Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [30]
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MULTICULTURALISM
Like many industrialised countries, Japan attracts thousands of workers hoping for high salaries and a better life. At present, there are about 1.9 million foreign residents registered with the government (about 1.5% of the total population of Japan). Of these, 32% are Korean (for more on resident Koreans, Click here), 24% are Chinese or Taiwanese, 14% are Brazilian and 2.5% are from the USA. In addition, it has been estimated that at least another 250,000 unregistered illegal immigrants live and work in Japan.
Due to its ageing population and low birth rate (Click here), Japan is being forced to consider means to increase immigration of skilled workers, something that many Japanese oppose on the grounds that it will disrupt Japan’s existing social order. In late 2008 the Japanese government initiated a program to encourage foreign nurses (mostly of Southeast Asian origin). Already critics on both sides of the issue have attacked the program, some claiming the nurses are being subjected to exploitative working conditions, others claiming that the nurses do not posses the language skills to work effectively in Japan. Whatever the case, it seems likely that Japan’s reliance on foreign nurses will increase as the society ages.
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MEDIA
Like all democratic countries, Japan constitutionally guarantees freedom of the press. In general, journalists do have quite a bit of freedom, though both Japanese and foreign media analysts have noted that exercise of this liberty is not always easy.
For reasons that are not completely clear, many Japanese journalists practise a form of self-censorship, often taking governmental or police reports at face value rather than conducting independent investigations that might reveal what is hidden beneath the official story. Some media analysts have speculated that this practice is symptomatic of journalists working closely, perhaps too closely, with political figures and police chiefs, who may tacitly encourage them to omit details that might conflict with official accounts. The topic of police corruption and the unwillingness of Japanese mainstream media to tackle the issue was one of the themes of director Takahashi Gen’s 2006 film Pochi no kokuhaku (sadly, unavailable in English).
Added to the problem of self-censorship is that of exclusive press clubs, also known as kisha clubs. These clubs provide a privileged few with access to the halls of government. Journalists who are not members of a kisha club are unable to obtain key information and thus are shut out of a story. Some reporters have argued that this constitutes a form of information monopoly and have put pressure on the Japanese government to abolish the clubs.
Despite some problems with the free flow of information, the Japanese press is considered trustworthy by most people in Japan. Newspapers enjoy wide circulation, aided perhaps by the nation’s incredible 99% literacy rate, and almost all households have TVs. Internet usage is also high: an estimated 87 million Japanese use the internet regularly.
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RELIGION
Shintō & Buddhism
The vast majority (about 86%) of Japanese are followers of both Buddhism and Shintō, a fact puzzling to many Westerners, most of whom belong to exclusive monotheistic faiths. The Japanese are fond of saying that Shintō is the religion of this world and this life, while Buddhism is for matters of the soul and the next world. Thus, births, marriages, harvest rituals and business success are considered the province of Shintō, while funerals are exclusively Buddhist affairs. When one looks at the beliefs and metaphysics of each religion, this makes perfect sense, for Shintō is a religion that holds that gods reside in nature itself (this world), while Buddhism stresses the impermanence of the natural world.
Shintō, or ‘the way of the gods’, is the indigenous religion of Japan. More than a monolithic