Xenophobia will not protect Japan from omicron
Opposition lawmakers want to ban foreign residents from entering the country
I awoke this morning to find the following tweet from Waseda Yuki, a representative of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan:
The gist of this tweet is that Waseda and her colleagues have submitted a request to the Ministry of Health to ban foreigners who have legal status of residence from re-entering the country, if they are coming from one of fourteen countries where omicron has been detected.
Waseda has since deleted the tweet and issued a typical non-apology apology where she apologizes if anyone took offense and that criticisms will be taken into account, but then also posted the xenophobic request she submitted to the Ministry of Health:
At the moment, travel to Japan is restricted to all but Japanese citizens and foreign residents who are re-entering Japan. If Waseda’s request were to be granted, that means Japanese citizens can travel to other countries and then return, but foreign residents—people who have not seen their families in up to two years—are told to either choose between their families or their livelihood.
This request is clearly without basis in science and Waseda’s fake apology does not change the xenophobic, bigoted actions her and her colleagues have engaged in. Japanese citizenship does not provide stronger defense against the omicron variant. A Japanese citizen who travels to an affected country could just as easily bring the variant in as a foreign resident. Travelers who are Japanese citizens far outnumber travelers who are foreign residents, and just by that metric, the chances are far greater that the delta variant was brought into Japan by citizens.
What is even more galling is the CDPJ has branded itself as a center-left, more progressive alternative to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (which is neither liberal nor democratic). They’ve even formed a partnership with the progressive Japan Communist Party (which is not actually communist).
Foreign residents account for approximately 2% of the Japanese population, a number that has been steadily increasing year after year prior to COVID-19. Japan is an aging society with a shrinking population in desperate need of increased immigration.
We immigrants pay taxes. We contribute to the Japanese pension and health care systems. Some of us only do so for a temporary period, but others have built lives, created businesses, and started families in this country. Japan needs us and even the LDP (which has been far from a beacon of immigration and human rights) understands this.
Japan’s reputation among the international community has suffered due to their response to COVID-19. Draconian restrictions on new entries and students is going to have a negative impact on future foreign entries. Students and new workers will be more likely to choose to study in a country that won’t decide on a whim to deny them entry and upend their plans. Waseda’s attempts to treat those of us who are already here as if our jobs and our families are expendable is not going to encourage further immigration.
Waseda and her colleagues deserve swift and serious condemnation for their actions. This sort of xenophobia should not be acceptable in any society, and it certainly has no place in a party that claims to stand for the principles of the Japanese constitution (which condemns discrimination) and human rights.
