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  • Arizona Immigration Law, Part I: More severe control over illegal foreign residents in Japan; “No More Attempts, No More Entry, and No More Stay”

    Arizona Immigration Law, Part I: More severe control over illegal foreign residents in Japan; “No More Attempts, No More Entry, and No More Stay”

     Vincent A. @ ELC Research International

     

     

    I originally wrote this article eight years ago, i.e., in 2010. So, the story could be partially out of date, but still the gist thereof would be true, I believe.

     

    Background of the Arizona Immigration Law

    The U.S. Federal District Court has issued an injunction against the Arizona immigration law, enacted in April 2010, which is designed to banish illegal immigrants. Although the enforcement of the entire law is currently postponed, the injunction has been given upon only a few sections of the immigration law such as one which requires police officers to inquire about the immigration status of suspicious persons. The Arizona state government has stated that they will appeal the injunction and will nevertheless enforce sections of the immigration law not blocked by the court ruling.

    There are an estimated 11-12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and a half of them are concentrated in U.S.-Mexico border states such as California, Texas, and Arizona. Arizona has a total population of 6.6 million, with 30% (2 million) being Hispanic with origins in Central/South America. Among the Hispanics, 450-500 thousand people are considered to have migrated illegally, and Arizona is known as the state having the highest ratio of illegal immigrants compared to the total state population. The Arizona immigration law has been criticized harshly as being discriminatory to Hispanics or as infringing upon their human rights, particularly with respect to one section which obliges the police to inquire about someone’s immigration status if illegal immigration is reasonably suspected. However, considering the growing number of illegal immigrants, nearing 10% of the total population, it is not unreasonable from the standpoint of social policy theory that the Arizona state government attempts to impose tougher immigration law enforcement. However, this law, and discussion of it, is not as simple a matter as it might seem. In fact, quite a number of Americans seemingly favor this controversial law (*1), and Oklahoma, Utah and South Carolina have stated they plan to follow Arizona’s lead on tougher immigration control.

     

    Japan to tighten the immigration control, declaring “No More Attempts, No More Entry, and No More Stay”

    For Japanese immigrants like us or Japanese students living in Canada, there is another factor that makes us to hesitate to criticize the Arizona immigration law: the immigration control in Japan rivals or even surpasses Arizona’s, and the control has been becoming even tighter over the years.

    Japan has two legal systems for foreigners: the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act which controls all foreign nationals entering into or departing from Japan, and the Alien Registration Act which controls foreign nationals staying in Japan for longer than 90 days (*2). Japanese immigration control is known for its stringent procedures: for example, no one is allowed to leave Japan without the permission of an immigration officer. Nonetheless, the number of illegally resident foreign nationals soared in the 1990s. Due to the upsurge of illegal employment and a rash of crimes conducted by foreign nationals, particularly organized crime engaged in by foreign criminal organizations, public safety in Japan was worsened, causing escalated social unrest. Worrying about this, the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, the government of the City of Tokyo, where many illegal immigrants are concentrated, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police are cooperating closely, with the aim of putting into place a strict crackdown on illegal immigrants and illegal employment while taking tougher measures to foreign nationals landing in Japan.

    How committed they are to these control measures is shown by the Immigration Bureau’s campaign slogan: No More Attempts, No More Entry, and No More Stay. Let’s look at each part of the slogan. “No More Entry” refers to implementing stricter examinations for those entering the country and blocking foreign nationals who do not meet the residential eligibility requirements. It includes not only more rigorous examinations upon the landing but also enhanced technology against forged and falsified documents, effective use of the “Residential Eligibility Certificate System” (*3) and biometric immigration screening for personal recognition. “No More Stay” means measures to reduce illegal foreign residents by intensifying the crackdown on illegal immigrants and workers already in Japan, strengthening the criminal penalties for illegal foreign residents and implementing the Departure Order System (to be discussed later). Lastly “No More Attempts” means a preventative measure which aims at discouraging foreign nationals from entering Japan for the purpose of staying illegally, by making it known internationally that Japan has new tough immigration examination procedures and severe criminal punishments against illegal residence.

    FIG. 1 is evidence of how successful, under the above mentioned campaign slogan, Japan’s tightened immigration control has been. In Japan, illegal residence is classified into two categories: “illegal stay” and “overstay.” If a person enters Japan illegally and stays without permission, it is categorized as “illegal stay.” If a person enters legally but remains in Japan after the allowed duration has expired, it is called “overstay.” FIG. 1 concerns the latter, and shows the changes in the number of overstayers from 1990 to 2009, the estimation being somewhat easier for the latter than for the former (*4). The reader will note first in the chart that the number of overstayers significantly increased in the early 1990s, started decreasing in the mid 1990s, continued its downward trend faster in the late 2000s, finally returning to the 1990 level in 2009. Let’s discuss further the major factors in this success.

     

     

    The number of overstayers peaked at 300,000 in 1993 after having increased rapidly since 1990. After 1995 the illegal overstays decreased in number when a major crackdown was conducted by police. But it still remained high at around 270, 000.

    To reinforce the crackdown, major revisions were made to the Immigration Control Act in the year 2000. The landing denial period for banning the re-entry was extended from one to five years, which means deported foreign nationals could not re-enter Japan for a five-year period from the day of their deportation under the revised Immigration Control Act.  New criminal offences termed “unlawful stay” and “unlawful overstay” were also added, which clearly indentifies illegal residence as a criminal matter (Article 70-2 and 5). Any person who commits these offences can be punished with imprisonment, with or without labour, for up to three years or could be levied a fine of up to 300,000 yen (approx. U.S. $3,000), which was later revised to “up to 3,000,000 yen” (approx. U.S. $30,000).

    Before the amendment, illegal residence was a violation of the Immigration Control Act and was subject to the imposition of deportation, but was not regarded as a criminal offence. It is particularly significant to note that the revised Immigration Control Act specifies illegal residence as a criminal offence because, similarly to the Arizona immigration law, the Japanese Immigration Control Act hereafter authorizes police to question anyone they reasonably suspect of being an undocumented immigrant or an individual attempting illegal activities. (Further details will be in Part II in the next issue.)

    The revision of the Immigration Control Act in the year 2000 had a noticeable impact. Just before the day when the revision came into effect, a large number of illegal immigrants appeared at the Immigration Bureau voluntarily to receive the existing penalty (deportation from Japan with no criminal charge and the landing denial period of 1 year). The revision evidently triggered the large reduction of illegal residents after the year 2000 in FIG.1.

    In 2004 the landing denial period for banning the re-entry of those who had been deported in the past and who were deported again, was extended from 5 years to 10 years, and the Departure Order System was newly established as previously mentioned.  Under this system, foreign nationals who illegally overstay and who meet certain requirements such as voluntarily presenting themselves to the authority are ordered by the authority to depart voluntarily. This is to encourage voluntary departure of overstayers. The authority does not put them in detention as with the deportation procedure. The landing denial period is reduced to one year for those who voluntarily leave Japan under the departure order. So, what Japan had done since the 1990s is exert greater control through a dual-lobed strategy: defining unlawful stay as a criminal offence and putting more severe crackdown on illegal foreign residents on one hand, and encouraging voluntary departure of overstayers on the other hand, both aiming at “No More Stay” of illegal foreign nationals.

    Furthermore, in 2007 a new screening measure was introduced which requires the submission of personal identification information including fingerprints and a facial photograph taken at the landing. If a foreign national refuses to submit this information, that person will not be permitted to enter Japan, and will be required to leave the country.

    As a result of these stricter measures the number of illegal overstayers has fallen to 1/3 of its peak number in 1993. The Japan Immigration Bureau has stated that they will continue efforts aimed at reducing illegal foreign residents plus continue strengthening the measures to detect false marriages and fake international students who are staying illegally for purposes other than those claimed.

    In the case of Arizona’s new immigration law, the authorization for police officers to question an individual about whom they are reasonably suspicious has been criticized. However, in Japan, the right to question the residential status or period of stay is not limited to police officers. It is legally extended to immigration control officers and immigration inspectors as well as marine safety officers, drug enforcement officers and Public Security Agency officers, all of whom have the right to investigate and arrest. Furthermore, even personnel who work in the alien registration section of any national or local public organizations and those who work in employment bureaus are similarly authorized. This first segment of our discussion of immigration has presented some background information relating to the Japanese and Arizona immigration laws, which will be discussed in greater depth in the next issue (Part II). Also, in Part II, upcoming even tighter control in Japan — replacing the Alien Registration Act by a new Alien Residence Control System coming into effect in 2012 — will be discussed. In Part III, issues relating to the Arizona immigration law will be discussed in comparison with the immigration control system in Japan.

