᩍ⫱ㄢ⛬㒊఍እᅜㄒᑓ㛛㒊఍㸦➨ 14 ᅇ㸧㆟஦㘓࠘
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2008)ࠗᑠᏛᰯᏛ⩦ᣦᑟせ㡿ゎㄝ እᅜㄒάື⦅㸦ᖹᡂ 20 ᖺ 8 ᭶㸧࠘Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2009) 䛄Ꮫᰯᇶᮏㄪᰝ㸫ᖹ
21 ᖺᗘ㸦☜ᐃ್㸧⤖ᯝࡢᴫせ㸫࠘
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2011)ࠗᏛ⩦ᣦᑟせ⥘ࡢኚ࠘
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2013) ࠗࢢ࣮ࣟࣂࣝ໬࡟ᑐ
ࡋࡓⱥㄒᩍ⫱ᨵ㠉ᐇ᪋ィ⏬࠘(English Education Reform Plan corresponding to
Globalization).
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2014) 䛄Ꮫᰯᇶᮏㄪᰝ㸫ᖹ
26 ᖺᗘ㸦☜ᐃ್㸧⤖ᯝࡢᴫせ㸫࠘
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ࠗᑠᏛᰯᏛ⩦ᣦᑟせ㡿ゎㄝ࠘
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/new-cs/youryou/1304417.htm, accessed August
2015.
National Center for University Entrance Examinations ࠕࢭࣥࢱ࣮ヨ㦂ᚿ㢪⪅ᩘ࣭ཷ㦂⪅ᩘ
ᖹᆒⅬࡢ᥎⛣ࠖhttp://www.dnc.ac.jp/data/suii/h24.html, accessed August 2015.
Nihon Eigo Kentei Kyoukai, http://www.eiken.or.jp/eiken/en/association/, accessed August 2015.
I. Oishi (2013)ࠕࠕᮾி஬㍯ࠖᚅᮃࡣ 66㸣ࠖThe Nikkei (August 14, 2013).
Y. Sekiya, N. Yazu & P. Murphy (2015) The Development of the KANDA×TUFS English
Modules : the Significance and Characteristics, Global Communication Studies, vol. 2, 1-17.

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Why Multicultural Co-Habitation is a Bad Idea for Japan
Michiko Aramaki
Concordia University
AbstractThis paper first examines the discourse of “multicultural co-habitation” that eagerly promotes theidea of Japan as a multicultural society. I then contrast it with the “Japan as ‘nation’-state” claim,
which is most prominently promoted by Kawasoe, a journalist and author. Through thiscomparative exercise, I present various discursive moves of the “multiculturalism-in-Japan”
claim. While refusing fear-mongering elements in Kawasoe’s appeal, this paper examines the
merits in her call for maintaining Japan as “nation-state” idea. In so doing, under the soaring ratesof migration – both legal and illegal – this paper ultimately examines the implication of“integrating” new-comers whose political circumstances are rooted in countries involved in
mobilizing anti-Japan sentiments, based on the politics of condemnation. As a comparativereferent point to contextualize the discourse of Japan’s “multicultural co-habitation”, this paper
will examine French uni-lingualism in the face of its historical low birth rate in Québec society.
Alluding to Québec experiences, this paper rejects any simplistic application of Western liberalist
theory of immigration to the Japanese context. Any hasty assumption that increased immigration
will be the answer to the Japanese population crisis should be carefully reevaluated.
Keywords: multiculturalism, discourse, politics of condemnation, anti-Japan, legal and illegal
migrants
1. Introduction
The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research recently estimated that within
the next 100 years, the Japanese population will decline to approximately 40 million from thepresent 127 million. They also predicted that within the next 50 years the population of
productive age groups (15-64) will decline by 50%. In response to such numbers as a population
crisis, the government established the Taskforce for Low Birth Rate (Cabinet Office, 2005),
while setting up a “Study Group Encouraging Multicultural Co-habitation” (2006), whose reportemphasized the need for steady inflows of immigrants to Japan. In conjunction, political leaders
recently announced the idea of accepting 200,000 foreign immigrants annually in order tomaintain its population size over 100 million. The question that arises, which I will analyze inthis paper, is: Is immigration really the proper response to the population crisis and projectedlabour shortage? If Japan decides to receive immigrants, would it be a well-thought out idea toaccept massive numbers of immigrants especially at the time of its population decline (seeAdachi, 2014; Fujimaki, 2013; Kondo, 2009; Matsho, 2008; Suhara, 2010)?
In recognizing opposite views on the immigration matters in Japan, I will examine thediscourse and contents of both positions (see Yakushiin, 2014). For the immigration advocates on
the immigration matters in Japan, I will examine the blogs written by Hidenori Sakanaka, thefounder and president of the Japan Immigration Policy Institute, a pro-immigration NGO created53
originally in 2005. He advocates allowing “10 million immigrants to Japan within the next 50
years”.1
Then, I will look at its polar opposite, “Japan’s threatened sovereignty” claim, which
explains the various types of risks involved in mass immigration to Japan. This position is mostprominently promoted by Keiko Kawasoe who is a freelance journalist and author of several
popular books. I will analyze several books and articles written by Kawasoe; as I examine her
discourse I will follow-up the facticity of various claims that she makes, using the academic
research literature. Through this comparative exercise, I will present the fundamental flaws in theconstruct of, and the validity of, the “multiculturalism-in-Japan” claim. I argue that while keeping
at bay some fear-mongering elements involved in Kawasoe’s appeal, Kawasoe’s earnest calls for“security” for the nation-state beg serious attention. In the question of “security”, I will visit
Judith Butler’s concept politics of “condemnation” as highly relevant in thinking of Japan’scontext of receiving waves of newcomers at this this historical juncture.
In the second part of the paper, I will turn to Québec society as a comparative reference
point in order to contextualize Japan’s “multicultural co-habitation” and in the face of its
historical low birth rate, I will review Québec’s historical and social development in terms of its“interculturalism” and uni-lingualism, a derivative of multiculturalism. Although Québec is not a“state”, but a provincial polity within Canada, French Québecois are the political, economic andethnic majority, presiding over immigration and educational matters. In fact, with its “distinct”
immigration practices – i.e. priorities on French speaking applicants – accepted immigrants in
Québec are markedly different from those in the rest of Canada, implicating a much different
future fact of Québec compared to the rest of Canada. I will use the Québec separatist discourse,“La nation Quebec”, as well as the Québec citizens’ voice summed in “statement of values”(Herouville, Dec. 2011). I examine the problem of identity, contradictions and political struggles
under the ideological framework of linguistic assimilation and I hope to contour what Japan canlearn from the nature of challenges that French Québecois express in their daily life.
2. Background
While, in the late 1980s, the Japanese Government promoted a more aggressive plan oninternationalizing Japan, it was in 1990s when massive new immigrants, so-called “new comers”,
arrived in Japan.2 It is in this decade when the concepts such as “internal internalization” or

1

As Hollifield, Martin and Orrenius aruge (2014, 5), many European countries such as France, Germany, theNetherlands, Switzerland, Britain and the Scandinavian countries are “increasingly uneasy about the long-term
implications of current immigration flows for maintenance of national culture, language, and identity”. Hampshire(2013) is right to assert that “[n]o states can expect to prevent all forms of clandestine or fraudulent entry” (2013, 63)
and that we have to reflect on contradictory imperatives of the liberal state which attempt to control immigration
matters. So-called the ‘liberal paradox” is exemplified by the concept such as ‘irregular’ immigrants. For critics likeSquire, the term ‘irregular’ implicates the breaking down of the dichotomy between secure citizen and dangerous
migrant in “both law and political practice” (2011, 187). However, Squire’s ‘liberal’ theorizing is fundamentally
flawed due to her limited nature of the focus on European nations – ignoring China, the major migrants sending
country to date - and also to her rigid assumption that people “migrate from the global South to the global North”(Squire 2011, 2). Against this popular assumption, Ang believes the significant migrant movement has been the
opposite: “history bears out the fact that immigration moves out from the more densely populated to the sparsely
populated areas and from the economically more developed areas to less developed areas and not the other way
around” (Ang, 2004, 156).
2
Records show that Japan has been consistently accepting immigrants in the post-war decades. For example,
receiving the US Occupation Army was intersected with the new idea of “cultural exchange”. For that matter, thefirst ‘sister cities’ connection was established between Nagasaki and Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1955.

54

“multiculturalism” came to be increasingly popularized (Enoi, 2011), especially by those who
promote the immigrants to Japan.3 While the number of immigrants increased, that of illegalvisa-overstayers increased to a quarter of all the foreign workers in Japan by 2004 (Yanazaki,
2004, 2). Regional cities, partly being assigned by the national government to receive andaccommodate immigrants, and partly being faced with the pressing realities in the community,commit to the matter as the way each polity defines the issues; however, as mentioned above,
under the financial crunch, the services they offer are limited (Ida, 2005; Enoi, 2011). If the adhoc services continue all across Japan, this may lead to what Iguchi calls “plural mono-culturalsociety” where different language-speaking communities would settle, cut off from the hostsociety (Iguchi, 2009, 23).
Under the lack of administrative coherence, the number of foreign workers in Japan has
kept increasing astronomically: 798,730 in 2004, while in the following year, it reached for
2,011,555. According to Government Statistics, it is estimated at 2,359,461 in 2014. This meansthat the number increased threefold within the past ten years.
As is often the case with other countries, most immigrants are concentrated in certain large
cities. In 2004, Tokyo has the most new comers (17%), followed by Osaka (10.5%) and Aichi(9.7%). According to Yamasaki, the top ten prefectures received about 70% of all the foreign
immigrants (2006, 23).
These new comers to Japan mostly lack Japanese language competency. A study by Enoi
reports, for example, foreign residents who live in Japan would speak Japanese only at thelanguage lesson held at the community centre (2011). On the other hand, other critics report thehigh drop out rate among foreign students at primary school, who become young foreign groups
who lack basic education in Japan.4
3. Theories
There are two concepts that are important in this paper: the concept of “multiculturalism”: andthe concept of “condemnation”. From a Canadian perspective, Satzewich and Leodakis (2013)
explain that multiculturalism usually has four interrelated meanings. It is a demographic reality; it
3

However, as many researchers point out (Yamawaki, 2009; 2003; Tamura, 2010; Enoi, 2011; Iguchi, 2009), theconcept of “multiculturalism” in Japan is not clearly defined and, hence, the idea of “rights” and “responsibilities” ofimmigrants are not clarified.
4
In this context, it is notable to observe the position statements on the immigration expectations from various stakeholders from business communities, including the Japan Business Federation and the Japan Chambers of Commerceand Industry, as well as the views expressed by the central government ministries and offices such as the Ministry of
Health, Labour and Welfare. In short, small to large scale business associations are in concert with the viewpresented by the government ministries in supporting the idea to bring in more foreign immigrant labourers to Japanin order to augment the expected labour shortage. However, as Yamazaki illustrates, working-class associations
have cautious and opposite view: the Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Unions, for example, points out that we should
worry about the social cost — or burden — of accommodating the massive number of poor immigrants, for taxpayers must support improvement of their labour conditions, (language) education, medical services for immigrants,
and other social welfare measures. In addition, the lowering the labour cost by foreign workers will lead to further
alienation for Japanese workers. Finally, although the industries and the Government Ministries maintain high hopein receiving high-skilled labour, JMC states, it is a competition on its own term and Japan has consistently failed to
attract high-tech experts (Yamazaki, 2006, 40). Interestingly, as I will speak later on, when looked at, think-tanks
and immigration experts in Canada and the US resonate with the cautious voices from the working-class union, andnot those optimistic “immigration as savior” views maintained by the Japanese leading industries and Government
officials.

55
is part of the pluralist ideology; it is a form of struggle among groups for access to economic andpolitical resources; and it is a set of government policies and accompanying programs. As such, itdefines boundaries and sets limits to ethnic and “racial” group relations in order to maintainsocial order or to manage social change. Resting on the notion of cultural relativism and inprescribing tolerance and promoting diversity, Satzewich and Leodakis (2013) theorize that theconcept of multiculturalism is a political tool constructed in the interest of national unity, sincecultural diversities imply multiplicities of identities and can hinder individual loyalties to the hostsociety. To reach this perspective in the concept of multiculturalism, Canada has experienceddifferent stages in its history of this policy implementation: folkloric to equity, civic and current“integrative” multiculturalism (Fleras, 2013, 311). 5
After the phase of 1970s’ folkloric multiculturalism where multiculturalism was understoodto celebrate choice, Fleras (2013) argues that in the 21st century Canada is currently in the fourthphase of multicultural policy: “integrative multiculturalism.” This new phase emphasizes theneed to better integrate immigrants into Canadian society; individuals may retain their culturesand values, but they must commit to share Canadian values and integrate into Canadian society.6
Against this conceptual backdrop drawn from the heterogeneous Canada, I argue that if
Japan, a relatively much homogenous society, is to adopt the concept of “multiculturalism”, theconcerns for the national unity must be carefully considered. In particular we must consider
Japan’s specific context differently from other societies that are built on immigration: the newcomers to Japan in the past decades are overwhelmingly Chinese. This historical factor poses
another conceptual conundrum for this paper; i.e., the concept of condemnation (Butler, 2001), or
what I call politics of condemnation.
Thinking of the US mobilization of the Iraqi War, Butler makes an important point in her“Give an Account of Oneself” (2001): “condemnation is very often an act that not only “gives up”
on the one condemned, but seeks to inflict a violence upon the condemned in the name of “ethics”(Butler, 2001, 31). And condemnation as such “also … turns the moralist into a murderer (2001,
31).”
Many atrocities are committed under the sign of a “self-defense” that, precisely because it
achieves a permanent ethical justification for retaliation, knows no end, and can have noend. Such a strategy has developed an infinite way to rename its aggression as suffering,and so provides an infinite justification for its aggression (2001, 39).
Chinese leader Hu Jintao in 2005 took an obvious political turn to incite anti-Japanesesentiment in China. Although this does not mean every citizen in China becomes anti-Japan, or

5

The second phase, seen in 1980s, entailed an explicit concern over improving race relations and developing a moreproactive anti-racist approach to understanding and critiquing how institutions worked (Satzewich & Leodakis,2013). Multiculturalism increasingly cast in an economic dimension, it is in this period that the Multiculturalism Act(1988) was introduced; this act elevated multiculturalism to an equal importance with the principle of bilingualism.
In the 1990s, yet a new set of meanings and priorities emerged (Satzewich & Leodakis, 2013): civic multiculturalism
in which earlier stages of folkloric and institutional multiculturalisms were reemphasized in the sense of citizenshipparticipation, rights and responsibility.
6
Some critics argue that the policy is too effective; it promotes cultural relativism so that the Canadian identity isthreatened. And, by reinforcing stereotypes, it simplifies and thus devalues culture (Bissoondath, 1994). Also,
multiculturalism has been linked to ghettoizing effects. And for these critics, multiculturalism is often considered to
be a recipe for intolerance and indirect support to home-grown terrorism (Granatstein, 2007).

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all the immigrants from China are anti-Japan. Yet, uncountable incidents in which Chinese turned
into violent mobs and attacked Japanese businesses and cars in the streets in China continue still
today; as well, we still remember that in Japan, thousands of Chinese students poured into the
Nagano Olympic site and violently beat Japanese locals. According to the Butler’s condemnation
concept, we can state that anti-Japan Chinese violent acts against Japanese are renamed as
retaliation to Japan’s past, and it attempts to achieve a permanent ethical justification. Every
aggression by Chinese will be reframed as “condemnation” of the past and will be—in this
discourse—justified. Such a strategy has developed an infinite way to legitimize its aggression to
Japan and Japanese.
In the context of immigration, politics of condemnation relates to the construction ofJapan’s “multiculturalism”, or “multicultural co-habitation”. Since the concept ofmulticulturalism conceals its own vulnerability – the liberal pluralist discourse can easily
undermine the unity and loyalty to the host society – Japan must take into consideration thefactors of anti-Japan condemnation politics exercised in other countries. In this paper, since
Kawasoe focuses on China as one such example of the politics of condemnation, I will present
the case of Chinese immigrants as a case in point.7 Japan’s policy makers must remember that“multiculturalism” is a tool for integration, national unity and loyalty. In this logic, there should
be no room for anti-Japan immigrants – Chinese or not – as a starting point. The question
remains: how can we block anti-Japanese immigrants?8
4. Sakanaka, “Mr. Immigration”
Mr. Sakanaka, or self-claiming “Mr. Immigration”, proposes his idea of “10 million immigrants
within the next 50 years,” calling for 2020, the year of the Tokyo Olympics as a “Turn-around”
of Japan’s history. In a blog posted on May 6, 2015, Sakanaka claims that the “internationalsociety” would not consider Japan open to the world unless it “opens the door” to immigrants.
Making Japan an immigrants country should, according to Sakanaka, be a “hundred-year longplan and a national strategy for Japan’s survival”. He refers to the Meiji Restoration as an “opendoor” to foreign countries and a vehicle towards “civilizing [Japan by] open-door” in its
Westernization and “modernization”. Sakanaka attests that the time has come for an “open-doorfor immigration”, or “open-door to peoples” that “Japan has been refusing to do so thus far”. Thishe calls an “immigration revolution”. He continues, “if Japan becomes an immigrant country,
Japan will strengthen the relationships with the immigrant-sending countries in terms of human
movements, diplomacy, economic and security fields”. “Immigrant diplomacy” will be the “mainpillar of Japanese foreign relationships”. For example he writes:
When Japan agrees with the TPP, and if Japan begins systematically accepting 10,000,000
immigrants within 50 years and becomes an “immigrant-based grand country”, then it canjoin the national league among the major countries that are based on immigration [the US,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand] on the Pacific region. In addition, the human traffic

7

It is also that in general Chinese migration has been less analyzed as Thunoø states (2004, 1): “The emergence of
the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as an economic superpower has become a significant topic in popular media
and scholarship around the world. The simultaneous soaring rates of Chinese migration, on the other hand, have beenmuch less analyzed.”
8
Consider, for example, a series of marching by illegal immigrants in Los Angels in 2009. The events areinterestingly marked by symbolic acts and declarations of their sense of loyalty to the U.S., and not anti-U.S. (seeMcNevin, 2012; Butler, 2009). I argue that it is important to pay attention to the anti-Japan politics in the context ofimmigration matters in Japan.

57

among these leagues will become intense, which may pave the way to the human dream of“the road towards the Pacific community”. I request to Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Pleaseappeal to the world that Japan will work towards large human movements and world peace,corroborating together with the US and other immigrant-based developed countries.
There are prominent and highly thought-out discursive strategies in his statement.
1. Construction of the Setting: By setting himself up as the president of the NGO that hefounded, he claims to be the authority in the field of immigration. By listing his media
appearances he accentuates this claim. In this context, he utilizes almost exclusively assertive
tenses, indicating high commitment to the truth claim, or his version of the “truth”. Among the
20 sentences in one blog, 18 sentences are assertive. The entire blog is suffused withunsubstantiated claims, however.
2. An obvious avoidance, or lack, of theories and “facts”, while repeating the number: No
reference to the legality of the issue, either. This makes the whole statement an emotive narrativeor plea, not a logical one, and attempts to appeal to the uninformed minds of the Japanese masses
who may not necessarily be ready for a technical discussion on economic and social impacts ofimmigration.
3. “Kaikoku” rhetoric”: One of his major rhetorical strategies is the term “open-door” [orkaikoku]. This term kaikoku has a special – and specific – historical and cultural meaning inJapan – it symbolizes the Meiji Restoration – or the end of samurai-feudal traditions. Moreover,it signals overcoming one of the worst challenges in Japanese history – the threats of American
invasion and Japan’s subordination from America’s forceful demands in the 19th century. By the
Meiji leaders’ choice of adopting the Western way of life, kaikoku meant the paramount turnaround from a threatened nation to an equal actor in the eyes of Western powers. Kaikoku thus
signifies the key metaphor in the Japanese language: hope, change, strength, pride and progress.
Sakanaka quite wisely employs this term “open-door”, painting a rosy picture of “immigration”.
4. Rhetoric of the term “survival”. In conjunction with the above point, he strategicallyuses the term “survival” and “the only way to survive”, the connotation of Japan in danger.
Although his “danger” is its population decline due to the low birth rate, Japan did go throughmany hardships: World War II and America’s Atomic bombs; America’s Japan-bashing in the
1980s, then a two-decade long recession; and on-going constant hostilities from China and Korea
of various kinds. Then, the Tohoku disaster hit Japan. In this historical context, the term national“survival” is close to the heart of many Japanese. Sakanaka here emotionally exploits the fact thatJapan has been “pushed around” by foreign countries and geological systems. He then argues for“immigration” as the magic bullet. He does so without any logical connection between Japan’s“survival” and “immigration”.
5. Rhetoric of empowerment: Without explaining, he states that “immigration” is a national
militaristic strategy” without explaining how so or why so. The simple association with“militaristic strategy” makes the reader and listener feel that immigration is part of a military
strategy! This is clever, because Sakanaka just reminded the reader of the “survival” and darkhardships that Japan has gone through. Now he introduces “getting massive numbers ofimmigrants” as the expression of the national agency, getting out of a passive victim position.
6. Rhetoric of international community: He claims that the “Pan-Pacific Community/unity”
among countries such as “the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand” will include Japanthrough its immigration. This statement obscures the fact that these states are in a special alliance,
not by their plural compositions, but precisely by their historical and (for Veucetic, 2011) Angloleaderships. His comment is not only false, but also made to mislead and misinform the general58public. Hence, it is quite problematic. On the other hand, by referring to the concept of“community”, Sakanaka implies the presence of the “watchful” international “peer” pressure as
reason to blindly follow.
Moreover, in his naming the “Pan-Pacific Community/unity” and in his listing countries
such as “the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand”, he further states: “peoples among thesemember countries will move around more frequently”. It implicates that Japan will be an equaland friendly partner with these countries of the Anglosphere, taking racialization out of politics(Vucetic 2011). Even if it is an excessively spurious comment for most academics, for the lay
people, this is a calculated discursive move by Sakanaka. In bringing the US, Canada, Australia
and New Zealand here – he wants to initiate Japanese social discourse purporting that “(only)
through massive immigration”, Japan will be (finally) seen and accepted as a true “friend” bythem.
7. Repetition of the key word: He repeats the word “immigrants” fourteen times in one pagelong blog. And when I checked other statements of his, he repeats the term “immigrants”
profusely. This has a psychological impact. By repeating the same term “immigration” orcreating and repeating terms such as “immigrant nation Japan”, Sakanaka aims to make the mindof the reader psychologically used to the otherwise alien concept of immigration.
8. Rhetoric of “human-development” in immigration: In another blog entry, dated May 24,
2014, he claims that “human-development oriented immigration policy” (jinzai ikusei) would“not cause social problems”. The term “human-development” (or jinzai ikusei), in Japan Japanesemeans much more than this direct translation. Compared to the English term “development”,
which may sound like autonomous growth, in Japanese it has the connotation of nourishment,
care and protection – by caregivers. It is more an affective and warm concept than a simple
translation “development”. Hence, the term can bring out the gentle, kind, parenting metaphor
and his use of this term with immigration is discursively highly strategic. It creates an image thatmassive immigration is not a risk or threat, but an image that the host society has a [parent-like]
control over immigrants and immigration is fundamentally manageable, which is not true at leastat this moment.
9. Threats: He directly addresses Prime Minister Abe: “Before the Tokyo Olympics, [theleader should] announce “Japan as an immigrant nation”. There are various complex discursive
manipulations that are employed. First, by addressing a request, the reader naturally expects – as
the conversational ploy – a response. Hence, the reader is manipulated to (unconsciously)
anticipate for the Prime Minister’s response, or in other words, his request itself is impressed in
the mind of the reader as a reasonable statement. Sakanaka coined the term “Japan as an
immigrant nation”, yet, through his assertive tense, it gives the misguided idea that the term is
actually “legitimate” and socially exists. Sakanaka also emphasizes that Japan will “otherwise”
be threatened by “international punishment”.
In conclusion, Sakanaka’s statements are meant to appeal to emotion, not logic. His words
are highly manipulative in order to gain support and promote his political motives. Interestingly,
the major TV networks of the UK, the US and Australia (BBC, Wall Street Journal, theEconomist, Australian public TV) favorably paid attention to him, giving him multiple chances tovoice his opinions in these countries. At this historical moment, we need to carefully follow thereasons for their promotion through Sanaka’s appeals for Japan as an “immigrant country.”9
Sakanaka never specifies where his NGO receives the funding for its operation.


9

It may be worthy of note that his ‘colleague’ for the “Japan Immigration Policy Institute” has been Dr. Steven
Robert Nagy who used to be employed by the Chinese Government (Hong Kong Chinese Literature University).

