DOCSLIB.ORG

Interview with William Clark Jr

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Interview with William Clark Jr Library of Congress Interview with William Clark Jr. The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR WILLIAM CLARK, JR. Interviewed by: Thomas Stern Initial interview date: January 11, 1994 Copyright 1998 ADST Q: Let me start with the usual question. tell us a little about your background and education and how you came to the foreign affairs community. CLARK: I took a slightly convoluted route, which actually may have been quite similar to that of my Foreign Service colleagues. I was born in California; I grew up in Hayward, a town outside of San Francisco. While growing up, I met and made friends with a number of Nisei, who were taken to resettlement centers during World War II. After graduating from Hayward Union high school, I went to what was then known as San Jose State University. I might note that the high school no longer exists because unfortunately it had been located on the Hayward fault—an off-shoot of the San Andreas fault. Because of its shaky location, it was torn down as a potential unsafe building. On that empty lot, the city put a civic center, which pleased the real estate community if no one else. In keeping with my father's wishes I enrolled in a pre-med course, which was entirely satisfactory. It became clear to me that I would probably not become a doctor, but what was not clear was were my future laid. Fortunately, at the time, there existed a program which allowed people to join the Navy for a year. I enlisted in that l in 1948 looking for a year's travel or diversion, in any case. After boot camp, the Navy sent me to electronics Interview with William Clark Jr. http://www.loc.gov/item/mfdipbib000206 Library of Congress school for the whole year. I was discharged at Treasure island a year after entering the service, not having been further away from home than twenty miles. I returned to San Jose State. This time, influenced to a degree by a mother who thought it might be nice to have a scientist for a son, I decided to become a chemistry major with a math minor. Then came the Korean “police action”. I was recalled by the Navy as a technician and spent almost two years in Hawaii, working on communications gear as an electronic technician. This tour gave me the opportunity to review my academic career to date. I found that although I had started as a pre-med and then took chemistry and math, all my electives were in economics and political science. So, when I returned once again to San Jose State, I became a social science major, despite the family chorus of “What are going to do with it?”. I finally graduated in 1955 with a BA in Social Sciences. I missed the Foreign Service entrance exam that year because after graduation, I went to Hartford, Conn. as a trainee for Travelers' Insurance Company. I was placed in the group insurance division as consultant, not a salesman. It was distinction without a difference. I was sent by the Company to Los Angeles where I finally caught up with the Foreign Service exam. I had known about the Foreign Service and its entrance exam for quite a while. While at University, I had gone to the Post Office to get the prerequisite employment forms. Unfortunately, that Post Office had never heard of the Foreign Service. By the time, it found out about it, it was too late for filing. So I looked for another opportunity after landing in Los Angeles. The Department actually sent a recruitment team to Los Angeles which found space not far from my office. I paid them a visit and told the head of the team that what I really wanted to do was to enter the Foreign Service Staff Corps and then later entered the Foreign Service Officer Corps through lateral entry. I added that I had a good job and that I wasn't interested, but I would take the exam if he would give me the necessary forms. He said that no one ever passed the test, but I persevered. So he gave me the application forms and I took the test with about 1,000 others, most of whom raised their hands when asked who had taken the test before. I passed the written, which had just Interview with William Clark Jr. http://www.loc.gov/item/mfdipbib000206 Library of Congress recently become a one-day test, mostly multiple choice, on the first attempt and then took the orals in Los Angeles, which I also managed to pass. I had taken some psychologist courses while at the University, so that I recognized quickly the “good guy, bad guy” composition of the oral exam panel. So the orals went fairly well. I also had a security interview on Los Angeles in an office near mine, which was right on Pershing Square. The security man asked whether I liked boys or girls and I admitted that I preferred girls. Later in the interview, he asked the same question and got the same answer. When he asked the same question for the third time, I became a little testy. He said that he was under instructions to conduct the interview in that manner. Being from California, I said: “That must be because there are a lot in the State”. His immediate response was: “Yes, but we are trying to weed them out!”