Global Voices » Japan

PHOTOS: Guerrilla Art Project Captures Japan's Northeast in Portraits

Ian McKenzie — Thu, 16 May 2013 02:46:32 +0000

In November 2012, a truck departed from the northeast Japanese city of Kesennuma on a journey to Fukushima. Its sides were pasted over with pictures of a giant eye, and at the back of the truck was an opening like a mailbox slot. The truck was equipped with a camera to take people's photos and a large-format printer to print them out.

The truck was part of French artist JR‘s “Inside Out” project, an art concept based on public participation. The artist's project is centered on taking photos of people on the street in different parts of the world and then pasting their portraits on the sides of buildings. The project is a global platform for people to share their untold stories and transform messages of personal identity into works of public art.

Photographs of about 400 people were collected from Japan's northeastern Tohoku region, which still bears the scars of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami which killed nearly 16,000 people and devastated the area. A selection of these photographs were then put on exhibition.

Photo of the truck travelling through the rain on its way to Tohoku.

Two merchants from Kesennuma's fish market

Posters put on display in Kesennuma's shopping district

People check out portraits coming out of the truck.

People gather around the truck and begin mingling

JR's exhibition at the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, which is located in Tokyo's Shibuya district, started in February, 2013 and runs until June 2, 2013. While JR's Inside Out Project was unfolding in Tohoku, the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art　put out a call for financial support[ja] for the project through Campfire[ja], a Japanese crowd-funding site.This call for support met with a favorable response, reaching the museum's two million yen (about 19,600 United States dollars) goal during the fundraising period.

Campfire is one of Japan's leading crowdfunding sites [ja]. In 2012, it raised [ja] about 92 million yen (about 903,000 US dollars), with one particular project netting a record-setting 5.3 million yen (about 52,000 US dollars). Compare this with well-known US crowdfunding site Kickstarter, which successfully raised one million dollars for 17 different projects and collected pledges totaling about 320 million dollars in 2012.

Despite the relatively small size of Japan crowdfunding market, the fact that Campfire was able to overcome such challenges and reach its goal is telling. The Watari Museum is now working once again with Campfire [ja] to raise funds aimed at nationwide expansion. [Update: The fundraising project was closed by May 10, 2013]

In addition to the Tohoku photo project, the museum is also presenting other “Inside Out” projects by JR in chronological order. There is even an area where people visiting the exhibition, which is called “Could Art Change the World?”, can have their photographs taken. Giving people the chance to have their portraits taken at the museum is a way of getting them involved in the “Inside Out” project.

JR discussed the idea behind the project during an interview with online news publication Blouin Artinfo:

[...] Although I helped with the construction and logistics, it’s important for me that the local people manage the truck, the photo booth, and all the operations themselves. It’s meant to be a project by the Japanese, for the Japanese. [...]

On Twitter, user TAKEI Toshifumi (@toshify) discussed his impression of the exhibition in a tweet:

@toshify:「JR展_世界はアートで変わっていく」（ワタリウム美術館、6月2日まで）を観た。
人の顔を大写しにしてストリートに掲示する手法で、社会問題を提起するフランス作家。
顔は私的なものという思い込みがあるが、パブリックな場に引き出されると
強烈なメッセージ性を帯びる。作家の言葉も美しい。

@toshify: I went to see JR's “Could Art Change the World?” exhibition (being held at the Watari Museum until June 2).
JR is a French artist who draws attention to social issues by taking photos of people's faces and then posting them on the street. While there is the belief that a person's face is something private, putting someone's face on display to the public can be used to convey a powerful message. The artist's language is also beautiful.

Pictures of Tohoku area project participants posted on the wall of the Watari Museum.

Reaction to the participation aspect of the project have been varied:

@Hiro183: JR展(13回目位)@ワタリウム美術館。なんでこんなに来るかって？
キャンプファイアーで金銭支援をし、この展示に参加しているから。
ARTは参加して意味がある。 http://instagr.am/p/XCA2IOGhOK/

@Hiro183: Visiting JR's exhibition at the Watari Museum again (this makes it my 13th visit). Why did I come to this kind of event? Because I am participating in the event through my financial contributions to Campfire. Art has a meaning only after we participate in it.

@hiswii: やっぱワタリウムのJR展、行って撮るだけで参加したって言いづらいよなー。
JRに不足する身体性というのはプロジェクト全体で補足すべきことなんだろうね。

@hiswii : I find it hard to say that I actually participated in JR's exhibitionat the Watari Museum just by going there and having my picture taken. JR's lack of embodiment should carry over to the project as a whole.

More images of the Tohoku project are available here. Shots of the exhibition at the Watari Museum can be seen here.

All photographs appearing in this article were published by the Watari Museum [ja]. Published in accordance with Campfire's intellectual properties guidelines in Japanese, which allow Campfire members to repost the image/text of materials appeared on the campaign page to their blogs.

Media's Too Simple View of Japan LGBT

Keiko Tanaka — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:34:54 +0000

Blogger and activist Masaki C. has something to say about English media coverage of LGBT politics in Japan, arguing that they simplify the issue down to marriage equality:

They are, in constructing LGBT politics in Japan as such, erasing local history and ignoring dialogues taking place among queers in Japan.

Japan's Pregnancy Handbook Plan Forgets Men

Keiko Tanaka — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:43:37 +0000

To counter the dropping birth rate, the Japanese government is proposing compiling a handbook with information on pregnancy and family planning to educate teenage girls on the subject. This plan to distribute the so-called “women's handbook” has been met with criticism by women's groups, which argue that the issues of pregnancy involve both men and women. (more…)

Leaked Development Plan Raises Land Grab Fears in Mozambique

Janet Gunter — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:37:16 +0000

Against a backdrop of growing concern about ‘land grabs‘ in Africa and the conversion of smallholder agriculture to large-scale commercial agriculture, a leak from a controversial economic development plan has raised alarm in Mozambique, as well as Brazil and Japan [ja], two key donors.

According to Mozambican NGO Justiça Ambiental and a number of other co-signing organizations, a leaked copy of the so-called Master Plan for the ProSAVANA program, dated March 2013, reveals the ‘land grabbing’ plans of the governments of Japan, Brazil and Mozambique.

A Mozambican farmer. Photo used on a CC BY-NC 2.0 license, by Flickr user Bread for the World

Brazilian activist Fátima Mello explains what ProSAVANA is, and gives some important background on the project in an interview with Instituto Humanitas [pt]:

O ProSavana é um programa de cooperação e investimentos entre três governos: Brasil, Japão e Moçambique. É um programa agrícola que abrange três províncias no norte de Moçambique, numa área estimada em 14,5 milhões de hectares, onde vivem aproximadamente 5,5 milhões de camponeses que produzem, a partir de um sistema de base familiar, alimentos. O ProSavana deriva do Prodecer, um programa que foi desenvolvido no Cerrado brasileiro, em Mato Grosso, realizado pela cooperação japonesa com o Brasil nos anos 1980 e que produziu as características que conhecemos no Cerrado: gigantescos monocultivos de soja em larga escala voltados para a exportação, intenso uso de agrotóxicos, expulsão de populações tradicionais, concentração da propriedade da terra, contaminação do solo e criação de um poderio econômico do latifúndio e do agronegócio, que se traduziu em poder político…

Prosavana is an aid and investment program between three governments: Brazil, Japan, and Mozambique. It is an agricultural program that spans three provinces in the north of Mozambique, in an area estimated at 14.5 million hectares, where approximately 5.5 million people produce food as family farmers. Prosavana derives from Prodecer, a program that was developed in the Brazilian “cerrado” (grasslands), in Mato Grosso, undertaken by Japanese aid with Brazil in the 1980s and that produced the characteristics that we know in the Cerrado: gigantic monocultures of soy on a large scale for export, intense use of agrotoxins, expulsion of traditional crops, concentration of land, contamination of the soil and creation of an economic powerhouse of land-owning elites and agribusiness, which translated into political power…

The land area in question in the “Nacala Corridor” is the size of Switzerland and Austria. The agencies sponsoring this project and the government had not yet made maps available to farmers and citizens, detailing what land will be included. Farmers organizations have felt totally shut out of the shaping of this project and policy.

