|
|
|
My Blog |
 |
| I find the Japanese Citizenship System is interesting. |
Many times I get asked by friends and family to explain the Japanese Citizenship System but since I've never experienced it my self, I have trouble getting my facts completely straight. I just saw this post by a guy named Peter who lives in Japan and owns a very successful business. I read his blog quite often for some interesting inside information and So I thought everyone I know should read this post he made, for it explains the system in good detail.
Peter:
Last time I talked about Donald Keene, the Japanese scholar and translator who came to Japan and took Japanese citizenship, and I thought I'd expand on that a bit. It's quite easy for residents of Japan to become naturalized citizens if they desire it, with the basic rules being five years of consecutive residence in Japan, a history of good behavior, and basic Japanese language skills. In the past anyone wanting Japanese citizenship was required to legally take a Japanese name in officially-designated kanji characters. While I'm all in favor of writing Western names in kanji characters , this requirement led to strained relations with Japan's large Korean minority, who maintained South or North Korean nationality in part because they were insulted by the idea of taking a Japanese name. While most countries including the U.S. have no issue with allowing dual citizenship, Japan officially requires that anyone desiring to be naturalized renounce citizenship in any other country; however this appears to be a classic case of tatemae (a facade, a social rule that's ignored by everyone in practice), and the requirement is not enforced in practice. Incidentally, I live in Japan on a permanent residence visa (eijuken), not bothering to get Japanese citizenship because, as my wife points out, I'm more interesting as an American than a Japanese who's is bad at kanji. (If you have more questions about possibly living in Japan, there's a handbook for that .)
 |
| Valentine's Day in Japan |
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, when millions of Japanese males will wake up hoping to receive chocolate from their wives, girlfriends, mothers, daughters, female co-workers and any random girl who may be in a chocolate-giving mood. The story of how February 14 became a day for females to give chocolate to the men in their lives (as opposed to the other way around) is an interesting one. The first Valentine's Day advertisement in Japan appeared in Showa 11 (1936), when a chocolate shop in Kobe called Morozoff promoted its wares as being perfect for lovers to enjoy together. World War II got in the way soon after, and it was a long time before anyone could think of anything as frivolous as chocolate. In 1958, the manager of the Isetan department store in Shinjuku got the idea of having a Western-style Valentine' s Day chocolate sale, but it was a total flop (just five boxes of chocolates were sold); however things picked up a few years later when Morinaga started promoting Valentine's Day as a chance to "give chocolate to the people you love." It was around 1975 when the meme of women giving chocolate to men took off, as girls decided to take the initiative and confess their feelings to boys they liked, and also show thanks to the men in their lives who help and support them. There are two kinds of chocolate, honmyo or "real heart" chocolate, received from someone who really cares for you, and giri or "obligation" chocolate, given by female office workers to their bosses or male co-workers because they feel it's expected of them.
Some good news for foreigners living in Japan (or soon hope to be living in Japan, Amen): a new Alien Registration System is coming which will make it easier for gaijin residents here. The new system has several new benefits, the most welcome being the elimination of the "reentry stamp" system, a $60 official stamp foreigners had to get in their passports if they wanted to be able to re-enter the country after going abroad, which was both inconvenient and potentially a big problem since it was easy to find yourself with an expired stamp suddenly. Since the problem of Japan's declining population is only going to get worse -- this year the number of "new adults" turning 20 years old was just 1.2 million, exactly half the peak of 2.4 million back in 1970 -- I believe the country should take real steps to encourage people to immigrate to Japan permanently. Just to be clear, I'm not knocking the treatment foreigners in Japan receive currently, as I know that gaijin have it better in Japan than foreigners in almost every other country. But making changes that make it easier for foreigners to live easily in Japan, like getting rid of that annoying re-entry stamp system, is a positive step forward in my book.
