Letter to the Editor (aka "Kickin' Jerks")

The first thing I do every morning at school is read the English version of the Daily Yomiuri newspaper. (Technically, I read the first few pages, then do the crossword, then read the rest.) Unfortunately, this means I am regularly subjected to the sheer idiocy of those English-speakers who try to take advantage of the soap box that is the Letters to the Editor section. Last week, I could barely choke down the reactionary rhetoric posed by one misguided reader (easily google-able), so I felt obliged to respond. So long as I'm living here, I refuse to let a bunch of loose-lipped, know-nothings tarnish the image of foreigners as a whole. That's right, I'm-a kick me some jerks. I'm posting both his letter (without permission) and my response... I imagine that since my readership numbers in the teens no one will raise a fuss. Will let you know if I get published.

Idiot's commentary:

Prejudice inappropriate in English-language paper

When I open my copy of The Daily Yomiuri and read headlines such as “Govt to help local govts burdened by foreigners” (Jan. 9, Page 2) and “Foreigners filling nation’s jails” (Jan. 24, Page 3), I truly wonder what inconvenience and liability members of my community will be accused of next.

Overtaxing immigration and customs officials by requesting passports be stamped and bags checked on arrival and departure? Robbing local citizens of seats on public transport? Depleting natural resources by breathing and washing ourselves?

The fact that the original articles come from your parent publication is worrisome enough, given that such headlines only fuel prejudices among the Japanese readership about their international population. However, reminding the “burdensome” community (temporary or permanent) through the pages of your English-language publication of the problems they are causing is another matter. Try and think of the impact these poorly framed pieces have on those who have been invited and encouraged to come to Japan as resources and not liabilities.

“Yokoso!” indeed. [Fareasticarus editor's note... "Yokoso" means "Welcome" in Japanese]

Anthony Crooks
Sendai

My response:

Call for censorship inappropriate in letter to the editor

This letter is in response Anthony Crook’s February 1, 2007 Letter to the Editor entitled “Prejudice inappropriate in English-language paper,” in which he contended that the Yomiuri unfairly characterizes foreigners living in Japan as onerous to Japanese society.

Though the articles in question may have exhibited foreigners in a bad light, it makes the issues no less newsworthy. Prisons overcrowded with foreigners and government policies concerning non-citizens are not only interesting topics that deserve media attention, but they are also problems faced and discussed by other members of the international community.

It is the responsibility of the free press to print objective, factual news. The decision of what might be deemed newsworthy must depend heavily on the readership, as a newspaper is a business and must cater to its customers. In this situation, I do not think The Daily Yomiuri failed in either regard. Furthermore, though the reader identified two articles that may mar the image of foreigners, there have been many articles to the contrary as well.

That the reader is a seemingly good-willed ambassador is commendable, but it’s important to realize that foreigners were not invited by Japan as a whole. For the most part, each of us was selected by an individual organization for an individual purpose, and not all natives welcome foreigners with open arms.

It’s up to us to try to make a good impression during our tenure in Japan. Requesting that the newspaper sporting the largest circulation in Japan engage in censorship is not only counterproductive, but that also itself sheds us in the worst of lights. It is a testament to the dignity of the Yomiuri that the original letter was printed at all.

[My name here]
Himeji