The National Farmers Union of Mozambique (UNAC) said last year:

We, peasant farmers, condemn the way in which the ProSavana programme was drafted and the way it is intended to be implemented in Mozambique, which has been characterised by reduced transparency and the exclusion of civil society organisations throughout the process, especially peasant organisations.

On the blog Delegoa Bay, a blogger called ABM writes [pt]:

Conversando com camponeses ao longo do Corredor de Nacala fica claro que brasileiros e japoneses estão indo às comunidades para avisar que o ProSavana está chegando. Depois afirmarão que fizeram as chamadas consultas a sociedade civil. Isso que estão fazendo não é consulta…

Conversing with family farmers along the Nacala Corridor it becomes clear that Brazilians and Japanese are going to communities to warn that ProSavana is coming. Then they will maintain that they did so-called consultations with civil society. What they are doing is not consulting.

In March, under increasing pressure the Mozambican government stated [pt] that “dialogue [with communities] must be permanent”. Brazilian diplomats have responded to the calls for transparency by stating that small farmers will be included in the plans to develop Mozambique's Nacala Corridor. Head of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, Fernando Abreu, was quoted last month [pt] as saying that more information was needed, also claiming that there were no plans to resettle or move farmers from their land.

The leaks contain maps, showing which districts will be targeted for large-scale farming for export, allowing civil society organizations to verify exactly which communities could be affected in order to get a better idea of the potential impact. The leaked document identifies seven “clusters” for intensive development.

Justiça Ambiental and co-signers describe what kind of agriculture the plan will bring

Some of the projects within the plan will provide large areas of land to investors. The Integrated Grain Cluster, which is planned for Majune District, Niassa Province, will be managed by one vertically integrated company that will operate nine 5,000 ha farms, within a 60,000 ha zone, to produce a rotation of maize, soybeans and sunflower, mainly for export. According to the plan, ‘the project has a high profitability and the internal rate of return was calculated at 20.3% and the payback is 9 years.’

They go on to question whether there are any benefits for the Mozambicans in the region:

It is telling that only one of the seven clusters in the Master Plan is aimed at small scale farmers and family food production. And this cluster only proposes the same old failed green revolution model of development. The Master Plan puts no real thought and energy into the needs and capacities of peasants in the Nacala Corridor.

Corporations are the big beneficiaries of this Master Plan. They will get control over land and production and they will control the trade of the foods produced, which will be exported along the roads, rail lines and Nacala port that other foreign corporations will be paid to construct with public funds from Mozambique and Japan.

The National Farmer's Union foresaw a host of problems arising from the ProSAVANA project already last year. Landlessness, social upheaval, impoverishment, corruption, water pollution and ecological imbalance due to deforestation, the Union warned, could become a reality if the project went ahead as planned.

Tokyo Joins NASA's App Challenge

Keiko Tanaka — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:43:30 +0000

Hackathon in Tokyo for the International Space Apps Challenge. Photo by ISAC Tokyo Bureau CC BY 2.0

Japan participated in NASA's International Space Apps Challenge 2013 with a hackathon in Tokyo on April 21 and 22, 2013. Eighteen project teams developed apps with the aim of improving life on Earth and in space, including an app to create dishes in a shape of celestial bodies [ja] such as the moons of Mars using 3D printers, and a location finder app to suggest less cloudy places for installing solar panels.

Japan's Cherry Blossom Tradition Tests Rookie Employees

Ayumi Nakajima — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 06:05:26 +0000

Among the thousands of people that fill Japan's parks every spring to picnic under the delicate pink cherry blossoms, known as sakura, are young professionals. They are new recruits sent by their bosses to reserve a spot for the company's outdoor feast, and are sometimes made to sit for hours well into the night guarding the location.

The blooming of the cherry blossom trees in Japan in early spring coincides with the beginning of the Japanese business year, and it is tradition to test new employees with this task.

Hanami at Yoyogi Park. Photo by Dick Thomas Johnson (CC BY 2.0)

Twitter user Mame (‏@MameBroth) wrote about the thankless job on his account on March 20, 2013:

‏@MameBroth: 新人が花見の場所取りをします。ですが仕事には納期があります。なのでノートパソコンを持たされます。場所取りしながらコーディングします。夜になります。誰も来ません。会社に連絡すると「クソ忙しいのにいけるわけねえだろ！」と怒られます。まだ冷える寒い夜に一人ぼっち。なんと悲しいことか。

‏@MameBroth: I am taking place for hanami spot as a new employee. But I have to meet a product deadline so they told me to bring a laptop computer. I do coding while reserving the spot. Night comes on. Nobody has come yet. I call the office. I get yelled at over the phone, “What make you think we can come? We are busy as hell!”. All alone on a chilling night. How sad is this.

The tradition of new hires reserving a picnic spot for their companies is part of the larger annual tradition of hanami where friends and families hold feasts under the flowering trees and enjoy sake and beer. Companies also organize hanami, and often cases, the new employees are being evaluated based on how good they conduct the hanami party.

Why is this a new employee’s job? In online resource site All About, writer Kagezo stated [ja] that the task is a way for new recruits to prove their workplace skills:

もしあなたが幹事なら、場所を確保し、お酒の調達をするだけではあまりにも無難すぎます。なぜなら花見の準備は、仕事の手際や仕切りに通じます。酒宴の準備とは、すなわちあなたの手腕が、こっそりと上司や先輩に試されているということでもあるのです。

If you are responsible for your company's hanami party, simply reserving a spot and procuring liquors are not good enough.The skill of preparing hanami is associated with management skill and neat work. Your bosses and seniors are surreptitiously evaluating your capability through your skill of preparing the feast.

This year, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced cherry blossoms reached full bloom on March 22 in Tokyo, the second earliest since the weather agency began taking statistics in 1953.

With the early arrival of the full bloom of cherry blossoms this year, Twitter users wondered if the new employees’ first task would be affected. The blooming period is very short, and company hanami parties are supposed to be held in April.

Twitter user Wappa (@tokyoallnight) wrote on April 1, the start of the Japanese business year:

‏@tokyoallnight: 今日は入社式の日か・・・新人の新人だけの初めての仕事と言えば昔は花見の場所取りだったけど今は違うのかな（笑）。あれで、だれがリーダーシップあるかとかわかるとかよく言っていたけど・・・（笑）すでに散ってる・・・都内

@tokyoallnight: Oh today is the day of initiation ceremonies at companies… Speaking of the very first task for rookie, the task used to be hanami spot keeping. Is it still rookies’ job? We used to say that we could tell who would have leadership among those new ones by watching their hanami preparation. Well, but here in Tokyo, cherry flowers have already fallen off.

