Mitzub'ixi Quq Chi'j
Hyper-Aged-Society2015_Mikedas.pdf
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1. Challenging to ‘Our’ low-birth-rate-hyper-aging-society :Japanese government, health sectors, and citizen Mitsuho Ikeda Center for the Study of Communication-Design,CSCD Osaka University November 8, 2015 Workshop of the Governmental Health Policy and Social Responses in East Asian Countries, sponsored of the Japanese Society for Promotion of Sciences, JSPS |
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2. outline of my presentation We will have three parts of this presentation 1) General description on Aging Society, “Kōreika-Shakai” and Policy of Japan 2) Structural Violence toward foreign ‘Newcomers’ workers in Japan 3) How we should do? :Methodological memorandum |
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3. Government Political Issues Rapid Demographic Change Labor Force Population Problem High Working Motivation among Elderly Revisions to the Act on Employment for Elderly Eligibility Age for the Employee Pensions Mandatory Retirement System Silver Human Resource Center Steering for Active Healthy Aging Policy Techno-phile Policy: Public Investments of High-Technologies for Elderly more than human capacitation |
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4. Demographic Change in Japan (Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2012) |
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5. Rising of Eligibility Age for Employee Pension (Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2012) |
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6. Structural Violence Toward Foreign “Newcomers” Workers in Contemporary Japan: An Anthropological Approach to Health care, Welfare and Low-intensity Conflict |
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7. Outline of this part What is foreign laborer as workforce? Why does Japan accept foreign workforce not human worker? What is Structural Violence? Structural Violence toward foreign workers? Making social safety network for foreign medical/health workers |
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8. What is foreign worker ? In Japan; Other, foreign immigrant workers with working visa, and “technical intern trainee” and “trainee.” In developed countries; Other, foreign immigrant workers with working visa and illegitimate worker. In developing countries; Stakeholders themselves who want to work abroad with various motivations. |
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9. Migration Flows: Source: http://search.credoreference.com/content/topic/immigration |
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10. Official Announcement for acceptance of “good” Foreigners (Ministry of Foreign Affair of Japan and Immigration Bureau, Ministry of Justice) Promotion for Inbound Tourism(“Kankō-Rikkoku”) Acceptance of Skilled Laborer “Respondence” for inland working population decline “Reducing by half” of illegal overstayers and “confirming refused entry” against persona non grata like terrorists in terms of “good and short” circulation of foreign tourists and short term skilled laborers |
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11. Logic of Sustainability for Aged Welfare Care |
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12. From Volunteer Translators’ Experiences in health care setting Even though establishment of official guideline of the curriculum in March 2014, many health/medical translators are working as semi-authorized volunteers in health care setting. According interviews with translators, we can get the picture of interactions between foreign workers and translators not only in various health care settings but also in various transcultural problems. We can easily seize not only their health problems but also cultural difference problems both as social sufferings. We need to establish rescuing for the victims who are neglected from human rights protection and to make a kind of social security network by not only Japanese government but Japanese citizen ourselves. |
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13. Dilemma of making Our Multi-cultural/lingual society Japanese society has tended to contributing international societies, especially Southeast Asian Countries, e.g. ASEAN with various reasons (e.g. war compensation, global economic expansion and ‘invasion,’ and neoliberal free trade scheme) But Japanese government still remains double standards of ‘internationalization’ between more open export our industrial products and very close labour market system for foreign workers. The latter causes “structural violence” potential toward foreign workers in Japan, e.g. Technical Intern Training Program(TITP), Intern Training Program(ITP). |
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14. What is Structural Violence? Johan Galtung’s thesis (1969) SV is “a form of violence wherein some social structure or social institution may harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs. Institutionalized adultism, ageism, classism, elitism, ethnocentrism, nationalism, racism, and sexism are some examples of structural violence” - Wikipedia Galtung, Johan. “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research,” Journal of Peace Research, 6(3):167-169 (1969) |
