Global Voices Online » Japan

Japan: Personal Donations to Politicians

Tomomi Sasaki — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:10:57 +0000

With “Love Japan“, Rakuten Inc. has enabled personal donations to politicians via credit card, a first in Japan. Hit Okano [ja] ponders about the relationship between the amount of donated money and its influence on politicians, while blogger Satotaku [ja] refers to U.S. President Obama's success with online contributions and expects other services to follow.

Russia-Japan: Renewed row over the Kuril Islands

Vilhelm Konnander — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:53:02 +0000

LJ user rover seti reacts against [RUS] a resolution of Japan's parliamentary House of Councillors, declaring the Kuril Islands, occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, Japanese territory “since ancient times.”

Japan: Amano elected as IAEA chief, some doubts

Scilla Alecci — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:20:03 +0000

Lawyer and blogger raymiyatake expresses his doubts [ja] over the election of Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano as director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). First, he says, Amano was supported by only 23 nations out of 35. Second, he points out the difficult situation that the Agency is dealing with, at present, and the “unfairness” of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which should be applied also to the five members already recognized as possessing nuclear power. Lastly, he suggests that instead of promoting a “pacific use” of nuclear energy, this should be replaced with clean energy sources (such as the geothermal or the aeolian ones).

Japan: Eight endangered languages in the Japanese archipelago

Scilla Alecci — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:19:19 +0000

In February UNESCO presented the Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, giving an accurate and worrying description of the languages considered endangered (about 2,500). Among these eight belong to the Japanese archipelago. Not a big surprise if we think about the severe policies of linguistic and cultural assimilation carried out by the Japanese government until the end of the WW2, after completing the annexation during the 19th century of the Ryukyu reign (now Okinawa) and the island of Hokkaido inhabited by the Ainu people.

Still, the continuing presence of a variety of languages different from Japanese, in a country that (also in the recent past) some important politicians have boasted of being a ‘one race Nation‘, has surprised many who read the news in a national newspaper [ja].

The owner of the small restaurant Amami No Ie, on one island of the Amami archipelago (Okinawa), comments on the news that his dialect is considered in danger of extinction and regards the forced assimilation by the Japanese mainland government, which started from education during the first decades of the 20th century, as one of the causes.

日本で消滅危機にある言語の中に、我が奄美諸島の「奄美語」も入っていました。
今回は深くは掘り下げませんが、歴史を辿ると戦前戦後に「方言を使うな！という方言禁止の時代」もあり、その頃から方言が衰退していったのではないかといわれています。
また一口に奄美語といっても、島によって地域によって言葉もイントネーションも異なるので、奄美群島の人たちが交通の利便性もよくなったことで島々（シマジマ）を頻繁に行き来できるようになり、よその人達とコミュニケーションをとる為にも方言を使わなくなってきたともいわれてますよね。

Among the languages at risk of extinction there is also our islands' language, the Amami language.
This time I won't dwell upon the details too much but if we look back at the history, before and after the war the usage of languages [other than the standard Japanese] was prohibited and since then the habit of speaking them started to disappear.
Moreover, what is called the Amami language is actually different from island to island, from area to area, in both words and intonation. Some say that the reason the Amami language is dying out is because the Amami islanders now constantly travel between islands as a result of improved transportation, and have stopped using their local languages to communicate with other people.

残念ながら僕も「シマゆむた（言葉）」で話せません。僕らの世代が使ってる言葉は方言のほんの一部と標準語が入り交ざった「トン普通語」といいます。
しかし「奄美のシマ唄」はしっかり方言で伝えられています。シマ唄を継承している人たちなら「奄美の方言」を守っていけるのではと思います。

Unfortunately, I can't speak the shima yumuta, the island language, either. The language that our generation speak is called ‘ton ordinary language', and it's a mixture of dialect and standard Japanese.
However the Amami islands songs are sung in ‘dialect', which ensures it is handed down correctly. I indeed believe that those who are nurturing these folksongs will be the ones to keep the Amami language alive.

