Okinawan photojournalist's lens on Vietnam
An 87-year-old Okinawa photojournalist who covered the Vietnam War returns to meet people whose portraits he captured.
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Japan Times
7 hours ago
- Japan Times
The persistence of Pride: LGBTQ+ events in Tokyo and beyond
The centerpiece parade and festival of Tokyo Rainbow Pride may be over, but there's still ample opportunity to celebrate diversity and show your solidarity with the queer community. The following programs and events showcase the creativity and resilience of queer people and platforms in a range of creative and professional domains. Queer Art Exhibition (until June 18): Stop by Harajuku for a group show at Baby the Coffee Brew Club, featuring 30 queer artists from around the world working in mediums from wood engraving and photography to illustration. Admission is free. Some of the artwork is for sale and there will be a tip box for contributions to the artists. You can also vote for your favorite artist in the show, with the winner receiving the Tokyo Rainbow Pride Award of ¥100,000. Instagram: @ (until June 18): Stop by Harajuku for a group show at Baby the Coffee Brew Club, featuring 30 queer artists from around the world working in mediums from wood engraving and photography to illustration. Admission is free. Some of the artwork is for sale and there will be a tip box for contributions to the artists. You can also vote for your favorite artist in the show, with the winner receiving the Tokyo Rainbow Pride Award of ¥100,000. Instagram: @ Events at Loneliness Books (June 20-22, 27-29): The queer bookstore in Higashinakano will host a number of programs on the final two weekends of June, including a book launch for Naoki Ota's essay collection 'Gray and Life,' a cinema club discussion and a release party for the latest issue of magazine Kaguya Planet. Instagram: @lonelinessbooks (June 20-22, 27-29): The queer bookstore in Higashinakano will host a number of programs on the final two weekends of June, including a book launch for Naoki Ota's essay collection 'Gray and Life,' a cinema club discussion and a release party for the latest issue of magazine Kaguya Planet. Instagram: @lonelinessbooks Rainbow Reel Tokyo (June 21-22; July 12-13): The 32nd Tokyo International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival will be held at two different venues in Shibuya, EuroLive and Tokyo Women's Plaza Hall. Five feature films and five shorts will be screened, representing productions from Belgium, France, India, the U.K. and the U.S., many of which are premiering in Japan for the first time. Instagram: @rainbowreeltokyo (June 21-22; July 12-13): The 32nd Tokyo International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival will be held at two different venues in Shibuya, EuroLive and Tokyo Women's Plaza Hall. Five feature films and five shorts will be screened, representing productions from Belgium, France, India, the U.K. and the U.S., many of which are premiering in Japan for the first time. Instagram: @rainbowreeltokyo Human Rights Conference (June 22): At Shiseido Hanatsubaki Hall in Ginza, LGTBQ+ activists, academics and professionals will convene to discuss contemporary social issues connected to this year's Tokyo Rainbow Pride theme of 'Same Life, Same Rights.' Three panels and a keynote speech will cover topics such as marriage equality, media misinformation and combating discrimination. Admission is free, but registration is required. (June 22): At Shiseido Hanatsubaki Hall in Ginza, LGTBQ+ activists, academics and professionals will convene to discuss contemporary social issues connected to this year's Tokyo Rainbow Pride theme of 'Same Life, Same Rights.' Three panels and a keynote speech will cover topics such as marriage equality, media misinformation and combating discrimination. Admission is free, but registration is required. Aomori Rainbow Parade (June 28): The coastal city of Hachinohe will host a parade on the final Saturday of the month, beginning from the plaza in front of city hall. X: @RainbowAomori (June 28): The coastal city of Hachinohe will host a parade on the final Saturday of the month, beginning from the plaza in front of city hall. X: @RainbowAomori Seisho Queer Pride (June 29): Manazuru, Kanagawa Prefecture, will celebrate Pride with a parade and party. Original merchandise will be on sale to support the local community. The parade departs from Manazuru Station at 11 a.m. Instagram: @seisho_queer_pride Looking past the summer and beyond the capital, a slew of regional Pride events — some launching for the very first time — are scheduled throughout the fall. Most of these programs have only the dates and venues locked in, and other details are yet to be announced. Make sure to check their websites for the latest information about how to attend or get involved.