Other changes to this system our still on the table. One that I am familiar with is the problem of gaijin who would like to fully immigrate and because a Japanese Citizen but because of Japanese law you would have to renounce your current citizenship. Which so few Americans are willing to do. The other is their marriage registration system that foreigners do not show up on. If you marry an Japanese citizen you are not recognized as their spouse by the federal government only by your local government. This causes problems for parents that receive frequent visits from social services due to them thinking they are a single parent.
 |
| Haruhi Suzumiya for President 2012 |
It's quite nice to not live in the U.S. when a Presidential election rolls around, because you can look forward to a peaceful year without being bombarded by a lot of negative political messages 24 hours a day. That's not to say Japanese elections are a walk in the park -- the primary method of getting people to vote for you involves driving around in a car shouting "I am Yamada! I will work hard for you! Please support me in the upcoming election!" through a loudspeaker from dawn til dusk -- but at least that part is over within a week or so.
Politics in Japan are fundamentally different from in the U.S., as they are probably are in every country. While the U.S. has a two-party political system with Republicans and Democrats, even tough it was not that way in the beginning, Japan has a number of active parties, including the current ruling Democratic Party of Japan, which is a lot more like the democratic party of President Kennedy then the version we have today (eh! hem!), which rode to power on a "manifesto" of promises like making expressways toll-free and paying every family $130 per child per month, most of which have been repealed quietly; the pro-business Liberal Democratic Party, which held power for nearly 50 years in postwar Japan; the New Komeito Party, once the official political arm of the Sokka Gakkai evangelical Buddhist religion; the Japan Communist Party, and so on. To be right-wing in Japanese politics means to be pro-Emperor as well as pro-Yasukuni (the controversial shrine where Japan's wartime leaders are interred, as well as the souls of all the normal souldiers who faught and died). Right-wingers famously drive around in loudspeaker trucks blasting songs from World War II, and sometimes (awesomely) the theme to Space Battleship Yamato (Sort of the Star Trek of Japan); they also lament Japan's weakened position in international politics and get very upset over territorial disputes with China, South Korea and Russia. Left-leaning Japanese dislike the Emperor and the Japanese national anthem Kimigayo, seen as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression, and some educators have been fired for refusing to sing the song at official events. Left-wing Japanese are apt to be pro-China and critical of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty that has bound Japan and the U.S. militarily for the past half-century. So next time you get all upset over how messed up our country is think about Japan. For they have quite a more interesting struggle on their hands.
Well, It looks like we are staring down the barrel of the 2012 gun. It's so amazing to think about all the disasters this world has encountered within just one year, from disaster to prosperity, we seem to make it though this thing we call life as well as we do. I really can not believe that it has not been almost 9 months already since the Twin Disasters in Japan that devastated their country and interestingly tourism from the west (Asia) for them has returned to pre-tsunami levels but the tourism from the east (America) is still not even 1/10th of what it was before. It makes me sad that we, Christian America (or what remains to be christian), seem to show very little compassion to their situation. I've heard though the grape vine that it's so bad that the Japanese Government is considering to offer a Airplane ticket to westerners on their dime to help bring the tourism back, in exchange they want the people chosen to write blogs and stories about their trips to encourage others to go (So, Yes. Existing bloggers have a better chance of being chosen.), But interesting if the proposal gets passed by their government, entries will not be accepted until at least March.
