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Protests hit immigration detainee treatment
Some 30 Japanese, Chinese, Ghanaian and ethnic Kurds from Turkey staged protests Wednesday in front of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in Shinagawa Ward and the Justice Ministry in Chiyoda Ward, demanding better treatment for detainees. Masanori Kashiwazaki, a member of SYI, a group supporting foreigners detained in immigration detention centers, gave identical protest letters…
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U.N. rights rapporteur says end foreign trainee program ‘slavery’
A visiting U.N. expert on the rights of migrants urged the government Wednesday to terminate its industrial trainee and technical intern program for workers from overseas, saying it may amount to “slavery” in some cases, fueling demand for exploitative cheap labor in possible violation of human rights. “This program should be discontinued and replaced by…
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Deportation rule troubles U.N. official
A recent government decision to deport only the parents of families without residency status, thus separating children from their mothers and fathers, flies in the face of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Jorge Bustamante, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, said Saturday in Tokyo. Bustamante, who is on his…
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Prada, manager fail to come to settlement in harassment case
Prada Japan’s senior retail manager said Saturday she had failed to reach a settlement with the Italian fashion label in a dispute alleging the company harassed her and other employees. The manager, Rina Bovrisse, told The Japan Times she will prepare to take further legal action against the company. The case was handled by an…
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Prada accused of maltreatment
Boss wanted ‘old, fat, ugly’ out: manager A senior manager at Prada Japan has filed a legal complaint against the Italian fashion label, accusing the company of harassment and discrimination based on appearance and alleging it maltreated other employees in the past. Last May, Prada Japan CEO Davide Sesia visited some of the 40 Prada…
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70 immigration detainees on hunger strike
Fast in Osaka tied to denial of release: activists At least 70 detainees at the West Japan Immigration Control Center, which has long been criticized by human rights groups and Diet members, have been on a hunger strike since Monday, center officials and volunteers helping them confirmed Thursday. “Around 70 foreigners began a hunger strike…
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Foreigners rally over job security
Hundreds of foreign and Japanese people staged a rally Sunday in Tokyo demanding better working conditions and employment benefits for foreign residents. At the annual “March in March” event at Hibiya Park in Chiyoda Ward, Louis Carlet, deputy general secretary of the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu, said foreign workers have a great…
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Health insurance nixed as visa renewal condition
The Immigration Bureau has effectively scrapped a guideline that compelled foreign residents to present health insurance cards when applying to extend visa status, it has been learned. The new guideline, due to be enforced on April 1, states it would have requested non-Japanese to enroll in the social insurance system and present health insurance cards…
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DPJ postpones bill to grant local voting rights to permanent foreign residents
The government has abandoned proposing a bill to grant local voting rights to permanent foreign residents in Japan during the current Diet session, in the face of intense opposition from coalition partner People’s New Party (PNP). “It’s extremely difficult for the government to sponsor such a bill due to differences over the issue between the…
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Survey: 14 prefectures against foreign suffrage
Fourteen of the nation’s 47 prefectural assemblies oppose or have called for prudence in granting permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local elections, a recent survey by the National Association of Chairpersons of Prefectural Assemblies has found. Of the 14, eight including Chiba and Ishikawa had previously voted in favor of enfranchising non-Japanese…