59

5. Kawasoe’s Appeals
Among many “threatened Japanese sovereignty” arguments, Kawasoe’s is particularly focused on
Chinese immigrants, verbalizing the systematic state agenda in the Chinese emigration policy.
The seemingly trashy titles of her books do not do justice to the contents, however.10 Indeed,
there are some problematic expressions stereotyping the Chinese, yet, points and events that theauthor states in these books and articles are worthy of verification. Hence, here I will sum up
some of her major points and compare them with existing academic reports and papers publishedthus far.
First, According to Kawasoe, China has an agenda: it has been the national policy to push
the Chinese to all corners of the world – including Japan. While China never allows anyone toown land in China, various Chinese entities have been purchasing land in Canada, the US,
Australia, New Zealand, the African continent and now Japan (Kawasoe, 2013).11
Here, Kawasoe’s concept of an “agenda” is arguably problematic, since she presents noevidence that accompanies her assertion. However, we can still consider the important network
initiated and maintained by the Chinese authority involving millions of immigrants, migrants andreturnees to and from and in overseas countries. These networks reproduce renewed identities as
Chinese and, for some, renewed loyalty to China. For example, Xi reports that there wereapproximately 37.5 million overseas Chinese in 2003 (Xi, 2004, 50). According to Xi, there are“large and extensive oversea Chinese government organs and institutions from the center in
Beijing to the county level work to liaise with ethnic Chinese and Overseas Chinese as well as
returned Chinese migrants”. He states that this network of governmental institutions may be the“largest” among any country in the world (Xi, 2004, 50-53). According to Xi (2004), such a
network has been not only an important resource for China, but also it has facilitated major
investments in China – as much as over 80% of foreign investments to China in the past decades
were made by ethnic Chinese from other countries.12
Connecting to this point, Harrison et al. (2012) report Chinese migration networks work
closely with the Chinese state and its interests.13 Also, Prato, Italy (Johanson, Smyth & French2009), Peru (Lausent-Herrera, 2011), Senegal (Roberts, 2014), and Johannesburg (Harrison,
Khangelani & Yan Yang, 2012) are other examples that are reported worldwide of the incessant
flow of Chinese migrant-settlers – legal and illegal – and they are results of the collaboration of
migration networks and the Chinese state, resulting in some cases eventual overturn of the hostcities’ commercial structures and landscapes.
Secondly, Kawasoe states that through innumerable underground handlings, illegal

10

Her publications that I examined include “That is why China comes to purchase Japan’s farm land” (2013), “Evenmy town!? ‘Chinese districts self-governization and the victimizing reality” (2012), “China that changed anddestroyed the USA” (2010a) and “China’s agenda of world take-over” (2010b).
11
For Ang, the major problem for the Philippines’ influx of new Chinese immigrants is that corrupt border control
agents are allowing “members of Chinese criminal syndicates to enter the country”: “Included in the reports werefacts such that 100 per cent of laboratories manufacturing illegal drugs raided by the Philippine Drugs Enforcement
Agency were owned and ran [sic] by Chinese nationals” (Ang, 2004, 147).
12
These overwhelming ethnic Chinese investments can be seen, in the other side of the coin; as relatively orcomparatively closed to other nationals to invest in China.
13
The New American (July 22, 2013) reports on the rural China’s poverty problem, and that farmers migrate byforce or by their own will. Bloomberg BusinessWeek said on June 6 about half of China's rural population of 650
million would be relocated by "nudging, urging, and sometimes forcing farmers and their families to settle in China's
cities."60


immigrants from China have been flooding Japan and elsewhere. The Japanese Government
requested that China better control the exodus of Chinese. Since China’s state policy is to send
the rural poor outside of the country, China has no reason to take Japan’s request seriously(Kawasoe, 2010a, 2010b, 2013).
As to this point, Peck, for example, reports that it estimated that traffickers move four
million people each year, although, he admits, this could be a modest estimate. The Chinese
market is, Peck reports, dominated by criminal organizations and its total profits top $200 billion
per year (1998, 1044):
The illicit trade in illegal aliens has become a multi-billion dollar industry resulting in thedeterioration of legitimate immigration systems and the virtual enslavement of thesmugglers customers. Host countries have reacted to this recent wave of undocumented
foreigners by passing tough anti-immigration laws which often lead more immigrants toturn to the expertise of unscrupulous human smugglers (Peck, 1998, 1042).
In 1991, the total number of illegal Chinese in the US was estimated as 500,000, in the EU,
300,000. Like Kawasoe, Peck links the ever increasing number of illegal Chinese to China’s
population crisis – it is overwhelming the country’s resources, where there is “an incredible labor
surplus in China” (with an estimated 27 million unemployed in 2000, while an estimated 30
million live in poverty).
China is using emigration as a safety valve for overpopulation, unemployment, andmigration from the countryside to urban areas. Furthermore, evidence suggests that China
does not seriously punish those who leave the country in violation of their passport laws
(Peck, 1998, 1058).
Similar to the point as Kawasoe argues, Peck explains:“[C]hinese leaders may have discovered that they possess a weapon more psychologicallypotent than all of their recently purchased fighter planes, warships, submarines and missiles
put together.” Clearly, the political ramifications of Chinese emigration force Japan, as wellas other countries, to avoid direct and forceful action against the Chinese government. —to avoid the risk of a Chinese backlash (1998, 1059).
In 2005, Japan’s Ministry of Justice reported over 200,000 visa over-stayers, and among
them nearly 17,000 were university and pre-university students. (Ministry of Justice, 2005).”(Liu-Farrer, 2008, 241). About 85% of these 17,000 student visa overstayers were from China,
close to half of all recorded irregular Chinese immigrants in Japan (Ministry of Justice, 2005).”(Liu-Farrer, 2008, 241). Thousands of students every year change their student visas into
employment visas and eventually obtain permanent settlement in Japan. In Oka and Fukada’s
study (1995), one language school official pointed out that although 80% of Chinese language
students were inclined to advance to higher education in Japan, only a minority of them were
truly academically-oriented and close to 80% of them (60% of the total) treated education merely
as a convenient pathway to settle in Japan (Liu-Farrer, 2008, 241).
It means that legally entering immigrants are also part of the major source of the everincreasing number of illegal aliens in Japan. In this context, there are two points that have beenreported in the academic literature. First, in speaking of illegal Chinese immigrants, to be abroad61


already means to be successful. In Japan, according to Kwong (1997), with the growing
clandestine migration in the 1990s and the presence of visa over-stayers, each Chinese immigrant
is increasingly embedded in social networks – including both legal and illegal comers. These
illegals are parents, siblings, cousins, uncles and close friends. Secondly, turning illegal was notconsidered wrong by Chinese immigrants and Kwong states that nobody feels that being an
undocumented immigrant is shameful (1998). Some visa over-stayers were, Liu-Farrer reports,
often quick to admit that they were not ashamed of being ‘blackened’. Several Liu-Farrer’s
interviewees were rather indignant about the Japanese government’s deportation effort. “Wehaven’t done anything bad or committed any crimes.” As Liu-Farrer reports, they generally
considered the choice a personal one (Liu-Farrer, 2008).
It is here, third, Kawasoe asks “Why should Japan support these anti-Japanese migrants
with our tax money?”14
In 2008, for the opening of the Nagano Olympic, apparently 4,000 Chinese students inJapan were called up by the Chinese Embassy. The Embassy arranged the busses to Nagano
and all these students violently attacked the free-Tibet protesters and protesters against
China’s genocide of Uyghur. These Chinese students kicked and punched them andviolated even the local Nagano pedestrians (2012, 132).
According to Kawasoe,
In China, there are uncountable violence against Japanese stores, cars, and even Japanese
schools. However, the Chinese Government deems these acts as “loyalty to China” and it
does nothing (2012, 134).
These are quite serious accusation. In direct relation to the State-immigrant networks
aforementioned, she refers to a convention in Beijing in 2012 where prominent Chinese diaspora
were invited to gather (they have lost Chinese passport for having become a citizen elsewhere).
Kawasoe observes that the Chinese president appealed to these ‘celebrities’ (including Jacky
Chen, Jet Li, and so on): “For the sake of reconstruction of the Great China, we need all the
Chinese in and outside our country. Please participate in this great effort” (Kawasoe, 2012, 127).
Soon afterwards, according to Kawasoe, these Hollywood ethnic Chinese movie stars participatedin making an anti-Japan film produced in China.
With all these reasons, Kawasoe obviously considers immigration problems as Japan’s
Chinese immigration problem. It is extremely important that we should never support racist
immigration policy that selects and negates applicants and entrants according to his or her
national or ethnic origin. With this strong moral commitment in mind, we need to think of thefact that the context of the Chinese immigration has been done in a highly contentious andproblematic environment – under their politics of condemnation of Japan and anti-Japanism.
Within the situation of on-going politics of condemnation, Japan’s immigration policies must and

14

She refers to a convention taken place in Beijing in 2012 where prominent Chinese diaspora were invited to gather(they have lost Chinese passport for having become a citizen elsewhere). Kawasoe observes that the Chinesepresident requested to these “celebrities” (including Jacky Chen, Jet Li, and so on.): “For the sake of reconstructionof the Great China, we need all the Chinese in and outside our country. Please participate in this great effort”(Kawasoe, 2012, 127). Soon afterwards, Kawasoe writes, these Hollywood Chinese movie stars participated in
making an anti-Japan film.

62

should reflect this factor in preferring who to be part of Japanese society and then rethink thepossibility of ‘multiculturalism’ that principally addresses peaceful integration. At the moment,
Japan’s internal and external environments may be much mal-fitting to multiculturalism.
6. Québec: Is Immigration an Answer to the Population Problem?
In Canada, multiculturalism is part of the pluralist ideology, a demographic reality, a set ofgovernment policies and programs, and an arena for ethnic competition for government funding
and other resources (Satzewich & Liodakis, 2013). Québec, in response, has pursued a policy
called interculturalism. The main tenet of this policy is to promote cultural interchanges andcitizenship “within the context of French unilingualism”.15
Referring to a 2013 Census published by Statistics Canada, renowned journalist Chatal
Hébert comments that “a profoundly different Québec will continue to be one of [Canada’s]
enduring features” (Herald Opinions, May 13, 2013). As Hébert points out, the composition of
immigrants are considerably different in Québec compared to rest of Canada. In Canada, the top
five languages most often spoken at home “other” than French and English are Chinese
languages, Punjabi, Spanish, Italian and Arabic. In Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia,“other” languages most spoken are more or less similar to those of Canada.16 In Québec, however,they are Spanish, Arabic, Chinese languages, Italian and Greek. The major cities in Canada
indicate more stark differences: “Arabic, Spanish and Italian are the non-official languages most
spoken by the immigrants who call Montréal home, while Cantonese, Punjabi and Mandarin
dominate the non-official language landscape of Toronto” (Hébert, 2013) and perhaps Vancouver
to add to the latter’s landscape. Indeed, Statistics Canada concludes, “France has been the top
source country of immigrants to Québec for a long time and is the country of birth of 22% of thetotal immigrant population of Québec. The countries of birth of Québec’s immigrant population
are different from those of immigrants to Canada in general, with five of the ten top countries ofbirth of very recent immigrants—France, Morocco, Algeria, Romania and Haiti—being Frenchspeaking or having historical connections to France and its language” (Lachapelle & Lesage 2006,
14).
Such a demographic difference did not happen as an accident. This was possible because,
while all the provincial governments in Canada have certain authority over immigration issues,
Québec is the only province that by 1991 gained its own control (Satzewitch & Liodakis, 2013;Black & Hagen, 1993). It means that Québec has complete control in selection of new
immigrants, language and other training programs. Québec uses a modified point systemcompared to the rest of Canada (Satzelwich & Liodakis, 2013) in order to increase the number ofFrench-speaking immigrants.17
However, despite these political efforts, Québec’s ‘allophones’ (people who speak otherthan French or English as their mother tongue) may still predominantly speak English (Termote,1999, 2011; Lachapelle & Lepage, 2006). Combined with the low fertility rate among

15

With the 2007 work of “Reasonable Accommodation”, Qubéc tried to address and accommodate otherwise illintegrated ethnic minorities within its politico, economic and social institutions.
16
Chinese languages, Punjabi, Tagalog and Spanish, except for Alberta having German as the second largest “other”
language spoken at home (Lachapelle & Lepage, 2006).
17
Of course, the Québec interest in the immigration control has occurred in the historical context of its language
politics. The Quebec Liberal government passed the Official Language Act, or Bill 22, in 1974, with which Québec
officially became a unilingual French province. In 1977, René Lévesque, then leader of the Parti Québécois,
successfully enacted the Charter of the French Language, or Bill 101.

63

Francophones in general and a lower “language fertility rate” than those of immigrants (Termote,1999, 2011), Montréal witnessed various cultural and language related conflicts in recent years.
As critics suggest, there is no evidence that immigrants in Québec integrate better than those in
the rest of Canada. Instead, there is evidence that immigrants in Québec are not accepted as true
Québécois, as demonstrated by the controversy over the hijab (Juteau, 2002), the statement of thetown of Herouxville, and the Bouchard—Taylor recommendation of the Reasonable
Accommodation (Consultation Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural
Differences).
When the town of Herouxville prohibited “any action or gesture…such as: killing womenby lapidation or burning them alive in public places, burning them with acid, exicising them,
infibulating them or treating them as slaves” and went on to state “[o]ut of respect for women andin order to ease the application of civil laws on divorce, polygamy is prohibited in Québec” notonly the implicated Muslim communities but also other communities in Montréal immediately
reacted.18 While the apparent racist framework met substantial criticism in and outside of
Québec, it was also remarkable that, according to the town’s mayor, they received hundreds ofletters and emails to support them.
Soon after the Herouxville controversies, Bouchard, a sociologist and Taylor, aphilosopher, after conducting a wide-ranging study, compiled a series of recommendations,
including the most controversial point - the prohibition of religious garbs in public offices (seethe full critique against the recommendation in the Simone de Beauvoir Institute’s Position
Statement, 2007). Following on these controversies, Pauline Marois, then PQ leader, proposed
the Charter of Values (2013), which, in an attempt to emphasize secularism in Québec, theGovernment determined the size of the religious symbols allowable in public. This met indeed
with a sizable ridicule by the voters. Although the PQ lost the election soon afterward, this is anotable evidence that cultural and ethnic identities and conflicts will continue to be a potential –and actual - resource for political maneuvers in Québec. What concerns us here, however, is thefact that it was the small town of Herouxville, where the overwhelming majority is francophone,that declared its xenophobic stance; and it was the separatist PQ who attempted to mobilize theunderlying xenophobic sentiments among the voters by proposing the Charter of Values. The
reasons for the contemporary invitations to xenophobia cannot be explained by a single factor.
However, we recognize that, as mentioned above, the Quebéc Francophones’ birthrate has been
almost as low as that of Japan.19 This certainly fuels the debate to increase Quebéc population by
immigration and refugees. But demographers are aware that increasing the population of Québec
province does not mean the increase of francophone Québecois. They in fact analyze that, in
18

It listed the preferred and accepted tradition: “We listen to music and we drink beverages, alcoholized or not. We
feast, dance, and towards the end of our calendar year, we individually or collectively decorate a fir or a spruce treewith ornamental balls and lights. This is what we commonly call “Christmas decorations” or “Christmas trees” which
recalls our notions of patrimonial rejoicing but does not necessarily confer to this practise a religious character.
These festivities are authorized as much in public spaces, schools, institutions or private places. In these places, noarea is reserved for prayer or religious manifestations. These customs and traditions should not offend whoever
chooses to relate them to ancestral Pagan values.”
19
In details, there are some fluctuations. Termote summarizes as follows: Comme l’on sait, après une longue
période de déclin amorcée au début des années 1960, le Québec a connu au cours de la période 1987-1992, tout
comme d’ailleurs la quasi-totalité des autres pays industrialisés, une hausse prononcée de la fécondité. Depuis 1992
cependant, la fécondité québécoise, comme d’ailleurs celle des autres pays industrialisés, a renoué avec sa tendance àla baisse sur longue période, pour se retrouver à 1,63 en 1996 et à 1,45 en 1998, soit à peu près au même bas niveau
que celui qu’elle avait atteint avant la remontée de 1987-1992” (1999, 14).

64
terms of population, francophone will become a minority in Montréal in the next 20 years(Termote, 2011); and while Anglophone in Québec will also continue decreasing due to thecontinuing migration to other (English-speaking) provinces, “other” language speakers, inparticular, immigrants and their descendants, will be the dominant face of Montréal – and in theirestimate, most of them will speak English. While they analyze that the population make-up of therest of Québec will be slow to change, they predict that a similar but slow change may occur.
This means that despite all the on-going efforts in integrating (some of them) alreadyFrench-speaking immigrants, Québec’s recent past exhibits more troubles than peaceful“accommodation”. Despite the fact that the French language is one of the most diffused anddominant tongues in the world. French uni-lingualism is not yet fully respected in the economic
centre of the province, Montréal. And this continues to threaten the French Québecoic’s social
identity, leading to the existence of extreme nationalism among young and old,20 showing that
“interculturalism” has been a hard sell to French Québecois – and to Anglophones and allophones
for somewhat different reasons for each group.21
7. Conclusion: Is Immigration the Answer to Economic Development?
James Bissett, the former Canadian High Commissioner in London, England, flatly denies that
immigration will alleviate the labour shortage due to Canada’s declining birth rate (2009, 12).
An expansion of its labour force will not lead to Canada’s economic strength. He claims that it
was the availability of immigrant workers that hindered labor productivity in the 1980s “despite
calls for business to compete successfully in the global economy”. Technical adaptation andinnovative labour-saving devices, not foreign workers encourage a stronger economy.
On the other hand, Steven Camarota, the Director of Research Center for Immigration
Studies, a Washington, DC-based research institute, testifying before Congress reports the net
fiscal drain by the illegal immigrants much more than $10 billion at the state and local level;
If currently illegal immigrants obtained legal status, the fiscal drain at the federal level
would almost triple […] (Camarota, 2009, 37).
Under the pressure of the francophone population decline, Québec exhibits a similarparadox with Canada and the US in that, despite warnings from economists and immigration
experts, public policies continue allowing an increasing number of immigrants, thereby inducing
an increasing number of illegal immigrants altogether.
Japan is not a settler-colony (see Hollifield, Martin & Orrenius, 2014, 9). But many aredemanding it to undo its foundational myth and ideology, and impose a new ideology of“multiculturalism” with which settler-countries such as Québec still find obstinate challenges.
Although individuals such as Sakanaka seem to be eager to create a new myth of Japan, suchsuperficial attempts will unlikely root in the minds of the majority of Japanese. If Japan learns

20

The following are some of Quebec nationalist organizations: Le Québécois; Reseau de resistence du Quebec;
Jeunes patriotes du Quebec; Coalition souverainiste; Souverainete: la solution; Le mouvement estrien pour lefrancais; QuebecCentral; Vigile; Le reassemblement pour un pays souverain; Vacame; L'independence du Quebec;
Historique du front de liberation du Quebec; Imperatif francais; Action nationale du Quebec; and Société Saint-Jean
Baptiste.
21
See also Tanner and Campana (2014) for right-wing separatist movements in Quebec, listing the following
groups: the Nationalistes du Sagunenay, the Nationalistes Jeannois, the Coalition pour l’Histoire, and the Fédération
des Québécois de Souche.

65
something from their experiences, it is that Québec made a continuing and deliberate effort tobring immigrants who most possibly fit to their ideas of a Québec future: Québec continues tomonitor “language fertility”, or how French language has been reproduced among different
mother-tongue-speakers in the province; and Québec cultural identity” through its own
interculturalism under the Québec uni-lingual mandate. Still, with all these vigilances on the
demographic and linguistic shifts and turns, the analyses to date do not indicate a favorable future
for francaphone French in a multilingual urban centre such as Montréal.
In conclusion, under various controversies summarized above, I argue that any hasty
assumption that increased immigration will be the answer to the Japanese population crisis andlabor shortage should be carefully re-evaluated. In a society where a coordinated security system
is absent, “multicultural co-habitation” can be an invitation to a penetrating danger. What isspoken and diffused to manipulate the mind must be firmly studied and, if necessary, logicallyintervened and rejected.
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Science of Happiness, 102-135. [⚾ࡢ⾤࡛ࡶ㸟㸽 ‘୰ᅜ⮬἞༊’໬ࠊ⿕ᐖࡢᐇែ,᪥ᮏࡢᅜ┈㸸㔝⻅୰ᅜ࡟຾ࡘࡓࡵࡢ㸯㸮ࡢㄽⅬ]
K. Kawasoe (2011) Turned Around and Chinese Tore America into Tatters, Tokyo, Sankei
Newspaper Press. [㇮ኚࡋࡓ୰ᅜேࡀ࢔࣓ࣜ࢝ࢆ࣎ࣟ࣎ࣟ࡟ࡋࡓ]K. Kawasoe (2010a) Be Cautious to Chinese Migrants! Monthly Will, 63, 94-103. [୰ᅜே⛣ఫ⪅ࢆཝᡄࡏࡼ㸟]
K. Kawasoe (2010b) The Plan of Taking over the World by Chinese, Tokyo, Sankei Newspaper
Press. [୰ᅜேࡢୡ⏺஌ࡗྲྀࡾィ⏬]
A. Kondo (2009) Why Migration Policy?: Raison d’être of the Japan Association for Migration
Policy Studies (JAMPS), Migration Policy Studies, 1,
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York, The New Press.
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Perspectives, Ottawa, Statistics Canada, Cat. no. CH2-3/8-2010.
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community(ies), Journal of Chinese Overseas, 7 (1), 69-113.
G. Liu-Farrer (2010) Debt, Networks and Reciprocity: Undocumented Migration from Fujian to
Japan, Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 26, 3-19.
K. Matsuo (2008) Executive Summary, Synthetic Research, Foreign Residents Problems within
the Societies in Population Decline, 19-27. Tokyo, National Diet Research. [⥲ྜㄪᰝࠕேཱྀῶᑡ♫఍ࡢእᅜேၥ㢟]
A. McNevin (2012) Undocumented Citizens? Shifting Grounds of Citizenship in Los Angeles,in P. Nyers and K. Rygiel (eds.) Citizenship, Migrant Activism and thePolitics of Movement, New York, Routledge, 165-183.
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NIAS Press, 49-64.

69Multiculturalism for Women? Implications of “Reasonable
Accommodation” for Women in Minority Cultural Groups
Ryoko Ishikawa
Ritsumeikan University
Abstract
Multiculturalism has been accused of preserving so-called non-liberal cultural norms oppressive
to women. One prominent example is found in feminist political philosopher Susan Okin’s “Is
Multiculturalism Bad for Women?” (1999). According to Okin, attempts of liberalmulticulturalists, such as philosopher Will Kymlicka, to limit acceptable cultures only to thosecompatible with liberal principles is not sufficient to protect women from cultural abuse.
In line with this perspective, critics of multiculturalism claim that instead of giving political
recognition to cultures, the government should either stop respecting cultural rights altogether, orintervene directly into those cultures to enforce liberal rights and norms. The former approach isproblematic for women of minority cultural groups, as it leaves them under oppressive cultural
norms. The latter appears more promising, but direct interventions by authorities may not always“emancipate” women in non-liberal cultures, and may encourage retreat into cultural expectations.
In contrast, the Bouchard-Taylor commission report on reasonable accommodation in
Québec (2008) proposes a third approach, which is dialogic and open to negotiation andcompromise. This presentation examines the implications of this approach to theories ofmulticulturalism and women’s rights.
Keywords: multiculturalism, women’s rights, reasonable accommodation, interculturalism
1. Introduction
In 2007-8, historian Gerard Bouchard and philosopher Charles Taylor co-chaired the Commission
on Reasonable Accommodation with Regard to Cultural Differences (hereafter, the BouchardTaylor commission), which investigated multiculturalism in Québec.1 In March 2008, the final
report was published. The report made recommendations to make Québec more inclusive andaccommodating of cultural differences.
Media reaction to the report was mostly positive. For several months before the publication,
the media reported bitterly and sometimes excessively about the frictions of cultural diversity. It
appears the report succeeded in persuading cultural majority and minorities, and, as a result, thetension was relieved. However, surprisingly, after seven years, none of the recommendations of
the report has been implemented, and the Canadian media seems to have lost interest.
Although the Bouchard-Taylor report has not attained proper recognition in Canada, it isattracting interest abroad. The Japanese translation of the abridged version was published in
2011.2 More recently, the EU commission published a report entitled Reasonable accommodation
beyond disability in Europe? (2013). The report examines the concept of reasonableaccommodation from the Bouchard-Taylor commission to explore its application to cultural andreligious matters. These reports were published because their implications for an inclusive

1

Quotes from the Bouchard-Taylor report are from the full English version unless otherwise noted.

2䶈₼廙቞ሮ峂ᇹ⮩㠖▥䯍↩኎኶አኌቑ㖠㒵ᇺᇬ㢝䪂㦇ㄦᇬ2011 ㄃

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multicultural society are recognized. However, there are few academic studies that focus on theinnovation and importance of the original report.
This paper argues from a feminist perspective that the Bouchard-Taylor report is innovative
because it responds to concerns of liberal feminists against multiculturalism by overcoming the
problem of diversity within minority groups, encouraging participation and voice in publicdeliberations, and ensuring the protection of fundamental liberal rights. The normative
framework of cultural accommodation in the Bouchard-Taylor report reveals an inclusive anddemocratic approach that responds to major concerns of liberal-feminist political theorists.
2. Liberalism and multiculturalism
2.1 Liberal neutrality versus recognition of cultural identity
There is a general criticism against multiculturalism that it does not sufficiently secure stateneutrality nor protect individual freedom. For instance, a multicultural state such as Canada gives
certain cultural groups special rights. This sort of public recognition of cultural identity is
considered to undermine state neutrality. Culture, like religion, is very important for individuals.
Culture is a private matter that the government should not interfere with. Accordingly,
governments should refrain from recognizing cultural rights and be culturally neutral.
Moreover, granting special cultural rights to certain groups may lead to violation ofindividual freedoms. Take language rights as an example. If a minority language is mademandatory in schools for the survival of a minority culture, the survival of the culture isprioritized over individual freedom. This is unacceptable for a liberal theorist because individual
freedom is fundamental and must be protected.
From this point of view, unless there is no harm to others, the government should not interferewith cultures. As long as the cultural groups comply with this principle, the government should
not obstruct what each cultural group pursue.
Support for multiculturalism emerged in political theory as a response to this kind ofliberalism that emphasizes state neutrality. Their claim to neutrality is false. Although the liberalstate claims neutrality, in reality the state supports the majority culture and marginalizes minority
cultures. Since there is evidently an injustice among cultures, granting special rights to combat
such biased power relations is justified.
Furthermore, culture has a fundamental importance for individuals when making decisions.
Liberalism believes that individual decision-making is fundamental. Individuals make decisions
according to their values. What you value is significantly influenced by your culture. Humanbeings make choices within a certain cultural context. Since culture plays an important role inmaking decisions, recognition of culture should be justified from a liberal perspective (Kymlicka,
1991, ch. 8).
As such, liberal multiculturalists argue that recognition of culture is legitimate. They also
argue that recognition of cultural rights can be justified from liberal principles. Nonetheless, theirargument was criticized by feminists because they do not give sufficient attention for women
marginalized within a minority culture.
2.2. Feminist criticisms
From the liberal-feminist perspective, multiculturalism needs improvement. Special
accommodation measures for cultural minority groups are not sufficient. In addition to this,multiculturalism should respond to problems that females in minority cultural groups tend to
experience.

