rebuttal to populuation figures

[maeda@stc.kme.mei.co.jp]

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I WILL TYPE MY REBUTTAL IN UPPER CASE -- GEORGE MAEDA

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Date: Thu, 25 Nov 1999 16:05:00 +0900
From: K430751@kepco.co.jp
Subject: Re: Foreign citizens as % of population

Hi,

I think at least you drop the following points.

* Location of Japan
 Far East, isolated on the Pacific Ocean. Next to South Korea.
- --->>Why did not you compare with Korea or Taiwan? At least, Korea is a
member of OECD/OCDE. It is no meaning to compare between EU countries
because it is quite an easy thing for EU residents to move in their region.
I think you should separate EU peoples when checking data in EU.

FIGURES FOR KOREA AND TAIWAN WERE NOT PROVIDED BY THE ECONOMIST.

* Data basis
 About Japan, it clearly counts leagal population. Also if the definition
is "national of some country" then it might exclude "Korean with no
nationality", who are one of the big group. (Yes, we might exclude these
Koreans because they are nearly Japanese except nationality.) How about the
US statistic? If counting illeagal work force from abroad, it would become
MUCH higher. When I go to Izakaya restaurant on business before, I never
met Japanese staff, but most of them are Chinese, some leagal, and another
illeagal.

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO MEASURE THE NUMBER OF FOREIGNERS.  HOWEVER,
THE KEY POINT HERE IS THAT THE oecd MEASURES EACH NATION BY THE
SAME STANDARDS.  HENCE, AS A RELATIVE COMPARISON, THE oecd FIGURES
ARE VERY ACCURATE.

* Hostile?
 If it would truly be the hostile for foreigner, why many person here
including you staying Japan? If Japan woudl truly do not like foreigners in
its region, it would close all the door except Nagasaki, just before
1850s.(:->)

THIS IS PURELY A SUBJECTIVE MATTER.  HOWEVER, THE oecd FIGURES
ARE VERY OBJECTIVE.  THEY SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.  JAPAN IS A
MONOETHNIC, ETHNOCENTRIC SOCIETY -- AND APPARENTLY IT WANTS
TO STAY THAT WAY, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

I DO NOT AGREE WITH YOU -- BUT YOUR POINT OF VIEW IS REASONABLE.



END OF MESSAGE
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George Maeda, Quality Assurance Section
Network Telecom Division, Kyushu Matsushita Electric
Fukuoka, Japan                Email: maeda@stc.kme.mei.co.jp
TEL: 81-92-477-1454 <x3038>   FAX: 81-92-477-1824 <x4833>