Politics in Japan when it comes to public affection.

This weeks post is about the politics of public affection in public. When I got here, I realised early how uncommon it is too see public affection between two people in a relationship. Don't get me wrong, it is everybody's own business what they do in their relationship. When I asked a Japanese friend of mine she told me that it's not really about what they want to do, it's what they are expected to do. When she went to South Korea in Seoul she was very surprised to see young couples kissing in public on the trains or wherever. But here in Japan that is considered rude. It is interesting how a country with so much diversity are afraid of being judged and considered to their feelings of complete strangers.

When I went to the aquarium in Osaka earlier this semester, I was not aware of that this place was known for it popular dating spot. When I arrived there (without a date, but instead with a lot of gaijin friends) we were all shocked to see all these couples, but none of them did more than holding hands. The first picture I have chosen this week is of these two seals in the aquarium, their animals and they are living the sweet life. Showing their own public affections to thousands of people everyday. Do we judge them? No, we don't. Why? Because it is part of nature.

Of course I am not comparing Japanese people to be below seals or what so ever but I for being a country that have come so far in the world when it comes to technology and education I still find it astounding that small things like these are issues. The next picture I have chosen is a typical cover for some kind of manga, these covers can be seen on every stop at the train stations. In Japan they have so many things that should be considered much worse than public affection, or at least frowned upon. Things like this cover, is the magazine for young kids or older men? If you go to Den Den Town in Osaka at night, what kind of stores are you likely going to bump into apart from a technical store? Yes, a porn store. You can even find anime porn, manga porn all very accesible to young children. We have Japanese Idol (which is best explaned as cute "regular teengirls posing in thin layer of clothes, like a photosession), maid cafés, love hotels etc.
You would think that this would take away the tabu about showing public affection. This is just one of many examples of how contradictive this country really is. It is different when it comes to a foreign mixed couple though. They do show public affection but still, you can tell they are holding a lot back. I hope I don't sound too much as a pervert after this post. But I just wouldn't be able to not kiss the person I love in public. I would probably do it anyways. Maybe that's the proof that I am not turning Japanese all yet. To be continued.

/Quangus

Sports in Japan

On Wednesday I had the pleasure to watch the Hanshin Tigers playing against the Chunichi Dragons. Hanshin Tigers are Osakas home team for baseball. I am from Sweden, so the biggest sport in Sweden (and the rest of Europe) is with out a doubt, soccer. So this was very exciting for me. I realised early when I was on my way to the train that this was going to be something very special.

I don't have a lot of experience of going to a baseball game before, so I was amazed of how all people who went to the game had some kind of items that supports the teams. The picture below is just one of many item shops that sells these two small hollow bats which are for banging together so you can make a loud sound. These items were used more than I realised.


It might be hard to see on the picture below, but the things I want to focus on is the balloons. On every game, when it's during the 7th inn in the crowd blows up their balloon and then release them simultaneously which resulted in a beautiful show of balloons flying in the air. It was quite the experience. The whole experience made me think how big baseball is in Japan.

How come baseball is so big in Japan? Japan is the ultimate sport in Japan. What comes to mind is about this documentary - The Japanese Version where they discuss about how America got it all wrong when it comes to Western movies. It is not about be alone and fighting people, it is about being together as a group and working together. I think they have the same view when it comes to baseball. Because every player on the time makes a difference, and with one player missing, this would make a big difference. That is why I think the game is so popular, it is about teamwork, playing for a city and being part of something big. When I went to the game, they have different chants for each player, and even though the team was losing, this didn't affect the cheering. Because in the end it is all about showing ur affection for the team, and being part of something that you can be part of. It doesn't matter if you are a fan or a player, everybody can join in. And that is why I will keep rooting for the Hanshin Tigers.
/Quangus

Gender in Japan.

Something that I have notice since I got here is how big the difference is between the genders. Even though women have come a long way on the equality scale it's hard to tell how far they have come in Japan. Especially if you count how many female students there are at the university. If you pay attention (not in a dirty way of course) you can easily spot that there are way more female Japanese students than there are men. Have this in mind, that many of these students are studying to become teachers. What I have noticed is that usually men are dressed in suits in the commercials and well dressed but on other billboards or ads, usually the women are dressed in a more light manner. In my first picture, you can see how women usually are portrayed when it comes to popular culture.

When I went to a theme restaurant called The Lockup in Kyoto, we were greeted by this girl, dressed as a policewoman. This is of course not a authentic police outfit, especially if you look at her skirt (please do not think I am a pervert now), which is short. So how are the woman portrayed?

In one issue of TIMEasia Magazine they discuss about how hard it is for a woman to be taken seriously and how hard it is to climb up in the career ladder when you are a woman. She discusses how women are expected to act at the workplace. For an example are the women not as involved as the men are at the workplace. The article is about woman who worked her way up at a American company.

"Because Japanese women are expected to quit their jobs when they have children, a record number are foregoing marriage altogether. Today, one in four Japanese women in their early 30s is single, up from 14% a decade ago. As a consequence, Japan's fertility rate fell to a record low of 1.29 in 2004 compared to 2.13 in the U.S., giving it one of the lowest birth rates in the world. Demographers predict that the country's population will actually start declining in 2007. If present trends continue, Japan will shrink from a nation of 127 million today to 64 million by the end of this century—and from 2010 onward, the declining population will adversely affect the economy." /TIMEasia Magazine

In the article from TIMEasia Magazine she discusses how this is affecting the population in Japan. This is becoming a big problem in Japan. Because women are trying to get careers ahead of families, but if women focus on families, then the unequality will continues. This is quite the paradox.

So after all, the gender unequality is a big problem, but it is a problem that is being worked on, but because the problem have existed for so long, it might be too late to work on it too much without big consequenses. In the long run, tradition and culture wins.

Sources
Article: http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501050829/story.html
- TIMEasia Magazine.

/Quangus