    [Translation: Atsuko Umeki, Proofreading: David Gordon-MacDonald]

     

     

    *1: “Arizona Immigration law divides Californians” CNN Politics, May 31, 2010
    http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/31/arizona-immigration-law-divides-californians/?iref=allsearch
    “CNN poll: Most back Arizona law but cite concerns about effects”, CNN Politics, July 28, 2010
    http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/27/poll.immigration.discrimination/?iref=obnetwork

    *2: One part of the Immigration Control Act, which includes the entry and departure procedures, is also applied to Japanese who enter or leave Japan; however, the rest of the law all relates to foreign nationals such as the residential eligibility. Both the Immigration Control Act and the Alien Registration Act show a strong intention of “controlling” foreigners in Japan.

    *3: The Residential Eligibility Certificate System allows a foreign individual or his/her agent to submit while in Japan an application for the Residential Eligibility Certificate before applying for a visa. The certificate proves that the applicant fulfills various conditions prescribed by the Immigration Control Act and is eligible to acquire a certain residential status, while an application for a visa is to be submitted only through a regional immigration authority outside of Japan. The Residential Eligibility Certificate System has an advantage of shortening the time required to obtain a visa and complete the immigration procedure. It also provides the immigration officer a clearer indication of an individual’s eligibility when he or she lands in Japan, which, in the end, leads to improvement of immigration inspection procedure. The government of Japan has encouraged foreigners to use this system when acquiring a visa.

    *4: The graph of FIG. 1 has been prepared by the author based on the data from “Immigration Control 2002” and “Immigration Control 2008”, the white pages issued by the Immigration Bureau of the Japan Ministry of Justice. It is estimated that the number of illegally landed residents was 30 thousand at the peak and was projected to come down to 15 to 20 thousand in 2009.
    “Immigration Control 2008” (Japanese version)
    http://www.moj.go.jp/nyuukokukanri/kouhou/nyukan_nyukan90.html
    “Immigration Control 2008” (English version)
    http://www.moj.go.jp/nyuukokukanri/kouhou/nyukan_nyukan91.html

     

     

    This article is a revised version of the article entitled “Arizona Immigration Law: What’s the Problem? [Part I] More severe control over illegal foreign residents in Japan; “No More Attempts, No More Entry, and No More Stay” printed in Japonism Victoria, vol. 5 no.6, 2010 published by Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria.

     

    You can download the PDF version of this article from the following link:

    https://japonismvictoria.com/library/sod100901.pdf

     

     

    > Arizona Immigration Law, Part II

    > Arizona Immigration Law, Part III

     

     

  • Arizona Immigration Law, Part II: Police Officers’ Questioning, and New Alien Residence Control System in Japan

    Arizona Immigration Law, Part II: Police Officers’ Questioning, and New Alien Residence Control System in Japan

     Vincent A. @ ELC Research International

     

     

    Police Officers’ Questioning

    Today, we learn about events around the world through mass media such as TV or newspapers. In modern society, the mass media might be seen as indispensable to our lives in this sense. However, we have to be very careful when we receive information from the mass media. That is, we should not unconditionally believe everything we hear or read. Every event which occurs has many facets and can be viewed from many standpoints, whereas it seems that only one or two of those viewpoints can be reported by the media. Furthermore, the media is required to provide coverage designed to be attractive to its wide consumer base, which in turn naturally leads to the result that the media’s coverage seems average or homogenous. Thus, we often experience that different media sources provide similar reports, taking essentially the same standpoint, despite the fact that any particular occurrence or subject area can be approached from many directions.

    The new Arizona Immigration Law can not be exempted from the above analysis of news reporting. Although there have been plenty of negative reports criticizing racism or infringement of human rights, which can be a topic guaranteed to get the attention of audiences and readers, other, less well known aspects, of the issue have not been covered. When examining the issue of the new Arizona Immigration Law it is best to keep in mind that there may be bias in the media. Furthermore, the most critical issue, that is, whether the Arizona Immigration Law is really effective in maintaining social order in the state of Arizona, has not been discussed much so far.

    In Part II of this article, the Arizona Immigration Law will be scrutinized further by contrasting it with the Japanese Immigration Control Act and the Alien Registration Act, particularly with regard to the right of police officers to question individuals.

    The Arizona Immigration Law section regarding police officers’ right to stop and question individuals has been the one most criticized as being discriminatory. The actual section reads as follows (*1).

     

    Article 8

    B.  For any lawful contact made by a law enforcement official or agency of this state or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person. The person’s immigration status shall be verified with the federal government pursuant to 8 United States Code Section 1373(c).

    E.  A law enforcement officer, without a warrant, may arrest a person if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the United States.

     

    The words “reasonable suspicion” (objective grounds sufficient to doubt) and “probable cause” (objective grounds sufficient to believe that the person has committed a crime) used in this clause are legal terms which refer to judicially created grounds for the police officers’ action of briefly stopping a citizen or arresting him/her. In depth text interpretation will be put off for the time being. Let’s focus, instead, on how such a regulation would be understood, in practice, by front-line police officers struggling with everyday criminal behaviour. Probably, it would be understood as follows:

    “When you encounter an alien about whom you are suspicious in regard to the matter of illegal residence, you should question the individual without hesitation about his/her residential eligibility. If the person does not show a verifying document or he/she acts suspiciously, you may arrest the person at once and continue the investigation by taking him/her to the police station.”

    While the Arizona Immigration Law has been drafted specifically to control what is seen as a burgeoning illegal immigration problem, the expression of the regulation quoted above is far too blunt. It sounds like a police commander’s instructions to officers in the morning briefing before they go on patrol, outlining “today’s crackdown plan.” The regulation can be construed as stating that all foreigners may be regarded as criminals. It is quite insulting to “aliens,” even before one considers the question of whether the regulation is racially discriminatory toward Hispanics.

    As has been discussed in Part I, in Japan the right to question residential status is not limited to police officers. It is legally extended to immigration control officers and immigration inspectors as well as marine safety officers, drug enforcement officers and Public Security Agency officers, all of whom have the right to investigate and arrest. Furthermore, even personnel who work in the alien registration section of any national or local public organizations and those who work in employment bureaus are similarly authorized. However, in Japanese culture, courtesy is considered very important, so Japanese people would never formulate what could be considered such “ill-mannered” legislation as the Arizona Immigration Law which was aimed at “guests” who visit Japan from overseas. In fact, the legal structure built around immigration is somewhat more elegant in Japan.

    Every foreigner who has legally entered Japan has a passport with a landing permission seal given by an immigration control officer and those foreigners staying in Japan more than 90 days have an alien registration card. Thus, in Japan, the regulations are so prescribed that, “. . .if an officer such as a police officer asks, in the performance of his duties, a foreigner to show his/her passport or alien registration card, the foreigner must show it” (*2).

    Namely, in contrast to the Arizona Immigration Law which “instructs” the police officers how to treat suspicious individuals, the regulation in Japan requests the foreigners to show their passports or alien registration cards in case an officer such as a police officer needs to see it as part of his or her duties. This remarkable contrast can be expressed in a different way: while the Arizona Immigration Law sounds strident and almost hysterical in the way it suggests that all foreigners are criminals, based, perhaps, on an ethical view that human nature is basically evil, in Japan, similar regulations are constructed with sufficient courtesy, assuming that every foreigner will have a proper passport or alien registration card, based on the contrasting ethical view that human nature is innately good.

    However, a courteous regulation does not mean a limitlessly liberal one. In fact, the requirements are quite severe. In Japan, firstly, foreigners have an obligation to carry their passport at all times or, an alien registration card, for foreigners 16 years old or older who have registered as aliens (*3).  Failure to carry one’s passport may be punished by a fine of not more than 100,000 yen (approx. U.S. $1,000), and the individual failing to carry the alien registration card may be assessed a fine not more than 200,000 yen (approx. U.S. $2,000). Furthermore, if a foreigner refuses to show his/her passport as required by an officer, a fine of not more than 100,000 yen will be imposed. The punishment is heavier for the refusal to show an alien registration card; it can be punished by imprisonment of one year or less with or without labour, or a fine of not more than 200,000 yen. Therefore, when a police officer is suspicious for any reason about a certain foreigner and asks him or her to show his or her passport or alien registration card, if the foreigner is not carrying the passport or alien registration card and can not show it to the officer, the person could be subject to punishment (*4).

    Furthermore, as discussed in Part I, in Japan the Immigration Control Act was revised in 2000 to clearly state that illegal residence is a criminal offence. Consequently, if a foreigner without a passport or registration card does not even remember his or her passport number or registration number, and the police officer, as a result, is unable to contact the Immigration Bureau to check the residential status of such a foreigner, the police officer will naturally strongly suspect that a crime, i.e., unlawful stay or unlawful overstay, is being committed. In such a case, an examination of the foreigner’s personal effects or a body search may be carried out on the spot. Or, the foreigner may be requested by the police to go to a nearby police station voluntarily.