Twitter user Yas (@yas_ukey) advised new hires to seize on alternative opportunities to prove themselves:

‏@yas_ukey: 今年は桜咲くのが早く新入社員の大事な仕事、花見の場所取りはなくなったので、別の部分で同期と差をつけるんだ

‏@yas_ukey: New worker’s mission, reserving a hanami spot become impossible this year. Find some other ways to have a leg up on your fellow colleagues.

A Japanese company holds hanami party at Ueno Park,
Tokyo. Photo by Benson (CC BY-ND 2.0)

On the other hand, others were puzzled by the tradition. Masumiyutaka (‏@masumiyutaka) tweeted:

‏@masumiyutaka: 昔は4月の入学式くらいに桜のイメージだったけれど、もう3月後半のイメージ。段々早まっているから、4月に新入社員が花見の場所取りするという良くわからない伝統がなくなるかしら。

@masumiyutaka: I have an image of cherry trees beginning to bloom in April around the time of school entrance ceremony in the old days. But nowadays, the image of blooming cherry blossom is the latter half of March. Blooming is getting earlier and earlier. So the weird tradition of new employees taking place for hanami spot in April would possibly disappear?

Not everyone supports the tradition of rookie employees serving as party location placeholders. An online article by business newspaper NIKKEI.com reported [ja] that telling junior employees to reserve hanami spots could fall under the two of six categories of power harassment specified by the Ministry of Health and Welfare – excessive demands, such as assigning work that is impossible to perform or obviously unnecessary; and intrusion upon the individual, such as intrusion into an employee's personal life.

In free posting site Hatelabo, an anonymous user was strongly opposed [ja] to the custom:

新人に花見の場所取りをさせる会社ってまだあるのか？　外国育ちの俺には心底意味がわからん。勤務時間外に付き合わせるだけに飽きたらず場所取りって！　人を何だと思ってるんだ。俺なら絶対にやらないね。絶対にだ。

Are there still companies that force new employees to take place for company’s hanami spot? As someone who grew up in a foreign country, I really don’t get it. On top of the heavy social obligation after working hours, to use them for reserving a spot? Who the hell do they think they are? I will never ever accept it. No way.

Another anonymous user responded to the comment:

外国育ちでも新入社員でもないし若者でもないんだけど、同意。好きな人がやるのはいいんだけど、集団が個人に強制するのはよくないよねー。なにごとも。

I didn't grow up in a foreign country, I'm not a new employee and I'm not young. But I agree with you. It's OK if you are willing to do it but it's not OK that society forces the individual to do it. Or of anything.

Japanese businessmen working in the park.
Photo by GaijinSeb (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

On Twitter, user xxxxxlg (@xxxxxlg) wrote about his personal experience with the spring tradition:

‏@xxxxxlg: 1,2年目の新人による上野公園でのお花見会のミーティングが行われた。事業本部100人が参加する大花見会なため予算やスケジュールなどかなり細かく考えなければならないらしい。ちなみに当日の花見の場所取りは徹夜。

@xxxxxlg: First and second year workers had a meeting for a hanami party in Ueno Park. Apparently, we have to plan the detail of budget and schedule for the big hanami party that 100 people participated from operational headquarters. By the way, taking spot for the hanami party kicks off the night before the day.

The thumbnail image used in this post is taken by lestaylorphoto on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

China Says ‘No’ to Japan's Earthquake Aid Offer

owen — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:02:46 +0000

The Chinese government has turned down Japan’s offer to help with relief efforts following an earthquake in China's southwest Sichuan province that left at least 193 people dead and more than 12,000 injured [zh].

The quake, measured at magnitude of 7.0 by the China Earthquake Administration, stuck on the morning of April 20, 2013 in the mountainous areas near Ya’an, a city of 1.5 million people known for its population of pandas and tea industry.

Shortly after the quake, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered condolences and assistance to Chinese leaders, saying that Japan was “ready to offer its maximum support”.

In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry in its daily news briefing on April 21 said the government was grateful for the gesture, but overseas aid at the moment was not necessary, citing congested roads and the competency of Chinese authorities to cope with the relief work:

Ya'an earthquake kills 193 people. Image by Flickr user @Shiqi Shen(CC BY-SA 2.0).

4月20日，中国四川芦山发生地震后，国际社会迅速向中国政府和人民表示慰问和支持，一些国家提出愿意提供各种形式的援助。中国政府和人民对此表示衷心感谢。中国政府正全力开展救灾工作。目前中方搜救和医疗力量有保障，救灾物资充足，同时考虑到灾区交通和通讯条件不便，暂不需要外国救援队、医疗队和救灾物资。如有需要，我们将适时向有关国家提出。中国红十字会总会已发布了接受国际资金援助的联络方式。

After the April 20 Lushan earthquake in Sichuan, the international community has swiftly offered condolences and support, some countries have shown willingness to offer assistance of all kinds, to which the Chinese government and its people are grateful. Chinese government are carrying out all-out disaster-relief work. At the moment, we have sufficient relief and medical workforce, as well as sufficient relief supplies, given the inconvenience of telecommunication and traffic in the quake-hit zones, for now don’t need foreign rescue teams, medical teams, and relief supplies. If we are in need of them, we will make the demand to relevant countries where necessary. The China Red Cross has released the contact for the acceptance of overseas financial aid.

But at the same time, Chinese state media reported the imminent arrival of nearly 200 Russian rescue workers [zh].

Japan's offer to help comes at a shaky time for relations between China and Japan as the two countries continue to spar over islands in the East China sea.

The ministry's rebuff of Japan's help sparked lively debates on Chinese social media, with some netizens shelving the recent territorial dispute and historic bitterness between the two countries.

“Kuaile Songxiang” from Beijing wrote[zh] that China should learn from Japan about disaster prevention, commenting on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo:

不但应该接受日本援助，还应引入日本先进的防灾减灾培川，当然最根本的是学习日本那让人眼红的防震建筑和先进的报警系统.

Not only should we accept Japan's assistance, we also need to introduce the advanced disaster prevention and reduction from Japan, of course, fundamentally

Echoing the same sentiment, Weibo user “name no longer meaningful” lamented [zh]:

狭隘的民族主意，打肿脸充胖子，接受日本援助很丢脸吗？

Narrow nationalism, it's just biting off more than we can chew, is it really humiliating to accept Japanese assistance?

“Yanger Dini” from the northwestern city of Xi'an, however, came to the government's defense by offering his analysis [zh]:

有很多政治因素在里面，中国很多重工和核设施在四川附近，这个时候闭关自守也是出于国防的考虑.

There are many political elements involved, many heavy industries and nuclear facilities are near Sichuan, choosing to shut ourselves off is for the reason of national defense.

