{"id":11245,"date":"2013-03-08T20:13:46","date_gmt":"2013-03-09T06:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=11245"},"modified":"2013-03-08T20:17:11","modified_gmt":"2013-03-09T06:17:11","slug":"japan-times-just-be-cause-col-61-march-5-2013-childs-quibble-with-u-s-poverty-superpower-propaganda-unravels-a-sobering-story-about-insular-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=11245","title":{"rendered":"Japan Times JUST BE CAUSE Col 61 March 5, 2013: “Child\u2019s quibble with U.S. \u2018poverty superpower\u2019 propaganda unravels a sobering story about insular Japan”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Child\u2019s quibble with U.S. \u2018poverty superpower\u2019 propaganda unravels a sobering story about insular Japan<\/strong>
\n BY DEBITO ARUDOU<\/strong>
\n The Japan Times, March 5, 2013, Column 61 for JUST BE CAUSE<\/strong>
\nCourtesy http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/community\/2013\/03\/05\/issues\/childs-quibble-with-u-s-poverty-superpower-propaganda-unravels-a-sobering-story-about-insular-japan<\/a>
\nVersion with links to sources<\/p>\n

Last November, a reader in Hokkaido named Stephanie sent me an article read in Japan\u2019s elementary schools. Featured in a sixth-grader magazine called Chagurin (from \u201cchild agricultural green\u201d) dated December 2012, it was titled \u201cChildren of America, the Poverty Superpower\u201d (hinkon taikoku Amerika no kodomotachi), offering a sprawling review of America\u2019s social problems.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"chagurin1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Its seven pages in tabloid format (see debito.org\/?p=10806<\/a>) led with headlines such as: \u201cIs it true that there are more and more people without homes?\u201d \u201cIs it true that if you get sick you can\u2019t go to hospital?\u201d and \u201cIs it true that the poorer an area you\u2019re in, the fatter the children are?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Answers described how 1 out of 7 Americans live below the poverty line, how evicted homeless people live in tent cities found \u201cin any town park,\u201d how poverty correlates with child obesity due to cheap junk food, how bankruptcies are widespread due to the world\u2019s highest medical costs (e.g., one tooth filling costs \u00a5150,000), how education is undermined by \u201cthe evils (heigai) of evaluating teachers only by test scores,\u201d and so on.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For greater impact, included were photos of a tent city, a fat lady \u2014 even a kid with rotten-looking picket-fence teeth.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"chagurin4teethcrop\"<\/a><\/p>\n

These images served to buttress spiraling daisy chains of logic: \u201cAs your teeth get worse, your bite becomes bad, your body condition gets worse and your school studies suffer. After that, you can\u2019t pass a job interview and you become stuck in poverty.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The article\u2019s concluding question: \u201cWhat can we do so we don\u2019t become like America?\u201d Answer proffered: Think critically, don\u2019t take media at face value and ask questions of your parents and friends. Ask why hamburgers are so cheap, why Japan would give up its sovereignty and domestic industrial integrity through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade agreement, and why only \u201cefficiency and competition\u201d are prioritized in the agricultural, medical and educational sectors.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavy stuff for a children\u2019s magazine, and not entirely without merit. But not entirely accurate, either. So Stephanie\u2019s daughter did as encouraged and questioned the article, for she had been to America and her experience was different.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Teacher\u2019s answer: \u201cIt is written so it is true.\u201d So much for critical thinking.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So Stephanie wrote to Chagurin asking about some of the article\u2019s \u201cgeneralizations and falsehoods\u201d (such as the cost of a filling: \u00a5150,000 would in fact cover an entire root canal). She asked why there had been no comparison with Japan\u2019s strengths and weaknesses so that both societies \u201ccan learn from each other.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To their credit, Chagurin responded in January (see debito.org\/?p=11086<\/a>), admitting to some errors in scope and fact. \u201cTent cities in every town park\u201d was an exaggeration; the kid\u2019s \u201cpicket-fence teeth\u201d were in fact fake Halloween costume teeth. They would run a few corrections but otherwise stood by their claims.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Editors justified their editorial bent thus (my translation): \u201cChagurin was created as a magazine to convey the importance of farming, food, nature and life, and cultivate the spirit of helping one another. The goal of the article . . . was not to criticize America; it was to think along with the children about the social stratifications (kakusa shakai) caused by market fundamentalism (shij\u014d genri shugi) that has gone too far. . . . There are many things in this world that we want children to learn . . . not limited to poverty and social inequality, but also food supply, war, etc. . . . We would like to positively take up these issues and include Japan\u2019s problems as well.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But that\u2019s the thing. They didn\u2019t. Chagurin basically seized upon an entire foreign society as a cautionary tale, swaddled it in broad generalizations and burned it in effigy to illuminate a path for Japanese society.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So I did some research on the magazine. Endorsed by Japan PTA, Chagurin is funded by the Japan Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, connected with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Aha. MAFF is famous for its propagandizing, especially when it comes to keeping Japan\u2019s agricultural sector closed for \u201cfood security\u201d purposes. Remember Japan\u2019s poor harvest in 1995 when rice had to be imported? To ensure Japanese consumers never realized that \u201cforeign rice\u201d could be of similar quality to domestic fare, American and Chinese-made japonica was blended with Japanese, while low-quality Thai rice was sold alone as \u201cforeign\u201d to maintain a firewall<\/a>. Similar dirty marketing tricks have happened with other agro-imports, including foreign apples<\/a> in the 1990s and the \u201clonger Japanese intestines unable to digest foreign beef<\/a>\u201d nonsense in the 1980s. Chagurin\u2019s inclusion of the TPP issue is suddenly not so odd.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

