SPRING FEVER

If reports around school are any indicator, a heinous plague is about to befall the entirety of Japan.  DL was wrestling with a cold in early February, which prompted Yosh sensei to gleefully speculate that he might be suffering from kafunsho.  "What's that?" asked DL.  "It's an illness that you get in the spring," replied Yosh.  "Oh, you mean like allergies?"  "No.  This is much worse than allergies. This is a sickness where you get a headache, and your eyes itch, and your ears itch, and your nose is always wet."  Ah, I see.

Kafunsho, or hay fever, is triggered mainly by pollen from the hectares of cedar trees that were planted throughout Japan in the 1950s.  The wood was intended for rebuilding efforts following WWII; however, when it became clear that it was cheaper to import foreign lumber, the trees were left to proliferate, along with an allergy-stricken population.  On the bright side, hay fever has spawned a booming industry of antihistamines, inhalers, herbal teas, eye drops, nasal sprays, protective goggles, face masks, online pollen monitoring systems, etc. These remedies are but one slice of the pie of what I term the seasonal products of Japan.  In summer, there are racks of sweat towels, big hats, umbrellas, and sunscreen.  Starting in the fall and extending through winter, these goods are then replaced by hot patches for every conceivable part of the body, hot water bottles, electric blankets, kerosene stoves, layers of thermal underwear, protective face masks, and tissues.  (Just don't blow your nose in public, which can strike terror into those around you.)  However, it seems to me that at least two of the three sources discomfort (heat and cold) could be easily circumvented with...insulation!  Instead, the government is reportedly bent on tackling the harbinger of the third cause of seasonal discomfiture, pollen.  

Back in 2006, the Japanese Forestry Agency started formulating various strategies to deal with the growing pollen count.  One article I read from 2008 stated that the agency was looking to cull the cedar trees in certain areas and plant strains that produce less pollen.  A more recent piece states that trees are being logged in other areas, but new ones are not being planted, in the hopes that other arboreal types that produce less pollen will be given a chance to spread.  Still, these efforts are isolated and limited, leaving most of the country in a constant swirl of spores.  Oh, contraband Zyrtec, don't fail me now.

**Since posting this, another friend has warned me about Asian Dust, a phenomenon in which sand, pollutants and bacteria are blown over from Central Asia. Mon Dieu.  I'm thinking about being fitted for a Hazmat suit.  That Fukushima look is really in right now.  

BILL BAILEY, WON'T YOU PLEASE [GO] HOME?

About a month ago, The Economist audaciously published an account by a Canadian freelance journalist who had been detained at a Tokyo airport, and was then deported back to Canada against his will (he had previously lived in Tokyo for many years with his partner).  What made the story so remarkable was 1) that The Economist admitted flat-out that it could not verify his story, but were publishing it anyway, and 2) if even part of what he wrote was true, the effect was quite chilling. I won't go into the details here, but basically the journalist in question, Christopher Johnson, claims that he was abused and taken advantage of by the Japanese immigration system and an Asian airline, Asiana.     While he says he was never given an official reason for being stopped and sent back to Canada, he suspects it has to do with work he's done criticizing the Japanese government.  Having only been here 7 months, I can't really speak to the claims he makes about immigration.  However, there are several elements to the story that make me (and others more knowledgeable of Japanese culture than I) a bit skeptical, a sense that was exacerbated when Johnson started getting cagey about questions pertaining to his visa status.  From what I've read, it appears he allowed his visa to expire and wasn't as quick as he should have been to get it renewed.

Failing to adhere to rules and regulations (especially as a gaijin) is tantamount to shooting yourself in the foot in Japan, and there is little patience and understanding for people who don't comply.  One of the first things I was told to settle upon coming here was my re-entry visa.  Even if you have secured a visa from the Japanese government, you are expected to get a second permit that allows you to leave and then return to the country.  If you go abroad without the approved visa and then try to come back, the authorities will deny you entrance. So even if there was a family emergency in your home country, and you left suddenly and then came back, if you didn't have the appropriate papers, you'd be told to leave again.  Re-entry can be worked out, but it takes a lot of time and expense.  

The Japanese immigration system is difficult to maneuver, and few people are successful in garnering a long-term visa.  The website for the Immigration Bureau of Japan is less than encouraging.  Their mission statement (emphasis added) reads:

By connecting Japan and the world through proper immigration control services under the motto "Internationalization in compliance with the rules," making efforts for smoother cross-border human mobility, and deporting undesirable aliens for Japan, the Immigration Bureau, the Ministry of Justice makes contributions to sound development of the Japanese society.

Teachers contracted through organizations like mine have to jump through all sorts of hoops (fingerprinting, background checks, etc.), and receive a 5-year visa.  After the 5-year visa expires, we are expected to return to our home countries, though a few people do stay on and find other work in Japan.  Their new employer then negotiates another visa for them.  For those who don't have jobs and therefore can't get a work visa, staying in Japan is trickier.  Many boyfriends and girlfriends of fellow English teachers have come to live with their significant others in Japan under a 90-day tourist visa.  When that expires, they then make a quick trip to a nearby country (usually South Korea), before returning and restarting the clock on a new 90 days.  If you want to stay for the really long term, you have to pass a test, in Japanese, that is more an examination of a linguistic proficiency than civic understanding.  Very few (and sometimes no) people pass the test.  

It's therefore not surprising that there are so few foreigners here outside of tourists.  Indeed, the most welcoming period of "immigration" was at the beginning of the previous century, when the Japanese brought Koreans (and some Chinese) into the country to perform manual labor.  Today, Korea and China have the greatest number of emigrants residing in Japan, though numbers from the Philippines are rising as well (mostly nurses and healthcare workers, a boon for Japan's aging population).  Most immigrants take on positions involving the 3 ks: kitanai, kitsui and kiten (dirty, heavy and dangerous).  Japan is also having trouble navigating issues relating to the nikkei, or people of Japanese descent living abroad.  This applies in particular to Brazilians and Peruvians with Japanese blood, whose Japanese forebears moved to South America in search of work following the collapse of feudalism in the late 18th, early 19th century.  The Meiji government encouraged emigration to the Americas; however, they were less keen when descendants of these adventurers sought to return to Japan during the country's economic boom in the 1980s.  Though the nikkei have Japanese blood, they are not considered Japanese, and there is considerable debate over whether or not they have a claim to immigration status in Japan.

It will be interesting in the coming years to see how this struggle plays out.  As reluctant as the Japanese are to allow an influx of foreigners, they need to open their doors in order to grow their numbers, which are rapidly declining thanks to the aging population and the decreased birth rate.  Still, change is not an easy concept for this proud country, and if it comes, it will not be quick.    

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And now for something a little lighter...

In one of the last meetings of the English club for the term, we decided to have an "all English day." No speaking Japanese!  We dusted off the Scrabble boards and broke up into teams.  As the game went on, the vowels became fewer, and the creation of words more difficult.  One of my students, U-chan, was struggling.  She rummaged through the little velvet bag, pulled out a "z," looked at it, and said, "Shit!"  

I was so proud.