    The severity of immigration regulations in Japan with regard to police checks of foreigners’ residential status is not very different from those of the Arizona Immigration Law described above. Despite that, there seems little possibility that the immigration control regulations in Japan will be accused of being racially biased as is the case with the Arizona Immigration Law. Why? The reason would be that: in Japan, the legal system in place in the area of immigration control is composed of a multilayer structure wherein a number of moderate regulations are woven together. This is a strikingly different to the Arizona Immigration Law which is composed of a monolayer structure, aiming at solving the perceived illegal immigrant problem by relying on authoritarian power, that is, by “threatening” foreigners with arrest unless they show verification of their immigration status. Arizona may consider itself to be in a state of emergency and such measures justified; however, it illustrates a fundamentally different way of thinking or way of solving a matter, between Japan and the state of Arizona, and one evidence, perhaps, of a significant cultural difference.

     

    More Control in Japan: New Alien Residence Control System

    Japan, having more courteously applied, but severe regulations for illegal residence, is now introducing a new Alien Residence Control System, coming into effect in 2012, as a measure to further tightening the regulations (*5).

    Under the current Alien Registration Act, foreigners staying in Japan more than 90 days must be registered. The registration application form requires details from the applicant such as: passport number, birth date, applicant’s address in his/her home country, occupation, place of residence in Japan, the name of the person who represents the household where the applicant stays and, if the applicant is the person representing the household, the names and birth dates of all the household members. While the residential status and the period of stay in Japan are determined by the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, the alien registration application should be submitted to the city or town office of the place where the foreigner resides. The reason why the city or town office manages the registration work may be that when a foreigner staying in Japan for months or years begins his or her life at their place of residence, he or she may take various social services such as the national health insurance and school registration if the applicant has a child, and the information recorded in their alien registration is the base for determining the appropriate social services to be delivered. Under the existing system, all the information collected by the alien registration office at the city or town office is supplied to the Ministry of Justice (Immigration Bureau) where the collection of residential and social data of registered foreign nationals is overseen.

    The alien registration system described above will be replaced by the new alien residence control system in 2012. What is intended with this new system is obviously the centralized control of information by the Immigration Bureau. Under the new system, the initial alien registration and subsequent registration of any change such as address change, having been managed by the city or town office in the old system, will be completely administered by the Immigration Bureau. What does it mean? It means that the Immigration Bureau will thereafter control everything directly; that is, alien immigration control, alien residence control and alien departure control. With this tightened control, the illegal residence or illegal employment of foreigners based on false marriage or fake student status will be regulated more severely. In this sense, the new alien residence control system is a measure for further strengthening “No More Stay” which is a part of the Japanese Immigration Bureau’s slogan of “No More Attempts, No More Entry and No More Stay” initiated in 2000 to control illegal immigration (*6).

    After the new system begins, foreigners who are going to stay in Japan more than 90 days receive, in addition to a landing permission, an alien residence card having an IC chip issued by the Immigration Bureau at the entry airport or seaport of Japan. The residence card will have a record concerning the name, birth date, residential status, period of stay, working restrictions, place of residence in Japan, etc. On the other hand, the recorded data will be supplied from the Immigration Bureau to the city or town office of the place where the foreigner is going to reside, so that the foreigner can gain access to appropriate social services at that place. The foreigners will, of course, have an obligation to carry their residence card at all times.

    In Part III, in the next issue, a few less well known issues concerning the Arizona Immigration Law will be considered, with comparison to immigration control in Japan, as discussed in Part I and Part II.

    [Proofreading: David Gordon-MacDonald]

     

    *1:  The author believes that it is essential to refer to the text of the related law to understand a legal matter, and actually this is usually very helpful in getting a clearer picture of the matter in question. However, it is quite infrequent that the text itself is carried by newspapers or the like, probably because it is hard to interest readers in the technical language of the legal arena.

    *2: Immigration Control Act, Article 23, Clause 2 and Alien Registration Act, Article 13, Clause 2

    *3:  Immigration Control Act, Article 23, Clause 1 and Alien Registration Act, Article 13, Clause 1

    *4: In practice, there may be cases wherein, even if the foreigner does not carry his/her passport or alien registration card, the punishment is not inflicted once his/her legal residence is verified.

    *5: In 2009, the revised Immigration Control Act to introduce the new system was approved.

    *6: For details of this Immigration Bureau’s control slogan, please refer to Part I of this series.

     

     

    This article is a revised version of the article entitled “Arizona Immigration Law: What’s the Problem? [Part II] Police Officers’ Questioning, and New Alien Residence Control System in Japan” printed in Japonism Victoria, vol. 5 no.7, 2010 published by Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria.

     

    You can download the PDF version of this article from the following link:

    https://japonismvictoria.com/library/sod101001.pdf

     

     

    Arizona Immigration Law, Part I <

     

    > Arizona Immigration Law, Part III

     

     

  • Arizona Immigration Law, Part III: Let’s focus on the most critical issue

    Arizona Immigration Law, Part III: Let’s focus on the most critical issue

     Vincent A. @ ELC Research International

     

     

    In the State of Arizona, in 2007, two years before the Immigration Law passed, an act called the “Legal Workers Act” for regulating illegal employment was passed (*1). According to this act, if a business owner knowingly employs an alien having no work permit, the owner shall be punished by suspension of their business license and probation for a certain period. During the probation period, if the owner again knowingly employs a worker without proper work documents, the business permit will be cancelled. Since this regulation is extraordinarily severe for both of the business owners and undocumented workers, local employers’ associations and human right groups have taken action, resulting in a hearing started last December in the U.S. Supreme Court. The plaintiff’s grounds that the Legal Workers Act is unconstitutional are basically the same as those of the federal government appeal against the Arizona Immigration Law: only the federal government has legal authority over immigration into the U.S. and state governments cannot provide immigration control.

    On the other hand, currently, at least seven states in the U.S. are going to follow Arizona’s example in order to control illegal immigration. Thus, for good or ill, this law is becoming a model for regulation of illegal immigration in the United States. Furthermore, while in the U.S. every child born in the country has birthright citizenship, more than a dozen states in the U.S are considering cancelling such birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants (*2).

    Now, in Part III, the final part, we will focus on the most critical issue with regard to the Arizona Immigration Law.

     

    The Immigration Law: Does Arizona really need it?

    The Arizona Immigration Law has been highly controversial, but was it really necessary? Let’s begin with an overview of immigration control in U.S. federal law.

    In recent years, immigration regulation in the U.S. has become more and more severe, and the procedure has been changed frequently, adding procedures such as mandatory fingerprint registration, for example. Basically, under U.S. federal law, all aliens who apply for a visa to enter the U.S. must complete alien registration (Immigration and Nationality Act, Article 261). Aliens who entered the U.S. without a visa using a visa waiver program or the like have to undergo alien registration if they stay in the U.S. more than 30 days (INA, Article 262). When alien registration is completed, an alien registration card (I-94 Card) is issued. All aliens who have completed alien registration should carry the registration card with them at all times. If an alien fails to do so, a fine of $100 or less could be levied, or a term of imprisonment of 30 days or less could be imposed (INA, Article 264). The violation is considered to be a misdemeanor (petty offense) with a relatively light penalty, which is distinguished from a felony (serious offense) with a heavy penalty. Even so, it is still a crime and becomes part of an individual’s criminal record.

    On the other hand, a green card (Foreign Registration Receipt Card) is issued and given to legal immigrants who have obtained permanent residence authorization. These immigrants have a similar duty to carry the green card with them at all times. Finally, aliens who stay in the U.S. for only a short time do not need to complete alien registration but are obliged to carry the visa and passport with them at all times (*3).

    Under U.S. federal law, as described above, all aliens who legally reside in the U.S. should always carry ID with them. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish illegal immigrants having no ID or other documents through more rigorous examination by police officers.

    If police officers’ examination of individuals becomes more rigorous, it would mean that more aliens who left their ID at home may be punished by a fine or detained at a police station until their residential eligibility is proved. Undoubtedly, this would be very unpleasant for aliens who are actually staying legally. However, it is something that must be borne, as a crackdown on illegal immigrants is inevitable in U.S. society.

    One problem remains, however. That is, there can be difficulty in distinguishing U.S. nationals having no ID from illegal immigrants. The U.S. does not have a family registry system or a health insurance system like that of Japan. Thus, the social status of people cannot be proved by a document such as a residential certification or a health insurance card. While status can be proved by a driver’s license or a student ID card, a lot of people have neither of them. In fact, unfortunate occurrences have begun to be noted in Arizona: some Hispanic Americans having no ID have been detained by police.

