After all, I just spent a week with meningitis which I somehow managed to catch even though it is said to be very difficult to catch. I should feel bad because my head is still throbbing after 7 solid days of it. I should feel bad because if my brain is damaged it will affect my job....oh wait, maybe not because it would make no difference there and could even be beneficial.
I should feel bad for those who believed that (in spite of all common sense and evidence) that the Japanese economy would not be affected much by the global financial crisis and who must now face reality. And I should feel even worse for those who still don't see any real problems. "Huh? They rescued the financial companies but won't help those that really make something (the car companies)! They have their priorities wrong! BAHAHA!" Unfortunately, my friend from down under was actually serious when he said that, but I don't feel bad for him.
I don't really feel bad for any of the above reasons. So I guess that I should not beat myself over actually feeling a bit of pleasure as the US Big Three auto companies head toward the reward that they have deserved for at least 25-30 years. A "bit of pleasure"? Actually, I am feeling sort of a sadistic joy in seeing it, and I have this strange urge to dance a little jig at the news and I don't think it's due to the virus on the brain.
It is really partially my fault that those companies have not been able to produce quality cars that enough people would want to buy in order to keep the firms in the red and the management and union members well in the black (and the CEOs in private jets). For I confess that I stopped buying American cars after I graduated high school. Although I had spent my childhood as an apprentice grease monkey to my father whose "hobby" was working on the clunkers, I hated every single second of wallowing in mud and grease trying to fix the P.O.S. that just broke down in the middle-of-the-night in a blizzard out in the-middle-of-the-sticks. I was determined not to continue that wonderful family tradition any longer than necessary and began buying Japanese cars. They, with one exception, allowed me to avoid reliving those wonderful childhood experiences. [I am embarrassed to add that even my father later switched to Japanese-made cars and has refused to "buy American" since.]
Hence the dire straights of the poor Big Three Stooges. Who could have seen this coming? Who could have imagined that folks would switch to Toyota and Honda, despite earlier efforts by The Three Stooges to have the US government protect them from competition? Who could have imagined that oil prices might go up and cause SUV sales to drop? Who could have imagined that after decades of criticism that the Stooges were not exactly prime examples of forward-thinking, fully-competitive companies selling top quality products that would dominate their market forever, that the criticism could actually be accurate! Who could have imagined that after decades of whining and making better excuses than cars, that people would stop listening?
And finally, who could have imagined that after the companies could not make cars that Americans wanted to buy, that we stupid ingrates would object when Three Stooges demanded that the government take away the money that we refused to spend on US cars and give it to them anyway?
I should feel bad. At this time, the well-deserved bankruptcies of one or more of those companies could be an especially risky thing. I am still undecided on whether or not they should be extended a (very temporary) hand until the economy improves, or just allowed to reap what they've sown. I have listened to both/all sides for the last month. I would not want to see people lose their jobs and careers---well, I would not weep if some of the management and union leaders did---but I do not feel bad about the situation that those companies put themselves in.
Why do I not feel bad? Well, because this time the car companies have a plan to succeed!!!!! They just came up with it over the last few weeks! And although I believed the car salesmen, the U.S. Senate seemed to have doubts. Thus, they have scuttled the initial handout---sorry bailout---proposal.
Scuttled the bailout! I do not feel bad.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
Discrimination validated
by some fellow who wrote an article for the Japan Times last week. I read it and considered replying, but I honestly did not know where to begin. It was like reading Fujiwacko Masahiko's book of two years ago. One has to wonder if he is actually as silly as he seems.
Our explainer basically justified bigotry by claiming it was all made fine and wonderful by his view of "group accountability." Apparently, he thought that it was just dandy that public bath operators in Hokkaido could ban anyone who did not "look Japanese" as this was just a way of making a whole group (those who did not look Japanese) accountable for the actions of a smaller part of that group (Russian sailors).
Naturally the problem is also somehow related to the US because the US is/has been racist and this fact magnifies the feelings of injustice to Westerners. So, I guess we gotta assume that the non-western, non-Japanese who reside in Japan (as well as many Japanese) don't see a problem with it. Anyway, we can't hold it against Japan for discriminating based on "group" because 'merika and the west in general is racist whilst Japan's racial and other discrimination isn't racist.
In Japan, you see, group discrimination---bigotry---is evenhanded. If you ain't a "pure" Japanese, that's sufficient. Since the bath claimed that the reason that no non-Japanese looking person could enter was because some Russian sailors caused problems somewhere, and since Russian sailors are not Japanese then they could---at least until a Japanese court said they couldn't---discriminate against all who are not.
(This brings up the problem of which group must be held accountable for the actions of the mass-murdering Japanese in Akihabara last summer, or the guy who a few weeks ago stabbed 3 people, killing two, because he was supposedly angry that the government had killed his doggy when he was a child. All Japanese? All men? All Japanese men? All young pet owners?)
Our writer then equates the discrimination with the rules for female-only train cars during peak hours and finally makes the utterly bizarre, absurd claim that since this group accountability is a major reason that Japan is safe (prove that) if Japan abandons it, then Japan will become like the mythical US or other countries---unsafe, full of selfish criminals where one cannot walk the streets without being a crime victim. Japan will, in effect, become a foreign country.
I am not the first to write this, but if that is the case, then the US can become a safer country by openly (or secretly) and intentionally discriminating against groups of people whom those with power may assume (or simply claim) may be troublemakers. We should repeal the Civil Rights laws and go back 150 years to become "safe" again.
The case the apologist-for-bigotry-and-discrimination wrote about was the Otaro onsen case brought by naturalized Japanese citizen, Arudo Debito. Debito has posted the original article and a short response on his blog along with other responses.
The author of the article is putting the finishing touches on a book that is bound to become a classic on what the world can learn from Japan. Although topic sounds like a rehash of the 1980s books of this genre, there are things which folks elsewhere could learn from Japan. Whether or not those things could be adopted is another question. Let's hope, however, that excusing racism, bigotry, and other discrimination based on group membership is not one of them.
Our explainer basically justified bigotry by claiming it was all made fine and wonderful by his view of "group accountability." Apparently, he thought that it was just dandy that public bath operators in Hokkaido could ban anyone who did not "look Japanese" as this was just a way of making a whole group (those who did not look Japanese) accountable for the actions of a smaller part of that group (Russian sailors).
Naturally the problem is also somehow related to the US because the US is/has been racist and this fact magnifies the feelings of injustice to Westerners. So, I guess we gotta assume that the non-western, non-Japanese who reside in Japan (as well as many Japanese) don't see a problem with it. Anyway, we can't hold it against Japan for discriminating based on "group" because 'merika and the west in general is racist whilst Japan's racial and other discrimination isn't racist.
In Japan, you see, group discrimination---bigotry---is evenhanded. If you ain't a "pure" Japanese, that's sufficient. Since the bath claimed that the reason that no non-Japanese looking person could enter was because some Russian sailors caused problems somewhere, and since Russian sailors are not Japanese then they could---at least until a Japanese court said they couldn't---discriminate against all who are not.
(This brings up the problem of which group must be held accountable for the actions of the mass-murdering Japanese in Akihabara last summer, or the guy who a few weeks ago stabbed 3 people, killing two, because he was supposedly angry that the government had killed his doggy when he was a child. All Japanese? All men? All Japanese men? All young pet owners?)
Our writer then equates the discrimination with the rules for female-only train cars during peak hours and finally makes the utterly bizarre, absurd claim that since this group accountability is a major reason that Japan is safe (prove that) if Japan abandons it, then Japan will become like the mythical US or other countries---unsafe, full of selfish criminals where one cannot walk the streets without being a crime victim. Japan will, in effect, become a foreign country.
"Japan will become one more nation in which the individual is to be feared. That is an outrageously high price to pay for the occasional racial, national, generational or gender-driven slight."
The case the apologist-for-bigotry-and-discrimination wrote about was the Otaro onsen case brought by naturalized Japanese citizen, Arudo Debito. Debito has posted the original article and a short response on his blog along with other responses.
The author of the article is putting the finishing touches on a book that is bound to become a classic on what the world can learn from Japan. Although topic sounds like a rehash of the 1980s books of this genre, there are things which folks elsewhere could learn from Japan. Whether or not those things could be adopted is another question. Let's hope, however, that excusing racism, bigotry, and other discrimination based on group membership is not one of them.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
As a board member of The Academy of Outrageous Books, Shunichi Karasawa sees parallels between the controversial essay written by sacked Air Self-Defense Force chief Toshio Tamogami, an apologist for Japan's wartime aggression, and classic "outrageous" conspiracy theories...
Regarding the vocal support for Tamogami's views that is rampant on the Internet, Karasawa pointed to a generation that he claims harbors resentment*....Article at the Japan Times.
I would guess that this resentment will increase rather than decrease. I only hope that those who predict the downfall of the LDP are right, not because Ozawa and the DJP are any great improvement, but because if the DPJ can win and govern well enough to gain support, perhaps it will begin a real 2-party system with choices in the future. But then again, who says that a second party would not turn more rightward and more revisionist and more isolationist than certain factions of the LDP. After all, some DPJ members signed the ad in the Washington Post last year claiming Japanese government innocence in the sex slave business in WW2.
As long as certain extremists keep denying Japan's wrongdoings in the war, criticism will continue. Were they simply to shut up some of the controversies might actually die down. They won't though.
*The younger generation resents criticism of Japan? Damn, what would they do if Japan got half the criticism that the US receives and has received for decades?
(For your mental health, avoid 2ch (2 Channel) and similar places. It can be depressing, alarming, and certainly impacts any impression one has of Japan. Tamogami seems soft compared to some of those folks.)
Regarding the vocal support for Tamogami's views that is rampant on the Internet, Karasawa pointed to a generation that he claims harbors resentment*....Article at the Japan Times.
I would guess that this resentment will increase rather than decrease. I only hope that those who predict the downfall of the LDP are right, not because Ozawa and the DJP are any great improvement, but because if the DPJ can win and govern well enough to gain support, perhaps it will begin a real 2-party system with choices in the future. But then again, who says that a second party would not turn more rightward and more revisionist and more isolationist than certain factions of the LDP. After all, some DPJ members signed the ad in the Washington Post last year claiming Japanese government innocence in the sex slave business in WW2.
As long as certain extremists keep denying Japan's wrongdoings in the war, criticism will continue. Were they simply to shut up some of the controversies might actually die down. They won't though.
*The younger generation resents criticism of Japan? Damn, what would they do if Japan got half the criticism that the US receives and has received for decades?
(For your mental health, avoid 2ch (2 Channel) and similar places. It can be depressing, alarming, and certainly impacts any impression one has of Japan. Tamogami seems soft compared to some of those folks.)
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Let 100 flowers bloom
"I don't think my opinions are particularly militaristic or of a rightwing nature," Tamogami said during a news conference in Tokyo at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, adding many of his supporters are merely keeping their views to themselves.
Ousted Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami stuck to his revisionist historical views Monday, saying his justification of Japan's wartime acts is shared by many lawmakers and Self-Defense Forces personnel. Full article at the Japan Times.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Fingerprintin' them thar furriners
Over the last few days, the government and media have been reporting that last year's law requiring all non-Japanese (including permanent residents) to be fingerprinted when entering or re-entering Japan, has been a success as it has kept 800-odd "undesirables" out of Japan.
The law was controversial when passed, as many---permanent residents in particular---were angered and offended. Too bad, said the government (and most others, including many non-Japanese) it's for safety and security and it stays.
