Quote:
Originally Posted by Wasabista
Nyororin, that's certainly what I'd assumed -- I thought every one of the Koreans here came over during the war, or was descended from someone who was. That's definitely an eye-opener for me.
Sounds a bit like the situation in Puerto Rico -- there's a minority agitating for independence, and a larger minority pushing to make PR the 51st state, but mostly people like the status quo. They can't vote in federal elections, but they get loads of subsidies.
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I can`t say I`m familiar with the case of Puerto Rico, but it sound somewhat similar.
A lot of Japanese feel sort of threatened by the Japanese-Korean community in Japan because... well, they want the rights of citizenship without the responsibilities. They want to continue to receive benefits while gaining the right to vote and hold office - all without actually taking citizenship. It seems that the larger chunk of them hold allegiance to North Korea, and support that country over Japan. Even now, without voting rights, they put all their power behind supporting candidates who offer them more benefits and who support North Korea - Something that really isn`t in the best interests of Japan.
This is one of the reasons why Aso is loved by a lot of Japanese - and at the same time has such a horrific reputation outside of Japan. He told them off, suggesting that perhaps it would be better to put Japan`s people first rather that those who are happy to take benefits and send them abroad (But that they were completely welcome to take citizenship)... and has brushed off Asahi Shinbun (which is well known for making up stories supporting "Asian interest" in Japan, and publishing some outright shocking columns.) The international community, somehow largely oblivious to the background thanks to the extremely vocal nature of some of the Korean community, takes this as a sign that bad times are in store for foreigners in Japan.
I think he`s great.