    How can such occurrences be avoided? The answer is relatively simple. That is, ID cards should be given to those having U.S. nationality. For example, British Columbia, where we reside, has a unique identification card available, called the BC ID. A similar ID system could be introduced in Arizona. While even an alien can be registered by the BC ID system, the Arizona ID system could be limited to U.S. nationals. Because all Americans living in the state would be subject to registration, the system would be entirely free from the problem of racial discrimination. Furthermore, since this ID system is exclusively for U.S. nationals, it is completely separate from the state’s immigration regulation. Thus, it does not violate the U.S. constitution.

     

    Examination by Police Officers

    In order to disclose illegal immigrants based on the presence or absence of ID, the ability of police officers to question is crucial. So, can police officers conduct such examinations without the prescription provided by the Arizona Immigration Law which specifies police officers’ duty in this regard? Perhaps, the answer is “Yes”.

    According to the Arizona Immigration Law, police officers are obliged to inquire about the residential eligibility of a suspicious person if there are any “reasonable suspicion” (objective grounds) to doubt their residence status. Furthermore, police officers are authorized to arrest a person without a warrant if there are any “probable cause” (objective grounds) to believe that the person has committed a crime which can lead to deportation (Article 8). However, the words “reasonable suspicion” and “probable cause” were not first used in the Arizona Immigration Law. Rather, these are legal terms having already been juristically established in the U.S. jurisprudence.

    Namely, in America, not limited to the State of Arizona but also in any other states, if there is reasonable suspicion, police officers are authorized to question an individual and, if there is probable commission of a crime, they are authorized to arrest a suspicious person on the spot. Since illegal entry and illegal residence constitute criminal acts which fall under the penalties of imprisonment or compulsory deportation, in every state police officers will, in principle, be able to detain a suspicious person unless their nationality as an American, or their residential eligibility, can be proved.

    Actually, however, police officers have often not made gone as far as to inquire about the residential eligibility of Hispanics. This is not because they are legally unauthorized to do so. Rather, it is because police officers have been anxious about the consequences — that making such inquiries would provoke Hispanics’ antipathy and Hispanics would, therefore, no longer be cooperative in other criminal investigations (*4). So, it could be said that, despite the fact that police officers have the authority to make inquiries under the current legal system, the Arizona Immigration Law has intentionally obliged police officers to engage in such inquisitorial activity possibly because police officers, anxious about the alienation of Hispanics would be reluctant to do so.

    However, if the need were only to push reluctant police officers to inquire about the residential eligibility of a suspicious person, it wouldn’t be necessary to draft legislation, and such severe legislation that it has caused the Arizona product boycott campaign. Instead, it could have been done much more quietly within the walls of each police station simply through police commanders telling police officers to crackdown on suspicious persons by doing more detailed checks. In Part II, when the text of the Arizona Immigration Law concerning the police officers’ inquiries was considered, the author mentioned that the regulation was too direct and it sounded like a police commander’s instructions to police officers in the morning briefing before they go on patrol, outlining “today’s crackdown plan.” Perhaps that is a sign of how the matter is best handled: by instructions given discreetly in each police detachment, designed to give police officers a push in a certain direction, and definitely not by legislation.

     

    Behavioral Style of Americans

    We have looked at less severe solutions for regulating illegal immigration, including the introduction of an Arizona ID system and raising the rate of detailed inquiries by police officers. By being more discreet and judicious the regulation of illegal immigration could have been satisfactorily accomplished without causing extensive criticism and allegations of racial discrimination and human rights infringement. Instead, the Arizona government has rejected such milder solutions and has chosen the current Arizona Immigration Law. Why?

    In brief, it may be a matter of behavioral style. It could be a simple result of the emergence of a behavioral style peculiar to Americans. That is, even when the situation could be improved little by little if efforts are made carefully and tenaciously, Americans tend to recklessly rely on naked power and open attacks on the opponent, attempting to solve the problem quickly and easily. The U.S. did so in Vietnam and in Afghanistan and Iraq as well. And, of course, they failed in all of these countries. The author is wondering whether the Arizona Immigration Law, which is becoming the model for illegal immigration regulation in the U.S., is a similar type of error.

    Namely, the author believes that the most serious issue in regard to the Arizona Immigration Law is that the law has antagonized the Hispanics for no reason. Despite the fact that there are other ways to regulate illegal immigration, the State of Arizona has chosen the worst possible one. The hostility and distrust of Hispanics toward American white society caused by the Arizona Immigration Law will not soon fade away, and the influence thereof will come to the surface little by little in the coming years. Even if the number of illegal immigrants is decreased by this law and social order in Arizona is apparently restored, there will be a swelling tide of negative consequences such as noncooperation with police, unwillingness to pay taxes and the like. The prosociality of Hispanics, that is, their motivation to help improve society and make it more livable, will undoubtedly be weakened.

    Even with the above-mentioned Arizona ID system, in which illegal immigrants having no ID would be revealed by police officers’ inquiries, there would be antipathy among Hispanics, the main target of such an exercise. However, there still remains a possibility of talking reasonably about the issues with Hispanics and seeking consensus. The Arizona government and the Hispanic community could openly discuss the importance of social norms such as the idea that staying in a law-governed country illegally is ultimately bad for a society and all its members.

    The problem of illegal immigrants in Arizona is a problem of the State of Arizona on one hand, and it is the problem of Hispanics living in the State of Arizona, on the other. Politicians in Arizona need to show the wisdom to create a dialogue over the immigration question with Hispanics. However, the immigration law has probably made any such possibility unlikely for the foreseeable future.

    [Proofreading: David Gordon-MacDonald]

     

    *1: Arizona Revised Statues §23-211 to § 23-214

    *2: “States plan crackdown on immigration but risk Latino ire”, Reuters, January 4, 2011

    *3: Mexico citizens having a Border Crossing Card are excluded.

    *4: “Immigration advocacy groups to challenge Arizona law”, The Washington Post, Apr. 25, 2010

     

    This article is a revised version of the article entitled “Arizona Immigration Law: What’s the Problem? [Part III] Let’s focus on the most critical issue” printed in Japonism Victoria, vol. 6 no.1, 2011 published by Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria.

     

    You can download the PDF version of this article from the following link:

    https://japonismvictoria.com/library/sod110301.pdf

     

     

    Arizona Immigration Law, Part I <

    Arizona Immigration Law, Part II <

     

     

  • Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part I

    Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part I

    Vincent A. @ ELC Research International

     

     

    Most Popular Sports in the U.S. and Canada

    I am beginning to write this article while glancing at an American football game on my TV. I have no particular attraction to any particularly team nor am I familiar with the rules, but still I watch American football games on TV, at times. For, unlike rugby, forward passing is permitted in American football, and this makes the game quite speedy and dynamic. In addition to this, despite the fact that really gigantic men run at each other, surprisingly, there is no violence between players and skirmishes rarely occur. So, the game looks very pleasant. The progress of the game is never interrupted by meaningless squabbles, and one down (the situation in which the ball is judged halted as, for example, when the ball holder for the offense falls to the ground) is immediately followed by a subsequent attack. Thus, the players are in a hurry to prepare the next down and it makes American football look fast and energetic, too. American football is the most popular sporting event in America, the popularity being notably higher than that of baseball and basketball.

    On the other hand, ice hockey is the most popular sport in Canada, and it is designated as the winter national sport in Canada. In fact, ice hockey is the sport in which Canada is strongest in international competitions. Ice hockey is characterized by speed and power. Since a hard puck is hit on ice, which has little friction, its speed is high, for professional players, 160 km/h or more. Because players skating on ice hit each other without lowering their speed, the impact is extraordinary, but such violent collisions are a popular part of this sport.

     

    Every day in the season, games of the NHL (National Hockey League) are televised, and Canadians are so enthusiastic about the game that riots could occur over the results. However, I don’t like to watch hockey games. The reason is simple: because ice hockey is really full of violence.

    Players engaging in fist fights is not unusual in ice hockey. What is more unpleasant is players’ intentional physical attacks. In ice hockey, a physical contact called a “body check,” blocking an opponent with an elbow or a shoulder so as to take the puck or to interfere with the motion of an opposing player, is allowed. But, the fact is that, under the name of body check, unnecessary and outrageous physical attacks meant to particularly hurt the opponent, or hitting the opponent with an elbow or stick while deceiving referees, are quite normal occurrences. It is clear that hockey players possess the mistaken idea that being violent is manly. But, violence in sports is totally unexciting.

    American football originated from rugby football in Britain, evolving in the U.S. into American football as it is seen today, while ice hockey was born and developed in Canada. Currently, both American football and ice hockey are popular sports on the same North America continent, and both are games in which gigantic men collide with each other violently. Then, there is a mystery: very little unnecessary violence occurs in American football, whereas there are lots of gratuitous violent acts in ice hockey. Why are these games so different?