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One important feminist criticism of multiculturalism was made by Susan Okin Professor ofpolitical theory at Stanford, who wrote the influential “Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?” in1999. She criticized those who support multiculturalism because “multiculturalism contributes tosustain and strengthen patriarchal control over women” (Okin, 1999, 13). For Okin, culture
defines gender relations. In addition, the primary function of culture is to justify the dominationof women by men. Thus, for Okin, multiculturalism works to limit the freedom and equality ofwomen. This is because by giving recognition to cultural rights, multiculturalism helps sustain
discriminatory cultural practices and its community structure. Multiculturalism allows
discriminatory liberal cultures to survive.
Okin argues that in order to free women from cultural oppression, non-biased liberal values
should be endorsed (ibid.,16). She maintains that liberal governments should intervene in nonliberal cultures so that females in the group can enjoy freedom. For her, it is wrong that justbecause some women are born in a certain cultural group, their freedom is restricted.
Also, women have the tendency to be marginalized within minority cultures. Okin
maintains that liberal multiculturalists grant special rights to minority cultures since they believe
the group is monolithic. Actually, there is diversity within these groups. Some may feel astronger identity with the culture, but others may not; multiculturalists ignore this diversity.
A newer concern for feminist theorists is what Ayelet Shacher calls “the privatization ofdiversity” (ibid., 342). Out of respect for culture, certain cultural groups demand exclusion fromthe public sphere. An example of this was seen in the so-called Sharia court debate in Ontario. In
2003, a small Muslim organization planned to start an Islamic court to deal with family issues,
such as divorce in Canada (Ali, 2002). The organization attempted to utilize Alternative Dispute
Resolution, a legal procedure permitted in Ontario under certain conditions. When reported in the
media, there was a large protest (Boyd, 2007, 466). This was because Sharia law is considereddiscriminatory against women. It is not compatible with the fundamental liberal values ofCanadian society, and thus, an attempt to establish an Islamic court had to be stopped. In the end,
the then provincial Prime Minister of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, declared a ban on religious
courts in the province (“Ontario Premier,” 2005).
In this case, the Muslim organization asked for the right to be excluded. A religious
minority group wanted the power to resolve conflicts according to their religious beliefs. If thispermitted, there was a danger of allowing arbitration incompatible with liberal values. The groupthat planned the Islamic court recorded on their website that a good Muslim should naturally
utilize a religious court (quoted in “Women’s Rights and Sharia Tribunals”). This claim reveals
that having a religious court is especially risky for Muslim women, as they may feel obliged toaccept its decisions. Therefore, allowing minority cultural groups be excluded from stateinterference in the name of cultural respect may unintentionally oppress females.
Consequently, the government should disallow minority cultural groups to retreat from thepublic sphere. Rather, the government should find ways to include them, or ways to keep themwithin government control.3

3

For a more detailed argument on intervention into “illiberal” cultures, see Ryoko Ishikawa (2012) “Intervening in
Illiberal Cultures: Canadian Muslim Women Cases,”
Journal of Gender Studies, 15, 99-112 [䪂ぬ䁋⷟ᇷ዇኶዆ወቊቒቍሧ㠖▥ቛቑ⅚⏴᧶ኈኧኝ቎ርሴቮኽኖ዇ኽ
Ⰲ㊶ትቤሳቮℚ√ቑ㟎㽊䚕嵥ሮቬቑ劒⹮ᇸᇬር嗅ቑ㻃Ⰲ⷟⮶ⷵንኄዐኝዙ䪣䴅ኘዐኜዙᇬᇹንኄዐኝዙ䪣䴅ᇺ䶻 15 ⚆ᇬ2012 ㄃ᇬ99-112 檐].

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To summarize, liberal feminists criticized liberal multiculturalism from three perspectives.
First, the fundamental importance of liberalism is the protection of fundamental rights. Groupbased cultural rights may oppress female freedom. Second, there is a problem of internal
minorities. Cultural groups are not monolithic. Third, there is a problem that cultural groups may
retreat from public deliberation. By allowing them to privatize their culture, there will be higher
risk of strengthening dominance over women. Thus, ways to include these groups within publicdeliberation and government control needs to be explored.
3. The Bouchard-Taylor report
The idea of multiculturalism presented in the Bouchard-Taylor report responds to concerns posedby feminists. To illuminate this point, this paper looks at reasonable accommodation, open
secularism, and interculturalism.
3.1 Reasonable Accommodation
The report defines the concept of reasonable accommodation, as “… [it] indicates a form of
relaxation aimed at combating discrimination caused by the strict application of a norm, which, incertain of its effects, infringes on a citizens’ right to equality ” (quoted in Bouchard and Taylor,abridged ver., 24). Originally, this was a legal term used in the context of accommodating theneeds of disabled people at work. Building access for those using wheelchairs is one example ofreasonable accommodation. It is important to note that this is “reasonable” accommodation andnot unlimited accommodation. The accommodation request should be respond to the extent that it
does not give employers “undue hardship.” There is no need to accommodate all needs.
In Canada, the concept of reasonable accommodation was introduced in 1980s. Gradually,
this idea developed into accommodation of needs related to religion and culture. Recent examples
of instances of reasonable accommodation are the request for religious meals at staff canteens,and Muslim female students to wear scarves when playing soccer. One prominent case was theso-called Multani-affair, where a Sikh student attempted to wear a Kirpan, a knife that has
religious meaning, to school (Bouchard-Taylor, 2008, 49-50, 53, 55, and 70). On the one hand,
there was a consideration that wearing a Kirpan should be tolerated on the grounds of freedom of
conscience. On the other hand, there was a concern that in order to maintain a secureenvironment at school, wearing it should be banned. In other words, the request to wear the
Kirpan is beyond a “reasonable” limit of accommodation.
The main question in Québec was to what extent Québec society should accept the demandsof various cultural groups? What is the “reasonable” limit of accommodation? There was a fearthat Québec’s distinctive culture and identity may be undermined if Québec society kept on
accepting diverse cultural values. In response to this kind of sentiment, the Bouchard-Taylor
report clarifies that Québec society has always been diverse and maintained a unique and strong
identity in spite of its diversity.
In short, the Bouchard-Taylor report carefully justifies accommodation measures that it
contributes to enhancing integration and balancing cultural power relations between majority andminority groups (Ch. III and IV). At the same time, the report clarifies that reasonable

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accommodation is not unlimited. Since Québec is a liberal state, measures that infringe uponliberal principles may not be permitted.
3.2 Open Secularism
The idea of open secularism was first introduced to Québec through the Proulx Report in the
1990s, when Muslim headscarves gained social attention together with the issue of whether
religious expression should be banned in public schools (Maclure & Taylor, 2011, 57-8).
According to the report, Open Secularism admits that the state should be neutral to religion(Bouchard-Taylor, 2008, 140). At the same time, freedom of conscience is a significant principle.
Based on these two principles, the report suggests that religion need not be banned from publicschools. Schools may teach certain religious beliefs, students should be exposed to variety of
religions, and be taught skills to co-exist peacefully in a religiously diverse society (BouchardTaylor, 2008, 141).
The Bouchard-Taylor report articulates how this sort of open and flexible secularism
developed in Québec. This secularism is different from that of France. According to the report,
the secularism practiced in France is called Restrictive Secularism. The Bouchard-Taylor report
explains that there are two reasons for adopting Restrictive Secularism. One is that emancipationfrom religion is indispensable in realizing the secular state. Another is that integration of citizens
is only possible through eliminating religious diversity. In Restrictive Secularism, neutrality ofthe state is rigidly pursued as it considers religion to be a private matter, with which thegovernment should not interfere. Furthermore, to make public schools and workplaces secular,
religion must be excluded.
In contrast, the open secularism associated with Québec is more flexible regarding religious
expression. The Bouchard-Taylor report argues that Québec’s open secularism has a more
inclusive approach. Although the importance of state neutrality is evident, Québec does not
rigidly pursue state neutrality. Rather than setting aside religious diversity, Québec attempts tobuild unity through diversity. Expression of religious diversity is permitted, people learn about
each other, and they negotiate and compromise. By participating in this common enterprise,
people are integrated into Québec society. In this deliberation, people dialogically pursue how
state neutrality should be implemented.
Therefore, open secularism places high value on negotiation and compromise. Thisapproach encourages voice and participation of marginalized members of minority culturalgroups. In this sense, open secularism is inclusive.
3.3 Interculturalism
The final key idea of the report is interculturalism, which is Québec’s version of multiculturalism.
According to the Bouchard-Taylor report, it has not been defined clearly by the government, but
the concept was used in the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1975) and documents suchas Autant de façons d’être québécois and Plan d’action à l’intention des communautés culturelles(1981) (116). At first glance, there appears to be no significant difference between Québec’s
interculturalism and multiculturalism, which the Canadian government endorses. Nonetheless,the Bouchard-Taylor report claims that interculturalism is more inclusive than the Canadiangovernment’s version of multiculturalism. To see the reasons behind this claim, let us look at
Québec’s interculturalism more closely.
According to the report, interculturalism has five features that:a) institutes French as the common language of intercultural relations;74b) cultivates a pluralistic orientation that is highly sensitive to the protection of rights;c) preserves the creative tension between diversity and the continuity of the Frenchspeaking core as the social link;d) places special emphasis on integration; ande) advocates interaction. (Abridged ver., 42).
This list reveals that Québec’s interculturalism has two main characteristics. First, it is amulticulturalism founded on French, the common language. Second, it emphasizes participation
and aims at integrating citizens through deliberation.
Apparently, the French language is a significant cultural heritage in Québec. This is one
feature that makes Québec unique among the provinces of Canada. However, this is not the sole
reason for emphasizing the importance of French. The reasoning for placing the French language
at the center of Québec society is because it is the language that enables people to deliberate. Byspeaking a common public language, people can have deeper understanding of each other in spiteof diversity, and they can negotiate and make compromises. In short, the French language serves
as a means to participate in public deliberation.
Furthermore, the Bouchard-Taylor report argues that interculturalism complies withprinciples of liberal democracy in two ways (105). First, political institution in Québec isdemocratic in the sense that ultimately it is people who govern. It is liberal as well, because every
citizen’s freedom and rights are protected. Second, democracy in Québec is also liberal since it
protects individual freedoms and rights from abuses of power by the majority. This account ofliberal democracy shows that Québec is committed to the protection of cultural minorities.
Furthermore, since it emphasizes the protection of individual rights, interculturalism iscommitted to protect the rights and freedoms of minorities within minority cultural groups.
Therefore, Québec’s interculturalism described in the Bouchard-Taylor report is keen toprotect minorities within minority cultural groups. It does not attempt to force minority culturalgroups to comply with liberal principles nor does it prevent cultural diversity from publicdeliberation. Rather, people are encouraged to share their differences.
4. Conclusion
The normative implications of the Bouchard-Taylor report can be summarized as follows. First,
the concept of reasonable accommodation gives a justification for differentiated treatment ofvarious cultural groups. Second, the idea of open secularism encourages negotiation and assurescompromise in both majority and minority groups. Third, the vision of interculturalism defines
Québec’s political uniqueness as a participatory liberal democracy.
All these arguments respond to feminist criticisms of multiculturalism. Thus, the approach
to cultural diversity proposed in the Bouchard-Taylor report is a liberal and inclusive democratic
approach that can empower marginalized members of cultural minority groups. It is a dialogicalapproach attentive to the problems minority women face.
References
S. Ali (2002) Establishing an Institute of Islamic Justice, Canadian Society of Muslims News
Bulletin, October 2002, http://muslim-canada.org/news02.html, accessed September 2010.
G. Bouchard & C. Taylor (2008) Building the Future: A Time for Reconciliation, Commission
de consultation sur les pratiques d'accommodement reliees aux differences culturelles.
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M. Boyd (2007) Religion-Based Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Challenge toMulticulturalism, in K. Banding et al. eds. Belonging? Diversity, Recognition and Shared
Citizenship in Canada, Montréal, The Institute for Research on Public Policy, 465-474.
E. Bribosia & I. Rorive (2013) Reasonable Accommodation Beyond Disability in Europe?
European Commission.
W. Kymlicka (1991) Liberalism, Community and Culture, Oxford, Clarendon Press.
J. Maclure & C. Taylor (2011) Secularism and Freedom of Conscience, Cambridge, Harvard
University Press.
S. Okin (1999) Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?, in S. Okin et al. Is Multiculturalism Bad for
Women?, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 7-25.
“Ontario Premier Rejects the Use of Sharia Law”, CBC News, September 11, 2005,
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/09/09/sharia-protests-20050909.html, accessed
September 2011.
A. Shachar (2012) Faith in Law? Diffusing Tensions Between Diversity and Equality in J. A.
Nichols ed. Marriage and Divorce in a Multicultural Context, Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press.
“Women’s Rights and Sharia Tribunals in Ontario, Canada: An Interview with Jasimn Zine,
Association of Muslims Social Scientists”, A WID. Org,
http://www.awid.org/Library/Women-s-Rights-and-Sharia-Tribunals-in-Ontario-Canada,
accessed November 2011.
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 25870822.

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None of My Business: Young Japanese Migrants in Canada Defying"Global Human Resource (gurǀbaru jinzai)" Discourse
Etsuko Kato
International Christian University
Abstract
Four years have passed since the term Global Human Resource (gurǀbaru jinzai, GHR) made its
way into mainstream discourse in Japan. Promoted by the government and business sector since2011, the term, despite its vague definition, is used by ministries, higher education, and above all,major corporations that seek young workers who are willing to work globally. This seemingly
globalist discourse, however, does not affect or attract tens of thousands of young Japanese
temporary residents outside of Japan, including those in Canada, who have left home in search ofmore fulfilling jobs that enable them to work globally. Based on media research and fieldwork,
this paper first elucidates how the term GHR, first used by Toyota, became a national discourse;then it explores the gap between essentially nationalistic, elitist, corporate-oriented, male-centric
discourses of GHR, and the mindset of young Japanese migrants, who are predominantly selforiented, non-privileged women. The paper also points out that these migrants are joined by othersocial groups who left Japan for respective reasons. The goal of this paper is to elucidate covert
and perpetuated gender- and class-based inequality of Japanese society that motivates privileged
men to stay inside national borders, while motivating other groups to leave home.
Keywords: Global Human Resource, migrants, work, class, gender
1. Introduction
Any university student in Japan today, especially those who are job hunting, would not spend a
day without hearing the phrase gurǀbaru jinzai or “Global Human Resource” (GHR hereafter).
The term, which approximately means a person who is ready to work beyond national borders,has over the past four years, become a nation-wide cliché to describe an ideal worker. The phrase
frequently appears on TV, in newspapers, books and magazines, or in university publications,typically with modifiers such as GHR “that corporations really seek (kigyǀ ga hontǀ ni
motomeru)” or GHR “that wins in the global race (sekai de kachinuku)”. Governmental subsidies
and ranking systems are urging universities around the nation to race for their reputations as
developers of GHR.
Meanwhile, those who live in Vancouver or Toronto may not spend a day without seeing
young Japanese temporary residents in town working at Japanese restaurants or cafés, whileothers study at ESL (English as Second Language) schools or colleges. Most typically, they areamong 6,500 “Working Holiday” participants (see discussions below) or 3,000 students heading
for Canada from Japan every year. Although Japan is not one of the major providers ofimmigrants for Canada, it is, so to speak, “specialized” in sending young temporary residents̿
workers and students̿to Canada (unlike China or Philippines, which sends both a number of
immigrants and temporary residents). Especially in the Working Holiday program, Japan has sent
approximately 108,362 young people in total to Canada from the program’s first year in 1986 to
2012 (Japan Association of Overseas Studies, 2014, 18).

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How are the above two topics related? This paper’s answer is: They are not related, or they
are related only as negatives to each other. Development of GHR has been a Japanese national
policy since 2011, promoted by ministries, higher education, and above all, major corporations
hand in hand. This seemingly globalist project, however, does not affect or attract most young
Japanese temporary residents overseas, including those in Canada. Why?
This paper first explores, based on media research, how the term GHR, which was firstsystematically used by a major automobile company Toyota, has changed its meaning and madeits way into national discourse. The paper especially probes the GHR discourse’s essentiallynationalistic, corporate-centric, elitist and masculine implications. Next, based on fieldwork, thepaper explores the gap between GHR discourse and the mindset of young Japanese temporary
residents in Canada, who are predominantly non-privileged women, joined by a smaller numberof non-privileged men, privileged women and privileged men. In their respective way, people
from the four social groups do not fit the definition of GHR that corporations provide. The goalof this paper is to elucidate covert and perpetuated gender- and class-based inequalities ofJapanese society, in which GHR discourse is directed only to privileged men while excluding
non-privileged and/or women.
For media research, I searched archived newspaper articles through Nikkei Telecon 21, a
database run by Nihon Keizai Shimbun (The Nikkei) group. I also analyzed official documents
published by ministries and the business sector, as well as GHR-related magazines for university
students. For fieldwork, I conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews in Vancouver from2001 to 2014 with 127 Japanese Working Holiday participants, students, and other temporary
visa holders who lived (or wished to live) in Canada for one year or more in total. Non-degree
students were intentionally recruited because they were a supposed majority over degree-students.
The participants were recruited mainly through bulletin boards either on the internet or in town
(at Japanese grocery stores, school information centers, and so forth) and some through my own
personal network.
For supplementary purposes, this paper refers to some of my interview data collected in
Toronto in 2008 and in Sydney, Australia between 2011 and 2014.1 Almost all participants wereasked about their views on life, work, self and Japanese society, and some participantsinterviewed after 2011 were asked about their opinions about GHR. The noted age of allparticipants refers to the time of the interview.
2. History and Definition of GHR: Why is it elusive?
This paper defines “GHR discourse” as a cluster of all statements that support and naturalize theconcept of GHR: for example, “Japan urgently needs GHR to win the global economic race”,“Our company seeks GHR”, “Universities must develop GHR”, and so forth. GHR discourse wasapparently initiated by the business sector. The term GHR first appears in a newspaper of the
Nikkei group in 1998, in the title of a seminar hosted by a business language school, Kanda
Gaigo Career College (Nikkei Sangyǀ Shimbun, February 23, 1998, 21); yet more importantly,
the term described the unique personnel system of Toyota in 1999 (see below). Society’s
increasing interest in the concept of GHR is reflected by the number of related articles; in 2007
the number of articles that bear the phrase jumped to 15 from just three in 2006, reaching 296 in

1

Interviews in Sydney were a part of a bigger research project to compare young Japanese migrants in Canada andAustralia, funded by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Kakenhi) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science 2011-2014.

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2012. Keidanren, or Japan Business Federation (a federation of 1,300 major corporations) has
been the most visible advocate of GHR.
Despite the popularity of the term in society, the definition of GHR is elusive. It is defineddifferently in different contexts or by different speakers, and many use the term without defining
it. In the narrowest definition, GHR means “Japanese or foreign human resources (inheadquarters) that undertake the globalization of Japanese corporations and are actively engaged
in global business” (Keidanren 2011, 3; translation is mine). Initially, however, the term had atotally different meaning when it was used by Toyota in 1999 to describe its unique “Global
Personnel System (gurǀbaru jinji seido)”. Toyota divided its 110,000 workers around the world
into about 1,000 personnel of “Global Human Resource” and other “Local Human Resource”, toeducate the former, regardless of their countries of origin, as globally mobile future managers,
while others as local specialists (Nikkei Sangyǀ Shimbun, December 8, 1999, 12; October 6, 22).
In the following years NTT Docomo, Digital Media Network (Toshiba’s in-house company),
Kyocera, Ajinomoto, Canon and other major corporations introduced the term GHR and/or
personnel systems that enhance global-minded workers (Nikkei Sangyǀ Shimbun, September 22,
2000, 30; Nihon Keizai Shimbun, November 2, 2002, 9; Aug 4, 2003, 13; December 16, 2003, 5).
In other words, GHR meant, in its earlier stages, globally active company personnel that
employers develop in their own systems and efforts.
In the following years, however, GHR discourse was transformed in two ways. First, GHR
was combined with the criticism of young people. The most visible moment for this change wasin 2007, when a business college Sanno Institute of Management published its survey on 668
newly employed workers. It reported that about 30% of respondents answered that they would
refuse their employers’ order if asked to live and work overseas. The percentage was greater thanthose who were willing to follow the order; also the percentage was higher compared to the past
two survey results in 2001 and 2004 (Nikkei Sangyǀ Shimbun, August 10, 15).
Despite the survey’s relatively small number of respondents and the scarcity of past data forcomparison, mass media sensationally reported the data, criticizing “inbounded-ness” (uchimukishikǀ) of young people. Thereafter, the declining number of Japanese students studying overseas
was frequently problematized in mass media. Increasingly, universities became targets ofcriticism for insufficiently “globalizing” students.
Second, GHR discourse was adopted by the national governmental policy. In 2010, pushed
by the business sector, the Cabinet (of the Democratic Party of Japan, at that time) announced thedevelopment of GHR as a part of their new national growth strategy of “Strong Economy (tsuyoi
keizai)” (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, June 19, 2010, 4). After the Liberal and Democratic Party took
control in 2012, the GHR project has been maintained mostly by the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry(METI). GHR discourse as a national policy came to intensify the triangle tie among corporations,
national government and higher education. In 2011, for example, MEXT and METI initiated aseries of roundtables inviting 20 major corporations and 10 top-ranking universities to meet anddiscuss how to develop GHR (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, July 28, 2011, 42).
Two points should be noted here. First, although the term “young people” (wakamono)seems class-neutral, it is virtually exclusively educated young people that government andcorporations expect to be GHR; more exactly, it is students from high-ranking universities, a tiny
portion of all young people, that they are actually interested in, as attested by the invitees of theroundtable series mentioned above.
Second, although the term “university students” seems gender-neutral, it is virtually all
male students that are of foremost interest of the government and corporations. A governmental
79
document suggests its special concern and expectation on men: “The men-women ratio among
Japanese students studying overseas is 1 to 2, which accentuates the sluggishness of malestudents” (METI, 2011, 3). Corporations’ expectation is also covertly directed to elite malestudents. For instance, in a featured article titled “Be the GHR that corporations really seek!” in a
special issue of Ryǌgaku jƗnaru [Journal of overseas studies] for 2012-2013, seven panelists
representing major corporations in telecommunication, manufacturing, finance, heavy industry
and so forth are at the roundtable. They are middle-aged workers interested in developing GHR,
all of whom are men (and appear to be Japanese). Discussing what GHR is, they frequently say,“I/we want to work with a person like…” (Ryǌgaku JƗnaru-sha 2012, 44-47). Such a homosocial
environment covertly excludes not only non-privileged men but also women in general.
On top of elitism and male-centrism as mentioned above, GHR discourse unsurprisingly
also bears nationalism and corporate-centrism at its very base. Getting back to Keidanren’s 2011
definition of GHR, that is, “Japanese or foreign human resources (in headquarters) that undertake
the globalization of Japanese corporations and are actively engaged in global business,” onerealizes that “(in headquarters)” and “Japanese corporations” accentuate national borders while
workers’ nationality is claimed to be unimportant (“Japanese or foreign human resource”).
Nationalism is also hinted in abundant war metaphors in the locution of Governmental and
Keidanren’s documents such as “competition” (kyǀsǀ), “battle strategy” (senryaku), “between anation and a nation (kuni to kuni)” or “Japan as a unity” (ǀru Japan). Last, corporate-centrism isthe very essence of GHR as seen in the fact that it is always representatives of major
corporations, but rarely NPO workers, self-employed specialists or freelance artists, who discuss
what GHR is on mass media.
3. Gender and Age Groups of “Outbound” Young Japanese
Now let us turn our eyes to young Japanese. Are they really “inbound” as mass media and society
criticize? As earlier stated, to Canada alone, Japan has been sending nearly ten thousand Working
Holiday participants and students per year recently, and more than 100,000 Working Holiday
participants in total in the past. Another survey shows that in 2009, nearly 100,000 Japanese
students and Working Holiday participants went to various countries including the United States,
China, Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand, Germany and France, even though thenumber is said to be declining since 2004; in addition, there is supposed to be a bigger number ofJapanese students overseas studying for a short term without visas (Tomorrow, Inc. 2012, 3). The
question, therefore, is why these “outbound” young Japanese are out of sight of major
corporations and the government.
One good topic to explore is the Working Holiday program. Working Holiday is a youth
exchange program based on mutual agreement of two national governments. Originating within
British Commonwealth countries and spreading to rest of the world in the 1970s, the systemenables young nationals from one country to work in another country for a limited period (Japan
Association for Overseas Studies, 2013, 12-13). In the 1980s Japan initiated the program with
Australia (1981), New Zealand (1985) and Canada (1986); as of 2014 Japan has programagreements with twelve countries in total. Since 1986 Canada has been the second most popular
destination for Japanese Working Holiday participants, following Australia. In the case of
Canada-Japan, those who are aged between 18 and 30 are eligible to live in the other country for
up to two years, working or studying under certain conditions. Vancouver is assumedly the mostpopular city for the Japanese Working Holiday participants to live in, due to its accessibility fromJapan, mild weather, and abundant job opportunities and services given the Japanese community
there.
80
The most noteworthy characteristic about Working Holiday participants from Japan,
especially to Canada, is the dominance of women. A 2008 research on Working Holiday
returnees shows that 66.8% of 382 respondents are women, and Canada attracts the highest ratioof women from Japan, 75.7% (Japan Association for Working Holiday Makers, 2009, 4).
My own research on temporary residents including Working Holiday participants and nondegree students in Vancouver in the past 14 years attests to the same tendency [Graph 1]:
Graph1:GenderofIntervieweesin
Vancouver㸦N=133,collected2001Ͳ2014)

23%

Women(N=103)
Men(N=30)

77%Graph 1: Gender of Interviewees in Vancouver
The second characteristic to note is age. The 2008 survey on Working Holiday returnees
mentioned above indicates that among all respondents, those in their late 20s make more than two
thirds, and those who are 29 and above make a quarter (Japanese Association for Working
Holiday Makers, 2009, 5). Among my own research participants in Vancouver, too, the mostvisible age group is late 20s, followed by early 30s [Graph 2]:
Graph2:AgeGroupsofIntervieweesinVancouver㸦N=127,collected2001Ͳ2014㸧

2%
7%

7%

Under19(N=9)

20%
28%

20Ͳ24(N=25)
25Ͳ29(N=45)30Ͳ34(N=36)36%35Ͳ39(N=9)
40andup(N=3)

