BALANCE of CULTURE

Designers Rise Above Ongoing Territorial Disputes

Fashion icons Junko Koshino (Japan), Zhang Zhifeng (China) and Chang Kwang-hyo (S. Korea) put on a lavish fashion show at the Beijing Hotel yesterday, intent on proving that their respective governments' territorial tensions shouldn't affect the integrity of their industry, unlike the recent auto industry issues in the region.

The event was sponsored by China's Ministry of Culture. It's always comforting to see how ordinary citizens can come together on an issue even when their governments can't. 

Australia Commits to an "Asian Century"

Is this kind of bold educational initiative the result of having a female leader in power? It's still early in the process, but Australia is clearly preparing for an "Asian century." PM Julia Gillard has committed to 25 ambitious goals over the next 13 years for her nation to integrate with the "unstoppable" and "staggering" growth of their regional neighbors. 

All schools in Australia will partner with schools throughout Asia, giving every Aussie student an opportunity to learn one of four "priority" Asian languages (Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Indonesian). By the time students graduate high school, they'll be expected to have a solid foundational understanding of Asia, similarly to how most Western educations have up until now focused primarily on a European-centric knowledge base. 

Thousands of scholarships for Asian students will be offered, a useful exchange for all of the new diplomatic posts that will be established. In addition, one-third of company higher-ups and senior civil workers will be required to have a "deep knowledge" of Asia. Gillard sounds really serious about this Asia-centric approach. 

This is a profoundly progressive way of broadening public student education--so cutting-edge that I wonder if we should attribute such innovation to the fact that the country's PM is a woman. Either way, I predict Australia's image and influence will enjoy a considerable boost as it attaches its values with an Asian perspective. 

(Meanwhile in the US, many are still debating if our schools should teach creationism or evolution.)

The (Korean) Bill Gates of Japan

After reading the news of Japanese telecom giant Softbank buying 70% of Sprint yesterday, I learned that Softbank's CEO Masayoshi Son is a Zainichi Korean who was educated in the US! He apparently graduated from UC Berkeley, where he connected with all sorts of video game and tech people (often attributed to his success later on). 

My own family has some personal history and connections within Japan so I'm always interested in these "temporary" Korean-Japanese citizens. Zainichi Koreans are the second largest ethnic group in Japan and are known to have settled in Japan in the early 20th century during the Japanese Imperial Period (basically 1910-1945). They are distinguished from other ethnic Korean-Japanese who migrated there later, mainly in the 1980s. 

Softbank has recently expanding their influence in Japan by getting involved in aiding recovery after the earthquake/tsunami disaster of 2011--investing in solar energy as well as paying for 1,200 of the hardest hit families' living expenses and relocation.

The company's humanitarian angle certainly makes Son's nickname, the "Bill Gates of Japan," pretty understandable. 

China-Japan Island Conflict Benefits Hawaii

As the East China Sea islands dispute escalates between China and Japan, peripheral parties to the situation have begun formulating their own roles. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta predictably wants to mellow things out, subtly comparing the current bilateral tensions as something akin to living in the past.

While the American perspective on the Diaoyu-Senkaku conflict may appear to resemble a distant armchair analysis, US troops are indeed directly involved in the scenario by way of Hawaii:

Some 70 years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, Hawaii is set to play a central role in safeguarding that same country (and other Asian allies) against the potential threats of the 21st century, including those being attributed to a rising China.

It's a role that will likely benefit the Aloha State, which already enjoys a strong shot in the arm for its economy due to the military presence here.

But this certainly doesn't mean that China is in any way an official "enemy" to troops stationed in Hawaii. Peaceful coexistence is the ultimate goal for all parties, and Hawaii is looking like it will continue to benefit from both American military precautions as well as the persistent swells of Chinese tourists eager to spend time in a paradise not riddled with a glaring geopolitical conflict. 

Butterflies Already Show Fukushima Effects

Disfigured eyes, antennas, and wings…Researchers have found dozens of mutated butterflies near Fukushima, Japan. They believe this is some of the first signs of ecosystem damage, but what's even worse is how the mutations have apparently increased with time in adult butterflies and increase even more in their offspring. Very sad and scary! Hope the Japanese government doesn't downplay this too much.

Official Japanese Noodles: Rome to Honolulu

Surprised something like this hasn't happened already--just shows how I often tend to overestimate what has been done in this world. The Japanese dish known as "yakisoba," a popular pan-fried noodle dish, made its official debut in Rome, Italy this week. Usually considered the birthplace of modern pasta as we know it (though other variations from the Middle East and China also existed), the ancient city got a taste of yakisoba thanks to a recent push of Japanese noodles through the country's embassy. 

Coincidentally, Shirokiya (one of my favorite spots in Honolulu!) recently had an authentic "shoyu ramen" experience--for a couple of weeks only, one of the main ramen stalls near the department store's beer garden upstairs offered this special bowl via the president of the Japan Ramen Association. We caught it on the last day:

Perhaps since I'm not exactly the biggest ramen fan in general, the dish ended up being just ok for me. But it was just cool to taste what the official Japanese ramen organization wants you to taste when eating ramen, right? Culinary experiences like these two seem to be a growing trend from all cultures, lucky for all of us!