So where did all this fingerprinting of non-Japanese begin? We all know that it was done to ethnic Koreans for decades until the law was rescinded mainly due to their protests in the 80s. While reading Mark E. Caprio's article in Japan Focus I found this interesting little tidbit:
...in May 1947, just months prior to SCAP’s January 1948 announcement that Koreans would be treated as “Japanese nationals,” SCAP reversed course by subjecting Japan-based Koreans and Taiwanese to its Alien Registration Ordinance. Mirrored after the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940, it required all non-Japanese over the age of 14 to register their alien status and carry with them at all times their alien registration passbook. It further stipulated that violators would face deportation. This legislation served as the forerunner for the more comprehensive Alien Registration Act of 1952 that introduced mandatory fingerprinting of foreign residents. See Japan Focus: The Cold War explodes in Kobe---the 1948 Korean Ethnic School "Riots" and the US Occupation Authorities.
I suppose the Japanese government of the time could have objected to Dugout Doug, SCAP, and Uncle Sam, but they didn't. Just like today, when the US passes tougher laws controlling foreign visitors or residents, Japan rarely declines adopting a similar law because of moral reasons as long as it citizens (or industries) are not affected. .
The law was controversial when passed, as many---permanent residents in particular---were angered and offended. Too bad, said the government (and most others, including many non-Japanese) it's for safety and security and it stays.
So where did all this fingerprinting of non-Japanese begin? We all know that it was done to ethnic Koreans for decades until the law was rescinded mainly due to their protests in the 80s. While reading Mark E. Caprio's article in Japan Focus I found this interesting little tidbit:
...in May 1947, just months prior to SCAP’s January 1948 announcement that Koreans would be treated as “Japanese nationals,” SCAP reversed course by subjecting Japan-based Koreans and Taiwanese to its Alien Registration Ordinance. Mirrored after the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940, it required all non-Japanese over the age of 14 to register their alien status and carry with them at all times their alien registration passbook. It further stipulated that violators would face deportation. This legislation served as the forerunner for the more comprehensive Alien Registration Act of 1952 that introduced mandatory fingerprinting of foreign residents. See Japan Focus: The Cold War explodes in Kobe---the 1948 Korean Ethnic School "Riots" and the US Occupation Authorities.
I suppose the Japanese government of the time could have objected to Dugout Doug, SCAP, and Uncle Sam, but they didn't. Just like today, when the US passes tougher laws controlling foreign visitors or residents, Japan rarely declines adopting a similar law because of moral reasons as long as it citizens (or industries) are not affected. .
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Perhaps it is understandable that folks in Japan (and elsewhere) think that the US has gone insane:
I do remember an incident in Tama Plaza, Kanagawa a few years ago where a group of female shoppers burst through the doors at a big sale which resulted in several going to the hospital. Fortunately, nobody died then.
In a sign of consumer desperation amid a bleak economy, the annual rite of retailing known as Black Friday turned chaotic and deadly, as shoppers scrambled for holiday bargains.
A Wal-Mart worker on Long Island, N.Y., died after being trampled by customers who broke through the doors early Friday, and other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man. Story at the Seattle Times here.I do remember an incident in Tama Plaza, Kanagawa a few years ago where a group of female shoppers burst through the doors at a big sale which resulted in several going to the hospital. Fortunately, nobody died then.
Friday, November 28, 2008
The invasion of evil (baka) gaijin
Some 51.8 percent of Japanese said a rise in foreign tourists visiting Japan made them "concerned about safety" and thought "some steps should be taken" to address such concerns, according to a government survey released Thursday. Japan Times.
Remember back in the 80s and early 90s when things were simpler and folks only had to worry about sneaky, dangerous, drug-using, quasi-criminal non-Japanese spreading AIDS? Now da' gubbermint is actually tryin' to git more of them to visit the Land of Purity.
What else could be expected when people are exposed to government officials promoting xenophobia; when the media often dwells on crimes committed by non-Japanese in a way that is all out of proportion to similar crimes committed by Japanese; when nearly everything people are exposed to from childhood on claim a unique Japanese "race" which is different from all other human beings? When the government wants to take attention off of its (and society's) own failings by exaggerating problems elsewhere so as to make those of Japan seem minor in comparison, why would fear of others even be newsworthy?
Since neither the poll results nor the questions are described in any detail, It's hard to know what to make of it. There is nothing at all surprising unless one considers the 51.8% low. In fact, 48.2% not feeling concerned (I'll generously assume this) about non-Japanese visitors could be considered progress, little or no thanks to the media and government.
However, I agree that "steps should be taken". It could be called education, perhaps. We could start with the elite then move down the ladder to the folks who think Japan is the only country that has four seasons and drinkable water.
Remember the minister (Nariaki Nakayama) who was fired because he said (among other things) that Japanese do not like foreigners?
It's not worth worrying about. I just had to do something as I postponed my trip to the mountains for a week and had some free time for ranting.
Remember back in the 80s and early 90s when things were simpler and folks only had to worry about sneaky, dangerous, drug-using, quasi-criminal non-Japanese spreading AIDS? Now da' gubbermint is actually tryin' to git more of them to visit the Land of Purity.
What else could be expected when people are exposed to government officials promoting xenophobia; when the media often dwells on crimes committed by non-Japanese in a way that is all out of proportion to similar crimes committed by Japanese; when nearly everything people are exposed to from childhood on claim a unique Japanese "race" which is different from all other human beings? When the government wants to take attention off of its (and society's) own failings by exaggerating problems elsewhere so as to make those of Japan seem minor in comparison, why would fear of others even be newsworthy?
Since neither the poll results nor the questions are described in any detail, It's hard to know what to make of it. There is nothing at all surprising unless one considers the 51.8% low. In fact, 48.2% not feeling concerned (I'll generously assume this) about non-Japanese visitors could be considered progress, little or no thanks to the media and government.
However, I agree that "steps should be taken". It could be called education, perhaps. We could start with the elite then move down the ladder to the folks who think Japan is the only country that has four seasons and drinkable water.
Remember the minister (Nariaki Nakayama) who was fired because he said (among other things) that Japanese do not like foreigners?
It's not worth worrying about. I just had to do something as I postponed my trip to the mountains for a week and had some free time for ranting.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Beware of cod sperm and enchanted backpackers
Another backpacking journalist on a quick jaunt through Japan (to cover cycling) has discovered the total weirdness of the land. Part one is here, and we are threatened with---I mean promised---more to come.
Japan on the other hand is far from business as usual, and I have been experiencing all sorts of new things here, from food to transportation to toilet technology, it has been an eye opening experience for sure. Next time though, I am going to make sure I get an adequate description of each food item before chowing down, so I can avoid eating things like Shirako, which, it turn out, is boiled cod sperm and is considered delicacy in Japan.
Although this delicacy is one I have not heard of, I will try to avoid cod sperm in the future, as it must be so common here. Sorta like the sea urchin rectums that TIME (comedy) magazine wrote about in the 80s. The article is from Velonews.
Japan on the other hand is far from business as usual, and I have been experiencing all sorts of new things here, from food to transportation to toilet technology, it has been an eye opening experience for sure. Next time though, I am going to make sure I get an adequate description of each food item before chowing down, so I can avoid eating things like Shirako, which, it turn out, is boiled cod sperm and is considered delicacy in Japan.
Although this delicacy is one I have not heard of, I will try to avoid cod sperm in the future, as it must be so common here. Sorta like the sea urchin rectums that TIME (comedy) magazine wrote about in the 80s. The article is from Velonews.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Reassurance
After all the time that I have wasted worrying about the global economy, I was reassured today by my buddy, the Thunderbird MBA, who explained the rationale behind his theory of why Japan will not be seriously affected by the downturn and will possibly once again (?) take over from the US the position of the world's top economic power.
It goes like this: Since Japan's financial system has not (!?) been affected by the global financial crisis, the fact that the other major economies of the world are having serious problems will provide Japanese companies with an opportunity to increase their market share in those countries. It will also cause foreign investment to increasingly flow into Japan (where we are to assume that it will be welcomed with open arms?) I am a bit confused as how companies will be able to increase market share of shrinking markets when nobody is buying anything unless Thunderbird guy is counting on a lot of bankruptcies. Of course, there would be no moves by any of those countries to protect their weakened industries either. Unfortunately, I never pursued those points any further.
However, just for fun I mentioned the indebtedness of US consumers and government and the dependence of the US on borrowing from foreign countries like Japan and China* (why did I so enjoy emphasizing Japan as a foreign country? How could Japan be foreign?) and wondered how he thought it could be sustainable. He seemingly had no knowledge of this and could not say much about it. Well, he is working in HR...
It has been said that you can judge the size of a man by the size of the things which irritate him. I am shrinking. Rapidly.
*I linked to this below, but Japan Focus has an article explaining in very easy to understand terms the risks and dangers of this system and why this system must be reformed or replaced. Debt Man Walking, by John B. Judis---very much worth reading.
It goes like this: Since Japan's financial system has not (!?) been affected by the global financial crisis, the fact that the other major economies of the world are having serious problems will provide Japanese companies with an opportunity to increase their market share in those countries. It will also cause foreign investment to increasingly flow into Japan (where we are to assume that it will be welcomed with open arms?) I am a bit confused as how companies will be able to increase market share of shrinking markets when nobody is buying anything unless Thunderbird guy is counting on a lot of bankruptcies. Of course, there would be no moves by any of those countries to protect their weakened industries either. Unfortunately, I never pursued those points any further.
However, just for fun I mentioned the indebtedness of US consumers and government and the dependence of the US on borrowing from foreign countries like Japan and China* (why did I so enjoy emphasizing Japan as a foreign country? How could Japan be foreign?) and wondered how he thought it could be sustainable. He seemingly had no knowledge of this and could not say much about it. Well, he is working in HR...
It has been said that you can judge the size of a man by the size of the things which irritate him. I am shrinking. Rapidly.
*I linked to this below, but Japan Focus has an article explaining in very easy to understand terms the risks and dangers of this system and why this system must be reformed or replaced. Debt Man Walking, by John B. Judis---very much worth reading.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Speaking of a depression
Just after Japan's real estate bubble burst in 1989, I came to Japan for 2 years (1991-1993). At that time, Japan's economy was starting its long recession, but few average people seemed to realize it. Instead, folks were more convinced that the US was going all to hell. A lot of this was due to the 1992 US election between Daddy Bush, Willy Clinton, and crazy-man Ross Pea-rot.
Clinton was running around screaming about "the worst economy since the Great Depression" and others about the "end of the American Dream" whatever that is. The problem was that it was all believed here by many. I heard time and time again, on TV, on the train, and from people whom I knew about the end of that dream. Few had much to say about Japan's economic problems, although it would be mentioned in the press. It seems that it was not yet real to many.
It seems similar today, (at least among people I speak to*, most of whom should know better) only this time the problems of the US are very, very, real and very, very, serious. The problems have just begun for Japan too, and I suspect they will be very, very real and very, very, serious soon enough---no matter what the government, the banks, and others were claiming just a month ago. I have even had one Thunderbird MBA explain how the US problems meant that Japan would surpass the US in his imaginary world of a US/Japan who's-on-top cycle. He sorta forgot China and the fact that we may all be on a downward cycle.
John B. Judis has an extremely interesting and important article on Japan Focus in which he takes a look at the house of cards that the US/Japan/China economies are operating on:
The international monetary system is in big trouble.
