Microinequity and Vicious Cycles at Home and Abroad

Ta-Nehisi Coates’s latest column-post-comments combo is worthwhile reading.

The thread explores two ideas I’d like to say a little more about:

1. Microaggression and microinequity – that is, the constant little events that underline someone is different or of a lower status – fuel bad feelings and inequality and have a corrosive effect on the person on the receiving end, even if the person on the giving end has no intention to hurt.

Microaggression is a really common talking point in the English-speaking expat community in Japan. Here’s one example.

I’ve had friends tell me they couldn’t stay in Japan or Taiwan anymore because they couldn’t handle never being fully accepted. It took me way longer than it should have to connect this frustration with the feelings American minorities have in their own communities. Then the little things that happened here felt really small. In fact, it became clear that Western foreigners in the East are a privileged minority.

James Baldwin describes the way the disrespect of others can poison one’s spirit in his essay “Native Son”, which I also happened to read this week:

This isn’t just a macro (societal) issue, though. Little differences in treatment are in my opinion a major cause of family rifts. Anyone who feels looks down upon (say, for having less “success”) resents it and things quietly get worse and worse.

2. We need to be more aware of how systemic inequalities created the world we have today and how we ourselves contribute to the perpetuation of suffering.

This sort of thing also happens in home life, too. Say you have an overweight family member, and everyone’s always telling him he needs to lose weight…and yet when there’s food left over after dinner, everyone shovels it onto his plates. The people complaining about the problem are themselves perpetuating it!

Likewise, social ostracism fuels antisocial behavior. For example, yakuza membership is largely made up of (1) children of yakuza (2) graduates of teenage biker gangs, who mostly come from broken homes (3) the burakumin, or untouchables (4) ethnic Koreans and other ostracized Asian groups. People that society rejected find their best opportunities are in crime.

One thing I’ve learned this month is that “the ghetto” is the result of public policy. From The Warmth of Other Suns: “The story played out in virtually every northern city – migrants sealed off in overcrowded colonies that would become the foundation for ghettos that would persist into the next century. These were the original colored quarters – the abandoned and identifiable no-man’s-lands that came into being when the least-paid people were forced to pay the highest rents for the most dilapidated housing owned by absentee landlords trying to wring the most money out of a place nobody cared about.”

Black neighborhoods got the worst of everything from city hall in infrastructure and services. (Hello, broken window theory.) No one was allowed to move out, and government housing authorities redlined/hugely undervalued their holdings as owners even as they paid out the nose as renters – which meant their wealth was being constantly devalued.

More Ta-Nehisi on how ghettos were created by elite discrimination:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/02/the-ghetto-is-public-policy/273554/

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/02/the-ghetto-public-policy-and-the-jewish-exception/273592/

Since inequitable urban policy reaped so much destruction, couldn’t equity go a long way to solving problems? Couldn’t city halls take a much more active role in identifying addressing inequalities?

I’m wondering now why the demographic differences between Indy’s Marion and Hamilton counties have always been so stark and thinking my own hometown is a place where there is much legitimate urban renewal to be done.

There’s much to do here, as well. Immigrants from Southeast Asian countries in particular deserve more equitable treatment. Personally, I’m resolved to never look down on anyone. I admit I’m not there yet. To never feel contempt, I’ll have to examine my conscience daily.

Two heroes of Japanese liberalism have passed over to the Grey Havens

Keiji Nakazawa
Asahi Shimbun Obituary

When Keiji Nakazawa was 6 years old, the Hiroshima atomic bomb vaporized nearly his entire family.

He portrayed this experience in a comic book.

As far as I know, Barefoot Gen is the most famous anti-war work in Japanese history. Search for it in Google Images and it will imprint itself in your mind as well. The art style, typical of fun adventures, makes what is depicted inside feel even worse. Perhaps if a book like this were required reading in American junior high schools, we would not declare another war of choice. Irrespective of America, Nakazawa’s work has doubtless been monumental in Japanese culture. My junior high school there had a student performance of it every few years.

Beate Gordon

Read the New York Times’ obituary. It’s one of those that’s so astonishing you wonder why you’ve never heard of this person before.

Beate Sirota Gordon introduced women’s rights to postwar Japan, writing the clauses specifically guaranteeing them into the Japanese Constitution, emancipating 40 million people, when she was 22 years old.

Gordon studied other nations’ constitutions and drew on her childhood experiences in Tokyo and wrote the articles in a week. A sleepless week. Imagine all your learning and moral training and ethical thought suddenly being put to the test, now, and you have to lay out the future legal status of millions of historically marginalized people.

And then she kept her role a secret for decades.