Japan Times
12 hours ago
- Japan Times
Cultural anxiety and Japan's immigration pains
Hello Kitty seems an unlikely trigger for an immigration debate. But that's what happened in Japan this week when Megumi Hayashibara, a prominent voice actress behind icons from Kitty to the long-running anime franchise "Evangelion's" Rei Ayanami, took to her blog to discuss the growing population of outsiders. She called for a crackdown on rule-breaking foreigners and criticized overseas students on free scholarships while locals pay for their education. The thrust of her post was a call for readers to vote. But her most cutting remark was a fear that local habits and Japaneseness itself might be lost if current trends continue, like the native crayfish endangered by an "invasive species' of crustacean threatening its natural habitat. (After online outrage, Hayashibara deleted the reference to crayfish.) While it's hardly the protests in Los Angeles, her comments show how immigration is becoming a heated topic in a country where it has only recently become a feature. And it's one that authorities should not ignore, as politicians elsewhere were content to do until fringe groups become seen as the only ones with the answers. I wrote in 2022 about how Tokyo, long stereotyped as being closed to immigration, was accepting more foreign nationals than many realized. That trend continues, with immigrants nearly doubling in the past decade and a record 10% jump in 2024. It's less the absolute level as the pace of change: Foreign residents have gone from less than 1% to more than 3% of the population in the past three decades and will reach around 10% in 2050. Criticism is fueled by the mistakes of Western nations and promoted by influencers who conflate Japan with other countries. Tokyo's strategy has been far subtler than many nations now struggling with anti-immigration populism, but it's no less vulnerable to the YouTube algorithm: A quick search for "Japan immigration issues' immediately turns up videos by the likes of the ubiquitous Hiroyuki Nishimura, the message-board entrepreneur with millions of followers and a controversial take on everything. These videos have titles like "Why should Japanese have to provide for foreigners?,' "Japan is defenseless' and "Japan will no longer be a country for Japanese!' What they ignore is that Japan doesn't have a vast force of idle foreign residents who are burdening the state. It accepts few asylum seekers, has been selective about the nationalities it attracts and has functioning border control. The number of illegal residents is a quarter of three decades ago, despite the increase in foreign nationals; the number of foreign-committed crimes shows a similar downtrend. Copy-pasted arguments from other countries don't apply here. But there are also areas of legitimate concern where authorities have not kept pace. From worries that short-term stayers are exploiting Japan's generous medical insurance system, to a bizarre loophole allowing tourists to easily get Japanese drivers' licenses, there's a worry that the country's hospitality is being exploited. The declining domestic population is complicating things. Working-age locals fell by 224,000 last year. This simultaneously lifts the need for foreigners to supplement the labor force, while heightening concerns about Japanese being "replaced' in their own country. The truth of Hayashibara's comments lies in the fact that the thing many love about Japanese society — the "it just works' nature of public life, from mass transit to health care to the low crime rate — is deeply dependent on everyone following the rules. Newcomers are often irked by all the procedures, from putting out garbage to talking on the subway. But these are necessary for residents, in particular those in cities stacked cheek-by-jowl, to coexist in harmony. Hayashibara's complaints about bad manners will be familiar to those who live in Japan, foreign or local; everyday annoyances have increased since the borders were reopened after COVID-19. In a Justice Ministry survey, nearly 78% said they most wanted foreign residents to follow local rules and customs. The government hasn't kept up with the times. Only now is Tokyo discussing simple issues, such as stopping tourists with unpaid medical debt from returning or rejecting visa extensions for those who haven't paid health care. I recently noted Japan doesn't track how easy it is for foreigners to buy property. A highly followed story since then concerns a Tokyo building where foreign ownership is seemingly seeking to force out residents to operate an illegal Airbnb. Politicians are reacting, slowly. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has pledged the country "will accept foreigners who follow the rules' while cautioning that those who don't "will be dealt with strictly.' Longtime ruling party leadership candidate Taro Kono has recently been burnishing his credentials by criticizing illegal immigration. It's all the growing pains of a changing nation. Talk of "invasive species' is unhelpful at best. But Japan also shouldn't repeat the mistakes of countries that dismissed citizens' concerns about immigration and ghettoization, only to watch them turn to fringe politicians when no one else would listen. The way to stave off the rise of populist talking heads is to address these worries and enforce a sense of fairness and equal treatment. After all, what else would Kitty want? Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Japan and the Koreas.
Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
‘A Unique Country in Asia': Sex and politics make for strange bedfellows
The political is personal in Kenji Yamauchi's 'A Unique Country in Asia,' constantly intruding on the most intimate moments. During the film's opening scene, protagonist Yoko (Ami Chong), a stay-at-home wife and clandestine sex worker, gets so distracted talking about the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that she forgets to finish servicing a client. This being a film that's acutely sensitive to social graces, the john is far too polite to kick up a fuss. Abe seems to be a constant topic of discussion for Yoko and she doesn't lack for conversation partners. Her days are spent tending to a succession of smartly dressed gents, not all of whom share her distaste for the late politician — as divisive a figure in death as he was in life. A young man gets struck off her client list after outing himself as an active Liberal Democratic Party supporter; Kimura (Kenji Iwaya), an older regular who professes to be a fellow hater, gets treated to special favors.
