JAPANTODAY’S PREMIER ENGLISH DIGITAL WEEKLY MAGAZINE
Tokyo’s eclecticism in focus: Koishikawa Korakuen & Tokyo Dome City
TRAVEL LIFESTYLE FOOD
English teacher leaves behind textbooks to clean up Tohoku
Dramatic dining experiences
ENTERTAINMENT OPINION
The Beat Goes On
Obama and Romney urgently need to zero in on foreign policy / What is a Westerner?
ISSUE 08 / VOLUME 01 / SEPTEMBER 2012
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INSIGHT ISSUE 8
3
TRAVEL
TOKYO’S ECLECTICISM IN FOCUS Koishikawa Korakuen & Tokyo Dome City BY VICKI L. BEYER
Let’s explore one of those neighborhoods where one can experience modern Tokyo and old Edo in close proximity, the Koraku neighborhood of Bunkyo-ku. Start with a visit to Koishikawa Korakuen, the remnants of a 17th century strolling garden, one of the earliest built in Edo and one of only two such gardens still in existence in modern Tokyo.
Construction of this garden was commissioned in 1629 by Yorifusa Mito, the ninth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the first in the line
of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa clan.
The original garden, comprising 63 acres,
was finished by Yorifusa’s son, Mitsukuni,
approximately 50 years later. The garden’s name literally means “enjoy after”, and is derived from a Chinese principle of
government, that a ruler should worry before the people do and enjoy after the people do. Today, just 16 of the original 63 acres remains, but it is more than enough to provide a pleasant stroll and a
perspective on the life of a feudal lord. The garden’s design was strongly influenced
by Chu Shun Shui, a Chinese scholar who fled his homeland in the waning days of the Ming
dynasty. Thus many of the garden’s features echo famous Chinese scenery, including
Lushan Mountain and Hangzhou’s famous
West Lake. Yet, the garden is not an imitation of a Chinese garden; it is distinctly Japanese.
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The best way to explore the garden is to move in a clockwise circle from the entrance at the
southwest corner of the garden. In spite of the size of the garden, the design often requires
you to explore it a very little bit at a time. The garden does not reveal itself all at once.
Among the interesting features of the garden are its various bridges, including Tsutenkyo-a vermillion wooden bridge that crosses
high above a ravine, Engetsukyo--a half-
circle stone bridge which when reflected on
the water beneath it shows up as a full circle and Yatsuhashi--bridge made up of 8 large flat stones arranged in an off-set pattern.
At the highest point in the garden there was once a miniature copy of Kyoto’s Kiyomizudera, but no trace of it remains today.
Across Tsutenkyo from this site is Tokujindo, a shrine built by Mitsukuni to honor
Boyi and Shuqi, two Chinese brothers who
lived a thousand years before Christ and are revered for their pacifism and virtue. The shrine contains statues of the brothers.
Engetsukyo—the name means “round moon bridge”—spans a stream which is actually a
remnant of the original Kanda Josui (also known as the Kanda River), a man-made canal building at the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate
to bring water from Inokashira Pond into Edo. The northern corner of the garden, where you’ll find the Yatsuhashi bridge, is more
rustic and even has a rice paddy. Korakuen
is the only Tokyo garden with such a feature. The paddy is planted and harvested by
primary school children every year. Apparently Mitsukuni added the rice paddy because he
wanted the pampered wife of one of his sons to understand the hard life of farmers.
TRAVEL
Koishikawa Korakuen 3 minute walk from Exit C3
of Iidabashi Subway station or an 8 minute walk from
JR Iidabashi station
Open from 9 am to 5 pm
every day except December
29 through January 1 Admission: ¥300
http://teien.tokyo-park.or.jp/en/
koishikawa
As with many Japanese gardens, there is
always something blooming, no matter which
season you visit. Spring and summer are a riot of pinks and purples as the cherry blossoms (the weeping cherry next to the lake as you enter the garden is particularly famous),
wisteria, azalea and iris each take their turn, but then the late summer water flowers, like water lilies and lotus take over, eventually
giving way to the autumn leaves, particularly
the fiery Japanese maple. Then in the coldest part of winter, the plum blossoms defy the low temperatures and portend spring.