...economists Brad Setser and Nouriel Roubini argue that even the implicit threat of dumping dollars--or of ceasing to purchase them--could limit U.S. maneuverability abroad.
We are all just waiting for the other (truckloads of huge) shoes to drop. See Japan Focus here for the full article.
Also see a translated essay at Japan Focus (here) by Tahara Soichiro The Tamogami Essay: The Danger of Indignation is the Heart of the Problem.”
*Polls and surveys are showing that a majority are worried about the economy.
Clinton was running around screaming about "the worst economy since the Great Depression" and others about the "end of the American Dream" whatever that is. The problem was that it was all believed here by many. I heard time and time again, on TV, on the train, and from people whom I knew about the end of that dream. Few had much to say about Japan's economic problems, although it would be mentioned in the press. It seems that it was not yet real to many.
It seems similar today, (at least among people I speak to*, most of whom should know better) only this time the problems of the US are very, very, real and very, very, serious. The problems have just begun for Japan too, and I suspect they will be very, very real and very, very, serious soon enough---no matter what the government, the banks, and others were claiming just a month ago. I have even had one Thunderbird MBA explain how the US problems meant that Japan would surpass the US in his imaginary world of a US/Japan who's-on-top cycle. He sorta forgot China and the fact that we may all be on a downward cycle.
John B. Judis has an extremely interesting and important article on Japan Focus in which he takes a look at the house of cards that the US/Japan/China economies are operating on:
The international monetary system is in big trouble.
...economists Brad Setser and Nouriel Roubini argue that even the implicit threat of dumping dollars--or of ceasing to purchase them--could limit U.S. maneuverability abroad.
We are all just waiting for the other (truckloads of huge) shoes to drop. See Japan Focus here for the full article.
Also see a translated essay at Japan Focus (here) by Tahara Soichiro The Tamogami Essay: The Danger of Indignation is the Heart of the Problem.”
*Polls and surveys are showing that a majority are worried about the economy.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Of Dirty tap water, Autumn leaves, Nature, Trash, and Depression
Saturday morning, as I sat in Kawasaki talking to some guy who saw me studying kanji and decided to invite himself over to chat (you know, a supposedly "shy" Japanese), he began to question me about all the usual---Is Japanese difficult? Is kanji hard?; Where are you from?; Are there any Japanese there?; Can you drink water from the tap in the US?*; and so on, my mind began to wander to the subject of bovine feces (i.e. BS) and naturally on to nihonjinron.
In his book, Dogs and Demons**, Alex Kerr wrote about how folks in modern Japan were somewhat less conscious and respectful of nature (among other things) than they were in the past. One of the smaller examples he wrote of was how people were so quick to trashcan fallen leaves in the autumn.
When I was a kid, folks back home got rid of fallen leaves too, but there was no great hurry to sweep them away as soon as they fell. We never went into the woods or parks to sweep leaves off of dirt trails as we do in Tokyo, for here one must keep nature naturally natural for the convenience of humans. And, perhaps, to give the older gents something to do for their pay.
While in a nearby park a few weeks ago when the leaves had just began to change colors and fall, I was surprised at how hard it was to find any on the floor of the park. Then I discovered the reason. The park trails had been swept clean of the ugly yellow and red fallen leaves to reveal the beautiful mud-brown dirt below. (One could assume that this was done so that nobody would fall on wet leaves until one recalls that if a rare snow falls, the same trails would be snow and ice-covered until it melted.)
Then, last Friday as I was walking down a local street specifically to look at the autumn leaves, I was pleased to see that those leaves were also being swept up as soon as they fell.
Ahh, Japan. Where we humans make nature more natural than nature itself.
When the world economy seems ready to collapse into the biggest disaster since the Great Depression (and for some reason, few whom I meet seem to be concerned) perhaps I should worry about other things.
*Alas, another fine example of nihonjinron. I have run across a number of people who seem to think that Japan is the only country on earth which has safe, drinkable tap water.
**A very controversial book to some---mostly non-Japanese---as Kerr was critical of modern Japan.
In his book, Dogs and Demons**, Alex Kerr wrote about how folks in modern Japan were somewhat less conscious and respectful of nature (among other things) than they were in the past. One of the smaller examples he wrote of was how people were so quick to trashcan fallen leaves in the autumn.
When I was a kid, folks back home got rid of fallen leaves too, but there was no great hurry to sweep them away as soon as they fell. We never went into the woods or parks to sweep leaves off of dirt trails as we do in Tokyo, for here one must keep nature naturally natural for the convenience of humans. And, perhaps, to give the older gents something to do for their pay.
While in a nearby park a few weeks ago when the leaves had just began to change colors and fall, I was surprised at how hard it was to find any on the floor of the park. Then I discovered the reason. The park trails had been swept clean of the ugly yellow and red fallen leaves to reveal the beautiful mud-brown dirt below. (One could assume that this was done so that nobody would fall on wet leaves until one recalls that if a rare snow falls, the same trails would be snow and ice-covered until it melted.)
Then, last Friday as I was walking down a local street specifically to look at the autumn leaves, I was pleased to see that those leaves were also being swept up as soon as they fell.
Ahh, Japan. Where we humans make nature more natural than nature itself.
When the world economy seems ready to collapse into the biggest disaster since the Great Depression (and for some reason, few whom I meet seem to be concerned) perhaps I should worry about other things.
*Alas, another fine example of nihonjinron. I have run across a number of people who seem to think that Japan is the only country on earth which has safe, drinkable tap water.
**A very controversial book to some---mostly non-Japanese---as Kerr was critical of modern Japan.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Another sign of autumn in Tokyo
As I was purchasing the December issue of Mountain and Valley (Yama-to-keikoku) I was just a bit worried to see that the young lady at the register was busy wiping her runny nose. I suppose that I should have been somewhat pleased that at least she was using a tissue, but her bright red nose and face made me wonder if I should just forget the purchase and leave. Why should I pay for a virus when I am usually given them for free?
As I got to the register, I was relieved when another clerk appeared and accepted the magazine. Whew! Close call, I thought---until I found that she was only going to put it in a bag and ol' Rudolph was going to ring it up, take my money and give me change and snot.
As she told me the total in a fully blocked nasal passage voice that seemed to shout "Severely infectious! Danger! Stay away!", I searched in vain for the correct change. I could not find it. I would have to accept it from her freshly mucous-coated hands.
Damn. Should I just tell her to keep the change, grab the magazine and run? No, this is Japan and that would be unheard of and probably rude on my part. I had to bear the unbearable and accept both the change and the germs from her. Couldn't be helped. Wouldn't want her to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed or anything.
After avoiding touching much of anything on the walk home, I took out my keys (must sterilize keys) and opened the door. (Bleach the handle later.) I immediately turned on the hot water, waited the 1-2 minutes for hot water to actually reach the faucet, and scalded, soaped and scrubbed my hands for at least a minute. Now I have to wonder if I will catch her little gift. Sure glad she came to work today. Thank you Kumazawa book store for having her there too.
As I got to the register, I was relieved when another clerk appeared and accepted the magazine. Whew! Close call, I thought---until I found that she was only going to put it in a bag and ol' Rudolph was going to ring it up, take my money and give me change and snot.
As she told me the total in a fully blocked nasal passage voice that seemed to shout "Severely infectious! Danger! Stay away!", I searched in vain for the correct change. I could not find it. I would have to accept it from her freshly mucous-coated hands.
Damn. Should I just tell her to keep the change, grab the magazine and run? No, this is Japan and that would be unheard of and probably rude on my part. I had to bear the unbearable and accept both the change and the germs from her. Couldn't be helped. Wouldn't want her to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed or anything.
After avoiding touching much of anything on the walk home, I took out my keys (must sterilize keys) and opened the door. (Bleach the handle later.) I immediately turned on the hot water, waited the 1-2 minutes for hot water to actually reach the faucet, and scalded, soaped and scrubbed my hands for at least a minute. Now I have to wonder if I will catch her little gift. Sure glad she came to work today. Thank you Kumazawa book store for having her there too.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Christopher Hill has done it now...
I think if we do find a solution to the problem of Darfur, it will be because we worked with China. If we find a solution to the problem of Iran, it will be because we worked well with China. Similarly, if we close this deal with North Korea, it will be because of our efforts with China. So I think China has emerged as a country with whom we have to work globally on security challenges. There are increasing signs that we can do that. China suffers at times to an extent, I think, from a caricature of what it is. It’s a really complex society. I don’t think it should be defined by one dimension, its economics, or security, or human rights. We need to look at all the issues. CHRISTOPHER HILL Full article in the NYT Magazine
Note which country is not mentioned as being the key player in talks with North Korea or anywhere else by the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and US representative at the six-party talks with North Korea.
Wonder why? A sneaky US plot to sideline a self-sidelining unnamed country? Oh, the rightists of said---or unsaid---country will soil themselves over Hill's comments.
Note which country is not mentioned as being the key player in talks with North Korea or anywhere else by the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and US representative at the six-party talks with North Korea.
Wonder why? A sneaky US plot to sideline a self-sidelining unnamed country? Oh, the rightists of said---or unsaid---country will soil themselves over Hill's comments.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Babbling fools
A video posted by Ken Worsley on Japan Economy & News Blog shows why those talking-head cheerleaders who appear on U.S. TV shows giving their "expert" opinions on the stock market and what you should invest in should generally be ignored. Except for Peter Schiff, most appear to have been somewhat off on their predictions. Were it not so depressing, it would be funny.
Of course many will now begin to worship Peter Schiff as the new guru of gurus.
Of course many will now begin to worship Peter Schiff as the new guru of gurus.
Japan worried about Obama?
Ayako Doi writes of the Japanese response to Obama's election:
Surfing Japanese news Web sites for commentaries on the Obama victory from a key U.S. ally, I was taken aback by the skeptical, even negative, tone that prevailed...
...The most astounding article appeared in Sentaku, a monthly magazine with a reputation for objectivity and solid analysis. Writing in anticipation of an Obama victory, the magazine raised most of the same charges the Republicans had leveled against the Democratic candidate, including Obama's associations with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former Weather Underground leader William Ayers and "communist and socialist professors." It called him "the most dubious character in history to occupy the White House." Criticizing Obama's foreign policy statements as "abstract" and "strings of empty words such as 'consultation' and 'cooperation,' " the article concluded that under Obama, the United States would lose its position of global leadership and drag the world into "enormous chaos."
Although she says Japan has now begun to warm up to Obama, she discusses some reasons for the initial skepticism:
...Then there's the issue of anti-Americanism...the main cause of the current round of America-bashing is no doubt the Bush administration's opening to North Korea...
...it is disturbing that no senior politician, journalist or scholar in Japan has had the courage to say that it is in the country's interest to go along with the U.S.-backed six-party talks to put a halt to Pyongyang's nuclear program and integrate North Korea into the community of nations -- or that a "solution" to the abduction problem is likely to be found only in that context.From the Washington Post here.
Perhaps Japan should just leave the six-party talks and solve the abduction issue on its own. The rest of the world will continue, though Uncle Sam may be slightly discomforted because it could not suck funds for any agreement from Japan.
Oh, wait! Japan knew---at least unofficially---about the kidnappings 25 or more years ago. At least Japanese citizens did. The government did nothing then, but now wants to play hardball with someone else's balls. As always.
Japan will not have any choice in the matter of dealing with the next U.S. president. One hopes Obama takes a fresh look at the relationship and does not simply accept the standard "The Japan/US relationship is the most important in the world" nonsense.
