Unbeknownst to many in the West, Japan has developed an immigration problem. While far less welcoming than Western Europe, the United States, and Canada, Japan is hosting substantial numbers of immigrants — legal and otherwise — from countries such as China, Korea, Pakistan, Iran, and Brazil. Immigrants to Japan are drawn by the lure of comparatively high pay for dirty and dangerous jobs that the relatively few younger Japanese (Japan's birth rate is the world's lowest, alongside Italy's) are not interested in performing. The foundry industry, for example, is heavily dependent on foreign laborers.

Over the weekend, a crowd of immigrants gathered at a used automobile auction in suburban Tokyo, comprising roughly 200 out of the 1000  persons in attendance. The same auction also drew a sound truck belonging to a right wing organization, which blared heated political rhetoric. Regular visitors to Tokyo and Osaka are familiar with these vehicles, which often park near major railway stations, and harangue passing crowds with exhortations to worship the Emperor, rearm Japan, and, apparently these days, get rid of the immigrants. The liberal daily newspaper Mainichi openly labeled the sponsors of the sound truck 'fascists.'

Accounts vary as to what message the truck broadcast which aroused the fury of the crowd. The generally conservative daily Yomiuri reported that the initial offense was the  exhortation, "Don't park your cars on the street here!" Liberal Mainichi simply reported that the 'fascists' committed racism.

Whatever the offending rhetoric, the crowd, which Mainichi but not Yomiuri reported to be of 'Middle Eastern' origin, responded by throwing rocks at the truck, cracking its windscreen and injuring several members of the truck's crew.

Japan has very regrettable history of political violence involving ultra—nationalist forces. The American Thinker hopes and trusts that cooler heads will prevail in Japan. However, it is notable that in the current instance it was not the 'fascists' who resorted to force. The author, having resided in Japan, is well—aware of what it means to be a foreign guest, and urges punctilious respect for the local laws and sensibilities on the part of those who enjoy the hospitality of the Japanese.

The underlying problem in Japan, as in Europe, is a failure to reproduce. A society which cannot produce slightly over 2 children per couple is consuming its human seed corn, and must depend on outsiders for its continued viability. For a society which depends as much as Japan does on intense socialization and unwritten rules, the perils of such reliance are all the greater.

Posted by Thomas  03 01 04