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Japan Human Rights
Compared with most of its Asian neighbors and countries
in most
other parts of the world, Japan's record on human rights
is
commendable, if not exemplary. With some important
exceptions, most
observers consider informal social pressures a greater
factor in
limiting individual freedom than the coercive actions of
the
authorities. The ancient Japanese adage that "the nail
that sticks
up gets hammered down" captures the sense that Japanese
people are
pressured more to conform than are people in the more
"individualistic" societies of the West. Some Japanese
lower- and
upper-secondary schools, for example, have adopted
extremely strict
dress codes, determining not only apparel but also the
length of
hair to the exact centimeter. Although defended by
conservative
educators as a way of cultivating discipline and
self-control,
these codes have been widely criticized as violations of
students'
rights. In another example, shopkeepers and local
community groups
throughout Japan canceled sales promotions and festivals
in the
wake of Emperor Hirohito's illness in late 1988, for fear
of being
labeled unpatriotic. This self-restraint cost them
billions of yen.
Although freedom of expression was, for the most part,
respected, certain matters--particularly those relating to
the
emperor--were widely considered taboo subjects for public
figures.
Nagasaki's mayor, Motoshima Hitoshi, a member of the LDP,
said in
December 1988 that Hirohito bore some responsibility for
World War
II. Motoshima was later ostracized by influential,
mainstream
politicians, his life was threatened on several occasions,
and in
January 1990 he was seriously wounded outside his office
by a
right-wing extremist. Despite the comments about his
father,
Emperor Akihito visited Motoshima after the attempt on his
life.
Although Article 14 guarantees sexual equality, women
faced
systematic discrimination in the workplace. They were
generally
expected to quit work after getting married or having
children.
However, the number of lifelong career women grew steadily
during
the 1980s and early 1990s. The Diet's passage of the Law
for Equal
Opportunity in Employment for Men and Women in 1985 was of
some
help in securing women's rights, even though the law was a
"guideline" and entailed no legal penalties for employers
who
discriminated. The law has, however, been used by women in
several
court cases seeking equal treatment in such areas as
retirement age
(see Gender Stratification and the Lives of Women
, ch. 2).
Human rights have also become an issue because of the
police
practice of obtaining confessions from criminal suspects.
Although
torture is rarely reported, suspects are placed under
tremendous
psychological and physical pressures to confess. In
several cases,
the courts have acknowledged that confessions were forced
and
ordered prisoners released
(see The Criminal Justice System
, ch.
8).
The greatest controversy concerning human rights,
however,
focuses on the social and legal treatment of minorities.
Although
the Japanese consider themselves to be a homogeneous
people,
minorities do exist, and they often have suffer severe
discrimination. The largest group are the 2 million to 4
million
hisabetsu buraku ("discriminated communities")
descendants
of the outcast communities of feudal Japan. Other
minorities,
including the Ainu, indigenous inhabitants of northern
Japan; the
people of Okinawa; and ethnic Koreans, have suffered
discrimination
as well,
(see Minorities
, ch. 2).
Data as of January 1994
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