Surfing Japanese news Web sites for commentaries on the Obama victory from a key U.S. ally, I was taken aback by the skeptical, even negative, tone that prevailed...
...The most astounding article appeared in Sentaku, a monthly magazine with a reputation for objectivity and solid analysis. Writing in anticipation of an Obama victory, the magazine raised most of the same charges the Republicans had leveled against the Democratic candidate, including Obama's associations with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former Weather Underground leader William Ayers and "communist and socialist professors." It called him "the most dubious character in history to occupy the White House." Criticizing Obama's foreign policy statements as "abstract" and "strings of empty words such as 'consultation' and 'cooperation,' " the article concluded that under Obama, the United States would lose its position of global leadership and drag the world into "enormous chaos."
Although she says Japan has now begun to warm up to Obama, she discusses some reasons for the initial skepticism:
...Then there's the issue of anti-Americanism...the main cause of the current round of America-bashing is no doubt the Bush administration's opening to North Korea...
...it is disturbing that no senior politician, journalist or scholar in Japan has had the courage to say that it is in the country's interest to go along with the U.S.-backed six-party talks to put a halt to Pyongyang's nuclear program and integrate North Korea into the community of nations -- or that a "solution" to the abduction problem is likely to be found only in that context.From the Washington Post here.
Perhaps Japan should just leave the six-party talks and solve the abduction issue on its own. The rest of the world will continue, though Uncle Sam may be slightly discomforted because it could not suck funds for any agreement from Japan.
Oh, wait! Japan knew---at least unofficially---about the kidnappings 25 or more years ago. At least Japanese citizens did. The government did nothing then, but now wants to play hardball with someone else's balls. As always.
Japan will not have any choice in the matter of dealing with the next U.S. president. One hopes Obama takes a fresh look at the relationship and does not simply accept the standard "The Japan/US relationship is the most important in the world" nonsense.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Rules? What rules?
Why is it that I hear and read that Japanese always obey rules? Which rules? When? Where?
Its members adhered to the sacred rules of living in a Japanese neighborhood by handing out small moving-in gifts, exchanging greetings with the neighbors and, needless to say, properly sorting out their trash.
I have had a few neighbors give gifts when moving in---about once in a blue moon. Exchanging greetings? Maybe, but quite often it is sorta like Sgt Shultz and "I see nothing, nothing." OK, generally most people mostly sort out their trash most of the time except when they don't.
Anyway, the NYT has its typical article, this time on people suing to get rid of the yakuza in the neighborhood. The police, you ask? Are you insane?
The lawsuit was the first of its kind in Japan, where the yakuza’s offices tend to be out in the open. It shined a spotlight on how the yakuza — long considered a necessary evil, tolerated by, and sometimes politically allied with, the authorities — occupy a place much closer to society’s mainstream than its American counterparts do.
Its members adhered to the sacred rules of living in a Japanese neighborhood by handing out small moving-in gifts, exchanging greetings with the neighbors and, needless to say, properly sorting out their trash.
I have had a few neighbors give gifts when moving in---about once in a blue moon. Exchanging greetings? Maybe, but quite often it is sorta like Sgt Shultz and "I see nothing, nothing." OK, generally most people mostly sort out their trash most of the time except when they don't.
Anyway, the NYT has its typical article, this time on people suing to get rid of the yakuza in the neighborhood. The police, you ask? Are you insane?
The lawsuit was the first of its kind in Japan, where the yakuza’s offices tend to be out in the open. It shined a spotlight on how the yakuza — long considered a necessary evil, tolerated by, and sometimes politically allied with, the authorities — occupy a place much closer to society’s mainstream than its American counterparts do.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Aso does an Abe
"No facts have been confirmed," the prime minister told the Upper House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense when asked whether Aso Mining used Allied POWs as forced labor during the war....
...Although Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Yukihisa Fujita stressed that records at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration show that forced labor did take place, Aso repeatedly told the Diet that no factual details have been confirmed. Japan Times.
I knew MangaMan Aso was a rightist/revisionist, but up until now, I had thought he was a sharper politician than "I-quit-'cause-I-gotta-s*@t" Abe. Oops. Wrong again.
As I said, I love it when these fossils let us know exactly what they believe and where they stand. Let's hope the rest of the world is watching and listening.
...Although Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Yukihisa Fujita stressed that records at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration show that forced labor did take place, Aso repeatedly told the Diet that no factual details have been confirmed. Japan Times.
I knew MangaMan Aso was a rightist/revisionist, but up until now, I had thought he was a sharper politician than "I-quit-'cause-I-gotta-s*@t" Abe. Oops. Wrong again.
As I said, I love it when these fossils let us know exactly what they believe and where they stand. Let's hope the rest of the world is watching and listening.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Keep talkin'
I love it when the loony-birds of the right speak openly and unapologetically of their true beliefs. This will insure that the rest of the world gets the message that some of the kooks who have never accepted that Japan did anything wrong in World War 2 are still around, still in power, and still accepted by many.
Pugnaciously defending his version of Japan's role in a war that killed millions across Asia, Toshio Tamogami, 60, told parliament Tuesday that he does not see "anything wrong with what I wrote." Washington Post.
At least he has the guts to continue to defend what he truly believes, unlike Abe who expressed what he believes then claimed he didn't really say what he meant, or mean what he said, or that what he said didn't mean what it meant. Or whatever he mumbled before he retired because of bowel trouble.
Of course Tamogomi is able to stay in the news and publicize his beliefs and perhaps gain a few new believers or put some doubt about WW2 in the minds of others. Others may have a less kind reaction and take it out on Aso.
Pugnaciously defending his version of Japan's role in a war that killed millions across Asia, Toshio Tamogami, 60, told parliament Tuesday that he does not see "anything wrong with what I wrote." Washington Post.
At least he has the guts to continue to defend what he truly believes, unlike Abe who expressed what he believes then claimed he didn't really say what he meant, or mean what he said, or that what he said didn't mean what it meant. Or whatever he mumbled before he retired because of bowel trouble.
Of course Tamogomi is able to stay in the news and publicize his beliefs and perhaps gain a few new believers or put some doubt about WW2 in the minds of others. Others may have a less kind reaction and take it out on Aso.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Is there something missing here?
Reiji Yoshida and Jun Hongo of the Japan Times take on Gen. Tamogami's view of Japan in Asia during WW2 and interview a few historians to get a more informed, accurate version of what Japan did during the war.
Interestingly, they wrote the following:
Japan's colonial policy, however, was largely aimed to help the economy at home, and Japan later further exploited the colonies' economies to help it continue the fight in China and against the Allies. Economic damage? Didn't the damage inflicted---especially on China---include a bit more than economic damage? Wasn't there a huge cost in human lives?
Perhaps I'm being too picky by noticing this omission.
Interestingly, they wrote the following:
Japan's colonial policy, however, was largely aimed to help the economy at home, and Japan later further exploited the colonies' economies to help it continue the fight in China and against the Allies. Economic damage? Didn't the damage inflicted---especially on China---include a bit more than economic damage? Wasn't there a huge cost in human lives?
Perhaps I'm being too picky by noticing this omission.
General Tamogomi continued
Herbert Bix, the author of Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan (among other things) has posted an article at Japan F0cus concerning the essay that got Tamogomi relieved:
...essay contest sponsored by a large scandal-marred construction and real estate conglomerate, the APA Group, which required contestants to write on “The True Outlook for Modern and Contemporary History.” APA's President is Motoya Toshio, the author of historical works and a key figure in political organizations supporting the Komatsu Air Base in Ishikawa Prefecture (fronting the Sea of Japan). He has strong ties to former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and other rightist politicians, including Tamogami. [2] As far as is known, superiors in the Defense Ministry's chain of command did not carefully scrutinize Tamogami’s essay. A notorious Nanjing atrocity denier, Professor Watanabe Shoichi, headed the panel of judges that awarded the prize. And the essays were apparently “solicited for the purpose of ‘steering Japan toward a correct understanding of history as an independent nation.’”
Bix then analyzes Tamogami's essay and rightist beliefs (as did Tobias Harris earlier at Observing Japan here here, and here). Bix discusses some of the Western Allies' hypocrisy during the Tokyo Tribunal which gives the right-wing some of their rational for dismissing the war crimes convictions as victor's justice. He also discusses US/Japan alliance and why it may not be so good for Japan's future by its pressuring Japan to rearm (thus playing into the right-wing's hands.):
...But the real problem with the US-Japan security relationship is that it is a poison injected into the arteries of Japan’s political system, continually weakening Japan’s commitment to its constitutional ideals.
A link is provided tin Bix's article for the text of Tamogami's essay in both English and Japanese.
See Japan Focus for the full article.
...essay contest sponsored by a large scandal-marred construction and real estate conglomerate, the APA Group, which required contestants to write on “The True Outlook for Modern and Contemporary History.” APA's President is Motoya Toshio, the author of historical works and a key figure in political organizations supporting the Komatsu Air Base in Ishikawa Prefecture (fronting the Sea of Japan). He has strong ties to former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and other rightist politicians, including Tamogami. [2] As far as is known, superiors in the Defense Ministry's chain of command did not carefully scrutinize Tamogami’s essay. A notorious Nanjing atrocity denier, Professor Watanabe Shoichi, headed the panel of judges that awarded the prize. And the essays were apparently “solicited for the purpose of ‘steering Japan toward a correct understanding of history as an independent nation.’”
Bix then analyzes Tamogami's essay and rightist beliefs (as did Tobias Harris earlier at Observing Japan here here, and here). Bix discusses some of the Western Allies' hypocrisy during the Tokyo Tribunal which gives the right-wing some of their rational for dismissing the war crimes convictions as victor's justice. He also discusses US/Japan alliance and why it may not be so good for Japan's future by its pressuring Japan to rearm (thus playing into the right-wing's hands.):
...But the real problem with the US-Japan security relationship is that it is a poison injected into the arteries of Japan’s political system, continually weakening Japan’s commitment to its constitutional ideals.
A link is provided tin Bix's article for the text of Tamogami's essay in both English and Japanese.
See Japan Focus for the full article.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Thomas Friedman in full fantasy mode
Don’t just show me the love. Don’t just give me the smiles. Your love is fickle and, as I said, it will last about as long as the first Obama airstrike against an Al Qaeda position in Pakistan. No, no, no, show me the money. Show me that you are ready to be Obama stakeholders, not free-riders — stakeholders in what will be expensive and difficult initiatives by the Obama administration to keep the world stable and free at a time when we have fewer resources. NYT
What do they smoke at the Times? And why oh why is the Obama administration/US expected to "keep the world stable and free"? Ain't the UN supposed to be doin' something akin to that? Or perhaps the EU could step in. China. Anyone, please.
What am I smoking?
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Ohhhhhhh
Until recently, I laughed when I would hear some politician in Japan (or to a lessor extent, a business leader) lecture the US or other countries about "free trade"---whatever that is.
I cannot do so anymore, as I can no longer consider such lectures hypocritical:
Democratic leaders in Congress urged the Bush administration on Saturday to consider using the $700 billion bailout for the financial system to aid distressed American automakers, in a prelude to what may become urgent negotiations over additional economic stimulus measures. New York Times
What is next? Over the last year, Starbucks has been having lower sales in the US; certainly, its stock has gone down. Perhaps it too is too big to fail. Walmart? Why wait? Why not send them several billion before they get into trouble. McDonalds? Why not? Dairy Queen, if it still exists, ought to get at least a billion or so as we don't wanna discriminate against smaller companies.