The southern part of the garden is dominated by a large pond, full of fish and turtles and attractive to bird life. On the northwest lakeshore, also look for the large stone
is home to the Yomiuri Giants baseball team
but also hosts numerous other sporting events,
options, from history
most major bands whose concert tours bring
thrills, even without the
as well as cultural events, exhibitions and
and nature to sports and
them through Tokyo. SMAP will be appearing
roller coaster ride.
at the Tokyo Dome at the end of September. Also housed in the Tokyo Dome is the
Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The entrance is at street level near Gate 21. The exhibits here commemorate Japan’s
greatest baseball moments, as well as its best players, both professional and amateur.
lantern that broke during the 1923 Great
The remainder of Tokyo Dome City surrounds
its cracked pieces cemented back together
is no charge to enter, but there are day and
Kanto earthquake and was then reconstructed, again. Between the 1923 earthquake and the 1945 air raids, many of the garden’s structures were damaged or destroyed and have never been reconstructed.
The southwest corner of the garden features another, smaller pond and a Chinese gate, that is, unfortunately, not in use. The Mito family once kept their library on this site.
Koishikawa Korakuen sits just west of the Tokyo Dome, which can be a little distracting when
you’re trying to capture that perfect photograph of a Japanese garden, but once you’ve had
enough of the garden, wander over to Tokyo
Dome City, the amusement park and shopping area that sits to the east of the Tokyo Dome. The Tokyo Dome itself is Tokyo’s first all-
weather multi-purpose stadium. Opened in
1988, its soft top, kept up by air pumped into
the stadium, is rather unique and has earned it the nickname “The Big Egg. The Tokyo Dome
the western half of the Tokyo Dome. There night passes that provide unlimited access to the various rides and other attractions.
There are rides for the kiddies and a large
indoor playground called ASOBono! as well as a few rides for adults. Unfortunately the Thunder Dolphin roller coaster that runs
along the rooftop of the LaQua building has been “temporarily” closed for more than a
year. Combined with rolling skating, bowling, and a men-only sauna that specializes in
pampering athletes (this is the Tokyo Dome
after all!), one hardly even feels the need for the restaurants and shopping that are also
available. Or maybe the men-only sauna is
just a place for wives to drop their husbands while they enjoy the shopping… On a hot
Necessary Details The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is open
10 am to 5 pm (6 pm during
the summer months) Tuesday through Sunday.
Admission is ¥500 with
discounts for children and senior citizens. Website:
http://english.baseballmuseum.or.jp
(Look for the discount coupon) Tokyo Dome City is a 5 minute
walk from any of JR Suidobashi station, Suidobashi subway station, Kasuga subway
station, Korakuen subway station.
Ride tickets can be purchased
individually, or purchase a day pass (¥3,800) or a post-5 pm night pass (¥2,800).
afternoon, relax in the LaQua courtyard and be refreshed by the Water Symphony fountains. To thoroughly explore the Koraku
neighborhood would be a full day’s effort. But it offers such a wide variety of entertainment
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LIFESTYLE
ENGLISH TEACHER LEAVES BEHIND TEXTBOOKS TO CLEAN UP TOHOKU BY PATRICK BUDMAR
When the earthquake struck on March 11, 2011, Jamie ElBanna was working as an English teacher in Osaka. On that very day, El-Banna had left work early and gone to meet a friend for lunch, as it was
the graduation day for the third graders at the junior high school where he was employed. “I wasn’t aware that there had been an
earthquake until I got on Facebook when I
was heading home,” he says. “At that time, I
didn’t know anything about a tsunami except
there had been a big earthquake near Tokyo.” The limited scope of the news El-
Banna received through status updates on Facebook meant that he did not
know the true scale of the disaster. “Apparently some people felt it in the Kansai
region too, but I hadn’t,” he says. “I phoned a
I went on the next trip,” he says.
