Sat. 28th Sep., Resisting Discrimination Based on Nationality and Gender & Sexuality

Time & Date: 13:00-18:00, Saturday 28th September  2024

Language: Japanese (Japanese text interpretation using UD Talk will be used)

Venue: Troyer Memorial Arts and Sciences Hall Room 171 (T-171), International Christian University

Map:

※ The event will be held only face-to-face (No online streaming)

※ Pre-registration is required  

Registration Form:  https://forms.gle/f1Q6q2d6aBrLp5q96

★ Please contact Center for Gender Studies (cgs@icu.ac.jp) by 10th of September for the information assurance you need. We apologize that we may not be able to accommodate all the requests due to staff shortage.

【Contact】cgs@icu.ac.jp (Center for Gender Studies, International Christian University)

【Event outline】

In recent years, Japan has been experiencing a tendency to the political right, which has led to changes such as the revision of Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and the failure to pass anti-discrimination laws for gender and sexual minorities. This political situation has the potential to negatively impact the rights and living conditions of immigrants, refugees, and sexual minorities living in Japan, drawing criticism from those advocating for the rights of various minority groups. Meanwhile, resistance movements against this political situation are also taking place.

Discrimination based on nationality and gender & sexuality is structurally intertwined and complexly related to other social factors. However, the discussion on how issues related to nationality intersect with gender & sexuality in Japanese society remains limited.

Given these issues, it is necessary to deepen our understanding of how discrimination based on nationality and gender & sexuality intersects in Japanese society and how this affects the lives of people who have been excluded based on nationality, particularly women and gender & sexual minorities. Moreover, it is also important to explore what kind of solidarity in social movements is needed to build a future where diverse people can coexist through fundamental social change.

In this event, CGS invites activists and scholars who have been addressing issues arising from the state system of categorizing and controlling people by nationality and the various norms related to gender & sexuality, aiming to provide a platform to exchange ideas. 

【Speakers】

・IKUTA, Shiori (External Relations (Advocacy), Japan Association for Refugees)

Ikuta Shiori graduated from International Christian University (ID18). Ikuta developed an interest in refugee issues through participation in Model United Nations during university. After studying abroad at Freie Universität Berlin and interning at Japan Association for Refugees, Ikuta took up current position in July 2018. Currently, Ikuta is responsible for lobbying the government and parliament to improve Japan’s legal framework surrounding refugees, conducting research, and networking. During the 2023 revision of Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, Ikuta engaged in lobbying parliament members, dissemination of information, and campaigns. Ikuta published the paper titled "Nanmin Gyōsei 40-nen: Nihon ni okeru Nanmin Hogo no Hensen to Kadai" in the 11th issue of Refugee Studies Journal.

・MATSUMOTO, Makiko (“Lila’s Life in Tokyo”, a group that supports the lawsuit for the residential status of the same-sex partner）

Born in Himeji, raised in Oita. Inspired by Einstein, she studied applied physics at university. While working in a male-dominated society, her interest shifted from Einstein to feminism, and studied women's studies at a graduate school in Oregon. After returning to Japan, she worked for a feminist organization, now she works for a translation company. She is also active in supporting an international same-sex couple lawsuit demanding equal treatment in residency status, as well as feminist film screening and grief support for children. Her favorite pastime is playing her bass guitar loudly.

・BARBARA DARLINg (Performance/Visual artist）

Group show “Current status of Kurds in Japan 2021” (Kawaguchi Art Gallery Atria, Saitama, 2021), solo exhibition “gathering” (DMM / 35°37'41.7″N 139°45'20.7″E, Tokyo, 2023), Curated and exhibited in "SENSOU-GA STUDIES" (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, 2015) and "The shiny future exhibition 2013 The HUMANISATION" (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, 2013).

・TAKAYA, Sachi (Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo)

Takaya Sachi’s research interests include irregular migration and bordering, migration and gender, the membership and belongings of migrants, and migration policy in the context of East Asia. She has published a monograph on irregular migrants in Japan and has edited two books on migration policy (in Japanese). She is the author of many articles in Japanese journals, as well as book chapters including in the edited volume, Irregular Migration and Human Security in East Asia (edited by Jiyoung Song and Alistair D.B. Cook, Routledge 2015).

・HORIE, Yuri (Researcher, Kyoto Human Rights Research Institute; Pastor, The United Church of Christ in Japan)

Horie Yuri has been engaged in counseling work for gender and sexual minorities since 1994. In recent years, Horie has taken an interest in the issue regarding the Emperor system, which is the "root of discrimination." Horie’s main works include Rezubian aidentitīzu (Rakuhoku Publications, 2015) and "Rezubian'' to iu ikikata kirisutokyō no iseiai shugi o tō (Shinkyo Publishing, 2006). Horie is also one of the editors of the three-volume series Kuia sutadizu o hiraku (Koyo Shobo, 2019-2023), with Volume 2 containing Horie’s essay "Tennōsei to Jendā/Sekushuariti — Kokka no Ideorogī Sōchi to Kuia na Dokkai Kanōsei".

【Time Schedule】

12:30- Opening the Venue

13:00-13:10 Opening Remarks

13:10-15:10 Session1: Intersection of Nationality and Gender & Sexuality in Resistance Movements

  13:10-13:45 IKUTA, Shiori 

  13:45-14:20 MATSUMOTO, Makiko

  14:20-14:55 BARBARA DARLINg

  14:55-15:10 Q&A

15:10-15:20 Break

15:20-16:40 Session2: Thinking About the Relationship Between the Residency Management System and the Family Register System from Queer Feminist Perspectives

  15:20-15:55 TAKAYA, Sachi

  15:55-16:30 HORIE, Yuri

  16:30-16:40 Q&A

16:40-16:50 Break

16:50-17:20 Panel Discussion

17:20-17:50 Floor Discussion

17:50-18:00 Closing Remarks

Hosted by Center for Gender Studies, International Christian University (CGS)

Organized by Chloe WEN

with the help of Fumina HAMASAKI, Shunichiro OKA, Yuumi KONISHI, Anna TATTON