Amami Island. Flicr id: Takayukix

Also another blogger, native of Hachijô Island (one of the furthest Japanese islands, which belong to Tokyo Prefecture) has discovered that his hometown dialect is actually a language.

八丈語？？？方言ではなくて？

The Hachijô LANGUAGE and not DIALECT?

[…]

八丈島には独特の方言があり、温泉なんかで飛び交う年配の方の会話は聴いていてとても不思議でそして心地よいものです。
「八丈語」といっても、実はこの小さな島で5つの方言（言語？）があるのですよ。
末吉・中之郷・樫立・大賀郷・三根
という地域ごとに独自の話し言葉が発達・継承されてきたのだそうです。
私にはさっぱり聞き分けられませんが・・・

Hachijô Island has its own specific dialect and when I go to a spa and listen to the old people speaking, it sounds a bit odd yet familiar at the same time.
Also if we call it Hachijô dialect, actually there are five different dialects (or languages?) on this little island.
Sueyoshi, Nakanogo, Kashi, Okago, Mine
Each of these has developed and inherited its own way of speaking.
But I cannot distinguish between them at all…

消滅の危機に瀕しているというのは、若年層の人が島言葉をあまり話さないことからも納得がいきます。
TVやネットなど情報通信は発達し、東京へ飛行機で40分、簡単に行き来もでき、ある程度の年齢になれば東京その他に移住していってしまう・・・
言語の変化はライフスタイルの変化と密接な関係がありますよね。
私は「八丈語」継承の担い手にはなれないでしょうが、あそび半分でちょっとだけ島言葉を使ってみたりもしています。

It is said that the reason why they are at risk of extinction is because young people don't speak their island language, and I think this is true.
Together with the development of TV, the internet and faster communication, it's possible to fly to Tokyo in 40 minutes, and easily come and go plus at a certain age many people tend to move to Tokyo or other areas…
The changes of a language are strictly related to those in the lifestyle.
I personally cannot take upon myself the task of inheriting the Hachijô language but partly because it's fun I like to use it sometimes.

Hachijojima. Flickr id: world waif.

Among the languages indicated as 'severely endangered' by the Unesco's report there is the Ainu language, at present spoken properly only by 15 people. Its extinction, then, is a serious problem also because it has no written alphabet the language and its traditions can only be transmitted orally.

A blogger calls on the necessity to do something practical to avoid the disappearance of the Ainu language.

アイヌ語の危機的状況は既に知られており、アイヌ文化の保存だけではなく普及の必要性も認められてきた。
「アイヌの先住民族認定を求める決議」　が国会で可決され、「有識者懇談会」　も発足した。
しかし、アイヌ民族の権利の法的保障や、言語・文化をどのように継承していくのか、未だ不透明だ。
これまでの日本人からの圧迫と同化政策が落とした暗い影、不当な差別と偏見の解消は容易ではない。

The condition of the Ainu language is already well known and what has become necessary lately is not only the preservation of the culture but also the spread of its use.
A resolution that recognizes the Ainu people as the aborigines of Japan has already been passed by the Diet [See GV article] and the ‘Group of Experts' [to study the Ainu issues] was inaugurated. However, how the Ainu's rights will be legally safeguarded and how their language and culture will be handed down, it is still a mystery. It is not so simple at all to erase the unfair prejudices and discrimination, as well as the dark shadow that the Japanese assimilation policies and oppression have cast.

北海道のＳＴＶラジオでアイヌ語ラジオ講座を放送するなど、アイヌ語の普及の動きもある。
北海道立アイヌ民族文化研究センターには音声資料も保存されている。
しかし、アイヌ語話者は減少し、学校教育だけでなく家族内の会話も日本語の現状では厳しい。

STV radio in Hokkaido broadcasts lessons of the Ainu language [ja] and there are movements for the spread of the Ainu language. In the Ainu Culture Research Center of Hokkaido [ja], for example, they keep original voice recordings. But the Ainu language speakers are decreasing and the worrying thing is that not only at school but also at home Japanese only is spoken.

