Debito Arudou

Debito Arudou (有道 出 人Arudō Debito ), ( b. 1965 as David Christopher Aldwinckle in California ) is a Japanese civil rights activist and author of American descent.

Life

Arudou moved to Japan in the 1980s and settled in 2000, naturalized, originally mainly to legally easier to build a house near Sapporo to. Like all naturalized Japanese, he had to commit to a Kanji inscription of his name; " Arudō " is a known ì art he name that has no other Japanese. It resembles phonetically the first syllable of his old family name and means " seiender way " what Arudou himself " a person who knows a way and goes on this in the world " quite freely interpreted.

Arudou is particularly active against racism in everyday Japanese. With his person, he provoked this racism while providing its instability merely: As White Arudou is not allowed in bars or bath houses that accept " only Japanese guests". Any foreigner residing in Japan must be a foreigner card to carry with you. Arudou has no such, because he is a Japanese citizen. Furthermore, in Japan there are no identity card and thus eliminates the identification requirement for Japanese in the country itself Nevertheless, Arudou is it claimed that on the basis of its appearance repeatedly coerced by police to prove that he is a citizen and therefore should not have such a card and should.

He attracted national and international attention when he sued along with two Mitklägern, the German Olaf Karthaus and American Kenneth Lee Sutherland, a bathhouse in Otaru and the city of Otaru. The bathhouse had (only Japanese ) foreigners visiting lump sum prohibited sign with a " Japanese only ", but not let in even the Japanese Arudou and his ( Japanese ) children. The bathhouse was eventually convicted, acquitted the city. The way the action describes in his Arudou published in English and Japanese book "Japanese only".

Arudou is not getting it for his actions at all residents of foreign origin Japan's support. Expats from Europe and North America throw him in view of his commitment as motivation of his actions pomposity and self-centered activism before. In 2002 he threatened the American Consul General in Sapporo, until then its also held U.S. citizenship display the Japanese authorities, he would continue as such a " troublemaker for the Japanese company " prove. Arudou put it back from his U.S. nationality.

Works

• JAPANESE ONLY - The Otaru Hot Springs Case and Racial Discrimination in Japan. ISBN 4-7503-9011-9