Although El-Banna had seen the shocking images of the destruction on television
and on the Internet, it still did not prepare him for the sight that greeted him.
friend in Tokyo to check if he was OK and then
“When I arrived in Higashi Matsuhima, I saw
and turned my TV on and saw how big it was.”
had shops, but some looked like something
didn’t really think anything of it until I got home Once El-Banna became aware of the size the
what it was really like,” he says. “Some areas out of a movie set in a dystopian future.”
disaster, it had a profound effect on him.
At that moment, El-Banna inexplicably
As a result, in May, only two months after
“take forever to clean up.”
the earthquake, El-Banna made his first trip to the Tohoku region and visited Higashi Matsushima City in Miyagi Prefecture. “Someone I play basketball with went
to volunteer during Golden Week, but 6
there wasn’t room for me to go too, so
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found himself thinking that it would
While for many people, a trip to Tohoku may
have seemed like risky decision in those early months after the disaster, especially since
news about the nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture was well publicized at this point,
Jamie El-Banna (top center) with members of the INJM team at a charity futsal event for kids in Ishinomaki.
one of El-Banna’s concerns at the time. “Several months had already passed
While he admits that it was “really simple work”
that may seem “pretty mindless” on the surface, he did not view it as pointless.
and the nuclear power plant was quite
“To someone whose home is filled with this
says. “Plus there are many people living in
real meaning,” he said. “To them, ‘it’s not just
a distance away from where I was,” he
Sendai City, which is much closer to the affected area than Higashi Matsuhima.”
The trip to Higashi Matsuhima was not in
a tourist capacity but to volunteer to help
with recovery efforts in the area. El-Banna
had made the trip to Tohoku with a group of
foul smelling mud, the act of removing it has mud.’”
As to why the Tohoku disaster in 2011
prompted El-Banna to set up INJM, he attributes it to wanting to give back to a nation that had already given to him.
“Interest grew and I threw it out to people that if they wanted, they could come and join me,” he says. “To my surprise, people came and they kept on coming.”
like-minded people he had met on Facebook to assist with clean-up for one week.
“I then tried to go back to my normal teaching job in Osaka, but after one day I decided
that I could make more of a difference by
volunteering,” he says. “So I quit my job and went back to Tohoku to volunteer again.” As a result of that decision, the nonprofit organization, It’s Not Just Mud (INJM), was formed.
Initially, El-Banna only set up an online blog to keep track of the work he was doing
in Tohoku, what it was like there, and the challenges he was facing, and shared the updates with a worldwide audience.
“Interest grew and I threw it out to people that if they wanted, they could come
and join me,” he says. “To my surprise,
people came and they kept on coming.” The reason why El-Banna gave his volunteer
organization the simple yet memorable name could be traced back to his initial visit to
Higashi Matsushima. “On that first trip, I spent a lot of time shoveling sludge and mud,” he says.
LIFESTYLE
radiation in Higashi Matsuhima was not
“Although we might always be considered as outsiders to many living here, Japan is our home,” he says. “It’s natural to want to do something.”
El-Banna also adds that he did not have any
intention of founding an NPO. “If it wasn’t for
someone telling me that it was possible to go
and volunteer, I wouldn’t have gone,” he says. Following the disaster, El-Banna had spent time looking on the Internet for groups to volunteer with, but instead found that they were all discouraging amateurs from joining up.
“Once I was here in the thick of it, I saw there was a need for something such as INJM,” he says. “Not only that, I saw that I was able to make a difference, so turning INJM into an
official NPO seemed like the logical next step.”
→
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LIFESTYLE
Since that low-key beginning, INJM has
“She said that she hadn’t had anyone to
He has seen the word recovery be
which El-Banna attributes to flexibility.
the temporary housing where she lives
he feels that anyone who talks about
grown quickly in scope and membership, “We allow volunteers to come on their
schedule,” he says. “We did this because most people living in Japan have very fixed schedules, and they can’t come and volunteer on a set time frame.”