. He obviously had misunderstood my reference. I was referring to the State of California; he was referring to the Department of State. After all the checks were completed, I was sworn into the Foreign Service in February, 1957. None of my friends, either from San Jose or from after graduation, took the exam. So I didn't know any of the applicants or any of my junior Foreign Service Officer colleagues. We—I was already married to Judith—came to Washington and took a very nice apartment in Southwest, only to find that we were living a considerable distance away from our colleagues. I began taking the orientation course at FSI, which was then located where New State now is. My class consisted of a fairly diverse group of more than 30 people. It included four women, one black—Ron Palmer, who has been a friend ever since—who was one of the younger members of the class. The Department had at the time an age ceiling for entrance to the Foreign Service; I think it was thirty-two. The average age of the class was 27, which is roughly the average age of today's entering class. The white males were graduates of many different universities and colleges. It was at a time when the Department was expanding to some degree which explains the rather large size of the Interview with William Clark Jr. http://www.loc.gov/item/mfdipbib000206 Library of Congress class; the incoming classes then were certainly larger than today's. We had representation from the South, California—there were four or five of us from there. The Ivy League was represented, but it was not an overwhelming number. The A-100 course was then six weeks long. But before going overseas, the student returned to take a consular course. So, if I remember correctly, the entering course was broken up in two sections. The first part was a general introduction to the Foreign Service and the Department of State. We had a few representatives of other agencies talk to us, but it was very few, as I recall it. I found it a very useful course, especially for someone like myself who knew absolutely nothing about Washington or the Foreign Service. I knew roughly what people did overseas, but certainly not in much detail. I had never known any American Foreign Service people, but my father was a member of the Canadian legion and through him I had met some British consuls. But I was totally unfamiliar with the State Department and the Foreign Service. The A-100 course was good one because it provided us with some familiarity with our future career. The course director was an old China hand and his boss was a hard charger. The course was well done. We went out to Front Royal for a week of “togetherness”. It may have been modeled after the British “weekend house party”. It gave each of us an opportunity to explore our own behavior and to do different things. My poker game improved during that week, although by this time, I knew that game pretty well. I was assigned to the International Educational Exchange Service (IEES), headed by Manny Esposito. It was an office in the Bureau for Cultural Affairs. But since the office was located near K and 18th Street—far from the Department—, we really never had much contact with the rest of the Bureau. I was supposed to be the junior officer in the Liaison Office, which was IEES' “external affairs” office. I actually ended up in a GS-15 position which the Department had never been able to fill. I became a follow-up specialist, which required me to keep in contact with foreign people who had completed their Fulbright exchange program period in the United States. We would also keep in touch with Japanese people who had come to the US under the GARIOA program. We would Interview with William Clark Jr. http://www.loc.gov/item/mfdipbib000206 Library of Congress send them periodicals in their field of interest—i.e.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Asian Affairs
    Georgetown Journal of ASIAN AFFAIRS POLICY FORUM Water Security in South Asia: Between State and Society Preparing for Pan-Epidemics of Urban Yellow Majed Akhter Fever Daniel Lucey Transboundary Haze and Human Security in Southeast Asia The Strategic and Tactical Implications of ISIS Helena Varkkey on Southeast Asia’s Militant Groups Zachary Abuza Japan’s Defense Strategy in Graying Asia Jennifer Dabbs Sciubba Maritime Security Deficits and International Cooperation: Illegal Fishing and Maritime Migration for Human Security? The Contribution Piracy in Southeast Asia of Translocality to Social Resilience Derek Reveron Harald Sterly, Kayly Ober & Patrick Sakdapolrak Securing or Securitizing? Human Security in Asia with an introduction by Mely Caballero-Anthony Published by the Asian Studies Program in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Georgetown Journal of ASIAN AFFAIRS Vol. 3 | No. 1 | Fall 2016 The Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs is the flagship scholarly publication of the Asian Studies Program housed within the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Established in 2014, the Journal aims to provide a forum for schol- ars and practitioners in the field of Asian affairs to exchange ideas and publish research that further the understanding of the world’s largest and most populous continent. The views expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of the Journal ’s editors and advisors, the Asian Studies Program, the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, or Georgetown University.