“Pushan Pushan De Yanjing” from the provincial capital Nanchang of eastern Jiangxi province wrote sarcastically [zh]:

日本是中国凝聚民心彰扬民族主义的反面宣传的对象，若让其来中国做好事，会直接提升其在中国百姓心中的正面形象，对以后的反面宣传不利，所以。。。

Japan is the the subject of negative propaganda used to rally nationalism, if we let them do good deeds in China, it will elevate their positive image among ordinary Chinese people, which will be bad for the negative propaganda, so…

“Yihao Caomin” seemed dismayed [zh] at the comparison between the two nations,hinting about China's Red Cross scandal and media reports about leaders eating instant noodles as nothing more than image boosting.

日本每年有感地震1000多次，全球10%的地震均在日本。可是日本地震却很少大规模死人。为啥？1.房屋抗震，绝无豆腐渣。2.救援及时专业，不会派没经验的军队上，更不会拒绝外国援助。3.领导吃泡面小米粥不会拍照宣传。4.人家的红十字会不养郭美美。5.人家能上推特，且不删帖。6.……欢迎补充
Japan experiences sensible earthquakes more than 1,000 times, 10 percent of all the earthquake in the world occur in Japan. But earthquakes in Japan rarely cause large casualties. Why? 1. Houses that can sustain quakes, not shoddy construction projects. 2. Professional and timely relief work, no inexperienced army sent to do the work, no declining foreign aid. 3. No photos of leaders eating instant noodles and millet porridge to boost their image. 4. Red Cross (in Japan) does not have Guo Meimei. 5. People can access Twitter without posts being deleted. 6….any addition is welcome

Japan's Next Election Campaign will be Tweeted, Emailed and Blogged

Keiko Tanaka — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:17:51 +0000

Japan has approved a bill that will allow political candidates to tweet and blog and run online advertisements during their election campaigns

Up until last week, Japanese electoral candidates had to cautiously navigate their Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and blogs to avoid breaking the country's strict election laws which banned online political activity.

The revised election law passed by both houses of Japan's legislature on April 19, 2013 will allow political candidates to use social media and other online platforms to voice their opinions and reach their voters.

The bill's impact could be soon as early as July, during the election for the House of Councilors.

Young activists and change-makers had been working behind the scenes to revise Japan's election law. Kensuke Harada, one of the founders of the One Voice Campaign [ja] that advocated for online election campaigning wrote [ja] in a Facebook post:

Finally the ban on online election campaigning is lifted! We've been working on this issue as One Voice Campaign since last April [2012]. This is the issue that our elders have been working on for years. But April last year, nobody was talking about it, not even the politicians, or the public.

But I still wanted change. I thought it would be definitely fun if each one of us worked to make a difference in the law. With that passion, various people came together to the One Voice crew, and shaped how we are today. I am grateful to the people who are not members but helped us a lot too. [...]

I don't know how much impact we had in passing the bill but I can say it wasn't zero. With voices from each one of us, politics can change! You can bring change!

Image of Japanese Diet: Photo by flickr user
By Dick Thomas Johnson under Creative Commons License BY-2.0-Deed

The change is expected to recapture Japan's youth vote, by offering young people, who have turned away from old media like newspapers, an option to be politically informed online.

Only 37.89 percent of voters in their 20s exercised the right to vote during the general election held in December 2012, which made overall voting rates hit a post-war record low of 59.3 percent.

But online campaign will not be completely free, there are rules and restrictions for both candidates and voters.

One concern is identity fraud; falsifying identity and posting damaging messages can lead to imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to roughly 3,000 US Dollars.

Internet service providers (ISP) have the authority to delete malicious comments, if users fail to provide acceptable reasons within two days of being notified。

GMO GlobalSign, an Internet security certification company, announced that they would provide verification services for political parties online. The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan also announced [ja] their plan to extend the use of Extended Validation Certificates on websites of individual politicians. They embraced the popular Verisign certification on their official website in 2011.

Music blogger and Twitter user Yamada (@wms) worries [ja] that pseudonyms, common in the citizen media sphere, might get users in trouble:

@wms:ネット選挙でSNSを利用した活動を全面的に認める代わりに、偽名による発言などは逮捕につながるという記事があったので、実名以外のアカウントで政治的発言するのはかなり危険性が高い時代になったと思われ。

@wms: According to some sources, there are chances of online users getting arrested by posting political comments with pseudonyms Even though social media is now fully acceptable for online campaigns, I think it can be dangerous to post political comments if you don't use an account with your real name.

Another concern is the use of online advertisement. Muto Nobuki, a Twitter user who works in the news and advertising industry tweets:

@mutonobuki:ネットという新市場が生まれるので、政党間で不安心理が起こりネット広告に資金流入するでしょう。ただ、政党も予算あるので削られる媒体出ますね。

@mutonobuki: Now that there's a new market online, political parties feel anxious without placing online ads, it is likely they will pour money on the Internet. But they have a limited budget, so certain media will lose advertising revenue.

Kalaiyo, a supporter of the Liberal Democratic Party, which is popular among Japan's conservative voters, worries that the revised law allows political parties to buy as many online ads as they want, but leaves out measures for independent candidates:

@kalaiyo政党制である日本において無所属が不利なのは当たり前だが、無所属だけ広告出すの禁止というのは確かに変かな。

@kalaiyo: Japan's politick is based on a party system. So it's common that independent candidates that do not belong to any party have disadvantages. However it's kind of strange that [the law] bans independents from placing online ads.

Ryosuke Nishida, a researcher and professor on social entrepreneurship and public policy writes on his blog [ja]:

いろいろ言われているけれど、ネット選挙解禁は出発点というのが筆者の認識。国民が政治にもっとも関心をもつと思われる選挙運動期間にITの利活用を認めると、政治家は適応すべく、中長期でITへの理解を改善するだろう。そうすると、電子政府や電子自治体、通信と放送のあり方等々いろいろなところに波及する可能性を秘めている。

I think permitting online campaigns is a good starting point. Citizens pay more attention to politics during election campaigns. Using Information Technology, politicians will have better understanding of IT in the mid to long term while learning to adapt themselves to latest technologies: this will potentially lead to e-government and [integration of] communication and broadcasting.

Another Twitter user writes about the irony of the new law being passed while legislators have been unable to solve the unconstitutional state of Japan's election process due to vote disparity:

@gankuma_:定数是正（違憲）問題が遅々として改善されないのに選挙活動のネット解禁はあっさり決まるあたりに先生方のやる気の差が透けて見えるなとか思ってても言うよ。

@gankuma_: Let me think out loud – the online campaign bill was passed quickly while those who sit in the legislatures seem to have lesser motivation to resolve the issue of our unconstitutional elections.

Thumbnail photo by flickr user 7_70 under Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 2.0

No More Apologies – Japan's Facebook Users Share ‘Fake’ Propaganda

Keiko Tanaka — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:00:29 +0000

A thousand Japanese facebook users unknowingly endorsed and shared a fictitious image [ja] that seemed to be an official publication and highlighted the negative impact Japan's apologetic stance in history has on the country's children.

A citizen journalist traced the image, which even has the official government seal of Japan in its top-left corner, (although the government does not use this seal for its official publications) to a right-wing Facebook page.

