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Asahi Shimbun
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Study suggests xenophobia as the ‘default' is a conformity issue
Voters listen to a speech at Sanseito's street rally in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on June 21. (Akari Sugiyama) While researching overseas cases of 'haigai shugi' (xenophobia), I realized that this word, which literally means 'exclusion of foreigners and foreign things,' can be substituted with other expressions in English. The strongest expression is 'hatred against foreigners' ('gaikokujin keno' in Japanese) but "anti-foreign sentiment" ("hangaikokujin kanjo") and 'contempt for immigrants' ('imin besshi') are also often used. There are fewer expressions that emphasize 'exclusion' ('haijo') or 'ostracization' ('haiseki'). Is there any Japanese word or phrase that explicitly conveys discriminatory thoughts? I wondered about that when I saw, in the July 20 Upper House election coverage, this comment by a supporter of the opposition Sanseito party: 'Since this is Japan, putting the Japanese people first is common sense, isn't it?' Obviously, this person has embraced the 'Japanese First' concept with total ease. Realizing that the wave of populism that's rising around the world has arrived in Japan, I felt down. And it also made me sense that something just doesn't add up. Compared to Europe and the United States, the number of foreigners Japan has let in is extremely small. And yet, the Japanese people are vociferously rejecting foreigners. Why? In 'Kashika Sareru Sabetsu' (Discrimination brought to visualization), author Akira Igarashi presents the results of a very interesting experiment. When Japanese test subjects were asked whether they supported or opposed restricting the number of foreign workers coming to Japan, their comments were more xenophobic if their answers could be seen by other people. This, according to Igarashi, is the opposite of what is normally the case in Europe and the United States, where test subjects tend to hide, out of guilt, their honest anti-foreigner feelings when their answers can be viewed by other people. Igarashi theorizes that there exists a 'standard' in Japanese society that creates the illusion that people must act xenophobically. They are made to believe that since xenophobes are a majority, they must conform. In the background, Igarashi explains, is Japan's greater tolerance toward xenophobic celebrities and politicians, who would be severely condemned in other countries. If a single xenophobic statement can spread by feeding on people's frustrations and anxieties, that is really alarming. Xenophobia is unmistakably the same thing as discrimination against foreigners. —The Asahi Shimbun, July 22 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Asahi Shimbun
a day ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Survey: New Shinkansen stations rapidly gain following
Bullet trains on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line are seen in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Newer stations on Shinkansen lines across Japan are speeding to the head of the line in popularity among passengers for a variety of reasons, according to a recent survey. Kanazawa Station in Ishikawa Prefecture emerged as the most favored destination among the respondents in The Asahi Shimbun survey. Kanazawa was selected by 26 percent of the respondents to emerge victorious in the fierce rivalry, with Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station in nearby Toyama Prefecture in fifth at 21 percent--only 5 percentage points behind Kanazawa. The two stations, both situated along the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line, ranked among the top five destinations, likely buoyed by the novelty of the line's section between Kanazawa and Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture opening in spring 2024. The Asahi Shimbun survey asked which bullet train stations respondents most wanted to visit, as people in Japan heavily rely on bullet trains on their long-distance trips for business and sightseeing. The high-speed transport network made its debut in 1964 with a total of 12 stations along the Tokaido Shinkansen Line that connects Tokyo with Shin-Osaka. Shinkansen currently carry passengers to 120 stops on 10 lines nationwide. Some of the establishments are located along conventional lines. In certain areas, smaller Shinkansen cars are utilized to operate along standard tracks. The survey sought the views of readers of the Be on Saturday supplement section of the weekend edition of The Asahi Shimbun. The 2,378 registered readers were shown a list of the stations and could select as many favorite facilities as they liked. NEWLY BUILT STATIONS Explaining why he chose Kanazawa Station as his most desired destination, a 61-year-old man from Shiga Prefecture said that he 'heard that the areas around stations on the Shinkansen line were recently redeveloped to coincide with the new route's opening.' A 65-year-old woman living in Saitama Prefecture, close to Tokyo, said that The Asahi Shimbun survey provided her a good opportunity to learn more about the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line. 'I had not known that a Shinkansen station exists at Kurobe Unazuki Onsen,' she acknowledged. Needless to say, a lot of people felt attracted to the charms of stations themselves and tourist spots in the neighborhood. 