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Making and Breaking
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Making and Breaking Stereotypes: East Asian International Students’ Experiences with Cross- Cultural/Racial Interactions A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Education by Zachary Stephen Ritter 2013 © Copyright by Zachary Stephen Ritter 2013 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Making and Breaking Stereotypes: East Asian International Students’ Experiences with Cross- Cultural/Racial Interactions by Zachary Stephen Ritter Doctor of Philosophy in Education University of California, Los Angeles, 2013 Professor Richard Wagoner, Chair In response to recent budget cuts and declining revenue streams, American colleges and universities are admitting larger numbers of international students. These students add a great deal of cultural and intellectual diversity to college campuses, but they also bring racial stereotypes that can affect cross-racial interaction as well as campus climate. Forty-seven interviews with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean graduate and undergraduate international students were conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles, regarding these students’ racial stereotypes and how contact with diverse others challenged or reinforced these stereotypes over time. Results indicated that a majority of students had racial hierarchies, which affected with whom they roomed, befriended, and dated. American media images and a lack of cross-cultural/racial interaction in home countries led to negative views toward African-Americans and Latinos. Positive cross- racial interactions, diversity courses, and living on-campus did change negative stereotypes; however, a lack of opportunities to interact with racial out-groups, international and domestic student balkanization, and language issues led to stereotype ossification in some cases. This research shows that there is a need for policy and programmatic changes at the college level that promote international and domestic student interaction.
    [Show full text]
  • Lewis and Clark: the Unheard Voices
    Curriculum Connections A free online publication for K-12 educators provided by ADL’s A World of Difference® Institute. www.adl.org/lesson-plans © 1993 by George Littlechild UPDATED 2019 Lewis and Clark: The Unheard Voices CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS | UPDATED FALL 2019 2 In This Issue The disadvantage of [people] not knowing the past is that they do Contents not know the present. History is a hill or high point of vantage, from which alone [they] see the town in which they live or the age Alignment of Lessons to Common —G. K. Chesterson, author (1874–1936) in which they are living. Core Anchor Standards Each year classrooms across the U.S. study, re-enact, and celebrate the Lewis and Clark expedition, a journey that has become an emblematic symbol of Lessons American fortitude and courage. While there are many aspects of the “Corps of Elementary School Lesson Discovery” worthy of commemoration—the triumph over geographical obstacles, the appreciation and cataloging of nature, and the epic proportions Middle School Lesson of the journey—this is only part of the history. High School Lesson While Lewis and Clark regarded the West as territory “on which the foot of civilized man had never trodden,” this land had been home for centuries to Resources millions of Native Americans from over 170 nations. For the descendants of Tribal Nations Whose Homeland these people, celebrations of the Corps of Discovery mark the onset of an era Lewis and Clark Explored of brutal repression, genocide and the destruction of their culture. Resources for Educators and Students The lesson plans in this issue of Curriculum Connections take an in-depth look at the history of U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Japanese Business Concepts You Should Know
