Japan yet to grasp significance of an Obama White House
To assess how the next U.S. administration of Barack Obama would cope with the various challenges ahead, it is essential to have an accurate understanding of the significance of his election victory, Japanese experts told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
As the first black to become U.S. president, much of the Japanese media coverage of the election tended to focus on this fact, but that is only one part of the story, they said.
Four experts took part in the Nov. 20 symposium organized by the Keizai Koho Center to discuss Obama’s economic and diplomatic challenges as well as Japan-U.S. relations.
Given the extremely low popular support for outgoing President George W. Bush and the financial crisis that engulfed the United States since just before the election, Obama’s resounding victory came as no surprise, said Akihiko Tanaka, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Oriental Culture. (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Japanese and U.S. Students Chat on Politics
A video conference was held yesterday between college students of Japan and the United States. The event clearly exposed the difference between Japanese students, who have few hopes of politics, and their American counterparts, who have strong expectations for change. Some Japanese students reacted enviously to U.S. participants who repeatedly said that with participation, politics can be changed.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo hosted the event. Some 170 Japanese and American students in Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Naha, and Washington discussed “youths and politics.”
In reaction to a report that Japanese youths have little interest in politics and that they tend to regard lawmakers as “uncool,” an American student asked, “Why do you feel politicians are not cool?” (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Barack Obama and the US/Japan Alliance
Here is a follow-up to an earlier post, Seijigiri #50, by Trans Pacific Radio’s Seijiri – Politics.
Now that Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States, Seijigiri co-hosts Garrett DeOrio and Ken Worsley are back with a look at how the Obama presidency might work within the context of the US/Japan alliance.
This release is broken into three broad categories: First, the background of the US/Japan alliance is considered. Second, the expectations of an Obama administration itself are examined. Finally, our co-hosts consider what impact changes in Japanese domestic politics might have on the alliance. (さらに…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Obama is the “death-death” President?
This was posted on Japan Probe today,”The 44th President: The “Death Death” President?” by Fat Blue Man.:
“I was happy to see the result of the election yesterday, as were the residents of Obama City, the little town in Fukui-ken near the Japan Sea. Apparently they had a big festival just to celebrate this wonderful same-name meaningless coincidence.
Whatever. I get it. I brag about the Dutch model Chantal Janzen, and if we happen to be cousins, the link would be about 500 years old.
But I was thinking about Japanese superstition when I noticed that Obama is the 44th president. In Japan that is a bad number. You would read it “shi shi” which has the connotation of “death death”. I once went to a yakiniku restaurant where there were no 4’s or 9’s on any of the shoe lockers. Apparently 9, or “ku”, can sound like “painful/difficult”.
The opposite is also true. On the years when November 22 lands on a Saturday or Sunday, the wedding places are packed out. This is due to the fact that 11/22 is read “ii fuufuu” which means “good couple”.?I had to laugh when an elderly student of mine pointed out that her license plate was 87-06, “hanarero” which translates roughly to “Back the hell off”. Perfect license plate for tailgaters.
Anyway, not meaning to rain on the Obama parade, it’s just a superstition.? But if only he could have been the 39th president. Then he would have been the “sankyuu” president which is close to “Thank you!” which is what the whole world is saying this morning.”
Zurui’s comment: Now I really do not believe in all of that but let’s use these meanings of “shishi” to shed some light on the doom and gloom:
Lion (jishi or shishi) which is used to ward of evil spirits and guard shinto shrines. The lion is the defender of law and Obama does have a law degree!
I like this meaning of Shishi even more, “noble-minded patriot.”
How about that for CHANGE!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )CHANGE
This was posted by James at Japan Probe:
Barack Obama has won the U.S. presidential election. What does this mean for Japan? Here are a few links to information about Obama’s views about East Asia:
- Japan dialogue key to U.S. interests in Asia by Obama advisors Richard J. Danzig and Joseph S. Nye (Asahi)
- The question of whether a Republican or Democratic US President is “better” for Japan (TPR)
- Factbox: Obama policies on major Asia issues (Reuters)
- East Asia cautious on Obama trade policy (AFP)
- U.S. candidates vow to ‘re-engage’ Japan (Japan Times)
A New Pride in America?
