Do foreigners really have ‘human rights’ in Japan? This book sheds light on the way Japan views foreigners by examining court cases initiated in the wake of the issuance of deportation orders.
‘Special permission to stay’ is issued to foreigners who have been given deportation orders when the state finds special circumstances that should be taken into consideration that merit the granting of residence status. A ‘residence status’ is required for foreigners to live in Japan, and what foreigners can do in Japan varies greatly depending on which status they have. This is the system through which Japan, as a nation, ‘evaluates’ foreigners and determines the extent to which it will afford them rights.
This book closely observes the court records of various cases involving requests for special permission to stay in Japan, and analyzes the decision-making process made by the government. It examines the logic and ideology applied by the state to define the line between ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ foreigners, shedding light on the structures embedded within Japan that determine who can stay in the country and who cannot.

About Editors and Authors

Kiyoto Tanno, PhD in sociology, is professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University.

Table of contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: A Comparative Sociology of Human Rights Based on the Treatment of Foreigners

1. A Socio-Legal Study of ‘Fake Nikkei’: Japan’s Treatment of Foreign Workers
2. The Sociology of Foreign Juvenile Delinquency
3. LGBT Foreign Nationals and the Sociology of Deportation Orders in Japan: Protecting the Rights of a Minority within a Minority
4. The Sociology of LGBT Foreign Nationals and Post-Deportation Concerns
5. The Sociology of the Hate-Speech Rally Ban: The Case of Kawasaki
6. Japanese Management through the Lens of Foreign Labor: The Significance of Foreign Workers to Enterprises and the Community
7. The Sociology of ‘Foreigners’ Human Rights’
8. Re-examining ‘Foreigners’ Human Rights’: Approaching ‘Long-Term Residence’ from the Historical Sociology of Residence Status
9. Discovering Justification for Special Permission to Stay: A Constitutional Order Approach
10. The Japanese System for Evaluating ‘Foreigners’ Human Rights’: Shifting the Epistemological Perspective from ‘Foreigners’ Human Rights’ to ‘the Rights of Humans, Including Foreigners’

Bibliography
Index