    1 Japanese Business Concepts You Should Know Edited by Parissa Haghirian Sophia University Tokyo, Japan 2 Contents About this Book ......................................................................................... 4 The Editor ................................................................................................ 5 Japanese Business Concepts You Should Know ................................................. 6 Contributors of This Book ............................................................................ 94 Bibliography ............................................................................................ 96 Further Reading on Japanese Management .................................................... 102 3 About this Book This book is the result of one of my “Management in Japan” classes held at the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Sophia University in Tokyo. Students wrote this dictionary entries, I edited and updated them. The document is now available as a free e-book at my homepage www.haghirian.com. We hope that this book improves understanding of Japanese management and serves as inspiration for anyone interested in the subject. Questions and comments can be sent to [email protected]. Please inform the editor if you plan to quote parts of the book. Japanese Business Concepts You Should Know Edited by Parissa Haghirian First edition, Tokyo, October 2019 4 The Editor Parissa Haghirian is Professor of International Management at Sophia University in Tokyo. She lives and works in Japan since 2004
    [Show full text]
  • " Go Eat a Bat, Chang!": on the Emergence of Sinophobic Behavior on Web Communities in the Face of COVID-19
    “Go eat a bat, Chang!”: On the Emergence of Sinophobic Behavior on Web Communities in the Face of COVID-19* Fatemeh Tahmasbi1, Leonard Schild2, Chen Ling3, Jeremy Blackburn1, Gianluca Stringhini3, Yang Zhang2, and Savvas Zannettou4 1Binghamton University,2CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, 3Boston University, 4Max Planck Institute for Informatics [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Abstract thought to have originated in China, with the presumed ground zero centered around a wet market in the city of Wuhan in The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives the Hubei province [50]. In a few months, SARS-CoV-2 has in an unprecedented way. In the face of the projected catas- spread, allegedly from a bat or pangolin, to essentially every trophic consequences, many countries enforced social distanc- country in the world, resulting in over 1M cases of COVID-19 ing measures in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. and 50K deaths as of April 2, 2020 [45]. Under these conditions, the Web has become an indispensable Humankind has taken unprecedented steps to mitigating the medium for information acquisition, communication, and en- spread of SARS-CoV-2, enacting social distancing measures tertainment. At the same time, unfortunately, the Web is ex- that go against our very nature. While the repercussions of so- ploited for the dissemination of potentially harmful and disturb- cial distancing measures are yet to be fully understood, one ing content, such as the spread of conspiracy theories and hate- thing is certain: the Web has not only proven essential to the ful speech towards specific ethnic groups, in particular towards approximately normal continuation of daily life, but also as a Chinese people since COVID-19 is believed to have originated tool by which to ease the pain of isolation.
    [Show full text]
  • Are the Kalasha Really of Greek Origin? the Legend of Alexander the Great and the Pre-Islamic World of the Hindu Kush1
    Acta Orientalia 2011: 72, 47–92. Copyright © 2011 Printed in India – all rights reserved ACTA ORIENTALIA ISSN 0001-6483 Are the Kalasha really of Greek origin? The Legend of Alexander the Great and the Pre-Islamic World of the Hindu Kush1 Augusto S. Cacopardo Università di Firenze Abstract The paper refutes the claim that the Kalasha may be the descendants of the Greeks of Asia. First, traditions of Alexandrian descent in the Hindu Kush are examined on the basis of written sources and it is shown that such legends are not part of Kalasha traditional knowledge. Secondly, it is argued that the Kalasha were an integral part of the pre-Islamic cultural fabric of the Hindu Kush, and cannot be seen as intruders in the area, as legends of a Greek descent would want them. Finally, through comparative suggestions, it is proposed that possible similarities between the Kalasha and pre-Christian 1 Paper presented as a key-note address at the First International Conference on Language Documentation and Tradition, with a Special Interest in the Kalasha of the Hindu Kush Valleys, Himalayas – Thessaloniki, Greece, 7–9 November 2008. Scarcity of funds caused the scientific committee to decide to select for the forthcoming proceedings only linguistic papers. This is rather unfortunate because the inclusion in the volume of anthropological papers as well would have offered a good opportunity for comparing different views on the question of the Greek ascendancy of the Kalasha. 48 Augusto S. Cacopardo Europe are to be explained by the common Indo-European heritage rather than by more recent migrations and contacts.