Graph 2: Age Groups of Interviewees in Vancouver
In general, women participants I interviewed are modestly educated and have several years’
work experience back home. Most of them have post-secondary education from occupational
school, two-year college or university. Their former occupations vary from office workers,81teachers to such practical occupations as hairdressers, caregivers or nurses. Although some werepart-time workers (including dispatched workers and contract workers), fulltime employees are
not rare. Some liked their jobs while others not, but in either case almost none expressed theirwish to return to the same job. Overwork, feelings of meaninglessness, feelings of job mismatch,or inability to have future vision “after 30 years old” are common motifs that appear in theirnarratives. The narratives are supposedly shadowed by so-called “Lost 20 years”, or the longterm economic recession in Japan from early 1990s to early 2010s, resulting in “the Ice Age of
Job Hunting” (shǌshoku hyǀgaki) that offered to new graduates a tight job market, job mismatch,and heavy workload to a limited number of fulltime employees.
Regardless of educational and occupational backgrounds, the women participants
commonly have long-term wishes to live overseas, learn English and/or work overseas, inspiredby their past homestay or travel experiences. For them, the age 30 is the borderline after which
any life’s adventure is too risky. “30” pushes their backs also because it is the maximum age inapplying for the Working Holiday program.
Overall, they seek “true” work or more fulfilling, matched, skilled jobs that they canidentify themselves with (for details, see Kato, 2009; 2010; 2013a). Although often vague, they
have wishes to get a job that enables them to use English, to live overseas, or to move around theglobe. Not many are willing to go home and work for a Japanese company, while some arewilling if the employer would send them overseas.
4. Why Outbound Women Are Overlooked: Gender and Class
It may be clear by now why outbound young Japanese described above are overlooked by GHR
advocates. First, from the beginning, the women have little chance to be employed by major
corporations, much less to be sent overseas, due to their gender and class (i.e., educational
background). This also means, however, that they are freer from nationalistic and corporatepressures. Second, as I call them “self-searching migrants” (Kato, 2010; 2013a), the women’s
motivation to live overseas is self-oriented, not corporate-oriented. In other words, they are not“loyal” enough to companies in the eyes of employers. Third, the women do not have a reason to
return home, but rather are potential emigrants. In other words, they are not “loyal” enough toJapan. In fact, some studies on Japanese communities in Canada and Australia argue that womendominant Working Holiday program facilitated the feminization of Japanese immigrants in thetwo countries (Kano Podolsky, 2007; Nagatomo, 2013). Feminization of Japanese emigrants is
assumedly a world-wide phenomenon; A survey by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates thatthe number of Japanese nationals, especially women, living overseas is almost constantly
increasing (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2013, 7). In all these terms, women, even if outbound, do
not satisfy Keidanren’s definition of GHR.
Outbound, globally mobile, but not-an-ideal-GHR is exemplified by Yoko in Vancouver.
She was interviewed five times between 2001 (when she was 27) to 2012 (38), during which her
status changed from a visa student to a permanent resident. A former preschool teacher, she quit
her job and came to Canada to learn English. She was first “stuck” with a marine sport as a hobby,
and later became its instructor on a work visa. After getting an immigrant status, she has worked
as a counsellor at a school information center in Vancouver and as a contract marine sport
instructor in a Caribbean Island. Back in Vancouver, she is now working as a contract interpreter
for a Japanese company, flying around the globe on frequent business trips. Yoko is now unsurein what occupation or in which country she will finally settle down.
Overseas experience may encourage women to pursue self-oriented life rather thancorporate-oriented life even after returning to Japan. Kayoko, 33, is now employed fulltime at a82translation company in Tokyo. Once a civil servant and engineer, she quit her job due toinhumane working conditions. Changing her motto from “For the country and people” to “Formyself”, she flew to the United Kingdom to realize her childhood dream of learning English there.
Later she studied translation in Vancouver.
Kayoko is thinking about leaving her current job to be a freelance or a dispatched worker inorder to secure private time. She says that her views on work and life were totally transformed byseeing the lifestyle of Japanese immigrants in Vancouver, who spent after-work hours forvolunteering or self-cultivation. “Their work-life balance is perfect. I was once thinking that justworking would contribute to society. But I was so impressed by them, that such a lifestyle waspossible.” Overall, Kayoko’s narrative indicates a shift of her interest from selfless working life
to self-oriented, self-fulfilling life in which work is only secondary.
5. Non-Privileged Men: Internalized Corporate Worker Model
Besides non-privileged women, other social groups, i.e., non-privileged men, privileged womenand privileged men, also fly overseas in search of a fulfilling life, even if fewer in numbers. What
are their views, then, on corporate-centric working life, and their relationship with GHR?
First, non-privileged men also seek life-work balance, but at the same time show somecomplex feelings towards the corporate worker model. Takahiro, 34, once dreamed of being
employed by a major company and sent to the United States by the company’s order. He hadlearned English in the United States five times during his student days, and was confident in his
adaptability to the foreign environment. In reality, however, he was rejected by 200 companies,
and was employed by a small trading company that sent him to Vancouver on a Working Holiday
visa at his own expense. “It was the worst time of ‘Ice Age’, and major trading companies wereso exclusive that they didn’t employ a person like me”, he says, implying that he is not from an
acclaimed university.
In a few months living in Vancouver, began to think about immigrating, because life in
Canada seemed “well balanced in work and life” and “comfortable”, unlike in Japan where he
had to endure “unpaid extra work, social pressures, and too crowded commutation trains”. He
struggled for five years before getting immigrant status. Asked why he wanted to immigrate thatmuch, he answered:
Takahiro: It’s easy to live in Canada. Also I was not content with my job [in Japan]… If I
was working for a wonderful company, I may have stayed in Japan.
Kato: What do you mean by “wonderful company”?
Takahiro: A company that would send me overseas…
Kato: If you were working at a company that pays you well but does not send you overseas,
would you have stayed in Japan?
Takahiro: I didn’t have that choice in the first place. Even if I had, I wouldn’t have taken it,
because I wanted to go overseas.
Takahiro’s case suggests that young men in general are likely to internalize the corporate
worker model as well as the belief that “Real men must be sent to overseas by company’s order.”Another two men whom I encountered in Sydney, Australia, would support this hypothesis.
Yohei, a 27-year-old Working Holiday participant, came to Sydney because he had a strong fear
about his future economic status as a hair dresser and a non-university graduate. After getting
work experience in Sydney, he wants to go home to get employed by a cosmetics company,
saying, “Next time I want to come overseas with my wife by the company’s order.” Asato, a 30
83
year-old former nurse, came to Sydney because he found his work not fulfilling. After studying atcollege, he wants to go home and get employed by a medical company, saying, “Then I may besent to overseas by the company’s order.” Yohei and Asato, although less privileged than
Takahiro in their educational background, yet have as strong adoration for corporate worker
model as Takahiro does, even though they all are unlikely to be targets of GHR discourse.
6. Privileged Women: Skepticism towards Corporate Worker Model
Next, privileged women also fly overseas for self-oriented reasons. However, unlike nonprivileged men, they tend to be distant or unattached to corporate worker model. Motoko, 28, inToronto was an economic major at university and worked for a stock exchange company after
graduation. Her life then was “like going for war every morning”, as she recalls. She was almoston the track for managerial positions. However, she found her work too demanding, seeing noallure in becoming “the first woman-something” in the company. She quit the job, reflected onwhat she really wanted to do, and came to Toronto to study English and interior designing.
Motoko’s distancing attitude towards corporate life is shared by Yoshino, 22, in Sydney
when she talks about GHR. Yoshino first came to Sydney as an exchange student from an
acclaimed university in Japan. When the exchange period ended, she took a leave from heruniversity and extended her stay with a Working Holiday visa to have work experience. When
asked if she knew GHR, she replied:
Yoshino: I have never been conscious about it. I don’t know its definition. If they
[corporations] are seeking people who are willing to go overseas, I guess I just fit thedefinition.
Kato: Keidanren also defines it as those who belong to headquarters in Japan. Don’t you
mind if you are asked to be very Japanese, like being polite in Japanese way?
Yoshino: I don’t mind following the tradition, because following the tradition and fearing
progress and changes are two different things. To me, more important is how many
foreigners and women they actually employ.
Not only distancing tone, one may also realize a tint of skepticism to male-dominant
corporate life in the two women’s narratives. Meanwhile, for GHR discourse advocates,
privileged women are gray-zone targets due to their being “privileged” and “not men”. Privileged
women and GHR discourse, therefore, will stay distant from each other; and outbound privileged
women, like non-privileged women, have every reason to be self-oriented migrants.
7. Privileged Men: Antithesis towards Corporate Worker Model
Last, privileged men, who are the core targets of GHR discourse, have least reasons to leave
homeland due to their very centrality as workers. Still, they can quit their job and fly overseas for
self-oriented reasons, even if few in numbers. Some of them clearly show antithetic or critical
attitudes to corporate life, while others show milder forms of disagreement or walkout.
Tatsuya, a 35-year-old sushi chef on a work visa in Vancouver, once worked at a major
electric appliance company in Japan. Recalling his younger days in job hunting, he says, “People
then were still employed life-long though it was the ‘Ice Age.’ I was too worrying about mystatus, thinking that I must get a decent job rather than pursuing what I want to do.” He worked
for 14 to 15 hours every day, and in the third year he was hospitalized for overwork, which gave
him “a chance to reflect on life.” He remembered Vancouver where he once stayed for a year as
an exchange student. His old dream of coming to Canada and having his own restaurant popped
84
up then. He quit his job, went to a culinary school, had an apprenticeship at a restaurant, andcame to Vancouver.
Naoaki, 46, in Vancouver also had initially dreamed of running his own company and living
overseas. He had worked at three different “listed companies” and twice studied in the UnitedStates, but he always had to work for 15 to 20 hours a day or work till midnight every day.
“Work-life balance is so bad in Japan,” he says. So he took the risk of quitting his job in his mid40s to immigrate to Canada.
Naoaki’s self-oriented behavior should have been confronted with the values that hiscolleagues and bosses had. Asked if he thinks Japanese men in general have a view that “Mengoing overseas [for self-oriented reasons] are dropouts,” Naoaki answered:
Yes, I think so. One reason why such a view exists is that those people in Japan are too
stereotypical in their thinking… Why do they stick to such stereotypes as “because he is aman,” “because she is a woman,” “because it’s overseas,” or “because it’s Japan”?...
Another reason is that they are simply jealous [of those who go overseas for self-oriented
reasons]. They must be not brave enough, and are jealous of others who do what theycannot do… Honestly, I came [to Canada] partly because I was sick and tired of suchpeople.
Meanwhile, the more recent interview data suggest that an increasing number of young
men walk out of corporate life without apparent criticism, but rather, as if it was a part of the flowof life. When I interviewed 5 Japanese temporary residents during my 6-day stay in Vancouver in
April 2014, all of the three male interviewees were between 29 and 33, university graduates, hadworked fulltime, two at major companies and one in a venture business. All are now working as
kitchen staff of Japanese restaurants, applying for or having attained immigrants’ status. One ofthem Shota, 29, is a recent immigrant. Back home he was working at a travel agency, but is now
ready to live in Canada as a chef of Japanese cuisine, as symbolized by his having purchased
professional knives. Shota was always interested in English, but took a long time before taking
action.
I had been long hesitating to step out of the normalized path. But at last I couldn’t suppress
myself … [I wondered] Do I stay in this company till I retire?... Before coming [toVancouver] I already had an intention to immigrate, and to work hard for that.
Asked if he feels any gap between his former “international” job and current job, Shota
sharply says, “No”, because “I can meet people from every country just by being here. It’s fun
to know so many things that I didn’t know.” It seems that for Shota, what environment he lives
in is much more important than what he does to make a living.
Yu, 33, has worked at a major electric company and later ran his own business in Japan. He
now wants to immigrate and initiate business in Canada, saying,
I worked without a rest for eight years after graduating [from university], so I had every
reason to have a break… I like Canada and I don’t have any reason to return to Japan.
When asked if he hesitates to work in a kitchen, he replied,

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I’m a kind of person who always likes challenges… I have no wish to go back to Japan. I
have finished my life stage in Japan; and life is only once. I’d like to do something different
in the next stage… [When working in sales at a company] I have done what I didn’t want to
do. It was tough, although I am happy that I have done it.
The above episodes suggest that an increasing number of young Japanese men are lessbound by corporate life or homeland. Interestingly, during my stay in Sydney two months before
the above fieldwork in Vancouver, 11 out of 16 participants interviewed were men, of which six
were in their 30s. Among the six, two already had immigrant status, another two had a strong
interest in immigrating, and the other two were less determined but thinking about the possibilityof living overseas. Such frequent encounters with male (potential) immigrants in their 30s in a
two-week period of fieldwork never happened in the past 14 years of research.
When asked about GHR, some male participants agreed with the national policy. On theother hand, four university graduates gave critical comments, for example, “Making a fuss about
GHR itself shows that Japan is not globalized,” “I have heard the term GHR, but I think it’s
nothing special,” “I failed in job hunting [in Japan] because I was skeptical about GHR as
corporate people told,” and so forth. Apparently, not only the corporate worker model but also
GHR discourses are failing to appeal to some outbound, educated men.
8. Conclusion
Flying overseas in search of fulfilling life is essentially a self-oriented act. It has long been
dominated by non-privileged women, who are never targets of GHR discourse, and the women
are joined by other social groups. Ironically enough, these outbound people do not satisfy thedefinition of GHR either due to their non-elite background, gender, or their skepticism or
criticism towards the corporate worker model.
Noteworthy here is relatively privileged men’s attitudes towards corporate life. Past studies
have argued that a strong tie between corporations and masculinity, especially of the “salary man,”is a Japanese cultural phenomenon (e.g. Kinmonth, 1981). Though the view was later examinedor questioned (e.g. Dasgupta, 2003; 2013; Napier, 2011), the tie prevails in mainstream discourse
today, albeit with a more elitist and globalist tone than in the time of Japan’s great economic
growth (Kato, 2013b). GHR discourse is, in a sense, a new version of this old and familiar model.
My own interview experiences suggest, however, that the corporate worker model does nothave coercive power on men of younger generations as it once did. Even if the model offers acertain ideal (or ideology) to less privileged men, men who have actually worked for “good”
companies are feeling less obliged to be loyal to the organizations or to the country than decadesago. This means that young educated men are being “feminized” in terms of their increasing selforiented-ness. If so, the tendency of outbound-ness among them is a different kind from what
GHR discourse promotes; rather, it may be confronted with it.
My own hope is that those who stay overseas and those who return to Japan will both create
and expand their own public sphere that defies a governmental and corporate agenda. By sodoing, a variety of lifestyles other than working for a company and/or living in Japan will be
added to what it means to be Japanese; and the change will actually globalize Japan.
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan (2013) Kaigai zairyǌ hǀjinsǌ chǀsa tǀkei (Annual report ofstatistics on Japanese nationals overseas), Tokyo, MOFA.
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan (2011) Gurǀbaru jinzai ikusei suishin kaigi
chǌkan matome (Interim report: the board of promoting global human resource87development), http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/economy/jinzai/san.../sanko1-1.pdf, accessed
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Japanese society: lifestyle migration to Australia). Tokyo, Siaryǌsha.
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Japanese Men, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 154-176.
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kanzen gaido (Journal of overseas studies special issue 2012-2013: perfect guide ofoverseas universities and graduate schools), Tokyo, Ryǌgaku jƗnaru-sha.
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2015.

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Gender and Disability in Canadian Workplaces: Lived Experiences,
Diversity Practices, and Cultural Shifts
Susan S. Lee
University of Toronto
Abstract
Identities of gender and disability can provoke questions of exclusion and inclusion in
workplaces. In particular, disabled Canadians who are underrepresented in the workforce areexperiencing underemployment in the form of underutilized skills or unmet potential in the job
market. This paper will reveal the current status and cultural shifts in employment equity, andbegin to answer related questions: 1) What is underemployment in and through the lives of
disabled women? 2) How can underemployment be addressed at the organizational level? 3)
What are the promising practices which aim to advance employment equity? 4) What are thesignificant employment equity changes and gaps? Narratives of disability and underemployment
can relay insights and emotions to alert employers, policy makers and the public to the direconcerns for disabled persons. Drawing from the narratives and diversity practices from Canadian
employers, promising strategies will be offered to reduce structural, environmental and attitudinalbarriers to employment equity. Finally, cultural shifts in employment equity will be examined inrelation to the broader context of workplaces across Canada. An understanding of the Canadian
workplace can open a dialogue for international comparative analysis of challenges, practices,
policies and legislation on gender and disability inequalities.
Keywords: disability, gender, employment equity, workplaces
1. Introduction
Identities of gender and disability can provoke questions of exclusion and inclusion in
workplaces. In particular, disabled Canadians who are underrepresented in the workforce areexperiencing underemployment in the form of underutilized skills or unmet potential in the job
market. This paper will reveal the current status and cultural shifts in employment equity, andbegin to answer related questions: 1) What is underemployment in and through the lives of
disabled women? 2) How can underemployment be addressed at the organizational level? 3)
What are the promising practices which aim to advance employment equity? 4) What are thesignificant employment equity changes and gaps? First, narratives of disability andunderemployment can relay insights and emotions to alert employers, policy makers and the
public to the dire concerns for disabled persons. Second, drawing from the narratives anddiversity practices from Canadian employers, promising strategies will be offered to reduce
structural, environmental and attitudinal barriers to employment equity. Finally, cultural shifts in
employment equity will be examined in relation to the broader context of workplaces acrossCanada. An understanding of the Canadian workplace can open a dialogue for international
comparative analysis of challenges, practices, policies and legislation on gender and disability
inequalities.
2. Canadian Context
The Canadian workplace depicts environments that have excluded and/ or limited the career pathsof women and disabled persons from the labour market. In the Canadian federal sector, disabled
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persons were employed at a rate of 2.6% while workforce availability was 4.9% (Agocs, 2014).
Nearly 50% of disabled persons are underemployed (Canada, 2009). Disabled women areconcentrated in the clerical work category (Agocs, 2014). Disabled women are more likely thanmen to be without work for the entire year (Canada, 2009). Disabled women earned
approximately $11,000 less than disabled men (Canada, 2009). With these prevalent employment
inequities, there is a need to investigate the lived experiences and cultural practices which can
reduce or remove barriers to employment equity.
3. Theoretical Frameworks
I will now turn to the conceptual frameworks that were used in this research study: the social
model of disability and feminist disability theory. The social model of disability (Oliver, 1996;
UPIAS, 1976) states that disability is a social phenomenon which includes social, political,
cultural and architectural barriers that marginalize persons with impairments. The social model ofdisability provides a framework to understand the location of disability and disabilities, andreveals the problems found in society. While the social model identifies “what is disability?” and“what are the barriers?” it is limited in working through the processes to dismantle the hegemonic
understanding of disability as an individual condition which can be solved by the individual. In
an alignment with the social model of disability, this paper will use the phrase “disabled persons”
rather than “persons with disabilities” to refer to disabling social factors which pose barriers toindividuals in their everyday encounters, with the exception when the Employment Equity Act
refers to one of the designated groups as “persons with disabilities.”
Along with the social model of disability, feminist disability theory offered by Rosemarie
Garland-Thomson can provide a companion framework in theorizing about the intersectionalities
of gender and disability, underemployment and social change. The feminist disability theory
takes into account the lived experiences based on social identities – be that gender, disability, or
the intersection of gender and disability, and additional embodied differences. The next section
investigates the lived experiences of disabled women using both theoretical frameworks.
4. Researching Lived Experiences
To investigate the first research question “What is underemployment in and through the lives of
disabled women?” there needs to be an understanding of what underemployment means.
Following an interpretive textual analysis (Smith, 1999; Titchkosky, 2007) of interviews amongst
14 disabled individuals who identified having one or more physical disabilities, themes emerged
from their responses to offer the development of a working definition of underemployment:
The underutilized skills and knowledge of the employed and the unemployed, and is often
accompanied by the lack of opportunities for recognition, compensation, promotion,accommodations and career fulfillment, in relation to structures, environments and attitudes
of exclusion which lead to negative consequences for people’s mental, physical, emotionaland social health. (Lee, 2013a)
This emergent definition is supported by the narratives that will be highlighted in this paper.
Narratives or stories provide testimony as the interviewees witness and provide their lived
experiences of underemployment. Patsy, for example holds a PhD in education, is a university
lecturer and is a line cook. She needs to juggle multiple part-time jobs to earn enough for herbasic needs of food and shelter, and has opted not to receive disability benefits. Patsy tells us:
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I’m being paid very little for doing an enormous amount of work, or that the work that I’mdoing, or I’m not allowed to progress in any ways. Like I’m not being acknowledged forwhat I’m doing or paid for what I’m doing. So for example, working for the Women’s
Program Centre I’m doing an inordinate amount of work for virtually no money, andsimilarly at the university.
Underemployment results in marginalized identities, lost opportunities, limited incomes,
and wasted energies. Often when a person identifies with a physical disability, there is a negative
attitude from employers as to what might the extra accommodations might be required, and what
are the added expenses. When disability is a rarity in the workplace, a single disabled employee
may feel that she is the token hire to represent disability in the workplace. A single representative
often does not have the voice or critical mass to feel included within a work environment.
Lost opportunities can be a result of contract work, part-time work, precarious work,over-qualifications, limited job responsibilities, lack of mobility, limited promotions, andworking in fields outside of their own training. Limited incomes can result from insufficient
work hours per week, low wages, lack of accommodations, low wages, lack of accommodations,living in poverty, inability to meet basic needs (i.e. food, clothing, shelter), lack of financial
investments, and lack of retirement funds. Wasted energies can arise from constant education ofsupervisors and colleagues regarding accommodations, negotiating accommodations, working
with lack of or minimal accommodations (Lee, 2013b).
4.1 Health Impact
Full employment can result when skills and abilities are matched with opportunities.
Unfortunately, unmatched skills and abilities as in the cases of underemployment can have anegative impact on the four dimensions of health. The following quotes from the interviewees
offer insights into the physical, mental emotional and social dimensions of health:Part of the medical diagnosis is physical stress on the muscle will cause it to deteriorate at afaster rate and I knew that, so I was actually taking on a workload that I knew ultimately if
I continued, would cause my disease to progress more rapidly. (Anita, former teacher)
I think it’s affected my mental health at different times in my life, feeling that my potential
is untapped, and that I am not a regular functioning member of society is something thatcan eat away at you mentally. (Mary, RMT, server, copy editor, transcriber)
You feel less of a person because not only are you disabled, now you are underemployed
and feel unemployable….The biggest concern of all is that the money that was supposed to
go into investment for my old age that would the care that I may need is pretty much gone.
(Larissa, writer and consultant)
We are oppressed because we cannot network. We are oppressed because people do notunderstand. The attitudes are really towards persons with disabilities. We areunderemployed, and they are not changing in a hurry. (Remi, university researcher)
The narratives from lived experiences convey insights and trigger emotions that canpersuade the need for change. In their demands for social justice, as expressed by theinterviewees, there is much to correct within places of employment. This next section will reveal
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recommendations from the respondents to the second research question: How canunderemployment be addressed at the organizational level? The recommended actions from theinterviewees have been organized into a framework which addresses the three main barriers –structural, environmental and attitudinal -- and their respective components (French, 2001). The
recommended ways to resist underemployment are: structural actions which include legislationand incentives; environmental actions which include accessible transportation, environments andergonomics; and attitudinal actions which can be enhanced through human resources recruitment,
organizational training, accommodations, networking, support groups, allies, and media
representations. These recommendations are not offered as an exhaustive list, but act as an
opening for organizations to think about, rally around and act upon to enhance accessibility. I
will now begin to outline the details of these recommendations, starting with structural barriers
and actions.
4.2 Actions Against Structural Barriers
Structural barriers exist despite the existence of accessibility legislation which is intended toaddress the needs of disabled persons. Employment for many disabled persons has been in theform of job placements whereby minimal skills are required. Since the late 1970s through thelegislation of the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) (Ontario, 2012), disabled persons have
had the right to work. More recently, the provincial government of Ontario passed theAccessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) in 2005 with the aim of “developing,
implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians
with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment,
buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025” (OMCSS, 2015a). The
employment standards, filed in June 2011, have been developed alongside the information andcommunication, and transportation ones to now form the “Integrated Accessibility Standards
Regulation” (IASR) (OMCSS, 2015b). Most of the interviewees for this research study have notfelt the positive impact of the passage of this new legislation as more employers are becoming
aware of the recent standards. However, the opinions of the interviewees can shed some light on
the future success of the new legislation. Michelle, who is a social worker, shared her doubtful
sentiments about the new legislation:
If you want these to be effective you cannot write it on a piece of paper for people to knowwhat to do with them. You need public education so people can understand why there arethese standards. Changing perspectives on how Ontario thinks about disability. I don’t
think that we are there yet.
Consequently, legislation can state the legal standards but more public education is requiredfor compliance to these new laws to be realized. The general public needs to understand thebenefits and the actions which need to be taken to transform visions into reality. Each standard
must be translated through public education so that realistic plans can be developed andimplemented at the organizational level in accordance to the legal requirements. Accessibility
audits by representatives from disability organizations can support compliance (WHO, 2011).
Public education can be paid for by the government and disseminated through different modes ofcommunication such as radio, television, billboards and websites. Legislation can be a catalyst
for the discussions, education and actions, but it will take the collective efforts of disabled andnon-disabled individuals to begin to make changes at the personal, organizational and social
levels. These collective efforts can potentially build momentum from the personal levels of92
disabled persons and allies to influence practices and policies at the organizational level, which
may in turn influence the broader society in terms of awareness, perspectives and actions.
Legislation necessitates compliance, and can result in penalty fees for non-adherence to thestandards. However, another way to actualize change can address actions towards greateraccommodation and can be rewarded in the form of external motivators. Remi, a research fellow,
suggests that the government provide an incentive for organizations to subsidize part of the salaryof a disabled person. This payment would allow time for the employer to orient the employee tothe workplace, while the new staff person would also have an extended period to adjust andascertain the appropriate accommodations. This longer adjustment time frame is also
recommended to address probation periods that are often only three months in length. Thus, alonger probation period can provide additional time for a new employee to become oriented andaccommodated to the workplace. In addition to these incentives, Remi suggests that employers
can be given recognition, whether through an article in print or online format.
In the world of business, people would want to compete. Put the article in the paper, in oneof the business papers. Set up a Facebook site for those who do a good job, twitter, there
are so many social things for people who want to keep on top and compete.
Recognition, in the form of an organizational award or press release, can be a strong
motivator to initiate a change cycle. The good will that can be generated from these initiatives
may distinguish an organization or corporation as a socially responsible leader in its field. The
actual changes can also showcase the organization to be a role model for others to follow andimplement in their own settings, new ways for providing accommodations and realizing inclusion.
4.3 Actions Against Environmental Barriers
The environment can pose barriers to employment if individuals are not able to travel to theirwork places or are limited once they arrive in their work contexts. The interviewees Margaret,
Anne and Remi revealed their concerns and actions regarding transportation and the built
environment. Accessible transportation is a necessary factor in the removal of barriers to
employment. Employees need to find accessible and efficient transportation to be able to get toand from work on time. Margaret, who is a teacher and accessible design consultant, criticizes thetransportation system as a barrier to employment and a factor in underemployment. Margaret isdependent on public transportation. Despite the pre-arrangements that she makes, reliability is an
issue for accessible transportation for her. She reveals how important a timely arrival anddeparture of the accessible transportation is for her job when she does substitute teaching, butalso the traumatic consequences of the absence of a scheduled ride. As a result of her lateness,she could lose her teaching certificate. Margaret emphasizes the impact of an absent ride: “Whatactually happens, once or twice I had to stay in the school building or sleep in the park across thestreet. Is that any way for a teacher to live?” From the financial impact of having to pay for awheelchair cab to the survival issue of having to sleep outside in the cold winter, Margaret’s
confidence in her local transportation system is low.
The additional work of getting to workplaces needs to be addressed. Public transportation
systems need to be reviewed. New policies and procedures need to be implemented and evaluatedas to their success to ensure that the travel requirements of disabled persons are being met.
During the revision for more reliable accessible transportation systems, representation of thetargeted users must be a part of the consultation and deliberation processes to ensure that theirneeds are being met. The mere existence of an accessible transportation system may not be93aligned with the clients’ needs and expectations. Service standards, policies and procedures canimprove the availability and reliability of accessible transportation systems to reduce the workthat disabled persons have to do even before they get to their actual workplaces for paid
employment.
Organizations need to have accessible entrances, washrooms, parking areas, andworkspaces to provide the opportunities for a more inclusive work environment. Within Ontario,
the built environment must adhere to the accessibility standards that are itemized within the
AODA and the Ontario Building Code. However, while there are building standards, they arealso code minimums. For example, the code minimum for doors is 90 cm (36 inches), but inMargaret’s case, when she uses her motorized wheelchair she needs a 110 cm (44 inches) door
and not a 90 cm (36 inches) door to access her place of work. Margaret says,
They meet all the codes and yet not be accessible. These are huge barriers to employment.
You can have a building that is wheel chair accessible, but then half of the people cannot
access it. And yet, it is legally accessible in the eyes of the law.
The limitations of the building codes can be disputed with the OHRC that can require
accommodations for mid-sized wheelchairs. The built environment needs to be considered even
before workplace related legislation takes place; it begins during the discussion of newaccessibility acts.
Even when there were public forums before the passage of the legislation on the AODA,
there needed to be a greater awareness for accessibility. Anne, who is a retired high school andcooperative education teacher, said that as part of her advocacy work she started her speech in the
public forum on the AODA with the following passage:
I would just like you to, before I begin I would just like you to acknowledge/recognize that
there are very few people here today with visible disabilities. There are a few people withelectric wheelchairs and scooters. And they’re in the next room, by the way which is
inaccessible, but that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of interest. They couldn’t make it today
because it was just too hard logistically to get dressed, to eat, to physically come, and thento worry about…
As her voice trails off, she is referring to accessibility and the inaccessibility of the spaces
for this public forum that was intended to focus on accessibility legislation. Interested membersof the general public were forced to listen and participate from a distance, in another room, due tothe inaccessible spaces. Interested participants were also away due to the extra physical work that
accompanies disabled persons who desire to travel to places. For this particular meeting, Anne
had enquired about accessible parking prior to the meeting and when she arrived, there was not
one available. The accessible entrance was located to the rear of the main entrance. As part ofaccessible event planning, the administrators of the event needed to plan ahead for moreaccessible parking and locate a space which was accessible for all. Anne was asked to stand up aspart of the regular protocol for the opening of the public forum, but due to her muscular
dystrophy she was not able to. She purposely used her scooter as a symbol of her impairment andin her representation of the muscular dystrophy community. Even when disability is the focused
topic of conversation, actions for accommodations are deemed lacking for this specific publicforum on the AODA, and once again, is indicative of the lack of awareness amongst non-disabledindividuals in everyday reality.
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In further thinking about the built environment, ergonomics of the workplace need to beconsidered. Remi, who is a research fellow, tells us:
Every disability should have an ergonomic consultant to assess the work station. Every
office is different. That can be part of the training and the accommodations. The employer
does not want to work on this. There needs to be some assistance with accommodations forthe initial accommodations. It could be part of the accommodations. Every couple of years
it should be assessed again.
Part of the ergonomic assessment would include a review of the adaptive technology
required for computer and phone work, access to entrances and washrooms, and location of theoffice. For example, Anne, who was the high school and cooperative teacher, was addressing
strategies to cope with her health condition, negotiating for accommodations, learning about her
legal rights, and proposing recommendations to keep herself fully employed. The physicaldemands of the cooperative education and the proximity of its office to the necessary amenities
such as washrooms and photocopiers would have eased the physical demands on her body. She
knew, for example, that she had to travel 150 steps from her classroom, whereas the office forcooperative education would be next door to the photocopier. The ergonomic consultation, thus,
is a dialogue on needs assessments and accommodation strategies between the employee andemployer, with the potential aid of an ergonomic consultant who is also versed in adaptive
technology, accessible workstations, and inclusive work sites.
4.4 Actions Against Attitudinal Barriers
The interviewees encountered barriers at different stages of employment such as interviewing forjobs, juggling multiple jobs, and trying to retain steady employment. They encountered negative
attitudes from potential and current employers, resulting in unemployment or underemployment
in all the circumstances. In thinking about possible changes, Larissa, who is a writer andconsultant, is emphatic about the need for equity:
When people are talking about equity and awareness, the very first thing that needs tochange, and I don’t know how you do this, is to get people to understand that there is a realhuman being in here. I don’t see but I more than understand the world. I take the time to.
By the time you get reading all the stuff that I have, I have a good grip about what’s
happening in the world. I made it my business to do that. And so don't underestimate myability, and you know to talk to me as an equal.
The attitudes of society need to change to be more understanding and respectful as a movetowards treating disabled persons as equals and to support human rights. Larissa emphasizes that“there is a real human being in here.” She gives cues on how to achieve this. She takes time toread the world, and so in turn, society also needs to take the time to read and understanddisability. In reading disability, using the social model of disability, this would translate into
noticing barriers that are imposed by society onto disabled persons with impairments. Supporting
human rights would result in not only noticing but actively removing the barriers found in society.
Thus, to be able to shift the cultural paradigm from one which favours ability to one thatrecognizes that disability is a social phenomenon requires understanding, time and activism.
Respect for diversity is a fundamental value in the move towards a greater understanding of
human differences. Larissa shares her opinions from the perspective of blindness:
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So I think blind people need to be in my stream of thinking in terms of understanding,
without overemphasizing the limitations. We do have limitations. So all we are asking foris an equal playing field. I would like to have that expressed. It’s the playing field thatneeds to be equal. No two people are equal, whether they can see or not. You may havedark hair and I have light hair. That does not mean that you are worth more and that I am
worth less. It just means that we are different.
As Larissa acknowledges, there will be limitations that will be encountered both in workand social contexts. However, if we are committed to equity in attitude, we also need the diligent
practice for accommodations to level the playing field of work. This fairness in the field of work
returns us to the acknowledgement of difference, and when there is difference, disabledindividuals have the right to accommodations according to the prevailing legislations of theCanadian Charter of Rights, the OHRC and the AODA, whether it is in the form of adaptive
technology, flexible work hours, and/or accessible parking spaces. Being able to pursue a
fulfilling career with competitive pay can go a long way in addressing the physical, mental,
emotional and social health of disabled persons, and provide movement towards employment
equity and a reduction in underemployment.
Employers or employee groups who are recruiting potential candidates for a job opening
need to think through and plan for accessible interview sessions and workplaces. Recruitment
begins with the promotion of career opportunities within an organization. For an employer toshare their value on diverse employees, they can express this through promotional avenues suchas websites or brochures. Both the text and images need to relay diversity amongst the employees
and a commitment to inclusion. The job descriptions need to include a statement on employment
diversity and equity. A statement on accommodations can be included in both the job description
and the call for an interview. Whether a person needs the accommodations or not, this statement
signals the possibility of an accessible and inclusive culture in the workplace. If these practices
are in place, the hiring committee needs to then expect applicants and interviewees from thevarious candidate pools, including the disability community.
In reflecting on a more inclusive model, Patsy, who is a line cook and university instructor,
emphasizes that, “Until we change the work paradigm in this culture, it’s always going to run
counter to people with disabilities.” To support a cultural shift, a number of the interviewees
suggested that training be made available for the employers and employees within an
organization. Awareness training may focus on the abilities of disabled individuals, the rights ofdisabled individuals according to the various legislative acts, the multitude of accommodations
that are available, and the issue of attitudes as a major barrier within workplaces. Disability
awareness training can address the social barriers of attitudes which can stem from fear orassumptions about disabled persons, and begin a discussion on the social model of disability.
Similarly, Shier et al. (2009) found that awareness programs about the barriers and experiences of
disabled employees can reduce the stigma, discrimination and labeling which results inunderemployment. Such training can also provide the forum to initiate the dialogue and open up
the space for change in the various stages of employment: recruitment, retention, and promotion.
Employers need to be aware of the rights for accommodations according to the human rights
legislation. While adherence to legislation can provide a minimum level of change, it is acommitment to equity which can compel and inspire paradigm shifts which address human rights
to move beyond acceptable standards according to the dominant culture. The change needs to be