     

    The answer is that American football and ice hockey are different not merely in the place where they grew; these are totally different in terms of their evolution as a sport. Namely, football and ice hockey have evolved in different ways due to their historical and cultural backgrounds which are totally different. The development of the former seems very American, whereas that of the latter seems very Canadian.

    Here, I would like to refer to an excellent book concerning the history of American sports: “The Rise of Big-Ten College Athletics”, by Ronald A. Smith, published by Oxford University Press in 1988, as Smith describes how violence was overcome in college athletics. A Japanese edition of this book has been published with a title The Birth of College Sports, Yoshiro Shiraishi and Kouzo Iwata, supervising translators, published by Tamagawa university press in 2001. I was privileged to be included as one of the translators of the Japanese edition, and transcribed one chapter which describes how university authorities and faculties agonized over controlling the uninterrupted expansion of college athletics.

     

    Copyright ©2013-2018 Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria

     

    This article is a revision of the article entitled “In-Depth Cultural Comparison, No. 1: Comparing Canada and America; Ice Hockey vs. American Football” printed in Japonism Victoria, vol. 8 no.2, 2013 published by Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria.

     

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part II

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part III

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part IV

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part V

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VII

     

     

  • The Truth of Victoria Oriental Home [1]

    The Truth of Victoria Oriental Home [1]

    Michiko Midge Ayukawa, PhD

     

     

    ◆AJ’s Family and Methodist Church

    I deplore that the Oriental Home which is a part of the historical fact of the city of Victoria, BC, Canada hasn’t been spoken about openly by the Japanese or Nikkei people. It was seventy years ago that I first heard someone mention the Victoria Oriental Home. It was whispered and was obviously not meant for little ears. There appeared to be something sinister about it.

    One September, I had a new seat-mate, AJ, in Japanese Language School. I sensed right away that she was a bit different. She could barely understand or speak Japanese, but her English was good. We soon became close friends since we were very similar.  Although my comprehension of Japanese was good since my parents and their friends communicated with me in Japanese, I was much more comfortable in English, the language I used with my brothers and neighbourhood friends.

    One day she invited a few of us to her birthday party. I was the only one who went. I sensed that she was disappointed, but she put on a brave face. There is very little I can recall about the party except that the birthday cake was the largest and prettiest I had ever seen!

    We were separated after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but AJ and I kept in touch periodically throughout our youth and even after our marriages. But, as our lives became hectic we stopped communicating. In the eighties I read a short biography of her mother, published in Japanese. The title is “Chikara To Kihin” (The Strength and Grace) written by Mieko Amano. All the pieces then fell into place. It explained why AJ hardly spoke any Japanese, why others ignored her and shunned her, and why at times she appeared quite brazen. It was because she and her older brother and widowed mother had spent a few years in the Victoria Oriental Home.

    According to the author, AJ’s father had been injured badly in a logging accident and was later placed in a mental hospital. Then his brother had tricked her mother out of all their savings. The family was destitute when a member of the Methodist Church in Vancouver (later United Church) helped her mother, older brother and her find a shelter in Victoria. It was the Oriental Home.

    Mrs. J learned English by doing housework in a Methodist household and her children were safe. After several years, a Japanese businessman gave her a job since her ability to speak English was a definite asset. Mrs. J was then able to gather both her children and give them a home. What would have happened to the family if the Oriental Home had not given her help when she needed it so badly?

     

     

    This haven for “Oriental” women and children had been created by Methodist women in 1888 at 100 Cormorant Street (later renumbered 732) as a “Rescue Home for Chinese Girls.” Young Chinese women, mostly young girls, took refuge there. Most of them had been brought to Victoria as prostitutes to service the Chinese bachelors.

    According to Methodist records, after 1895, Japanese women and children also became occupants. In 1908, the need for more space necessitated the building of a larger Home on the same site.

    By 1907 Chinese women were outnumbered by the Japanese. In the years between 1895 and 1907, 121 Japanese women and girls were registered in the Home. They were often women who had been sent there by Immigration officials when time was required to process their immigration papers. Between the years 1903 and 1915 the Canadian government demanded that picture brides (*1) be married under Canadian law. A total of 697 weddings were held there.

    The Church records show that from 1908 to 1942 ninety-two Japanese women sought shelter at the Oriental Home. The majority were Japanese women who were escaping abusive husbands and relatives. A number received help in negotiating better conditions and returned to their husbands; while some returned to Japan, and others became housekeepers in Methodist families until they could re-enter the Japanese immigrant society. Many were converted to Christianity.

    The Oriental Home also got involved in the burgeoning Japanese community of Victoria. They began a kindergarten and set up other organizations connected with the United Church; such as CGIT (Canadian Girls in Training), the YWCA, and women’s prayer meetings.

    Records show that over the years, the Home cared for many women and their children–a few boys and over 200 girls. Some of these women remarried, others remained single but were later able to support themselves and their children. Widowers who were unable to care for their motherless children also used the facilities of the Home. Their young children were given food and shelter there while the fathers went to work in logging, sawmill, and fishing camps.

     

    *1: Not a few Japanese males emigrated to the U.S. (Hawaii) or Canada chose an unknown female residing in Japan as their wife, by just seeing her photo. After officially registering their marriage in Japan, they invited their “wives” to come to the U.S. or Canada based on the spouse status. This is called “picture marriage,” and their wives are called “picture brides.”

     

    Copyright © 2010-2018 Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria

    This article is a revision of the article published with the same title by Japonism Victoria, vol.5 no. 7, 2010.

     

    > The Truth of Victoria Oriental Home [2]

     

  • Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part II

    Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part II

    Vincent A. @ ELC Research International

     

     

    The American Revolutionary War and Developments of College Athletics

    American football has been developed in the U.S. as part of college athletics. The greatest factor in the success of college athletics in the U.S. is that America won the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) against Britain. Actually, if America fell to Britain in the Revolutionary War or, alternatively, if the Revolutionary War itself had not happened, it is very doubtful that there would be American football as we see it today.

    The significance of America winning the Revolutionary War is quite great. The influence thereof was not confined to the political arena. Rather, it deeply influenced the whole American society and peoples’ lives. One example is the success of college athletics in American universities, and American football was developed as a leading sport of such college athletics.

    The Declaration of Independence promulgated in America in 1776, the year after the Revolutionary War began, declares that human beings are created equal and endowed with rights the of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. But, in addition to this, it definitely asserts that, although the power of the government should be respected, it applies only when the government functions to protect these people’s rights. If the government becomes oppressive and ignores the people’s rights, people have a right to establish a new government. The spirit of the Declaration of Independence, which completely denies the British monarchy and which asserts that all human beings are equal and able to pursue happiness, gradually spread through American society after the United States won the Revolutionary War.

    The “wind of freedom” blowing in American society then blew into American universities, and it bewildered university authorities and faculties a great deal. This was primarily because most American universities in those days were founded by religious denominations and almost all the trustees, presidents and faculties were church ministers.

     

     

    Essentially, university authorities and faculties deemed students to be ill-natured, and they were devoted to educating the students so they became decent-living human beings by imprinting good behaviors on them and erasing evil behaviors. To this end, they used an educational method comprised of imposing strict duties and restricting undesirable behaviors. So, self-study hours were obliged in addition to class studies. As regards religion, attendance to religion classes and also to worship in the morning and evening was required. In addition, a wide variety of behavioral restrictions were put on every aspect of students’ dormitory life: drinking, smoking, dancing, card playing, physical activity for fun, and leaving without permission, among other things, were prohibited. Violators were punished severely. In addition, the class studies of the university were mainly based on recitation of Greek and Latin, which meant that leaning things by heart was crucial. For students, college life was therefore oppressive, choking up their breath.

    Then, the “wind of freedom” blew into the universities. Students were awakened to the worth of freedom and indispensable nature of human rights, and they begun to rebel against the faculties who had suppressed them with obligations and restrictions. In fact, many disturbances happened among the student bodies of various American universities and students begun to carry out their activities by themselves, particularly extracurricular activities after school. Although more “gentle” extracurricular activities such as intellectual work or social activity started even before the American Revolutionary War, after America won, sports making full use of the body begun to attract the students’ enthusiasm. This was the origin of college athletics.

     

     

    Copyright ©2013-2018 Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria

     

    This article is a revision of the article entitled “In-Depth Cultural Comparison, No. 1: Comparing Canada and America; Ice Hockey vs. American Football” printed in Japonism Victoria, vol. 8 no.2, 2013 published by Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria.

     

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part I <

     

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part III

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part IV

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part V

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VII

     

     

  • Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part III

    Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part III

    Vincent A. @ ELC Research International

     

     

    Why Football became a Leading Sport?

