“Taking one for the team” and taking personal blame so that the company (or in this case, the government) can move forward is much more likely to happen in Japan. Consider the fact that Hatoyama stepped down largely because he didn’t fulfill a campaign promise. (To close an American military base in Okinawa.) Well, in the time that Kan has been prime minister, Japan experienced one of the deadliest series of earthquakes and one of the most horrific tsunamis in all of Japanese history. While Kan can’t be blamed for an act of nature, there’s the failure of the nuclear power plants and leaking radiation to consider as well. These plants were built long before Kan’s time as prime minister, but there’s more to it. The disaster relief handling, the nuclear power plant disasters and the government’s response to the tragedies have been under the spotlight by upset citizens.

Much of the rest of the government pressured Kan into his resignation and offered to pass some of the bills he’s put forth in order to broker a deal with him to resign. Kan’s bills focus largely on finding clean, renewable sources of energy for the country so that Japan is less reliant on dangerous nuclear power.

Kan’s party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) remains in power and will have the majority needed to elect a new prime minister from their party next week. The new prime minister will become Japan’s sixth prime minister in only five years.

Do you like the idea of the nation’s leader resigning to take the blame for failure of government, even if he alone is not responsible? Why or why not? Would you like your nation’s leader to change every few months or every year or so?

Japan is no stranger to earthquakes. Because multiple oceanic tectonic plates meet near and under the country, earthquakes occur rather frequently, but most do not cause severe devastation. (Although Japanese earthquakes in 1923 and 1995 resulted in the loss of 140,000 and 6434 people respectively.) However, this earthquake was on a scale not seen in decades and the resulting aftershock earthquakes have continued for days. Perhaps most distressingly, the 9.0 earthquake caused a tsunami to crash into coastal towns, utterly destroying at least eight towns, which saw eleven to twenty-four feet of water crash through them. At the moment, 4314 people are officially dead, but more than 13,400 people are officially missing. Unofficially, tens of thousands more people are missing and may be dead.

Take a look at this video, which shows the number of earthquakes that have occurred in Japan between March 9th and March 14th. Many of them have been quite strong, although none have caused the same level of devastation as the March 11th 9.0 Mw earthquake. Nonetheless, everyone in Japan has been affected by this disaster in some way. They’ve felt the earthquakes, they’ve dealt with a shortage of food and supplies on store shelves and they’re experiencing rolling blackouts in order to conserve energy. The biggest remaining problem involves leaking radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in one the most affected areas. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the area (currently about 12 miles radius) around the power plant.

The disaster may also have an affect on Japan’s economy and even the global economy in the future. Already the stock market in the US may have been affected.

My friend (pen name: Caroline Josephine) from America has been teaching English in Saitama, outside of Tokyo, for the past couple of years. Although Tokyo wasn’t extensively damaged, the city is only about 150 miles south of the epicenter of the disaster and they felt the strong earthquake there. Read her first person account of the disaster here.

You can watch live translated news coverage from Japan here. Looking to help Japan? Donate through any of these charities.

When did you first hear about the Japanese disasters? Do you know anyone in Japan? What did they experience?

As we’ve previously covered

On February 10th, Japan suspended its whaling early. (The season usually ends in March and there is still the chance that they will resume normal activities.) Japanese officials explained that harassment from protesters, and the subsequent safety concerns, is largely to blame. Japanese whalers are usually stalked by environmental groups. The Sea Shepard Conservation Society is the most prominently known and relentless crew of environmentalists who follow the whalers in their own boats and attempt to sabotage the whaling.

The Sea Shepard Conservation Society’s attacks on the whalers were especially relentless in January. According to reports from the Japan Institute of Cetacean Research published by the Australian paper the Sydney Morning Herald, the Sea Shepard Conservation Society protesters have damaged a propeller on a whaling ship, blocked a whaling ship from refueling on schedule, and have even occupied two of the whaling ships for several weeks each. Voice of America News reports that this season the whalers have caught and killed one hundred whales–eight hundred less than their annual goal of nine hundred.

In a report discussed by Sky News, the Japanese whalers have recorded some of the harassment by the Sea Shepard Conservation Society. At times, the environmentalists shoot flares and high-power water jets at the whalers’ boats. The whalers have been responding in kind. In January 2010, an environmentalist’s boat even sunk after being split in two by whaler attacks.

The Sea Shepard Conservation Society plans to follow the whaling ships until they’re certain that they are indeed headed back to port in Japan.

Are you on the side of the environmentalists or the whalers? Do you think there’s some blame on both sides?

