A memorable scene from the movie “Civil War” released prior to the 2024 U.S. presidential election has a soldier pointing a gun toward citizens and asking, “What kind of American are you?”

The movie takes place in the United States of the near future where fighting breaks out among fragmented parts of its society.

Decisions about life and death are based on not only whether one is an American, but also depending on the kind of American one is.

Such a reality that cannot be completely written off as preposterous fiction might also arise in Japan.

In a future where fragmentation and discrimination are repeated by placing priority on “us” and distinguishing based on nationality and birth, what kind of Japanese will remain?

SPREAD OF FEAR-MONGERING RUMORS

Parties that are strongly calling for strengthening restrictions on foreigners and limiting their rights appear to have momentum in the Upper House election campaign.

In the Lower House election held last autumn, one of the main points of contention was over securing foreign workers so there has been a surprising change in course.

Not only the Sanseito party and the Conservative Party of Japan, but even the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and opposition Democratic Party for the People and Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) have included such planks in their campaign platforms.

During campaign speeches, the head of a political party has made such comments as, “It is frightening when blacks and Muslims gather at night and drink alcohol and cause a commotion” or “They attack Japanese and steal their things.”

While the party leaders claim they are only asking that foreigners obey rules and that they are not being discriminatory, such arguments are xenophobic ones that foment misunderstanding and prejudice based on a few events.

One prevalent explanation is that the wealth of Japanese is being robbed by foreigners enjoying a free ride on taxes and social security.

Sanseito has argued that its call for “Japanese first” means raising the wages of Japanese. The party emphasizes that the cause of poverty and low wages is the flood of foreigners into the nation and has called for halting public assistance payments.

The DPP has repeatedly called for using taxes paid by Japanese on policies for Japanese. Such an argument could lead to the misunderstanding that foreigners pay no taxes, including the consumption tax.

A joint statement issued by more than 200 nongovernmental organizations said it was a “baseless rumor” that foreigners receive special privileges.

The LDP campaign plank to eliminate all illegal foreigners appears to be an attempt to regain votes that have gone elsewhere.

The government claims that the public holds concerns and a sense of unfairness due to crimes and obnoxious behavior on the part of some foreigners and is planning to establish an organization to serve as a command post to deal with foreigners.

But the crime rate among foreigners living in Japan over the past decade or so has remained unchanged.

We are concerned that statements that easily link nationality with crimes will create an atmosphere that allows for discrimination.

REASON FOR BLAMING 3% OF POPULATION 

How many foreigners do we encounter every day from morning until night at convenience stores, train stations, schools and the workplace?

As of the end of 2024, there were about 3.76 million foreigners living in Japan.

The number has been increasing ever since then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his second stint in office changed course in allowing in foreign workers.

But even so, the ratio of foreigners in Japan is only 3 percent.

In sectors suffering from a major personnel shortage, such as agriculture, manufacturing, construction and elderly care, operations would not be possible without foreigners.

One of the most important tasks for Japanese universities is attracting outstanding foreign researchers.

But from about the time of the asset-inflated economy of the Heisei Era (1989-2019), when foreigners of Japanese descent supported construction sites and factories, teaching them the Japanese language and social customs has, in principle, been left up to the private sector or local governments.

The language barrier has made it difficult for many foreigners to become acclimated with the local community and many children are unable to keep up with attending school.

Japan has yet to pass a human rights basic law that clearly spells out the rights of foreigners and bans discrimination against them.

It is only to be expected that problems emerge in systems that were created on the precondition that they would be used only by Japanese.

In reviewing the system to allow foreigners to convert their driving licenses to Japanese ones, there is a pressing need for a fair framework and passage of laws.

Even if friction should arise in local communities due to differences in customs and communication difficulties, discussions should not be avoided but it will be important to create rules that everyone can be persuaded about.

At the root of the issue is the stance that has been held by the government for many years.

It has viewed foreigners as a convenient labor force to augment personnel shortages and has continued to avoid treating them as human beings.

It is the job of politicians to create a structure that accepts as members of the same society those who work and live together alongside us.

OTHER MINORITIES COULD BECOME THE NEXT TARGET 

Anger over real wages that do not increase as well as rising consumer prices, worries about a future with a falling birthrate and graying of the population and pent up dissatisfaction is often directed at those groups in a weaker position than ourselves.

In the past, there have been attempts to gain support by focusing on that dissatisfaction.

Dissatisfaction over the 1929 Great Depression led to the birth of the Nazi party in Germany and accelerated military actions in Japan.

Such trends are obvious in more recent developments, such as the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and the birth of right-wing governments in Europe.

Arguments that quickly lead to support during elections take away the opportunity for calm debate and easily lead to the wavering of the principle of equality under the law that is the foundation of democracy.

What will we gain and what will we lose?

If we allow discrimination against foreigners because we consider ourselves Japanese, other minorities could end up becoming future targets.

For example, the party that calls for placing priority on Japanese has criticized the gender equality program as wrong, blaming working women for the low birthrate.

That party has also called for patients in terminal care to pay their own way for life extending treatment to reduce medical expenses.

In a society where discrimination is allowed, there is no telling when one may find oneself on the side of those being discriminated against.

We must think about what kind of society we want to create while holding that recognition.

We stand at a crossroads this summer.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 13