    College athletics which were budding at American universities early in the 19th century grew soon to be intercollegiate athletics, and by the beginning of the 20th century, these were distributed widely throughout American universities. Among them, football had been developed into the most popular sport. There are some reasons for that.

    In the days before intercollegiate athletics began and football was merely a college activity, football was already an event arousing students’ enthusiasm. In those days, football was carried out every autumn by all college students as games called “class battles.” In fact, these were not just a sport but a scuffle organized by upperclassmen to haze freshmen. Football was an annual event for thoroughly persecuting freshmen in order to instill in them the superiority of the upperclassmen. Major tactics were hitting opponents with fists or kicking their shins so that they could not run any more. Quite naturally, every year the games were bloody, with a lot of students injured. So, the first Monday of every September when the class battles were carried out was called “Bloody Monday.”

    American universities in those days had a small number of students, and every year, all the freshmen were assembled into one and the same class. The class was unchanged till graduation, which meant that every year till the graduation the students would fight in the bloody class battles together with the same classmates. Because of the fierceness of the fight, the “comrades-in-arms” who fought together would naturally have a strong fellowship. However, such solidarity was not merely shared by classmates. Even students of different classes of the whole university, fighting each other, had some solidarity in the sense that they were fellows who fought each other in the same fierce battle. By virtue of the significant function football had, football was loved by students even though it was really a “dangerous game.”

    In 1852, a regatta game was held between Harvard and Yale, and this was the first intercollegiate athletic game. Around a thousand spectators came to a lakeside resort town and, as a result, the owners of a railroad company, hotels, and lake ships and so on made a large profit. So, it was discovered that intercollegiate athletics lead to commercial profits. Taking this opportunity, enterprises and cities or towns begun to contribute an item or a sum of money as a prize to help hold various intercollegiate athletic games and the popularity of college athletics soared.

     

     

    On the other hand, the success of intercollegiate athletics, in which students competed in front of a large number of spectators, brought a profit to the university as well. The profit was not merely that the name of the university was spread widely; intercollegiate athletics improved the image of the university. That is, although at that time the university was believed to be an institution for educating pale and feeble intellectuals, this image of the university was replaced by one of an institution educating well-rounded youth, superior both intellectually and physically. Among all college athletics, football had the largest effect because of its power and physicality. Since the roughness of football was well suited to the mentality of Americans at that time, when they had a preference for toughness and manliness, football gained a wide popularity and took the leading role in college athletics.

    Just at that time, in the 19th century, the number of universities was increasing, and collecting a sufficient number of new students was a problem for every university. So, for the university, the significance of winning in intercollegiate athletics was increasing.

    As the success in the game became more important, the tactics of football were improved more and more. However, the rough and tumble aspect did not decrease. Rather, it was greatly intensified. Faculties attempted to abolish what they considered the barbarous game of football many times, but since football was high in popularity, was accepted socially and also was profitable for the university, the abolition efforts failed. But, why and how did football, which was so crude in those days, evolve to being as sophisticated as it is at present?

    I believe that it is the consequence of the fact that, on one hand, American college athletics had a lot of contradictions and dilemmas and, on the other hand, that university faculties, particularly, have struggled with these dilemmas quite sincerely while, at the same time, being anguished by them. Indeed, it can be said that the present shape and prosperity of American football arose from the very history of anguish of the people who fought to overcome the contradictions and dilemmas presented, historically, by the game. More details on this subject will be forthcoming in the later part.

     

     

    Copyright ©2013-2018 Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria

     

    This article is a revision of the article entitled “In-Depth Cultural Comparison, No. 1: Comparing Canada and America; Ice Hockey vs. American Football” printed in Japonism Victoria, vol. 8 no.2, 2013 published by Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria.

     

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part I <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part II <

     

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part IV

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part V

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VII

     

     

  • Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part IV

    Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part IV

    Vincent A. @ ELC Research International

     

     

    In the preceding parts, I first raised the question that, while ice hockey and American football have a similarity in that they are both the No. 1 sports in Canada and America, respectively, there is a clear difference in that violence such as fights occur frequently in ice hockey games whereas these seldom occur in American football games. Why is this? Then I pointed out that the history and cultural background that have guided the development of sports are totally different in America and Canada, and described particularly the influence of the American Revolutionary War in the U.S.A. In Part II, I would like to explain how American football, which was originally a very bloody sport, has overcome its brutality, and then compare it with ice hockey.

     

    Dilemmas That Annoyed Faculties

    American college athletics, which were budding as extracurricular activities for university students early in the 19th century, achieved great popularity as intercollegiate athletic games began to be played. In particular, football became the leading competition in college athletics because of its physical power. However, football was really, at that time, a violent sport and casualties occurred frequently. Why did such a dangerous sport evolve into one, as we can see now, where brutality is almost gone? I believe it is because, on one hand, college athletics, including football, were part of the controversial area of extracurricular activities for students and, on the other hand, that university faculties had struggled to resolve the problems posed by extracurricular activities quite sincerely although quite distressed by them.

    The most fundamental dilemma with regard to college athletics, bothering faculties, was an antinomy that the more college athletics expanded, the more the mission of the university in society became difficult to achieve.

    The mission of the university, higher education, is in a wider sense, to create and preserve knowledge and pass on it to society and younger generations. To achieve this mission, faculties need to work hard in their education and research activities and students in their learning activities. However, as college athletics expanded, winning in popular intercollegiate athletic games became about more than just the honor of players. It became a good opportunity to enhance people’s recognition of the name of the university and to create a powerful appealing image of faculty who were shaping youth who had superiority not only in the intellectual realm but also in the physical one. But, despite the degree to which college athletics acquired wide popularity or the reputation of the university was boosted, college athletics were, in the end, extracurricular activities for students.

    The principal occupation for students was to attend the classes and worship as well as to study in their dormitories during prescribed hours, as most American universities in those days were private schools founded by religious denominations and had students living in dormitories. However, in order to participate in intercollegiate athletic games, students had to be absent from classes or worship at times. Furthermore, if the game was held in another town, remote from the university, they had to travel there to attend. Faculty attempted to control the students’ activities by using the authority given to them, as much as possible: by limiting exercise hours; by not approving students’ absence from classes or worship; and by objecting to students’ participation in intercollegiate games. However, they could not easily control the enthusiasm of university students who had recognized the value of the freedom which had been revealed by the American Revolutionary War. Furthermore, most American universities were private schools and they had to secure fresh students every year in a society in which there was a trend toward a growing number of universities. So, the universities had to make themselves sufficiently attractive for both the students and the parents. As a result, Faculty were not allowed to unconditionally forbid students’ sports activities or participation in intercollegiate athletic games because these were a strong attractor for the university. The faculties were caught in this dilemma for decades.

     

     

    You may not think of it as a serious conflict between the universities’ mission and the faculties’ worry that extracurricular sports would get in the way of the accomplishment of that mission. However, those who are members of college faculties, like myself, could be said in general to be relatively sensitive to the role their jobs play in society. This may be slightly different from people engaged in non-academic jobs in society. Besides, most faculties in those days were comprised of more or less earnest church ministers. It is not difficult to imagine that they were quite nervous about the adverse effects of college athletics on the students’ studies.

    Another dilemma that bothered the faculties was the conflict between amateurism and both commercialization and professionalization of sports. The question of commercialization can be divided into the issues of large prizes (of cash or goods) and game ticket receipts, and professionalization into the issues of employment of paid professional coaches, the eligibility of players and holding games with professional teams. Actually, American college athletics had been exposed to huge waves of commercialization and professionalization, since its beginnings.

    More specifically, when intercollegiate athletics gained great popularity and it was discovered that college sports lead to commercial profits or stimulation of the local economy, enterprises or cities/towns begun to financially support and help hold intercollegiate athletic games. Also, some organizations would offer a large prize to the winner of the game. Because the prize was so attractive to student athletes, it created in them a trend of craving the victory for the prize, an attitude which was totally incompatible with amateurism.

     

    Amateurism was, originally, a discriminatory and exclusive concept devised by people of the British aristocracy to shut those of the working classes out of the “elegant play” of sports. It was based on the thought that those who needed to work to earn their daily bread should not be eligible to participate in sports. During the American Revolutionary War, America sent a “Dear John letter”, more specifically, “the Declaration of Independence” to Britain, a letter from a nation in which there was no aristocracy as there was in Britain. Therefore, amateurism in America was not as rigid as in Britain. Nevertheless, the American universities had to appear to society as if they were respecting the spirit of amateurism. This was necessary so as avoid criticism of commercialization and professionalization of college athletics.

