Comment by Jerome Besson

November 24, 2007 @ 1:28 am

I remember a tale of solidarity and courage from WWII. In German-occupied Denmark, king Christian X, who used to ride his horse unattended through the streets of Copenhagen, took to displaying that infamous yellow star on his sleeve and his subjects followed suit. Although this is assigned to legend, the fact remains that the solidarity the Danes displayed toward their Jews prevented the Nazis from carrying out their racial policy in Denmark. The Jewish community of Denmark spent the war in relative safety.

http://www.ushmm.org/research/library/faq/details.php?topic=04#01
http://www.ushmm.org/research/library/faq/languages/en/04/01/denmark2.htm

I would like to suggest the following as a form of peaceful resistance:
1) foreigners in Japan would display an enlarged copy of their finger print on their breast pocket or the rear window of their car in protest.
2) like-minded Japanese would follow in silent solidarity.
3) the movement gaining ground would set a new trend whereby gift shops in Harajuku and Shimo-Kitazawa would devise pins that could allow one to display ones finger-print.

When I last left Narita five years back, immigration sent me away with a nice memento – a “52-4” logo stamped on my passport. I’ll leave it to the initiated to appreciate. I had lived peacefully there for sixteen-years and ever since then have lived estranged from my two kids.

Shame the dorks and have fun!!

Comment by DeOrio

November 24, 2007 @ 11:35 pm

For the unitiated, what’s a “52-4″? Barred from re-entry?

Comment by Jerome Besson

November 25, 2007 @ 7:57 am

In response to Deorio’s “…what’s a “52-4″? Barred from re-entry?”

“52” means that I had been handed my walking papers. And “4” means that I had opted for voluntary departure. See deportation proceedings in Japanese immigration laws.

I was barred from re-entry for five years. Since I left on March 10, 2002, I had always assumed I could return any time past March 10 this year. But on checking my passport to post the above, I noticed a “1207” printed under the departure date stamp. Might it mean that I’d better not show up sooner than January 1st, 2008? If that’s the case, a good thing I did not act upon my original intent to return the soonest past March 10, this year.