Arudou Debito
Encyclopedia
is an American-born Japanese
English as a foreign language instructor, author and activist.
, first visiting Japan as a tourist on invitation from , his pen pal and future wife, for several weeks in 1986. Following this experience, he dedicated his senior year as an undergraduate to studying Japanese
, graduating in 1987. Aldwinckle moved to Japan and taught English in Sapporo, Hokkaidō
, for one year, then decided to return to university in the United States to study. He entered the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies
(IR/PS) at the University of California, San Diego
(UCSD), but deferred from the program in order to return to Japan
and spent one year at the Japan Management Academy in Nagaoka
, Niigata Prefecture
. Aldwinckle married Ayako Sugawara in 1989. In 1990, he returned to California
to complete his Masters of Pacific International Affairs (MPIA), and received the degree in 1991.
Aldwinckle then joined a small Japanese trading company in Sapporo. He contends that in this job, he was the object of racial harassment. Aldwinckle quit the company and in 1993 joined the faculty of Business Administration and Information Science at the Hokkaido Information University
, a private university in Ebetsu, Hokkaidō
, teaching courses in business English and debate. He was an associate professor.
he says have the figurative meaning of "a person who has a road and is going out on it." To allow his wife and children to retain their Japanese family name
, he adopted the legal name — a combination of his wife’s Japanese name and his new transliterated full name. As reasons for naturalization, he cited the right to vote, other rights, and increased ability to stand on his rights; he renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2002. Japanese law does not allow holding two citizenships simultaneously.
, the establishment stated that they would allow one girl to enter the onsen but would have to refuse the other on the basis of their appearances.
Arudou petitioned the Japanese Family Court for a divorce in the spring of 2004, which was granted through court mediation in September 2006.
Arudou, a "self-styled human rights activist", objected to the policies of several bathhouses in Hokkaidō
, Japan, in the late 1990s that had posted "No Foreigners" or "Japanese Only" signs on their doors. He ultimately was one of three plaintiffs in a discrimination lawsuit against the Yunohana Onsen
(Earth Cure) in Otaru, Hokkaidō
. Earth Cure maintained a policy to exclude non-Japanese patrons; the business stated that it implemented the policy after Russian sailors scared away patrons from one of its other facilities. After reading an e-mail posted to a mailing list digest complaining of Earth Cure's policy in 1999, Arudou led a multinational group of 17 people of various nationalities (United States, Chinese, German, Japanese) to enter the bathhouse.
These "walk-ins" were attempted twice. Arudou assumed that when he returned in 2000 as a naturalized Japanese citizen, he would not be refused. The manager accepted that Arudou was a Japanese national but refused entry on the grounds that his foreign appearance could cause existing Japanese customers to assume the onsen was admitting foreigners, e.g. inebriated Russian sailors said to be causing problems in that locality, and take their business elsewhere. Arudou and two co-plaintiffs, Kenneth Lee Sutherland and Olaf Karthaus
, in February 2001 then sued Earth Cure in district court pleading racial discrimination, and the City of Otaru for violation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
, a treaty which Japan ratified in 1996. On November 11, 2002, the Sapporo District Court ordered Earth Cure to pay the plaintiffs ¥
1 million each (about US$
25,000 in total) in damages. The court stated that "categorically refusing all foreigners constitutes irrational discrimination, exceeds social norms, and amounts to
an illegal act." The Sapporo High Court dismissed Arudou's claim against the city of Otaru for not create an anti-discrimination ordinance. It stated that "issues such as which measures to take, and how to implement them, are properly left to the discretion of Otaru." The Sapporo High Court upheld these rulings on September 16, 2004, and the Supreme Court of Japan
denied review on April 7, 2005.
publication titled Kyōgaku no gaijin hanzai ura file - gaijin hanzai hakusho 2007 (Secret Files of Foreigners' Crimes).The magazine highlighted alleged crimes committed by foreigners. Arudou argued that the magazine was "ignorant propaganda" and posted a bilingual letter for readers to take to FamilyMart
stores protesting against what Arudou considered "discriminatory statements and images about non-Japanese residents of Japan."