I read the Eugene Robinson (pictured above) piece, “Obama Campaign Instills New Pride” and felt the need to comment here at Black Tokyo. Mr. Robinson writes for the Washington Post. His column is distributed by the Washington Post Writers Group, 1150 15th NW, Washington, DC 20071. You can reach him at eugenerobinson@washpost.com. Please feel free to leave your comments!
Obama campaign instills new pride
Whoever wins this election, I understand what Barack Obama meant when he said his faith in the American people had been “vindicated” by his campaign’s success. I understand what Michelle Obama meant, months ago, when she said she was “proud of my country” for the first time in her adult life. Why should they be immune to the astonishment and vertigo that so many other African-Americans are experiencing? Why shouldn’t they have to pinch themselves to make sure they aren’t dreaming, the way that I do?
I know there’s a possibility that the polls are wrong. I know there’s a possibility that white Americans, when push comes to shove, won’t be able to bring themselves to elect a black man as president of the United States. But the spread in the polls is so great that the Bradley effect wouldn’t be enough to make Obama lose; it would take a kind of “Dr. Strangelove effect” in which voters’ hands developed a will of their own.
Zurui’s comment: Not only white Americans but other Americans that tend to vote Republican and not for a “normal” candidate.
I’m being facetious but not unserious. In my gut, I know there’s a chance that the first African-American to make a serious run for the presidency will lose. But that is precisely what’s new and, in a sense, unsettling: I’m talking about possibility, not inevitability.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Wassup 2008
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Thanks to the Black Tokyo Forum Moderator, Zen, from Zensekai for sending the video.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Americans abroad can still vote
There’s less than a week to go until the U.S. presidential election, but Americans living in Japan can still cast their votes! Check out Trans-Pacific Radio for more details on absentee ballots. (さらに…)
If the world could vote
Gallup Polls conducted in 70 countries from May to September 2008 reveal widespread international support for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama over Republican Sen. John McCain in the U.S. presidential election. Here is the link.
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Commentary: What Barack Obama means to me
Posted on 11月 6, 2008. Filed under: Black Resources, Commentary, Government, Politics & Security | タグ: abroad, America, american, barack, biracial, black, Blacks, change, children, clinton, culture, election, envy, family, foreign, government, hate, intelligence, interpretation, interpreter, japan, Japanese, jobs, korean, language, learn, media, military, multiculturalism, nationalism, negro, obama, politics, poverty, president, race, racism, relations, rights, stereotypes, translation, Translator, usa, vote, war, women, world |
When President-elect Barack Obama and his family take up residence in the White House it means that he will move into every household in America. He will not be just some Black dude that moved in down the street in a predominately White neighborhood and his family will not become the new Cosby Show. The Obamas move on big time to prime time on the biggest channel watched by millions in the world.
I am a child of the 60’s and a US Marine Corps veteran that served and fought for America much like my father, uncles and cousins did during the Korean War and conflict in Vietnam. The biggest difference in the conflicts during my military service and theirs is that they fought wars abroad only to return home to fight various forms of in your face racism in America.
I am a product of the Detroit public school system and moved from the ghetto to the top flo’ (and at times back down) because others broke various glass ceilings. There was a school house in Little Rock, Arkansas that had its glass ceiling broken by some black children which ultimately allowed people like me, opportunity. There was a young lawyer that had only lost one case out of 30 who went on to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in American history. His tenacity ended segregation in public schools. There was a little ol’ woman that rode a bus and refused to give up her seat (and she was not the only one, just the most famous) that translated into people like her being legally allowed to do more than keep their seat. When I headed to a school full of people that I predominately saw on television, in magazines, downtown or at the “white” shopping center, it was like being in a different country. A glass ceiling broke in my house and let in the fresh air of hope when I accomplished things that a couple of generations in my family had not. They paved the way, I just followed the path. Like a young Barack, I had a mother that shoved when I need a push and a family that supported me when I needed.
As a 16-year-old college freshman exposed to something new, I made the most of it. Barack Obama attended the some of the best schools in America and is headed as uptown as one can go in America. I am sure that he will take advantage of being exposed to something new and that he and the in-coming First Lady, Michelle Obama, will expose something new to many in America and around the world. (さらに…)
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