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Debito Arudou
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Debito Arudou
Debito Arudou (有道 出人, Arudō Debito; born David Christopher Schofill on January 13, 1965) is an American-born Japanese writer, blogger, and human rights activist. He was born in the United States and became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2000. Arudou has since left Japan after living in the country for over 20 years.
Arudou currently is employed as a part-time lecturer in political science at California State University, Long Beach.
Arudou was born David Christopher Schofill in California in 1965. He was raised in Geneva, New York, and became "David Christopher Aldwinckle" when his stepfather adopted him in the 1970s. He graduated from Cornell University in 1987, dedicating his senior year to studying Japanese after visiting his pen pal and future wife in Japan. Aldwinckle moved to Japan for one year where he taught English in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and later spent one year at the Japan Management Academy in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, before returning to complete a Master's of Pacific International Affairs (MPIA) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
In 1993, Arudou joined the faculty of Business Administration and Information Science at the Hokkaido Information University, a private university in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, where he taught courses in business English and debate. He was an associate professor until 2011 when he left the university. From 2012 to 2013, Arudou was an Affiliate Scholar at the East–West Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Meiji Gakuin University awarded him a Doctorate in Philosophy (International Studies) in 2014.
Aldwinckle married a Japanese citizen in 1989, and they have two daughters. Aldwinckle became a permanent resident of Japan in 1996. He became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2000. On becoming Japanese, he changed his name to Arudoudebito Sugawara (菅原 有道出人, Sugawara Arudōdebito), taking his wife's surname. They divorced in 2006.
Arudou objected to the policies of three bathhouses in Hokkaido in the late 1990s that had posted "No Foreigners" or "Japanese Only" signs on their doors.
Arudou led a multinational group of 17 people of various nationalities (United States, Chinese, German, and Japanese) to enter the Yunohana bathhouse in Otaru and test the firmness of the "No Foreigners" policy posted on its door. The group attempted the walk-ins twice.
Arudou returned to Yunohana in October 2000 for the third time as a naturalized Japanese citizen, but was again denied entry. The manager acknowledged that Arudou was a Japanese national but refused him entry because Arudou's foreign appearance could drive Japanese customers to take their business elsewhere. Yunohana had previously closed its bathhouse due to a decline in Japanese customers caused by the poor bathing habits of Russian sailors, and to prevent a repeat of this situation, the company refused entry to anyone who appeared to be a foreign national.
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Debito Arudou
Debito Arudou (有道 出人, Arudō Debito; born David Christopher Schofill on January 13, 1965) is an American-born Japanese writer, blogger, and human rights activist. He was born in the United States and became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2000. Arudou has since left Japan after living in the country for over 20 years.
Arudou currently is employed as a part-time lecturer in political science at California State University, Long Beach.
Arudou was born David Christopher Schofill in California in 1965. He was raised in Geneva, New York, and became "David Christopher Aldwinckle" when his stepfather adopted him in the 1970s. He graduated from Cornell University in 1987, dedicating his senior year to studying Japanese after visiting his pen pal and future wife in Japan. Aldwinckle moved to Japan for one year where he taught English in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and later spent one year at the Japan Management Academy in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, before returning to complete a Master's of Pacific International Affairs (MPIA) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
In 1993, Arudou joined the faculty of Business Administration and Information Science at the Hokkaido Information University, a private university in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, where he taught courses in business English and debate. He was an associate professor until 2011 when he left the university. From 2012 to 2013, Arudou was an Affiliate Scholar at the East–West Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Meiji Gakuin University awarded him a Doctorate in Philosophy (International Studies) in 2014.
Aldwinckle married a Japanese citizen in 1989, and they have two daughters. Aldwinckle became a permanent resident of Japan in 1996. He became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2000. On becoming Japanese, he changed his name to Arudoudebito Sugawara (菅原 有道出人, Sugawara Arudōdebito), taking his wife's surname. They divorced in 2006.
Arudou objected to the policies of three bathhouses in Hokkaido in the late 1990s that had posted "No Foreigners" or "Japanese Only" signs on their doors.
Arudou led a multinational group of 17 people of various nationalities (United States, Chinese, German, and Japanese) to enter the Yunohana bathhouse in Otaru and test the firmness of the "No Foreigners" policy posted on its door. The group attempted the walk-ins twice.
Arudou returned to Yunohana in October 2000 for the third time as a naturalized Japanese citizen, but was again denied entry. The manager acknowledged that Arudou was a Japanese national but refused him entry because Arudou's foreign appearance could drive Japanese customers to take their business elsewhere. Yunohana had previously closed its bathhouse due to a decline in Japanese customers caused by the poor bathing habits of Russian sailors, and to prevent a repeat of this situation, the company refused entry to anyone who appeared to be a foreign national.
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