, Yokohama
granted Tama-chan
(a male Bearded Seal
) an honorary jūminhyō
(residency registration). The protesters said that if the government can grant jūminhyō to animals and fictional animation characters, as was the case in Niiza and Kasukabe Cities, Saitama Prefecture, then there was no need to deny foreign residents from having jūminhyō. Currently, non-Japanese residents must be registered in a separate alien registration
system.
In June 2008, Arudou lodged a complaint with the Hokkaidō Prefectural Police, claiming that its officers were targeting foreigners as part of a security sweep prior to the 34th G8 summit
in Tōyako, Hokkaidō
. This followed an incident where Arudou asserted his right under the Police Execution of Duties Law to not need to show identification when requested by a police officer at New Chitose Airport
. After meeting with police representatives at their headquarters, Arudou held a press conference covered by a local television station.
In August 2009, Arudou—acting as chair of the newly formed FRANCA (the Foreign Residents and Naturalized Citizens Association)—began a letter-writing campaign in protest of a promotional advertisement by McDonald’s Japan featuring a bespectacled, mildly geeky, 43-year-old American Japanophile known as “Mr. James”—a burger mascot who proclaims his love for the fast-food outlet in halting, broken Japanese. Writing in The Japan Times, Arudou called the “Mr. James” campaign both “offensive” and cringe-worthy, argued that the campaign perpetuates negative stereotypes about sensitive non-Japanese Caucasian minorities living in Japan, and demanded that McDonald’s Japan withdraw the advertisement. Marketing and advertising reporter for The Globe and Mail
, Simon Houpt, criticized Arudou’s organized protests as being “thin-skined” and suggested to Arudou’s FRANCA that “if someone is calling you a geek, writing a letter to complain isn't going to help your image very much,” while Time Magazine’s Coco Masters asked rhetorically “where’s the beef?”, noting that there were “certainly no shortage of elegant, articulate Japanese-speaking foreigners in local media.” Masters criticized Arudou’s letter-writing campaign by concluding:
Alex Kerr
, author of the book Dogs and Demons, has criticized Arudou for his "openly combative attitude", an approach that Kerr thinks usually "fails" in Japan and may reinforce the conservative belief "that gaijin (foreigners) are difficult to deal with". Nevertheless, he comments that "perhaps we who live here are slow to stick our necks out...and quick to self-censor...to get along....". He also sees Arudou's decision to naturalize as bringing "the dialogue inside Japan. His activities reveal the fact that gaijin and their gaijin ways are now a part of the fabric of Japan's new society."
's recommended library on Japan. Jeff Kingston (Temple University Japan), in a review for The Japan Times
, described the book as an "excellent account of his struggle against prejudice and racial discrimination."
Arudou's next book was coauthored with and titled . This bilingual book provides information on visas, starting businesses, securing jobs, resolving legal problems, and planning for the future from entry into Japan to death. Donald Richie
of The Japan Times
said that out of the guides for new residents in Japan, Handbook was the fullest and consequently the best.
In 2011, Arudou self-published via Lulu.com
his first novel entitled In Appropriate: a novel of culture, kidnapping, and revenge in modern Japan. The novel tells the story of an international marriage
, culture shock
, and child abduction. Book reviewer Kris Kosaka of The Japan Times
panned the novel, stating that “Arudou's underwhelming style insults the seriousness of international child abduction, the literary form itself, and any reader expecting something more than sludge.”
Foreign-born Japanese
A is a Japanese person of foreign descent or heritage, who was born outside Japan and later acquired Japanese citizenship. This category encompasses persons of both Japanese and non-Japanese descent...
English as a foreign language instructor, author and activist.
Early life
Arudou was born David Christopher Schofill in California in 1965. He grew up in rural upstate New York in a 140-year-old 10-room cobblestone house on over 3 acres (1.2 ha) of land. In the 1970s he became David Christopher Aldwinckle when adopted by his stepfather. Aldwinckle attended Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, first visiting Japan as a tourist on invitation from , his pen pal and future wife, for several weeks in 1986. Following this experience, he dedicated his senior year as an undergraduate to studying Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, graduating in 1987. Aldwinckle moved to Japan and taught English in Sapporo, Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, for one year, then decided to return to university in the United States to study. He entered the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies
Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies
The Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies , at the University of California, San Diego, is devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, and policy education. Its research and education focus is the Pacific Region...
