Racist cartoons (2)
In the post of May 8, 2006, I talked about racist cartoon images in a booklet distributed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. (I found this information on the SistainTokyo blog.) I distributed the information to my friends. Then, one of my friends forwarded it to Fumio Takano, the director of Tokyo Alien Eyes, a non profit organization set up for the purpose of supporting foreign students in Tokyo. He sent a letter to Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and asked them to redraw the racist cartoon images in a booklet. Then he received a letter saying that they redrew the pictures and uploaded to their website. The following are samples of their new cartoons.
Old cartoon: 
Revised one: 
Old cartoon: 
Revised one: 
Well, what do you think? Personally, I appreciate their immediate responses. I would like to know how the original cartoonist thinks about this revision.
You can see the revised cartoons on the website of Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department:
http://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/foreign/quake/preface.htm
Photo: Blue sky.
Comments
hy Masahiro, that´s at all a little success. you soon have your NY trip, wish you the best for that.
Posted by: arasha | June 28, 2006 12:46 PM
I appreciate the prompt response by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police to revise the racist cartoons. These images perpetuate stereotypes that African Americans continue to struggle against on a daily basis in the USA. It is important that this not spread to other countries, creating false impressions of different ethnic groups and races. It is important to spread understanding and value cultural diversity, not cultural polarization.
Posted by: Arlene Wilson | July 25, 2006 05:24 AM