Biei, Hokkaido. Flickr id: Taro416

Masayuki reflects on the death of a language and its meaning.

最近の学説がどうなっているかは知らないのだけれど、言語は思考に影響を与えるという考え方は、ワタシはかなり妥当なのではないかと思っていて、だとすると、ひとつの言語が滅びるということは、その言語によって認識される「世界（観）」が消えてゆくということだと思えるのですね。

I don't know much about the recent theories but I think the theory that language has an influence on the way of thinking is appropriate. For this reason, when a language dies, also the world of values represented and implied by that language also dies.

古くからの言葉を守ろう/いや言葉は変わるもの、という議論もしばしば聞くけれど、それは、正しい言葉/正しくない言葉、という観点よりも、言葉が象る世界の「多様性」や「豊かさ」の可能性が消えてゆくのか/広がってゆくのか、という点で語られるべき話なのではないかと。

Often there is a debate on whether it is better to keep a language as it was in the past or to change it. However, more than thinking if a language is ‘right' or not, shouldn't we perhaps focus on the possibility of enrichment and variety deriving from the world that every language symbolize can vanish or [if kept] be spread?

Here is a video by Isamu Shimoji (下地勇) singing the song Obaa in the dialect of Miyako Island. [Only 3000 people in Japan are said to be able to understand this language]

Japan: Gundam 30th anniversary

Scilla Alecci — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:01:02 +0000

This year is Mobile Suit Gundam's 30th birthday.
While a giant statue of the robot stands in Odaiba's park (in the Tokyo bay area), in a theatre of northern Tokyo, blogger/actress Rie Takahashi [ja] and her crew pay tribute to the animated television series in stage play Robot.

Japan: On How to Perceive the Japanese Web (Part Three)

Tomomi Sasaki — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:54:39 +0000

Continued from Part Two.

As examples of the Japanese web that it isn't ‘disappointing' at all, many bloggers referred to the success of the video sharing website Nico Nico Douga. A-list blogger Dan Kogai pointed to the recipe site Cook Pad (which went public a few weeks ago) and Yahoo! Japan as stellar examples.

So, what next?

Romeo at OpenMediaLaboratory doesn't see anything wrong with the current direction:

私はWebの世界はもっと「愚衆化」が進めばいいと思っている。サブカルチャーの部分がどんどん進めばいい。新たな文化は結局サブカルチャーであったり、アンダーグラウンドな世界からしか生まれない。徹底的に愚衆化が進めば、そこから新たな何かが生まれるだろう。

その過程として、日本のWebが「残念」な状況になるなら全く問題ないと思うのは私だけだろうか。もっともっと愚衆化が進んで残念な状況になれば、そこから自浄作用も生まれてくるだろうし、新しいメディアの形が見えてくるのではないか。

I think there should be more ‘idiocy of the masses' coming from the web. Subculture should be more prevalent. New culture is born only from sub and underground cultures. Something new will come out comprehensive idiocy.

Am I the only one who thinks there's nothing wrong that if in this process the Japanese web is ‘disappointing'? With more ignorance and disappointment, the web will take on a self-cleaning function and naturally weed things out. As a result, a new form of media will take arise.

Ichiru at Kotori Piyopiyo notes that subculture is equally strong in the English web and that the difference is that their ‘higher ups' and ‘professionals' “actively use web services, invest in the web, place ads, and communicate via blogs and social services”. He wonders if the reason for the ‘disappointment' is a lack of effort by the Japanese elite and proposes:

だから……ここは梅田さんがひと肌脱いで、日本の「最先端・最高峰な一流の人」たち、ハイブロウでエスタブリッシュメントな人たちを、ネットの世界に引きずり込んで、日本のネットをより高尚にするというプロジェクトを開始してみてはいかがでしょうか？
[…]
なんでもいいのですが、今の梅田さんの立ち位置だったら、今までネットには及び腰だった人たちを、ネットに向けさせることが可能だと思います。そういう意味で、梅田さんには期待しています。または梅田さん自身が動けないのであれば、同じような残念感を共有する他のどなたかか。