 |
| Wishing you a Merry CHRISTmas! |
In light of it being Christmas Eve I want write about some of the history of Christianity in Japan. The first documented christian to visit Japan would be Francis Xavier in 1549 whom was affiliated with the Portuguese Catholics. It was assumed by the Japanese that Christianity was a new religion from India for several mistaken reasons. Over the next 50 years the Christian faith had grown to very large numbers until 1603 when Leyasu Tokugawa became the shogun of Japan, he placed limitations on missionary work, which lead to the outright banning of Christianity in 1626, in part because the Shogun was concerned that Japan might end up as a colony of foreign powers, as was happening in asia already, and they were also concerned that the rice farmers would turn on the government over the rice taxes. Despite the banning, thousands of kakure-kurishitan (hidden Christians) continued to practice their faith in secret, creating statues of Maria reworked to resemble Buddhist Bodhisattva and passing the torch from generation to generation. They even hidden icons of the reworked Maria image into lamp posts and roof tiles of temples, to let Christians that were on the run that they were with fellow Christians at these locations. Some hidden Christians ran to small islands to continue there faith, in which one island colony of Christians was not even known to exist until 1890 went they made them self's known. When Japan was reopened to foreigner access in 1853 many Christian clergymen were sent from Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, though proselytism was still banned. After the Meiji Restoration, freedom of religion was introduced in 1871, giving all Christian communities the right to legal existence and preaching. Since World War II the number of Japanese Christians has been slowly increasing. I believe GOD has a plan for Japan and we Christians need to continue to empower these people to push forward. The thing that make me so mad about missions to Japan is missionaries have to rely on numbers to continue their work, every mouth asking for donations, this is not the way we should be going about this. I know money is important to missionaries but I feel like something is lacking when it comes to Japan. Please pray and support someone in Japan Today, I know I am.
 |
| A Japanese Kirishitan crucifix, 17th century. Christ is depicted as Buddha-like, in the center of the cross. |
Christmas has been established as a secular holiday which was first capitalized on around 1910. Today Christmas Eve is seen as a romantic night young couples to go on a date and then on Christmas day many Japanese eat Christmas Cake (A Japanese Invention) and chicken from Home or incidentally KFC, in which has long lines on Christmas Day due to Turkey being rare is Japan and the Japanese don't have much taste for it.
Well, Just a little update about my latest life challenges. I'm out on my own, working with a friend, starting a Text Message Marketing business which will be one of dozens of services I will be offering to small businesses over the next year. Within one month we should have 31 clients and then he thinks he could get a total of 100 clients by the end of the year, per his relationship with dozens of Dunkin and Subway owners. Ever since my mom re-awoke my passion of Revival, I can't get enough of World Revival Church in Kansas City. I want to see Revival flood this globe and this is my fuel to reaching Japan. I see people whom I have known since I was little and they still struggle over tithing and believing GOD will get them though. Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect but come on this is not hard. That is one reason I like WRC because they being a new challenge to my walk with GOD. People want meat in their relationship with GOD not watered down kool-aid. Well, time for bed! Sleep Well and merry CHRISTmas.
 Tall Fences on Japanese High Schools are to prevent suicidal students. One thing that always deeply concerns me and drives my passion to bring salvation to the Japanese people is their extremely high suicide rate. I once heard a Japanese Missionary post that it is not uncommon that if you go the train stations in Japan and all trains are stopped, because the another poor soul committed suicide by jumping off the train platform. On many Japanese High School Roofs instead of simple fences they have installed massive 14 foot fences that curve inward to prevent suicides. Factors in suicide include unemployment (due to the economic recession in the 1990s), depression, and social pressures. Suicide is predominately the result of a combination of factors such as healthcare provision, social attitudes, cultural influences and economic distress. I personally believe that high levels of are because the Japanese are not finding wholeness within their own society, religion (Buddhism) and work. This is the reasons that we Christians need to reach Japan -- especially after this recent disaster -- to help prevent the high numbers of Japanese Suicides.
 While Japan has always had a reputation for taking ideas from the West and improving on them (sometimes beyond recognition), the reverse is often true, too, and Japan has long served as a well of inspiration for various creators from the West. I read a lot of science fiction books, and it often seems I can't pick one up that doesn't have Japanese themes in it somewhere, with the best example being William Gibson, who built his career by weaving ideas he got from Japan into his books. Star Wars is filled with Japanese cultural and visual elements culled from Japan's films and history, from Jedi Knights to the Force to the design of Darth Vader, whose helmet and "first name" come from famous warlord Date Masamune. (I always wondered why Obi Wan Kenobi was wearing a kimono and bowing like a Japanese person.) When the new iPad was announced, people in Japan observed that the fancy magnetic "Smart Cover" looked exactly like the covers used to keep the bath water warm in between use.