On December 15th, the Tokyo Assembly (part of the local government) approved Bill 156, a reworking of an earlier-proposed bill referred to as “the Non-Existent Youth Bill.” Bill 156, sometimes called the Tokyo Youth Ordinance Act, is causing a stir in the Japanese entertainment industry because of its often vague and sometimes overly strict mandates for the creators, publishers, and sellers of anime, manga, and video games.

The original intent of the bill seemed to be aimed at what’s called “lolita” or “shota” content in an effort to protect the “non-existent” (fictional) youth and, in the government’s opinion, reduce deviancy and suicidal thoughts in the actual youth who may be exposed to these series. In Japan, strangely, what’s allowed in terms of potentially sexual content even when it comes to children (so long as they’re fictional characters) hasn’t been that regulated. “Lolikon” (“Lolita complex”) refers to anime, manga, and video games that feature (fictional) young girls in risque situations and “shotakon” (“Shotaro complex”), which is less popular but still somewhat prevalent, refers to the same with young (fictional) boys. While often risque, most of these types of series are not outright sexual (although some can be). Nevertheless, under the new law, any fictional character under the age of 13 must not be “wholly or partially naked” or shown wearing swimwear in anime, manga, or video games. However, all such content–including the outright sexual–will still be allowed if it’s sold exclusively to adults and not aired on TV.

Bill 156 potentially impacts much more than just this somewhat contentious kind of content. In an effort to completely regulate the anime, manga, and video game industries, sexual content–even if just slightly risque and not outright sexual–may have to be censored if aired on TV. The Bill has also mandated that violence be toned down, which impacts some of the most popular anime and manga in the country. Content that features homosexual or incestual relationships may also be censored or, in the latter’s case, outright banned.

However, at the moment, all of the bill is vague and creators are struggling to understand what will and won’t be allowed. At the last minute, political opposition to the bill (who didn’t have enough power to overturn the bill) requested that a rider be attached to allow anime, manga and video games that are culturally relevant to remain uncensored and accessible to the general public. (The exact words of the bill ask censors to consider “merits based on artistic, social, educational, and satirical criticism criteria” when allowing content to be produced.) This may apply to such pieces of entertainment as the works of Studio Ghibli, which generally receive favorable reviews from critics and are enjoyed by the general population at large. However, this again is vague and may cause further confusion.

Another point of contention with Bill 156 is that it does not apply to live-action TV shows or movies, nor does it apply to books. Actual children can still be shown in swimwear, for example, and live-action movies can be as violent as they please. This leads many to believe that the bill is a movement sparked by anti-otaku (socially awkward extreme anime, manga, and video game fans) politicians with tenuous data at best how this kind of content “hurts” the Tokyo youth.

Publishers are creators are expected to comply by changing the type of new content they produce on April 1st; sellers are allowed to continue selling old material under pre-Bill 156 laws until July 1st. Publishers and creators are trying to protest the bill by withdrawing their presence at the Tokyo Animation Fair in March.

How does this affect Japan? Along with South Korea and the USA, Japan is one of the primary targets of North Korea’s aggression. North Korea has before “tested” its missiles into the Pacific Ocean toward Japan, at least twice sending missiles that flew over Japan in 1998 and 2009. There are many reasons why North Korea chooses its enemies, mostly because they feel threatened by the other countries. Japan may be a target because of its alliance with South Korea and the USA, but also because of hostilities against Korea (which then included South Korea as well) during World War II.

Of course Japan is one of the first countries to step up to condemn these attacks on South Korea, with Prime Minister Kan calling the attack “an intolerable act of barbarism,” and pointing out that “we have been strongly condemning North Korea and this stance will stay unchanged.”

Kan went on to say when addressing the Japanese government, “I believe that the lives of Japanese people will not immediately be influenced. But to make sure that will not be the case, I’d like you all to make efforts.”¹

Japan and the USA are currently pressuring China to step in and condemn the attacks, as China has some economic and political influence over North Korea. China has long remained reluctant to take an official stance on the North Korea vs. South Korea issue, however, and has possibly even leaned toward supporting North Korea in the past for political reasons. Meanwhile, South Korean and American troops stationed in South Korea are currently practicing military games in the region in order to show North Korea how prepared they are for a fight, should it come to that. So far, North Korea has not proclaimed war, merely citing retaliation for one perceived attack.

What do you think of this week’s attack on South Korea? Should China be made to step in? Should the UN? Can either have an impact on North Korea? What should Japan do?

¹ “Kan, Lee to work closely following N Korean attack.” Japan Today. 24 November 2010. <http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/japan-on-alert-after-n-korea-fires-shells-at-s-korea>.