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15. Demerit & Merit of SV comcept It is very difficult to assign what kind of violence can be structured. How can we recognize “indirect” structured violence distinguishing from environmental or situational stress, or personal harassment? For activists, SV is provocative term against governmental authorities that have potential to make unintentionally structurally authorized political error because SV can be possible to be occurred under the name of jurisdiction, moral protection, and paternalistic dogma. People can check governmental functions by using “structural violence” potential. |
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16. Xenophobic Structural Violence It is not difficult to suggest that our government has had tendencies xenophobic policy, especially disdain for Asian countries - “Datsua-Nyūō”- from the birth of modern Japan, the Meiji restoration ca.1868 to present. In this historical scheme, our structural violence against foreign workers can be criticized by both international societies and ourself even though the government has introduced and continued problematic TITP and ITP from 1990. |
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17. System of TITP/ITP |
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18. Problems of TITP/ITP system |
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19. Some examples of SV in TITP/ITP system Prohibited mortgage and deposit collecting (Placement agencies in emigration countries) Opaque contract, management, and intermediation (Coordination agencies) Nearly “slavery” labor in the name of “training, ” unpaid wedge (Actual workshop or ‘Sweatshop’) Direct violence, private sanctions, abuse, and sexual harassment including rape. (Actual workshop) Imposition of illegal “additional costs,” forced wedge savings, and confiscation & deposit of passport from holders. (Actual workshop) |
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20. SV is the real matter This type of Structural Violence is outcome of integrated neglect because of lack of supervision for TITP/ITP system and lack of protective agencies for each laborer. Various neglects; administrative, of human rights protection, diplomatic, of internal politic, of racism and ethnic discrimination For protection of each laborer, we should check various aspects of SV and send our recommendation to both government and governmental agencies, JITCO (Japan International Training Cooperation Organization) |
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21. Policing/Policizing Japan against FURYO-GAIJIN (bad foreigner) "SHIZUOKA PREFECTURE has a history of singling out of foreign residents for special treatment. One case was Rainichi Gaikokujin Hanzai no Tokuchou (Characteristics of Crimes by Foreigners Coming to Japan), published in February 2000 and distributed to shopkeepers and other private businesses with tips on dealing with bad foreigner crime." (Cited Japan Times, ca. 2007) |
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22. Japan International Cooperation Welfare Services, JICWELS Now we remind EPA specialized Japanese agency, Japan International Cooperation Welfare Services, JICWELS, July 1984-. This agency is only monopolistic agency for EPA transactions and administrative stuffs have ‘parachuted’ (“Amakudari”) in from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. They say, “[W]e are designated by the Government of Japan as the only acceptance agency for acceptance of foreign professionals, such as nurses and care givers from Asian countries under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the Government of Japan and Asian countries. We have started preparation for the to accept foreign professionals since 2010.” |
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23. Making social safety network for foreign workers On one side even the JICWELS which treats foreign health and welfare ‘professionals’ has a lot of reformative tasks in present, we should focus on protecting ongoing EPA ‘candidates’ activities and their own human rights as foreign workers in Japan on the other. Present Japanese government hesitates acceptance ‘immigration’ by not only presenting administrative policies but also avoiding officially use of word of ‘immigration.’ Our tasks should be positioned in various areas; sociological and anthropological analysis for migration of medical/health workers, uncovering ‘structural violence’ aspects on medical/health workers, making a proposal of reformative recommendation according our investigation outcome for Japanese government and agency, and organizing empowerment workshops for foreign medical/health workers in Japan. |
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24. How we should do?: In Our Future of Hyper-Aging Society |
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25. What is EPA? Economic Partnership Agreement "An economic partnership agreement is an economic arrangement that eliminates barriers to the free movement of goods, services, and investment between countries. This agreement can be considered an intermediate step between free trade area and single market in the process of economic integration." - Wikipedia in English We are NOW discussing on Japanese EPAs on introducing “candidates for nurses and care workers” to Japanese care context. |
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26. Present conditions of EPT between Japan and other countries orange color: in force purple: signed dark blue: under negotiation |
