Foreigner Crime File
For those who are still interested in the content of the the Foreigner Crime File book that caused so much trouble a short while back, someone has scanned the whole thing and posted the pages here.
Also, the publisher has issued a statement spelling out their position on the whole matter, which you can read here.
On the Japanese side, the “foreign criminal” is a beast who lurks everywhere and wants nothing more than to destroy Japanese people and their way of life. Whether it’s a North Korean agent kidnapping our daughters or a Chinese thief invading our homes, many Japanese are convinced that foreigners should be treated with suspicion and fear.
This attitude makes it impossible to have an informed conversation about where real foreign criminals come from, or the reason they commit their crimes. In fact, one of my goals in publishing “Gaijin Hanzai Ura Fairu” was to help begin a frank discussion of the issue.
On the other side, many foreigners consider any suggestion that they engage in lewd or criminal behavior to be an unacceptable insult. This can be seen quite clearly in the reaction our magazine elicited in the Western media, and especially in the online community. The army of bloggers who bullied FamilyMart convenience stores into removing “Gaijin Hanzai Ura Fairu” from their shelves have decided for everyone else that this book is so dangerous that it cannot be read.
Thanks to Peter.
Yes, thanks for the link. Interesting. I did express caution when this bru-haha erupted. Maybe some people would like to reconsider their positions.
February 17th, 2007 at 7:10 amIn case anyone asks whether this is a constructive way of discussing foreigner-related crimes in Japan, can Battle Royale be seen as a constructive way of discussing the problems in the Japanese education system?
February 17th, 2007 at 7:29 amI think it’s funny that there is an English word in katakana right there on the cover.
February 17th, 2007 at 10:25 amme? foreign beast?(born Oxford - Radcliffe Infirmary)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radcliffe_Infirmary
overoften? (Kentish-Man)
probably born as close as possible to the most famous of all criminal gaijin’s - William Adams.
http://hsv.com/writers/jeffog/wa-hist.htm
keep it up Japan! - just keep it up!.
wait till you get to Heathrow - (your ass is grass).

February 17th, 2007 at 2:24 pmI think he’s got a valid point though. Simply denying that foreigners commit crime is just as bad as saying we commit all the crime, and having a book pulled off the shelves because of what we’ve been told it’s about, rather than reading or looking into it ourselves, makes foreigners look uninformed and stupid.
February 18th, 2007 at 1:10 pmthere are approx. 12,000 Brit.Cit. permanent residents in Japan. (fact).
Most yearn to bog-off home.
I’m sure that I’ll be contradicted on that Point - but I’ll just respond with the usual Query of - Expat.? or self-Exile?..(or are ya just doing a Ronnie Biggs)?).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Biggs

February 18th, 2007 at 1:50 pmReading backwards , I am being very sparing of my comments, but I will allow myself one here.
Are there no books on western supermarket shelves, that commit hyperbolic attacks on foriegners?. I know there are some in New Zealand, and Australia. I bet the other countries have some too. We call it freedom of the press, and demand it for ourselves, sure and we should extend it to others?.
April 25th, 2007 at 1:31 pmTigger:
April 25th, 2007 at 1:59 pm