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above and beyond the minimum standards, and be acceptable to the individuals who embody
difference and desire to enter the workplace.
Under the OHRC, employers have a “duty to accommodate.” Each accommodation needs
to be specific to the employee for effective work practices, and to reduce wasting funds on
inappropriate purchases. Sometimes, administrators may just purchase some adaptive item which
they believe to be the right accommodation without consulting with the employee. Thus, theemployee and employer need to have a detailed discussion on accommodations as to what would
work best for the individual and the job responsibilities. Suitable accommodations, as in the caseof Mable, who is a former nurse and current dance and fitness instructor, allowed her to have awriter to take notes to support her work as a dance instructor when she evaluated her students.
When she was artistic director of a theatre company, she told them what she needed to support
her work and they accommodated her needs: “I’ll be on your board, but you need to.... I need asidekick slash secretary person. So I always got it. I doubled up with somebody.” Similarly, bothRemi and Rachel worked well in their respective roles as researcher and receptionist once theyacquired screen readers for their computer related responsibilities. Unfortunately, not all
employers are aware of their duty to accommodate. If they did know, then individuals would not
feel that they were asking a favour of their supervisor, as evidenced in Margaret’s case:
How many times will you ask your boss for a favour? How many times will you want todisturb the resource? Why would something so important reside in the individual? I did notwant to rock the boat. I was hurting myself by not asking. In that corporate culture, you
should not disrespect the employer. You do not want to rock the boat or make waves.
Margaret’s sentiments are aligned with the social model of disability when she says, “Whywould something so important reside in the individual?” Rather than making the accommodations
request an individual matter, the onus then is on the organization to comply with accessibility
legislation and demonstrate best practices to address the accommodation needs of a new
employee. When left to the individual, accommodation becomes an individualized discussion
with an immediate supervisor. When it is an individual matter, the adherence to accessibility
legislation and equitable practices may not transfer from one supervisor to another, if their values
differ with respect to employment equity. In contrast, accommodations need to reside as
legislation, policies and procedures that are followed throughout an organization to be effective.
Sometimes, although employers want to accommodate, they do not address theaccommodations effectively to meet the needs of the individuals. Larissa shares her experiences:
The biggest problem in the workplace is that employers are looking for a standard. What is
the standard for a blind person? They’ll look it up in a book. They will look up that thisperson needs a large print screen and yellow edges on the desk. She’s going to need allthings related to visual cues. Those accommodations do not mean anything to me. All thosevisual cues are meaningless to me. I need all things in braille and voice. My needs aredifferent. You can contrast all you want, but it’s not going to help me.
Taking time to learn about the needs for accommodations is crucial in the effective decision
making for the purchase of adaptive devices and/or design of ergonomic workstations. If it is anincorrect purchase of an adaptive device, it becomes a useless expense for the employer and theemployee. Furthermore, the employee would still not have the adaptive device to do his or her
job in the most productive manner. Larissa emphasizes that the wrong decision “costs all of us. I97either can’t do the job or there’s too much stuff on my desk. Either way I feel bad.” The issue is
not a personal one since it is the duty of the employer to accommodate. However, because of thelack of knowledge the employee may need to bear the brunt of ineffective decisions.
Many of the interviewees commented on the lack of networking and support groups in thefield. In her place of work at a university, Remi, who is a research fellow, says,
I miss a lot of networking opportunities. I often miss information because I don’t always
get access to the information. Because of my disability, you can’t read posters and signs,
and don’t know when events are. I may not be on lists. It’s not easy for me to checkwebsites every day to see what’s happening. That’s a big problem – access to information.
It affects the job hunting skills. And the networking. You need to develop allies to get
promoted for the workplace. You need people to support you. You need information. You
need to get connected to others.
Remi laments the lack of networking opportunities. Much of it is due to the social attitudes
about disability, but she is also experiencing intersections of disability with gender, race and age
which complicates the situation of being alone in the workplace despite working amongst a groupof researchers. In relation to the experiences for persons with blindness or low vision, the lack ofsocial inclusion can be attributed to some barriers which include a failure to recognize coworkers, an inability to obtain food and drink without assistance, difficulty in eating while
managing guide dogs, the need to rely on colleagues to navigate within social settings, and travel
to and from such work functions (Naraine & Lindsay, 2011). Networking not only serves thesocial needs of employees, but it is also critical for career mobility. In her work context, Remilacks access to both of these benefits found in networking and inclusive work practices.
Margaret, who is a special education teacher and accessible design consultant, relays her
thoughts about her blind friend who does not have the advantages of a social network at work.
I have a computer techy [blind] friend, and he says he is the “mole in the building.” They
can be in a cubicle, a forgiving environment. It was a self-described description. That’s
how they perceive other people seeing them. But what if you are more exposed to the
public?
Hidden away, but still working in a cubicle is neither conducive to work teamcollaborations nor to job promotions, especially if one is seen by colleagues and perceived byoneself to be a “mole in the building.” The word “public” is not to be ignored in this passage,
since this conjures the greater potential for social interaction. “What if” there was a greater
exposure to disability by the public? The presence of disability can go a long way in disrupting
how an organization is perceived both internally and externally. Difference can then be thefrontier upon which an organization can build its diversity platform as an employer of choice, aplace where people will choose to work and do service with.
The work relations need to also change by valuing different perspectives during work teamcollaborations, and providing networking opportunities by inviting disabled colleagues to social
functions. Rather than leaving the work practice to individual networking, the organizational
culture can start to think more about collaborations. Concerted efforts can be made to create work
teams or working committees. Each employee needs to feel that he or she is part of the workcommunity. Potentially, this can be a buddy or mentor at work, and can extend to include social
events with work colleagues. These initiatives can be the catalysts for change towards a more
98respectful and inclusive society which embraces human rights and equity for all. To realize sucha change, each employee of an organization must make an effort and commitment on how his or
her individual effort towards equity and inclusion can support an organization’s ability toembrace disabled people who can provide valued skills and different perspectives within theworkplace. Patsy, who is a line cook and university lecturer, supports having allies, and says: “I
think one of the strengths too is people who are able-bodied or in positions where they’re able tospeak in solidarity with the disability community.” Attitudes can also begin to change throughadvocacy by allies who are members of a leadership team of an organization. They will be
instrumental in embedding the values of equity, diversity and inclusion in the organizational
mission or mandate, and developing key roles to realize these values. Allies within an
organization add to the capacity building efforts to support the planning, development andimplementation of new equity ideas towards greater inclusion.
To increase the public understanding of disability and its associated barriers, research needs
to continue to investigate the impact of social barriers including environmental and attitudinalbarriers, the quality of life and well-being of disabled persons, and the effective interventions toenhance inclusion in various contexts (WHO, 2011). Research on these social issues needs toinclude disabled persons as researchers and research participants, especially when suchengagement broadens the opportunity for epistemic and ethical knowledge on a particular topic ofdiscourse (Garland-Thomson, 2012). Dedicated disability research centres associated with
universities have been critical to knowledge production and dissemination, which have included
collecting and analyzing the lived experiences of disabled persons; investigating the roles andresponsibilities of the public, private, social economy and family and friends; and researching thework integration of persons with mental health conditions (Prince, 2009). The follow-up toresearch findings is knowledge dissemination. While the findings of research is often limited to
discipline specific journals and conferences, knowledge dissemination in support of disability
activism needs to aim to reach the disability community to support engagement and change. The
disability community which can consist of service agencies, special interest groups, researchers,
disabled persons and allies can then use their respective networks and communication tools towork towards the common goals and actions to address underemployment.
5. Promising Practices
This paper began with original research that contributed to multiple ways of addressing barriers
to full employment for disabled persons who choose to work. To place this research within thecontext of Canadian employment and equity practices, I will now turn to the current legislationand the secondary data of a 2015 survey on employers who champion and practise diversity in
the Canadian workplace. This next section will then investigate the research question: What are
the promising practices which aim to advance employment equity?
While the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) is the legal
document which enshrines the rights of diverse populations as stated in section 15 on equality
rights:15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal
protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without
discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental
or physical disability.

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A need arose to investigate the actualization of social justice and equity within workplaces.
Following the Abella Royal Commission lead by Justice Rosalie Abella, the Equality in
Employment: A Royal Commission Report which was also known as The Abella Report (1984)
outlined seven principles of employment equity: “1) Inequity is a systemic condition, 2) Equality
involves sometimes treating people the same despite their differences, and sometimes
accommodating their differences to overcome barriers, 3) Four designated groups: women,
visible minorities, persons with disabilities, Aboriginal peoples, 4) For visible minorities, address
racism, 5) Addressing pre-employment conditions and overcoming barriers in the workplace, 6)
Equity will not be achieved without enforcement, and 7) Education & training” (Agocs, 2014, p.
52), The Abella Report informed the development and legislation of the Employment Equity Act(1986) which identified and defined the designated groups to be: women, Aboriginal peoples,
persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities.
In a retrospective review of the long-term impact of the Employment Equity Act and theAbella Report, Agocs (2014) has outlined a Canadian model for employment equity withorganizations which: demonstrate top management commitment to equity, conduct census to
identify representation of designated groups, compare representation to workforce availability,
report workforce data to federal government, set goals and timetables for improving
representation, adopt special measures and positive policies to remove barriers, consult with
unions, and cooperate with periodic government audits (p. 5). As employment equity legislation
approaches its 30th anniversary in Canada, this next section highlights diversity practices which
aim to increase inclusion in a wide variety of workplaces.
In a recent survey of the Best Diversity Employers in Canada conducted by Mediacorp andthe Globe & Mail (2015), there were many features of diversity practices to recruit and retain
employees from the designated groups. This survey was based on the self-reporting of 65
companies with employee sizes that ranged from 1,109 for a law firm to 61,672 persons for the
Ontario Public Services. The workforce ranged from 13% - 87% for female employees 13%-87%,
and from 12%-86% for female managers.
Table 6. Demographics of Employees and Managers in Canadian Workplaces
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
Women

30.0%

Men

20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Percentage of employees

Percentage of employees

Percentage of managers

Percentage of managers

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Women
Men

51.6%
48.4%

44.3%
56.2%

The survey highlighted the best diversity practices amongst different employment sectors,
including government, education, energy, communications, finance, entertainment, technology,
and legal. Workplace practices which addressed diversity and the intersectionality of social
identities included: appointment of senior diversity and equity roles, creation of diversity
executive councils and committees, development of diversity action plans, publication ofquarterly and annual reports on progress, offering Cultural Intelligence Summits for leadership,
offering diversity education workshops and websites, implementing inclusivity awards andrecognition, offering mentoring programmes, and representing diversity through communications
and marketing images.
Emerging best practices which addressed the employment equity of women included:
Women’s Networks/Circles, Mentoring/Coaching Programs (3 -12 months in length), Emerging
Leaders’ breakfasts/luncheons, Annual research and networking conferences, Gender Diversity
Steering Committee, Career Development workshops, Transition back to work programs inpartnership with universities, and a Chair of Women in Management in universities to promoteresearch, teaching materials, outreach programs, and educational conferences.
While there may be overlaps with the different diversity practices to welcome disabled
persons into the workplaces along with the designated groups, some unique practices for
improved access and accommodations included: an employee network for disabled persons,enhanced internal placement services to match applicants with public service jobs, an awarenessand education council, multi-year accessibility plans, mentoring programs, and internships
programs for high school students.
All these diversity practices combine to offer ideas and examples for employers, as well as
the entire workforce of an organization to think critically and creatively on how to best interest,
recruit, retain, and promote employees from the designated groups and beyond, to also include
the range of social identities not specifically named in the Employment Equity Act.
6. Employment Equity Gaps
In thinking through the research data and the promising practices, there are still gaps that can beaddressed with regards to policies, accountability and structures. With the final research question:
What are the significant employment equity changes and gaps? In thinking about policies andlegislation, there could be a greater recognition and compliance of the disability act which can go
beyond one province, and expand to the provinces and territories of Canada. Prince (2009)
recommends a “Canadian Disabilities Act” to raise the standards for social needs, including
employment. While the current Ontario Human Rights Code (2015) recognizes gender identity,
gender expression and sexual orientation, a Canada-wide legislation can also provide greater
inclusion with the Employment Equity Act, since it currently addresses the four designatedgroups of Aboriginal peoples, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities, andwomen. Canadian employers, as highlighted in the 2015 Best Diversity Survey, havedemonstrated their inclusive practices to include the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender andQueer (LGBTQ) communities.
Compliance and accountability is necessary when these newer practices and possible
legislative changes come into effect to reflect new social norms. Thus, accounting for thedesignated groups and intersectionalities, and specific to this paper would be, gender anddisability at the federal, provincial levels. Structural barriers still need to be reviewed. Access to
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education can be determined or prevented by funding and accessible spaces. Organizational
policies may deter or encourage the hiring of designated groups including women and disabled
persons. Training and development programs can be valuable in addressing attitudinal barriers.
Monitoring progress is valuable. Accessible and efficient transportation is a necessity for
employees to reach their work destinations in a timely manner.
7. Conclusion
In thinking about the cross-cultural dialogue that can be generated from a gathering ofinternational delegates to discuss “Culture, Identity and Citizenship in Japan and Canada” thispaper began with the lived experiences of interviewees, a review of the diversity practices in
Canada, and the identifiable employment equity gaps in Canada. To facilitate a discussion on
employment equity that compares different countries and contexts, some questions are offered
here to prompt future analyses: What does employment equity mean? What is the environmental
scan? What is at stake if there are no changes? Who are the stakeholders? Who are the champions
for change? What are the organizational policies that can advance employment equity? What are
the organizational structures? What are the promising practices? What is the vision for theorganization? How can organizations contribute to a more equitable nation?
As a reflection, I offer a haiku:
Disability,
Gender, Inclusion begins;
A nation changes.
In conclusion, underemployment cannot remain as individual problems and be reliant on
personal solutions, especially when we consider what is at stake for individuals and communities
who are marginalized within work contexts, living at or below the poverty line, and discriminatedagainst for being different. Embracing difference requires a change in mindset for many people.
Rather than thinking about difference as the “other,” the paradigm shift in society needs to be thatof inclusion.
For future research, I would recommend further thinking and investigation on the following
question when we think about persons with various impairments (visible and invisible), andunderrepresented identities such as women, Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities, and sexual
minorities: “How can we advance employment equity and inclusion when we consider disability
and social intersectionalities ?”As we aim to embrace difference within a paradigm of inclusion in thoughts, decisions,actions and goals, we can then direct and facilitate dialogues to include re-writing policies,
addressing discriminatory practices, training people, enforcing legislation, and requestingaccommodations. Paradigm shifts can be seen as seismic challenges. However, if we can begin
with nodes of influence among women, disabled persons, allies, and collective identities, there ishope for change.

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References
R.S. Abella (1984) Equality in Employment: A Royal Commission Report. Ottawa:
Minister of Supply and Services Canada.
C. Agocs (Ed.) (2014) Employment Equity in Canada, Toronto: University of Toronto
Press.
Canada (2009) Advancing the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities,
www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/disability_issues/reports, accessed May 1, 2015.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, Being
Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11, section 15.
S. French (2001) Disabled People and Employment A Study of Working Lives ofVisually Impaired Physiotherapists, Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing Company.
R. Garland-Thomson (2011) Misfits: a feminist materialist disability concept, Hypatia,
26 (3), 592-609.
S.S. Lee (2013a) Disability, Underemployment & Social Change, Unpublished
Dissertation. Toronto: University of Toronto.
S.S. Lee (2013b) Women’s Perspectives on Disability, Underemployment and Health,
Women’s Health and Urban Life, XII (1): 61-78.
Mediacorp & the Globe and Mail (2015) Canada’s Best Diversity Employers,
http://www.Canadastop100.com, accessed May 1, 2015.
M.D. Naraine & P.H. Lindsay (2011) Social inclusion of employees who are blind or
low vision, Disability & Society, 26(4): 389-403.
M. Oliver (1996) Understanding Disability from Theory to Practice. New York: St.
Martin’s Press.
Ontario (2015) Human Rights Code, Accessed July 2nd, 2015, http://www.elaws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h19_e.htm
Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services (OMCSS) (2015)
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Accessed July 2nd, 2015, fromhttp://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/mcss/english/pillars/accessibilityOntario/accesson/statistics.htm
Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services (OMCSS) (2015) Integrated Accessibility
Standards Regulation, Accessed July 2nd, 2015,
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/accessibility/employment/index.aspx
M. J. Prince (2009) Absent Citizens: Disability Politics and Policy in Canada,
Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press Inc.
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M. Shier, J.R. Graham & M. Jones (2009) Barriers to Employment as Experienced by Disabled
People: a Qualitative Analysis in Calgary and Regina Canada, Disability & Society, 24(1):63-75.
D.E. Smith (1999) Writing the Social: Critique, Theory, and Investigations. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.
T. Titchkosky (2007) Reading & Writing Disability: The Textured Life of Embodiment,
Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
World Health Organization (WHO) (2011) World Report on Disability, Retrieved May
2015, from http:www.who.int/disabilities/world-report/2011.

