Turning Un-Japanese

[CheapyD]

Donald Richie has been living in Japan for half a century. The American writer, translator and film scholar has spent most of that time explaining Japan to the English-speaking world. But lately he's found himself, somewhat disconcertingly, in an entirely new role—as an interpreter of Japan to the Japanese.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11182591/site/newsweek

[Mennon]

Proves my theory that Japanese people find themselves fascinating and not much else.

[Kuang_Grade]

In 2003, one out of 20 marriages in Japan had a non-Japanese spouse; in Tokyo the number was one in 10.

I found this suprising...although I wonder if there is some skewing going on on the Tokyo number...I thought FGs only made around 3-4% of the Tokyo population

[Taro Toporific]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11182591/site/newsweek
...To someone who has lived for long periods in America and Western Europe, there is nothing particularly challenging about Japan, not anymore. All the familiar landmarks of urban life are there: the same suicidal bike messengers, the same seasonal store sales, the same credit cards....

Same massive quantities of alcohol before deadline....

The author of the Newsweek article has been drinking too much chu-hai. There are almost no bicycle messengers in Tokyo (only motorcycle messengers), right now the February "Sparking Sale" is uniquely named, and the UC Card in my wallet is damn hard to use in the real world.

[Taro Toporific]

I found this suprising...although I wonder if there is some skewing going on on the Tokyo number...I thought FGs only made around 3-4% of the Tokyo population

They're counting 3rd generation Japanese-Koreans as non-Japanese spouses.

Nothing---NOTHING---in this report is correct. Tokyo ain't like anyplace on earth.

[CheapyD]

Because of advances in telecommunications and technology, don't you think that this article could have been written about most any country ?
I'm sure China is turning less Chinese and America is less American.

[Greji]

Because of advances in telecommunications and technology, don't you think that this article could have been written about most any country ?
I'm sure China is turning less Chinese and America is less American.

It reads like a file report:

"_______ is no longer the _______ of old! The younger generation of _______, products of the baby boomers are of the computer age, and have no idea of their own country's traditions and values! Will __________ be able to handle this move away from history and culture! etc.,etc., etc."

Just fill in the blanks with the location of choice!

[Mulboyne]

It is easier for a non-Japanese-speaking foreigner to navigate Tokyo than it was even 10 years ago. In large part, this is because of the growth of the internet and the diffusion of mobile phones which would be true of most developed cities and many less-developed. Tokyo ward offices have more experience with foreigners although that can sometimes make them less flexible than before. There are many more ATMs (often with foreign languange guidance) and you can use overseas credit cards for a greater range of shops and services. It's a simple matter to pay your utilities at a convenience store and, less easily, buy tickets for sumo, concerts and cinema there also. Satellite and cable pump foreign programming to your home for a price. Rental shops stock DVDs rather than just videos which means that you won't pick up a foreign film only to find out it is dubbed. Some Japanese DVDs have subtitles so these are more accessible. Metropolis magazine comes out free once a week and Amazon will deliver to your door. Supermarkets carry a wider range of overseas goods at more reasonable prices or else there are buyers clubs for harder-to-find comfort food. If you miss the last train, you can use a manga kissaten to hang out or one of the many 24-hour family restaurants.

There's a greater range of larger-sized clothes in the stores and Uniqlo has helped push down the prices of basics. McDonalds and KFC have been around for a long time but you can now get coffee from the numerous chains and eat a Nathan's hotdog. There are Outback Steakhouses, TGIFs, Lawry's, Pizza Express and English-style pubs in abundance. Italian food isn't limited to high priced business venues or seafood spaghetti joints. I can't recall the last time I ordered a steak lunch and was asked to choose bread or rice. Local restaurants will more often have English menus and chain restaurants Gonpachi, La Boheme, Monsoon and Zest (part of the same group) purposely employ English-speaking staff. There are more foreign language signs in the stations and many of the ticket machines offer English options.

It is easier to get around in Tokyo and many of these points will apply to other metropolitan centres in Japan. Perversely, though, it can also mean that new visitors drop their guard more quickly and get blindsided by something that isn't part of their culture like the difficulty in finding a new apartment and dealing with key money and deposits (see the rest of the board for other examples).

[Neo-Rio]

in other words:-

When I was young, I knew nothing and everything was fascinating!
Now I'm an old cagey know-it-all, nothing is interesting anymore and all the things I found fascinating are gone! The world's gone mad?!?!

[amdg]

Nice précis of Tokyo.

Not the same in other parts of the land though, fortunately or unfortunately.

I can't recall the last time I ordered a steak lunch and was asked to choose bread or rice.

I can - last week.

[cstaylor]

Yeah, it's on the menu as options at both the Hungry Tigers I've been to, as well as Volks.

[dimwit]

It reads like a file report:

"_______ is no longer the _______ of old! The younger generation of _______, products of the baby boomers are of the computer age, and have no idea of their own country's traditions and values! Will __________ be able to handle this move away from history and culture! etc.,etc., etc."

Just fill in the blanks with the location of choice!

Why stop there. Why not just fill it in with any random noun for a chuckle?

for example try Radiocarbon dating, pygmies, coronaches, starch

[Densuke Mifune]

Found this on Msnbc International:Turning Un-Japanese
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11182591/site/newsweek/

Thoughts?

[AssKissinger]

In 2003, one out of 20 marriages in Japan had a non-Japanese spouse; in Tokyo the number was one in 10.

Damn. What's an English teacher to do? Not that I'm making assumptions about how many of those are English speaking honkeys but I'm sure it's too many.

the number of Japanese who said they would have "no hang-ups" working with foreigners rose from 40 percent in 1992 to 56 percent in 2004.

That's still a hell of a lot of people who admit to having hang-ups i.e. being bigots.

[Charles]

Thoughts?

My thoughts are that this belongs in the forum "Another newbie reporter 'discovers' Japan."

This is not intended as a slight against you, but against the reporter.

[Taro Toporific]

My thoughts are that this belongs in the forum "Another newbie reporter 'discovers' Japan."
This is not intended as a slight against you, but against the reporter.

The sage reporter in the article says: "Before my family and I arrived here [ON THE FUCKING PACKAGE] in September 2004".

[AssKissinger]

Nah. It's way better than your typical 'Newbie Reporter' thing. Longevity isn't the only way to get some insight.

[Charles]

The sage reporter in the article says: "Before my family and I arrived here [ON THE FUCKING PACKAGE] in September 2004".

Yes, I know. This isn't your usual "fresh off the boat" criticism, but I swear some people live on an entirely different plane of existence, detached from reality. For example, reporters who marvel at the English on all the train station signs.

[Greji]

Found this on Msnbc International:Turning Un-Japanese
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11182591/site/newsweek/

Thoughts?

It was a slow news day!

[Mulboyne]

It's not a bad piece. Some of the observations are accurate and the reporter does admit that they may not tell the whole picture because his own work leads him to look for new developments rather than document what isn't changing. And, as amdg pointed out when this article came up on the board earlier, it is Tokyo-centric. It also draws heavily on examples he's gleaned from the English language rags which, by design, highlight stories of foreigners in Japan.

I wrote before in the thread about how Tokyo is easier for first-time Western residents to navigate than in years gone by. This is unlikely to change for the worse but much of that is simply down to the greater availability of information rather than a fundamental shift in society. The bigger problem this kind of article faces is the use of specific examples to make the case for "un-japaneseness". Ten years ago, the predominance of overseas films at the box office could have been used as such an example but by 2006, domestic films were tops again. There's always a danger of drawing a straight-line extrapolation from any apparent trend. But this is Newsweek after all.