Old Long Stay

Synopsis

Even if you were born and raised in Japan, pay taxes, and become a naturalized citizen, you cannot receive a pension, which is the minimum guarantee of life. In March 2000, seven deaf Koreans residing in Japan filed a lawsuit at the Kyoto District Court against unreasonable discrimination that disabled persons of foreign nationality above a certain age were not entitled to a disability pension. Through interviews with the plaintiffs and their supporters and documentary footage of the past, the director confronts the historical and political issues of “disability” and “ethnicity.”

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The term Zainichi Koreans refers to residents of Japan (and their descendants) who are originally from the Korean Peninsula—specifically, those who settled in Japan during its colonial rule of Korea due to conscription, and to economic and historical factors. It is estimated that there are over one million such residents, including those who have been naturalized. In Japan today, everyone has the right to a disability pension, regardless of nationality. However, Zainichi Koreans above a certain age are left stranded in between the former and current systems, still unable to receive their benefits even as they pay taxes or become naturalized citizens. Over the years, the issue has resulted in a number of class action lawsuits and campaigns across the country. In Old Long Stay, Iiyama utilizes archival footage and conducts interviews with plaintiffs (primarily among the deaf and hard-of-hearing community in Kyoto) and their supporters, taking us on a journey through the historical and political aspects of this issue; the class action lawsuit across former leper colonies where the lack of compensation was, exceptionally, redressed; and the voices of the multiculturalism debate in the Higashi-Kujo area of Kyoto, home to a relatively large population of Zainichi Koreans.

Original title: オールド ロング ステイ

Trailer: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=999103954163754
https://calamariinc.com/2021/飯山由貴｜old-long-stay/