attitudes about foreigners that some japanese hold because of unique aspects of their language and culture , the japanese
generally find it far easier to deal with each other than with foreingers .
in some japanese , this unease can lead to some unappealing attitudes and
behaviors .
the japanese maintain a very clear distinction between an individual ' s public
and private faces , so that it is rare to catch them expressing hostile views
of foreigners . nevertheless , every now and then , a politician ' s remarks will
land him in trouble .
you might find the enclosed article interesting . by the way , ishihara spent
two weeks denying that he had done anything wrong and only apologized in the
past couple of days .
regards ,
eugenio
ishihara acknowledges word was inappropriate
yomiuri shimbun
tokyo gov . shintaro ishihara late wednesday acknowledged in a
statement
that it was " inappropriate " for him to have used the word
" sangokujin " and
said that he regrets having caused misunderstanding and
hurting foreigners in
general by using the derogatory term in a recent speech .
it was the first time that ishihara had clearly admitted to
having hurt foreign
residents by using the word , which has discriminatory
connotations .
" sangokujin " literally means " people from third countries . "
yet it was used
after world war ii as a derisory term for people from former
japanese
colonies , primarily koreans , living in japan .
on april 9 , he told members of the ground self - defense forces
in tokyo
at a ceremony , " atrocious crimes have been committed
repeatedly by
sangokujin and ( other ) foreigners who have illegally entered
japan . it is to
be expected that they will riot in the event of a major
disaster . "
although he used the word to refer to those who have
illegally entered the
country , it had a different meaning from what he meant to
say , he said .
" i did not intend to hurt korean or other foreign residents
in japan , and i am
extremely regretful , " ishihara said in the statement ,
promising that he would
never again use the " inappropriate word , " which is prone to
cause
misunderstanding .
on april 14 , he expressed regret over his remarks , but
stopped short of
acknowledging the derogatory import of the word " sangokujin "
and failed to
apologize for having hurt the feelings of foreigners .
wednesday ' s statement was made in response to demands from
metropolitan assembly members of minshuto ( democratic party
of japan )
asking that he retract his remarks and make a public apology .
ishihara handed the statement to senior minshuto members of
the assembly
after they held a meeting earlier in the day .
the statement , to which ishihara will affix the governor ' s
official seal , will
become an official document .
hidejiro kawai , secretary general of the minshuto group
within the
assembly , said , " an official document carries weight , which
will be
tantamount to the governor ' s withdrawal of his remarks and
apology , "
indicating that the group will not take the matter further .
attitudes about foreigners that some japanese hold
because of unique aspects of their language and culture , the japanese
generally find it far easier to deal with each other than with foreingers .
in some japanese , this unease can lead to some unappealing attitudes and
behaviors .
the japanese maintain a very clear distinction between an individual ' s public
and private faces , so that it is rare to catch them expressing hostile views
of foreigners . nevertheless , every now and then , a politician ' s remarks will
land him in trouble .
you might find the enclosed article interesting . by the way , ishihara spent
two weeks denying that he had done anything wrong and only apologized in the
past couple of days .
regards ,
eugenio
ishihara acknowledges word was inappropriate
yomiuri shimbun
tokyo gov . shintaro ishihara late wednesday acknowledged in a
statement
that it was " inappropriate " for him to have used the word
" sangokujin " and
said that he regrets having caused misunderstanding and
hurting foreigners in
general by using the derogatory term in a recent speech .
it was the first time that ishihara had clearly admitted to
having hurt foreign
residents by using the word , which has discriminatory
connotations .
" sangokujin " literally means " people from third countries . "
yet it was used
after world war ii as a derisory term for people from former
japanese
colonies , primarily koreans , living in japan .
on april 9 , he told members of the ground self - defense forces
in tokyo
at a ceremony , " atrocious crimes have been committed
repeatedly by
sangokujin and ( other ) foreigners who have illegally entered
japan . it is to
be expected that they will riot in the event of a major
disaster . "
although he used the word to refer to those who have
illegally entered the
country , it had a different meaning from what he meant to
say , he said .
" i did not intend to hurt korean or other foreign residents
in japan , and i am
extremely regretful , " ishihara said in the statement ,
promising that he would
never again use the " inappropriate word , " which is prone to
cause
misunderstanding .
on april 14 , he expressed regret over his remarks , but
stopped short of
acknowledging the derogatory import of the word " sangokujin "
and failed to
apologize for having hurt the feelings of foreigners .
wednesday ' s statement was made in response to demands from
metropolitan assembly members of minshuto ( democratic party
of japan )
asking that he retract his remarks and make a public apology .
ishihara handed the statement to senior minshuto members of
the assembly
after they held a meeting earlier in the day .
the statement , to which ishihara will affix the governor ' s
official seal , will
become an official document .
hidejiro kawai , secretary general of the minshuto group
within the
assembly , said , " an official document carries weight , which
will be
tantamount to the governor ' s withdrawal of his remarks and
apology , "
indicating that the group will not take the matter further .