'Kanazawa is reportedly one of the 14 most beautiful stations in the world,' said a 58-year-old male Tokyo resident. 'I would love to see the famed Tsuzumimon Gate at the station.' A 70-year-old male respondent from Shiga Prefecture described Kanazawa as 'a town filled with attractions.' 'It is equipped with not only tradition and elegance but also a trove of novel elements,' he said. The Kaga Domain that was based around what is now Kanazawa city was famed for its abundant rice yield of 'hyakumangoku' (1 million koku) during the Edo Period (1603-1867). One koku is equivalent to 180 liters. For this reason, another man, 86, who is a resident of Nagano Prefecture, admired the former castle town for its rich history. 'I hope to experience the town's ambience someday,' said the respondent about his future plan. Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station similarly drew words of praise. A 73-year-old man from Nagano Prefecture said he 'has been desperate to go there since I watched the magnificent scenery of the Unazuki Onsen resort on TV.' A 55-year-old woman from Nagano Prefecture remarked that the Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station serves as a gateway to the mountain range she had long been eager to hike. 'I make plans every year to visit, but they have yet to materialize,' she said. 'I will go in the end at all costs this year.' TIMELESS HITS Hakata Station in Fukuoka came in second on the ranking. The largest terminal station in the Kyushu region, southern Japan, gladdened the hearts of many passengers with its multifaceted allurement. 'My dream is giving local specialties a try, such as street stalls and 'tonkotsu' pork broth ramen,' said a 53-year-old Nagano woman. A 62-year-old woman from Chiba Prefecture mentioned that she often receives the Hakata Torimon buns as a souvenir from coworkers at her workplace, each time they return from business trips. 'I would like to stop at Hakata and buy Hakata Torimon on my own,' she said. A 71-year-old man in Aichi Prefecture shed light on a different aspect of Hakata. 'The area represents a treasure trove of musicians,' he said of the spate of talent emerging from Fukuoka. 'I am wondering what the city is actually like.' The neighboring Hakata-Minami Station, clocking in at 96th place, is worth noting, too. The route leading to the station was initially used by out-of-service trains for the Sanyo Shinkansen Line but was later converted into a passenger track. Despite Shinkansen stopping at Hakata-Minami, the section around the unorthodox station is therefore classified as a conventional line. The station's low ranking did not appear to be enough to dampen the interest of a 51-year-old woman in Osaka Prefecture, who said she was 'very curious' about Hakata-Minami. Taking the No. 3 spot on the surveyed station list, Kyoto showcased its venerable presence. 'The ancient capital of Kyoto is demonstrating its constant attractiveness,' said a 64-year-old male resident of Yamanashi Prefecture. A 56-year-old woman who resides in Kanagawa Prefecture, outside the capital, appreciated Kyoto as an all-in-one destination. 'I can enjoy everything from lodging and souvenir shopping to delicious meals and sightseeing,' she said. A 48-year-old female respondent from Miyazaki Prefecture remembered her honeymoon trip to Kyoto. 'The historic townscape, architectures and gardens in the city were a great comfort to me,' she recalled. For others, Kyoto is their former hometowns. A 73-year-old man who currently resides in Kanagawa Prefecture wrote that he was born in Kyoto. 'I have been to Kyoto many times since I moved out of the city while in the sixth grade at elementary school,' the previous Kyoto resident observed. 'I can relax in Kyoto.' Living in Fukuoka Prefecture at present, a 68-year-old man said he had spent his student days in Kyoto. He nostalgically touched on the old station building, the long Shinkansen platform, 500 Series carriages and the sales pitches of on-board clerks selling food and other items. 'Kyoto brings back memories,' he noted. 'I want to return there again and again.' DESTINATIONS FOR RAIL FANS Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station in Hokkaido held the No. 4 position as the northernmost Shinkansen stop throughout the country. A 67-year-old woman from Nara Prefecture imagined what it would be like to arrive in Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto after passing through the iconic Seikan undersea tunnel between Japan's main island of Honshu and Hokkaido. 'I am thinking about what I will feel when crossing the strait all the way and landing on Hokkaido,' she said. A 78-year-old man from Chiba Prefecture echoed a considerable number of respondents who put emphasis on how to get to the station. The man said that he usually takes a flight but is now considering traveling by rail to Hokkaido at least once. More than one respondent recounted their envisioned itineraries. For example, a 71-year-old male resident of Kanagawa Prefecture intended to take a string of train rides in one go without exiting any ticket gates, so that he can arrive at the northernmost Shinkansen station from the southernmost stop of Kagoshima-Chuo. It is no surprise that stations in Kyushu come next in the ranking. A 75-year-old man from Chiba Prefecture opened up about his feelings regarding Nagasaki, because he had visited the sixth most popular station on several occasions inclusive of a school trip. 