So… how about Mr. Umeda step up to the plate and start a project to elevate the Japanese web? Drag all of the high-brow people that are part of the establishment into the web!
[…]
The project can be about anything but with Mr. Umeda's current standing, I think it's possible for him to change the minds of people who are reluctant to take part in the web. In this regard, I have high expectations for Mr. Umeda. Actually, it could be started by anyone who shares this feeling of disappointment, he can't take action himself.

It's become evident that Umeda is considered to be an outsider, as clarified in Motohiko Tokuriki's post as he reaffirms his resolution to enliven his part of the web.

米国のインターネットの最新事情や方向性は教えてもらえるとしても、

それが日本にとってどういう意味があるのか、

日本のインターネットはどういう風になるべきなのか、

日本のインターネットのどこが世界のインターネットにも役に立ちうるのか

ということを考えるのは、やっぱり日本のインターネットで生きていくことを決めて、日本で生きている私たちの役目であり、義務ですよね。

We can continue to learn about the direction of the Internet in the United States from Mr. Umeda, but thinking about

What it means for Japan
The direction that the Japanese web should take
How the Japanese web can be of use to the world

is our role and our responsibility, as people who have chosen to live in Japan and its web.

He has accepted the interview as a challenge from Umeda and reporter Yuka Okada, and is currently planning an event, tentatively titled ‘Web Innovation Summit', for people to make presentations on web services and devices that will boost the Japanese web.

もし、今回の「日本のWebは「残念」」という記事タイトルに、怒りを感じたり、悲しさを感じたり、悔しさを感じるのであれば。そうじゃないことを証明し、胸を張って日本のネットの面白さを自分たちや世界にアピールするにはどうすれば良いか、日本のネットを使い、形作っている私たち自身が行動して証明するしかないんだろうな、と。

As someone who was angered, saddened, or frustrated by the title of the interview, I can do no less than prove that it isn't so, and show the world with confidence that the Japanese web is exciting.

Japan: Aokigahara and Suicide

Tomomi Sasaki — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:58:26 +0000

Matt Holland at Feedbackward on Aokigahara, and Meaningful Suicide in Japan - “The ubiquitous and accessible nature of trains in Japan make them a logical and effective choice for those attempting suicide, but it is Aokigahara, the forest situated at the base of iconic Mount Fuji that hosts the most suicides of any location in Japan, and is second in the world only to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.”

Japan: Implications of the Population Crisis

Tomomi Sasaki — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:24:01 +0000

Ian Wright at Japanian analyzes the implications of the diminishing population in Japan from an economic, political, and military point of view.

Japan: Manga-style illustrations by Shohei Otomo

Oiwan Lam — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:18:33 +0000

Pink Tentacle has a selection of Manga-style illustrations by ballpoint pen artist, Shohei Otomo.

Japan: On How to Perceive the Japanese Web (Part Two)

Tomomi Sasaki — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:04:03 +0000

Part Two and Part Three of this post highlights some of the discussions in the blogosphere and Twittersphere that followed the conterversial interview “The Japanese web is ‘disappointing': An interview with Mr. Mochio Umeda, summarized in Part One. [All links in this article link to Japanese content unless otherwise noted.]

At the very least, the interview kick-started a serious dialog on how we perceive the Japanese web and the direction that it's taking. Mochio Umeda played a major role in shaping our current perception, starting with a popular blog about trends in the English web in 2003. His influence extended to the general public when he published “Web Shinkaron” (”Theory of Web Evolution”) in 2006, and took on the role of educator and evangelist for Web 2.0. @tsuda tweeted:

『ウェブ進化論』の凄さは、一見最新のネット事情をわかりやすく説明する「解説書」の体裁を取っていながら、物心ついたときからネットが側にある若者に対して「既得権益層を潰しちゃえよ！」というメッセージを発信していたところにある。

The brilliance of ‘Web Shinkaron' is that while taking the shape of a ‘practical guide to the web', the book actually transmits the message “Break down the establishment!” to young people who've had the Internet at their side since childhood.