I may go back to the US and start up some sort of company, hire a few folks, and then wait for problems so that Uncle Sam can transfer tax dollars (or loans/investments of foreign origin) to me. Can I do that in Japan too? Why not? Get some US investors, start Happy Boy's English Fun Palace and Baked Beans and wait for failure---although in the eikaiwa racket it might just succeed. I won't even need a billion. A few million is enough for me.
From a near religious belief in "free trade" to---I don't know what else to call it---near socialism. There is a change coming and I don't think it has a lot to do with what President-elect Obama does or doesn't do. Of course, it could all just pass like the gasoline crisis did along with the sudden and short-lived embracing of greener energy sources.
Being as volatile as the markets have been recently, I am now wondering if Japan is actually closer to reality in the way it has set up its economy/markets? If only the US could get another country/region to depend on for exports while restricting/regulating access to its markets more than it does now...
I cannot do so anymore, as I can no longer consider such lectures hypocritical:
Democratic leaders in Congress urged the Bush administration on Saturday to consider using the $700 billion bailout for the financial system to aid distressed American automakers, in a prelude to what may become urgent negotiations over additional economic stimulus measures. New York Times
What is next? Over the last year, Starbucks has been having lower sales in the US; certainly, its stock has gone down. Perhaps it too is too big to fail. Walmart? Why wait? Why not send them several billion before they get into trouble. McDonalds? Why not? Dairy Queen, if it still exists, ought to get at least a billion or so as we don't wanna discriminate against smaller companies.
I may go back to the US and start up some sort of company, hire a few folks, and then wait for problems so that Uncle Sam can transfer tax dollars (or loans/investments of foreign origin) to me. Can I do that in Japan too? Why not? Get some US investors, start Happy Boy's English Fun Palace and Baked Beans and wait for failure---although in the eikaiwa racket it might just succeed. I won't even need a billion. A few million is enough for me.
From a near religious belief in "free trade" to---I don't know what else to call it---near socialism. There is a change coming and I don't think it has a lot to do with what President-elect Obama does or doesn't do. Of course, it could all just pass like the gasoline crisis did along with the sudden and short-lived embracing of greener energy sources.
Being as volatile as the markets have been recently, I am now wondering if Japan is actually closer to reality in the way it has set up its economy/markets? If only the US could get another country/region to depend on for exports while restricting/regulating access to its markets more than it does now...
Friday, November 07, 2008
I think maybe we were a little bit more dispassionate and have a little bit more perspective. I sometimes had the feeling that those who were here in the Occupation and perhaps the missionary generation felt a kind of need to almost defend Japan, explain Japan, in a sympathetic way. That's not to say that we're not sympathetic, but, coming with our academic perspective, perhaps we were a little bit more dispassionate. Japan Times
Historian Kenneth Pyle discussing his generation of Japan historians from the US who came compared to those such as Edwin O. Reischauer---one of the, if not the most influential. Ol' Eddie's books were still being using in universities at least as late as the late 80s/early 90s event though it was obvious that his view of Japan was "sympathetic" to the point of being slanted and misleading.
Historian Kenneth Pyle discussing his generation of Japan historians from the US who came compared to those such as Edwin O. Reischauer---one of the, if not the most influential. Ol' Eddie's books were still being using in universities at least as late as the late 80s/early 90s event though it was obvious that his view of Japan was "sympathetic" to the point of being slanted and misleading.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
There are times that I miss being in the US---in the autumn when the seasons change, in the winter when I miss a real winter, during some holidays---but I really feel like I am missing out on something big after the election yesterday. I rarely listen to post election victory speeches, but Obama's was worth hearing yesterday.
Like Mark Shields said on the Jim Lehrer Newshour this afternoon on BS NHK, I feel hope more than expectations, but still I wish I were there to get a full sense of what is happening. (It always amazes me that people who have never been to the US for more than a quick are able to confidently feel that they know so much about the country from reading the NYT or watching Michael Moore/Oliver Stone movies.*)
There are many reasons that Obama's election should be good for the US, but one of my favorites is that the right-wing in Japan apparently did not like Obama. Although this was not the main reason I voted for him, it gave me a special sense of pleasure knowing that in some small way I could piss them. In some small way other than being a non-Japanese living in Japan who does not fall for the pure, Innocent Japan nonsense that many of the more extreme espouse.
*Love that fact that some of these folks, Japanese and not, who explained to me such things as the US would "never elect a black man" have been proven, yet again, wrong. Hmmm. Perhaps things aren't as simple as one could be led to believe on a diet of newspaper editorials & opinion pieces. D'ya think, J? Well, try this one:
(Of course the quote above would not in any way apply to Japan.)
Like Mark Shields said on the Jim Lehrer Newshour this afternoon on BS NHK, I feel hope more than expectations, but still I wish I were there to get a full sense of what is happening. (It always amazes me that people who have never been to the US for more than a quick are able to confidently feel that they know so much about the country from reading the NYT or watching Michael Moore/Oliver Stone movies.*)
There are many reasons that Obama's election should be good for the US, but one of my favorites is that the right-wing in Japan apparently did not like Obama. Although this was not the main reason I voted for him, it gave me a special sense of pleasure knowing that in some small way I could piss them. In some small way other than being a non-Japanese living in Japan who does not fall for the pure, Innocent Japan nonsense that many of the more extreme espouse.
*Love that fact that some of these folks, Japanese and not, who explained to me such things as the US would "never elect a black man" have been proven, yet again, wrong. Hmmm. Perhaps things aren't as simple as one could be led to believe on a diet of newspaper editorials & opinion pieces. D'ya think, J? Well, try this one:
There is another paradox about the world’s view of the election of Mr. Obama: many who are quick to condemn the United States for its racist past and now congratulate it for a milestone fail to acknowledge the same problem in their own societies, and so do not see how this election could offer them any lessons about themselves.
(Of course the quote above would not in any way apply to Japan.)
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
MangaMan' curious reading habits
Although Aso is well-known for his overly publicized comic book reading habits, it appears he reads other books too. This is somewhat reassuring for a man who is leading the current second largest economy in the world.
Unfortunately, his other choices of reading material might be a bit controversial. It seems that he may like to read books by folks with similar beliefs to the SDF general who he just fired for writing an essay on those beliefs. Tobias Harris has some observations about MangaMan's more serious reading at Observing Japan.
Unfortunately, his other choices of reading material might be a bit controversial. It seems that he may like to read books by folks with similar beliefs to the SDF general who he just fired for writing an essay on those beliefs. Tobias Harris has some observations about MangaMan's more serious reading at Observing Japan.
Beautiful country continued
Fired Japan Air Force Chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami (sorry, I meant Air Self-Defense Force. Air Force sounds like a military branch) defended his and his fellow traveler's interesting beliefs:
In his first public appearance since being sacked over the essay Friday, Tamogami reiterated that Japan was not an aggressor nation and that the people have been misled by erroneous education...
"It is necessary to revise the view that Japan did wrong during the war, if it wishes to prosper as a nation in the 21st century" ...
Tamogami also touched on the 1995 war apology issued by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, saying the statement, now the government's official line on Japan's wartime responsibility, "needs verification." (means withdrawn?) Full article at Japan Times.
The same old thing over and over.
In his first public appearance since being sacked over the essay Friday, Tamogami reiterated that Japan was not an aggressor nation and that the people have been misled by erroneous education...
"It is necessary to revise the view that Japan did wrong during the war, if it wishes to prosper as a nation in the 21st century" ...
Tamogami also touched on the 1995 war apology issued by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, saying the statement, now the government's official line on Japan's wartime responsibility, "needs verification." (means withdrawn?) Full article at Japan Times.
The same old thing over and over.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Rambling holiday nonsense
November, the middle month of autumn. Cool, crisp nights with frost. Brilliant blue skies above what remains of colorful autumn leaves. The smell of woodsmoke in the air as folks light up the woodstoves or fireplaces. Occasionally, even the smell of burning coal as a few still use it for fuel. Hikes into the woods where is is easier to see wildlife as the foliage decreases and some bigger game becomes more active for breeding season. The bugle of a bull elk. The chance of seeing one of the most impressive animals in the woods---a bull moose.
Oh wait. I am having a nostalgic daydream. I am in Tokyo, Japan, which although it is the only country on earth with 4 distinct seasons (make me barf) I occasionally have trouble figuring out which clearly distinct season it is without the help of a calendar. I still very much miss being able to just walk out the backdoor and be in a forest within 5 minutes like I could as a child. I miss the ability to drive to the woods like I could as an adult in Washington state, Washington DC, or that most beautiful state of Montana without a major undertaking like it is in Tokyo.
The more I live here the more I live to get out of town and at least find some fresh air, hills, and forests. A big bonus is to see wildlife, although nothing interests me less than seeing a damned monkey. Perhaps disinterest that may change someday. But the biggest bonus is to be able to get out in the woods and not see nor hear another human for the whole day. I suppose my wife is OK, but as a city girl she has no such interests. Not in Japan anyway, but she did while in Washington and Montana to some degree. (Usually it involved her getting to eat---picking wild blueberries, or me hunting. Occasionally she enjoyed seeing a bear cub, or some other baby animal.)
Since I can't get out of Tokyo as often as I would like---which would ideally be every damned day---I have to make do with what passes for "nature" here. In order to do that, I look for nature on a much, much smaller scale. I have to ignore all the unnatural surroundings, all of the human activity, all of the noise, and all of the obviously man-made (or arranged for man's pleasure) parts of nature. For example, flood lights on at night so that we can "enjoy" cherry blossoms.
I spend a lot of time near the Tamagawa (river) as it is about the closest thing there is to natural in my part of Tokyo. I can spend hours and hours there on top of what I spend riding my rode bike along the river. There is some wildlife, mainly waterfowl which although very, very wary of humans can provide opportunities to watch, learn, and relax. (There are various species of ducks around as well as egrets, herons, cormorants and other large waterfowl.)
Quite often if someone sees me photographing in the area, they'll come up and start talking. This is not something that is all that common in Tokyo, but it seems to happen a lot there. Most of the time people will be speaking in Japanese instead of assuming that I cannot speak a word of the language. Although this can be a bit of a nuisance if I've been trying to get close to a heron to take a photo and Watanabe-san chooses that time to noisily walk up to me and start asking about the lens I am using, generally I find such encounters very enjoyable as folks speak to me as a fellow human being and don't give me the full (baka)gaijin treatment. I have learned a lot of interesting things about the birds there and the river from older guys who get all excited about the chance to tell me what they know. (Did you know that some of the lava flows still visible at times in the river were formed during volcanic activity 300,000 years ago? Me neither, until earlier this year.)
Anyway, I have spent the last 2 weekends trying to find some signs of autumn. They are here, of course, but on a different scale. It's cooler. A few leaves have started to change. I have become so desperate for fall that I have gather some of the fallen sakura leaves and have a pile on my desk. In about another month, most will have finished and be falling. Fall subtly (and officially) began in September. In small ways. I began to notice the difference in the type of winds while riding my bike by late September. Naturally, the length of the day had shortened and light angles---and thus color---had begun to change. These changes are very subtle compared to what I have been used to for most of my life before coming to Tokyo. Thus, I have found myself becoming more sensitive to them by necessity, because the seasons, the weather, and the outdoors (nature, wild areas, mountains, wildlife---not golf or other games) have always been extremely important to me.
