News Reflections - Varun

Over the last 9 weeks we’ve covered a variety of topics pressing Japan. Some tense, others, not so much.

Out of the stories I covered the most impactful was regarding Child Poverty in Japan.  This article completely frustrated my expectations regarding Japan and its exceptionalist culture. Prior to this article we mainly talked about the nuclear crisis, and the aging population. Especially regarding the latter, one would expect children to be Japan’s most coveted resource. Even still, there are children—a dangerously high number- living in unlivable poverty. The article’s content, along with the fact that it was very well written, was the only one to truly shock me.

Due to the presence of Japanese pop culture and the salience of “Japanese culture” in America, many people carry prior notions regarding the country.  In actuality, people are aware of “events”, not the culture.  For example, the Rugby World Cup, the Tokyo Olympics, earthquakes, a hard work life. But the underlying effect of these events on the ethos remains neglected. I also displayed such ignorance. I had no idea of the underlying implications of these events. How do long work hours influence parenting and the mindset of Japanese children? How does the lack of nuclear power sources influence daily economic logistics? How does hosting worldwide sporting events force the Japanese people to redefine their values? It is very easy to read news and remember facts. The true goal is to use information as a foundation to view the cultural landscape. The biggest view that changed for me was regarding Japan’s security in its culture. I believed Japan to be unchanging its values due to its longstanding cultural history. However, every week we discussed the inclination, even necessity to do so.

Because of this class I am more primed to look for the underlying motive behind social phenomena and political agendas. I am extremely interested and attune to people’s psychology and how these moves impact a country’s consciousness.