| written by Olaf Karthaus |
as it was published in the Japan Times on March 9th 2005 |
| Corrections of Mr.
Clark's
article from Feb. 17, 2005 I was a plaintiff in the Otaru Onsen lawsuit, and read with great interest the article by Gregory Clark. Clark writes: "A bathhouse that had suffered severe property destruction at the hands of drunken Russian seamen had felt it had no alternative but to put up a "No Foreigner" sign. It too was hit with a suit claiming it had violated the U.N. convention."End of quote. This is not true. The bathhouse in Otaru that was sued by the three plaintiffs did not suffer any property destruction by foreigners. The court documents do not mention property destruction. There is no police report either. The bathhouse put up the "Japanese Only" sign more or less from day one of their business. With the false information that the sued bathhouse had suffered "severe property destruction" Clark portraits the bathhouse as the victim of violence. And me as profiting from this victim in a most despising way - suing them and demanding monetary compensation! He uses very graphic and violent vocabulary (...ultrasensitive foreigners ...only to be dragged through the courts...[the bathhouse] was hit with a [law]suit....) to make his point. Is it too far fetched to think that some sick elements in this society might read Clark's articles and take it one step further: "look, here we have this famous foreigner Gregory Clark in Japan. Even HE hates the plaintiffs. Let's beat the ultrasensitivity out of them, so that they learn how it feels being hit and dragged". My property has already been repeatedly (three times in six months) sabotaged in such a way that my family and I have been put in a potentially life-threatening situation. I do not know if this sick person did it because of the lawsuit, but chances are high. I did not sue the bathhouse lightly. I knew of the possible consequences. My family and I were willing to take the risks. Those risks are already high enough. What we do not need is someone as intelligent and influential as Clark pouring oil into the fire of anti-foreign sentiments by using violent language and spreading rumours. I haven't sued a bathhouse that suffered severe damage. Neither, by the way, did I write a book about it, as Clark claims:" The litigious foreigners involved have now published a book[.]" Olaf Karthaus, Sapporo |
Fueling
antiforeigner sentiment I read Gregory Clark's Feb. 17 article with great interest, since I was one of the plaintiffs in the Otaru (Hokkaido) Onsen lawsuit. Clark writes: "A bathhouse that had suffered severe property destruction at the hands of drunken Russian seamen had felt it had no alternative but to put up a 'No Foreigner' sign. It too was hit with a suit claiming it had violated the U.N. convention." This is not true. The bathhouse in Otaru that was sued by the three plaintiffs did not suffer any property destruction by foreigners. The court documents do not mention property destruction. There is no police report either. The bathhouse put up the "Japanese Only" sign more or less from day one of their business. By leaving the false impression that the bathhouse had suffered "severe property destruction," Clark portrays me as someone trying to profit off a victim of violence. Is it too far-fetched to think that some sick elements in this society might read Clark's articles and, after thinking that even a famous foreigner like Clark hates the plaintiffs, go one step further? My property has been vandalized (three times in six months) in such a way that my family and I have felt as if our lives were threatened. I don't know that these incidents are related to the lawsuit, but I'm guessing the chances are high that they are. I did not make the decision to sue the bathhouse lightly. I knew of the possible consequences. My family and I were willing to take the risks. Those risks are already high enough. We don't need someone as intelligent and influential as Clark pouring oil on the fire of antiforeign sentiments by spreading rumors. By the way, I have not written a book about my experiences, as Clark's remark about "litigious foreigners" suggests. OLAF KARTHAUS Sapporo |