In this context, much of the initial reactions to the interview were heated analysis of Umeda himself and included quite a few personal attacks that emphasized his lack of awareness of the responsibility that comes from being in an influential and public position. For example, Takayuki Fukatsu, after underscoring that it was Hatena who failed at making inroads into the U.S. market, commented on his blog:

「Web進化論」みたいな、宗教的なカリスマになったからには、衆民にご利益と実績を示し続けないと、宗教は機能しないと思うんよ。煽ってムーブメントを作り出したからには、梅田さんなり、はてななりがそれを実践しないと、「あぁ、あの人の言っていたことは机上の空論だったのだなぁ」と、逆にみんなそれを諦めちゃうんじゃないかと。それが、「web進化論的なるものは日本では失敗する」っていう共通認識が、いまのwebのがっかり感の基盤なんじゃないかなと。煽るだけ煽ってリタイアしながら、日本のwebが「残念」とか言われても、どうしろというのかと。

Since Mr. Umeda gained cult-like status for ‘Web Shinkaron', he's obligated to continue bestowing boons and displaying accomplishments to the public, or else the ‘religion' will stop functioning. He's the one that fanned the flames and started the movement; therefore Mr. Umeda or Hatena must carry out the vision, or else people will give up and say “Oh, he was nothing but talk.” The common perception “The world from Web Shinkaron will fail in Japan” is the basis for this disappointment that we share. What are we to do? He's fanned the flames all he likes and retired, and yet calls the Japanese web a ‘disappointment'.

As Umeda predicted, many people pointed a finger at Hatena as the reason for the current state of the Japanese web, with varying degrees of opinion on how ‘disappointing' it is. Economist Nobuo Ikeda focused on the part about how the web has not developed beyond the realm of subculture:

この「残念」な状況を作り出した大きな原因は、はてなである。梅田氏が「バカなコメントが多い」といったように、実名の生産的な批判より匿名の悪罵のほうが圧倒的に多いことが「上の人」を萎縮させ、日本のウェブのレベルを下げているのだ。その結果、アメリカのブログは著名人が既存メディアの枠を超えてリアルタイムで議論する場になり、大手メディアに対抗する存在になりつつあるのに、彼も嘆くように日本のブログはますます劣化している。

[….]

日本をだめにしているのは、このような日本企業の家父長的な構造と、それにチャレンジしないでストレスを飲み屋やウェブで発散するサラリーマンだ。はてなは結果的には、こうした卑怯者に「ガス抜き」のプラットフォームを提供することによって、この救いのない（梅田氏も嫌悪する）システムを延命する役割を果たしている。このアーキテクチャを個人が変えることはできないが、はてなの取締役である梅田氏には現状を改善する意思決定は可能だ。それをしないで他人事のように「残念」というのは、加害者の開き直りにしか見えない。

One big catalyst for this ‘disappointing' situation is Hatena itself. Like Mr. Umeda's comment that “there are many stupid comments”, the fact that anonymous bashing is more pervasive than constrictive criticism under real names have made the ‘higher ups' shy away and subsequently lowered the level of the Japanese web. As a result, the American blogosphere has become a place for real-time discussions by prominent figures that go beyond the borders of the existing media. Meanwhile the Japanese blogosphere, like he despairs, continues to deteriorate.

[…]

What's bringing down Japan is the patriarchal structure of Japanese corporations and the salarymen that don't challenge the status quo but release their frustration online or in bars. In hindsight, Hatena has offered a venting place for these cowards and fulfills the role of life-support to this hopeless system (that Mr. Umeda also detests). One person as an individual cannot change this architecture, but it's possible for Mr. Umeda, as an executive of Hatena, to make decisions to improve the situation. Summing it up as ‘disappointing' as if this were someone else's problem, without making such an attempt, is a perpetrator's easy way out.

