“Who is Ayako Sono really?” Image courtesy Kikatarou Yamazaki (originally from Shukan Kinyobi Jan. 24, 2014 issue)
In a recent newspaper column in the print edition of Sankei Shinbun [1], noted Japanese author and conservative political activist Ayako Sono [2] advocated that immigrants to Japan be separated by race and forced to live in special zones.
Sono wrote the article amidst ongoing debate on whether or not to increase immigration rates to Japan in the face of an ageing population.
Hiroko Tabuchi [3], formerly the New York Times’ Japan correspondent, took note:
Japan needs to have a convo on racism (2) Sankei op-ed just called for immigrants to be segregated, Apartheid-style pic.twitter.com/NcdNlnUVmL [4]
— Hiroko Tabuchi (@HirokoTabuchi) February 12, 2015 [5]
While Japan has to let immigrants come to help ease the labor difficulties facing the nursing care sector, Sono says in her Sankei column, Japan needs to create a legal framework that strictly maintains the status of these workers as immigrants, and does not permit naturalization.
She goes on to cite South Africa's former apartheid system as a good example of such a policy in action.
After noticing Sono's column was causing a considerable ruckus online in Japan, Nippon.com editor and writer Peter Durfee [6] decided to translate her entire Sankei article.
@recordpaul [7] @Karlagollanes [8] the only reason I noticed and translated the article was the number of angry comments from Japanese people
— Peter Durfee (@Durf) February 12, 2015 [9]
From Durfee's translation of Ayako Sono's Sankei Shimbun column: [10]
Ever since I learned of the situation in the Republic of South Africa some 20 or 30 years ago, I have been convinced that it is best for the races to live apart from each other, as was the case for whites, Asians, and blacks in that country.
Read Peter Durfee's full translation [10] of Ayako Sono's Sankei column here [10].
Sono is no stranger to controversy in Japan:
@HirokoTabuchi [11] @Durf [12] @jonathan_soble [13] not Sankei related, but found recent Sono essay on “positive” aspects of WWII… pic.twitter.com/yFxhbyNJL9 [14]
— Stephen Stapczynski (@SStapczynski) February 12, 2015 [15]
Top caption: “70 years after the war, anti-war sentiment based on simplistic “humanism” alone is not enough to be passed on to the next generation.
Headline: “More than the tragedy of war, we must also remember the wisdom we as a nation gained from it.”
Sono's comments about apartheid are notable because, born in 1931, she has been a prominent author and conservative political activist in Japan during the post-war era. She has served as education adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, sits on the board of Japan Post, and also sits on the board of NHK, Japan's national broadcaster [16].
Sono also has been a supporter of disgraced former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, and led the controversial Nippon Foundation [17] in the mid-1990s [18].
問題は、曽野綾子氏が教育再生実行会議委員であることだ。安倍内閣は彼女を重用しているのだが、考え方が近いからなのかは確認すべき問題だ／曽野綾子のコラムに暗示する問題（uncorrelated） http://t.co/PznsSYAmeg [19]
— BLOGOS編集部 (@ld_blogos) February 12, 2015 [20]
The problem is Ayako Sono is a member of the prime minister's committee for educational reform [21]. The Abe government is relying on her heavily. It would be a good idea to find out if her way of thinking closely matches government policy.
Other netizens have wondered just what Sono must be thinking. Noted web entrepreneur and online influencer Takafumi Horie said:
あたまがおかしいね 曽野綾子さん「移民を受け入れ、人種で分けて居住させるべき」産経新聞で主張 – http://t.co/oaAFxqTrqb [22] — 堀江貴文(Takafumi Horie) (@takapon_jp) February 12, 2015 [23]
She's a little funny in the head!
Others point out that such comments are parochial at best, especially considering that Tokyo will host the summer Olympics in 2020:
オリンピックを前に随分自国だけに都合の良い理屈だなこれ……。 / ネトウヨもドン引き！曽野綾子が産経のコラムでアパルトヘイト推奨 http://t.co/EUTlnhCVCK [24] #NewsPicks [25] — 津田大介 (@tsuda) February 12, 2015 [26]
And she's promoting a particularly insular view of our country in the lead-up to the the Olympics, too!
One South African commentator was left feeling disgusted:
.@HirokoTabuchi [11] @Durf [12] @Sankei_news [27] This wouldn't even be printed in #SouthAfrica [28], as it violates our Press Code and incites discrimination. — Deva Lee (@DevaLee) February 12, 2015 [29]