Ministry of Justice offers human rights counseling services to foreigners

Good move, but I would say this is just to show how "we japanese are just as concern about these things as you, western nations". I guess literally every single foreigner already suffered something similar above.

Last time I went to a job interview (many years ago) the lady said: wow your CV seems really impressive, these are exactly the skills we are looking for, but.... is that your natural hair color? The company might ask you to dye your hair into a bit more modest (pitch black) color....

Can I call them about trying to get into the country to see my family?

Oh goodie. Perhaps I might give them a go regarding a clinic that refused me medical treatment because I couldn't speak Japanese. Didn't matter that I was visibly in pain. They didn't even bother trying to communicate with me via Google Translate; just heard the dreaded Eigo and decided the Hippocratic Oath was not worth subscribing to anymore.

Very good initiative.. Japan continues to improve..

But it's just for human rights issues, not to complain that some don't like Japan, Lol!!..

Can I call them about trying to get into the country to see my family?

For that people have to wait for the country to open its borders, with whining nothing is solved..

Perhaps I might give them a go regarding a clinic that refused me medical treatment because I couldn't speak Japanese. Didn't matter that I was visibly in pain.

What was their excuse? What did they tell you?

Yeah sure! Do remember that immigration is a division of the same justice ministry.

This is the same Immigration/justice ministry that withheld medical treatment leading to the death of a Sri Lankan woman along with numerous other abuse scandals.

Perhaps they should first look in the mirror and fix their own problems first.

@Antiquesaving

You took the words right out of my mouth!

Greg Kelly should show up asking why the only 2 gaijin were imprisoned in NISSAN.

Or why the children get abducted into the country to insulate them from the gaijin father.

May be they can release to us the video footage of the last days of Wishma in detention.

What was their excuse? What did they tell you?

@M3M3M3 - their excuse was literally due to my lack of Japanese skills. I had a referral letter from the hospital and everything explaining what the problem was and why I needed treatment at their clinic. Despite all this, when they realized I couldn't speak Japanese they basically booted me out the door, crutches and all.

What would the point in calling be when there is nothing they can do?

Much like the labor bureau, they have no real power. They can request mediation and tell the other party they must "improve the situation" but those requests can be completely ignored with impunity. After that, all they can give you a list of lawyers - and that's it. Unless you have tons of money just lying around, there's nothing you can do. Without the power to prosecute, this bureau is completely toothless.

There needs to be a real human rights bureau with the power to investigate and prosecute, backed up by tough anti-discrimination legislation.

In other words, this is the government trying to show they are doing something, while not actually doing anything.

@purple_depressed_bacon

 their excuse was literally due to my lack of Japanese skills. I had a referral letter from the hospital and everything explaining what the problem was and why I needed treatment at their clinic

Wow, that sounds really brazen. I hope you found another clinic.

I had a similar experience when I first came to Japan. What worked for me is asking them whether a person born deaf and blind who couldn't speak/read/write Japanese would also be refused service. They were completely thunderstruck.

Watch out for schools, including (especially) Japanese universities. Even if you are tenured (rare for foreigners) racist personnel, especially professors, can get at you. Thanks to the professors and others who were for me, the racist professors (who had done a few questionable things) were told to "retire." This was all in-house and I did not have to consult with anyone outside. But a mutual friend at another school did consult a human rights organization and they went to bat for this person.

@purple_depressed_bacon

If it was a private clinic, the reason was most likely that they didn't speak English well enough, so treating you would have involved increased legal risk. In an emergency, you need to phone for a paramedic who will choose a hospital that is linguistically equipped to deal with you, or surf for a clinic that specifically says that they can deal with patients in English.

I've been in three JP hospitals, twice via ambulance, and the docs were all OK with English. Home visit docs are less likely to be, and may come with a translator. Private clinics aren't equipped unless they explicitly say so on their websites. We've all come up against a 'Japanese only' sign at some point, but language issues are not always racism. Sometimes it is just a lack of language skills and a fear of something going expensively wrong in consequence.

@GBR48

Please, take a look at the POST from purple_depressed_bacon at 05:42 pm

I had a referral letter from the hospital and everything explaining what the problem was and why I needed treatment at their clinic.

There was a referral letter, and specific instructions to "that" clinic, and no other.

Besides, language should never be an issue for medical attention.

There's translation services and consulates for that purpose.

This is the same justice ministry that holds prisoners for weeks of daily interrogations without the benefit of legal counsel? This is the same justice ministry that flim flammed an American to fly to Japan under a pretext so they could arrest him (Greg Kelly) and prosecute him for something he had no involvement in? I think this justice ministry needs to solve its own serious human rights shortcomings before it even thinks it is qualified to help anyone else on that subject.

The term they should use is Racial Discrimination and not human rights problem.

Do they also mention the young Sri Lankan or the countless other foreigners that died in their custody? Let's not forget the J-gov colluding with local automobile companies to remove foreigners from positions of power in Japan by holding them indefinitely until they confess to any crime.

As the bureau is a governmental body, all advice is neutral and impartial.

Read: 『less than useless, as they'll build your hopes up but deliver nothing?』

Everyone sing: We are the world! We are the children!

girl_in_tokyoFeb. 7  05:48 pm JST

you are 100% correct

I phoned them!

it is a useless TEL proxy that costs money to the plaintiff. they do not have any knowledge and authority to solve problems.

the minister of justice is mocking us, just a scam financed with our taxes

This is a joke without laws.