Posts Tagged: japan news

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7
Apr 10

The Japanese Ministry Aims to Boost ‘Cool Japan’

According to The Yomiuri Shibun, the Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry recently revealed a plan to boost the “Cool Japan” culture internationally. What’s “Cool Japan”? Well, if you’re interested in this blog, you may already know and not realize it. “Cool Japan” is Japanese pop culture and other countries’ love for it, particularly Japanese food, fashion, anime/manga, and video games.

The Ministry’s strategy targets other parts of Asia, Europe, and North America. Currently, only 2% of these Japanese pop culture sales are actually made outside of the country. However, the “Cool Japan” industries employ over 2 million people in Japan and total about ¥45 trillion (about US$480 million) in sales annually, so adding to this total by focusing on foreign markets can boost employment and commerce in Japan considerably.

The proposal asks the Japan External Trade Organization and private Japanese consulting firms to provide assistance to companies that want to export their properties overseas, particularly small to midsize businesses that are struggling to get a foothold. Companies like Nintendo, for example, certainly won’t need the assistance, but they could still benefit from some of the proposed changes.

Japan’s largest book publisher, Kodansha, might have been ahead of the game. Long since one of the biggest manga publishers in Japan, multiple American manga publishers have licensed their work for North American publication over the past decade or so. Kodansha got a cut of the sales, but they largely left creative control over translation, presentation, and marketing to the American companies. This has led to a wide range of quality from title to title and publisher to publisher. Not so anymore, as Kodansha has stopped licensing its manga titles to American companies and let most of its licenses with American publishers expire in preparation for starting its own American division. This will employ more Japanese citizens, give Kodansha full profit over North American sales, and allow Kodansha better control over how their part of pop culture is presented outside of Japan. (However, they will still be distributed by an American company—Random House—and so are allowing some of their titles to continue publication with Del Rey, one of the top American publishers of manga.)

Another part of the Ministry’s strategy actually involves asking foreign creators to come to Japan to help create the “cool Japan” image that’s going to be exported. The Ministry hopes to accomplish this through a reform on the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law that will make issuing and keeping work visas easier for companies and immigrants.

Are you a fan of “Cool Japan”? What’s your favorite part of Japanese pop culture? Do you think it’s counterintuitive for the Ministry to want foreign creators to help them export the “Cool Japan” image? Why or why not?

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22
Mar 10

Partial Control of Okinawa Returned to Japan Next Week

In a historic moment next week on March 31st, the U.S. will return control of air space over Okinawa to Japan after more than six decades of American control. If you’re not familiar with the history of America and Okinawa, take a look at this earlier entry.

America first took over Okinawa in 1945 after the end of World War II as America watched over Japan’s reconstruction. Although control of the country was signed back over to Japan in 1972, 18% of the main island effectively remains American soil in the form of American military bases. Japan has sought more control of the territory for decades—Japanese lawmakers were even worried that the problems with Toyota cars in America would impede some of the current negotiations about surrendering rights to Okinawa (read more here)—so next week’s transfer of air rights is a monumental occasion for Japan.

The decision was originally reached in 2004 to be completed by 2007, but the transfer of air traffic control took some detours as negotiations were ongoing and transfer of the technical system, called the Kadena RAPCON, hit some setbacks, so in 2008, the new deadline of March 31, 2010 was arranged.

Currently, air traffic control towers on U.S. military bases handles all military and civilian flights into an area about 56-mile radius of the Kadena Air Base on the main island of Okinawa as well as air space over the nearby smaller island of Kume.

Civilian traffic into the Naha and Kume Island airports will be surrendered to Japanese control via the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, but U.S. military traffic onto the base will remain under U.S. control. The civilian portion of the Kadena RAPCON system will now be known as the Naha Approach Control.

Negotiations between the U.S. and Japan continue over surrendering more land and control of Okinawa to Japan. However, Foreign Minister Okada Katsuya believes this is an important next step for finding a way for the American military to continue operations, albeit at a reduced capacity, in Okinawa. “Although there are various tasks related to U.S. forces in Japan,” stated Okada, “I would like to overcome each issue so that the Japan-U.S. security arrangements will be operated more smoothly and effectively.”1

Do you think that returning civilian air traffic control in Okinawa to Japan is a good idea? Why do you think the U.S. held on to control for so long?

1 Associated Press. “U.S. agrees with Japan to return Okinawa air control on March 31+.” Breitbart. 18 Mar. 2010. Breaking News. 20 March 2010. <http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9EH08D80&show_article=1>.