Japan's Surfers Return to Fukushima Waves

Japan's recent decision to restart a nuclear reactor post-Fukushima has polarized the nation after the widespread tragedy last year. Not surprisingly, some of Japan's surfers are among the most vocal against the restart.

In this radio interview, surfer Hiroki Watanabe reveals why he has quit his year-long surfing hiatus to jump back in Fukushima's questionable waters--waters once known as one of the best surfing spots in Japan. The public's anger at TEPCO is evident and growing, as nobody seems to be able to trust what assurances this power company offers even over a year after the disaster. 

Not completely parallel, but this loosely reminds me of the whole BP fiasco in our own Gulf. Our oceans all over the world desperately need more protection. 

Cultural Cool Plateau

A very brief look at Japan's soft power based upon the "Cool Japan" concept has this writer arguing that the country's coolness was happening long before 2002, when the term "cool Japan" was apparently coined (as an offshoot of the UK's 1990s "Cool Brittania" concept). Whether we're talking "Nintendo games in the 1980s or Japanese art in the 1880s," he argues that Japan's coolness over the decades is not a new thing. 

Sure, that's all true. But don't tell me that the sharp rise in Japan's cultural relevance during the 1980s was anything remotely close to its obscure--yet just as awesome--art from a century before. Just ask a Japanese person if they feel safer, better, or "cooler" walking around the US now as opposed to fifty years ago. I'm pretty sure that we know the answer to that question. While the past certainly paved the way for what we see coming out of that country today, Japan's "it" factor--whether you think it's "over" or not-- has everything to do with its more recent cultural accomplishments during the past few decades. 

The one thing that doesn't change is that every "cultural cool" eventually plateaus. Look at the UK compared to a few decades ago. Japan is still interesting and "cool," of course, but it now shares the global cultural spotlight with other significant sensibilities such as South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. None of this is "over," yet Japan's near-monopoly on Asian cultural cool pretty much is. And there's certainly nothing wrong with that, unless inevitable change isn't something you welcome. 

However, I do have to wholeheartedly agree with the final sentiment of the piece: "Japan didn't just start being cool. It didn't stop being cool, either. But governmental programs and trade organizations? Those were never cool." In my opinion, this is precisely the main difficulty of using the official government context and means to facilitate cultural influence. Governments haven't figured out how to really tap into the "cool factor" yet. 

Save Pagan Island

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is considering a proposal from Japanese investors to lease Pagan Island as a dumping ground for debris from Japan's devastating tsunami of March 2011. This biologically unique island is home to several threatened and endangered species (such as the single island endemic subspecies of the Mariana fruit bat, pictured below) that are already trying to survive under challenging circumstances (Pagan is a prime choice for US military training/testing). Next week, Japan is sending experts to research a formal plan to mine pozzolan on the island as well. 

Pagan Island is itself mostly uninhabited but beyond the biological dangers, the proposal is an insult to the people of CNMI. I don't think any country or community, no matter how large or small, appreciates the idea of being a waste dump site for another nation's garbage--especially one with land so disconnected from our already polluted world.

The 3-11 tsunami was one of the most atrocious events in current Japan and I understand the practical need to rid of waste from the incident. But islands in general are inherently some of the most vulnerable parts of our planet. Just because the human population is low in the region does not mean that the ecology of the islands wouldn't greatly suffer. 

A petition has been formed to address this proposal. Surely we can find at least try to find a safer solution as long as we don't settle for an idea that simply takes advantage of the conveniently-voiceless. 

"Manga-Style" Missile Plans for North Korea

North Korea is set to launch their long range missile either on or around April 15 (Kim il-sung's centenary) or April 25 (the founding day of their army), and both Japan and South Korea are preparing to potentially shoot down the rocket should it stray off course.

Japan's Sankei Shimbun (newspaper) has even published a "manga-style" drawing that shows readers the possible scenarios of the launch in three stages. The blue line is the Japanese counterattack:

A lot of information is coming out of both South Korea and Japan regarding their plans for this missile launch and the United States is always stated as ""involved with each nation's separate preparations, yet I still have not seen anything that indicates if South Korea and Japan are communicating directly with one another on this situation as well.

Seems like it would be rather inefficient for two neighbors to deal with their own backyard problems primarily through a third foreign party (albeit a third party with nuclear capabilities and an obvious stronghold influence over the region), but perhaps the vagueness is simply due to security reasons as well as plans that are still works in progress.

Regardless, North Korea appears highly encouraged by the worldwide attention it's receiving due to their missile plans, as US reconnaissance satellites recently spotted an even larger missile in a Pyongyang R&D facility.

China, North Korea's other neighbor, has been pretty quiet on the issue.