When you study a foreign language, sometimes one of the first things you learn unavoidably are the "naughty" words -- that's just human nature. However, students of Japanese are often surprised to learn that most of the bad words they're used to in English don't map over very well. The most common Japanese insults include baka(BAH-kah, stupid), aho (ah-HO, the Osaka-ben version of the same word), and boke (BOH-kay, basically meaning "nim-wit"). Almost all the anatomical words you may be used to just don't work in Japanese, nor does the "F" word, which doesn't even exist, except occasionally in English as a foreign loan word. The most basic Japanese swear word is probably kuso (KOO-soh), the "S" word, yet it's interesting to note that it's not considered a bad word, as it's used in children's anime like Yu-Gi-Oh quite often and no one thinks anything of it. It addition to the primary meaning, the word kuso can also refer to various bodily products. The stuff that comes out of your nose is hana-kuso (nose-sh--), and ear wax is mimi-kuso (ear-sh--). The stuff that builds up in your eyes as you sleep is me-kuso (MEH-kuso), and plaque on your teeth is calledha-kuso. Now you know some interesting (and probably useless) Japanese vocabulary words!
 The ongoing crisis in Japan has caused a lot of deep thinking about the country in general by the Western media, and one article I caught on CNN was titled, "Are the Japanese Different?" This is certainly an interesting question: does Japan's calm, ordered response to this unparalleled disaster indicate that they're somehow fundamentally different from the rest of us? On the one hand the answer is yes -- Japan is an island nation with an incredibly unique and strong culture that enabled it to resist colonization by the Mongols and the European powers (the only Asian nation other than Thailand to achieve this), and it spent 250 years closed off to other nations, living in a highly structured inward-looking society. On the other hand, the common Japanese belief -- really more of a national meme -- that they are fundamentally different, that (for example) the Japan ese langauge is more difficult than every other language in the world and that Japanese brains are are uniquely tuned to speak it, is obviously untrue. These beliefs are part of what's called nihonjinron (lit. "theories of the Japanese people"), a body of ideas about the Japanese as a race put forth by both Japanese and Western writers who were trying to describe Japan's "special" role in the world before, during and after World War II. Among other things, the Japanese fascination with blood types determining one's personality derives from nihonjinron ideas, from back in the days when the Japanese Empire tried to figure which blood type made the best soldiers (it was type O, if you're wondering).
 Please consider making a donation to the U.S. Red Cross or CRASH Japan. CRASH Japan is a network supporting Christians to do relief work in Japan and around the world.
It's moments like these when you really see the good in people, and Japan has been touched by the outpouring of help from other countries in their hour of need -- 91 countries so far. Everyone is thankful for the rescue teams coming from the U.K., South Korea, Germany, Mexico and yes, New Zealand (thank you everyone!). The U.S. brought the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and several destroyers in to airlift water, food and other needed supplies, a mission that's been named "Operation Tomodachi" (Operation Friendship), and I saw more than a few Japanese on Twitter saying things like, "I laughed at the silly-sounding name...then I cried and cried." There was a massive show of support on Pixiv, the Japanese artist community website, as artists from Japan and around the world created art of Miku Hatsune saying, Ganbatte, nihon! ("Do your best, Japan!"). It's been really amazing to see.
USS Ronald Reagan is in Japan
The character of the Japanese people is really visible at a time like this. While it's common for disasters to be followed by certain desperate actions by the citizenry, e.g. looting, this idea would be unthinkable in Japan. At the shopping mall in Tokyo, Japan, when the quake hit everyone ran outside holding the items they had intended to purchase. Though they could have just kept on going to their cars, everyone waited for the shaking to stop then went back inside to make their purchases before rushing home. There were no reports of looting or other problems, though basic foodstuffs and gasoline disappeared pretty quickly. In general Japan has been extremely calm and collected considering what they've been up against.