So while Japan has made no commitment to changing its custody policies, you may be wondering why another country would go so far as to draw attention to Japan’s legal system, especially when the U.S. considers Japan an ally and Japan is one of the world’s richest nations. What’s going on in the Japanese legal system when it comes to divorce?

It can be very difficult to divorce in Japan if the couple isn’t in mutual agreement, especially if one member of the coupling is a Japanese citizen and the other is a foreigner. (Conversely, if the couple can reach an agreement, all they need to do is file some paperwork and the divorce will happen much more quickly than it does in other nations.) If the couple can’t agree, the one who initiates the divorce must provide a legally valid reason for divorce, such as adultery, abuse or criminal activity, in order to receive any alimony (although more often than not, the alimony will be a lump sum payment).

More often than not, the Japanese citizen will receive full custody of any children (especially if the Japanese citizen is the mother) and the foreigner parent will only have visitation that’s not really enforced, making it easy for the ex to simply refuse to let the foreigner parent see the children. This is assuming the foreigner parent can stay in Japan–there’s little chance that the foreigner parent can hope that the Japanese law will force his or her ex to send the children to another country for visitation.

Strangely, though, Japan’s refusal to allow foreigners to see their Japanese children extends even to non-Japanese citizens in Japan. According to Japan Today, an American man’s American ex-wife with no Japanese ties moved to Osaka with their American daughter and he can’t get the cooperation of the Japanese government to have his daughter sent back despite the fact that his ex broke the custody agreement.

Do you know anyone who divorced in Japan? Did they experience difficulty if there were children involved?

¹ “U.S. lawmakers pressure Japan on child custody rights.” Japan Today. 30 September 2010. <http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/us-lawmakers-push-japan-on-child-custody-rights>.

Because it’s an island nation, there aren’t as many immigrants to Japan as there are to other countries. But countries with poorer average wages for the majority or at least a large portion of citizens, such as China, the Philippines, and Brazil, are targeted by Japanese companies as sources of cheap labor for manufacturing and farming work. While some immigrant workers are treated fairly, mistreatment of foreign workers is prevalent enough that Japanese human rights activists are trying to address the problem.

Some immigrant workers are terrorized by their bosses and are told they’re not allowed to attend church (85% of Filipinos are Christian), they’re not allowed to get cell phones or do much besides work. Some report being physically assaulted by Japanese co-workers and bosses. One Chinese immigrant even reported that her Japanese boss told her Japanese co-workers not to go near her work station—where she was stationed every day—because of the danger of inhaling toxic chemicals during the manufacturing process.

The Chinese immigrant and several other Chinese immigrants who worked for that company are building a case with a Japanese lawyer against their former employer. Human rights activists are also helping other immigrants by investigating poor treatment, but there are likely more immigrants who are not being helped. There are about 190,000 immigrants in the “foreign trainee” program, although of course the majority are likely not mistreated. Nevertheless, the mistreatment is a growing concern, especially considering that these companies are receiving their workers through a government-sanctioned program.

Do you think the Japanese government is at fault for not keeping a closer eye on the companies that hire foreign workers through the program? What kind of steps could they take to make sure Japanese companies don’t take advantage of their workers?

Tabuchi, Hiroko. “Japan Training Program Is Said to Exploit Workers.” The New York Times. 21. July 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/business/global/21apprentice.html?_r=1&src=mv>.

Hatoyama was adamant after his approval ratings dropped that he has no intention of resigning. Yet just a few weeks later, he did exactly that. Granted, he didn’t resign over horrible fashion attire, no should anyone have expected him to. (The “his bad fashion shows he’s not in touch with the common Japanese citizen” argument notwithstanding.) The actual reason he gave had to do with his failure to close the U.S. military base on Okinawa, which he promised to do during his campaign. While one could argue that he hadn’t served long enough to enact this change, Hatoyama did sign an unpopular treaty in late May with U.S. President Obama to ensure the continued existence of the U.S. military presence in Okinawa. This was mostly due to increased tensions between Japan and North Korea and Hatoyama’s desire for U.S. aid if need be.

Besides the failure with Okinawa, Hatoyama was also accused of perhaps having knowledge of a money scandal involving a top member of his party, the Democratic Party of Japan (not quite the same as the U.S. party of the same name). Facing summer elections, Hatoyama’s party asked him to step down to increase their chances of performing favorably at the next election.