    The employment of paid professional coaches was a very difficult issue. As the significance of winning the game became greater, the game strategy and the training methodology needed to increase in sophistication. In fact, Yale and Harvard which were the most prestigious schools in college athletics employed professional coaches in their regatta teams as early as the 1860’s. Since the beginning, the incompatible ideas that college athletics had to appear to society to be respecting the spirit of amateurism on one hand, while they had to take professional methods in order to win the games on the other hand, had been an uninterrupted annoyance for college faculties.

    The third dilemma that was annoying faculties was an ironic one, and I believe this must be the most serious issue: in order to make college athletics exactly as the faculties desired, it was necessary to control every detail of the students’ activity and, of course, the faculties wanted to do that. However, in reality, they had no spare time to administer the students’ extracurricular activities, or special knowledge of how to do it. Thus, in the end, they had no option other than entrusting the operation of college athletics to students. For example, even a single intercollegiate athletic game required complicated management procedures including negotiation with the opponent school team, approval of the faculties, reservation of an athletic ground, reservation of transport facilities, reservation of accommodations, etc. Furthermore, with regard to the training regime, in order to devise an effective training method when victory was regarded as quite important, adequate technical knowledge was required. The faculties, who had no spare time for the students’ extracurricular activities, or skills for organizing them, were able to interfere with the college athletics only by restricting the students’ self-governing activities based on their ability to grant or deny approval.

     

     

    Copyright ©2013-2018 Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria

     

    This article is a revision of the article entitled “In-Depth Cultural Comparison, No. 2: Comparing Canada and America; Ice Hockey vs. American Football” printed in Japonism Victoria, vol. 8 no.3, 2013 published by Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria.

     

     

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part I <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part II <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part III <

     

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part V

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VII

     

     

  • Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part V

    Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part V

    Vincent A. @ ELC Research International

     

     

    Modernization of Football

    College students in those days were forced to live an oppressive life in which classes were mainly comprised of recitation of Greek and Latin (rote learning) while dormitory life was full of rules, so extracurricular activities were the only thing they found in their college life to which they could devote themselves for personal reasons. Those students who loved college athletics, and the idea of making full use of their physical power so intensely, had to spend their surplus energy in extra hours in ways other than games or exercises, if they were not playing. Thus, intercollegiate athletic games were commonly associated with student misconduct such as drunkenness, turmoil and breaking things. It caused great distress to college faculties, too.

    In addition to these, since football was really a “dangerous sport” causing many casualties, it was frequently questioned by faculty with regard to the violence and brutality. In fact, several deaths occurred every year in football games. Although the death toll in the earlier years is unavailable, a record shows that in 1905 there were eighteen deaths in football games. It could be three in intercollegiate athletic games according to Watterson (*1). Since football was a terribly dangerous sport, and college athletics themselves were troublesome things, it is not hard to imagine that for college faculties football was the worst sport to deal with.

    The college faculties repeatedly argued to ban the violent game of football. In fact, some universities abolished football. Eventually, an incident called the “Football Crisis,” which is very famous in the history of American sports, occurred. It was in the autumn of 1905.

    Some time before, several faculties attempted to set up an inter-institutional athletic committee comprised of representatives of several universities to discuss general rules and regulations with reference to football, the game which caused the most casualties. This was because football was considered too dangerous and the problem too difficult for the participating universities to deal with individually. However, since the universities had their own policies with regard to college athletics and the supervision of students, the inter-institutional committee plan finally ran aground.

     

     

    Meanwhile, in the autumn of 1905, a photograph of a bloody face of a college student Bob Maxwell who got injured in an intercollegiate athletic game of football was carried by a newspaper. President Theodore Roosevelt was enraged by the brutality and the lack of sportsmanship in football, and called college gownsmen to the White House and threatened to prohibit football unless it was reformed. This was called the “Football Crisis” by the general public. In this affair, Roosevelt was spoken of as a savior who saved football from the crisis of abolition.

    Anecdotes featuring a politician rarely mention them this favorably, and in this football crisis as well, the facts are a bit different from the public perception. In the first place, the President had no authority to abolish sports. Rather, Roosevelt himself was fond of football, and before the injury to Maxwell was reported, he thought about how the bloody sport could be reformed. Finally, he invited representatives of Harvard, Yale and Princeton, which were major college athletics schools, to a lunch in the White House and suggested to them to found an inter-institutional committee (*2).

    Furthermore, everything was not solved by the “words of authority” from Roosevelt at all. Although the gownsmen began to move toward starting an inter-institutional committee, since major universities were competing with each other and people had their own expectations, things did not go on smoothly. After many twists and turns, the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) finally started in 1906, the next year. Since football was the leading sport in college athletics, the NCAA afterwards developed into a top organization governing the whole of college athletics. However, ad initium as it started, Harvard and Yale engaged in a struggle for power and did not participate in the NCAA. Thus, the launch of the NCAA was very uncertain. Several years were needed until the administration of the NCAA got on track and major universities agreed upon reform of football. Furthermore, casualties continued in football games afterwards, and football crises occurred many times. Every time, the rules were reformed and, finally, as late as in the latter half of the 20th century, unnecessary roughness of football had almost gone.

     

     

    The NCAA was founded a half century after the regatta game was held between Harvard and Yale, which was the first intercollegiate athletic game in American history. During this half century, while the college faculties were agonizing over the several dilemmas involving college athletics, they struggled with these difficult problems quite sincerely. It could be said that the efforts of the faculties finally succeeded in and lead to the foundation of an inter-institutional committee, the NCAA.

    Walter Camp is known as the “Father of American Football”. He was a famous football player and became afterwards the athletic adviser of Yale. He made a great contribution to the development of football in the area of establishing rules, for example. He was critical about the participation of university authorities/faculties in college athletics, and stated as follows: “Neither the faculties nor other critics assisted in building the structure of college athletics. It is a structure which students unaided have builded.”

    According to Camp, what the faculties did would be nothing but interference in college athletics. For sure, the faculties had neither the time for administering the students’ activities in detail nor technical knowledge sufficient to do it. Thus, they might be able to participate in the college athletics only by imposing restrictions on the students’ activities. However, the reason why football was able to overcome its most serious defect, violence, and lack of sportsmanship is very much because faculties interfered with college athletics, including football. Camp was an outstanding football player, and he seems to have had a pre-modern aesthetic of “being strong is manliness.” However, probably due to such pre-modernity, the authority of Camp in the world of football faded rapidly after the foundation of NCAA, that is, the beginning of modernization of football.

     

    *1:  “College Football”, John S. Watterson, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2000

    *2:   ibid, “College Football”

     

     

    Copyright ©2013-2018 Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria

     

    This article is a revision of the article entitled “In-Depth Cultural Comparison, No. 2: Comparing Canada and America; Ice Hockey vs. American Football” printed in Japonism Victoria, vol. 8 no.3, 2013 published by Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria.

     

     

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part I <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part II <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part III <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI <

     

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VII

     

     

     

  • Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI

    Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI

    Vincent A. @ ELC Research International

     

     

    Ice Hockey: A Sport Having Missed the Bus for Modernization

     In contrast to football, ice hockey missed the “bus for modernization”, I believe. Players’ fighting with fists during ice hockey games is not unusual at all, and this is essentially the same as football games in the 19th century. Clearly, players and coaches in ice hockey are dominated by a pre-modern ethos or spirit of “being strong is manliness.” In fact, among modern sports, except martial arts, ice hockey is the only sport in which players fighting with fists in front of the public is allowed (*3).

    It is very hard for me to think that Canadians being gentle at heart and loving “Tim Hortons” (*4) so much are essentially fond of violence. But, I am a bit confused with one mystery. In Canada, when a film or video including violence or sexuality is shown on TV, a message warning that viewer discretion is advised is displayed so that nothing inappropriate is seen by children. However, why are such thoughtful Canadians so unconcerned about the repeated fights during televised ice hockey games which are shown without any warning? It is a real mystery to me. Is ice hockey some kind of exception?

    As far as ice hockey is concerned, it seems as if time halted in the 19th century. Why? What does it mean?

     

     

    I believe that probably it is indeed one aspect of the Canadian culture. But, why is it so? Probably, this results from Canada’s extraordinarily lucky history that Canadians have had little experience of being driven into a corner or a really miserable situation.

    The meaning is as follows. Canada did not need to take a stand against Britain as America confronted Britain in the American Revolutionary War. Namely, since Canada remained in the British Commonwealth, Canada didn’t need follow the U.S. that entirely denied the authority of the British sovereign and opposed to Britain to establish a government based on the people’s will. On the other hand, however, Canada was able to at least partially import the fruits of the democracy born and nurtured in America, the neighboring country. As a result, while there are differences in the details, Canada have been able to build a democratic nation generally analogous to the U.S. Thus, Canada got the fruits without making substantial sacrifices.