All she did in the meantime was introduce the West to every kind of traditional Japanese art and every style of Asian performance art she could find. It’s amazing to think of how little even Americans in the highest reaches of power understood of Japan when they began ruling the country after the war. And pre-WWII cultural globalization mostly meant Westernization. Ms. Gordon was very important to turning on the East-to-West cultural flows and contributing to the cultural relations between Japanese and Americans today.

With her parents and Kosaku Yamada in Tokyo in 1928 (source: http://www.shinyawatanabe.net/atomicsunshine/ny/beateintroduction.html)

Mr. Nakazawa, Ms. Gordon, rest in peace. May our generation, too, have people as amazing as you.

Proportion of Japanese Men That Are Lifelong Bachelors Breaks 20% for First Time; Rate has Octupled in Last 30 Years

Proportion of Japanese Men That Are Lifelong Bachelors Breaks 20% for First Time; Rate has Octupled in Last 30 Years
Yomiuri Shimbun: 生涯未婚の男性、２割を突破…３０年で８倍
May 1, 2012

As of 2010, the proportions of Japanese men and women who had never been married at age 50 were 20.1% and 10.6%, respectively, it was announced today. This is the first time that the 20% and 10% barriers have been broken.

This information is to be included in “Children and Child-Rearing” white paper which will be confirmed by the Cabinet in the beginning of June.

In 1980, the proportions of the single-for-life were 2.6% for men and 4.5% for women. Now, more than 8 times more men are lifelong bachelors, and more than twice as many women are lifelong bachelorettes. The numbers of the unmarried have surged since the 1990s.

By age group: 71.8% of men and 60.3% of women age 25-29 have never been married. 47.3% of men and 34.5% of women age 30-34 have never been married. And 35.6% of men and 23.1% of women age 35-39 have never been married.

Japanese Population Declined 259,000 Last Year, Biggest Drop in Over 60 Years, as Falling Fertility and Aging Population Trends Gained Speed

Japanese Population Trends Since 1990
Left Vertical Axis and Blue Bars: Year-By-Year Population Increase/Decrease in Tens of Thousands
Horizontal Axis: Year
Right Vertical Axis and Black Line: Total Population of Japan in Hundreds of Millions (1.28 = 128 Million)

Japanese Population Declined 259,000 Last Year, Biggest Drop in Over 60 Years, as Falling Fertility and Aging Population Trends Gained Speed
Yomiuri Shimbun: 総人口、最大の２５万人減…少子高齢化が加速
April 17, 2012

The Japanese population declined 259,000 last year to 127,799,000, a decline of 0.2%, according to an estimate the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications made on October 1, 2011 and released this April 17.

This is the largest decline since comparable statistics began to be kept in 1950. The proportion of the population between ages 0-14 declined to a new low of 13.1% while the number of Japanese 65 and over increased to a new high of 23.3%, which shows that falling fertility and aging population trends are advancing.

One substatistic of the study is the “natural movement” of the population, calculated by subtracting the number of deaths from the number of births (and thus excluding immigration and emigration). This year, deaths outnumbered births by 180,000. This is the fifth consecutive year the population naturally decreased. The level of this natural decrease widens year after year, leading the Ministry to comment that the decrease in the nation’s fertility rate and the increase in its citizens’ average age are picking up speed.

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Governor Ishihara: “Tokyo is Going To Protect the Senkaku Islands. Any Complaints?”

Left: Governor Ishihara at the speech. Photo by Kentarō Nakashima.
Right: The Senkaku Islands, which are north of Ishigaki, Okinawa and northeast of Taiwan.

Governor Ishihara: “Tokyo is Going To Protect the Senkaku Islands. Any Complaints?”
Yomiuri Shimbun: 石原知事「東京が尖閣守る、文句ありますか」
Kentarō Nakashima reporting from Washington, DC April 17, 2012

During a speech on the afternoon of the 16th in Washington, DC (before dawn on the 17th in Tokyo), Tokyo Governor Ishihara expressed his intention to purchase a part of the Senkaku Islands, which are held by Japan (and administered by Ishigaki, Okinawa) despite competing territorial claims by China and Taiwan [who call them the Diaoyu Islands].

He has received the consent of a man in Saitama who already possesses the islands and would like to complete the acquisition this year.

The Tokyo government is looking into purchasing three of the four islands – Uotsuri Jima, Kita Kojima, and Minami Kojima – first, and buying a fourth, Kuba Jima, which belongs to the man’s relatives, in the future.

The Governor pushed back against Chinese territorial claims in his speech, saying “the Senkaku Islands are part of Japan, and they were returned to the country at the same time as Okinawa. Now [China] is saying the islands are theirs. That’s outrageous.”

He added “it would be best if the national government bought the islands, but it’s not because it’s timid,” and “Tokyo will defend the Senkaku Islands. It may upset other countries, but can anyone complain about Japanese people making this acquisition in order to protect Japanese territory?”

