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Setsuko Kamiya, Japan Times reports: “In a country notorious for its exclusive immigration policy, the question of whether to allow Japanese to hold dual citizenship became a surprisingly hot policy topic last year after members of the ruling party breached the issue.
In many other parts of the world, it’s a matter that has already been discussed in great depth, and observers agree that an increasing number of countries are moving toward allowing citizens to become multinational.
As of 2000, around 90 countries and territories permitted dual citizenship either fully …

Here is the second article in a series that deals with immigration in Japan.

What nationality does a baby born at sea or in the air get?
The answer is simple if one of the parents hails from a country that upholds the principle of jus sanguinis, the Latin term for granting citizenship based on the nationality of one’s parents.
Japan is one such country, meaning that if a baby has a Japanese parent, it receives that nationality regardless of birthplace.
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The issue of nationality had never been discussed more seriously than it was in 2008. LDP Lower-House Member Taro Kono seeks to rectify the dual citizenship situation.
Japan is the only developed country that does not automatically grant citizenship to babies born within its territory, allow its nationals to have multiple citizenship or let foreigners vote in local-level elections.
Japan has 2 million registered foreigners, and one in every 30 babies born here has at least one foreign parent.
Article 14 of Japan’s Constitution requires that Japanese renounce other nationalities by the age of …

With more than 99 percent of indictments leading to convictions, Japan has a reputation for being tough on crime. What that figure does not take into account, however, is that prosecutors are hesitant to bring cases to trial unless they can be assured a conviction.
The Ministry of Justice recently released figures for 2007 that showed only 43.6 percent of all criminal cases went to trial. And the figure is even lower — 13.3 percent — for criminal charges against personnel connected to the U.S. military.
The data have prompted the Japan …

The Japan Times “Readers in Council” Opinion piece below reminded me of my last Tokyo home search: “My wife got a close and personal observation of how gaijin is used in business. We visited a realtor to lease an apartment or a house. The agent made calls to numerous owners and most said no deal in renting to gaijin. Some homeowners would rent to gaijin if my wife (a.k.a. Japanese, safe, and a link to the parents if something went wrong) signed. I said NO to that! However, ONE homeowner …

From Dec. 2, The Japan Times is serializing one of Japan’s early detective novels, “The Curious Casebook of Inspector Hanshichi: Detective Stories of Old Edo,” in which author Kido Okamoto (1872-1939), offers entertaining and thrilling stories set in Edo Period Japan.

The Curious Casebook of Inspector Hanshichi

The Restoration
The Serialization of Hanshichi, 1917 — 1937
A Tale of Two Cities
Hanshichi’s Namesakes
The Influence of Sherlock Holmes
The Origins of the Torimonocho

Although widely read in Japan since its publishing in the years between 1917 and 1937, it wasn’t until 2007 that the book was translated into …

A bill to revise the National Health Insurance Law was passed on Friday, paving the way for all children aged 15 or under to receive health insurance even if their parents fall behind on premium payments.
The House of Councillors plenary session unanimously approved the revision on Friday. The amendment, which will take effect on April 1 next year, is aimed at helping some 33,000 children of junior high school age or under who have been left without health insurance coverage due to their parents’ failure to pay national health insurance …

BT’ers are probably familiar with my views/comments on the 1995 rape of the 12-year old Okinawan girl. I will not comment on the film since I have not watched it.
“Never let them forget.”
That’s the tagline for “The First Breath of Tengan Rei,” a new independent film that focuses on an Okinawa woman who travels to Chicago to confront two Marines who abducted, raped and left her for dead a decade ago.
And if the story line sounds familiar, it should. The directors loosely based some of the plot on a 1995 …

I am afraid that Japan might head in a direction that will tie its hands tighter because of its masochistic view of history that is gripping Japan today. I am concerned that unless someone stops it, Japan might fall in the near future.

Zurui: Tamogami holds no punches in his interview. His view of white nations has been “quietly” discussed at various levels of government and I am extremely curious how this will play out in the Japanese media. I am also very curious curious to hear what he thinks of President-elect …

This in from Debito: “The killer of Scott Tucker, choked to death by a DJ in a Tokyo bar, gets suspended sentence.
Zurui: Here is some background information on the Bul-lets DJ. — Police confirmed Wednesday that they have charged a man with killing an American man in a nightclub in Azabu on Feb 29. Atsushi Watanabe, 29, was charged with killing Richard Scott Tucker, 47, by choking him and punching him from behind at around 10:40 p.m. The victim was taken to hospital but died about one hour later.
According to police, …

Punishment for drunken drivers will become dramatically tougher under proposed revisions to the enforcement regulations of the Road Traffic Law coming into effect next June, the National Police Agency (NPA) said.
Under the new rules, those found with 0.25 milligrams or more of alcohol per liter of breath will receive a penalty of 25 points from their license, up from 13, and lose it on the spot. Between 0.15 and less than 0.25 milligrams will incur 13 points instead of 6, earning a 90-day suspension.
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Third World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents: Viewing child porn, manga depicting such to be criminalized; Simple possession of child porn unpunishable in Japan
It has been seven years since the Yokohama congress, and Japan has yet to regulate the simple possession of child porn. This is a problem. I want Japan to seriously consider placing a ban on child porn, including viewing such as well.It has been seven years since the Yokohama congress, and Japan has yet to regulate the simple possession of child porn. This is …

OKAYAMA (Kyodo) A woman in Soja, Okayama Prefecture, who gave birth within 300 days of her divorce will file a lawsuit seeking ¥3.3 million in compensation from the city for refusing to register her baby as born to her and her current husband, the woman’s lawyer said Monday.