As such, volunteers who can only come for just one day or two are openly welcomed by the organization.
The Internet also played a big part in the organization’s success, as word of mouth through social networks
such as Facebook and Twitter meant a grassroots movement built up.
“If it wasn’t for the blog and social media, I think it would have been
impossible to do even one tenth of
what we’ve managed,” El-Banna says.
talk to for a long time because no one in knows sign language, so she was really
happy to be able to have a conversation
without using a pen and paper,” he says. As a result of this encounter, the owner of the sign language school, deafjapan.com, visited the Tohoku area to volunteer and was joined by a bus load of people who were deaf and wanted to do the same. “They were not only doing physical work, but also community work with the deaf community in
Ishinomaki City,” El-Banna says.
“thrown around a lot,” but realistically, recovery as something that will take
“less than decades” is being irrational. “Many areas are cleaner than they were, but there are still thousands of people
living in temporary housing and without work,” he says. “INJM has done a lot,
but I always feel like it’s not enough.” El-Banna does not see it as a slight on his group, but rather as a fact
that emphasizes the large amount of work that still needs to be done.
“A lot of those fears are born from ignorance,” he says. “Radiation levels in the majority of Tohoku are basically the same as anywhere else, barring certain parts of Fukushima.”
As a testament to this, El-Banna points out that out of all the people whom
he knew before the earthquake, five have come to volunteer with INJM.
The other 500 or so volunteers who
have participated were total strangers. As to why random people have banded together to volunteer with INJM, ElBanna attributes it to the relaxed approach of the organization.
“We have a friendly family feel to
things and we aren’t super strict with a million rules,” he says. “Instead,
we’re more like a group of friends doing what we can to help.”
INJM has been engaged non-stop with volunteer activities in Tohoku, with
house repairs, playground construction and local businesses support being
some of the more recent efforts on top of all the “dirty work” the group does. Although El-Banna is unable to single out which activity has been the most
important to INJM, his chance interview with a local deaf woman was the most
memorable for him on a personal level. El-Banna was able to sign with her
because he had studied Japanese sign language a few months earlier.
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The repairs done on major roads in
“It’s not obvious like before, when
are now fewer challenges facing potential
everywhere, but it’s still there,” he says.
Tohoku have fortunately meant that there volunteers wanting to help out in Tohoku. “You can get on a bus from
Tokyo and be in Ishinomaki in under seven hours,” he says.
However, there are still some people
there were cars in the street and mud While the situation in Tohoku is
always changing, the one constant according to El-Banna is that INJM will continue to help people and
communities in the affected region.
in Japan and overseas who continue to
As such, the offer to come and
the Tohoku, mainly due to radiation fears
there for those who are willing.
show reluctance to go and volunteer in
stemming from the crippled power plant in neighboring Fukushima Prefecture. While El-Banna does not feel he is
in a position to convince people to come or not based on this fear, he
does suggest they do some research and come to their own conclusion about the safety of the region.
“A lot of those fears are born from
ignorance,” he says. “Radiation levels
in the majority of Tohoku are basically the same as anywhere else, barring certain parts of Fukushima.”
While 18 months have passed since the 3.11 disaster, El-Banna admits that the Tohoku region is still “a long way away” from recovery.
join the volunteer effort is always “All you need to do is to make the decision to help out, and then act
upon that decision,” he says. “The hardest part is leaving and then readjusting to your normal life
after all that you’ve witnessed.” For more info on It’s Not Just Mud (INJM), visit their website. http://itsnotjustmud.com
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RESTAURANTS & DINING
DRAMATIC DINING EXPERIENCES The Grand Hyatt Tokyo is offering some exciting dining experiences over the next few weeks. Grand Hyatt Tokyo 6-10-3 Roppongi, Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan 106-0032
The restaurant’s renowned steakhouse The Oak Door has a new cut of beef, the Tomahawk. Diners can enjoy a ribeye on the bone weighing up to 1.6 kg from a Japanese F1 beef.