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“Excitement, Entertainment and Enlightenment”: Tokyo Hosts the
Olympic Games – 1964 and 2020
Brian Pendleton
Langara College* Note: This topic was explored in panel/presentation format with the focus being an analysis andcomparison of several aspects associated with the planning, preparation and hosting of the
Olympic Games of 1964 and 2020. Major attention was directed at economic, social, cultural,and political issues and events. Discussion of the participating athletes, sporting events, andcompetition results was minimal.
This opening paper for the panel argued that the experience of hosting the 1964 Games
provided both successes and challenges – perhaps even “enlightenment” – that may frame theplanning and preparation for the 2020 Games. The presentation included question-andspeculation items which bridged 1964 and 2020 – in the paper below some of these appear as
sidebar notes. The subsequent papers discussed the involvement and excitement among theconstruction industry, the tourism industry, the media sector and national and municipal
governments, and conflicts between various actors from the point of view of urban planning,
economic development, tourism, social capital, and civil society.
Abstract
Between May 1959, when Tokyo was awarded the Olympic Games, and October 1964, when
Sakai Yoshinori—born on the day of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima—carried the torch into
the National Stadium, Japan undertook unprecedented development of both the physical andsocial structure of the city and the nation. The legacy of construction projects, including:transportation (Haneda Monorail), hotels (New Otani), Olympic facilities and venues (BudokanHall), and the resulting impact on citizens and society, provide perspectives that may frame thediscourse around the planning and preparation for the 2020 Olympics. This paper discusses
several examples from the 1964 Games of technological innovation and modernity, as well as
aspects of corruption, environmental destruction, and displacement of local citizens which
provide lessons worthy of consideration leading up to 2020.
Keywords: transportation infrastructure, hotel construction, environmental concerns, social issues,corruption
1. Introduction
The following discussion focuses on two components of the preparation for the 1964 Games: first,
infrastructure development, including transportation networks, technological innovations, athlete
accommodation and hotel construction, and the upgrading of related support services; and second,
challenges faced by citizens and residents, including outcomes of financial and politicalbudgetary decisions, employment and environmental issues, and efforts to showcase Japan as anation of peace and prosperity in the global community. Consideration of the successes and
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challenges identified may permit a measure of “enlightenment” that could frame the planning andpreparation for the 2020 Games. Discussion of the participating athletes, sporting events,
competition results, and Olympic ceremonies and festivities are beyond the scope of this paper.
2. Infrastructure Development
In a series of articles reflecting on the impact of the Games, Whiting (2014, Oct 10) notes thatwhen Tokyo won the bid in 1959 the city was “an ugly sprawl of old wooden houses, scabrousshanties, cheaply constructed stucco buildings and danchi – crowded, cramped Soviet-styleapartment blocks thrown up to accommodate the postwar influx of people from the rural areas.”
Although resident in Japan for only two years since 1962, and speaking from a foreigner’s
perspective, Whiting also observed that “Tokyoites dwelled under a constant cloud of noise, dust
and pollution as the city struggled to rebuild itself from the wreckage of the American B-29
Superfortress bombings. The sewage system was medieval, the harbor and the capital’s mainrivers thick with sludge from the human and industrial waste that poured into them. House theft
was rampant narcotic use was endemic, and it was considered too dangerous to walk in publicparks at night. Moreover, yakuza were everywhere, their numbers at an all-time high.”
Meanwhile, Japanese recognition of the enormity of the task ahead was expressed by Tokyo
Governor and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, Azuma Ryotaro, who noted thatthe physical condition of the city required improving transportation and municipal infrastructure,
expanding accommodations for foreign visitors, and significantly beautifying the capital (Azuma,
1960, 2).
To address several of these issues, and to further the government’s plan to double GNP and
per capita income in the decade, several massive infrastructure projects were also central to theplan to host the Games (“Tokyo Busy” 1963). Among the projects designed to catch the world’s
attention and signal Japan’s emergence as a technology innovator and leader was the Shinkansen(nicknamed the “bullet train”) high-speed rail system (Photo 5). Although widely criticized as
unnecessary and overly expensive considering other costs associated with running the Games, theline was constructed from Osaka to Tokyo and opened October 1st, just days before the Olympics
began. As will be discussed later, the funding questions were of significant consequence.

Photo 5: Shinkansen – Launching Ceremony
Source: Sankei Archive/Getty Images
While the Shinkansen was a project of national scope, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government(TMG) focused on highway road construction as a major long-term project with significant nearterm impact on the upcoming Games. The TMG’s plan for meeting local transportation needs
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were addressed with the construction of grade-separated (elevated) road networks, including the
Shuto Expressway and numerous city road links (Photo 6 and 7), with a total expenditure of 72.1
billion yen (US$ 200,277,777), much of which was consumed in land acquisition payments(Organizing, 1966, 48). In addition, to link Haneda airport to the city center an elevated monorail
was completed (although to note, its terminus at Hamamatsu-cho left riders several stations fromdowntown, an inconvenience still unrectified 50 years later). Similarly, subway expansion was tosee the existing Ginza (1927) and Marunouchi (1954) lines extended and the Toei Asakusa(1960) and Hibiya (1961) lines completed specifically in time for the Games (Whiting, Oct 10).

Photo 6: Elevated Highway Construction
Source: JIJI Press/APF/Getty Images

Photo 7: Construction Congestion
Source: Larry Burns/Life Pictures/Getty Images
The 1964 Olympics are also remembered for several technological innovations in the areasof facility development, media coverage and event management which highlighted Japan’s
emergence as a dominant high-tech nation. Iconic arenas and facilities blended the best of
traditional and contemporary architecture: The Nippon Budokan (judo), Yoyogi National
Gymnasium (basketball, swimming and diving), the National Stadium (athletics, football,
opening and closing ceremonies) and the NHK media broadcast center were among the many
constructed. The Games were the first Olympics to be broadcast internationally via satellite;
several events were shown domestically on color televisions and slow-motion replays wereintroduced (Organizing, 1966, 381-400). Toshiba and Seiko became household names, soon
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recognized worldwide, associated with high-quality, precision instruments (“It’s Seiko,” 1964,
13).
To welcome both participating athletes and visiting dignitaries, Olympic Committee
officials and tourists, modern accommodation was a major challenge. The athletes Olympic
Village (Photo 8), originally proposed for Saitama, was moved to the Washington Heights(family residences of U.S. military officers) area near the Yoyogi Park sporting venues when theAmericans relocated to new facilities near the Chofu airbase. The renovated site provided
dormitory-style accommodation for nearly 6,000 athletes, coaches and team officials (Tagsold,2010, 293-94). To accommodate the expected 30,000 international visitors, the TMG encouraged
the upgrading of traditional ryokan inns, private homes, youth hostels and community-basedorganizations and schools. In addition, the private sector undertook the construction of four
modern, international-standard hotels: Hotel Okura, Tokyo Hilton, Shiba Tokyo Prince and New
Otani. When it opened in September 1964, the 17-story New Otani was the tallest building in thecity. Completed in just 17 months, its state-of-the-art design and technology was complemented
by its setting on the site of a 400 year old daimyo estate and garden (“Opening our Doors”). In
addition, facilities for handling passenger ships were enlarged at Harumi Pier and during theGames five vessels provided cabins for 1,600 guests (Organizing, 1966, 47).

Photo 8: Olympic Village, Washington Heights
Source: Keystone/Hulton Archives/Getty Images
As noted above, living conditions and the requisite support services for many citizens wereless than desirable in the 1950s – situations which challenged the TMG on many fronts,
including: water supply and sewage, refuse and garbage, food sanitation, and health and hygiene,
all of which needed attention for both Tokyo residents and Olympic visitors (Igarashi, 2000, 146153). In addition, an abnormal lack of rainfall in the rainy season leading up to the Games saw
reservoirs dangerously low, forcing the municipal government to initiate water rationing. Whiting(2014,Oct 10) also notes, among the casualties, that bathhouse hours were restricted, swimming
pools closed, soba shops reduced their cooking, and Ginza night clubs urged thirsty patrons to“drink your whiskey without water to help save Tokyo.”
A further challenge was the need to encourage and support, although difficult to define,what may be called civic awareness and cultural sensitivity to the pending arrival of gaikokujin(outsiders) – foreigners, including former wartime adversaries. Building on the theme of peace asemphasized in the Olympic ideal of Olympism, the TMG, following the example of Hiroshima
city, designated Tokyo as a “Peace City” in 1963 (Masumoto, 2012, 1265). At the same time,
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according to Tagsold (2009), the Games provided an opportunity for the restoration of national
pride through the deliberate rehabilitation of classical national symbols, including the Emperor(tenno), the Rising Sun (hinomaru) flag, and the military Self-Defense Forces (jieitai). The
Emperor’s role in the Games was, without specific reference to his constitutional status as the“symbol of the State and the unity of the people”, astutely managed to have him officiallyproclaim the Games open on October 10, as patron of the Games rather than as Head of State as
required by the International Olympic Committee (Organizing, 1966, 39). Foreign media
coverage of Emperor Hirohito also focused on the Imperial family as an evolving institution
within the framework of post-war democratic Japan. The Life magazine special edition depicted“two future emperors strolling through the countryside” noting that Crown Prince Akihito had
married a commoner and that his son, Hiro (Naruhito) was the first prince ever to go tokindergarten (“Japan” 1964, 48). The role to be played and the attention afforded to whichever
man holds the Imperial title at the 2020 Games will provide interesting comparisons.
Use of the hinomaru flag, with its strong connections to Japan’s wartime past, was likewisepotentially problematic. However, when it flew beside other national flags and the Olympic
banner of peace, and when it appeared in a stylized form with the Tokyo Games logo on theuniform of torch bearer Sakai Yoshinori (who was often referred to as genbakukko –“the atomicboy”), few questioned its status as a legitimate national symbol (Photo 9). In addition, the use of
Sakai subtly, if not strategically, emphasized Japan as victim rather than perpetrator of wartime
events (Tagsold, 2009).

Photo 9: Sakai Yoshinori
Source: Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images
Sidebar: In the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, officials will likely call upon important
figures from the 1964 Games. Unfortunately, Sakai died unexpectedly of a cerebral hemorrhage
in September 2014 at age 69.
Similarly, it has been noted that “when the IOC broached the idea of playing a fanfare
rather than the national anthem, the Tokyo Organizing Committee insisted on retaining kimigayo,
which like the hinomaru, was the de facto but not legally designated anthem” (Tagsold, 2009).
Finally, notwithstanding heated debates in Japan about whether or not the existence of the SelfDefense Forces violated Article 9 of the constitution, marching bands and young soldiers handled
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many of the ceremonial tasks, including carrying the Olympic flag into the stadium, while SDF
fighter jets flew over the stadium creating the five-ring Olympic symbol. For most Japanese,memories of recent violent demonstrations protesting proposed changes to the role of the military
in society were put on hold.
The impact of Games preparations on local citizens varied, but excitement and patriotic
support was seen from many quarters. The following recollection of Nakade Kazuo (age 16 in1964), which first appeared in the Asahi Shimbun, January 25, 2006, highlighted the mixed
reactions of many:
In June 1964, a letter from the Shibuya Ward Office was delivered to my house near
Washington Heights. The letter informed me that “the Shibuya Ward is ready to make aloan to me to change my privy to a flush toilet.” I guessed the reason was that we Japanese
should be ashamed of using a privy, especially if a foreigner happened to visit. I know
realize that there was no possibility of any foreigner visiting my home. But at that time, mymother immediately agreed and changed our house’s privy to a flush toilet.
My father worked for the railways. He learned English at his own expense to be preparedfor foreigners visiting his station. People living around our house also were always stressed,saying, “The foreigners are coming anyway.” In the summer of ’64, we had less rain. WhenI sprinkled water on the street in front of my house, my neighbor got angry with me, saying,“Save water for the foreigners,” as if he regarded me as an unpatriotic man (cited in
Shimizu, 2011).
Sidebar: While few overtly anti-foreigner sentiments were cited in 1964 media coverage, recent
events, including the March 2014 display of a racist “Japanese only” banner at a football match in
Saitama (“J. League” 2014), led to wide-spread social media coverage and conscious efforts by2020 Games authorities to develop a positive, welcoming attitude through the appointment ofomotenashi (hospitality) advisors.
As preparations continued apace through September, Whiting (2014, Oct 14) describes thescene in the final days before the opening ceremonies:- Athletes began arriving at Haneda Airport – Americans on Pan Am, Russians on Aeroflot, theBritish on BOAC, followed by waves of tourists.
- Flags of the participating nations appeared across the city. The Okura Hotel and others
displayed all 94 national flags at its main entrance.
- Beggars and vagrants who had occupied Ueno Park and other city locations had “magicallydisappeared, as had the streetwalkers who normally populated the entertainment areas.”- Yellow flags in containers were placed at many busy intersections for use by pedestrians
seeking safe passage across traffic-congested streets.

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- Menacing yakuza had virtually vanished as, at the request of the government, gang bosses hadordered “unpleasant looking” mobsters to leave the city during the games and to undergo socalled “spiritual training” in the mountains or seaside.
- Tokyo’s 27,000 taxi drivers had been persuaded by officials to stop honking their horns, all in
the hope that the city would “sound as sedately refined as a temple garden hung with windchimes.”And, on October 8, two days before the start of the games, as if ordained by the kami spirits of
Shinto, a typhoon washed away the dirt, dust and air pollution, cleansing Tokyo for the longawaited festivities.
The many positive developments and outcomes associated with the 1964 Tokyo Games
should also be weighed against the setbacks and seldom discussed dark sides. The next section of
the paper discusses several of these issues – following the topic order above.
3. Negative Impacts and Outcomes of the Games
Among the negative issues associated with the development of the transportation infrastructure
was the Osaka-Tokyo Shinkansen high-speed train project which was completed at double its
original budget, draining funds from other construction more directly applicable to the 1964
Games. Two examples, and their concomitant outcomes, are significant: the Haneda monorailproject and the highway construction project. First, a lack of capital to buy land and extend themonorail line to a more logical location like Tokyo Station or Shimbashi has inconvenienced
travelers for more than 50 years to the present. In addition, Whiting (2014, Oct 24) has argued
that in order to avoid buying expensive privately owned land for the monorail, part of the route
was constructed over water with landfill and concrete being dumped in rivers, canals and ocean
areas below, resulting in negative environmental and socio-economic impacts. (One outcome was
the disappearance of a prized delicacy, omori no nori, from a centuries-old, Edo era seaweed bed).
He also claims that the government revoked many permits held by local fishing cooperatives,
resulting in the loss of jobs. Likewise, to avoid land acquisition costs associated with highway
construction, the government approved the building of grade-separated expressways. (Among themany often cited eyesores resulting from these multi-lane, overhead expressways was the iconic
bridge at Nihonbashi, starting point for all measured distances from Tokyo dating back to thehistoric Edo-period Tokaido road, now hidden just meters from the highway above – Photo 10).
Road construction also contributed to destruction of many navigable waterways as massive
support columns were placed in rivers, building materials were used as landfill, river docks were
removed, water stagnated, fish died and jobs were lost.

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Photo 10: Nihonbashi area Expressway
Source: JTB/UIG/Getty Images
The construction of Games venues, new hotels and related service upgrades also had
negative impacts in many parts of the city. Several areas were depopulated in the name ofprogress and modernization. Whiting (2014, Oct 24) again cites several examples of displaced
local residents, loss of local amenities and corrupt business practices. First, single-family
residences near the Olympic Stadium and parking lot were removed; areas in Bunkyo andChiyoda wards were hard-hit with the loss of housing, parks, trolley line street-car service, andeventually the decline in residents resulted in the closure of schools and other public services.
With increased road traffic, air quality worsened as well. While a lack of eminent domain laws
(giving the national and local governments the authority to confiscate private property for public
use after paying appropriate compensation) which would have protected citizens from forced
removal, authorities found ways to compel people to vacate homes to facilitate construction.
Small sums of compensation were offered along with appeals to tenant’s sense of pride andpatriotism for the betterment of the Games. Where this was unsuccessful, officials turned to
intimidation in the form of tax harassment, public shaming or the investigation of violations ofminor city codes and ordinances. In an effort to cleanse the city further of any distracting hints ofdisorder or unwanted residents, unknown numbers of stray cats and dogs were destroyed(Organizing, 1965, 494).
Sidebar: While not unexpected, preparations for the 2020 Games will again see housing torn
down for the redevelopment and expansion of the National Stadium. The evicted residents ofnearly 200 households near Kasumigaoka, where several individuals are 70 or older, will beoffered apartments in three other municipal complexes. Among them is Jinno Kohei, age 79, who
was forced to move in 1964 and lived with his family of four for two years in a small room
before being assigned housing and a tobacco shop at Kasumigaoka. “I feel very upset because
they will spend a lot of money on the new stadium after decades of pouring taxpayers’ money
into the old stadium to maintain something that is used only a few times a year,” he said. “I don’t
want to see the Olympics at all. Deep inside, I have a kind of grudge against the Olympics.”(Sato, 2013).
Furthermore, postwar Japan was no stranger to corruption and bid-rigging (dango) withmany construction companies linked to yakuza gangs. The yakuza provided low-cost laborers
who were often exploited by local bosses, unwanted “protection” services to local residents andbribes to corrupt politicians and business leaders. Cost-cutting measures often produced substandard results such as shoddy construction. One example was mixing sea sand with concrete,
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causing internal rebar and steel beams to rust prematurely. Whiting (2014, Oct 10) also posits
that the yakuza played a role in supporting the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s close relations
with U.S. government, specifically in suppressing wide-spread protests against 1960 extension of
the Mutual Security Treaty. Members of the gangs barred the doors to the Diet preventing
opponents of the Treaty from voting on its ratification. In return, the underworld gangs were
given a share of construction contracts, labor supply, traffic control, lodging, on-site security, andvirtually unfettered control of entertainment sites including bars, brothels and gambling dens.
Notwithstanding these challenges and shadows hanging over the city, the Games opened andproceeded without major incident.
4. Conclusion
The experience of hosting the Games provided both successes and challenges as the image andprestige of Japan was showcased to the world. As one writer notes “…what the 1964 Olympics
proved to the Japanese ruling elite in both government and business was that soft power could
drive hard power” (Abel, 2012, 218). In the years since 1964, both the Olympic movement andJapan have changed – for better and less so. The Games have become “big business” noted fortheir successes and failures: globalization of participation to more than 200 nations andterritories; real-time media and technological developments which capture sporting drama; whiteelephant stadia and venues vacant and deteriorating; corruption involving bidding irregularities,
individual and corporate financial scandals, and cheating/doping allegations. Japan’s record isalso mixed: world economic giant; slowly emerging player on the international stage; a nation
still struggling with its historical past; a homogeneous society often still ill-at-ease with outsiders.
The extent to which both have learned from their experiences will serve to measure the“enlightenment” that may or may not bridge the years from 1964 to 2020.
References
J. Abel (2012) “Japan’s Sporting Diplomacy: The 1964 Tokyo Olympiad” The International
History Review, 34(2) 203-220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2012.626572
R. Azuma (1960) “Sekai no Dai Saiten” Tokyo Orinpikku iii, 2.
Y. Igarashi (2000) “From the Anti-Security Treaty Movement to the Tokyo Olympics:
Transforming the Body, the Metropolis, and Memory” in Bodies of Memory: Narrativesof Postwar Japanese Culture, 1945-1970. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.
“It’s Seiko time at the Olympics” (1964) Straits Times (Singapore), August 21, 1964, 13.
“J. League and Media Must Show Red Card to Racism” (2014) Japan Times, March 12, 2014.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/03/12/issues“Japan: Special Issue” (1964) Life Magazine, 57(11), September 11, 1964.
N. Masumoto (2012) “The Legacy of the Olympic Peace Education of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic
Games in Japan” The International Journal of the History of Sport, 29 (9) (June 2012),
1263-1280.

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Organizing Committee for the Tokyo Olympic Games, ed. (1966) The Official Report of theGames of the XVIII Olympiad Tokyo 1964 (Vol. 1 and 2). Tokyo: Organizing Committee.
“Opening Our Doors for the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games” (2014) The New Otani News, 46(Spring 2014). www.newotani.co.jp/noc/
S. Sato (2013) “Two-time Evictee Bears Olympic-size Grudge” The Japan Times, September 15,
2013.
S. Shimizu (2011) “Nation Building at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics: Torch Relay in Okinawa andTokyo”, November 8, 2011. http://cafesportandbody.sakura.ne.jp/archives/369
C. Tagsold (2009) “The 1964 Tokyo Olympics as Political Games” The Asia-Pacific Journal,23(3-09) June 9, 2009.
“Tokyo Busy Preparing for ‘64 Olympics” (1963) British Pathé film stock black/white, sound,ID 2677.06. http://www.britishpathe.com/video/tokyo-prepares-for-1964-olympics
R. Whiting (2014) “1964 Olympics Retrospective” (5 part series), Japan Times, October 10-24,
2014. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports_column/robert-whitings-1964-olympicsretrospective/

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Urban Planning Challenge and the Olympic Games: Tokyo, 1964
and 2020
Yasushi Aoyama
Meiji University, Former Vice-Governor of Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Abstract
In response to the rise of an advanced information society, office buildings are being transformed
from places for the performance of routine administrative tasks, to bases for the transmission andreception of information and centers for the kind of knowledge-intensive activity that generates
wealth. Tokyo was shaped by floods, earthquakes, and volcanoes. At the same time, as the capitalof a country with extremely limited energy resources of its own, Tokyo has built up an energyefficient urban structure that few cities in the world can rival. Tokyo Metropolitan Governmentchanged the urban policy in 1995 from Multiple-Center Cities Plan to Ring-Forming Megalopolis
Structure Plan.
In the run-up to the 1964 Olympics, the aims were clear: to host the Games in a manner thatshowcased Japanese technology and the fruits of industrialization and laid the foundation forfurther economic growth, reflecting the nation's determination to catch up with and overtake theindustrial West. The situation is very different going into the 2020 Olympics. We have left
behind the industrial age and have entered the advanced information age as a mature society.
Tokyo must demonstrate that it has transformed itself accordingly.
Keywords: legacy, Olympic, Tokyo, Ring-Forming Megalopolis Structure, mature society
1. Introduction
Today, in response to the rise of an advanced information society, office buildings are beingtransformed from places for the performance of routine administrative tasks, to bases for thetransmission and reception of information and centers for the kind of knowledge-intensive
activity that generates wealth. While it might have been supposed that the Internet would inhibit
the movement of people, since we can send and receive information to or from anywhere withoutleaving the room, the opposite has happened. In the information age, people are moving about
more than ever.
Office buildings have continued to spring up in central Tokyo and the adjoining areas, mostof which go far beyond traditional office-building functions with the inclusion of hotels,
restaurants, stores, personal services, educational facilities, and more. This is because, in theadvanced information age, the core function of the office building has evolved from massprocessing of paperwork and clerical tasks to the creation and exchange of knowledge. Today
machines take care of the routine clerical work, leaving human beings to devote themselves toactivities involving higher-order thinking. Today, this is the way wealth is generated.
Cultures and civilizations flourish and advance through interchange. People are stimulated
and inspired to further intellectual growth through contact with experts in other disciplines. That
is why people keep moving as they strive to improve their own knowledge and understanding.
The Olympic Games have a magical power that changes people’s minds and that changes society.
It is a chance to change Tokyo from a growing society to a mature society. The thrust of
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infrastructure development in Tokyo has shifted from the 1960s emphasis on efficiency to copewith urban sprawl to a new focus on the amenities befitting a mature society. In the second
decade of the twenty-first century, the emphasis in urban infrastructure continues to shift from theconstruction of roads and railways—the imperative of the 1960s—to improvements in housing,environmental quality, and ambient water and greenery, aimed at enhancing the quality of urbanlife for a mature society.
2. Tokyo and disasters
On Tokyo's presentation to the IOC general meeting for the selection to hold the 2020 Summer
Olympics, Paralympic long jumper Masumi Sato said that she was saved by sports. Sports helped
her overcome both disability and disaster. Indeed Tokyo wasshaped by floods, earthquakes, andvolcanoes. In 1910, flooding caused by a typhoon kept the Asakusa district and other parts ofTokyo’s low-lying old-town area under water for upwards of 10 days. This disaster prompted theconstruction of the Arakawa floodway (now simply called the Arakawa river), a channel some
500 meters wide and 22 kilometers long. Construction, which took 15 years, cost about 30
million yen (in nominal terms). No sooner was the floodway finished than an even larger typhoon
struck. There was no flooding. Since economic losses from the flood of 1910 had amounted tomore than 100 million yen (at a time when national income was only 2.9 billion yen), theArakawa floodway is regarded as a public works project that fully paid for itself the first time it
was put to the test.
During the recovery efforts following the Great Kantô Earthquake of 1923, Tokyo Mayor
Gotô Shinpei spearheaded the construction of most of the avenues that now form the main
arteries of Tokyo’s street system, including Shôwa-Dôri, Yasukuni-Dôri, and Harumi-Dôri. This
period also saw the creation of a number of important public parks, including Sumida Park—
Japan’s first riverside public park—Hamachô Park, and Yokohama’s Yamashita Park, thenation’s first seaside park. Also around this time, several steel bridges were built across theSumida River—including the well-known Azumabashi and Umayabashi bridges—which are stillin use. In the aftermath of the earthquake the city also devoted itself to minimizing damage fromfuture earthquakes through community design that paired elementary schools with parks, as wellas nationwide construction of the Dôjunkai apartment buildings, built from fire-proof materials.
The aforementioned plan for constructing eight ring roads was also adopted during theearthquake reconstruction period. Building standards for earthquake resistance have beenstrengthened each time Tokyo has experienced a major earthquake.
Scientists tell us that the Kantô district has been subject to major volcanic events over theages. For example, 25,000 years ago, the eruption of the Kagoshima Aira Caldera deposited 10
centimeters of volcanic ash over the district, and many of the geological features we see in theregion today were formed by the eruption of Mount Fuji in 1707 and that of Mount Asama in
1783.
Volcanic eruptions have not only shaped the geology of the district; they have also
strengthened its communities. Recent eruptions on islands administered by the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government required the islands’ inhabitants evacuate en masse and live as
refugees in mainland Tokyo. During the Izu-Ôshima eruption of 1986, that situation continued
for a month; it continued for four and a half years during the Miyakejima eruptions that began in
2000. Refugees from the Miyakejima eruption were scattered, being placed in public housing inexisting communities throughout the Kantô district instead of centralized locations. During that
period, the support efforts of the local host communities, combined with the refugees’ own civic
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activities centered on the Miyakejima Disaster Support Volunteer Network, functioned so
effectively that there was not a single report of a solitary death (that is, a death from naturalcauses that was not discovered by others until several days later). This bespeaks the strength ofTokyo communities, notwithstanding much talk to the contrary1.