    [Show full text]
  • Fourteenth-Century Blue-And-White : a Group of Chinese Porcelains in the Topkapu Sarayi Müzesi, Istanbul
    SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION! FREER GALLERY OF ART OCCASIONAL PAPERS VOLUME TWO NUMBER ONE FOURTEENTH-CENTURY BLUE-AND-WHITE A GROUP OF CHINESE PORCELAINS IN THE TOPKAPU SARAYI MUZESI, ISTANBUL By JOHN ALEXANDER POPE WASHINGTON 1952 FREER GALLERY OF ART OCCASIONAL PAPERS The Freer Gallery of Art Occasional Papers, published from time to time, present material pertaining to the cultures represented in the Freer Collection, prepared by members of the Gallery staff. Articles dealing with objects in the Freer Collection and involving original research in Near Eastern or Far Eastern language sources by scholars not associated with the Gallery may be considered for publication. The Freer Gallery of Art Occasional Papers are not sold by subscrip- tion. The price of each number is determined with reference to the cost of publication. = SMITHSONI AN INSTITUTIONS FREER GALLERY OF ART OCCASIONAL PAPERS VOLUME TWO NUMBER ONE FOURTEENTH-CENTURY BLUE-AND-WHITE A GROUP OF CHINESE PORCELAINS IN THE TOPKAPU SARAYI MUZESI, ISTANBUL - By JOHN ALEXANDER POPE Publication 4089 WASHINGTON 1952 BALTIMORE, MS., XT. S. A. CONTENTS Page Introduction 1 The background 1 Acknowledgments 4 Numerical list = 6 Chronological data 7 The Topkapu Sarayi Collection 8 History 8 Scope 18 The early blue-and-white wares 24 The painter's repertory 30 Flora 33 Fauna 40 Miscellaneous 44 Description of plates A-D 49 The argument 50 Descriptions of the pieces as illustrated 53 Appendix I: Checklist 66 II: Locale 69 III : Zimmermann's attributions 72 Bibliography 74 Index 79 iii FOURTEENTH-CENTURY BLUE-AND- WHITE: A GROUP OF CHINESE PORCELAINS IN THE TOPKAPU SARAYI MiiZESI, ISTANBUL By JOHN ALEXANDER POPE Assistant Director, Freer Gallery of Art [With 44 Plates] INTRODUCTION THE BACKGROUND Attempts to assign pre-Ming dates to Chinese porcelains decorated in underglaze cobalt blue are by no means new, but they have never ceased to be troublesome; certainly no general agreement in the matter has been reached beyond the fact that such porcelains do exist.
    [Show full text]
  • An Introduction to Japanese Society's Attitudes Toward Race and Skin Color
    Chapter 4 An Introduction to Japanese Society’s Attitudes Toward Race and Skin Color Debito Arudou Introduction Japan, no doubt like any country or society, places cultural value on skin color and melanin content. In Japan’s case, historically and traditionally, pale, unblemished white skin is held in high regard. For example, in classical Japanese ukiyo-e and woodblock prints, Japan’s upper classes and historical figures are generally rendered with very pale skin, while Japanese women, seen mostly indoors, are generally rendered whiter than men. To the present day, Japan’s traditional entertainers (from Kabuki actors to geisha) whiten their skin cosmetically, and its heroes (as seen, e.g., in Japan’s Neputa Festival (JNTO 2011) in Aomori Prefecture) are depicted as light-skinned Japanese battling hairy, swarthy barbarians. In modern Japanese adult society, skin coloring and care is de rigueur for women and sometimes even men (Ashikari 2005). Despite being the tenth most populous nation in the world, Japan’s cosmetics market is the world’s second largest, with an annual turnover of 990 billion yen in 2009 (Austrade 2010), selling products to both lighten and darken skin. Notwithstanding Japan’s fascination with African American culture, most related products, such as UV-blocking makeup foundation, sunscreen, visors, and parasols, help to keep skin light; darker tones due to sun exposure are often negatively associated with aging skin or outdoor manual labor (Ashikari ibid). Further, in a society where most members see themselves as similarly dark-haired and dark-eyed, distinctions are made in Japanese media by darkening skin tones and lightening or coloring hair.
