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ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
JAPAN'S IMPACT ON THE ASIAN IMAGE
t has long been seen as the fountainhead of consumer electronics technology. Its cars are consistently among the world's most admired. Its corporations own two major Hollywood studios. Its kiddie culture has all but killed off Mickey Mouse and Barbie. Its $4 trillion GDP is number two behind the U.S. and its workers earn 25% more per head than Americans.
Bravo Castrati!
That's how many Asian Americans see Japan. A nation that should command the stature of a powerhouse -- and elevate the image of all Asians in the process -- possesses the geopolitical profile of, say, Switzerland, a nation a thirtieth its size. Japan's leaders are seen as mere hand puppets in a sad half-century charade of democracy. Its homes are cramped. Its men function as soulless drones whose women fly into the arms of western males. Even its vaunted economy has been on the ropes for ten years and looks ready to go down for the count. What little testosterone it possessed seems to have left with Ichiro.
A nation that should champion the Asian image has only reinforced every insulting stereotype. To many Asian Americans, Japan has done less than its smaller, poorer neightbors. Little Hong Kong exports asskicking action stars. South Corea exports people who take hooey from no one. Taiwan exports tech entrepreneurs to Silicon Valley. Impoverished China, Vietnam and even nutcase North Corea showed balls in standing up to the west. But mighty Japan? Spiritually it seems never to have recovered from its defeat in World War II.
Is Japan carrying its weight or slacking in the Asian image department?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 06:00:39 PM)
ACD,
Is this really only a 'Japanese' problem, though? And, just giving this all the benifit of a doubt, maybe some of these Japanese women who go to these clubs are there because they want something exotic. Sure there are lots of black and white males who go out with Japanese women for the curiousity factor, but what about the women? The only difference is that the men really don't have to question why these women get together with them because in many ways . . . they just don't care.
When it comes time for a Japanese woman to settle down with a man, many of these women chose Japanese men. They just think there escapades with foreign guys were just to satisfy their foreign fetish, not to be with long term.
Yes, clubs exist in Japan that allow white and black males only to enter and Japanese females. But I can assure you these clubs are an acception to the rule. For every one of those clubs, there are several 'Japanese only' clubs out there. There are hostess clubs where foreign women chat up Japanese men. This is just a novelty. Foreigners are novelties, and everyone wants to have one--many, not all, of these people who frequent these kinds of clubs--are serious about anything long term. Sometimes I think they are ACTUALLY playing foreigners the way foreigners have played them.
I think that every country has some dirty laundry to air-out and every country sugar-coats the bad things they did. When I was going to school in America, teachers did not get into the slavery of Africans, Chinese or Filipinos. They didn't really tell us much about the Japanese internment. They didn't tell us about the atrocities commited in Viet Nam (matter of fact, one of my teachers told me it was a 'tie'--found out in college that Viet Nam won). My sister, 12 years my junior is still being taught this sugar-coated version of US history. And America is supposed to be this super-power role-model of the world for diversity and leadership. Ha, ha.
Black gyrl in Japan
Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 18:39:25 (PDT)
TSJ
Nokia is a FINNISH company, not Norwegian.
Not all Scandanavians are the same, just like not all Asians are the same.
ABC
Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 10:30:50 (PDT)
Black gyrl in Japan,
I agree with you thinks are different in Japan. Democracy is not the same. The Hamburger and Pizza are not the same.
I don't think any country will underestimate Japan's business and military capacity on the world stage. It is their duplicity of action and their constitutions, people are confused by at this point.
AC Dropout
Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 10:17:39 (PDT)
AC Dropout,
Actually, I am not disagreeing with you, actually I do agree with you and I see your point. It's part of the reason why I get so frustrated living here. I am just saying things in Japan are much different then they are in the US. As I said before, Japan is not really a democracy in the way America is. Democracy is done the Japanese way. It is beaurocracy that runs the country, not the people. Voters (the few of them that do vote) chose people who will lead the people, not necessarily represent them.
As you know, the emporer's power cannot be re-enstated because of constitutional limits. If the constitution were to be changed in order to give him leadership, history says that he will not be leading the country for long. No one leader has ever been able to rule Japan for any length of time, given Japan's long history.
I wouldn't underestimate the power of a country who spends well close to what America does on their military. Most of the weapons America has were developed in Japan.
Black gyrl in Japan
Monday, June 10, 2002 at 21:39:45 (PDT)
"A country where they have text messaging contest for cell phone, and winner can type up 170 words a minute on a cell phone. Nothing about Japan's crazed tech-pursuits would surprise me."
It's funny how most people in Asia use Norwegian NOKIA phones though, isn't it?
TSJ
Eric@KristinKreuk.net
Monday, June 10, 2002 at 20:24:14 (PDT)
Japan has done nothing to help the Asian image.
Japanese porn directors portray Japanese women as whores for black and white males in movies. Clubs exist in Japan, clubs that allow only white males and Japanese girls, and hip-hop clubs that allow only black males and Japanese girls, especially in Osaka. I can't believe the Japanese government is allowing that; it adds to the negative image of the Asian.
I cannot think of another Asian nation that is so ignorant of its own males, a government so stupid as to promote foreign male domination. Further, Japan is not adding to its image by refusing to today, the horrors and gang rapes of women in other countries committed by its own armies, and continues to promote in its educational system, that Japan only defended itself gloriously, and no more.
ACD
Monday, June 10, 2002 at 14:48:36 (PDT)
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