But still, I have to get into the mountains occasionally or I will become completely insane. And within this month, I plan on at least two trips to the mountains. I won't wanna come back...
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Buyer's remorse? Maybe later.
Earlier this year when Obama and McCain were ahead in the primaries, I thought that this would be the best choice of presidential candidates that the US had had in well over a decade. Well over. Once the two were officially nominated and the campaign had begun the quality of the debate sank to the usual cesspool level. Obama appeared to come out on top mainly because he played calmer and steadier by mostly keeping his mouth shut. McCain seemed to set out to destroy his own reputation and image by resorting to the petty, irrelevant nonsense that Bush had used in his campaigns. (So did the Obama campaign to some extent, but they were less aggressive about it.)
Washington state finally got around to sending my absentee ballot 2 weeks ago (I hope the effort did not strain anyone there) and I finally was able to vote. I voted for Obama even though I have never voted for a Democrat for president (I take zero responsibility for Boy George as I did not vote for him either. I did not vote for a presidential candidate when the choice was between him and AlGore--good god!---and John Kerry.) There were a lot of reasons to support Obama, many of which require more of a faith that he will do what he vaguely says he will do and a hope and prayer that he is not as left-wing as his record and as some of his colleagues in congress.
I lost any belief that he was much different as a politician than any other when he decided to opt out of accepting federal campaign finance (he broke his word, i.e. he lied) and then gave his sorry excuse for doing so. Still, I have some hope that he may live up to the promise that he showed early in the campaign. Perhaps he will do well if he can avoid the extremes of some in his party.
Washington state finally got around to sending my absentee ballot 2 weeks ago (I hope the effort did not strain anyone there) and I finally was able to vote. I voted for Obama even though I have never voted for a Democrat for president (I take zero responsibility for Boy George as I did not vote for him either. I did not vote for a presidential candidate when the choice was between him and AlGore--good god!---and John Kerry.) There were a lot of reasons to support Obama, many of which require more of a faith that he will do what he vaguely says he will do and a hope and prayer that he is not as left-wing as his record and as some of his colleagues in congress.
I lost any belief that he was much different as a politician than any other when he decided to opt out of accepting federal campaign finance (he broke his word, i.e. he lied) and then gave his sorry excuse for doing so. Still, I have some hope that he may live up to the promise that he showed early in the campaign. Perhaps he will do well if he can avoid the extremes of some in his party.
But he has engendered widespread enthusiasm in a jaded and cynical public, especially among young people. And if he does not disillusion them in the years ahead, that would be a real gift to the nation. David Broder, Washington Post.
We shall see. Let's hope he does not turn out to be another Jimmy Carter, the previous worst president in the history of the universe before Bush. Perhaps he will do well. He could hardly do worse, could he?
Saturday, November 01, 2008
We were victims I tell ya, innocent victims!
“Even now, there are many people who think that our country’s aggression caused unbearable suffering to the countries of Asia during the Greater East Asia War,” he wrote, using the term favored by Japan’s right to refer to World War II. “But we need to realize that many Asian countries take a positive view of the Greater East Asia War. It is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation.” Comments courtesy of now fired Japan Air Force (which is, of course, not to be mistaken for a military branch) Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami and the NYT.
...in recent years, nationalist politicians belonging to the right wing of the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party have waged a campaign to revise Japan’s wartime history... Full article at the New York Times.
Our rightwinger claimed that innocent Japan was tricked into entering attacking the US at Pearl Harbor and denied that Japan had invaded China and Korea and that Roosevelt, in addition to victimizing Japan was a Comintern puppet. I always knew that lefty Roosevelt was a Commie! (Guardian UK)
Although the above essay already won him $30,000 from a contest sponsored by the real estate developer Apa Group, General Tamogami also deserves the Shinzo Abe Foot-in-the Mouth Award for fearless public denial of history and furthering the cause of WW2 revisionists and apologists. He has stated that he will explain his views to the public next week. Can't wait.
Also articles here and here in case the NYT/Guardian links die suddenly.
...in recent years, nationalist politicians belonging to the right wing of the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party have waged a campaign to revise Japan’s wartime history... Full article at the New York Times.
Our rightwinger claimed that innocent Japan was tricked into entering attacking the US at Pearl Harbor and denied that Japan had invaded China and Korea and that Roosevelt, in addition to victimizing Japan was a Comintern puppet. I always knew that lefty Roosevelt was a Commie! (Guardian UK)
Although the above essay already won him $30,000 from a contest sponsored by the real estate developer Apa Group, General Tamogami also deserves the Shinzo Abe Foot-in-the Mouth Award for fearless public denial of history and furthering the cause of WW2 revisionists and apologists. He has stated that he will explain his views to the public next week. Can't wait.
Also articles here and here in case the NYT/Guardian links die suddenly.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Charge now and pay (much) later
if ever. Business Week has opinion on the financial crisis which, like R. Taggart Murphy below, suggests the past (?) idea of the US being able to drive the world economy by borrowing money from other countries to purchase those countries' goods and services may be gone for good:
...there's good reason to believe that the current crisis reflects a growing realization: Long accepted patterns of cross-border technological transfer, foreign trade, and global finance are simply not sustainable...
...This [system] worked as long as everyone believed that American consumers could finance their debt. But here's the problem: At the same time Americans were borrowing, their real wages were falling—and not just for the least educated. By BusinessWeek's calculations, real weekly earnings for college grads without an advanced degree have dropped every year since 2002.
...there's good reason to believe that the current crisis reflects a growing realization: Long accepted patterns of cross-border technological transfer, foreign trade, and global finance are simply not sustainable...
...This [system] worked as long as everyone believed that American consumers could finance their debt. But here's the problem: At the same time Americans were borrowing, their real wages were falling—and not just for the least educated. By BusinessWeek's calculations, real weekly earnings for college grads without an advanced degree have dropped every year since 2002.
You can't pay back rising debt with falling wages; something had to give....the entire global edifice was built on an impossibility. Full article here.
The house of cards has fallen and people are starting to take notice. What will Japan do if it cannot base its economy on exports to the US (or manufacturing goods exports to China so that they may export to the US) to the same degree that it has been doing for decades? And what will the US do if we have to stop relying on borrowing and have to raise taxes or cut spending (and rely less on individual credit as an income supplement/substitute) to make up some of the difference.
I am not holding my breath waiting for Aso, Obama, or maybe McCain to explain exactly how they plan to deal with this new reality.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Asia as enabler of an alcoholic US
R. Taggart Murphy has posted another article on Japan Focus concerning US indebtedness to foreign countries, most especially those in Asia with export-led economies (Japan and China are the top two):
...Like an alcoholic’s wife who furtively keeps her husband plied with booze while managing to avoid thinking about exactly what she is doing, Asia has long facilitated the U.S. addiction to drowning its problems in endless dollar cocktails. But the current crisis suggests that the days of cirrhosis of the American liver and delirium tremens are upon us. Without a clear grasp of the ways in which Asia’s economic methods have facilitated American political pathologies, without a plan to replace Asia’s reflexive reliance on exports to the United States with another economic driver, Asia too will be drawn into the economic and political maelstrom that now engulfs Washington...
Murphy predicts an end to the US being the world's engine for demand and the export-led growth (and dollar-reserve accumulation) of countries such as Japan.
Of all the huge changes which seem likely to come, there are few politicians (U.S. presidential candidates in particular) publicly speaking of them, nor is the media pressing anyone about it. In the US, the media has recently been more concerned with such serious issues as Palin's wardrobe costs. In Japan, Aso's choice of bars and restaurants is a similar priority.
...Like an alcoholic’s wife who furtively keeps her husband plied with booze while managing to avoid thinking about exactly what she is doing, Asia has long facilitated the U.S. addiction to drowning its problems in endless dollar cocktails. But the current crisis suggests that the days of cirrhosis of the American liver and delirium tremens are upon us. Without a clear grasp of the ways in which Asia’s economic methods have facilitated American political pathologies, without a plan to replace Asia’s reflexive reliance on exports to the United States with another economic driver, Asia too will be drawn into the economic and political maelstrom that now engulfs Washington...
Murphy predicts an end to the US being the world's engine for demand and the export-led growth (and dollar-reserve accumulation) of countries such as Japan.
Of all the huge changes which seem likely to come, there are few politicians (U.S. presidential candidates in particular) publicly speaking of them, nor is the media pressing anyone about it. In the US, the media has recently been more concerned with such serious issues as Palin's wardrobe costs. In Japan, Aso's choice of bars and restaurants is a similar priority.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Thank god
For a while there, I was beginning to think I was all alone:
Over a summer dinner, a Japanese colleague shook his head at the yet unsolved gunshot murders of three supermarket clerks in Hachioji in 1995.
Live in Japan? Don't you know exactly how Thomas felt? Have you not been in the exact same conversation yourself?
Just as I have been trying ignore this kind of "thinking" and live in a fantasy world Japan where it doesn't exist... Some do, why not me too?
*There was also the fellow who used a shotgun to commit mass murder earlier this year, but perhaps that doesn't count since he did not simply shoot his victims in the back of the head.
Over a summer dinner, a Japanese colleague shook his head at the yet unsolved gunshot murders of three supermarket clerks in Hachioji in 1995.
"It had to be a foreigner that did it. No Japanese would commit a crime like that."
"Hello?" I knocked on the table. "Look at me, please." Was not his dinner mate a foreigner too? And might not foreigners be offended by such an indictment?
The man squirmed and said he meant to emphasize the "gun." Japanese crooks would never be so cruel as to shoot people in the back of the head with a gun.
Right. They might ram a car into a crowd and then knife everyone in sight, a la the killing spree in Akihabara this year. Or like child-abductor Tsutomu Miyazaki, they might drink their victims' blood*...Thomas Dillon in the Japan Times.Live in Japan? Don't you know exactly how Thomas felt? Have you not been in the exact same conversation yourself?
Just as I have been trying ignore this kind of "thinking" and live in a fantasy world Japan where it doesn't exist... Some do, why not me too?
*There was also the fellow who used a shotgun to commit mass murder earlier this year, but perhaps that doesn't count since he did not simply shoot his victims in the back of the head.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Another unique feature gone
Writer's block. Usually that's because folks have nothing to write about, but I have so much that I want to write about that I can't. So, I will keep it somewhat short and simple. Maybe.
Back in the early 90s when I first lived in Japan (91-93), the Bubble had collapsed. It actually collapsed in 89, but the effects didn't really hit hard until about 92 as far as I could tell in Toyama and later Tokyo. In 1992, the US presidential campaign between Old Man Bush, Slick Willy, and Crazy Man Ross Pea-rot was in full swing. Willy was running around lying as always and claiming the the US economy was the worst since the Depression. Crazy Ross was saying similar things when he wasn't ranting about Bush and conspiracy theories.
I thought that most Japanese believed the "worst economy" bullpucky. I don't know how many times I heard about or was asked about the end of the "American Dream." I for one could never really define what that was so I could not answer, but most non-US folks seemed to know what it was. Perhaps they read it in the New York Times, which is the newspaper that everyone in the US goes to when they want to know what is really going on. (AHAHAHAHA. That is a joke, of course. The NYT impresses only the NYT and certain gullible foreigners.*)
I was watching PBS and the Jim Lehrer Show when it was mentioned that one of the rather stupid things that went wrong in the financial crisis in the US is that people seemed to assume that real estate values would only go up and never drop. That included folks like Alan Greenspan according to the talking head experts.