    [Show full text]
  • A Translation of Datsu-A Ron: Decoding a Prewar Japanese Nationalistic Theory
    A TRANSLATION OF DATSU-A RON: DECODING A PREWAR JAPANESE NATIONALISTIC THEORY by Dwight Tat Wai Kwok A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts (MA) Graduate Department of East Asian Studies University of Toronto © Copyright by Dwight Tat Wai Kwok (2009) Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-59235-9 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-59235-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation.
    [Show full text]
  • Multilingualism in Guizi Lai Le (Devils on the Doorstep)
    Takeda, K. (2014). The interpreter as traitor: Multilingualism in Guizi lai le (Devils on the Doorstep ). Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series. Themes in Translation Studies, 13 , 93–111. The interpreter as traitor: Multilingualism in Guizi lai le (Devils on the Doorstep )1 Kayoko Takeda Rikkyo University [email protected] This paper discusses ways in which multilingualism is represented in an award-winning Chinese film, Guizi lai le , and its subtitling. Known as Devils on the Doorstep in English, the movie approaches its multilingual setting realistically: Chinese villagers speak in Chinese, Japanese soldiers in Japanese, and interpreters mediate their communication. In examining the Chinese, Japanese and English subtitles of the film, the study focuses on the different strategies used by the translators to represent multilingualism and to subtitle offensive language. The behavior and fate of the Chinese interpreter in the film is also explored, with special attention to the power interpreters possess for controlling and manipulating information and the notion of the interpreter as traitor and war criminal in the context of conflict. Findings of this research invite further investigation into how the audience views multilingualism in cinema and how the identity and loyalty of interpreters is depicted in war-themed movies. Collaborative work by researchers from different language and cultural backgrounds should also be encouraged. 1. Introduction Multilingualism in movies is not a new phenomenon, as Gambier (2012, p. 46) and
    [Show full text]
  • Creating a Cool Japan: Nationalism in 21St Century Japanese Animation and Manga
    Creating a Cool Japan: Nationalism in 21st Century Japanese Animation and Manga Majesty Kayla Zander Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Prerequisite for Honors in Japanese Language and Culture under the advisement of Robert Goree May 2021 © 2021 Majesty Zander 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents ...........................................................................................................................1 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................2 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................3 Chapter 1: Cool Japan...................................................................................................................8 Cool Japan and Nationalism ..................................................................................................................... 8 Cool Japan and Anime ............................................................................................................................ 16 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 2: Clean Japan ..............................................................................................................22 Clean Japan and Nihonjinron .................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Japan's Under-Researched Visible Minorities: Applying Critical Race
    Washington University Global Studies Law Review Volume 14 Issue 4 Global Perspectives on Colorism (Symposium Edition) 2015 Japan’s Under-Researched Visible Minorities: Applying Critical Race Theory to Racialization Dynamics in a Non-White Society Debito Arudou Hawaii Pacific University Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies Part of the Japanese Studies Commons, Law Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Debito Arudou, Japan’s Under-Researched Visible Minorities: Applying Critical Race Theory to Racialization Dynamics in a Non-White Society, 14 WASH. U. GLOBAL STUD. L. REV. 695 (2015), https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_globalstudies/vol14/iss4/13 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Global Studies Law Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JAPAN’S UNDER-RESEARCHED VISIBLE MINORITIES: APPLYING CRITICAL RACE THEORY TO RACIALIZATION DYNAMICS IN A NON-WHITE SOCIETY DR. DEBITO ARUDOU ABSTRACT Critical Race Theory (CRT), an analytical framework grounded in American legal academia, uncovers power relationships between a racialized enfranchised majority and a disenfranchised minority. Although applied primarily to countries and societies with Caucasian majorities to analyze White Privilege this Article applies CRT to Japan, a non-White majority society. After discussing how scholarship on Japan has hitherto ignored a fundamental factor within racialization studies—the effects of skin color on the concept of “Japaneseness”—this Article examines an example of published research on the Post-WWII “konketsuji problem.”1 This research finds blind spots in the analysis, and re-examines it through CRT to uncover more nuanced power dynamics.
    [Show full text]