(IR/PS) at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
(UCSD), but deferred from the program in order to return to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and spent one year at the Japan Management Academy in Nagaoka
Nagaoka, Niigata
is a city located in the central part of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in the prefecture, behind the capital city of Niigata...
, Niigata Prefecture
Niigata Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...
. Aldwinckle married Ayako Sugawara in 1989. In 1990, he returned to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to complete his Masters of Pacific International Affairs (MPIA), and received the degree in 1991.
Aldwinckle then joined a small Japanese trading company in Sapporo. He contends that in this job, he was the object of racial harassment. Aldwinckle quit the company and in 1993 joined the faculty of Business Administration and Information Science at the Hokkaido Information University
Hokkaido Information University
is a private university in Ebetsu, Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan.-External links:* *...
, a private university in Ebetsu, Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, teaching courses in business English and debate. He was an associate professor.
Japanese naturalization
Aldwinckle became a permanent resident of Japan in 1996. He obtained Japanese citizenship in 2000, whereupon he changed his name to , whose kanjiKanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
he says have the figurative meaning of "a person who has a road and is going out on it." To allow his wife and children to retain their Japanese family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
, he adopted the legal name — a combination of his wife’s Japanese name and his new transliterated full name. As reasons for naturalization, he cited the right to vote, other rights, and increased ability to stand on his rights; he renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2002. Japanese law does not allow holding two citizenships simultaneously.
Family and divorce
Debito Arudou and Ayako Sugawara have two daughters. Arudou has described them as one being "viewed as Japanese because of her looks" and the other as "relegated to gaijin [foreigner] status, same as I" because of physical appearances. According to Arudou, when he took his family to the Yunohana OnsenOnsen
An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...
, the establishment stated that they would allow one girl to enter the onsen but would have to refuse the other on the basis of their appearances.
Arudou petitioned the Japanese Family Court for a divorce in the spring of 2004, which was granted through court mediation in September 2006.
Arudou v. Earth Cure
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Japan, in the late 1990s that had posted "No Foreigners" or "Japanese Only" signs on their doors. He ultimately was one of three plaintiffs in a discrimination lawsuit against the Yunohana Onsen
Onsen
An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...
(Earth Cure) in Otaru, Hokkaidō
Otaru, Hokkaido
is a city and port in Shiribeshi, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces the Ishikari Bay, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tourist destination...
. Earth Cure maintained a policy to exclude non-Japanese patrons; the business stated that it implemented the policy after Russian sailors scared away patrons from one of its other facilities. After reading an e-mail posted to a mailing list digest complaining of Earth Cure's policy in 1999, Arudou led a multinational group of 17 people of various nationalities (United States, Chinese, German, Japanese) to enter the bathhouse.
These "walk-ins" were attempted twice. Arudou assumed that when he returned in 2000 as a naturalized Japanese citizen, he would not be refused. The manager accepted that Arudou was a Japanese national but refused entry on the grounds that his foreign appearance could cause existing Japanese customers to assume the onsen was admitting foreigners, e.g. inebriated Russian sailors said to be causing problems in that locality, and take their business elsewhere. Arudou and two co-plaintiffs, Kenneth Lee Sutherland and Olaf Karthaus
Olaf Karthaus
Olaf Karthaus is a German polymer chemist and Professor at the Chitose Institute of Science and Technology in Chitose, Hokkaidō, Japan, researching polymer chemistry, thin films, photonics, and nanotechnology....
, in February 2001 then sued Earth Cure in district court pleading racial discrimination, and the City of Otaru for violation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is a United Nations convention. A second-generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discrimination and the promotion of understanding among all races...
, a treaty which Japan ratified in 1996. On November 11, 2002, the Sapporo District Court ordered Earth Cure to pay the plaintiffs ¥
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
1 million each (about US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
25,000 in total) in damages. The court stated that "categorically refusing all foreigners constitutes irrational discrimination, exceeds social norms, and amounts to
an illegal act." The Sapporo High Court dismissed Arudou's claim against the city of Otaru for not create an anti-discrimination ordinance. It stated that "issues such as which measures to take, and how to implement them, are properly left to the discretion of Otaru." The Sapporo High Court upheld these rulings on September 16, 2004, and the Supreme Court of Japan
Supreme Court of Japan
The Supreme Court of Japan , located in Chiyoda, Tokyo is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law...
denied review on April 7, 2005.