More interesting, however, is the article\u2019s author, Mika Tsutsumi. According to The Japan Times (\u201cSpotlight on the States,\u201d April 4, 2010<\/a>), Tsutsumi, the daughter of a famous Japanese journalist, lived many years in the U.S., her \u201cdream country.\u201d A former United Nations worker and Nomura Securities analyst who studied at the State University of New York, New Paltz<\/a>, Tsutsumi has since returned to Japan to write extensively about America exclusively in Japanese. Her bestselling books include \u201cAmerica\u2019s Revolution of the Weak,\u201d \u201cFreedom Disappears from America\u201d and the award-winning \u201cAmerica, the Poverty Superpower\u201d (original, sequel and a manga version)<\/a> \u2014 which Chagurin, from the title on down, cooperatively adapted for preadolescents nationwide.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Although Tsutsumi repeatedly encourages critical thinking in her writings, none of her books on Amazon Japan apply the same level of critique to Japanese society \u2014 probably because they would not sell as well or win awards. Thus America becomes a convenient foil for Tsutsumi to sell herself, even to grade-schoolers.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But put the shoe on the other foot: If an article of this tone and content about Japan appeared in grade-schooler magazines overseas, funded by the U.S. farming lobby and endorsed by the PTA, the first wave of protests would be from the Japanese Embassy. Then Internet denizens would swamp the publisher\u2019s servers with accusations of racism and Japan-bashing, followed by hue and cry from the Japanese media<\/a>. Yet in Japan, this angle of research passes muster \u2014 as long as it\u2019s not about Japan.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Then I dug deeper and found something even more interesting: Tsutsumi is married to Diet member Ryuhei Kawada, a member of Minna no To (Your Party)<\/a>, a mishmash of center-right libertarian \u201cwe\u2019ll say whatever you want to hear as long as you vote for us\u201d political platforms. Kawada, a hemophiliac among thousands infected with HIV in the 1980s tainted blood scandal, came to national prominence spearheading a successful campaign against the government and the drug companies involved<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

An activist for Japan\u2019s \u201clost generation\u201d of \u201cpermanent part-timers\u201d and chosen as a \u201cYoung Global Leader\u201d by the World Economic Forum, Kawada was elected to national office in 2007 on a platform of fighting discrimination. On his website (ryuheikawada.jp\/english<\/a>) he states, \u201cDiscrimination is the most serious issue not only in developing countries but in developed countries. I still see it in my country. . . . Education against it must be essential.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s ironic, because in 2008\u00a0Kawada (unsuccessfully) campaigned against reforming Japan\u2019s Nationality Law<\/a> to allow international children born out of wedlock to be recognized as citizens even if paternity was not formally acknowledged, opportunistically joining a chorus of Japan\u2019s xenophobes fomenting a \u201cfalse paternity\u201d scare<\/a>. Apparently for Kawada, \u201cdiscrimination\u201d in Japan does not transcend nationality.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

[See also\u00a0http:\/\/ja.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/\u56fd\u7c4d\u6cd5\u6539\u6b63\u554f\u984c<\/a>\u00a0and \u00a0http:\/\/d.hatena.ne.jp\/macska\/20081209\/p1<\/a>]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thus Tsutsumi and Kawada are a power couple (such darlings of the left that they can jump to the right), and their influence in both policymaking circles and Japan\u2019s media is broad. For Kawada, his alarmist gang of arguments forced the Nationality Law to be reinterpreted in 2012 to place further restrictions on Japanese with foreign nationalities (Just Be Cause, Jan. 1<\/a>). For Tsutsumi, her books are now even \u201ccatching them young\u201d \u2014 scaring impressionable minds about the \u201cevils\u201d of a foreign society before any schooling in comparative cultures or critical thinking.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Not to be outdone, let me offer two of my own cautionary tales from this month\u2019s research adventure.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