'My hope is to see firsthand how the station has changed following the opening of a new Shinkansen line,' he said. With Kagoshima-Chuo taking the No. 7 spot on the overall list, a 57-year-old man in Kanagawa was astonished to discover that he can now go to Kagoshima from Tokyo all via the Shinkansen. 'I needed upward of 24 hours to trace the same route aboard the express sleeper Fuji during my childhood,' said the respondent in reference to Kagoshima-Chuo. 'I will take the Shinkansen the next time.' The eighth and 10th positions were occupied by stations along the Akita Shinkansen Line. A 62-year-old female Osaka Prefecture resident chose Kakunodate in Akita Prefecture. 'I have always wanted to tour old samurai residences,' she said. 'This questionnaire survey told me that I can go to Kakunodate via Shinkansen.' Another woman, 69, from Saitama Prefecture, selected Akita Station. 'I often see Akita Shinkansen trains but have never boarded one,' she explained. 'I would like to ride all the way to the line's final station.' Himeji Station in Hyogo Prefecture came in ninth. The renowned Himeji Castle can be seen from Shinkansen windows as well as the station's platforms. 'I am rather looking forward to getting off the Shinkansen and seeing Himeji Castle up close,' said a 51-year-old woman from Osaka Prefecture, echoing the sentiments of many others. Finally, the perspective of a rail fanatic may merit attention, given that he had disembarked at every bullet train station throughout the nation. 'I have tried all the stops, arriving in newly introduced stations on the very day of their openings since November 1982,' said the 65-year-old Tokyo man. 'There can be no stations left that I still hope to visit.' LOW-RANKING STATIONS' CHARMS Top stations in the research are typically situated in leading urban cities, such as Shin-Kobe Station in Kobe, ranked 22nd, and Nagoya, which placed 26th. The result was described by Kageri Kurihara, a journalist specializing in travel and railways on a continual basis, as 'only natural.' 'Kanazawa, Hakata and Kyoto vie for the highest ratings every time this kind of study is conducted,' Kurihara said. 'People love to visit major stations and cities, after all.' In the meantime, Kurihara suggested that adding the word "onsen" to the station name may have helped some stops in rural regions to push high-profile rivals out of the upper section of the ranking. 'The hot spring image motivates passengers to get off trains at specific locations,' he said. 'Japan Railway companies actually used to be aggressive in including the word 'onsen' in station names.' Kurihara emphasized that Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station is an 'immensely appealing' label from this standpoint, since it combines the hot spring resort name with the picturesque tourist spot of Kurobe. However, the rail journalist noticed at the same time that 'much more attractive stations can be spotted at the bottom of the ranking.' An example cited by Kurihara was Kikonai Station, even though the site sat at the 76th position. Kikonai is the first station on the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line reached after leaving the Seikan tunnel. Kurihara said that an observation deck sits in close proximity to the Hokkaido station, allowing visitors to see the junction of the Shinkansen and conventional lines. Another attraction in the neighborhood was reportedly a facility where sightseers can enjoy a rail bike ride on the previous track of the now-abandoned JR Esashi Line. On top of that, changing to the South Hokkaido Railway at Kikonai can provide passengers with convenient access to Hakodate. 'One will be able to take delight in a local rail trip, coming across the majestic sights of Hakodate Bay and Mount Hakodateyama simultaneously,' Kurihara said. 'The station can thus be considered ideal for fully relishing train travel.' DISTINCTIVE STATION BUILDINGS Kurihara was likewise asked about several of the 10 lowest-ranking stations in particular: Honjo-Waseda in Saitama Prefecture, ranked 116th; Shin-Omura in Nagasaki Prefecture at 117th; Saitama's Kumagaya Station, placing 119th; and Oyama Station in Tochigi Prefecture, which came in 120th. Of the four stations, Kurihara recommended traveling to Shin-Omura along the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen Line. 'The captivating station building features the design of the characteristic Goshikibei stone wall from the Omura region,' Kurihara said. 'Its appearance was shaped by the sentiment of local residents.' Ideas solicited from residents are apt to be taken into account when determining the designs of stations to be put in place along relatively new Shinkansen lines. As a result, distinctive patterns are frequently found at those station buildings. Preserved on the traditional Tokaido Shinkansen Line is a historic wooden building constructed before the end of World War II at Kakegawa Station in Shizuoka Prefecture. Kakegawa held the 71st spot in the latest ranking. With this in mind, sparing the time to check out station buildings when travelers disembark from their train at high-speed rail stops--whether for business or sightseeing--might offer them unexpected pleasures while traveling on the Shinkansen.