Fabricated image widely shared on the Internet. Vertical text: “Mommy, Daddy, did my ancestors do wrong things? Does that make me a bad Japanese? – How do you respond to your children?”
Horizontal text: “Let's teach our children the true history. Government publication”

Facebook user Tsubasa who liked the image wrote[ja] in support of a patriotic view:

自虐的な教科書には、もううんざり(´・ω・`)ちゃんとした教科書を、今の子供達に読んで欲しい!!戦争を美化するつもりは、ありませんがその当時の先人が、何を想い何のため戦い散ったのかを、教えて欲しいです。

I'm sick and tired of introspective history textbooks. I want the children today to learn from legit textbooks. I don't mean to glamorize the war, but people need to think what they fought and died for.

The fabricated image took a life of its own on Facebook when it was shared along with famous quotes, from Indian jurist Radha Binod Pal, Thailand politician Kukrit Pramoj, Indonesian scholar Arifin Bey and British historian Arnold J. Toynbee, that reinforced the idea that Japan's war posture was always for Asia's liberation.

Earlier this year, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, almost offended China and Korea, when he signaled that he would “review” the country's apologies made in the past for its World War II aggression. Later, he backtracked and said would not review Japan’s wartime history and that he would abide by the official stances of his predecessors on the issue.

Facebook user Rie noticed it was fake:

この画像は偽造です。確認しましたが、このような政府広報はありません。誰かが何らかの意図を以て「政府広報」を偽造し、フェイスブックで拡散するのは異常な事態だと思います。一体何の目的で偽造するのでしょうか。分からない。

This image is fake. I've checked and I can tell you there's no such government publication. It's insane for somebody to intentionally create a fake government image and amplify it on facebook. I don't understand why they do this on purpose.

Citizen journalist Norifumi Ohtani at Miyazaki Citizen Media criticized [ja] social media users who shared this image without verifying its source and traced the image to right wing activists who apparently fabricated the image, and gave it an official government seal.

The image of the uniformed child originated from an online shopping site for children's school-bags. Ohtani wrote a series of analysis [ja] on how the image was edited and right-wing text and a government seal were added, before it was appropriated on a Facebook page and shared without context.

I saw this on my Facebook feed on April 15, 2013. [...] Apparently this image gained more than 1300 Likes with many comments. I wondered when this image was released by the Cabinet Public Relation Office. So I checked the website of the Office [ja] but I couldn't find one like this.

Then I thought, maybe this image is a fabrication. So I searched for more information.

The one I saw on Facebook was posted by “Japanism“[ja], a Facebook page that has 4,617 likes.

There was no reference of source in the description of the image so I searched on Google with words like “Cabinet Public Relations Office Let's teach our children the true history” and arrived to this page.

It directed me to a Twitter account that intentionally amplified this image.

With that clue, I got on Twitter and found a blog named “Wake up! Japanese spirit and the eyes of patriot” [ja] in this blog post [ja] of January 14, 2013.

He adds:

It is okay to quote blogger's posts, but when you quote, make sure you name the source.

I think people should refrain from abruptly sharing facebook images, [out of context] when they do not reflect the agenda of the author.

Maybe it's nice to pause for a second and verify where the source comes from.

The alleged creator of the image was a Facebook fan page called “反日対策協議会” [eliminate anti-Japanese activity]. They have since admitted [ja] that it was fake, meant to be ‘parody.’ The Facebook page of Japanism also added a comment [ja], apologizing for sharing the image without checking where it came from.

Ohtani criticized [ja] the ‘parody’ which mislead citizens, saying that right-wing activists went too far in disguising themselves as a government publication.

The quoted blog post was written by Norifumi Ohtani in Japanese under Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 2.1, by Nippon：Citizen's Media Miyazaki

East Asia's Appetite for Eels Pushing Species to the Brink

I-fan Lin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:50:52 +0000

In Japan, summer is the season of eel.

On the sweltering midsummer days between mid-July and early August, it's traditional to eat a plate of golden-brown broiled unagi kabayaki, or broiled eel. The popular dish is believed to help people stay healthy during the hot weather.

But the tradition is now at risk. Skyrocketing demand for glass eels, once considered a highbrow delicacy, is pushing fishermen to exhaust the population and causing prices to soar. A number of East Asian countries including Japan have proposed ideas on how to preserve the wild eel, but there are so far no concrete efforts underway to curb the trend.

Ida Tetsuji, a columnist from Nippon.com, a Japanese news website, described how the production of eels has been increased fourfold over recent decades to satisfy the increased eel consumption:

Domestic eel production in Japan held at about 40,000 tons a year through the mid-1980s. This was supplemented by imports from Taiwan, which ranged from about 25,000 tons to a high of around 40,000 tons. [...] In 2000 a record high of over 130,000 tons of eel products were imported from China and Taiwan, and domestic sales volume rose to almost 160,000 tons, also a record high. This was almost double the volume of sales 15 years earlier.

Specially cooked eels in Japan. Photo from ysishikawa (CC: AT).

A common misconception is that glass eels can be farmed to keep up with the increased demand. However, eels are catadromous, meaning that part of their life circle is in freshwater and part in saltwater. Since there was no current method to reproduce the eel larvae, the fishermen need to catch the wild glass eels when they enter the river and travel upstream and farm them in ponds.

So without a way to replenish the eel population in the face of such demand, the number of these glass eels caught by fishermen in recent years continues to decrease. “Dogfamily”, an independent reporter in a Taiwanese citizen news portal, Newsmarket, reported [zh] the reality on March 18, 2013:

過去亞洲一年日本鰻苗捕獲量接近100噸，但近4年產量急遽下滑，2010-2012的產量遽降為41、35、26噸；以台灣為例，過去一年有20噸，但2010-2012僅剩4、4、2噸，今年（2013）約1.5噸。

The number of caught glass eels of Japanese eels has dropped dramatically in the recent four years from an average of 100 tons per year to 41, 35, 26 tons in 2010-2012. Take Taiwan for example, Taiwanese fishermen used to catch 20 tons of glass eels annually (e.g., 20 percent of the glass eels caught among the countries along the Kuroshio Current), but the total number dropped to 4, 4, 2 tons in 2010-2012. This year (2013), the number is around 1.5 tons.

Total eel production. Figure from the TRAFFIC report written by Vicki Crook.

The price of glass eels has soared as a result. Dogfamily [zh] pointed out:

幾年前，鰻苗1尾10元[…]今（2012）年的平均價達到180元/尾。以每公斤6000尾來換算，一公斤的鰻苗要價108萬，接近黃金的市價。即使價格如此驚人，但因為捕撈量嚴重不足，苗戶的收入還是下降。

Several years ago, one glass eel was sold for 10 Taiwan dollars [0.34 United States dollars] [...] This year (2012), one glass eel in average is sold for 108 Taiwan dollars [3.62 US dollars]. Since 6,000 glass eels are about one kilogram, one kilogram of glass eels is 1,080,000 Taiwan dollars (36,249 US dollars). This is close to the price of gold. Nevertheless, despite the amazing price, the fishermen’s income decreases because the amount of caught glass eels is so little.

The shortage in supply has resulted in smuggling activities, Dogfamily [zh] explained:

即使台灣經濟部已訂定3月31日前鰻苗禁止出口，但在日方出價高的誘惑力之下，苗商仍透過各種管道以走私的方式將苗輸出至日本。去年12月間，桃園機場就查獲以行李箱攜帶20,000萬尾鰻魚苗走私的案件。根據業者私下透露，1月15日前捕獲的鰻苗，幾乎是100％供應到日本。

Although the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan has set up regulations to forbid the export of glass eels before March 31, the Taiwanese merchants still find ways to smuggle glass eels to Japan because the price provided by Japanese businessmen is so tempting. Last December, 20,000 glass eels were discovered to be smuggled in suitcases in Taoyuan International Airport. Based on private conversations with the Taiwanese merchants, almost 100 percent of the glass eels caught before January 15 were sold to Japan.