Figure1. Great Kanto Earthquake, dark gray on the map—destroyed, black lines in grid-likefashion on the map—constructed after the disaster2
3. Global Warming and Parks
We have seen that Tokyo has grown stronger with each natural disaster it has withstood, whether
it be an earthquake, a flood, or a volcanic eruption3. At the same time, as the capital of a country
with extremely limited energy resources of its own, Tokyo has built up an energy-efficient urban
structure that few cities in the world can rival. Today, with global warming emerging as
humankind’s biggest threat, Tokyo should be demonstrating to the world this energy-efficient
structure and the cutting-edge technology on which it is based. Hosting the Olympics provides
an excellent opportunity to do just this.
In December 2006, Tokyo Metropolitan Government adopted a policy document titled“Tokyo's Big Change: The 10-Year Plan,” which lays out a commitment to “create the city withthe world’s lowest environmental load4.” A key to fighting global warming will be the creation ofa society that gets the energy it needs without depending on fossil fuels. Now it should strive to
become a model city in the fight against global warming by attacking the problem vigorously
through the proactive use of new commercial technologies. In December 2014, Tokyo
Metropolitan Government settled on a policy document titled “Creating the Future: The longTerm Vision for Tokyo” which lays out a commitment to “make Tokyo a smart energy city” andto “aim to realize a hydrogen society5. Hydrogen is a clean energy source that does not produce

1

Y. Aoyama and K. Sasaki (2012) Restoring Community Identity and Social Capital, in J. Blakely etc. (ed.)
Managing Urban Disaster Recovery, Lexington, Crisis Response, 89-98
2
Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 1995
3
Y. Aoyama (2013) Comparison between the Miyakejima eruption of 2000 and the Great East Japan Earthquake of2011, Journal of Governance Studies, 9, 1-15
4
Tokyo Metropolitan Government (2006) Tokyo's Big Change: The 10-Year Plan, Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
5
Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japan (2014) Creating the Future: The long-Term Vision for Tokyo,
http://www.seisakukikaku.metro.tokyo.jp/tokyo_vision/index.html, accessed August 2015

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CO㸰 when used. Tokyo is expanding the use of fuel cell vehicles, fuel cell buses, and theestablishment of hydrogen stations.
Japan has a long and sophisticated tradition of landscape gardening. From medieval to earlymodern times magnificent gardens were created for numerous castles and daimyo estates, as wellas temples and shrines, and many of these still exist today. Hibiya Park, built as part of the Tokyo
redevelopment plan launched in the Meiji era (1868–1912), was Japan’s first modern urban
public park. Opened in 1903, it has now been in existence for over a century. Beset by land anddesign problems, the plan faced tough obstacles to completion, but once it was opened it drew
large numbers of visitors, many of them drawn by the novelty. With the addition of fountains andflower gardens, large and small outdoor concert pavilions, an auditorium, and a library, it hascontinued to develop as a public place for people to gather and enjoy themselves. Although only
16 hectares in area, it remains Japan’s best-known public park.
The first concerted effort to build public parks all around Tokyo began during thereconstruction following the Great Kantô Earthquake of 1923. During that time several dozen
public parks, including Sumida, Hamachô, and Kinshichô parks, were created with the primary
purpose of establishing firebreaks to prevent conflagrations from spreading out of control. This
was also when Yokohama’s famous Yamashita Park was built.  In 1940, regulations concerning
green space were established under the old City Planning Law. The enactment of these provisions
was spurred partly by the principles adopted by the 1923 International Town Planning
Conference, but the military situation surrounding Japan at the time also had a strong impact, as
indicated by the stated purpose of establishing the green spaces: first, to facilitate air defense;
second, to improve the Japanese physique; and third, to enhance industrial production. Under thisprogram the land set aside in Tokyo for green space up through 1943 amounted to a total of 1,413
hectares, including Mizumoto Park (169 hectares), Shinozaki Park (127 hectares), Toneri Park
(101 hectares), Koganei Park (91 hectares), and Kinuta Park (81 hectares). Before these areas
could be developed into modern urban parks, war broke out.
General Douglas Macarthur, who headed the Allied Occupation of Japan, worked hard topromote democratic reforms in Japan, but he was less interested in Tokyo’s reconstruction. The
Tokyo Metropolitan Government drew up a comprehensive plan for Tokyo’s postwar recovery,
but Macarthur was uninterested. Through agricultural land reform, the centerpiece of the
Occupation’s reform policies, he wanted to break up and transfer acreage—excepting forest
land—from big land holders and absentee landlords to the farmers who worked the land. This
was a laudable goal from the standpoint of promoting democratic reforms in a country wheresome feudal systems lingered. Unfortunately, it gave no consideration to the situation in urban
areas like Tokyo. In 1946, the Owner-Farmer Establishment Special Measures Law was enacted
uniformly across the country, and the policy of dividing up large tracts of cultivated land andselling it at low prices to those doing the actual cultivation was enforced mechanically, without
regard to the circumstances.
4. Despite limited park area, abundant water and greenery
From the standpoint of Tokyo’s public parkland, the postwar agricultural land reform did
incalculable damage. During and immediately after World War II authorities had permitted muchof the land that Tokyo Metropolis (known as the city of Tokyo until 1943) had set aside forpublic parks and other green space to be used as farmland in an effort to cope with food shortages.
Under the agricultural land reform program, such land was also parceled out to farmers. The
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amounts to some 460 hectares—about half of the land currently dedicated to parks and green
spaces in the city. Ôsaka and Nagoya suffered a similar fate. The Tokyo Metropolitan
Government has spent more than 60 years trying to buy back this land using residential tax
revenues, but the task is far from complete. The Urban Parks Law is relatively new, having beenenacted in 1956. Most of the metropolitan government’s efforts to gradually buy back land forparks with residential tax revenues occurred from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.
It should be noted, however, that while Tokyo as a whole continues to grapple with thechallenge of expanding park acreage, the city center has considerable greenery. Furthermore,
Tokyo’s charm is enhanced by ubiquitous vestiges of the waterfront townscape of Edo, a city
crisscrossed by waterways. In those sections of central Tokyo that overlap the most urbanized
district of old Edo, waterfront acreage accounts for 6% of the total. Tokyo’s challenge in theyears ahead is to increase the number and size of neighborhood parks in the 23 wards while
preserving and expanding these waterfront areas. Figure 3 is the Tokyo Big Sight Building, the
new convention center built on Tokyo Bay. The main press center will be set up here. It is easy
walking distance from several local hotels.

Figure 3. The waterfront areas in Tokyo6

Figure 4. The Tokyo Big Sight Building7 , The main press center of 2020 Games
5. Mock-decentralization through multiple city centers“Multiple-center urban design” was a vision for shifting from the conventional urban structure, inwhich a city revolves around a single core, to a new configuration built around a number of

6
7

This picture was taken by Aoyama in May 2010.
This picture was taken by Aoyama in March 2014.

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subcenters. Specifically, the plan involved distributing the city’s business, commerce, andindustry on a priority basis among a total of seven subcenters: the three pre-existing subcenters,
Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, and Shibuya; three new subcenters, Ueno-Asakusa, Kinshichô-Kameido,and Ôsaki; and the waterfront subcenter. To one degree or another, each of these subcenters waseither a transportation node or near to one, in an area where it would be reasonable to expect afurther concentration of business and commerce. In addition to these, five satellite cities were
designated in the Tama area in the hills to the southwest of central Tokyo: Tachikawa, Hachiôji,
Machida, Ôme, and Tama New Town. These were also envisioned as magnets for concentrated
commercial development, though not on the same order as the Tokyo subcenters.
At the time the plan was formulated, a rising chorus of criticism was issuing from Japan’s
provincial cities regarding excessive concentration of urban functions within Tokyo. At least
superficially, multi-center urban design appeared to hold out the promise of decentralization. In
fact, it was simultaneously a means of expanding Tokyo’s central district and as a way of
avoiding excessive concentration in the city center. Tokyo officially embraced the multi-center
approach as a core principle of urban development8 in the Second Long-Term Plan for the Tokyo
Metropolis, adopted in November 1986. The multi-center concept had already been incorporated
as a central feature of the first Long-Term Plan for the Tokyo Metropolis 9, adopted in November
1982, but it was not until the second plan that the waterfront subcenter and such satellite cities asÔme and Tama New Town were officially added, and full-scale implementation of the multicenter concept was launched. At the time Japan’s provincial cities were highly critical of theunilateral concentration of functions in Tokyo, and the multi-center urban plan helped deflect
some of this criticism. The Second Long-Term Plan for Tokyo Metropolis conferred special
status on the waterfront area, stating that “the waterfront subcenter, with Tokyo Teleport at its
core, will feature multiple urban functions adapted to the trends toward internationalization andcomputerization, information-related activities, international exchange, housing, culture, andrecreation. . . . It will give rise to a futuristic information-oriented urban space where foreign
nationals also live and work10.” This concept of multi-center urban design was the theoreticalbasis for the transfer of the TMG offices from the Marunouchi district to Shinjuku and theintensive investment in the waterfront area that continued for a time. Prior to this, theconventional wisdom was that cities should develop radially around a single center, withcompartmentalization of functions—that is, offices in the center, commerce and services
surrounding the center, and residential neighborhoods around the periphery. But the city had infact been spreading outward since the Edo period, and now this sprawl had reached a saturation
point; a single center could not longer support the rest of the city. The conclusion was that it wasnecessary to decentralize Tokyo’s urban functions.
The result was a proposal to “correct the centralized, single-nucleus urban structure throughmulti-center urban design.” Under this plan, subcenters were defined as “districts with highpotential for future urban development, being transportation nodes and areas where large-scale
development of underutilized land or redevelopment is expected.” From the beginning, the plan’s
critics argued that the plan would not so much “disperse the functions of the city center among
subcenters” as create one big center. They pointed out that the city center and the Shinjuku
8

Tokyo officially embraced the multi-center approach as a core principle of urban development in the Second LongTerm Plan for the Tokyo Metropolis, adopted in November 1986.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government (1982) Long-Term Plan for the Tokyo Metropolis, Tokyo Metropolitan
Government, 18-26.
10Tokyo Metropolitan Government (1986) Second Long-Term Plan for the Tokyo Metropolis, Tokyo Metropolitan
Government, 28-35.
9

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district were not really distinguishable from one another, since they already met each other along
Shinjuku--Dôri avenue, and that the city center had long abutted the Shibuya district along
Aoyama--Dôri. Administrators countered that the Shinjuku and Shibuya neighborhoods were notprimarily business and commercial districts, for as soon as one turned off Shinjuku--Dôri or
Aoyama--Dôri, one found oneself on residential streets with low buildings. Under the plan, theseareas in fact turned into “multifunctional districts” with medium-height multistory buildings
housing a mix of offices, stores, and downtown housing.

Figure 5. Multiple-center urban design11
6. Two Monuments of the Multi-Center Era: The Tokyo Government Offices and theWaterfront Sub-center
As things developed, demand began to grow for a central district that offered a multiplicity offeatures, including downtown housing, the means of exchanging information and gatheringsocially, culture, and entertainment. As a result, most of the area defined by the circular
Yamanote Line of Tokyo’s commuter train system came to serve as a vast city center with morediversified functions than the traditional city center.
The concept of multi-center urban design was useful in approaching urban planning fromthe perspective of the Kantô Plain as a whole—in other words the development of a capital

11

Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 1995

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region megalopolis—instead of remaining confined by the administrative boundaries of Tokyo
Metropolis, with its oddly long and narrow east-west layout.
In other words, when considering Tokyo’s urban design, it makes sense to focus on the entire
area within which daily activity takes place, whether from the standpoint of urban functions orthat of people’s everyday lives. In the case of Tokyo, this is the area circumscribed by the
National Capital Region Central Loop Road, a beltway roughly 100 kilometers in diameter, andthe Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line. The National Capital Region Central Loop Road connects thesurrounding cities (from east to west) of Narita, Tsukuba, Kuki-Shiraoka, Ôme, Yokota, Hachiôji,
Sagamihara, and Ebina. All of these areas play an important role in the capital region.
One of the watchwords of the 1990s was “Route 16 culture.” National Route 16, anotherloop road circling Tokyo, is flanked by a wide variety of commercial establishments, including
clothing stores, restaurants, bookstores, music stores, and pachinko parlors, and every other typeof entertainment establishment. This makes it a prime transportation route and leisure destination
for young people in cars. Route 16 disseminates Tokyo’s urban culture to people living on theoutskirts of the city, so that they can fill all their needs without bothering to take the train into
central Tokyo. In other words, ordinary people are also starting to rebel against urban
centralization.
The multi-center urban design policy played its part and was discarded, leaving behind two
major monuments to that era of urban planning: a new Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildingin Shinjuku, to which the Tokyo government offices moved in 1991, and the waterfront subcenter
development.
In an era of continuing population growth, the emphasis was naturally on building train
lines and roads out from Tokyo in an ever-expanding radial pattern. But as population growthleveled off and the economy slowed, the curtain fell on an age of city planning oriented to
outward expansion of the commercial and business district.
In terms of Tokyo’s official urban planning documents, Tokyo Plan 95, adopted in 1995,
formally announced the transition from multi-center urban design to a goal of “renewing the citycenter functions.” This new policy reflects an awareness of the need to shift our urban-planningpriorities from the building of new satellite cities to projects to renew existing urban
infrastructure, equip and enhance newly developing cities, and improve amenities and the qualityof urban space for the people who live and work in cities. Tokyo Metropolitan Governmentchanged the urban policy in 1995 from Multiple-Center Cities Plan to Ring-Forming Megalopolis
Structure Plan.

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Figure 6. The National Capital Region Central Loop Road owing to Ring-Forming Megalopolis
Structure Plan12
7. Interline Through Service for Smooth Long-Distance Commuting—A city where you cango car-less
The convenience of Tokyo’s commuter train system is something everyone agrees on. Tokyo’srail network is so extensive that most people can manage quite easily without a car of their own.
The total number of train stations in Tokyo’s 23 wards—Japan Railways, private lines, andsubways combined—has reached more than 520. The large number of stations in Tokyo points toa rail network so extensive that one can almost always find a station within walking distance. In
the area surrounding the city center, more than 90% of neighborhoods are within a 10-minute
walk of a rail station.
Another important characteristic of the Tokyo area’s rail network is the interline throughservice provided by same-track linkages between Tokyo subway lines and private commuter linesthat extend out into the suburbs, enabling many riders to commute without transferring.
Connections of this sort are found in only a few other cities in the world (including Seoul, which
provides through service to Incheon), and nowhere as extensively as in Tokyo. This sort ofinterline through service is now taken for granted around Tokyo, and it has shortened travel time
distances substantially.
Tokyo’s interline through-service network did not spring up overnight. The first instance ofsuch a connection occurred with the extension of the Toei Asakusa Line between Asakusabashi
and Oshiage, which opened for service in 1960. Before this could be accomplished, the Tokyo
Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation and Keisei worked long and hard to coordinate their track
construction plans and work out numerous details. Of the rail extensions to date, private lines
account for 330 kilometers and subway lines for 240 km, compared with the 300 km operated by
JR, testifying to the important role through service between subway and private lines has playedin enhancing the convenience of urban rail transportation around Tokyo. Another feature ofTokyo’s rail system found nowhere else in the world is the existence of two complete loop lines,
the JR Yamanote Line and the Toei Ôedo (subway) Line. The Toei Ôedo Line opened for service
12

Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 2003

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in 2000, and its ridership has continued to increase since then thanks to its large number oftransfer points to other lines (21 out of 28 stations). Yet despite the unparalleled convenience andsophistication of Tokyo’s rail network, the crowding remains serious. The next phase is likely to
involve carefully prioritized construction of track to connect existing lines in such a way as toenhance convenience dramatically.
Another priority should be more lines circling the city. This is needed to respond to a shift
in transportation patterns from commutation into Tokyo to interurban movement around Tokyo,
as indicated by the increased crowding on such circumferential routes as the Musashino andNambu lines. To recapitulate, the key characteristics of Tokyo’s rail network are the large
number of stations, the existence of two complete loop lines, and interline through service
between subways and private rail lines. These features are the product of various measuresdeveloped during the period of rapid economic growth to make long-distance commuting assmooth as possible for massive numbers of commuters. As a result of these efforts, Tokyo now
has the most convenient rail network of any city in the world.
8. Multilevel Ring Roads Compensate for Low Road-Area Ratio
When planning for automobile traffic, the most rational approach is to add several restrictedaccess ring roads to a city’s grid-pattern street plan, constructing them in such a way that they
pass under or over the other streets. Tokyo has such a plan. Unfortunately, it has not implemented
it. Tokyo’s plan calls for a total of eight ring roads, something with no parallel anywhere else in
the world. The plan was adopted in 1927 as part of the recovery and reconstruction plan drawn up
in the wake of the Great Kantô Earthquake of 1923. Today, 80 years later, only two of theseroads—Ring Road 7 and Ring Road 8—have been completed. Tokyo needs to accelerate
construction of the remaining loop roads, especially the two that will run directly through therevitalized city center: Ring Road 3 (linking Gaien-Higashi-Dôri, Kototoi-Dôri, and MitsumeDôri), and Ring Road 4 (linking Gaien-Nishi-Dôri, Shinobazu-Dôri, Meiji-Dôri, and MaruhachiDôri). When complete, these roads, together with the city’s two complete loop lines, will makeTokyo one of the easiest cities in the world to get around.

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Figure 7. Ring Road Structure Plan13

13

Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 1995

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9. Relieving congestion in the Shuto Expressway system
According to the results of the Person Trip Survey14 (comparing 1988 and 1998 data), conductedjointly by local governments in the Tokyo area, the basic direction of traffic in the metropolitan
area is already shifting from repeated back-and-forth radial movement between the city centerand the suburbs to a more complex movement among communities. As the figure indicates, thepattern of traffic growth (rate of growth being indicated by a line’s thickness) has become much
more complex and diversified. This reflects a shift in the main functions of business offices, fromlarge-scale document processing to knowledge production and negotiation, reflecting Japan’s
shift from an industrial to an information society.
For many years the four-lane Shuto (Tokyo Metropolitan) Expressway Inner Circular Routewas the only expressway cutting across the radial network of national expressways that converge
on Tokyo. All the automobiles and trucks crossing the Kantô Plain were obliged to use this Inner
Circular Route, even if they had no business in Tokyo. Ring roads can play an important role byrelieving traffic not only on local roads inside the city but on expressway systems as well. The
city needs to move forward quickly and complete a circumferential expressway system byfinishing construction on the Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway (Ken-ô-dô), the Tokyo Outer
Ring Road (Gaikan), and the Central Circular Route. Of the above, the Shuto Expressway Central
Circular Route15 was completed in 2015. It will largely eliminate congestion on the Shuto
Expressway system. By the Shuto Expressway Inner Circular Route, the drive from Shinjyuku to
Haneda Airport takes about only 20 minutes.
10. Functional and aesthetic standards for architectural control
At a time when construction was proceeding at such a rapid pace that urban infrastructure washard-pressed to keep pace, there may have been a rationale for use FAR16 standards as the basis
for architectural control. Today, however, when the priority has shifted to enhancing urban
functions and the urban landscape, it would make more sense to base architectural control on
local functional and aesthetic criteria.
To begin with, in today’s world higher FAR does not necessarily mean an increase in traffic
or energy demand, particularly in the case of office buildings. In the industrial era, when acompany’s headquarters was typically crammed with the many office workers needed for themassive job of document processing, higher FAR invariably meant a larger number of workers
on the site. But in today’s information society, when office workers are expected to be engaged inknowledge production and negotiation, the space of a company’s main office must be designedwith comfort and social interaction in mind. And needless to say, office equipment also takes up
considerable space. For this reason, higher FAR does not invariably mean a larger number of
employees on site. In the industrial age, main offices focused narrowly on clerical andadministrative functions. In the information age, with the emphasis on human interaction, thetrend is toward creating complex, diversified communities that include restaurants, shops, andeven hotels.
As the times change and the functions of the company headquarters change with them, theform and function of the city center are shifting as well. It follows that our approach to regulating
14

Tokyo Metropolitan Transportation Planning Council, Japan (2000) Person Trip Survey, http://www.tokyopt.jp/person/, accessed December 2014.
Many elevated highways were built for the 1964 Games, but most inner-city expressways since then have been
built using tunnels.
16
Floor Area Ratio: FAR is the ratio of the total floor area of a building or buildings on a parcel of land to the area ofthat parcel.
15

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building also must change. Simply relaxing FAR standards will not lead to the kind of urban
development that meets the demands of our era. Tokyo can handle greater vertical or spatial
density, but it needs more open space from the horizontal, planar perspective. It also needs more
centrally-located housing.
Japan began using FAR standards in 1963 to facilitate a planned approach to theconstruction of urban facilities and ensure that the density of each urban district did not exceed
the capacity of that area’s infrastructure. Previous to the adoption of this system, building height
was limited to 20 meters (70 shaku) in residential districts and 31 meters (100 shaku) elsewhere,
but with the adoption of FAR, regulations restricting building height were eliminated. This
opened the way for construction of the 147-meter-tall Kasumigaseki Building, completed in 1968.
In subsequent years a series of supplementary systems and provisions—integrated design,special districts, designated urban renewal areas, and so forth—were introduced to enable
relaxation of FAR standards for buildings that met certain conditions with respect to community
function. In this way, progressive relaxation of FAR regulations over the years has proceeded tothe point where the system now bears scant resemblance to that originally adopted.
In 1993, buying and selling of FAR rights was conducted for the first time. Taking
advantage of the “special district” system, the Hibiya International Building, Fukoku Seimei
Building, and Hibiya Central Building purchased unused FAR from the Japan Press Center
Building and launched an integrated neighborhood development project that included creation ofsuch urban infrastructure as green roads, district cooling and heating facilities, and a regional
electrical substation. Although the Hibiya Central Building was on the opposite side of the street
from the other buildings, the TMG permitted the transfer of development rights from one side of
the street to the other. Under the special-district system, the transfer of development rights acrossa city street was also permitted in the case of the Shin Aoyama Building in Aoyama 1-chome,
and today such transfers are fairly common.
The practice of allowing the transfer of unused FAR is predicated on the thinking that since
FAR standards for a district are based on the capacity of the urban infrastructure in that district, it
is not a problem for individual buildings to exceed those standards as long as the FAR for theentire district remains constant.
The history of the FAR system is a history of progressive relaxation of regulations. As thesystem stands today, it can no longer be regarded as a basic tool for architecture control in urban
areas. This means that other standards are needed for that purpose. When the Roppongi Hills
complex was being built, much attention was focused on the height of its tallest building—238
meters—which made it visible from almost anywhere in the city center. In fact, however, the
FAR of the complex is fairly low at 660%—about half that of the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government buildings (1,300%) and less than half that of the Shin Marunouchi Building(1,437%). The reason is that Roppongi Hills was designed with a relatively large amount of open
public space, including a plaza and a park, as well as a ward road and even a road connecting theTokyo Metropolitan highway system’s Ring Road No. 3 to Roppongi-Dôri. Because these roads
and facilities take up a large portion of the 11-hectare site, the FAR is relatively low given thebuilding’s unusual height. By contrast, the Mitsukoshi Building in Ginza, though a mere 31
meters tall, has an FAR of 1,300%. Built during the era of height limits instead of FAR standards,
it was designed with six basement levels. Still, there have never been complaints or problems as
relating to the building’s high FAR.

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Figure 8. The Heart of Tokyo17
The height of buildings can cause a number of problems, however. Tall buildings areespecially apt to clash with the surrounding townscape. A single low building can also cause
problems if it disrupts the skyline. Regardless of height, when buildings, such as row houses,
abut another, the townscape can be ruined by too many gaps. However, as the system stands now,
as long as developers meet the FAR standards, together with lot-coverage and safety regulations,they can build whatever they like. In the twenty-first century, city dwellers value the quality of
housing and the environment and yearn for surroundings rich in ambient water and greenery.
Governor Masuzoe declared in June 2015 to formulate new urban grand design in the Assembly.
Tokyo needs to build an urban planning system that reflects these new values. The Games in2020 is the best opportunity to change Tokyo into a comfortable city.
11. Conclusion
In the run-up to the 1964 Olympics, the aims were clear: to host the Games in a manner thatshowcased Japanese technology and the fruits of industrialization and laid the foundation forfurther economic growth, reflecting the nation's determination to catch up with and overtake theindustrial West.
The situation is very different going into the 2020 Olympics. We have left behind theindustrial age and have entered the advanced information age as a mature society. Tokyo must
demonstrate that it has transformed itself accordingly.
On the economic and demographic level, a mature society is characterized by an aging
demographic structure and a low rate of economic growth. In terms of lifestyle and outlook, atruly mature society is one that welcomes peoples, customs, and beliefs of all kinds and spares noeffort to improve the quality of life. This translates into an urban culture in which people canenjoy sports, the arts, and entertainment to the fullest.
When it comes to efficiency and safety, Tokyo ranks very high among the world’s
supercities. If we compare Tokyo, New York, and London, for example, Tokyo is unquestionably
the safest, cleanest, and most orderly of the three. Its subways and trains are the most convenient.
Even traffic congestion is less severe than in New York or London.
Nonetheless, Tokyo lacks those qualities that draw millions of people to New York andLondon from all over the world. New York and London offer countless and endlessly varied
cultural and entertainment opportunities, from sports to fashion, from art and music to industry
events. Most of these programs and resources are commercially sustainable because so many
17

This picture was taken by Aoyama in March 2014.

