Quote:
Originally Posted by Wasabista
Ignore you? Heck no! 
Follow-up question: Why does the government lavish the Korean community with the subsidies you described? Is it related to war reparations treaties?
And if they're male South Korean citizens, aren't they up for compulsory military service? |
I can`t say I know too much in depth about the reasons behind the subsidies - but I would imagine that they are related to the war. The Japanese-Korean community in Japan is often VERY outspoken, and about half the time it`s not in a pleasant manner. While I agree that there should be something done, there comes a point when you just end up rolling your eyes when some Japanese-Korean family is throwing a fit because the government refused to pay for a family vacation to Europe for them.
It`s a sort of victim complex... And because of the tensions left from war time, Japan just sort of bends to their every whim. For regular Japanese citizens, this is indeed flat out painful, as there is often not money enough to go around for disability benefits, retirement, etc... But plenty enough to buy a house with a yard, in nice areas, for any Japanese-Korean who asks. Not to mention that the percentage who were actually brought to Japan forcefully is surprisingly low. Most of the current Japanese-Korean population in Japan came over after the war... But still get all the benefits, as the outspoken community uses the argument of "If Korea hadn`t been touched by Japan, our ancestors may not have decided to leave the country to look for work in Japan", and "If Japan hadn`t had a better economy, then it would not have seemed an appealing place."
And anyone who says "Wait a second - why do they get a free car, but I can`t get a wheelchair?" is labeled racist by the outspoken groups in Japan, and by all of South Korea (which seems to be waiting to pounce on anything to make Japan look like a bad place).
As for military service - I really have no idea. I am going to make a guess that they still have to serve it, as it looks like there isn`t an easy way to be exempted from it. Maybe the free trips to Korea have to do with this?