One is that a lack of critical thinking in Japan has enabled Japan\u2019s media to propagandize with impunity. Propaganda, as defined by scholar Robert McChesney<\/a>, is \u201cthe more people consume your media, the less they\u2019ll know about the subject, and the more they\u2019ll support government policy.\u201d Tsutsumi\u2019s article is a quintessential example: By denigrating a foreign society while elevating her own, she distorts information to leave readers ill-informed and more supportive of Japan\u2019s insularity.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To be fair, it\u2019s not only Tsutsumi: Live long enough in Japan and you\u2019ll be influenced by the slow-drip mantra of how \u201cdangerous\u201d the outside world is (contrasted with \u201csafe Japan\u201d), and how if you ever dare to leave Japan (where \u201ceveryone is middle class\u201d) you\u2019ll be at the mercy of gross social inequalities. Over time you\u2019ll start to believe this propaganda despite contrary experiences; it\u2019s very effective at intimidating people from emigrating, no matter how tough things get in Japan.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The other lesson is that the hope that Japan\u2019s \u201cnext generation\u201d will be more open-minded than their elders is gradually evaporating. Tsutsumi and Kawada are well-educated 30-to-40-somethings with international experience, language ability and acclaimed antidiscrimination activism under their belts. Yet both are behaving as conservatively as any elite xenophobic rightist. They can get away with it because they have a perpetual soft target for Japan\u2019s media \u2014 the outside world \u2014 to bash in a society that generally mistrusts outsiders. And they\u2019re making mucho dinero while at it.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So let\u2019s conclude in Tsutsumi\u2019s style: \u201cWe\u201d should not become like Japan because its aging society, controlled by an unaccountable bureaucratic\/gerontocratic elite, will forever crowd out the young and disenfranchised from its power structure. Meanwhile the Japanese public, insufficiently trained in critical thinking, will remain intellectually blinded by jingoistic and xenophobic propaganda.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After all, focusing on overseas problems distracts attention away from domestic ills, such as an inflexible job market, an imperfect education and health system, an underdiscussed class system, a mass media that ill-serves the public interest \u2014 and yes, ironically, even questionable dietary practices, underreported poverty and homelessness, and substandard dental care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Never mind. Let\u2019s talk instead about how \u201cwe\u201d are still somehow better off than somebody else. Bash the outside world \u2014 it\u2019s lucrative. For some.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

============================
\nDebito Arudou and Akira Higuchi\u2019s bilingual 2nd Edition of \u201cHandbook for Newcomers, Migrants, and Immigrants<\/a>,\u201d with updates for 2012\u2032s changes to immigration laws, is now on sale. Twitter @arudoudebito. Just Be Cause appears on the first Community Page of the month. Send your comments to community@japantimes.co.jp.<\/em>
\nENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JT JBC: Last November, a reader in Hokkaido named Stephanie sent me an article read in Japan\u2019s elementary schools. Featured in a sixth-grader magazine called Chagurin (from \u201cchild agricultural green\u201d) dated December 2012, it was titled \u201cChildren of America, the Poverty Superpower\u201d (Hinkon Taikoku Amerika no Kodomotachi), offering a sprawling review of America\u2019s social problems.<\/p>\n

Its seven pages in tabloid format (see debito.org\/?p=10806) led with headlines such as: \u201cIs it true that there are more and more people without homes?\u201d \u201cIs it true that if you get sick you can\u2019t go to hospital?\u201d and \u201cIs it true that the poorer an area you\u2019re in, the fatter the children are?\u201d<\/p>\n

Answers described how 1 out of 7 Americans live below the poverty line, how evicted homeless people live in tent cities found \u201cin any town park,\u201d how poverty correlates with child obesity due to cheap junk food, how bankruptcies are widespread due to the world\u2019s highest medical costs (e.g., one tooth filling costs \u00a5150,000), how education is undermined by \u201cthe evils (heigai) of evaluating teachers only by test scores,\u201d and so on.<\/p>\n

For greater impact, included were photos of a tent city, a fat lady \u2014 even a kid with rotten-looking picket-fence teeth. These images served to buttress spiraling daisy chains of logic: \u201cAs your teeth get worse, your bite becomes bad, your body condition gets worse and your school studies suffer. After that, you can\u2019t pass a job interview and you become stuck in poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The article\u2019s concluding question: \u201cWhat can we do so we don\u2019t become like America?\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,36,22,19,34,5,26,14,13,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academia","category-bad-social-science","category-cultural-issue","category-education","category-exclusionism","category-human-rights","category-ironies-hypocrisies","category-japanese-politics","category-media","category-problematic-foreign-treatment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11245\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}