Comments on: Offending nationalist sensibilities?

By: ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » YH’s thoughts in an airport wait area

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:22:25 +0000

[...] Okumura weighs in on the JapaIn issue of The [...]

By: mozu

mozu — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 05:27:32 +0000

I like Colin Joyce’s articles and I’ve already read the confession. I believe this is not peculiar to Telegraph and most media adopt such a policy. Now, I like Ambrose Evans-Pritchard’s articles, although they are not Japan-related.

By the way, Guardian wants to become “daily Yakuza and Uyoku”. I think foreigners know about this world better than the average Japanese.

By: aceface

aceface — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:24:23 +0000

“and Telegraph is the second best(I believe many don’t agree with me”

Yep.I disagree.Colin Joyce had quit his job as the Tokyo correspondent of Telegraph last year and wrote an essay in NewsWeek Japan called “The confession of Tokyo Correspondent”.
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/satoumamoru/20071110/119466422723268568-5006009,00.html

BTW,there is also a paper named Daily Telegraph in down under.They do this to DPJ.Funny!
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23268568-5006009,00.html

By: mozu

mozu — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:21:16 +0000

>his fear that foreign investors flea from Tokyo Stock Exchange gets escalate
I think his fear is excessive because the current Japan selling is not directly due to “distorted diet” and delaying reforms, but to the global fear of credit crunch. As Aceface says, the lawmakers who go on their own with speculations are annoying and harmful.

YH,
I find many academics with specific disciplines reliable and thought-provoking, although I don’t appreciate the generalist type much. I add that I dislike the cultural left type, but it’s only my taste. As for journalism, The Economist is always the best and Telegraph is the second best(I believe many don’t agree with me). I think Japan-related informations have been improving due to the emergence of good bloggers, so I’m optimistic in the long run.

By: Younghusband

Younghusband — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:02:47 +0000

aceface said “His reaction to the article is not out of nationalism,but his fear that foreign investors flea from Tokyo Stock Exchange gets escalate”

Good point about the IO potential of the letter. That is definitely something to think about. Though I don’t think accusing The Economist of pissing on Japan’s flag is very reassuring for investors, or very constructive.

By: aceface

aceface — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:45:26 +0000

YH:
Iwakuni is one of those business leader entering politics in the 90’s.His reaction to the article is not out of nationalism,but his fear that foreign investors flea from Tokyo Stock Exchange gets escalate.While he’s probably right about that,The Economist is not to be blamed any reason.
Besides he should have thought again of the sideeffect of his own action.DPJ leadership is now doing everything and anything to bring down Fukuda and LDP,Ozawa probably think current Japan-selling maybe bad for the country,but good for the party.And Iwakuni can’t even had that coming to his mind,or didn’t even care that someone may reads it as a sign of we-just-don’t-know-what-we’re-doing state of his party.I just think this letter-to-the-editor is not even a concensus of DPJ,but Iwakuni’s own performance without any
consultation with his colleague beforehand.
That letter is gonna cost a lot more to his party than Iwakuni had ever imagined.Just like that WaPo ad on Comfort women last year.

And about Samuels and Hughes…
They are scholar with Japanese linguistic ability,No?
Than that’s different cases in many way…

And for your last question..
I think someone had asked same question and I answered The Economist….and Ian Buruma?

By: Younghusband

Younghusband — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:35:42 +0000

I agree with the point that English-language coverage of Japan is lackluster, but have to wonder if that is due to the largely economics-based approach to Japan, devolving analysis to comparing lines on a graph. Is it this type of macro-analysis that gets the black van crowd hot and bothered? Ignoring dissenting views?

For example, I think that there has been some very interesting work done in the security sector by guys like Dick Samuels and Christopher Hughes. Gentlemen like these (especially Samuels) get right into the bureaucratic mayhem of policymaking. I don’t always agree with their analysis, mind you, but at least there is some sound research going on.

For guys like aceface and mozu, Japanese that can consume the English-language media, who do you think “gets” Japan?

By: aceface

aceface — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:01:43 +0000

YH:
I’m veery much aware of Emmot.Been reading The Economist since 1994.He was in charge of “Japan’s amazing ability to dissapoint” about a decade ago,though.Iwakuni should be black van-ning to that,me think.

My biggest WTF on The Economist was also the article by Henry Scott Stokes’s piece several years ago that Japan needs more Mishima Yukio!

Ken:
I’ve read that argument over NBR,30k for a year for a discussion board?Who are they outsourcing,Haliburton?

I don’t know how exactly much Japanese consulate is spending for that pile p crap,not much I guess considering their financial situation.
I’ve checked NBR web page after I read accusation from Komori Yoshihisa’s blog that “Japan Foundation is partially funding NBR”.Weird thing is I couldn’t find the name of Japan Foundation on NBR supporter list,instead I found U.S-Japan Foundation,founded by whoelse but Sasakawa Ryouich.Another black van conspiracy? NBR’s name does exist on link page of JF though.

By: Curzon

Curzon — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:10:19 +0000

I would concur with Aceface that the English reporting and academic work on Japan is lacking. Yes, there is lots of material that is excellent and insightful. However, lots of rubbish is distributed and widely read.