The Tomahawk steak, so-called because of its resemblance to a
tomahawk, is a ribeye cut on the bone in a way that enhances the flavor of the meat. Japanese F1 is a cross breed of a Wagyu
bull from Tajima from the Hyogo Prefecture and a Holstein cow,
a breed of cattle known today as the world’s highest-production dairy animal originating in Europe.
Tel: +81 3 4333 1234 Fax: +81 3 4333 8123
Beef from Tajima is known for its high quality with large eye
Email: tokyo.grand@hyatt.com
of F1 cattle, the Tajima bloodlines are regarded as the best quality
muscles and fine marbling. Known to be the ideal production line meat in all of Japan.
With a thick center, delicate marbling,
hand-cut and trimmed to perfection, the Tomahawk will be grilled in the signature oak wood-burning ovens for a tender
and juicy finish. The cut accommodates
from 2 to 4 diners, augmenting a “share experience at The Oak Door, appropriate
for any occasion, whether it be a power lunch or an elegant evening dinner.
“I am very excited for the launch of our
new product which I believe our guests will truly enjoy,” commented Frederic Kolde, manager of The Oak Door. “The
Tomahawk is a great addition to our lineup of quality products at The Oak Door as we continue to develop our offers to new heights”.
The Oak Door, located on the sixth floor,
features premium-quality meats and seasonal produce prepared
in dramatic oak wood-burning ovens. The wine cellars house a large variety of international boutique New World wines. An open
kitchen, terrace seating and a private dining room complete this neighborhood steakhouse.
Foodies will be in for another treat when the hotel hosts guest chef David Rathgeber from Paris from Oct 25 until Nov 4 for a promotion at The French Kitchen. Chef Rathgeber is owner and
chef of l’Assiette restaurant in Paris and has worked with world-
famous chefs such as Gerard Vie (Les Trois Marches, Versailles) 10
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for 12 years.
Rathgeber launched l’Assiette as owner and chef in 2008 when he transformed the restaurant into a Bistro Chic venue
from an old pork butcher shop in the 14th district of Paris. Over the years, l’Assiette has become one of the icons where
founders and entrepreneurs of Parisian gastronomic movement gather to dine. Special recipes reviving authentic
Auvergne is popular at l’Assiette such as traditional Terrine de campagne,
as well as bourgeoise cuisine crafted
The French Kitchen, located on the
French duck, cooked and raw chicory,
weekend brunch buffets and is open
in a bistro style such as Hot pie of
rouennaise sauce. Rathgeber enjoys communicating with his guests and
does not hesitate to go out onto the
restaurant floor to ask guests’ favorites and share recommendations.
A specialist in traditional bistro
cuisine, Rathgeber will be sharing
his artistry of French cuisine during his visit, giving diners the illusion
second floor, offers breakfast, lunch and all day, serving classic French bistro
RESTAURANTS & DINING
and Alain Ducasse, with whom he worked
dishes from Pâté de Campagne and Sole Grenobloise to Beef Bourguignon.
The restaurant features an open kitchen,
bar, outside terrace and the Chef’s Table, a private dining room equipped with its own kitchen ideal for special dinners,
private parties and company celebrations.
of being transported to Paris.
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11
ENTERTAINMENT
Comedian, actor and director “Beat” Takeshi Kitano is back to doing what he does best – making violent gangster films. Takeshi, 65, and 12 of the cast of his new
gangster movie “Outrage Beyond” attended the film’s Japan premiere in Tokyo this week. The
cast includes Toshiyuki Nishida, 64, Tomokazu Miura, 60, Ryo Kase, 37, Katsumi Takahashi, 47, and Akira Nakao, 70, among others. All the actors play gangsters in the film, which is a sequel to the 2009 film “Outrage.”
A complex tale of warring yakuza families,
“Outrage Beyond” tells the story of the boss of a family once crushed by the Sanno
crime clan, who gets out of prison and goes on a bloody revenge spree.
“Every single actor in my film has
the quality to be a main character, so I paid whatever it took to get
them,” Kitano told the audience. The film was highly rated at the recent Venice International Film Festival.