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residents take advantage of them. In the years ahead, Tokyo's value and appeal as a city will
hinge more and more on such cultural facilities as sports arenas, museums, and event halls. This
is why Tokyo cannot afford to limit its pre-Olympic development plans to sleek office buildings
and high-rise apartments.
The Olympics are first and foremost a celebration of athletic competition, but in recent
years, the opening and closing ceremonies have turned them into an important cultural, artistic,
and fashion statements as well. It is not unrealistic to hope that the 2020 Olympics will spur thedevelopment of a new culture of joie de vivre among the Japanese people. If, in the future, Tokyo
can look back on the 2020 Olympics as the turning point in the city's evolution into a mecca for
culture-loving, event-loving tourists, that alone will assure its importance in Olympic history.
References
Books:
Greater London Authority (2004) London Plan , Greater London Authority
Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee (2012) Tokyo 2020 Candidate City, Tokyo
Tokyo Metropolitan Government (1982) Second Long-Term Plan for the Tokyo
Metropolis, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 18-26
Tokyo Metropolitan Government (1986) Second Long-Term Plan for the Tokyo
Metropolis, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 28-35
Tokyo Metropolitan Government (2006) Tokyo's Big Change: The 10-Year Plan, Tokyo
Metropolitan Government
Y. Aoyama and K. Sasaki (2012) Restoring Community Identity and Social Capital, in J.
Blakely etc.㸦ed.㸧Managing Urban Disaster Recovery, Lexington, Crisis Response, 8998.
Journal articles:
Y. Aoyama (2013) Comparison between the Miyakejima eruption of 2000 and the Great
East Japan Earthquake of 2011, Journal of Governance Studies, 9, 1-15
Web pages:
Tokyo Metropolitan Transportation Planning Council, Japan㸦2000㸧Person Trip Survey,
http://www.tokyo-pt.jp/person/, accessed December 2014
Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japan (2014) Creating the Future: The long-Term
Vision for Tokyo, http://www.seisakukikaku.metro.tokyo.jp/tokyo_vision/index.html,
accessed August 2015

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Exploring Postmodern Urban Transformation through the
Preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Keisuke Enokido
Hannan University
Abstract
With Tokyo selected to serve as the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic
Games, an increasingly important question for urban policy makers and residents is “how will theGames change the city?” The most concrete, long-term impacts involve Tokyo’s built
environment. As evidenced by Barcelona’s successful revitalization after the 1992 Summer
Games, hosting the Olympics is a rare opportunity for renewal. Comparing urban changes after
the 1964 Tokyo Olympics with the ongoing changes since Tokyo was selected for the 2020
Games reveals that the current trend of urban transformation is characterized chiefly by themes ofentertainment and cultural consumption. This change differs significantly from the preparations
for the 1964 Olympics, when urban function and speed were the top priorities. Although the
preparations for the 2020 Olympics have just begun, policies and projects for the redevelopment
zones already reveal that the 2020 Olympic Games have great potential to transform central
Tokyo into an “entertainment city.”
Keywords: The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Olympic Architecture, Postmodern Urban Regeneration,
Entertainment City, Waterfront Development
1. The Olympics and postmodern urban transformation
How the 2020 Olympics will change Tokyo is recognized as an increasingly important question
for urban policy makers and residents. Hiller (2006) argues that the Olympics are also about
cities in addition to economics and sports, and an opportunity to accomplish urban agenda items.
He also insists that the most concrete, long-term impacts are related to the built environment.
Different from other sports or cultural events, the Olympics are characterized by the number andvariety of games needing different types of facilities, plus a memorable stadium for the opening
ceremony, which often influences the image of the city after the Olympics end. In other words,
the Olympics provide a rare opportunity for the host city to renew its built environment
intensively and extensively in a relatively short period of time and market itself worldwide. For
developers and businesses, the Olympics are also a precious opportunity to make money frommajor construction projects. For both the public and private sectors, it is strategically important totake full advantage of the Olympics to satisfy their respective needs. One of the key concepts
related to issues of built environment is urban regeneration or revitalization. For example, the1992 Barcelona Games is recognized by scholars as a successful example of the use of an
Olympics in revitalizing the city by changing its built environment (Coaffee 2007: 155). London
also took the bold initiative of using the 2012 Olympics to revitalize its disadvantaged
communities (Gold & Gold 2008).
Change in the built environment enabled by the Olympics represents values and beliefs
widely held by the society of the host city and the state, as well as local and national politics, andthus shows a part of the important process of urban transformation because a large part of the cost
is covered by public money. Tokyo is an exceptional city that has enjoyed hosting the summer
Olympics twice, first in 1964 and the next in 2020. By examining changes in the style of
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development of the two Olympics, we can determine how the games are used to respond to thecity’s social and political needs. In other words, we may understand the specific type of built
environment sought in the middle of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first
century by examining the nature of development carried out in each period. The purpose of mydiscussion is to document and interpret the mode of urban transformation taking place in Tokyo’s
current pre-Olympic phase.
The conceptual framework that I use for the following discussion is postmodern urbanism.
It is generally understood that consumption, and cultural consumption in particular, is a dominantfactor causing the transformation of built environments in city centers today as they attempt to
attract new flows of people. These include visitors and tourists who provide new sources ofrevenue to the city, as well as businesses and investors in order to compete against other cities
within and across the border (see for example, Cronin & Hetherington, 2008, Hannigan, 1998,
Jayne, 2006, Page & Hall, 2003, Zukin, 1995). Urban regeneration in major cities around theworld today is characterized by greater reliance on the commercialization of urban spaces,
including public spaces. Given the current tendency to expand “places of consumption”, and in
relation to the tourism and visitor industry in particular, where spectacles and images create“dreamscapes of visual consumption ” (Zukin, 1992, 21 cited in Selby, 2004, 44) or special
experiences known as “experiencescapes” (O’Dell & Billing, 2005), it is useful to examine how
the preparation phase of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics/Paralympics is transforming the built
environment into a more pleasurable, “fantasy city” (Hannigan, 1998).
2. The Formation of Functional CityAs I mentioned above, it is vital to understand the changes during the period of the 1964 Tokyo
Olympics in order to illuminate the nature of the urban transformation in the pre-2020 Olympic
period. The 1964 Games gave strong momentum to the formation of a functional Tokyo.
Efficiency of movement was a top priority at that time, and increased speed of traffic andtransportation was typically represented by the Shinkansen bullet train and intercity expressways.
Before the 1964 Olympics, intensive construction of mega infrastructures took place, andJapanese were excited about the emergence of a new city that looked as modern as major
American cities. Manabe Hiroshi, a popular futurological illustrator at that time, was impressedby the new urbanscape of the freeways, writing that he felt as if he were looking at the freewaysof Los Angeles or San Francisco (Nihon Keizai Shimbun evening paper, September 27, 1964). In
one of his illustrations of the emerging Tokyo, he emphasizes the lines of streetlights built along
the new expressways. The urban expressway landscape likely reflects Manabe’s interest in thestreetlights as a symbol of the rapid urban transformation underway at that time.
Interestingly, an advertisement for Toshiba’s freeway lighting that appeared on the backcover of the Asahi Picture News (1964/2003) featured an enhanced image of twinkling
expressway lights illuminating the roadway, cars, and office buildings, thus illustrating theadvancement of technology. The ad says that the Tokyo Olympics offered a chance to change thenightscape of Tokyo completely, giving rise to a beautiful international city. This ad also showsthat the elevated freeways were built above a river supported by substructures erected on theriverbed. It should be noted that elevated freeways built above the historic bridge known as
Nihonbashi, the very epicenter of Edo period commercial activities, faced intense criticism
because of its perceived ugliness and its destruction of the precious, historic urban environment(Kimura, 2006). Still, the freeways and lights symbolized radical improvement in urban functions,i.e. traffic volume and speed, and beckoned the dawn of the new international city of Tokyo.
Building functional mega-structures was recognized as a top priority for Tokyo and Japan in the
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1960s. Illustrated by Manabe’s wonder, enhancing the functionality of urban economic activities
and achieving a higher standard of living captured the interest of Japanese at the time of the 1964
Olympics. Of course, the Olympics did not necessarily dominate the city’s functional
urbanization. However, without the Olympics, the rapid urban change necessary to realize higher
urban functions would have been impossible.
The era of 1960s functionalism can be seen in Japanese society’s interest in efficiency andscale. On the other hand, as typically shown in the growing criticism of the construction of theelevated freeway above Nihonbashi, the present trend of urban transformation can best beconceptualized as postmodern urbanization. The meaning of the concept varies, but in the field of
tourism, scholars take the view that in the postmodern city, style, design, and appearance – that is,entertainment, rule (Jayne, 2006, 58). The 1964 Olympics contributed to the development of an
efficient and functional city. This paper presupposes that the 2020 Olympics will contribute to
the promotion of a postmodern entertainment city that is pleasurable and aesthetic.
3. The progress of the preparation for the 2020 Olympics
Based on the understanding of the relationship between the Olympics and the postmodern urban
transformation seen in Tokyo’s steady shift to becoming a functional and efficient city, I will
now address the ongoing process of change in the city’s built environment as it prepares for the2020 Olympics. In this analysis, I will focus on two circular zones proposed by the Tokyo
Olympic Bidding Committee in which major Olympic facilities will be located (see, the websiteof The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games at
http://tokyo2020.jp/en/plan/outline/index.html). The Olympic Village, which is to be situated in
the middle of these two zones, sits on a landfill island, Harumi Wharf, completed in the 1930s(Endo, 2004). The first zone, called the Heritage Zone, is located inland on the north side of theVillage, and the other, the Tokyo Bay Zone, is located on the ocean side. This zoning is of course
purposeful but it is useful when examining the characteristics of the changes of the Olympic city.
The two zones are within a radius of 8km from the Village, emphasizing the compactness of scaleof the Tokyo Olympics.
4. The Heritage Zone
In the Heritage Zone, which covers the central areas of Tokyo, there exist several major sports
facilities built for the 1964 Games. There were 163 sports events in the 1964 Olympics, in which
5,152 athletes from 93 countries and regions participated, and most of the events were hosted
inside the Heritage zone (see Japanese Olympic Committee’s web site
http://www.joc.or.jp/past_games/tokyo1964/). Studying this zone is fundamental tounderstanding the characteristics of change in the built environment associated with the last
Olympics. Briefly, the changes illuminate a complementarity of Olympic facilities with othertypes of urban activities.
The Heritage Zone is mostly built up and there is insufficient space to accommodate what
will be a much greater number of Olympic events in 2020. In fact, there will be as many as 330
events in the upcoming Games, and a greater number of athletes will participate—up to 15,000.
The growing number of events requires that more facilities and spaces be added. The Tokyo Bay
Zone will therefore play a role in accommodating the growing scale of the Olympics. This Zone
is composed of reclaimed islands on which some vacant lands still exist. So, by examining thiszone, we can learn how this Olympic city will be built from scratch in the current context ofurbanism. In other words, we can learn how the Olympic facilities and the city’s future character

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are developing in concert. The examination of the two zones is a rare opportunity to see andrecord the formation of a new city in relation to the Olympics.
One of the most important sports facilities in the Heritage Zone is the Yoyogi National
Gymnasium, which was designed by Kenzo Tange, a highly distinguished modernist architectfamous worldwide. He is also known as an architect of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Building, among others. Kenzo’s gymnasium surprised many visitors because of its vast scale. A
newspaper article reported that the facility looked like warship because of its size and design(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, evening edition, 1964.9.5: 7).
Naturally, the Yoyogi National Gymnasium became a precious landmark, or heritagebuilding. Because of its functional, modernist beauty, it was deemed well worth preserving.
Located in the middle of the fashionable district of Harajuku, the Gymnasium provides urban
amenities such as scenic views, pedestrian areas, and open spaces, and has been supporting theenhancement of the quality of the modern city since 1964. Yoyogi National Gymnasium wasbuilt on returned land occupied by the U.S. military since the end of World War Two. It had beenused mainly as a residential district named Washington Heights, which was used for Occupationera American military housing since the late 1940s. This neighborhood was viewed as luxurious
and fashionable by local residents, and young Tokyoites were thus exposed to urban American
culture even before the construction of Yoyogi Gymnasium and Yoyogi Park, so this area wasalready recognized as a specially Americanized district (Akio, 2011). As a landmark, the new
Gymnasium provided centrality in terms of the opportunities of sports and recreation in one of
the sub-central areas of Tokyo. In other words, a center for urban public activities was thus added
to the city, enriching Tokyoites’ quality of life by providing new opportunities for sports andcultural activities. Other Olympic facilities were also built on the returned land. Most notably, theheadquarters building of Japan’s only public broadcaster, Nippon Hoso Kyokai, or NHK (TheJapan Broadcasting Corporation), is situated adjacent to the Gymnasium. It was built on a siteused for the Olympic media center after the Games. The Olympic Village was also built on
returned land on the same site as the Yoyogi National Gymnasium. As a result, a new urban parkand valuable opportunities for sports and cultural events were made available to the public in acentral area of Tokyo after the Olympics ended. The coexistence of the Gymnasium, the NHK
building, and the public park provided a new public space that symbolized the emergence ofmodern, cultural city. In addition, Yoyogi Park was the location of the 1964 Games’ main athlete
village. Together, the facilities and land use contributed to the provision of urban amenities in theurban center, which enabled Tokyo to preserve precious open space and public facilities for
sports and cultural activities in the middle of the city.
The Gymnasium has also been used for various events and concerts and it complemented
the growth of neighboring entertainment and fashionable districts, such as Harajuku, where
young, fashionable urban culture has since developed. In short, a new cultural space for sports,
culture, and events formed in the former Olympic district. Consequently, Yoyogi is now
considered a precious public space by Tokyoites (see, for example, 2005-2012 Shibuya Bunka
Project website). Through continuous maintenance and repair, the survival of the Gymnasium has
defined the area’s image, and the facility has become an urban focal point.
On the other hand, the main National Stadium used for the opening ceremony for the 1964
Olympics, which was also recognized as a legacy of the 1964 Olympics, is now undergoing
demolition. The historic facility was used as a venue for spectacle sports event including 2002
FIFA World Cup, Toyota Cup, Japan Rugby Top League, Track and Field World Championships,
etc. In its place, a new National Stadium, called the Shin Kokuritsu Kyogi-jo, will be built
constructed. The new stadium will be a symbolic mega-structure and will host the opening
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ceremony for the 2020 Games. However, the demolition of the old stadium and the design of the
new structure has provoked national controversy.
The new structure was designed by Zaha Hadid, a world famous British architect. An
international design competition for the new stadium was held in 2012, and Zaha’s design wasawarded first place (see the website of The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic andParalympic Games at http://tokyo2020.jp/en/news/ index.php?id=441). Compared with theprevious stadium, which looked quite simple and functional, Hadid’s stadium looks very stylish
and spectacular. If completed as designed, the structure will give special aesthetic experience tovisitors. However, some experts, including world-famous architects and citizens, contend that the
new building structure is too big and expensive, and technologically too challenging to constructin time and on budget. In spring and summer 2015, discussions of modifying the original design
were announced in the national press (Mainichi Simbun, electronic edition, May 18, 2015).
According to news reports, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
decided that it will instead build a roofless, open-air stadium for the opening ceremony due to theconstraints of time and budget. So, we still do not know what the new stadium will look like. The
original stadium built for the 1964 Olympics was itself a renovation of a smaller one, and thepresent project is a full reconstruction. There was also an argument by experts that the existing
National Stadium could still be usable by reinforcing the structure at lower cost. However, aminor renovation of the structure was not discussed seriously by the Japan Olympic Committee.
The mega structure has also been criticized by the Science Council of Japan for its negative
impact on the natural environment of the surrounding area.
While Yoyogi Gymnasium is a unique and irreplaceable masterpiece of Tange’s work and it
has undergone continuous renovation, the National Stadium was thought of somewhat differently.
It is clear that the replacement of the stadium will reshape the character of the space and affectthe already built-up surrounding neighborhood both socially and physically. The stadiumprovided a venue for many memorable events and was already a special legacy site and had thus
become an integral part of the city. It made the stadium district the center of sporting life inTokyo and in Japan. It is ironic that the Heritage Zone will lose one of the key heritage sites that
had so successfully functioned as a venue for high profile games and events. The case of the
National Stadium suggests that replacing an established legacy facility with a new one is achallenge for a city that has a previous experience of hosting a successful Olympics. In otherwords, the recreation of heritage is a politically, economically, and culturally difficult task.
The presence of the two distinctive structures built for the 1964 Olympic Games shows thatthe central areas of Tokyo became venues for international and large sports events even after the
Games. The 1964 Olympics clearly transformed Tokyo into a global sports city and contributed
to the establishment of its international brand. It also turned out that major Olympic facilities
such as Yoyogi Gymnasium and the National Stadium became the symbols of Tokyo because of
the scale and distinctiveness of their designs. In other words, major Olympic facilities canbecome historic buildings that influence the image and identity of the host city. Because theexcitement of international competition by legendary athletes is so well preserved in one’s
memory, the preservation and reconstruction or demolition of the ageing facilities becomes a
critical urban policy issue in the Heritage Zone. The case of the National Stadium suggests thatthe design and appearance of the structure are considered so important that, these days, a
simplistic and traditional style is no longer acceptable for an Olympic ceremony.

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5. Tokyo Bay Zone
More than half of the entire Games will be hosted in the Tokyo Bay Zone, and the Olympic
Village will be built on one of the islands adjacent to the zone, known as the Harumi pier area
(Harumi Futo). The Tokyo Bay Zone is composed of reclaimed islands and is connected to the
Heritage Zone by bridges and rails. This zone is characterized by ongoing mixed-use
development, including high-rise offices and condominiums, hotels, shopping malls, showrooms,
meetings and conventions, entertainment, and recreation and sports. For this post-industrial andpost-modern development, attracting tourists and visitors is identified as a top priority by the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG). Currently, the TMG expects that the number of
inbound tourists will rise to 20 million annually by 2020. In order to realize this goal, this area isdestined to play an important role, largely as an entertainment district.
Twenty-three Olympic facilities, including the Olympic Village, were originally planned to
be located in the Tokyo Bay Zone. Due to shifting plans, 19 facilities are currently planned, someof which already exist, while others are temporary structures. This number may change due toarrangements between Tokyo and other prefectures. The present plan features several major
facilities concentrated along a main street, strengthening the image of this area as one in which
residents and visitors can enjoy sports, recreational, and cultural activities in a central urban
waterfront area. These facilities, which are key to completing the development of the waterfrontarea, are also spatially, physically, and functionally compatible with the existing and future landuse. In other words, the Olympic facilities are perfect for filling large blocks of unused space.
There are several large scale construction projects in association with the Olympicization of
the waterfront area. A typical example is that the world’s biggest fish market, Tsukiji Ichiba,
which consistently attracts large numbers of tourists and is located adjacent to the candidate site
for the Olympic Village, will relocate to one of the reclaimed islands, Toyosu district, in theTokyo Bay Zone. The new fish market is expected to include spaces for shopping and dining, andwill continue to attract domestic and foreign visitors. While the fish market was originally built
for the wholesalers of fish in 1935, the new market aims to include both an authenticallyfunctioning fish market as well as spaces designed purely for entertainment.
Another significant development is the planned construction of a large cruise ship terminal.
Authorized by Tokyo Cruise Vision and publicized in 2014 by Tokyo’s Bureau of Ports andHarbors, it will replace the existing ship terminal constructed in 1991. The new terminal isplanned because, although chartered cruise ships are expected during the event, the existingterminal cannot accommodate tall cruise ships due to the presence of a low bridge nearby. Whencompleted, the terminal will be one of the symbols of the zone as a hub of cruise tourism, and it
will increase the attractiveness of the zone as an entertainment city. In addition to the increased
maritime accessibility, newly planned infrastructure will also improve access from the inland
Heritage Zone. These include a subway line and stations, roads and bridges, and rapid bus transit.
The plans for the revamped Tsukiji fish market and the new cruise ship terminal illustrate that the
Olympics will be used to accelerate the process of city building on reclaimed islands, making therealization of a tourism-oriented city a top priority for the TMG.
All of this waterfront construction has been a controversial and long term policy agenda.
The reclaimed waterfront area, including the Tokyo Bay Zone, was already at the center of apolitical debate in the mid-1990s. At that time, the TMG had a plan to host a World Exposition to
boost the development of the area and the economy of Tokyo, which was deeply impacted by the
bursting of the bubble economy. The plan was finally cancelled after an anti-growth governor,
Aoshima Yukio, defeated the pro-growth incumbent, Suzuki Shunichi, in 1995. Today, however,there is no strong opposition to developing the area for the 2020 Olympics. It is likely that the
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interim development of the waterfront, which now features condominiums, shopping malls,
convention facilities, museums, hotels, athletic facilities, parks, and a TV station, has alreadycemented a public, communal image of the area. In other words, now driven by the Olympics,
this growth-oriented development effort seems to have survived and its goals are within reach.
Importantly, this effort no longer relies simply on real estate development, and is now taking amore entertainment-oriented approach.
Today, in addition to Olympic venues, the area features such facilities as arenas, marinas,
convention and exhibition centers, hotels, residential buildings, corporate offices, a TV
headquarters building (Fuji Television Network, Inc.), which provide entertainment spaces andopportunities to visitors. In terms of land use, this zone is characterized by the same sort of built
environment and activities commonly seen in waterfront festival marketplaces around the world.
It has thus become a destination which attracts both local visitors and tourists. The planned
Olympic facilities are thus compatible with the existing image of the area—that is, an upscale
entertainment city. High profile sports and cultural events are becoming increasingly important tothe area’s continuing development. Housing construction continues and real-estate prices arerising around Olympic facilities (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, March 24, 2015).
6. Koto Ward Olympic/Paralympic City Master Plan
The Olympics/Paralympics is obviously a national project. Although some games are hosted bymunicipalities outside of Tokyo, the TMG is most directly involved. Further, it is also importantto recognize that many of the Olympic facilities are concentrated in Koto Ward, or Koto-ku, oneof 23 wards or municipalities. This ward encompasses a large part of the Tokyo Bay Zone and ishome to 17 of the 37 planned Olympic facilities. This means that Koto Ward will be impacted
heavily by the Games and thus plays an important role in hosting the Games. Naturally, theOlympics provide a powerful impetus for the ward to rethink its development vision.
Consequently, the ward has developed a comprehensive plan for its long term community
development, or machizukuri. The plan follows the established community vision known as the
Koto-ku Kihon Koso. It is the most clearly delineated plan by any Tokyo community in responseto the 2020 Olympics, and its central development theme is pleasurable experiences. The plan
aims to capitalize on the spillover effects of hosting the Games by strengthening connections
between the waterfront area, where various Olympic facilities will be located, and the ward’s
inland area, which is home to older residential communities long known as the shitamachi, or“lower town.” The plan includes a variety of development projects that must be completed even
before the Olympic facilities are designed. Together, they illustrate how Koto Ward aims toprioritize development projects in conjunction with the 2020 Games.
These projects are summarized as follows:
Build a ropeway
The mayor of Koto Ward, Yamazaki Takaaki, announced the plan to build a ropeway over the
Olympic facilities. He came up with the idea for the ropeway when he saw the Emirates Air Line
Ropeway erected in London for the 2012 Games. The plan estimates that ropeway passengers
will not decline after 2020 because of the continuing presence of so many facilities to attract
visitors. Mayor Yamazaki expects that the ropeway will be as important a tourism resource asTokyo’s famed Sky Tree, and will further serve as a convenient transport for local commuters. A
feasibility study is now underway and it is not yet certain if the ropeway will be built as planned.
However, as London’s experience illustrates, the existence of a ropeway in the middle of a major
city can make an urban landscape fantastic and spectacular, pleasurable and convenient.
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Use wooden structures for sport facilities
Lumbering is an important local industry in Koto Ward. The ward expects that the use of lumberin the building of the Olympic venues is important enough to impress visitors, so they aim to
showcase the local carpentry knowledge and technology fundamental to constructing large
wooden buildings. The ward also expects that wooden structures will both improve the urban
landscape and become key tourism sites.
Build water transport infrastructure
Building infrastructure for water-buses and amphibious vehicles, including bus stops and ramps
for use by Olympic tourists, is also deemed essential to increasing the attractiveness of Koto
Ward’s waterfront area. The ward expects that these structures will promote the opening of new
water transport routes.
Build extensive networks of pedestrian decks
Raised decks, separated from vehicular traffic for the convenience of pedestrians, are viewed as
essential to facilitating the free movement of people in the waterfront area. Community bikes will
also be introduced to assist the mobility of residents and visitors.
Build communities out of the Olympic facilities
Linking sports facilities, stations, and commercial facilities is considered integral to building
vibrant communities. Long after the Games have passed, opportunities for everyday sports andcommunity functions will continue to attract residents and visitors.
All of the above plans have yet to be realized, and their actual fate is uncertain. Koto
Ward’s plan, however, suggests that the Olympics is an ‘unmissable’ opportunity to develop apleasurable and comfortable city in which entertainment and leisure-oriented facilities andinfrastructures are considered top priority agenda items.
7. Conclusion: Catalyst for “postmodern” urban transformation
The above discussion reveals that the 2020 Olympic Games have great potential as a catalyst forlarge-scale urban transformation in the Heritage and Tokyo Bay Zones. In the former, themassive Yoyogi Gymnasium and National Stadium provided new urban spaces on an
unprecedented scale, which enhanced public welfare, including opportunities for sports,
recreation, and culture. The realization of such valuable and symbolic public spaces was made in
the context of advancing dynamic change in Tokyo’s urban infrastructure. Land use across Tokyo
in the 1960s was changing, and the city’s transformation into a modern, functional, Westernized
and international city was much admired by futurologist Manabe Hiroshi. Over five decades,
both facilities offered residents and visitors, as well as athletes from all over the world, valuable
spaces for recreation and competition. In sum, large scale facilities for sports and cultural events
contributed to the formation of symbolic and functional urban Tokyo, and have become integral
to the city’s identity since the 1960s. Therefore, the reconstruction of National Stadium requires
careful consideration because the original structure and its vicinity are a core part of Tokyo’s
character.
Different from the facilities built for the 1964 Olympics, those for the 2020
Olympics/Paralympics are being planned in the context of postmodern urbanism. Planners thus
place great emphasis on providing pleasurable experiences, such as in the Tokyo Bay Zone,
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which has no old structures or heritage buildings, and is fast becoming an entertainment city.
Here, urban planners will promote the development of mixed-use districts, such as in Koto
Ward’s bold plan to erect an urban ropeway modeled after the London’s 2012 Emirates Air Line.
In addition, the construction of such facilities as the new Tsukiji Ichiba market and expanded
cruise ship terminal suggest that the preparations for the Games are prioritizing a postmodern
built environment. This suggests that the 2020 Olympics has significant potential to facilitate
Tokyo’s postmodernization, and the post-Olympic phase is critically important to the successfulpromotion of long-term urban regeneration projects.
Although not discussed in this presentation, other issues, such as the cost of the Olympic
facilities and local public involvement in their development, need to be examined in order tobetter understand the process and impact of urban transformation. We are now witnessing the
preparation phase of the 2020 Olympics. Significant urban development is just beginning inTokyo, and together we can watch it unfold in real time. We cannot miss the chance to observe
and analyze how this historical event is going to change Tokyo and possibly other cities acrossJapan.
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Contributors
Editors
David W. Edgington, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia
Norio Ota, Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics, York University
Jackie F. Steele, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo
Nobuyuki Sato, Chuo Law School, Chuo University
Authors
Jon Heese, Former Tsukuba City Councilor
Masako Iino, Past President and Professor Emeritus of Tsuda College
Hiroko Noro, Department of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Victoria
Norie Yazu, Department of English, Kanda University of International Studies
Michiko Aramaki, Simone de Beauvoir Institute and Department of Sociology and Anthropology,
Concordia University Montréal
Ryoko Ishikawa, Ritsumeikan International, Ritsumeikan University
Etsuko Kato, College of Liberal Arts, International Christian University
Susan S. Lee, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto
Brian Pendleton, Asian Studies Program, Langara College
Yasushi Aoyama, Graduate School of Governance Studies, Meiji University, Former ViceGovernor of Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Keisuke Enokido, Faculty of International Tourism, Hannan University139