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5
Mar 10

Japan at the 2010 Olympics

Japan brought home five medals at this year’s Vancouver Winter Olympics, half of the number (10) they won at the 1998 games in Nagano. (Perhaps holding the games in their own country helped build up momentum to take so many medals!) Still, it was a good year for Japanese sports compared to the 2002 Olympics, in which they brought home 2 medals, and the 2004 Olympics, in which they took only one.

The categories in which the Japanese won medals this year are:

Ladies’ Figure Skating: Silver, Asada Mao

Men’s Figure Skating: Bronze, Takahashi Daisuke

Men’s 500 M Speed Skating: Silver, Nagashima Keiichiro and Bronze, Kato Joji

Ladies’ Team Pursuit Speed Skating: Silver, Tabata Maki, Hozumi Masako, & Kodaira Nao

It’s interesting to note that the 4th Place Finisher in Ladies’ Figure Skating, who turned heads for her performance, is Japanese-American Mirai Nagasu, who, as a 16-year-old, is a dual citizen of both Japan and the US. (Japan doesn’t allow dual citizenship after the age of 22.) Although she represented America in the Olympics, she’s somewhat well known in Japan and has been featured on Japanese TV on numerous occasions.

Japan’s relatively successful representation at the 2010 Olympics shouldn’t be a surprise. Many people unfamiliar with Japan don’t realize that the northern part of the country has harsh winters on par with nearby Russia. In the northern part of Japan, called Hokkaido, snow accumulation average snowfall in the mountain area is about 45 feet per winter!

Ski resorts in Hokkaido that offer skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports are popular destinations for winter sports enthusiasts from around the globe. You can even rent a sled and a pack of dogs and take dog sled lessons from a professional! Despite the frigid 10˚F to 25˚F temperatures, open-air hot springs are still a popular stop at these resorts, too. Bathing in hot water in cold air is a refreshing experience that helps soothe sore muscles after a day of skiing downhill.

Did you watch the 2010 Olympics? Did you see Japan compete in any of the events? Have you ever been to Hokkaido?

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17
Feb 10

Toyota’s Gas Pedal Problems Becomes a Global Issue?

Toyota Recall

The Avalon, Camry, Corolla, and other models are affected by the recall.

If you’ve been paying attention to car news—and I certainly hope you have if you own a Toyota—Toyota is calling for massive recalls after discovering a glitch with the gas pedal in some models of its cars that causes the accelerator to become stuck, overriding brakes and causing accidents, injuries, and deaths across the globe. While this is no doubt a serious problem for which the Japanese automaker must take action and face the consequences of a huge sales drop, some lawmakers in Japan are worried that this problem in the private sector will become a “global issue.”

Japanese Foreign Minister Okada Katsuya has been quoted as saying, “I’m worried. It’s not just the problem of one company but a domestic issue.”1 He’s not alone. The US is the largest buyer of motor vehicles and so it has the largest number of recalls associated with this problem. Toyota CEO Toyoda Akio has been subpoenaed by the US Congress to testify before a congressional committee about the company’s safety procedures.

But what does this, the matter of a private company, have to do with Japan’s relationship with the US as a nation? Well, Japanese lawmakers are already having a difficult time negotiating with the US over the relocation of an American marine base in Okinawa after the new Japanese Prime Minister, Hatoyama Yukio, halted negotiations as part of his party’s promise to “reexamine” existing ties with the US. The Japanese government has also been asked by the American government to be more lenient with “green” tax laws for vehicles that benefit Japanese cars in Japan far more than American cars.

Lawmakers fear that on top of these problems, if the Toyota heads appear unfriendly or unwilling to work with the American Congress at these hearings, this could spark a tense tax-related “trade war” with America similar to one the countries experienced in the 1980s and 90s. However, not everyone is that concerned, pointing out that this is the matter of a private company and they believe that Toyota will do its best to comply with the US Congress’ wishes.

Should the problems of one private company in a foreign country be responsible for “tension” between the two nations? Would any American expect, for example, Japan to start a trade war with the US over the mistakes of Microsoft in their country? Or, does it make a huge difference because Microsoft’s products are less likely to cause injury, even when they fail, than that of Toyota’s?

1 Associated Press. “Japan worried that Toyota’s problems cut hurt U.S. ties.” Japan Today. 14 Feb. 2010. Politics. 15 Feb. 2010. <http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/japan-worried-that-toyotas-problems-could-hurt-us-ties>.

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