Hatoyama was replaced by Kan Naoto, Hatoyama’s former deputy. Kan is actually Japan’s seventh prime minister in a decade. Why so many changes? Hatoyama’s not the first to resign by any means; it’s a much more common occurrence in Japan than in countries like America, where only one president has resigned in history. The other part of the reason for so many changes in leadership is that the nation’s prime minister is not directly elected by the Japanese citizens. Instead, Japanese citizens vote for their representatives in the Japanese parliament (the Diet). In turn, the members of the Diet elect the prime minister. The more seats a party has, the more likely that party is going to win the position, for which they usually nominate their elected leader. However, this somewhat disconnected way of electing a prime minister does seem to lead fewer Japanese people to be passionately political than many people in other nations.

Do you think Hatoyama should have resigned as soon as he failed with one campaign promise? Do you think the Japanese system of electing a leader would work in your country? Why or why not?

Yoshida, nicknamed “Nakkuru Hime” “(“Knuckle Princess”), actually already knows what it’s like to whiz past gender boundaries, as she became Japan’s first female professional baseball player in 2008 at the age of 16, when still in high school! (Her actual debut was in March 2009 at the age of 17.) She was drafted into the Kobe 9 Cruise, one of four teams in the Kansai Independent Baseball League (comparable to Minor League Baseball here). Yoshida, a pitcher, helped lead her team to victory in the first game with her sidearm knuckleball. She played in eleven games with the Kobe 9 Cruise before coming to the US joining the Arizona Winter League, a short-season independent professional league, in late 2009.

While playing in the Arizona Winter League, Yoshida caught the attention of the Chico Outlaws (Chico, California) and was offered a contract to play on the team in the Golden Baseball League, an independent ten-team baseball league. She’s spent the past spring training and just recently debuted in her first official game with the team.

Yoshida’s training experience was made more special for her because Boston Red Sox knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield came to help her train at the Boston Red Sox’s minor league training center. Yoshida credits Wakefield for her style, as videos she saw of his pitching are what inspired her to adapt her trademark “knuckle princess” pitching style.

Yoshida is currently the only female professional baseball player in the U.S. and is only the second female professional U.S. baseball player in history. She’s also now the first female baseball player to play professional in more than one country.

Her first game with the Chico Outlaws took place on May 29^th and she helped lead to the team to victory when she pitched for three innings.

Because of the increased interest in Yoshida’s debut, the Chico Outlaws are streaming their games online. If you want to watch Yoshida in action, check out the Outlaws’ website.

Have you ever heard of Yoshida Eri? Have you seen her play? Do you think it’s fitting that a Japanese woman is making baseball history in the U.S.? Why or why not?

This is not the first time the Japanese prime minister has decided to wear outfits that are a little bizarre. Japanese fashion critics go on to cite a heart-studded collared shirt over which the prime minister wore a pink blazer, mauve coats, and other multi-colored shirts. The prime minister and his wife are also known in the media for some odd behavior, such as a pigeon imitation the prime minister performed during an interview. There have also been interviews with his wife, Hatoyama Miyuki, in which she claims to have been abducted by aliens and taken to Venus twenty years ago. She also says she “eats” energy from the sun and is instructing her husband to do the same.

While some claim the odd behavior and fashion choices are just the eccentricities of an odd couple who never tried to hide who they were prior to Hatoyama’s election last autumn, the fact that this one bad shirt at a bbq was the one odd thing to inspire such a global discussion is actually fairly telling about what really caused the public opinion of Hatoyama to drop so quickly and so steeply. Hatoyama wore this shirt to a bbq hosted at his home that he called “The Real Hato Café,” as it was supposed to offer the public a chance to meet him, mingle with him, and see that he’s just an ordinary person like they are. Wearing such a bizarre shirt to the gathering, says Konishi Don, a Japanese fashion critic, shows that Hatoyama is actually quite out of touch with the rest of the country—at the very moment he was trying to show them that he’s just one of them. Says Konishi, “This shirt comes from the ‘80s or ‘90s. His ideas and philosophy are old. Japan is facing a crisis and we can’t overcome it with a prime minister like this.” ²

Hatoyama responded to the sudden drop in public approval by stating, “I take it seriously that my approval ratings are down significantly. But I’m not going to quit.” ³ Still, perhaps he’ll hire a fashion consultant—although if they’re unhappy with his policies, the public’s opinion is unlikely to go back up without serious political overhaul.

Did you see Hatoyama’s shirt? What did you think of it? Do you think it’s silly that his fashion choices have made international news? Do you agree with the idea that it shows that Hatoyama is out of touch? What do you think of the prime minister and his wife’s other examples of odd behavior?

^{1, 2, 3} Lah, Kyung. “Japan’s prime minister under fire for fashion choices.” CNN World. 12 May 2010. <http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/12/japan.hatoyama.fashion/index.html?eref=rss_world&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_world+%28RSS%3A+World%29>. 17 May 2010.