That took me back to about 1992 when I was hearing reports on TV and reading in the news that many Japanese had thought the same thing about Japanese real estate prices. I thought "How foolish. Of course real estate prices can drop. How could anyone believe otherwise?"
Now I have found that the foolishness is not limited to any one country, even Japan as uniquely unique as it is supposed to be.
残念ですね。（Zannen desu ne. My chance to throw in an unnecessary Japanese word/phrase to impress the hell out of myself and make reading anything I write even more difficult to understand and follow than it already is. Done since I have read that Latin is said to be making a comeback in the States. Ever tried to read an E.H. Norman book? I did in college. Get out your Latin Dictionary while wondering what the hell the purpose of the Latin was. Did he not know English? But I digress as usual.)
(Added 28 Oct) *Folks who read the Times and believe that from doing so, they understand the US. I meet many people like this. It's hard enough to understand a country when you've lived in it for years, let alone have anything other than a very shallow caricature of it from reading newspaper articles from afar.
Back in the early 90s when I first lived in Japan (91-93), the Bubble had collapsed. It actually collapsed in 89, but the effects didn't really hit hard until about 92 as far as I could tell in Toyama and later Tokyo. In 1992, the US presidential campaign between Old Man Bush, Slick Willy, and Crazy Man Ross Pea-rot was in full swing. Willy was running around lying as always and claiming the the US economy was the worst since the Depression. Crazy Ross was saying similar things when he wasn't ranting about Bush and conspiracy theories.
I thought that most Japanese believed the "worst economy" bullpucky. I don't know how many times I heard about or was asked about the end of the "American Dream." I for one could never really define what that was so I could not answer, but most non-US folks seemed to know what it was. Perhaps they read it in the New York Times, which is the newspaper that everyone in the US goes to when they want to know what is really going on. (AHAHAHAHA. That is a joke, of course. The NYT impresses only the NYT and certain gullible foreigners.*)
I was watching PBS and the Jim Lehrer Show when it was mentioned that one of the rather stupid things that went wrong in the financial crisis in the US is that people seemed to assume that real estate values would only go up and never drop. That included folks like Alan Greenspan according to the talking head experts.
That took me back to about 1992 when I was hearing reports on TV and reading in the news that many Japanese had thought the same thing about Japanese real estate prices. I thought "How foolish. Of course real estate prices can drop. How could anyone believe otherwise?"
Now I have found that the foolishness is not limited to any one country, even Japan as uniquely unique as it is supposed to be.
残念ですね。（Zannen desu ne. My chance to throw in an unnecessary Japanese word/phrase to impress the hell out of myself and make reading anything I write even more difficult to understand and follow than it already is. Done since I have read that Latin is said to be making a comeback in the States. Ever tried to read an E.H. Norman book? I did in college. Get out your Latin Dictionary while wondering what the hell the purpose of the Latin was. Did he not know English? But I digress as usual.)
(Added 28 Oct) *Folks who read the Times and believe that from doing so, they understand the US. I meet many people like this. It's hard enough to understand a country when you've lived in it for years, let alone have anything other than a very shallow caricature of it from reading newspaper articles from afar.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Ginza Kabuki-za Theater to be demolished
The famous theater in Ginza is to be razed for a new office-theater complex in 2010.
We've gone to that theater numerous times over the years, and although I am not a rabid Kabuki fan, it was always an enjoyable experience. More than that, the building itself has been an icon.
I once read somewhere that the Japanese like old traditions, but not old things. Like about everything else, that is a gross oversimplification, but I do sense a ring of truth to it. Not that the public would have much effective say one way or another...
We've gone to that theater numerous times over the years, and although I am not a rabid Kabuki fan, it was always an enjoyable experience. More than that, the building itself has been an icon.
I once read somewhere that the Japanese like old traditions, but not old things. Like about everything else, that is a gross oversimplification, but I do sense a ring of truth to it. Not that the public would have much effective say one way or another...
Kabuki-za Theatre boasts a history of nearly 120 years, as the original wooden structure was built on the same site in 1889. Since then, the theater has been the center of the kabuki world...
...The government has also designated the building as a "Registered Tangible Cultural Property" of the nation, although such classification does not prohibit dismantling or remodeling...Japan TimesTuesday, October 21, 2008
Trivia
"Daggers" of over 5.5 cm are now illegal in Japan. This will make society safer than before.*
Murder suspect Kazuyoshi Miura, who apparently committed suicide in LA a few weeks ago, may have been the victim of a homicide according to a pathologist hired by his attorney. No motive for the supposed murder has been suggested by the lawyer, but if we wait, he will make one up---oops, I mean discover one. I hope this lawyer has some real evidence behind his claims, but the only surprise would have been if the pathologist whom he hired had found no evidence of foul play and had agreed with the LA coroner that it was a suicide.
*Or not. A bill banning them has passed, but it has not become law yet. The danger remains!!!!
Murder suspect Kazuyoshi Miura, who apparently committed suicide in LA a few weeks ago, may have been the victim of a homicide according to a pathologist hired by his attorney. No motive for the supposed murder has been suggested by the lawyer, but if we wait, he will make one up---oops, I mean discover one. I hope this lawyer has some real evidence behind his claims, but the only surprise would have been if the pathologist whom he hired had found no evidence of foul play and had agreed with the LA coroner that it was a suicide.
*Or not. A bill banning them has passed, but it has not become law yet. The danger remains!!!!
Friday, October 17, 2008
MangaMan explains why the markets dropped Thursday
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said Thursday the U.S. bank bailout is "insufficient" and is contributing to the renewed plunge in global stock markets.
There it is. Simple as that. MangaMan did not do the US the favor of explaining exactly what needs to be done as he had to hurry off to the comic book store.
Strangely, some fools in the US and elsewhere who may actually have some clue of what they are talking about have said that since banks are charging each other less for overnight loans that it indicates some easing of the credit crisis. Other imbeciles are saying that the most recent volitility is due to recession fears. All of these goofballs would be wrong. MangaMan knows the deal.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
(Baka) Semi-Gaijin
Now we know the answer to the earlier confusion: He's a (baka)semi-gaijin.
Nobel laureate in physics Yoichiro Nambu will be listed as an American in public documents to be issued by the Japanese government, while his award-winning research will be recognized to have been achieved as a Japanese national, the government has announced.
Nobel laureate in physics Yoichiro Nambu will be listed as an American in public documents to be issued by the Japanese government, while his award-winning research will be recognized to have been achieved as a Japanese national, the government has announced.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has come up with the unusual measures as Nambu, 87, is a Tokyo-born American citizen. It is the first time that a Japanese of foreign nationality has won the prize. Mainichi
Altruism
"We must take the lead in setting up a way to buy up the world's risky assets. A major motive is that we can help the U.S. and the world economies," ruling party lawmaker Kotaro Tamura said on his Web page. "It's a big chance for us to have the U.S. grateful and indebted to us."
...But Jochen Legewie, a Japan expert and president of German communications consultancy CNC Japan, expressed skepticism that Tokyo could capitalize on the West's need for help.
...But Jochen Legewie, a Japan expert and president of German communications consultancy CNC Japan, expressed skepticism that Tokyo could capitalize on the West's need for help.
For years, Japan gave aid to poor nations and never got much credit, he said. The West has tended to view Japan as a fat wallet with little to assert on policy, scoffing at Tokyo for "checkbook diplomacy." Japan Times
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Because he is Japanese?
As there are some much, much more important things going on in the world right now (which seems to have mostly escaped many people---both Japanese and not---whom I know) I haven't been focusing on the small little irritants recently.
However, my Japanese teacher who insists on spending the first hour of a two hour lesson on chatting* often gets me back to thinking of such things. A few weeks ago while wasting time BS-ing, she told me about a bicycle accident that she had recently been in. Seems it was raining and the normal, everyday mami-chari-riding head-up-the-keister salaryman came around a curve on the wrong side of the road with his umbrella in front of his face so that he could not see and ran into her injuring her wrist.
I didn't see anything unusual about this as it is the common, everyday way of riding. In fact, had he not come around the curve on the wrong side of the road with an umbrella blocking his forward vision, then I would have been shocked. Her story was only surprising because a just few weeks earlier I had mentioned how dangerous it was to ride a bicycle with people not paying any attention to where they were going, wobbling from side-to-side, and basically riding brain dead. She acknowledged this and said she was guilty of it herself, but seemed to see nothing especially wrong with it.
Except for her injury, I viewed this as a non-event, just an average day around mama-chari riders. I ask her one question, and that was "What did he say?" She replied "I'm sorry." THAT WAS A SHOCK!!!! I ride thousands of miles per year and have been in several accidents. I have found that it is EXTREMELY rare that any mama-chari rider will apologize for causing an accident.
I then told her about one of the accidents that I had where a guy jumped into his van, and without pausing to look, backed out directly in front of me. Fortunately I had seen him and identified him as a likely idiot and had hit the brakes and was able to slow quickly, but still had to swerve and hit gravel and crashed. As I was picking my bloody, road-rashed self up off the pavement, he rolled his window down about an inch and looked at me. Then he backed the rest of the way out and took off down the road. (Of the dozens who had seen the accident, nobody offered any assistance.)
She giggled when I told her about him taking off with no apology , no offer to help, and no show of concern. and said "Because he is Japanese!" I left it there as I knew what she meant and I have heard many Japanese say similar things. She didn't mean it is something genetic, or something that everyone does. But some people seem to find that sort of thing as pretty unsurprising.
Gee, wonder why that would be in the land of perfect politeness and where everyone obeys the rules?
*I actually want to focus on improving reading skills/comprehension not on shooting the shit which I can already do. I can't complain much as I got her off the JPLT 1 test material for reading and into some actual materials that one could find some reason to read. Hell will be mighty frigid before I take another JPLT test anyway.
However, my Japanese teacher who insists on spending the first hour of a two hour lesson on chatting* often gets me back to thinking of such things. A few weeks ago while wasting time BS-ing, she told me about a bicycle accident that she had recently been in. Seems it was raining and the normal, everyday mami-chari-riding head-up-the-keister salaryman came around a curve on the wrong side of the road with his umbrella in front of his face so that he could not see and ran into her injuring her wrist.
I didn't see anything unusual about this as it is the common, everyday way of riding. In fact, had he not come around the curve on the wrong side of the road with an umbrella blocking his forward vision, then I would have been shocked. Her story was only surprising because a just few weeks earlier I had mentioned how dangerous it was to ride a bicycle with people not paying any attention to where they were going, wobbling from side-to-side, and basically riding brain dead. She acknowledged this and said she was guilty of it herself, but seemed to see nothing especially wrong with it.
Except for her injury, I viewed this as a non-event, just an average day around mama-chari riders. I ask her one question, and that was "What did he say?" She replied "I'm sorry." THAT WAS A SHOCK!!!! I ride thousands of miles per year and have been in several accidents. I have found that it is EXTREMELY rare that any mama-chari rider will apologize for causing an accident.
I then told her about one of the accidents that I had where a guy jumped into his van, and without pausing to look, backed out directly in front of me. Fortunately I had seen him and identified him as a likely idiot and had hit the brakes and was able to slow quickly, but still had to swerve and hit gravel and crashed. As I was picking my bloody, road-rashed self up off the pavement, he rolled his window down about an inch and looked at me. Then he backed the rest of the way out and took off down the road. (Of the dozens who had seen the accident, nobody offered any assistance.)
