CL totally sneezed all over fj.life.in-japan with a withering cloud of snot:

>The 2-Belo wrote:
>
>> Well, sort of. I had Seiko Noda of the LDP captive in my house for about 90
>> minutes on Sunday, and was able to gripe to her about the new immigration
>> policy:
>
>Oooo, Noda Seiko ... my favorite legislator lady.  She and my wife 
>belong to the same reproductive rights group trying to get health 
>insurance to cover in-vitro fertilization.
>
>I like her.  She has bigger balls than most of the men in the LDP. 
>She's one of the few likable ones; quite a nice person in her own right. 
>
>  One of the few gi-in who doesn't act like a deer caught in the 
>headlights of a speeding truck when I speak to her in Japanese and 
>doesn't try to speak to me as though I am a Village Idiot requiring 
>small words, spoken slowly, accompanied by pantomime and drawings.

Oh yeah. I've met and spoken to her quite a few times in the last ten years, and
she's one of the few government types to whom it was actually easy to talk to. 

>I tried to donate money to her last campaign, when she ran as an 
>independent, and that's when I found out that it is against the law for 
>foreigners to contribute money.  I was also shocked to find out that 
>there are very strict rules concerning what foreigners can and cannot do 
>for campaigning candidates, including restrictions on passing out 
>leaflets and making speeches.  I guess I could have driven the 
>loudspeaker truck, if I knew where I was going.
>
>I wasn't willing to wear the Mickey suit and head for that many hours so 
>I didn't do anything for her in the end.

I wasn't aware that it was that strict; thanks for the heads-up. :) Although it
would be rather weird for me to perform any activities for a candidate for whom
I cannot vote in the first place.

(Rather than grant suffrage to permanent residents, I think they should make
naturalization easier -- no forcing ateji Japanese names on you, allow dual
citizenship for treatied nations, etc. But That's Another Thread.)

>> http://the2belo.livejournal.com/403080.html
>> 
>> I guess it shouldn't have come as a surprise that she had no idea that the
>> "foto-and-fingerprint-the-foreigners" policy included permanent residents such
>> as myself, but it did surprise me a little. She seemed genuinely surprised at
>> it, and agreed that it was kind of a waste of time and resources to do such a
>> thing.
>
>The print 'n pic was buried deep in the proposed legislation among the 
>list of things the Ministry "might" consider.  They never voted on that 
>specifically, just that it would be a good idea to secure Japan's 
>borders, and I wonder how many of them realize it.

You have a point. The wording was so ambiguous anyway, and the permanent
residents clause was likely so dumb that few realized such a thing would be
included.

I wonder who decided that to be a good idea.

>> She assured me that she would "look into that more closely". While I am of
>> course not holding my breath, it certainly did feel good to gripe in front of an
>> actual member of The Government, in person.
>> 
>> And if this ends up actually getting the law changed, you'll know how to thank.
>> :)
>
>Thing is, she, Kono Taro (Kanagawa), and Watanabe Michio's kid (forget 
>his name -- he's from Tochigh? or Ibaragi?) are probably best positioned 
>to be gadflies.  Kono is former Deputy Homudaijin and Watanabe is 
>Harvard educated -- and both of them love to pick apart the Justice 
>Ministry for doing exceptionally stupid things.  As a bonus, the press 
>listens to those three.

It's a damned shame she got screwed by Koizumi for opposing the post office
privatization, otherwise she'd still be in the "hmm, future PM?" position she
was when all that crap went down.

In any case, the theme for yesterday's luncheon was "Japan's Role in the War on
Terror" so it was an excellent opportunity to complain. :)


-- 
The 2-Belo [the2beloATmsdDOTbiglobeDOTneDOTjp]
All-Seeing All-Knowing Glorious Emperor for Life, Meow [Ret.]
The alt.fan.karl-malden.nose Webcenter Museum: 
http://www.godhatesjanks.org/webcenter/
auk: Hammer of Thor by Special Decree 1999
aavf3: mhm21x20
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"I ask for 'fal tor pan'! The restore from backup!"