Secret Files of Foreigners' Crimes
In February 2007, Arudou participated in a protest against an over-the-counter Japanese-languageJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
publication titled Kyōgaku no gaijin hanzai ura file - gaijin hanzai hakusho 2007 (Secret Files of Foreigners' Crimes).The magazine highlighted alleged crimes committed by foreigners. Arudou argued that the magazine was "ignorant propaganda" and posted a bilingual letter for readers to take to FamilyMart
FamilyMart
is a convenience store franchise chain first opened in Japan on September 1, 1981. FamilyMart is Japan's third largest convenience store chain, behind 7-Eleven and Lawson, and the largest chain store in South Korea. FamilyMart is owned and overseen by FamilyMart Company, Limited...
stores protesting against what Arudou considered "discriminatory statements and images about non-Japanese residents of Japan."
Other protests
In 2003, Arudou, along with several other long-term, non-Japanese residents dressed up as seals and formed a protest after Nishi WardNishi-ku, Yokohama
is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 93,027 and a density of 13,210 persons per km². The total area was 7.04 km².-Geography:...
, Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
granted Tama-chan
Tama-chan
is the name given to a male Bearded Seal which was first spotted on August 7, 2002 near Maruko Bridge on Tama River in Tokyo, Japan, and subsequently became a national celebrity in Japan.-Name:...
(a male Bearded Seal
Bearded Seal
The bearded seal , also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words that refer to its heavy jaw...
) an honorary jūminhyō
Juminhyo
A is a registry of current residential addresses maintained by local governments in Japan. Japanese law requires each citizen to report his or her current address to the local authorities who compile the information for tax, national health insurance and census purposes.The jūminhyō is different...
(residency registration). The protesters said that if the government can grant jūminhyō to animals and fictional animation characters, as was the case in Niiza and Kasukabe Cities, Saitama Prefecture, then there was no need to deny foreign residents from having jūminhyō. Currently, non-Japanese residents must be registered in a separate alien registration
Alien registration in Japan
is a system used to record information regarding aliens resident in Japan. It is handled at the municipal level, parallel to the koseki and juminhyo systems used to record information regarding Japanese nationals.Foreigners staying in Japan for more than 90 days are required to register...
system.
In June 2008, Arudou lodged a complaint with the Hokkaidō Prefectural Police, claiming that its officers were targeting foreigners as part of a security sweep prior to the 34th G8 summit
34th G8 summit
The 34th G8 summit took place in on the northern island of Hokkaidō, Japan from July 7–9, 2008. The locations of previous summits to have been hosted by Japan include: Tokyo ; and Nago, Okinawa . The G8 Summit has evolved beyond being a gathering of world political leaders...
in Tōyako, Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
. This followed an incident where Arudou asserted his right under the Police Execution of Duties Law to not need to show identification when requested by a police officer at New Chitose Airport
New Chitose Airport
, is an airport located south southeast of Chitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō....
. After meeting with police representatives at their headquarters, Arudou held a press conference covered by a local television station.
In August 2009, Arudou—acting as chair of the newly formed FRANCA (the Foreign Residents and Naturalized Citizens Association)—began a letter-writing campaign in protest of a promotional advertisement by McDonald’s Japan featuring a bespectacled, mildly geeky, 43-year-old American Japanophile known as “Mr. James”—a burger mascot who proclaims his love for the fast-food outlet in halting, broken Japanese. Writing in The Japan Times, Arudou called the “Mr. James” campaign both “offensive” and cringe-worthy, argued that the campaign perpetuates negative stereotypes about sensitive non-Japanese Caucasian minorities living in Japan, and demanded that McDonald’s Japan withdraw the advertisement. Marketing and advertising reporter for The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, Simon Houpt, criticized Arudou’s organized protests as being “thin-skined” and suggested to Arudou’s FRANCA that “if someone is calling you a geek, writing a letter to complain isn't going to help your image very much,” while Time Magazine’s Coco Masters asked rhetorically “where’s the beef?”, noting that there were “certainly no shortage of elegant, articulate Japanese-speaking foreigners in local media.” Masters criticized Arudou’s letter-writing campaign by concluding:
”To protest Mr. James as a stereotype of a minority population in Japan because the Ohio native fails to speak or write Japanese fluently, dresses like a nerd and blogs about burgers only ends up underscoring the fact that there really aren't a lot of foreigners who fit the bill running around Japan.”
