WELCOME TO ANDREW'S TRIP TO JAPAN 2019

After visiting the Edo Tokyo Museum, one exhibit that I found most striking was the one on the introduction of the printing press. The increased use of the printing press allowed for increased accessibility of literature to the people of Edo.  The printing press made it easier for the mass production of literature as well as artistic pieces. Despite the reduction in cost, many people could still not afford to purchase their own books. Bookkeepers were able to loan books to patrons so that those who could not afford to purchase books still had access to them. One interesting fun fact about the bookkeepers in Edo is that they would go around from house to house to pick up and drop of books that their patrons borrowed as opposed to having a centralized location like a library. The mass production of literary and artistic works catalyzed by the introduction of the printing press also helped fuel more artistic works because making literature and art more accessible increase the level of education of the population of Edo as well as provided inspiration for some to produce their own art or literature. This exhibit ties in almost perfectly with Stalker’s section of print culture which discussed how the printing press increased the access to literature and visual art in the Edo period. The popularity of books and printed art in the Edo period indicates the importance of education and art to all social classes.
Another exhibit that I found to be quite interesting but left me a little confused was the one on the currency used during the Edo period. The Tokugawa currency used gold, silver, and bronze pieces and fluctuated in value relative to each other which is kind of wild to think that one day 100 pennies would have the same value as a dollar but the next it could be 200. I am aware that supply of the currency dictated the relative values of the currency and that the Shogunate manipulated the supply to alter the value, but exactly how it all works is a bit beyond my knowledge. While there isn’t a section in Stalker’s book that addresses the use of currency, it does tie into her section on urbanization and how the population increasingly relied on a currency to exchange and acquire goods. The increasing levels of urbanization mean that more people worked for a living (as opposed to living on a farm and surviving off of what you grow) and therefore relied on payment in the form of currency from their work to purchase essentials. And a stable currency would be necessary to prevent people from losing all of the value of the money they earned.

In preparation for Friday’s visit to the Overseas Migration Museum, we did some readings about the debate of Japan’s ethnic homogeneity as well as contemporary issues surrounding nationality and citizenship in Japan. I have observed that the immigration debate in Japan during the 1990’s has very similar political positions to the immigration debate going on in the United States right now. Those in favor of restricting immigration argue that the large number of immigrants will disrupt the culture of the country as well as increase competition for employment. Those in favor of opening up the nation’s borders argue that the immigrants will not compete with citizens for desirable jobs, but instead will take the undesirable jobs that the nation’s citizens refuse to do such as manual labor and working in agriculture. I find it interesting how opposed citizens are to immigration given that it would solve some of the most pressing problems facing each country; declining population in Japan and a deficiency of agricultural workers in the United States.

    Additionally, I find it interesting how Japan views itself as ethnically homogenous, and how they believe it makes them a better country. Even though roughly only one percent of the population is not ethnically Japanese, I think it is pretty ignorant to neglect to believe that this portion of the population exists or makes any significant contribution to society. Granted my position is from arguably the most ethnically diverse country in the world, and I have come to appreciate how diversity enhances my experience as a human and is part of why the United States is a great country, I still think that admitting that Japan is not entirely pure may open some minds about immigration as well as the discrimination that is still prevalent in Japan. 

    In response to the last article regarding Japan’s struggle with allowing dual citizenship, I ask what is the fundamental problem with citizens of Japan also having citizenship with another country? The article never seems to address that question and to me I do not see any possible problems with someone having dual citizenship other than this person’s allegiance may be with the other country and they might try to run for office and then make decisions that are not in Japan’s best interest. If someone were to do that though, it would seem like a wild conspiracy theory. Regardless, I hope to discuss this during class or in the comments.

The presence of the United States military base on Okinawa is a controversial topic with both parties entrenched on either side of the argument.The most compelling argument for maintaining the US military presence in Okinawa is that it ensures security in the region. With the increasing threats from North Korean and China, having the military base in such a strategic location will hopefully deter any military activity from those two countries. By ensuring military security, Okinawans are more free to focus on business and the economy to ensure prosperity. Unless their economy has a military industrial complex, peace is much better for the economy because citizens do not have to worry about the threat of war. Additionally, businesses on the island can cater to the Americans stationed there which will in turn provide jobs for those Okinawans. To sum it up, the best argument for maintaining the US military presence on the island is that it provides protection and in turn helps the economy.

    The most compelling argument against maintaining the US military presence on Okinawa is that is disruptive to the natural landscape and it perpetuates discrimination against the Okinawan people. Having a large military base on the island requires large swaths of land which must be clear cut and developed. By placing military bases on the island, it takes away the natural beauty. Some may argue that natural beauty is not worth anything, but studies have shown that increased access to nature reduces stress and increases physical fitness among other benefits (see citation below). Additionally, having a large military base on the island continues the exploitation of the Okinawan people. Placing a disruptive, unsightly military base on the island decreases the value of the homes there as well as the quality of life. 

    If I were a Japanese policy maker, I would try to maintain the minimal military presence on the island without jeopardizing the security of the country. Ensuring national security is very important to maintaining economic productivity. However, it is important to acknowledge the historical exploitation the Okinawan people have faced. The best policy would be to reduce the size of the military presence on the island to benefit the residents of the island. Then to encourage the United States to move the excess troops to other locations in the region to maintain security.