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27. Chronology of EPA studies Governmental agreement process of dispatch/acceptance of workers in EAP scheme, in a certain historical context Qualification, examination, capacitation training of pre-/post acceptance, and treatment after passing qualification test, in a certain social context Monitoring and surveillance for working environment after acceptance of workers, in a certain practical context |
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28. Migration Studies Historical Studies Sociological Studies Economic Studies with Demographic Studies Political Studies of Public Health Extended Case Method (Ethnography, Sociolinguistic, Gender Studies, etc.) |
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29. Gender Issues Labour exploitation between genders Emotional labour(EL) problems in transnational context Hochschild’s discussion seems integration between Erving Goffman’s face-work theory and Marxist “labour exploitation” of worker’s own/unpaid labour Why can EL be possible in transnational context? - Does “gender-oriented concept of Care” work universally? |
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30. What is Emotional labour? “Emotional labor or emotion work is a requirement of a job that employees display required emotions toward customers or others. Roles that have been identified as requiring emotional labor include flight attendant, daycare worker, nursing home worker, nurse, doctor, store clerk, call center worker, teacher, social worker as well as most roles in a hotel, motel, tavern/bar/pub and restaurant, as well as jobs in the media, such as TV and radio.” - Wikipedia in English Arlie Russell Hochschild, The managed heart: commercialization of human feeling. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. |
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31. “Gengo-mondai” Gengo-mondai can be translated into “language problems,” but the real significance is language and cultural “barrier” between monolingual Japan and other cultures. The problems: Standardized Japanese centrism, showing less respect to language and cultural diversities, and “pseudo-egalitarian” ethos in situationally required division of labour, between Japanese language teachers and health professionals. |
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32. “Jinkō-mondai” Japanese “Jinkō-mondai” can be translated as Demographic issues connotating with population control policy without immigration/emmigration policy after 1950s. Population literally means; individual accounting, fertility and mortality rates, biological and statistics phenomenon. Demography literally means; demos = people, citizenry, masses, -graphy = description, so political economic, and socio-political issues. |
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33. Asian Population Thesis Hypothesis 1: It can be explained that Economic growth in Asia had been outcome of “demographic bonus” - falling both fertility rates and infant mortality rates makes reduction of proportion non productive dependents. This spurs economic growth. Hypothesis 2: Asian aged societies in future will lose economic growth rates and eventually have social problems by “demographic onus” |
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34. Negative Demographic Issue and Technological Innovation in Future Asia We Japanese had been benefitted from demographic bonus from 1950-1970s, and we are suffered from our own demographic onus/burden from 1995 to present. On one side the demographic trends can be prospected, but we cannot easily prospect technological innovations (especially on ICT, Sustainable energy resources, and Robotics for social-welfare) , political structures in national level, and their interrelationships on other side. Many Asian countries have been benefitted from bonus from late 1960s/ beginning 1970s, but now our neighbor friends confront with the beginning of demographic onus. |
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35. Key term: Healthy Aging Policy Healthy Aging is worldwide consensus policy affirmed by many international health promotion agencies, e.g.WHO. It is defined as “processes through life‐span development, especially from adulthood to late life, reflecting subjective physical, social, psychological, and spiritual self‐actualizations within the context of individuals’ particular communities.”(A.E.Scharlach & K. Hoshino 2012) The problem is far from “actual/real experience of each elderly ordinary life of all over the world.” |
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36. Our Inquiry: Concluding Remarks We are now conscious that the world people has confronted with aging society. We also know aging process are various depending on sociopolitical and cultural process. We are now conscious that we need talk each other and share about various coping ways rooted in each traditional and contemporary cultures. We are now conscious that we need remind the Alma Ata Declaration by WHO(1978) that remarks the world community to protect and promote the health of all people, Health For All. Coping with aging world also can be applied Alma Ata philosophy. |
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37. With Students Kids in Java, Indinesia, March 2013 |
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38. Talking aged society between Japan and Indonesia with Javanese people, March 2013 |
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39. Visiting to aged "empty nest" of Nepali parents, March 2013 |
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40. Thank you for your attention ขอขอบคุณสำหรับความสนใจของคุณ |