Criticism
Arudou has been described as the “Outraged Man” by the Washington Post, as a “relentless social pot-stirrer” by the The International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, as a "troublemaker in a country that values wa, group harmony, above all else" by National Public Radio, and as a “loudmouth with an Internet connection” by himself. His tactics, methods and pronouncements, which sometimes have been labeled in the mainstream media as "brash and abrasive in any language," “flamboyant”, “contentious,” “notorious,” “aggressive,” “controversial,” and “combative,” have provoked public criticisms from Japan residents and Western expatriates alike, including bloggers, columnists, book authors on Japan, and even his former wife.Alex Kerr
Alex Kerr
Alex Kerr is an American writer and Japanologist.-Life and career:Originally from the Bethesda area in Montgomery County, Maryland, Kerr’s father, a naval officer, was posted in Yokohama from 1964 to 1966. Kerr returned to the states and studied Japanese Studies at Yale University...
, author of the book Dogs and Demons, has criticized Arudou for his "openly combative attitude", an approach that Kerr thinks usually "fails" in Japan and may reinforce the conservative belief "that gaijin (foreigners) are difficult to deal with". Nevertheless, he comments that "perhaps we who live here are slow to stick our necks out...and quick to self-censor...to get along....". He also sees Arudou's decision to naturalize as bringing "the dialogue inside Japan. His activities reveal the fact that gaijin and their gaijin ways are now a part of the fabric of Japan's new society."
Publications
Following two EFL textbooks — Can We Do Business: Introduction to Business English (1996, 2000); Speak Your Mind: Introduction to Debate (1996) — Arudou wrote a book about the 1999 Otaru hot springs incident. This was originally published in Japanese; an expanded English version, (ISBN 4-7503-2005-6), was published in 2004 and revised in 2006. The book is listed in the Japan Policy Research InstituteJapan Policy Research Institute
The Japan Policy Research Institute is a non-profit organization organized under section 501 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code that was founded in 1994 by Chalmers Johnson and Steven C...
's recommended library on Japan. Jeff Kingston (Temple University Japan), in a review for The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
, described the book as an "excellent account of his struggle against prejudice and racial discrimination."
Arudou's next book was coauthored with and titled . This bilingual book provides information on visas, starting businesses, securing jobs, resolving legal problems, and planning for the future from entry into Japan to death. Donald Richie
Donald Richie
Donald Richie is an American-born author who has written about the Japanese people and Japanese cinema. Although he considers himself only a writer, Richie has directed many experimental films, the first when he was 17...
of The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
said that out of the guides for new residents in Japan, Handbook was the fullest and consequently the best.
In 2011, Arudou self-published via Lulu.com
Lulu.com
Lulu is a company offering publishing, printing, and distribution services with headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. Since their founding in 2002, Lulu has published over 1.1 million titles by creators in over 200 countries and territories and adds 20,000 new titles to their catalogue a month...
his first novel entitled In Appropriate: a novel of culture, kidnapping, and revenge in modern Japan. The novel tells the story of an international marriage
International marriage
This page is linked to:*Interracial marriage, marriage between two people of differing racial groups*International marriage agency, a business to introduce people of different countries for marriage...
, culture shock
Culture shock
Culture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...
, and child abduction. Book reviewer Kris Kosaka of The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
panned the novel, stating that “Arudou's underwhelming style insults the seriousness of international child abduction, the literary form itself, and any reader expecting something more than sludge.”
Reference links
- Patrick Rial,"Arudou: Angelic Activist or Devilish Demonstrator?," JapanZine (December 2005)
- Bathroom blues The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
External links
- Debito.org- Debito Arudou's website and blog