By: mozu

mozu — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:03:43 +0000

I don’t expect too much and I don’t think they are so influencial, so I am not so irritated by ill-informed critics. This forum tells me not about realities of Japan but about a vicious cercle of discurses about Japan. An American liberal appropriates the vulgar theory of a Japanese cultural conservative and a Japanese liberal agrees with him and even offer some additional “proofs”. ouch! As you say, Mr. Kinmonth always does good job and I add some other members to the list of relatively well-informed people. Anyway the problem may be the poverty of English translation of important academic publications. The laziness of J-academics should be blamed. 自業自得!

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:00:08 +0000

@Aceface: Much agreed with your last comment. But, I was wondering about the money. NBR begs the members for the money to run itself every year (something around $30,000 total). Do you know how much is coming from the Japanese consulate?

By: oh mah gawrsh ah do de-clay-uh: Wish Fulfillment « buddha said knock you out

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:09:15 +0000

[...] Offending nationalist sensibilities?: Can’t stop won’t stop on the Wish Fulfillment tip. A “black van moment” is a reference to the soundtrucks and black vans that run around Tokeeoh blasting nationalist slogans and eery military marches when I’m eating my box lunches. This is a comment made for the express purpose of appeasing constituents. I understand this. I’m more interested in the wish fulfillment undertones of the Japanese ultraright – the united land of JapanDaiNipponLandofBountifulRiceStalks is and has always been the best place on Izanami’s green earth, and if all these other countries would stop being better than us at quite a lot of things, we’d finally be able to get something done. [...]

By: Aceface

Aceface — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:30:06 +0000

In regard to NBR,so far I’ve learned there are way too many ill-informed.
You think Gregory Clark,a Japan specialist? How about Robyn Lim?I only see one guy who does all the corrections and it’s E.H Kinmonth and that’s about it.

Can’t believe Japanese consulate is spending our tax for this.Total waste,if you ask me.

By: mozu

mozu — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:25:02 +0000

Aceface. I know the discussion of NBR sometimes fall into nonsense, but some well-informed members correct it. This forum is useful to know who are ill-informed japan specialists. Net is a open and permanent record and it empowers us. This is an unexpected situation, for example, compared to 1980’s.

By: Younghusband

Younghusband — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:03:16 +0000

@aceface That is expected since Japan is the second biggest economy in the world. Also, the previous editor, Bill Emmott who stepped down in 2006 after 13 years, was an old Japan-hand. It is no wonder that Japan has often been featured in The Economist.

By: Aceface

Aceface — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:45:19 +0000

“Always?I think that might be a bit of a stretch,at least from an American perspective”.

Check U.S-Japan discussion at National Bureau for Asian Survey,Soob.You’ll see what I mean.

By: aceface

aceface — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:43:55 +0000

Mozu,Soob check this.

And see how much The ECONOMIST spends pages to cover Japan than other western presses.

http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2008/03/23/the-world-according-to-newspapers/#more-1041

By: Soob

Soob — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:33:28 +0000

“Japan’s pictures are always drawn by foreigners either in toungue-in-cheek manner or open hostility.”

Always? I think that might be a bit of a stretch, at least from an American perspective.

By: mozu

mozu — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:24:30 +0000

>And we have little or nothing to deter that.

Net opens and extends our capability of detering nonsense. Aceface, I have seen you do good job. But I think we should improve todays’ (desperately miserable) J-media because English media relies on J-media after all. 自業自得!

By: aceface

aceface — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:56:49 +0000

Cultral confidence has nothing to do with this,me think.
Japan’s pictures are always drawn by foreigners either in toungue-in-cheek manner or open hostility.And we have little or nothing to deter that.
Anyway Japan is way more tolerant than other Easr Asians when it comes to foreign criticisms because that is part of our lives.

By: dj

dj — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:10:45 +0000

Japan (and East Asians in general) are way to sensitive. The most hilarious “slur” is “Jap”.
Seriously, most nations are not ‘disrespected’ half as much as the US/UK and France are. The USA get bashed and trashed more than anyone, and we shrug it off.
I remember the Hong Kong Chinese would call the American expats “guilos”. The Americans laughed at it and started calling each other guilos. The slur lost its fun for the HK Chinese. I think this speaks a lot about cultural confidence.

By: Mutantfrog

Mutantfrog — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:24:22 +0000

It does have the feeling more of a cheesy Time or News and World Report cover than The Economist though, doesn’t it?

By: Aceface

Aceface — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 12:58:18 +0000

This is the biggest WTF coming from DPJ.(I’m a supporter,mind you).

And as Mozu said Iwakuni is hardly a nationalist type.He was Vice-president of Merrill Lynch in the 80’s and is a liberal-type.

And Curz is right.There are thousand of Japan related article out there in English media that I get pissed off for misrepresentation and hyperbole.But never from ECONOMIST,

By: Curzon

Curzon — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:21:33 +0000

Japan’s DPJ is a party looking to complain about something to justify their position in the opposition. There are plenty of issues out there which they could take to legitimize themselves but they never pick the right ones. This is just one such example.

By: Tor

Tor — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:55:15 +0000

I think it is fine for someone to ask for a bit of respect from a generally respected international publication. Magazine covers are usually not appropriate places for political cartoons.