 By and large, Japan is mostly free of corruption
I happened to catch an article about some corruption scandals cropping up in India recently, which are causing some big problems for the country. I've heard stories along these lines from friends who have lived in India before, for example the speed that the phone company installs your phone line is proportional to the size of the bribe you pay the clerk. That's one good thing about Japan: compared to most countries, it's very "clean," and the idea that you'd get someone to do something by applying palm grease is all but unheard of -- heck, you can't even tip someone who has given you outstanding service, as the custom of tipping never caught on here. So important is personal honesty that a ridiculously small campaign contribution of just $500 has brought down Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, who quit his post over the weekend when the news leaked out. (He received the campaign contribution from a "foreigner," which is not allowed under Japanese campaign law, though the individual who made the donation is azainichi Korean, born and raised in Japan but maintaining South Korean citizenship for cultural reasons.) Of course, I'm not saying Japan is perfect. Influential Japanese politician Ichiro Ozawa is under indictment over a controversial land purchase, and Japan still has a big problem with hakomono, lit. "box-thing," the name for pork barrel construction projects with little social value. Still. as a rule Japan does pretty well at keeping corruption at bay. When Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya was found to have been receiving financial and other perks from defense contractors, he was promptly arrested, and prosecutors descended on the Ministry of Self Defence to collect evidence. Can you imagine the U.S. Justice Department executing search warrants and scouring the Pentagon for evidence of wrongdoing under any circumstances?
 Every man in Japan looks forward to receiving chocolate on Feb. 14
Valentine's Day is an important day in Japan, a time for couples to show their affection through the medium of chocolate. As is probably well-known by now, in Japan it's common for women to give chocolate to the special men in their lives, and in the days leading up to February 14 millions of fathers, husbands, boyfriends and would-be-boyfriends look forward to scoring some chocolatey goodness. There are two kinds of chocolate,honmei-choco or "real heart" chocolate, given to someone you actually care about, and giri-choco or "obligation chocolate," the kind female office workers feel obliged to give to the male employees at work, and their bosses. Chocolate companies are always trying to create new chocolate-giving trends, like the year they promoted gyaku-choco or "reverse chocolate," trying to get males to give chocolate to females as they do in the West, or this year's new buzzword of tomo-choco, chocolate given between friends. Of course, you never get a gift in Japan without giving one back in return (called o-kaeshi, a return gift), and March 14 has been designated as White Day, a day when men who received chocolate from women the month before should give something back, usually white chocolate or sometimes lingerie. South Korea also observes Japanese-style Valentine's Day and White Day, and has added a new tradition: Black Day on March 14, a day when single men who received no chocolate bitterly eat a kind of noodles in a black sauce.
Sayounara, ジョエル グリイン
Since I am so very interested in Japan and so many people I talk to don't know any more then me I would start making a post every so often with something I find interesting about the Japanese People or their culture.
 the Japanese get red-faced when they drink.
I have had my fair taste of alcohol but I know I would never make it a habit like my aunts have made it but I have found this fact about the Japanese very interesting. Did you know that Japanese often get really red in the face when they start drinking, a phenomenon known as the Asian Flush Response, which has to do with some Japanese (and many other East Asian people) lacking a liver enzyme that breaks down chemicals in alcohol. I hear it's hilarious to see. Some will drink just one highball and suddenly they turns as red as a lobster, although they are not drunk at all. You occasionally see this phenomenon represented as a slight reddening of the face in anime characters when they drink too much, but don't be fooled: I hear the real thing is much more brilliant to behold. A similar phenomenon unique to Asians is the "Mongolian Spot," a blue bruise-like spot visible on the rear ends of Japanese babies until the age of 2.
Sayounara, ジョエル グリイン
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
