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Asia is changing. I wrote previously that Japan’s ethnic sociology is shifting. However, Japan isn’t the only country in Asia coping with evolving demographics. According to a recent article from The Diplomat, South Korea is finally acknowledging the permanent settlement of foreigners, international marriages, and their children. This is just one of the many sociological issues that South Korea shares with its continental cousin. The other is the ethno-nationalism that persists in both countries. This blood-based nationalism has, as the article suggests, restricted South Korea from sublimating its definition for what it means to be Korean in the 21st century. What the article overlooks is that this race-based brand of politics is directly related to one of its historical enemy. Scholars and commentators like B.R. Myers have argued that the myth of Korean exceptionalism traces back to Japan’s annexation of Korea. According to Myers, the concept of tanil minjok (단일 민족) didn’t appear until the Japanese brought it to Korea. The Japanese implemented a European inspired brand of race theory to co-opt a developing nationality ensuing in reaction to the Japanese occupation. Except in this instance, the Japanese occupation taught Koreans that they were both of the same “Yamato race.” The only difference, in the eyes of the occupation, is that the Japanese saw most ‘Koreans’ as subordinate due to distinctions of class according to Sociologist John Lie’s book, Multiethnic Japan. What came about is the ethno-nationalism that people see today. The reason why I bring up the shared historical ideologies of Korea and Japan is because, as I stated earlier, both countries are facing shifting demographics. The days in which someone who is born in Japan is always of “100%” Japanese are long gone. The myth of homogeneity in Japan and its discriminatory practices against foreigners is the recurrent narrative in The Land of the Rising Sun. A similar type of story is surfacing where non-Koreans and their biracial inhabitants face identical prejudices. Furthermore, Japan’s reluctance to tackle these issues could offer a framework for what South Korea should avoid. So far, I’m under the opinion that the Japanese government has done little to ameliorate the problems their immigrants face. In certain instances, some of the comments from their various Prime Ministers and politicians have done more exacerbate sentiments against its multi-ethnic residents. (See Taro Aso and Ishihara Shintaro). Similarities aside, the stark difference between the two nations is that South Korea seems to be taking the issue seriously. The only education based multicultural program in Japan that I can recollect at the top of my head is the JET Program and that’s proving to be a bungling failure in its own respect. It’s not just this, but Japanese politicians have been more than stubborn to the U.N.’s calls for legislative reforms on the matter. The creation of a multicultural program catered directly towards its inhabitants is unprecedented in its economic big brothers like China and Japan. Like Japan, China is defensive of its domestic practices. I spoke to Michelle Gamboa,...
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Since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, energy conservation has become a very important concern after the meltdown the disaster caused at the Fukushima nuclear power facility. Setsuden, the Japanese term for conserving electricity, has become a popular trend and media discussion topic. And in cities like Tokyo which have been hit hard by Japan’s diminished ability to produce electricity because of the Fukushima meltdown, setsuden has become a necessary if uncomfortable way of summertime life. So, ever the innovators, the Japanese have started coming up with new products and ideas to help people using less air-conditioning in the often stifling summer heat of Tokyo and other cities. You may recall the story we reported a few weeks ago about the Japanese government’s Super Cool Biz campaign, which urges office workers to wear lighter, cooler business fashions. Well in addition to cooler clothes, we’ve come across a couple of tech solutions for the Japanese heat. One is a small fan that clips onto the back of a salaryman’s tie and blows (hopefully) cool air across the chest and neck. It’s run by a small battery pack which can be recharged by plugging it into a computer USB port. Another tech solution is a special jacket that has fans built into it and keeps the wearer cool with a rather unfashionable but comfortable puffy balloon of circulating air while the garment is in use. Of course, we can’t vouch for how effective these devices are for their intended purpose, but the ideas seem sound. And they must certainly be a lot less drippy and messy than those gel-filled coolers you chill in the freezer and wrap around your neck in the heat. (Red Ferret Journal – USB Tie Fan) (The Raw Story – Japanese Fan Jacket)
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Your house is gone, you’re living in a shelter, and you don’t have a firm idea of when you’ll be able have a home of your own again. This is the situation thousands of survivors of Japan’s March 11th disaster still face. And at times like these, the softness, warmth and unconditional love of a pet is often the perfect therapy. Well thanks to a robotic baby seal named Paro, numerous earthquake and tsunami survivors have been getting the chance to know the affection and attention of a cuddly, fuzzy animal just when they need it the most. Paro is an untethered robot equipped with sensors and artificial intelligence which makes him (her?) responsive to human touch. The little robo-seal was introduced in Japan seven years ago to give elderly folks who live where pets aren’t allowed the chance to benefit from the soothing, therapeutic effects which human-animal contact very often provides. At the link, you’ll see video of March 11th survivors interacting with Paro, and find yourself smiling and maybe even tearing up a little. (BBC Asia-Pacific – Baby Robot Seal Gives Comfort) For further reading, you can go here to learn how Paro has been used in a Connecticut mental-health residence to treat people with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
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Well, it’s official: The United States will play Japan this Sunday for the title in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. For the U.S., which last won the women’s title in 1999, getting to the final match took a tough but decisive victory over the French ladies’ team. Meanwhile, Japan beat Sweden in a come-from-behind 3-1 victory. Ironically, Sweden had beaten the U.S. earlier in the tournament, winning a match in group play by two to one. For the championship game, objective observers say the teams are not quite evenly matched. The U.S. has size and experience on the world stage superior to their Japanese counterparts. However, Japan is currently the world’s sentimental favorite, largely due to the March 11th earthquake and tsunami disaster in Tohoku and the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. At the link, you’ll even read quotes from U.S. ladies’ team members Hope Solo and Rachel Buehler giving Japan a lot of love and encouragement for what the country has been through the last four months. Will sentiment and ganbare gain victory over grit and experience? At this point no one can say. But it will sure be a thrill finding out this Sunday. (CNN World Sports – USA vs.Japan in FIFA)
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From left to right: Megumi Nishikura, Marcia Yumi Lise, and Lara Perez Takagi. Photo credit: Ryu Kodama.
Megumi Nishikura and Lara Perez Takagi are two filmmakers living in Tokyo, Japan. Their next project, The Hafu Documentary, focuses on a lesser-known part of Japan’s demographic: biracial individuals. Hafu is the Japanese loan word for half-Japanese. The documentary features a Mexican-Japanese family (the Oi’s), a Ghanian-Japanese model named David, a Venezualan-Japanese community organizer named Ed, an Australian-Japanese expatriot named Sophia, and lastly, an unannounced Hafu of mixed Japanese and Asian descent. Both Nishikura and Takagi are half-Japanese themselves and I last interviewed them before the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. Once again, they take time out from their busy schedules to discuss their documentary and its progress since then.
Lara and Megumi in action. Photo credit: Michael Connolly.
Giant Robot: How has production progressed so far?
Megumi Nishikura: “Sophia” is the fourth person. We put up a new image for her on the website. [When we first met her] it all came naturally. She wanted to show that she was part of this movie. She has her own blog and started writing about her participation in the film, and she tweets about us now and then. Her story is on the website and she grew up in Sydney, [Australia]. She spent a few summers in Japan here and there visiting her relatives, but doesn’t have too much experience in Japan. Last year, she decided that this was her last chance. If she didn’t take it now then she would never come and live here. She moved here and is tried to find a job, take Japanese lessons, and figure her way out while abroad.