The issues surrounding immigration and the detention of immigrants in Japan indicates that Japan has not been so welcome to immigrants. In fact, the article by Kimiko Tanaka which brings to light the human rights abuses in Japanese immigrant detention centers mentions that Japan approved the refugee applications of 0.1% of those who applied in 2017. I think this negative attitude towards immigrants stems from the perpetuated myth that Japan is a monoethnic culture and therefore must prevent the influx of migrants in order to protect their culture. In doing so, the government has sacrificed the human rights of those who are seeking to become residents of Japan.
Many of the problems discussed in the article with Japan’s immigration system parallel those in the United States. One such problem that jumps out to me in both countries is the lack of support or guided path to permanent residence status for those who overstay their visa. This is primary cause of undocumented status in the United States and seems to be a large problem in Japan largely becuase the governments of both countries seem to be hositle to immigrants with the intention of protecting some idealize culture that would be destroyed otherwise. 
Much like the United States, Japan actively dehumanize those trying to immigrate into the country in order to justify denying permission to allow these people to enter the country and treat them poorly. While President Trump outright called those trying to immigrate into the United States across the southern border “animals”, Prime Minister Abe has not explicitly called immigrants anything vulgar. However when addressing questions about immigration at  the United Nations in 2016, he stated that Japan must first take care of “its own domestic concerns relating to ‘demography’” (Japan Today) before considering allowing more immigrants. This statement implies that Abe would rather protect its ethnic homogeneity than look to immigration to help solve problems such as declining population and labor shortages.
In the debate surrounding immigration, I think it gets lost that there are people who suffer from these policies and in most cases, they are the most vulnerable of society. In order to fix the problems surrounding immigration governments should probably look to see why people are trying to immigrate into their country; in most situations, it’s probably because there is suffering involved in their origin. I mean if someone is willing to walk 2000 miles from central America just for a chance to try to enter the United States, then there must be something severely wrong in central America. So my question is why are governments not actively trying to solve the causes that drive people to move to their countries if they don’t want to accept the people trying to immigrate?

The Yasukuni Shrine is a shrine located in Tokyo that houses the souls of Japanese war dead. It is accompanied by the Yushukan Museum which tells the recent history about Japanese conflicts. The Yasukuni Shrine and Yushukan Museum contribute greatly to the narrative that Japan was a hero to the people of Asia and a victim of the West - particularly the United States in World War II. Both of these memorials contribute to nationalistic perception of Japan as a great country. The Yasukuni Shrine remembers those who died serving Japan in combat. At the surface level, that is a noble thing to do, and most countries have some sort of physical site where those who died in combat can be remembered. However, the people in charge of selecting who gets remembered in the Shrine chose to induct 14 war criminals’ spirits into the shrine and they were executed as punishment for their crime, not perishing in battle. This admittance of these war criminals demonstrates the contribution of the shrine to the narrative of Japan as a victim of war and contributes to a nationalist sentiment because it glorifies military leaders who were criminals. The Yushukan Museum on the other hand contributes to the narrative of Japan as a hero and benevolent nation in addition to nationalist sentiment. The museum strategically omits Japan’s flaws and portrays its actions in World War II as one who is coming to the aid of oppressed people throughout Asia. The intentional omission of the colonialism and initiation of War with other Asian countries is a glaring misportrayal of the truth. It is an attempt to clean their hands of any wrong doings and glorify the actions of those who participated as heroic. Based on the descriptions in the article, the Yushukan Museum’s manipulation of information is intended to evoke feelings of pride and superiority over other nations in an effort to generate loyalty and support of Japan. 

    Many people argue that the Enola Gay exhibit is inappropriate because of the human suffering the atomic bomb it dropped caused. The major difference I see between the Enola Gay exhibition and the Yushukan Museum is that the Enola Gay exhibition was not intended to engender national pride but to highlight a significant moment in history. Despite that, I do think the Enola Gay should be displayed along with an exhibit that highlights the destruction that it caused during the war. Without any context, one is left only to consider the engineering feat that the plane was and its contribution to the victory of World War II by the United States (I do think this type of exhibit would be fine if it were a different plane of the same model). Given how much suffering the atomic bomb caused, I certainly believe that the display of the Enola Gay should be accompanied by the human suffering that happened during that historical moment. Granted that I am certainly biased towards the United States, both Japan and the United States have memorials to commemorate the sacrifices people have made for their respective countries. However based on the portrayal of the Japanese memorials, those seem to play into narratives supporting nationalism where as the museums in the United States are intended to highlight historical moments in a relatively unbiased fashion. 

After having watched a sumo match today, I’ve seen first hand how traditional sports play a role in shaping national identity because they serve as a unique event in which the culture influences the sport and the sport influences the culture such that they become inseparable. Japan is known for its ritualistic culture, most notably the tea ceremony, and it is apparent that sumo has been influenced by Japanese culture in such a way as there are many rituals leading up to the actual start of a match. The rituals leading up to the competition are influenced by Japanese culture to the point where the sport becomes a part of the national culture and national identity. 
Internationalizing the sport means quite literally to bring the sport to other cultures but it also allows the sport, in this case sumo, to become influenced to the new cultures that begin to adopt the sport. As with all cultural traditions, the practices of the sport evolve such to reflect the influence of the surrounding environment. Over time, the ritualistic practices mentioned above may change to reflect the influence of the local culture. An example of which is with american football. Many might believe that the rules established by the NFL are the only ones used for the sport, but that is not the case. In the Canadian Football League, there are different rules so that the sport has a slightly different style to reflect the interests of Canadian football fans. If sumo were to gain worldwide popularity to the point where there are different leagues in different countries, then one would likely witness the rituals and rules of the sport evolve slightly differently in each country. But even if that weren’t the case then the sport would still evolve differently in Japan because of the influence of international competitors.