Not very many bloggers ventured into comparing the English and Japanese web. Journalist Nobuyuki Hayashi is the noted exception, with a fantastic post on the difference in scope, competitiveness, feedback, profitability, and diversity of the two cultural spheres.

“So what’s up with the Japanese web – disappointing or enthralling?” was posted by Adamu at Mutantfrog Travelogue following a flurry of Tweets between Marxy and our own Chris Salzberg. There is a good discussion in the comments section, with language differences adding another twist to the debate.

Eiji Sakai, who blogs in English, Japanese and Vietnamese asks how many of us have a deep enough understanding of the English web to give constructive feedback on Umeda's views. He wonders if the Japanese inferiority complex towards the United States and Silicon Valley influenced our response, and doubts it would have been so excessive if Umeda lived in Saigon instead of Silicon Valley.

Michi Kaifu surmised that the aftermath of the interview proves to a point that Umeda's frustration is on target. She likens Umeda's vision of the web to a virtual School of Athens and offers her take in this way:

サブカルにもEコマースにもどんどん使われて大歓迎だけれど、この「アテネの学堂」の世界に限って言えば、「知的エリート」だけの世界である。すぐにメシのタネになるわけでもないのに、へとへとになるほどの頭脳エネルギーを絞って、知の形成過程に参加することに甘美な楽しみを見出せるような類の人だけの世界である。それが、全然ないわけじゃないだろうけど、あまりに小さく弱いと見える。

つまり、彼は日本（あるいは日本語世界）の知的エリートたちがふがいないことを攻撃している。同時に、知的エリートの世界に参加したいと潜在的に思っている人たちをつまらない嫉妬で引きずりおろそうとする「大衆の愚」に怒っている。

For subculture and e-commerce to flourish is welcome, but the world of the ‘School of Athens' is one thats limited to the ‘intellectual elite'. It's for people that can find sweet pleasure in concentrating all of their energy into the process of creating knowledge, even if it doesn't put food on the table. This world, while not entirely absent, seems far too small and weak.

In other words, Mr. Umeda is attacking the shamelessness of the Japanese elite. At the same time, he's angry at the 'stupidity of the general public' that, with trivial jealousy, drags down the people who latently aspire to participating in the world of the intellectual elite.

Continued in Part Three.

Bahrain: Comparing Government Efficiency In Bahrain And Japan

Ayesha Saldanha — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:13:23 +0000

Bahraini blogger Yagoob is studying in Japan, and he compares the experience of receiving financial aid from the Bahraini and Japanese governments: “Nagoya is a city with a population of 2.2 million people, four times more people than Bahrain, and yet they are sure of every single piece of information they have and work accordingly.”

Japan: Shiso-flavored Pepsi

Tomomi Sasaki — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:00:07 +0000

Pepsi Shiso (Japanese for perilla or beefsteak plant) went on sale a couple of days ago - Curzon loved it while Darg thought it was nasty.

ISS: Photos and a Poem from Koichi Wakata

Tomomi Sasaki — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:00:45 +0000

Astronaut Koichi Wakata on the International Space Station posted some photographs, including one of Sarychev Volcano while it was erupting (Also part of NASA's Image of the Day Gallery), and a tanka poem: “My home planet enwrapped / The blue light of the atmosphere shines”.

Japan: News Digest from Tokyo Art Beat Blog

Tomomi Sasaki — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:00:32 +0000

William Andrews has posted this week's News Digest at the Tokyo Art Beat Blog. The series is a good mix of local and international art news stories.

Japan: Moonwalker, Jacko's video game

Scilla Alecci — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:00:47 +0000

Esu-kei remembers [ja] the popular video game Moonwalker featuring the animated version of Michael Jackson. The object of the action game by Sega is to score points destroying the bad guys with moondust and choreographic kicks. When the enemies are all beaten, the children are safe.