The city rejected the registration submitted by her current husband on Nov. 10, citing a provision in the Civil Code — Paragraph 2 of Article 772 — that says a child born within 300 days from the date of the dissolution or cancellation …

The Justice Ministry has released statistics showing the numbers of cases indicted and dropped over crimes and other incidents involving U.S. military personnel in 2007. Public prosecutors indicted 48.6% of all cases, including those violating the Road Traffic Law and other specific laws. However, when it comes to criminal cases like robberies and thefts, the indictment rate was extremely low at 13.3%. 
In the breakdown of indicted crimes, traffic law violations were overwhelming at 286 cases, followed by vehicular manslaughters at 30 cases and bodily injuries at 7 cases. Among dropped …

The Japan Times reports that Liberal Democratic Party member Taro Kono said Thursday he has submitted a proposal to an LDP panel he heads calling for the Nationality Law to be revised to allow offspring of mixed couples, one of whom being Japanese, to have more than one nationality. The panel will scrutinize the proposal, but there is no time limit to formalize it as “this is not something that needs to be done anytime soon,” he said.
Under the current system, Japan, in principle, requires Japanese nationals who also hold citizenship in another country to choose one or …

Let’s Japan reported that a man who challenged a 1999 groping accusation by a female commuter won his court case against the accuser Nov. 7, 2008.
The Japan Supreme Court revoked the charge of “public nuisance” against the man. In September 1999, a woman accused the man of rubbing his groin on her thigh as they stood on the Chuo line railway train in Tokyo. The man was arrested and charged with a crime but denied the accusation. He filed civil lawsuits against the woman.
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A U.S. Army captain who was intelligence liaison to the Japanese military was sentenced Friday to a year and a day in prison for a firearms smuggling conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Marsha J Pechman rejected a recommendation from both sides that Capt Tomoaki Iishiba be spared time behind bars. She says the 34-year-old showed poor judgment.
After serving his sentence, Iishiba faces three years on supervised release.
He was indicted in July for conspiring with another person to export, without authorization, firearm components to Japan from 2006 to February 2008 while working for …

Experts concerned about bill amending Child Pornography Prevention Law, fearing restrictions on manga, anime, investigating authorities’ view reflected in judgment, freedom of expression undermined
The ruling coalition has submitted a bill amending the Child Pornography Prevention Law to the current Diet session. The bill prohibits the individual possession of child pornography and indecent videos. Manga (comics) and anime (animated cartoons) may be subject to restrictions in the future. Given this, cartoonists and experts have voiced concern, fearing that an enactment of the revision bill would lead to undermining the principle of …

 
Consumption tax to be raised to about 10% by around the mid-2010s, says State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Yosano
In connection with Prime Minister Aso’s statement on a hike in the sales tax in three years’ time, State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Hajime Yosano during an NHK TV talk show on November 2 said, “State finances will go bust unless the consumption tax is raised in stages to 10% by around the mid-2010s.” He thus indicated his perception that it is necessary to raise the consumption tax …

The U.S. Marines in Japan have ordered U.S. service personnel in Okinawa Prefecture to stay away from residential areas, schools, cemeteries and other public locations in an apparent effort to ease local anger over a slew of incidents involving U.S. military personnel.

The order also prohibits the U.S. personnel from conducting activities such as cliff diving, bungee jumping and hang gliding.
‘‘Service members found in an off-limits area or participating in a prohibited activity will be in violation of’’ the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Marines said in a message posted …

 Japanese women from collapsed international marriages who bring their children to Japan without their partner’s consent are facing charges of abduction — an issue that has highlighted a convention covering international child abduction.
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction has been signed by about 80 countries, including in Europe and the United States. Under the convention, it is illegal for one parent to take a child away from his or her country or residence without first settling issues such as custody and visitation rights.
Signatory countries have …

Journalist Yoshiko Sakurai (Shukan Shincho) wrote the article below. The comments and links that I posted will provide you with additional information. Additionally, the highlights and items in bold or red are my, (Zurui’s), emphasis: 
In the evening of Oct. 19, four Chinese military ships transited the Tsugaru Strait from the Japan Sea to the Pacific.

Tsugaru Strait (Tsugaru Kaiky?) Japan applies the 3-nautical-mile (5.6 km) territorial limit to the Tsugaru Strait and allows foreign ships to pass through the Strait. The Tsugaru Strait has eastern and western necks, both approximately 20 km across …

There’s less than a week to go until the U.S. presidential election, but Americans living in Japan can still cast their votes! Check out Trans-Pacific Radio for more details on absentee ballots.
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Although Japan and the United States have concurred on Japan’s jurisdiction over crimes committed by U.S. military personnel and others stationed in Japan, there exists a document implying that the two countries actually had concluded a secret pact under which Japan waives its jurisdiction over crimes with the exception of major incidents, Shoji Niihara, a researcher of international affairs, announced yesterday. The government has denied that there has been such a deal.
According to Niihara, the document was found at the U.S. National Archives. On Oct. 28, 1953, when the Japanese …

THE STORY HAS ALL THE ELEMENTS of more familiar causes célèbre: Parasitic attorneys disfiguring the intent of the law to further their own objectives, politicians making intemperate comments and then toggling between I’m sorry/I’m not sorry, and newspapers imitating third-rate blogs. In short, it’s another milestone in the descent of public discourse into the cesspool.
Except this time the story is happening in Japan and not in the West.
In April 1999, an 18-year-old male posed as a plumber (or plumbing inspector, or drainage pipe repair worker, depending on the newspaper) to …