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ENTERTAINMENT
“When I made the first film, the reaction
was love-it-or-hate-it,” Kitano said. “I had
to make Part II because I was furious about
all the mindless recent violent movies. I am relieved that the audience liked this one.” Some members of the cast said it was a dream come true to be in a Takeshi Kitano movie.
Kitano said one thing he learned at the
Venice festival was that his films have a cult following abroad, while his Japan fan base appears to be dwindling. “I’m not a director who is
appreciated in Japan a great deal, but I thought abroad I could get greater visibility with a sequel,” he told a press conference.
“Outrage Beyond” has the usual
Takeshi quotient of
grisly death scenes, including
murders using a drill and baseball
throwing machine. He admitted he
sometimes goes overboard with the gore
but said it is done for comic relief. “Audiences laugh at those kinds of scenes,” he said.
Takeshi said he fears for the future of art
house cinema in Japan. In a recent interview with AFP, he said: “You have to make a
film like ‘The Avengers’ to get recognition. ‘Outrage Beyond’ is as close as you can
get to an ‘Avengers’ kind of movie, so I am
hoping to get a big audience with this one.” He said that he has already started working on a third “Outrage” film. But he’s not sure
how much longer he can stay in the business. “Young people these days would rather
watch movies on their smartphones or on a
computer,” he told AFP. “Maybe you don’t need a filmmaker to make films any more. Maybe you just need a computer programmer.”
“Outrage Beyond” opens in Japan on Oct 6.
Photo credit: film press plus
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OPINIONS
OPINIONS Obama and Romney urgently need to zero in on foreign policy BY ANDREW HAMMOND
Andrew Hammond is associate partner at Reputation Inc. He
was formerly America Editor at Oxford Analytica, and a special adviser in the British government of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Since the early years of the Cold War, foreign
policy has generally ceased to be the biggest issue for American voters in presidential elections.
Instead, the economy is what matters most.
November’s presidential ballot will -- probably –
continue this pattern. Voters remain most concerned
by the sluggish economic recovery which last week
prompted the Federal Reserve to begin a new, third round of quantitative easing.
Nonetheless, Americans are still thinking about foreign policy. In recent days, for instance, many will have
reflected upon the tragic murder of four of their
countrymen in Libya, and the ongoing protests in
numerous Muslim-majority
countries at an anti-Islamic film originating in America. More than a decade after 9/11, a critical mass of the electorate believes
America should engage more cautiously in
international affairs, with
the possible exception of
Iran. Here, some polls show sizable public support for efforts to prevent Tehran
developing nuclear weapons, 14
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even if that necessitates
American military action. Iran is just one of the
international issues on
which Republican nominee
Mitt Romney has articulated a more assertive posture
than Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama. Others examples include
Russia which Romney has declared Washington’s
“number one” geopolitical
foe. And, China, which the
election in 2012. But there
has been a marked decline in international approval of his
policies since he took office. According to Pew, the
fall-off in support for the
president’s policies has been a massive 30 percentage
points between 2009 and
2012 in China (from 57% to
27%); in several key European countries including Britain,
France, Germany, Spain and
Poland, the average reduction in support is 15 percentage
points (from 78% to a still high 63%); and in numerous key Muslim-majority countries (including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan and
should he become president. Given the apparent differences between the two candidates, and the large stakes in play,
many international audiences beyond the American border are showing a keen interest
Obama’s numbers since 2009 international expectations
about him were unrealistically high when he entered the
Jordan, Lebanon, China,
India and Japan are either
“closely or somewhat closely” following the campaign.
As in 2008, international
publics tend to favor Obama’s
amplified by the fact that he
enjoys less personal popularity overseas than Obama.
A key question is whether
Obama and Romney should care about what the rest
of the world thinks. After all, no foreign citizens will vote in November.
The short answer is yes. dismiss the importance of
short-sightedness neglects
the crucial role it can play in
facilitating foreign policy cooperation and information sharing with Washington, both overt and covert.
