Regarding the Dec. 2 Zeit Gist article, "Back to the baths: Otaru revisited": Kudos to Paul de Vries for an excellent article. While there will doubtless be a backlash from readers more supportive of the likes of activist Arudou Debito, I applaud The Japan Times for providing a platform to someone who actually gets it. This is Japan, not America and not Europe. Japanese rules apply, and it would behoove those who choose to live here — none of us have been forced to move here, nor are we held against our will — to remember that and live their lives accordingly. I, for one, do and I suspect de Vries does as well. It is we who must assimilate into Japanese society, not the other way around.
lance braman
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