I have to thank my wife for this wonderful birthday present. I finally got a copy of Wolfgang Herbert's book... For people who want to get a copy do not hesitate to ask your local library to get it for you. The exchange rate at the time of the buying brought it's price to more than 19,000 yen. Making it the most expansive book on my bookshelf. The second most expensive being "Japan and Global Migration" published by Routledge. Conclusion: being an independent japan freak can be expensive, either get a position in a university or make the best use of your city's education budget (for the benefit of all).
From the cover page (i have a bad cold, high probability of typos):
This is a detailed study of the extent to which an increased influx of foreign workers is a threat to law and order in the context of the data-generating process of police statistics and the media coverage of 'crimes' committed by foreigners. It shows that a general mood in which foreign workers are viewed as a potential danger to Japanese society 'protects' the criminalization of foreign 'illegal' migrant workers. The crime statistics are a result of this mood, a direct product of the willingness of the public to inform the police, the reactive and pro-active moves of the police, and of tough prosecution and hard sentencing by the courts. The fashioning of a crime wave is shown to be a complex interaction between the mass media, the population, the executive and the judiciary, both in general and in the case of particular policies on crime. Based on two years of study in Japan, and a thorough analysis of Japanese media reports on foreign migrant workers in the years 1988-1990, culminating in the implementation of a new Immigration Control Act, it has implications for all countries with a large migrant worker population, and for the universal problem society has in dealing with 'the stranger'. "Foreign Workers and Law Enforcement in Japan" makes an important contribution to the fields of Japanese studies, sociology criminology and labour migration.
The works begins by tracing the upsurge of 'illegal' foreign workers in Japan - those who enter on tourist or entertainment visas, as students, as trainee probationers, those who enter through a sham marriage with a Japanese national and those whose legal work permits have expired. It builds a social profile of these 'illegals', showing that they are young, mostly single and relatively well-educated. Because of fear of expulsion, lack of knowledge of the law, lack of social contacts and over-dependence on an employer and workplace, their ability to avail themselves of the protection of the law is neglible, and they are always at risk of becoming victims to multiple exploitation.
The study goes on to examine the role played by the police, the judiciary and the media in the criminalization of these workers. Police play on the intensified feelings of insecurity, producing a state of conscious suspicion in the public. Attention is selectively focused on Asian foreigners, who are given harsher sentences than those given to Japanese and formal arraignments and proceedings are instituted too often. The whole climate favours repression and control. In the creation of this climate, coverage of the 'problem' of 'illegal' foreigners by the mass media plays a crucial role, particularly in regard to the public perception and distribution of 'stereotypes' of criminality of foreigners'. On the basis of the criminological control paradigm, all these elements give rise to a feedback process with reciprocal linkage effects - resulting in a 'crime wave'. This 'functionalizing' of the ascription of a 'high criminal potential' to foreigners can also be found in other countries experiencing 'high' and 'unexpected' immigration.
From the preface:
This study was completed early in the decade, though it is, I believe, still applicable, especially in relation to the theoretical framework of my feedback model, which describes the interaction between the organs of the state, judiciary, mass media and social actors. Certain details must be viewed in the light of recent developments. For example, the media coverage of illegal workers is no longer as topical as when this work was being carried out, but when this particular issue is viewed overall, it is still the case that the focus is on official data on deportation or crimes committed, and it can still be argued that this study provides a framework that could be applied to other societies subject to an influx of 'illegals'.
From the Preliminary Remarks:
With regard to my sources I shall make a brief global comment: characteristic of most of them is a usually uncritical presentation presentation of official statistics and data pertaining to the situation of foreign migrants to Japan, illustrated by concrete examples from field studies or the press. This approach is found not only in the journalistic works, but also in the publications claiming to be scientific. The latter alone (but unfortunately not always) are careful to cite their sources. For longer quotations, I have noted the profession of the author (journalist, lawyer, scientist) at the first passage quoted, in order to identify the literary genre. However, a professorship at a university, for example, does not necessarily guarantee the scientific character of statements published ex cathedra. Independent empirical research is the exception among the Japanese literature. This might be explained by the high credibility attributed to the official 'holy transcripts' of data, for example, those released by the Ministry of Justice. These data are 'recycled' in most of the publications.
etc.
Paul Kegan International 1996 distributed by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Columbia University Press