America today require
was the case with the Bush
administration’s) are overreliance on “hard power” and also unilateralism.
Iraq, and his commitment
diverse as Britain, Germany,
policy rhetoric. This could be
of his foreign policy (as
main international criticisms
Attitudes Project report from populations in countries as
on his assertive foreign
Many of the diverse foreign
Despite Obama’s withdrawal
June, more than a third of
November and follows through
White House. Two of the
in the election outcome.
According to a Pew Global
further if Romney wins in
international opinion. Such
was inevitable in as much as
implicit threat of sanctions
can only be expected to fall
an already low 34% to 15%.
technology and intellectual manipulation -- with the
These international numbers
Some in America completely
is 19 percentage points from At least part of the decline in
property, and of currency
use of these drone attacks.
Turkey), the average fall-off
Republican nominee has accused of stealing U.S.
pollees disagree with the
of American troops from
to a similar military pullout in Afghanistan, there
has been much international criticism for instance of
his administration’s use of
unmanned, remotely-flown
aircraft to kill terrorists. In 17 of the 20 countries surveyed by Pew, more than half of
policy challenges facing extensive international
collaboration, especially at a time of budgetary cutbacks.
As key members of the Obama team have asserted, including Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, such cooperation
can be enabled by American policy demonstrating a
better combination of soft
power (including diplomacy that generates admiration
rather than antagonism) and prudent use of hard power. Combining hard and soft
power more effectively (into what is now called smart
by previous generations of
American policymakers. For
instance, Washington skilfully used both assets after World
OPINIONS
power) was well understood
What is a Westerner? BY JUSTIN VELGUS
Professional writer and blogger of Japanese culture.
War II to cultivate support
for a system of alliances and institutions, such as NATO, the IMF, World Bank and
the UN, that subsequently became a cornerstone of Western success in the
When you arrive in Japan, it doesn’t take long to find out you
are a little different. Sure in Tokyo, Osaka, and the bigger cities, you’ll see some people that might speak your native language or look similar to you, but you’re basically on your own in the countryside. You are not Japanese, so what are you?
second half of the century.
Authors, expats living in Japan, and even myself have been guilty
To be sure, today’s world is
the word, it is not synonymous with words like “foreigner,” “non-
very different from that of
the Cold War. But the need for smart power endures. Given the mood of the American electorate,
the development of a
comprehensive, coherent and well resourced smart power strategy will not win many
votes for Obama nor Romney in November. Nonetheless, this should be a pressing
concern for both candidates if they are to fulfill their
similar pledges to renew the country’s world leadership for a new generation.
Andrew Hammond is associate partner at ReputationInc.
He was formerly America
Editor at Oxford Analytica, and a special adviser in
the British government of
Prime Minister Tony Blair.
of calling these people “Westerners.” However, when examining Japanese” and “outsider.” Literally, a Westerner comes from the Western hemisphere. That is anything west of the International Reference Meridian in Greenwich London, England and east of the International Date Line, which snakes its way through the Pacific Ocean. This area includes the Americas, Europe, and
parts of Africa as the Western hemisphere, while most of Russia, Australia, China, and more are in the Eastern hemisphere.
Nonetheless, the term “Westerner” has a commonly believed definition in and of itself.
Too many people see a Westerner as Japanese often do: an
English-speaking, most likely white, individual. This ignores that there are people from Western countries, such as Mexico, France or Russia that may or may not know any English, but still reside
in Japan. No, the term “Westerner” is not politically correct, nor is it even logical. However, Japan is the Land of the Rising Sun and is often referred to be in the Far East. Therefore everything is arguably west from a Japanese point of view.
“Westerner” is a convenient word that people throw around too
often without considering its meaning. It is perceived to include groups of non-Japanese, while excluding other Asians. On the
other hand, words such as “foreigner” or “outsider” may be more descriptive yet leave connotations that we are at ends with the
Japanese as we describe ourselves as different. So what should we call ourselves, and what do we want others to call us? I just want to be known as Justin, thanks.
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