European eels have already been listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in June 2007. Earlier on this year, the U.S had considered submitting a proposal for an international trade regulation on eel catches in CITES. At the same time, the Japanese Environment Ministry also designated the Japanese eel as a species at risk of extinction on its red list of endangered freshwater and brackish water fish in last February. However, the move is not legally binding.

In reaction to the pressure for eel preservation, a number of East Asian countries, including Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea have held several conferences and several preservation procedures have been proposed, including rehabilitation of the eels’ natural environment, restrictions on eel export, and release of adult eels in the rivers.

Production of different species of eels. Figure from the TRAFFIC report written by Vicki Crook.

Nevertheless, with such a huge consumer market, eel merchants will continue to find new ways to make profit. In fact, the Japanese merchants have turned to African eels as an alternative, Dogfamily [zh] reported:

美國意圖將鰻魚列入貿易保護名單的舉動使得日本相當緊張，開始尋找替代的鰻魚來源，最近觸角伸向馬達加斯加的養殖業者，將購買非洲鰻來因應日本鰻價格節節升高以及美洲鰻前途未明的情況。

America’s intention to list eel in CITES makes Japan very nervous, and they have started to find an alternative source for eels. Recently, they contacted eel farmers in Madagascar and plan to buy African eels to avoid the soaring price of eels and prepare for the possible ban on American eels.

At the same time, international NGO, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC) has also discovered that the Philippines has started exporting large amount of Japanese eels and Luzon eels, a newly discovered species, out of the country:

In July (2012), TRAFFIC surveys found almost 50 listings from businesses in the Philippines offering eel fry or glass eels for sale through online B2B platform Alibaba.com. Several reported they could supply for export hundreds of kilos of glass eels of a variety of eel species every month.

Amount of caught eels. Figure from the TRAFFIC report written by Vicki Crook.

To break the demand-supply cycle, some Japanese have started consumer campaigns to reduce the consumption of eels. Ida Tetsuji on Nippon.com wrote:

Consumers and distributors of eels also bear considerable responsibility for the situation. As a result of the unsustainable inflow of large quantities of imports, eels, formerly considered a deluxe food, have turned into a cheap item sold in bulk through convenience stores and supermarkets […] We need to take this opportunity to transform the eel business from its low-profit, high-volume “quantity over quality” model back to a “quality over quantity” approach. Otherwise the stocks will become even more seriously depleted, and we are liable to sink into a descending spiral in which consumers tire of low-quality eels and stop buying them, causing the eel industry’s profits to decline further and the business as a whole to weaken.

Tirrano, a Japanese blogger from Decent Point, also believed [ja] that despite the gravity of the problem, the solution is rather easy:

どうしたらよいか、激減した原因の反対のことをすることなら簡単に始められそうです。つまり、不必要の多くのウナギを食べないこと、安いからといってウナギを食べないことです。日本の消費量がとてつもなく多すぎるのです。それを30年前ぐらいに激減させればいい。それには、スーパーなどの特売にある、それほどおいしくはない、ウナギを無理して食べないことです。

What to do to avoid the dramatic decrease of Japanese eels is actually easy. In short, we should not eat eels if not necessary, and we should not eat those cheap eels. Eel consumption in Japan is too high. If the amount of eels consumed can be reduced to what it was 30 years ago, conditions would be better. In other words, we should not eat eels only because there is a super sale on eels in the supermarket.

China's Anti-Japanese TV War Dramas Knocked for Vulgarity

Oiwan Lam — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:24:26 +0000

The Chinese entertainment industry's incessant production of anti-Japanese TV dramas, under the scrutiny of netizens for a while now, has hit a nerve with China's state-controlled media after two photographs from a war drama showing a nude girl saluting a group of Chinese soldiers leaked online.

As the territorial dispute between China and Japan over islands in the East China sea has intensified over the last three years, so have the number of television dramas [zh] about the Frist and Second Sino-Japanese War, which led to the death of millions of Chinese. Authorities in the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television have been delighted to approve these patriotic story plots.

But the nudity depicted in the two photographs which leaked on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo seemed too much for even state-controlled media outlets, including the China Central Television and the People Daily, which criticized [zh] the country's relentless anti-Japanese TV dramas for being too vulgar.

A Sina Weibo user leaked two photos taken from a Sino-Japanese War drama in which a nude girl is saluting to a group of Chinese soldiers.

The photos, which have circulated widely online, were picked up by provincial media outlets on April 9, 2011 [zh] and national news outlets [zh] about two days later.

Chinese airwaves have been inundated with anti-Japanese war dramas. According to a local news report, 70 of the 200 primetime dramas on major TV networks in 2012 were about the Sino-Japanese War. Sources from Hengdian Movie and Television City [a drama and film production compound] in Zhejiang province said [zh] that among its 300,000 contracted actors, 60 percent have performed the role of Japanese soldiers.

Annually, there are about 48 drama production crews working on anti-Japanese invasion dramas. An actor playing a Japanese soldier can die up to eight times a day. A drama takes an average of four months to complete, which means more than one billion Japanese soldiers have been ‘killed’ in Hengdian alone.

In response to the leaked photos, Sina Weibo's headline news microblog composed a collection [zh] of screen captures of other vulgar moments from war dramas. The set of images was republished more than 30,000 in less than 24 hours and attracted thousands of comments.

Below is the translated collection:

A group of armed Japanese soldiers running away from a woman with an arrow aimed at them.

All the weapons are too weak — let me tear the Japanese soldier apart. His Arms are so strong to tear the Japanese soldier into two pieces so easily.

Our soldiers have turned into armed secret agents with all-terrain vehicles. How can this be about Sino-Japanese war?

Look at this girl. Even though she is surrounded by Japanese soldiers, with her Tai Chi Chuan, touch of death and flying steps, she kills all the gun-armed Japanese soldiers with bare hands.

This drama has combined the anti-Japanese invasion theme with a love story, are you genuinely fighting against the Japanese?

This is the best one. An anti-Japanese “hero” throws a bomb to the sky and takes down a Japanese fighter plane!!! This is such a bluff!

Jump off the cliff to catch the Japanese soldiers who are driving around and kill them… You would be damn lucky if you did not die, can anyone still expect you to kill Japanese soldiers?

I have heard that this gun is called AK47…

Netizens on Weibo disparaged the films, accusing them of distorting the invasion's actual history. In reaction to the still of the nude girl, “City Grass 2013″ (＠城草 2013) wrote [zh]:

惊闻抗战片竟然有女战士全裸面对一排战友的镜头，为了收视率真的一点底线都没有吗！近年拍的好多抗日片也是以搞好为噱头，甚至连妓女都成了抗日英雄，女演员在战场上也是描眉抹唇，搔首弄姿，严重与历史失实。这怎么能让孩子们看。

So shocked to hear that there is a nude heroine saluting to a group of Chinese soldiers in the anti-Japanese invasion drama. In exchange for a lot of viewers, there is no baseline?! In recent years, the anti-Japanese invasion dramas have a lot of strange ideas, some even turn prostitutes into anti-Japanese heroines. When the actresses are in the battlefield, they wear make-up and try to be sexually attractive. It has twisted the history. How can we let our kids see this?