She giggled when I told her about him taking off with no apology , no offer to help, and no show of concern. and said "Because he is Japanese!" I left it there as I knew what she meant and I have heard many Japanese say similar things. She didn't mean it is something genetic, or something that everyone does. But some people seem to find that sort of thing as pretty unsurprising.
Gee, wonder why that would be in the land of perfect politeness and where everyone obeys the rules?
*I actually want to focus on improving reading skills/comprehension not on shooting the shit which I can already do. I can't complain much as I got her off the JPLT 1 test material for reading and into some actual materials that one could find some reason to read. Hell will be mighty frigid before I take another JPLT test anyway.
With one of the biggest crisis's in at least the last 20-30 years, and with the US and much of the world likely to change in very significant ways over the next several years, it is tough to come up with something to post that is not comparatively trivial.
MTC, however, has a good post on Shisaku. This one concerns the earlier Japanese (and more recently, Chinese) policy of keeping their currencies artificially low vs the dollar, the building of huge currency reserves---often loaned back to the US---and how this has contributed to the current crisis and that it may effect a bigger change on Japan and Asia than many seem to realize.
I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps I am over reacting....
MTC, however, has a good post on Shisaku. This one concerns the earlier Japanese (and more recently, Chinese) policy of keeping their currencies artificially low vs the dollar, the building of huge currency reserves---often loaned back to the US---and how this has contributed to the current crisis and that it may effect a bigger change on Japan and Asia than many seem to realize.
I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps I am over reacting....
With so many things that have happened over the last few weeks---so many world changing things---it's hard to pay much attention on the more trivial irritants.
On the weekend that Lehman Brothers failed and Merrill Lynch was sold, I thought that this was a history making event; one that will be in the history books for decades. I thought it was the beginning of a new era.
However, I don't seem to sense that same feeling in most whom I know. The only folks who seem to have any concerns about it are a few guys who are in higher positions in financial/financial-related companies. Others in those same companies seem to view it as mostly a US problem with some possible affects on Japan.
Just last week one guy mentioned how he thought recent events indicate that Japan and the US have again reached opposite ends of what he called a "cycle" where Japan will be at the top just like it was in the 1980s. I never bothered to ask how he thought Japan could achieve that if the US could no longer borrow money to pay for Japanese and other imports.
On the weekend that Lehman Brothers failed and Merrill Lynch was sold, I thought that this was a history making event; one that will be in the history books for decades. I thought it was the beginning of a new era.
However, I don't seem to sense that same feeling in most whom I know. The only folks who seem to have any concerns about it are a few guys who are in higher positions in financial/financial-related companies. Others in those same companies seem to view it as mostly a US problem with some possible affects on Japan.
Just last week one guy mentioned how he thought recent events indicate that Japan and the US have again reached opposite ends of what he called a "cycle" where Japan will be at the top just like it was in the 1980s. I never bothered to ask how he thought Japan could achieve that if the US could no longer borrow money to pay for Japanese and other imports.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Finally, I can type again as my new keyboard arrived (and not without the usual trouble) this evening. As I watch the markets continue to tumble worldwide, I may need it to type out a suicide note. That may be more likely if I listen to the US election coverage and watch John McCain quickly go completely nuts. And if I listen to the LDP in Japan---which on the 7pm NHK news tonight had an old, old, politician (LDP?) talk about how any election should be delayed to keep the Japanese people from worrying about the economy*---I will not even bother with a suicide note.
I am kinda hoping to actually be able to vote though if the state of Washington could be bothered to send my ballot sometime before the end of the decade. Obama has basically won by default. He has pretty much kept his mouth shut as McCain has gone insane and has started running around like a rabid baboon with a hornet up his ass. Reminds me of the last crazy man we had running, Ross Perot.
*I listened to the simultaneous translation broadcast. The statement is the translator's version of what he said.
I am kinda hoping to actually be able to vote though if the state of Washington could be bothered to send my ballot sometime before the end of the decade. Obama has basically won by default. He has pretty much kept his mouth shut as McCain has gone insane and has started running around like a rabid baboon with a hornet up his ass. Reminds me of the last crazy man we had running, Ross Perot.
*I listened to the simultaneous translation broadcast. The statement is the translator's version of what he said.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
(Baka)Gaijin or not?
While watching the news on TV last night (forget which station), I learned that three "Japanese" had won a Nobel prize and watched the excited reactions of people when informed during the usual goofy "man-in-the-street" interviews.
Then this morning I read:
An American and two Japanese physicists won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics today...(Washington Post)
and
Two Japanese and an American have won the 2008 Nobel Prize for discoveries in the world of subatomic physics...(Japan Times).
Oh. Maybe they meant ethnicity.
Then this morning I read:
An American and two Japanese physicists won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics today...(Washington Post)
and
Two Japanese and an American have won the 2008 Nobel Prize for discoveries in the world of subatomic physics...(Japan Times).
Oh. Maybe they meant ethnicity.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
US military paid for by foreign debt?
In a new Japan Focus article, R. Taggart Murphy* discusses why Japan has not (will not) internationalized the yen.
He also makes the following observation:
...Japan has left its export earnings inside the U.S. banking system, thereby automatically helping to finance American external deficits. Thus Japan has been the primary financial facilitator since the 1970s of the American ability to project military power around the world without crushing domestic tax burdens. While it has been joined in the last decade by China and the petroleum exporters, it is safe to say that the end of Japan’s support for the dollar would mark the end of the American ability to run endless current account deficits and thus its ability to support its vast military establishment...
And we are in paranoid mode about security when we have to borrow from foreign countries to pay for much of our ability to project military power? At least one of our lenders (China) is considered by some to be a potential military opponent. How is that secure?
And since the US values military security over economic security,** this may also help explain a lot in US/Japan relations.
*Murphy has written good two excellent books about Japan's 1989-early 2000s economic problems, including Japan's real estate bubble and the Japanese government's involvement in creating and bursting the bubble: Japan's Policy Trap and The Weight of the Yen.
**This sort of thinking has been criticized since at least the 1980s and the US/Japan trade friction. It can be convincingly argued that the US contributed to peace after WW2 with economic policy much more than military power, although both were important during the Cold War. See Asia, America, and the Transformation of Geopolitics, for example.
He also makes the following observation:
...Japan has left its export earnings inside the U.S. banking system, thereby automatically helping to finance American external deficits. Thus Japan has been the primary financial facilitator since the 1970s of the American ability to project military power around the world without crushing domestic tax burdens. While it has been joined in the last decade by China and the petroleum exporters, it is safe to say that the end of Japan’s support for the dollar would mark the end of the American ability to run endless current account deficits and thus its ability to support its vast military establishment...
And we are in paranoid mode about security when we have to borrow from foreign countries to pay for much of our ability to project military power? At least one of our lenders (China) is considered by some to be a potential military opponent. How is that secure?
And since the US values military security over economic security,** this may also help explain a lot in US/Japan relations.
*Murphy has written good two excellent books about Japan's 1989-early 2000s economic problems, including Japan's real estate bubble and the Japanese government's involvement in creating and bursting the bubble: Japan's Policy Trap and The Weight of the Yen.
**This sort of thinking has been criticized since at least the 1980s and the US/Japan trade friction. It can be convincingly argued that the US contributed to peace after WW2 with economic policy much more than military power, although both were important during the Cold War. See Asia, America, and the Transformation of Geopolitics, for example.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Change
Neither McCain nor Obama will be driving the real change that's coming:
...when the U.S. government gets half its borrowings from abroad, at a time when the U.S. household savings rate is hovering around zero and China alone is already holding around $1 trillion in U.S. Treasury notes and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds...
"The next round of capital that comes in from abroad is going to be much more demanding and move into real assets,” argued Jeffrey Garten, professor of trade and finance at the Yale School of Management. “Being a bigger debtor nation means losing even more of our sovereignty. It means conducting our economic policies with an eye toward whether others approve. It means bearing the advice and criticism that we have dispensed ad nauseam to other countries for over half a century. It means far more intensive consultations with other capitals on our fiscal policies and our monetary policies.”
...Of course, neither Barack Obama nor John McCain dare talk about this now. They want to pretend nothing has really changed...Thomas Friedman, NYT
I very much suspect that there will be much more widespread and deep"change" than this.
...when the U.S. government gets half its borrowings from abroad, at a time when the U.S. household savings rate is hovering around zero and China alone is already holding around $1 trillion in U.S. Treasury notes and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds...
"The next round of capital that comes in from abroad is going to be much more demanding and move into real assets,” argued Jeffrey Garten, professor of trade and finance at the Yale School of Management. “Being a bigger debtor nation means losing even more of our sovereignty. It means conducting our economic policies with an eye toward whether others approve. It means bearing the advice and criticism that we have dispensed ad nauseam to other countries for over half a century. It means far more intensive consultations with other capitals on our fiscal policies and our monetary policies.”
...Of course, neither Barack Obama nor John McCain dare talk about this now. They want to pretend nothing has really changed...Thomas Friedman, NYT
I very much suspect that there will be much more widespread and deep"change" than this.
It's all the fault of greedy Wall Street types
and everyone else is pure:
...Fannie, a government-sponsored company, had long helped Americans get cheaper home loans by serving as a powerful middleman, buying mortgages from lenders and banks and then holding or reselling them to Wall Street investors...
...Competitors were snatching lucrative parts of its business. *Congress was demanding that Mr. Mudd help steer more loans to low-income borrowers. Lenders were threatening to sell directly to Wall Street unless Fannie bought a bigger chunk of their riskiest loans...
...Disregarding warnings from his managers that lenders were making too many loans that would never be repaid, he steered Fannie into more treacherous corners of the mortgage market...NYT
Naturally Congress did not say how to do it; just to do it.
Added 3:30pm: The appetite for toxic mortgages was fueled by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the super-regulated housing finance companies. [Columbia University's Charles Calomiris] calculates that Fannie and Freddie bought more than a third of the $3 trillion in junk mortgages created during the bubble and that they did so because heavy government oversight obliged them to push money toward marginal home purchasers*. Washington Post (opinion).
(And never spill coffee on your laptop keyboard. It sorta impairs typing.)
7 Oct: *Politics has fully entered now as Rep. Barney Frank calls these claims "racist."
...Fannie, a government-sponsored company, had long helped Americans get cheaper home loans by serving as a powerful middleman, buying mortgages from lenders and banks and then holding or reselling them to Wall Street investors...
...Competitors were snatching lucrative parts of its business. *Congress was demanding that Mr. Mudd help steer more loans to low-income borrowers. Lenders were threatening to sell directly to Wall Street unless Fannie bought a bigger chunk of their riskiest loans...
...Disregarding warnings from his managers that lenders were making too many loans that would never be repaid, he steered Fannie into more treacherous corners of the mortgage market...NYT
Naturally Congress did not say how to do it; just to do it.
Added 3:30pm: The appetite for toxic mortgages was fueled by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the super-regulated housing finance companies. [Columbia University's Charles Calomiris] calculates that Fannie and Freddie bought more than a third of the $3 trillion in junk mortgages created during the bubble and that they did so because heavy government oversight obliged them to push money toward marginal home purchasers*. Washington Post (opinion).
(And never spill coffee on your laptop keyboard. It sorta impairs typing.)
7 Oct: *Politics has fully entered now as Rep. Barney Frank calls these claims "racist."
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