After his speech, Governor Ishihara said to the press that he was considering sending a proposal to Ishigaki, Okinawa to jointly administer the islands. Regarding their price tag, he only said “I can’t say. They’re not that expensive.” The Governor is visiting the United States on invitation from the hosts of Washington’s National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Original/原稿:
石原知事「東京が尖閣守る、文句ありますか」

　【ワシントン＝中島健太郎】東京都の石原慎太郎知事は１６日午後（日本時間１７日未明）、米ワシントンで講演し、日本の固有の領土で中国や台湾が領有権を主張する尖閣諸島（沖縄県石垣市）の一部を都が買い取る意向を表明した。

　すでに島を所有する埼玉県の男性の同意を得ており、今年中の取得を目指すという。

　都が買い取りを検討しているのは、尖閣諸島で最大の魚釣島と北小島、南小島の３島で、将来的には男性の親族が所有する久場(くば)島の取得も目指す。

　知事は講演で、「尖閣諸島は日本の固有の領土で、沖縄返還の時に帰ってきた。（中国が）俺たちのものだと言い出した。とんでもない話だ」と中国側の領有権主張をけん制した。

　その上で「本当は国が買い上げたらいいが、びくびくしてやらない」とし、「東京が尖閣諸島を守る。どこの国が嫌がろうと、日本人が日本の国土を守るため島を取得するのに何か文句がありますか」と語った。

　石原知事は講演後、報道陣に、沖縄県や石垣市に共同管理を提案する考えも示した。買い取り額については「言えない。そんなに高くはない」と述べるにとどめた。石原知事はワシントンで開かれている全米桜祭りの主催団体から招待を受け、訪米中。

（2012年4月17日14時34分 読売新聞）

Bittersweet First Victory for Darvish: Bested By Ichiro

Darvish (left) gave up four runs in his first inning; Ichiro (right) went 3-for-4 against him and is coming in to score. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

Bittersweet First Victory for Darvish: Bested By Ichiro
Yomiuri Shimbun:
Kai Nishimura reporting April 10, 2012

Box Score

Did Yu Darvish “have it” during his first major league victory, like his former teammate Yuki Saito did for the Nippon Ham Fighters on his own opening day this season?

Frankly, it looked like the number one pitcher in Japanese baseball was overcome by nerves.

In the first inning, he walked the leadoff hitter, Figgins, on a fastball that was way outside. After getting an out, he faced Ichiro, the #3 hitter. On a two-and-two count, Ichiro hit a ball safely past the third baseman, getting Darvish deeper in trouble. But Darvish’s control didn’t return to him then, either; instead, he threw more bad pitches that got crushed. He even walked Kawasaki with the bases loaded to allow a fourth run in his very first inning.

Ichiro hit a double to right his next time up in the second inning, [grounded out in the fourth, and] singled in the sixth, which forced Darvish out of the game. All the hits the Mariners got on Darvish were off his two-seam fastball, the pitch that had been his lifeline in America so far. After his third exhibition game on March 19, he had said the pitch was really responding well – “it really moves, and I feel like even my teammates hate it” – and he used it most of the times he needed an out pitch. He couldn’t get a handle on it this time, though. In fact, all his pitches were a little wild.

His other great pitches, like his curve, weren’t going where he wanted them to, either, so it’s safe to say he hasn’t completely adjusted to major league ball yet. Darvish came here after relentlessly polishing his stuff in Japan. Given today’s painful experience, one is left wondering how close he is to attaining his goal of becoming the Greatest Pitcher in the World.

Sony Lost ¥520 Billion Yen in First Quarter, Making it Worst Quarter in Company History

Sony Lost ¥520 Billion Yen in First Quarter, Making it Worst Quarter in Company History
Yomiuri Shimbun: ソニーの赤字、創業以来最大５２００億円
April 10, 2012

Today Sony revised its consolidated earnings estimate for the first quarter of 2012 downward; it estimated a ¥220 billion loss on February 2 but now foresees a ¥520 billion loss ($2.7 billion) for the period.

This makes it the worst quarter in the history of the company.

Yesterday, the corporation announced that it would lay off ten thousand people, about 6% of its work force.

Female High School Falconer Contributing to Saga Raven Removal

Female High School Falconer Contributing to Saga Raven Removal
Yomiuri Shimbun: 女子高生鷹匠、カラス駆除に乗り出す
April 9, 2012

Saga Prefecture Takeo High School Senior Misato Ishibashi (17) and her father Hidetoshi (45), who are both falconers, are leading their falcons and horned owls in an effort to scare off the crows living in the prefecture’s forests.