User “Forest big wood” (＠林林林林大木) found [zh] the adult-television style hilarious:

这抗日片也能拍出AV的风格来，实在是彰显了我党一种与时俱进的好风气啊。鼓掌一整天…

The fact that they can develop adult-TV style out of anti-Japanese invasion theme has demonstrated our party's progressive style, it progresses with our times. I clapped my hands all day…

Script writer Bei Cun (@北村) was angry about the plot line [zh]:

拍点正儿八百的抗日片有什么不好？抗战是严肃而又悲壮的，是中国人心中之痛，这么戏耍太过份了！我觉得污染荧屏是一回事，最让人伤心的是对不起英烈们。因为他们真实流过的血和泪都因此被遮蔽了。

Can't they produce something more serious? The Sino-Japanese War is a very solemn historic episode and it is a trauma for Chinese people. Such plots not only pollute the TV screen, but also disgrace our heroes by burying their blood and tears.

User “Observe the Red Cross – 365″ (@看听-红十-365) wondered [zh] who is responsible for the situation:

电视一开全是抗日片，严重扭曲历史真象以及拿假爱国作为娱乐文化并获取利益，我就觉得超级恶心～～～～～仔细想想这是谁的错～～～～

The TV is flooded with anti-Japanese invasion dramas that distort history. They sell fake patriotism as entertainment to make a profit. This is so disgusting…. but when you have a second thought, who did the wrong deed…

Most Chinese people understand that propaganda authorities have encouraged the production of anti-Japanese drama. That's why user “ThreeWatches” called criticism from state-owned CCTV and People's Daily hypocritical [zh]:

抗日片确实烂得没有底线，但“科幻、愚民”这些话从央视和人民日报嘴里说出来，就像强奸犯骂别人猥亵妇女一样怪怪的。

It is true that the anti-Japanese invasion dramas have lost their baseline but when CCTV and People's Daily criticized them as “nonsense and obscurant”, it sounds strange as if rapists are accusing others for harassing women.

“Water Rita” (@水水Rita-天然呆) made fun of the nationalistic conspiracy language and said [zh]:

我怀疑，这些所谓的导演就是境外敌对势力，故意把抗日片拍成这样惹人厌的

I suspect the directors are the overseas enemy forces and they intentionally produce such awful anti-Japanese invasion dramas.

Earthquake Hits Awaji Island in Japan

Keiko Tanaka — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:20:22 +0000

Uploaded by Twitter User 島人JUN @baseball_re

A strong earthquake hit Awaji island of Japan on Saturday morning April 13, 2013. Twitter user JUN took this photo [ja] of the devastation. Seven people were severely injured, according to a report [ja].

Japan's First Non-Profit Radio Turns 10

Keiko Tanaka — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 03:45:48 +0000

The first non-profit community radio station to be licensed for broadcast in Japan made its debut a decade ago out of a small corner cafe in Kyoto city. Kyoto Sanjo Radio Cafe [ja], FM 79.7 on the dial, celebrated its 10-year anniversary on March 31, 2013. They aired a program to talk about how things have been in the community since the first broadcast.

FM79.7 Kyoto Sanjo Radio Cafe celebrates 10 year anniversary on March 31, 2013

South and North Korea in ‘State of War’

Lee Yoo Eun — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 06:04:52 +0000

North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats against South Korea and its allies. The North's latest aggression, however, has been as intense as ever and tensions in East Asia region have escalated dangerously fast over the past few weeks.

After the North nullified the armistice with the South Korea in early March 2013, the U.S.-South Korea executed joint military drills as a show of force. On March 28, the U.S.’s B-2 stealth bombers flew over the Korean peninsula and North's leader Kim Jong-un, taking this as the last straw and ordered missiles on standby on March 29. The next day, Kim also announced that the North is in a “state of war” with South Korea and vowed to shut down the Kaesong industrial complex, a joint venture between the two Koreas. On March 31, the United States sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea for another military drill.

Image of the U.S.-South Korea Annual Military Drill, Uploaded by Flickr user U.S. Army Korea (Historical Image Archive)

Even to South Koreans who have been overexposed to all kinds of hostile signals coming from the North, current developments were frightening indeed. And some net users tried to calm themselves by bringing up the old saying of ‘Barking Dog Never Bites’–which has become one of the most used metaphors in the Twitterverse and Blogsphere. However, how net users employed this clause, varied.

@idk209: 누군가 그러든데, 예전엔 한미가 대규모 훈련을 하면 북한도 맞대응 훈련을 했는데, 이젠 그것도 힘에 부치니 입으로 짖어대는 거라고.. 대게 맹렬하게 짖는 개들은 겁에 질려서 짖는 것이고, 그렇게 짖는 개가 무는 경우는 별로 없다…

@idk209: Some said the North, that usually responds to the US-South Korea joint military drills by having its own drills afterwards, is now in a situation that it lacks the stamina and tries instead to bark loud. Dogs, when frightened, bark murderously loud, but rarely bite.

@tobeto01: 북한의 전쟁 운운에 대하여..”짖는개는 물지 않는단”다. 하지만 그개가 미친개라면? 물리면 광견병 걸린다.

@tobeto01: Regarding North Korea’s war rhetoric, people say “Barking dog never bites”. But what if that dog is a crazy one? Victims will get rabies (referring to the following aftermath) when bitten by crazy one.

@nezerac: 안 짖는 개가 더 무섭다. 북한이 떠들면 떠들수록 개털이라는 말 하지만 우린 최악의 상황을 가정해서 대비를 해야 한다. 일일히 대꾸할 필요없다[...]

@nezerac: Of course seldom-barking dogs are more scary. And surely North Korea- the more they bark, the more they make fun of themselves by doing so. But still, we do need to prepare for the worst case scenario. But there is no need to respond every time to each of their barking.

But of course, there were some usual uninterested net users who have had so much disturbing news about North Korea that they grew numb to it. A tweet below shows how South Koreans take this news, comparing it to how Japanese citizens who are living in a country so prone to earthquakes, respond to news about earthquakes.

@kor_heinrich: 일본 : 강도 5도의 지진 발생 외신: 헐!! 야단났네! 일본국민 : 별거아님 자주있는 일임 한국: 북한, 서울 불바다 만들겠다! 외신 : 헐 야단났네! 한국국민: 별거아님 자주있는일임

@kor_heinrich: [Japan] When an earthquake of magnitude five points hits Japan, international Media says: Gasp! What a crisis!! Japanese citizen says: No biggie. That happens a lot more than you think. [South Korea] When North Korea claims it will turn Seoul into ‘sea of fire’, international Media says: Gasp! What a crisis!! Korean Citizen says: No biggie. That happens a lot more than you think.