Asahi Shimbun
2 days ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Xenophobia gains ground in Upper House election
Some in the audience at a Tokyo rally of a party advocating tougher regulations against foreigners express opposition to racism on July 19. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Front-page headlines in Japanese newspapers come in various forms. The more important or surprising the news, the more the headline shifts from the traditional vertical format (top to bottom, commonly used in most articles) to a bold horizontal layout (left to right). Major news stories also tend to use what is known as the 'beta-kuro shiro-nuki' format--white lettering set against a solid black background--stretching dramatically across the width of the page. In the latest Upper House election--where the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, Komeito, suffered a stinging setback--the largest headline now looms high above this daily column, which appears regularly at the bottom of The Asahi Shimbun's front page. When Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba appeared on television on election day, July 20, his expression was more tense and rigid than ever. This seismic shift in Japan's political landscape may well go down as a moment of lasting historical significance. At the same time, I can't shake the feeling that another, more troubling shift has taken place, one quite different from the 'political upheaval' captured by the headline. It is the rise of xenophobia. I have never witnessed an election in which fear of foreigners was so openly inflamed, nor one where discriminatory rhetoric was voiced with such blatant ease. Democracy is governance through speech. For elections--the very foundation of democracy--to function properly, it is essential that policy debates be grounded in facts. Yet, despite repeated media fact-checks exposing falsehoods in the xenophobic statements made by a certain party's candidates and its leader, that very party has garnered a significant number of votes. What, then, lies ahead? If the party continues to take the same stance on issues concerning foreign nationals during Diet deliberations, I fear that its rhetoric--used to legitimize prejudice--will gain broader acceptance in society, bolstered by its growing political influence. In 'How Democracies Die,' Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt warn that the erosion of democracy often begins with language. 'The process often begins with words,' they write. Am I reading too much into this? I can only hope that someday people will look back and say with a laugh, 'You were worrying for nothing.' --The Asahi Shimbun, July 21 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Asahi Shimbun
4 days ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Slightly radioactive Fukushima soil is used at Japanese prime minister's office to prove safety
The interim storage facility in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, for soil collected in the decontamination work around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in the background (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Decontaminated but slightly radioactive soil from Fukushima was delivered Saturday to the Japanese prime minister's office to be reused in an effort to showcase its safety. This is the first soil to be used, aside from experiments, since the 2011 nuclear disaster when the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered a cataclysmic meltdown following an earthquake and tsunami that left large amounts of radioactive materials spewing out from the facility, polluting surrounding areas. The government is desperate to set people's minds at ease about recycling the 14 million cubic meters of decontaminated soil, enough to fill 11 baseball stadiums, collected after massive clean-ups and stored at a sprawling outdoor facility near the Fukushima plant. Officials have pledged to find final disposal sites outside of Fukushima by 2045. The Environment Ministry said the 2 cubic meters, now at Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's office complex in Tokyo, will be used as foundation material in one section of the lawn garden, based on the ministry's safety guidelines endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The soil does not include any from inside the plant. Despite assurances, there has been much public unease. The government has already been forced to scrap a plan to experiment using some of the soil in flower beds at several public parks in and around Tokyo following protests.
Japan Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
The Chinese government's crackdown is intensifying, so Japanese nationals living in China must take this ruling seriously and exercise greater caution.
Ke Long, chief researcher at the policy research department of the Tokyo Foundation, saying Japanese workers should be careful about their behavior in China. Japanese nationals are increasingly fearful about working in China after a court in Beijing sentenced a Japanese employee to prison over unexplained espionage charges. © Asahi Shimbun