According to the prefecture’s Agricultural Support Division, crows caused an estimated ¥66 million ($809,000) in damages to its oranges, pears, beans, wheat, and other crops in 2010. Crows can fly 10-20 kilometers at a time, and they are plundering crops more than city garbage. The prefecture is making an effort to introduce falcons and horned owls, which frighten crows, inside its cities in order to scare the crows into the mountains, where they can eat the fruit that grows naturally in the trees there.

In recent years, the father-daughter team has also received calls from the prefecture to chase crows from the Saga Castle Park, where the crows’ droppings and cries were disturbing residents.

In order to frighten the crows today, Misato set loose a Harris Hawk named Momotarō (Peach Boy), and Hidetoshi walked around with a Eurasian Eagle-Owl on his arm. Hidetoshi also suggested, “Wouldn’t it be even more effective if we set Momotarō loose from the top floor of the new prefectural administration building (which is 11 stories high) so he could have a downward angle on the crows?”

His Students Drugged His Lunch…He Was Forced to Work Over 150 Hours of Overtime a Month…He Committed Suicide in the Middle of Class…Government Still Rules Working Conditions Did Not Cause Teacher’s Death

His Students Drugged His Lunch…He Was Forced to Work Over 150 Hours of Overtime a Month…He Committed Suicide in the Middle of Class…Government Still Rules Working Conditions Did Not Cause Teacher’s Death
Yomiuri Shimbun: 生徒が給食に薬、残業１５０時間…自殺は公務外
April 9, 2012

The Miyagi Prefecture Public Employees’ Compensation Fund has ruled that the suicide of Mr. Hiroshi Ōizumi, who was a 43-year old teacher at Nakata Junior High School in Tome City when he leapt out of the school building to his death in 2008, was not a consequence of his working conditions. Mr. Ōizumi’s wife, Junko (age 47), who had filed the claim in 2009, has filed a protest of the decision with the fund’s oversight committee.

According to the prefectural teachers’ union, Mr. Ōizumi became a teacher at the school in 2006. His workplace harassment included being forced to work over 150 hours of overtime a month and students sneaking sleeping pills into his lunch. On February 7, 2008, in the middle of a rowdy class, he jumped out of the classroom’s third-story window to his death.

In 2009, Junko filed a claim with the compensation fund. This February (2012), the fund ruled that his suicide was not caused by his work.

After filing a protest, Junko held a press conference. She said, “I want them to take the value of human life seriously.”

Mixed Reactions to Japanese Comedian Running for Cambodia in London Marathon: “He’s Disrespecting Other Athletes” vs. “He’s a Bridge Between Nations”

Mr. Hiroshi Neko poses happily after accepting a place in the Olympic marathon as a representative of Cambodia. His ribbon wishes him “congratulations.” March 26, Sumida-ku, Tokyo.

Mixed Reactions to Japanese Comedian Running for Cambodia in London Marathon: “He’s Disrespecting Other Athletes” vs. “He’s a Bridge Between Nations”
Yomiuri Shimbun: 猫さん五輪に賛否…「選手に失礼」「懸け橋に」
March 31, 2012

Mr. Hiroshi Neko (the alias of Kuniaki Takizaki), a 34-year old comedian who took Cambodian citizenship to complete for a spot in the marathon at the London Olympics, has been chosen as a member of the Cambodian team.

This has ignited controversy, with some saying he has shown great disrespect to Cambodian athletes in going as far as changing his citizenship to make the team and others saying he is a bridge between nations. Can he handle the burden of a nation’s hopes and dreams during the race itself?

“My goal is to break the world record in London.” Speaking at a press conference in Sumida-ku, Tokyo on March 26 in which he accepted a place on the Cambodian national team, Mr. Neko was so nervous that his hands shook. He usually dons a red T-shirt reading “Cat Demon” (Neko Oni) , but that day he wore a suit and tie.

He acknowledged criticism of his change of nationality, saying “I know some people have strict views about this. I’ve decided to go through with it, though, and I’m going to pursue victory all the way to the end.”

Eye-catching online criticism of Mr. Neko includes “for a comedian to play a joke on everyone by running in the Olympics is a dishonor to all the athletes who are honestly competing in the event” and “Isn’t he just trying to get attention?”

Former Olympic silver medalist Yūko Arimori (45), who plans charity marathons in Cambodia to deepen exchange with the country, tearfully said to the Yomiuri Shimbun that “it pains me to think of the young man whose spot on the team was taken by a Japanese person.” Indeed, it was Ms. Arimori who invited Neko’s primary competitor for that spot, Hem Bunting (26), to Japanese invitationals. “Cambodian runners have to build their strength inside a poor training environment. I’d prefer that someone who’s actually from there run for them.”

Japan Track and Field Association Director (and former marathoner) Toshihiko Seko (55), however, is looking forward to Mr. Neko’s performance: “My compliments go to him for winning his spot on the basis of his abilities. I would like to see him become a bridge between these two nations.”

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