When Gaesung Industrial complex, which provides the North access to $2 billion in trade a year, is closed, local reports predict it will affect livelihood of 300 thousand North Koreans [ko]. Some people discuss how different the crisis’ implications would be for North Korean power elite and ordinary North Korean citizens.

hssi84: 북한 지도층은 너무 권력의 물을 많이 먹어서 절대 권력을 놓치려 안할거란 사실이죠. 그런 사실로 봤을때는 망할 수도 있는 전쟁따위는 버릴겁니다. 권력은 쉽게 버릴수도 게임처럼 질러보기식으로 던질 수 없는거자나요

hssi84: North Korean leadership, who had too much of the sweet taste of power, will never let the power slip away. Those people are unlikely to risk a war which they will lose. Power is not just a random game they can merely try-out for fun nor something they can afford losing.

@ourholykorea: [...] 평화 시가 전쟁 시보다 나을 바가 없기 때문이다. 6.25때 죽은 사람보다 90년대 배급중단으로 굶어죽은 사람 숫자가 더 많았던 게 현실이다.

@ourholykorea: (for North Korean people) Peace situation is not better than war. It is cruel reality that more North Korean people died back in 90s when food distribution halted than those killed during the Korean War.

The tensions and conflicts have increased so far with no sign of alleviation, and some predictions claim Kim Jong-un may actually pull the trigger just not to lose face [ko]. More than a few net users voiced concern that responding to hostility with more hostility may not be a wise move, considering what South Korea could lose in case of a real war.

@toplkw: ”북한 도발시 1차 세계대전 수준 사상자 발생” http://www.viewsnnews.com/article/view.jsp?seq=98067 적대관계와 냉전적사고로가면 우리안보가 튼튼해지나 이 수구들아.

@toplkw: In the case of North Korea actually making (some military) provocations, the number of victims could amount to those of the World War 1: link to local article [ko] Listen, you conservatives: It is unlikely that responding to their hostility with another hostility (will ever solve the problem) and having cold-war mentality will not magically strengthen our national security.

@welovehani:미 스텔스 전투기가 한반도에 떠서 안전해지면 좋았겠지만. 북한의 반응은 정전협정 파기 선언. 도발은 북이 먼저 했기에 비난받아 마땅하지만. 도발에 똑같이 도발하는 대응 방식에 미국에서마저도 우려의 목소리가 나오고 있다.

@welovehani: It would have been good if the U.S.’s stealth flights which flew over the Korean peninsula worked in a way of protecting our security. However (after that) the North Korea decided to announce the end of the truce. I am not defending the North, actually I blame them for having started all these provocations in the first place. But even some people in the United States, have started voicing worries on how the U.S. handles this situation– responding to provocation with equal provocation.

VIDEO: Student Film on Japan's Ruthless Job Hunt Goes Viral

Keiko Tanaka — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:33:18 +0000

Finding a job in today's tough economy is hard. But for Japanese college students, the country's ultra-competitive recruitment process or “shu-katsu” which starts a year or more before graduation, takes things to a whole new level.

Recruitment Rhapsody, an emotional short animated film that captures the rigid and obstacle-ridden job hunt process Japanese students must endure has gone viral with more than 350,000 views.

The film by art student Maho Yoshida [ja] was uploaded to YouTube on March 9, 2013 and illustrates a regular carefree university student who suddenly finds herself struggling to find a job among a crowd of focused, competitive, and uniformly dressed sycophants.

YouTube user afas afsa looked back to his days of job hunting in this comment [ja]:

afas afsa:
ああこんな感じだったなあ不気味な就活生の一員になるのは嫌だったけど、内定が無いのも嫌だった
笑われないよう間違えないよう、見よう見まねで、自分も不気味な就活生に成り果てた
「就活が下手」という、ただそれだけの理由で、一体どれぐらいの才能ある若者たちが無能のレッテルを貼られて心を挫かれていったのだろうと思った

Oh, I remember I used to be like this. I hated being a part of the crowd of job-hunters, but I also hated having no job offers. I tried not to make any mistakes, so as not to be laughed at…just do as everyone else does. I was reduced to that condition by the dreadful job search. I wonder how many talented young people must be labeled incompetent and are heart-broken, just because they ”lack job-hunting skills”.

While youth unemployment in Japan is not as bad as most of the developed world, most commenters were worried that the rigid social structure, not the economy, made the recruiting process competitive and complex:

Bad Apple:
自分を取り繕うだけで社会から認められるという社会構造がまずゴミだな。

If the only way to gain recognition from society is to conceal your true self, then the structure of society must be rotten in the first place, right?

blackkitty0312:
日本はこういう社会構造だというのを世界から見てどう思うのか？

If this is what the social structure of Japan is like, what must the rest of the world think when they see this?

Students at a recruiting company's briefing session.
Photo by Dick Thomas Johnson (CC BY 2.0) taken on December 11, 2011

kokore012ify:
今の日本社会にはどこか束縛があるような気がする。ビニールハウスに閉じ込められたような。これからの日本はもっと自分という人間を表現できる時代が来るべきだと思っている。動画をうpされたかた、本当に面白い作品でした。

I feel a sense of restriction in Japanese society today, as if I were trapped inside a greenhouse. In the future in Japan, I feel that there should be a time in which you can express yourself as a human being. Thank you for uploading the video, it was very interesting.

However some commenters disagreed that the recruiting system crushed individuality:

Mephist007:
就職するという意味を良く考えよう。貴方に給料を払ってくれるのは、貴方を拘束しているからじゃない。また自分が利益を作り出せる人間であれば会社に所属する必要はない。もはや「働いたら働いた分お金がもらえる」という仕事は存在しない。たとえ数年は無理でも、将来会社の利益を作り出せる人材であると思ってもらえれば、会社は貴方を雇用します。貴方と会社は対等なのです。

Let's think about the meaning of a “job”. If I'm paying you a salary, it's not because I want to restrain you. People who can produce their own profits do not need to belong to a company. The “work, and get money for each minute worked” type of job doesn't exist anymore. Even if it will not happen for a few years, if there are people who will generate profits for the company in the future, the company will employ them. You and the company are equal.

aiueoribabaable:
この動画はよくできていると思います。ただ、「就活はやっぱり馬鹿らしい」みたいなコメントはどうかと。いままでの受験だって偏差値という画一的な価値観に自分を合わせる作業だったし、社会ってそういうものでは？？
それに就活生に同じように求められている社会の基礎的なマナーであって（だって茶髪・長髪で面接に行くのはおかしいでしょう）、その上に個性はいくらでも築けるよ。

I think this video is well-done. But I doubt the wisdom of the “Job-hunting is so ridiculous!” type of comments. In school, the examinations were uniform, and you had to tailor yourself to the standard. Isn't it the same case for society?
The same basic manners of society are required for job-hunting students (it would be odd to go to the job interview with long hair, or dyed hair). Nevertheless, you can still develop your individuality beyond the basic [recruitment] etiquette.

YouTube user posaburo went a step further and suggested that students need to think out of the box:

posaburo:
“模範解答のある社会から、模範解答の無い社会に出るにあたって戸惑う学生。就活にあたって「こうしなければ」と思っている時点で「模範解答社会=学校」から
抜け出せていない。人の真似をしていたらビジネスはできないよん”

Since students are only taught the “correct answers” while at school, these students are confused when they have to confront the real world, without definite answers. While job-hunting, they are thinking that they must act upon “correct answers”, and they still are not able to escape from the school mentality. You can't do business simply by imitating what other people do, right?

Comments were translated by Andrew Kowalczuk