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差別
外国出身の男性3人の入浴を拒否した
小樽市の入浴施設に対し、札幌地裁が先月末、
「人種差別」として損害賠償を命じた。
'Rational' discrimination
Recently, the Sapporo District Court ordered a bathhouse in Otaru to pay damages to three people refused entry because they looked like foreigners. One of them, Arudou Debito (born David Aldwinckle) was not even a foreigner, as he holds Japanese citizenship. The court ruled that "refusing all foreigners without exception is 'irrational discrimination.' As it can be said to go beyond permissible societal limits...."
Debito's group also sued Otaru for not having done enough to prevent discrimination. They based their suit on the U.N. "International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination," to which Japan is a signatory. One part of this document says "Each State Party shall prohibit and bring to an end, by all appropriate means, including legislation as required by circumstances, racial discrimination by any persons, group or organization."
Unfortunately, the judge denied this part of their claim, saying that the city was not required to pass laws to prevent specific examples of discrimination between individuals. Debito alone and the bathhouse have appealed the decision, so the legal battle will continue. If you're interested in this case, I suggest you visit www.debito.org.
Let's look at the judge's notion of "irrational discrimination." That phrase suggests that there is also "rational" discrimination. Really? Could there be situations where it's actually OK to discriminate against someone? As horrible as it sounds, I think the answer is yes.
Consider a blind person applying for admission to a flight school. Or a 35-year-old who wants to play on a little league baseball team. What about a girl who wants to be in the Boy Scouts? Most people will probably agree that there is no problem with these individuals being denied access. A similar case is being debated in the United States now: Augusta National Golf Club, the home of the Masters Tournament, has a policy of not accepting women.
I disagree with that policy, but I believe private clubs have the right to decide who comes in and who does not. Their main business is providing a place to socialize, and people must be allowed to choose their friends. Some clubs have doormen who decide who may enter based on their dress and appearance. Discrimination? Yes, but perfectly legal. Many bars here have "Japanese Only" signs at their doors, too. I hate it, but you cannot force clubs to admit customers that will harm the atmosphere of their business.
But when a business is publicly offering basic goods or services, not what is primarily just a place to meet other people, then we have to draw the line on discrimination. Refusing to let someone buy from a store or enter a bathhouse due to race or nationality clearly violates the ideals of the U.N. convention. Yes, Debito won part of his lawsuit, but the fact that he had to sue the bathhouse in the first place reveals the main problem: Unlike every other industrialized nation, Japan has no laws that make racial discrimination illegal! Even the United Nations has warned Japan that such laws should be passed. Let's hope that higher courts here will overturn the Sapporo judge's ruling about such laws. And most importantly, let's hope there is a Japanese legislator out there concerned enough to draft the bill that should have been law ages ago.
Shukan ST: Dec. 20, 2002
(C) All rights reserved
- 'Rational' discrimination
- 「合理的な」差別
- pay damages
- 損害賠償金を支払う
- refused entry
- 入浴を拒否された
- Arudou Debito
- 有道出人
- citizenship
- 市民権
- without exception
- 一律に
- irrational discrimination
- 不合理な差別
- go beyond 〜
- 〜の限界を超える
- permissible
- 許容できる
- societal
- 社会の
- sued
- 訴えた
- prevent
- 防ぐ
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
- あらゆる形態の人種差別の撤廃に関する国際条約
- signatory
- 締結国
- State Party
- 締結国
- prohibit
- 禁じる
- by all appropriate means
- すべての適当な方法により
- legislation as required by circumstances
- 状況により必要とされるときは、立法を含む
- judge
- 裁判官
- denied
- 認めなかった
- claim
- 主張
- pass
- 通過させる
- have appealed
- 控訴した
- legal battle
- 法律上の戦い
- www.debito.org
- 有道さんのホームページ。日本の人権や差別の問題について、英和両文で、資料を数多く掲載している
- notion
- 考え
- situations
- 状況
- applying for admission to 〜
- 〜に出願する
- flight school
- パイロット養成学校
- little league baseball
- 少年野球
- being denied access
- 入ることを拒否される
- is being debated
- 討議されている
- home
- 開催地
- policy
- 方針
- disagree
- 賛成しない
- socialize
- 人と付き合う
- legal
- 合法的な
- atmosphere
- 雰囲気
- goods
- 商品
- primarily
- 基本的に
- draw the line
- 一線を画す
- due to 〜
- 〜のせいで
- nationality
- 国籍
- violates
- 違反する
- lawsuit
- 訴訟
- in the first place
- そもそも
- reveals
- 明るみに出す
- industrialized nation
- 先進工業国
- has warned
- 警告した
- overturn
- 覆す
- legislator
- 国会議員
- draft
- 起草する