    This is, so to speak, a schema: Americans being driven into a difficult situation have to strive desperately to find certain measures to resolve the difficulties; then the results are imported into Canada to enrich Canadian society. We can see such a schema in evidence in various places in the society of Canada.

    In such a schema, it is very natural that Canadian people are attentive to trends in America. For, there might be some “fruit” there which can be imported into Canada. The TV news programs in Canada include a lot of reports about matters happening in the U.S. A typical example is the fact that in Canadian news programs the U.S. President appears more frequently than Canadian Prime Minister. This can be regarded as a sign of the behavioral tendency of Canadian people, keeping their antennas directed toward America.

     

     

    The same schema applies to the college athletics described above. In college athletics as well, Canada was very lucky, because most Canadian universities were public schools founded by provinces, and there was no need to attract a sufficient number of fresh students every year as in private schools. Therefore, compared to American college faculties, the faculties of Canadian universities were not annoyed by the same problems as in American college athletics and were not forced to struggle with them. However, on the other hand, the fruits of the modernization of football, which was born from the anguish of the faculties of American universities, was fully imported into Canadian football. Here, Canada got the fruits without making sacrifices, again.

    However, as far as ice hockey is concerned, unfortunately, there was no model in America that could be imported into Canada. The ice hockey was born in Canada and, naturally, there was no model of “modernized ice hockey” in America. So, Canadian ice hockey had no opportunity of being modernized at all.

    Furthermore, at least up to now, most Canadians have deemed ice hockey as a sport having no major problem needing to be considered seriously. Thus, ice hockey has been frozen for too long, maintaining its pre-modern status.

     

     

    *3:    The current rules prescribe a very light penalty for violence, and do not function to stop violence. The frequent occurrences of fights are evidence thereof. For instance, when some player is subject to sitting out of the game as a penalty, a substitute player can participate, in his place, immediately. Thus, the pursuit of victory is not affected at all.

    *4:    “Tim Hortons” is the name of Canada’s largest fast food chain restaurant mainly featuring doughnuts and coffees. It is loved by many Canadians of a wide range of ages. The name comes from Tim Horton who was a famous professional hockey player in the mid-1900’s and who was one of the founders of the restaurant.

     

    Proofreading: David Gordon-MacDonald

     

     

    Copyright ©2013-2018 Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria

     

    This article is a revision of the article entitled “In-Depth Cultural Comparison, No. 2: Comparing Canada and America; Ice Hockey vs. American Football” printed in Japonism Victoria, vol. 8 no.3, 2013 published by Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria.

     

     

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part I <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part II <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part III <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part V <

     

    > Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VII

     

     

  • Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VII

    Cultural Comparison: Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VII

    Vincent A. @ ELC Research International

     

     

    David Gordon-MacDonald, the proofreader of the articles, has given a quite interesting suggestion about the origin of Canadian ice hockey, as follows:

     

    Ice hockey started on rinks made on village ponds and icy back yards. It was a community game but also a game played by people who considered themselves, in many cases, rough and ready frontiersmen. So, physicality was always a great part of the game. Hockey has always been a working man’s sport and did not have the early intervention from the educated classes that many other sports had. For instance, the British working man’s game, soccer football, had the first version of its current rules written down by a nobleman, as I recall. That kind of thing never happened in village sport of ice hockey.

    It is thought that ice hockey started in Nova Scotia, the Scottish area of Canada in the 19th century as a version of Shinty, a Scottish Highland game with some similarities to field hockey, but played here on ice instead of grass. Shinty sticks are flat on each side and you can see how they could evolve into the modern hockey stick. However, even in Scotland, Shinty was a village game or a game played in communities of Highlanders who migrated to cities.

    In fact, the game may have had similar origins to the Irish game of Hurling, as a Celtic warrior’s pastime. Games like Shinty in Scotland and Hurling in Ireland are related to stick-and-ball games used by the Celtic warrior class to keep themselves in shape without actual combat. In Ireland, there are traces of such games going back a couple of thousand years.

    There has never been anything academic about either Shinty or ice hockey, unlike in the American collegiate athletics as discussed in this article. Canadian universities, today, have hockey programs, but it always seems like an imperfect fit.

     

     

    Actually, the author had an experience of watching an ice hockey practice game by the rink, only once. The speed and the impact of the moving players and the puck shot by them, as well as the live sound of scraping off the ice surface, were so intense and powerful, which were totally different from those we could see or hear in the TV. I realize the reason why the ice hockey wins a great popularity in Canada.

    But, for the very reason that the ice hockey is a quite attractive sport as such, it would be enjoyable even without a violence in the game. I would be happy if Canadian people realize this. Though the U.S.A. might not have had the model of ice hockey, since there is a good example of American football having been refined from a brutal sport wherein casualties occurred frequently to an advanced sport wherein the violence is well controlled, I believe the Canadian ice hockey had better pursue the modernization modeling after the football. It’s never too late.

     

     

    Copyright ©2013-2018 Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria

     

    This article is a revision of the article entitled “In-Depth Cultural Comparison, No. 2: Comparing Canada and America; Ice Hockey vs. American Football” printed in Japonism Victoria, vol. 8 no.3, 2013 published by Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria.

     

     

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part I <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part II <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part III <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part V <

    Canadian Ice Hockey vs. American Football, Part VI <

     

     

  • The Truth of Victoria Oriental Home [2]

    The Truth of Victoria Oriental Home [2]

    Michiko Midge Ayukawa, PhD

     

     

    ◆Why Are the Nikkei People Unwilling to Speak About Oriental Home?

    In May 1942 when the Japanese were all removed from the west coast, there were eighteen Japanese children being cared for; eleven were under twelve years old. They were sent to the Girls’ Residence in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan. They were all motherless, their fathers had been sent to road camps and these children too had to leave the coastal area. The Oriental Home closed, and the premises were occupied by other groups such as the Elks, the Knights of Columbus.

    These facts, however, do not explain why the Victoria Oriental Home was not spoken about openly. Was it because of its beginning as a shelter for Chinese prostitutes, and that later, a few Japanese prostitutes had also been cared for there?

    Japanese women had been smuggled into the United States and then brought across the border to the boomtowns in the interior of BC (the Kootenays, Cariboo) and southern Alberta in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  A reporter for the newspaper “Tairiku Nippo” in Vancouver travelled to these sites, talked with the women and wrote a vivid account of these women: “Kanada No Makutsu” (Brothel in Canada) by Shohei Nagata. With the closing of the mines a number of these women sought refuge at the Oriental Home.  There were few survivors since the years and disease had taken their toll.

     

     

    Tomoko Makabe carried out a thorough study of the lives of a few pioneer picture brides. One story in particular is about a woman who was able to survive two bad marriages, spent some time at the Oriental Home and was then able to run a successful dress-making business.

    For a Nisei like me who had often heard quiet whispers about the Oriental Home and had known some people who had been ‘saved” by the Women’s Missionary Society of the United Church of Canada, I deplore the stories that are still rampant about the Oriental Home. The common opinion appears to be that those women who sought shelter there had been prostitutes; thus, a low form of womanhood that brought shame to the Japanese race. However, they were few in number. The majority of the women who sought help there were desperate, and they were brave. To go outside the community was frowned upon but few fellow Japanese could lend a helping hand or were willing to. Those who had the strength to reach out to the Oriental Home are to be admired, not reviled.

    The debt that we Japanese Canadians owe to the Women’s Missionary Society of the United Church of Canada can never be repaid. Without their help in setting up secondary school education in the interior camps during World War II, many of us would not have been able to carry on with our education and would have had great difficulty later in regaining our place in Canadian society when we resettled.

    Let us all keep an open mind and not leap to conclusions based on whispers and rumours. There are well-researched books available on this part of our history—there were good benevolent people and there were selfish evil ones, many men and women and their children would not have been able to survive and fewer would have if there had not been some benevolent Christian women who saw the need and helped.

     

    The photo, right, shows a grave marker inscribed with “ORIENTAL HOME” at Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria, BC. The names of the persons buried there are not known so far.

     

     

     

    Michiko Midge Ayukawa, PhD (1930 – 2013)

    She was born in 1930 in Vancouver, BC as a third child (first daughter) of Japanese parents of first-generation immigrants from Onomich, Hiroshima, Japan. She experienced the interment in 1942 enforced by the Canadian government. In 1955, she married Karl Kaoru Ayukawa and then raised five children. Historian, and the author of a book “Hiroshima Immigrants in Canada 1891-1941”, 2008, UBC Press.

     

    Copyright © 2010-2018 Japanese Canadian Community Organization of Victoria

    This article is a revision of the article published with the same title by Japonism Victoria, vol.5 no. 7, 2010.

     

    The Truth of Victoria Oriental Home [1] <