18 First of All, We Need a Basic Law for Migrants
It was two years after the Great East Japan Earthquake when I met Catherine at the A City Office – one of the areas affected by the earthquake. As we were setting a consultation date over the phone, I noticed that she was not quite fluent in Japanese; so I decided to take an interpreter with me. When I told her at the beginning, “Today, an interpreter is here with us, so please tell me in Tagalog anything that is troubling or worrying you,” Catherine seemed relieved, and she started to talk. It was 10 years ago that she married and came to Japan from the Philippines. She lived with her Japanese husband and his parents, and had three children and raised them. She was talking about her husband’s parents and her children, and just when it seemed she was going into the crux of her problems, she suddenly changed from Tagalog to Japanese – moreover, to faltering Japanese. I reminded her again, “An interpreter is here, so you don’t have to speak in Japanese,” and then she started talking again in Tagalog, but would change back again into Japanese. This was repeated over and over a number of times, until Catherine, the interpreter, and I were all exhausted, and we had to suspend the interview after two-and-half hours. Since then, I lost contact with her, and I have never been able to meet her again.
Catherine had not forgotten how to speak Tagalog. She came to a small fishing village in Japan, and in the 10 years since then, she had been forced to speak Japanese in the family and in the local community. The three of us including Catherine could only acknowledge the cruel outcome of this experience.
▶ The society envisaged by the Basic Law for Migrants
Japan has had an Immigration Control Act that controls foreign residents, but has never had a law that explicitly provides for the universal rights inherently held by migrants (foreign residents). But there is a real need for a basic law that “protects the human rights and basic freedoms, as well as the ethnic and cultural identities of migrants.” In this law, the following basic rights must be explicitly stipulated.
Japan has had an Immigration Control Act that controls foreign residents, but has never had a law that explicitly provides for the universal rights inherently held by migrants (foreign residents). But there is a real need for a basic law that “protects the human rights and basic freedoms, as well as the ethnic and cultural identities of migrants.” In this law, the following basic rights must be explicitly stipulated.
①All migrants, regardless of their residence status or length of residence, have a right to enjoy the human rights and basic freedoms stipulated in the Constitution of Japan and international human rights law without discrimination based on nationality, race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin, as well as family origin, religion, or any other status. They have a right to equal protection under the Constitution and international human rights laws without discrimination – in particular, the right to participate directly in politics and to have access to public service; and the right to acquire and renounce any nationality.
②All migrants shall enjoy economic, social, and cultural rights – in particular, the right to work and choose one’s occupation, and the right to just and favorable conditions of work and equal pay for equal work; the right to housing; the right to social insurance and social security; and the right to education.
③ All migrants’ right to stay and residency shall not be restricted or deprived, unless through legitimate reasons stipulated in law in line with international human rights laws (revised Immigration Control Act) and appropriate procedures.
④All migrants have a right to leave the country freely, and to re-enter during their term of residence.
⑤All migrants have a right to reunite with family members, as well as to form and maintain a family in Japan.
⑥All migrants enjoy individually and collectively the “rights of ethnic, cultural and religious minorities” protected under international human rights laws – in particular, the right to enjoy one’s culture, to believe and practice one’s religion, and to use one’s language; the right to receive education about one’s language, culture, history, and traditions; and the right to use one’s ethnic name.
⑦All migrants have a right to seek affirmative action necessary to achieve the enjoyment of these rights.
⑧The national and local governments must take legislative, administrative, financial, and other necessary measures to guarantee the rights recognized in this law – the Basic Law for Migrants – to all migrants.
The Basic Law for Migrants which includes the essential points given above, may seem like a pipe dream, given the grave reality of the Japanese legal system regarding migrants. But these are all part of the international standards required of State parties by international human rights laws including the Refugee Convention, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination – all of which Japan has ratified. They are also legal norms that many countries have adopted.
If such a Basic Law for Migrants is adopted, ways may be found to dissect and solve each of the seemingly unsolvable conflicts and problems that Catherine and many other migrants experience. This is a complex but profound process of multiculturalism and a challenge that Japan cannot avoid.