{"id":16338,"date":"2020-12-21T10:50:51","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T18:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16338"},"modified":"2020-12-21T10:52:27","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T18:52:27","slug":"my-sna-visible-minorities-17-nike-japan-advertisement-on-japans-visible-minorities-does-some-good-dec-21-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16338","title":{"rendered":"My SNA Visible Minorities 17:  NIKE JAPAN Advertisement on Japan&#8217;s Visible Minorities does some good (Dec 21, 2020)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Books, eBooks, and more from Debito Arudou, Ph.D. (click on icon):<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11452\" title=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Guidebookcover.jpg\" alt=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/japaneseonlyebookcovertext-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"japaneseonlyebookcovertext\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1298\" title=\"Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" alt=\"Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants, and Immigrants to Japan\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/inappropriate.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8577\" title=\"inappropriatecoverthumb150x226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/inappropriatecoverthumb150x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html#japanese\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1700\" title=\"jobookcover\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/jobookcover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinemabstruso.de\/strawberries\/main.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2735\" title=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/sourstrawberriesavatar.jpg\" alt=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?cat=32\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4921\" title=\"debitopodcastthumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/debitopodcastthumb.jpg\" alt=\"debitopodcastthumb\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12473\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-12474\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FodorsJapan2014cover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"FodorsJapan2014cover\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nUPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito<br \/>\nDEBITO.ORG PODCASTS on iTunes, subscribe free<br \/>\n&#8220;LIKE&#8221; US on Facebook at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embeddedrcsmJapan\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embeddedrcsmJapan<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hi Blog. As promised <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16328\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in a previous blog entry<\/a>, I would be giving my opinion on a recent advertisement from Nike Japan that got a lot of attention. We&#8217;ve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16328#comments\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">already debated the ad itself on Debito.org here<\/a>. Thanks for your feedback. Now here&#8217;s my take, as part of my latest Shingetsu News Agency column. Enjoy. Debito Arudou, Ph.D.<\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-21-at-10.41.33-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16339\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-21-at-10.41.33-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"629\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-21-at-10.41.33-AM.png 629w, https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-21-at-10.41.33-AM-300x170.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Visible Minorities: Nike Japan Does Some Good<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Shingetsu News Agency, DEC 21, 2020 by DEBITO ARUDOU in COLUMN<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2020\/12\/21\/visible-minorities-nike-japan-does-some-good\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2020\/12\/21\/visible-minorities-nike-japan-does-some-good\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>SNA (Tokyo) \u2014 Nike\u2019s television advertisement depicting a multiethnic Japan stands out as a bright spot to close out the dreadful year of 2020.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Entitled \u201cWe Will Continue Moving: Myself and the Future,\u201d the two-minute ad depicts a series of diverse Asian youths pensive about their lives in Japan.<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=G02u6sN_sRc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=G02u6sN_sRc<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G02u6sN_sRc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Some are running about and kicking soccer balls while musing about their identity and their abilities. A voiceover has them wondering if they\u2019re \u201cnormal,\u201d or living up to expectations. One girl, shown in closeup in a school uniform, is clearly a Japanese with African roots. Another boy, after eating a Korean meal with his family, looks up the Zainichi issue late at night on his cellphone. Tennis champ Naomi Osaka\u2019s photo makes a fleeting appearance, with a question about <\/em><em><strong>whether she\u2019s American or Japanese. A girl finds Japan\u2019s culture of cuteness doesn\u2019t resonate with her, and <\/strong>wishes she could just ignore it all. Another girl gets glares for going out in public in her Korean school uniform. After more cuts to kids practicing their sports skills, scenes follow of school crowds staring and group-bullying minorities. One lad, drawn attention to by the teacher in class as a new transfer student, feels pressure to be liked by everyone. Another isolated kid feels pressure to tolerate her ostracisation, and then the African-Japanese girl reappears, trying to ignore the other kids who are making a fuss about her kinky hair in a school bathroom. As the music swells, these kids then seek solace in sports, becoming appreciated by their peers for their talents as star athletes\u2014to the point where one girl tapes \u201cKIM\u201d over her Japanese name on the back of her jersey.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The takeaway message in a final montage of voices is the treatment they\u2019re getting is not something they should have to tolerate. They shouldn\u2019t have to wait for a world where they can live \u201cas is,\u201d without concealing themselves.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Now, before I say why this advertisement is important, let\u2019s acknowledge some caveats. One is that this is from Nike Japan, and like all corporations their motivation is to make money. It is a stunt to attract attention and sell products.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Moreover, Nike taking a high road with social justice issues is a bit ironic, given their history of child labor and sweatshops. Above all, human rights and business do not always mix well, and businesspeople are essentially opportunists. So let\u2019s first not delude ourselves to think Nike is primarily motivated by altruism.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The other point worth mentioning is the attention that the ad got: 11 million views so far on YouTube. Naturally, internet trolls, xenophobes, and haters got triggered. Unfortunately, even responsible media (such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16328#comment-1794077\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AFP<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=16328\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBC<\/a>) gave them oxygen by reporting their overblown calls for a boycott, then fumbled the issue by getting soundbites from unqualified \u201cexperts\u201d with no real training in Japan\u2019s history of civil rights, social movements, or race relations issues. These rubes missed the mark by denouncing Nike Japan as a \u201cforeign brand,\u201d or dismissing these kids as \u201coutside voices.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>This is worse than just lazy journalist hackery. This fumble was a missed opportunity to highlight issues that have long been ignored in Japan\u2019s media\u2014the existence of a growing number of visible minorities. So let\u2019s make up for that in this column by acknowledging that Nike Japan\u2019s ad was a big step in the right direction.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>First, let\u2019s recap how big 2020 was for minorities in Japan sports:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Rest of the article at <a href=\"http:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2020\/12\/21\/visible-minorities-nike-japan-does-some-good\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2020\/12\/21\/visible-minorities-nike-japan-does-some-good\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read it before it goes behind a paywall on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>======================<br \/>\n<em>Do you like what you read on Debito.org? \u00a0Want to help keep the archive active and support Debito.org&#8217;s activities? \u00a0Please consider donating a little something. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13748\">More details here<\/a>. Or if you prefer something less complicated, just click on an advertisement below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SNA \u2014 Nike\u2019s television advertisement depicting a multiethnic Japan stands out as a bright spot to close out the dreadful year of 2020.  Entitled \u201cWe Will Continue Moving: Myself and the Future,\u201d the two-minute ad depicts a series of diverse Asian youths pensive about their lives in Japan.<br \/>\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=G02u6sN_sRc<br \/>\n[&#8230;] The takeaway message in a final montage of voices is the treatment they\u2019re getting is not something they should have to tolerate. They shouldn\u2019t have to wait for a world where they can live \u201cas is,\u201d without concealing themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Now, before I say why this advertisement is important, let\u2019s acknowledge some caveats. One is that this is from Nike Japan, and like all corporations their motivation is to make money. It is a stunt to attract attention and sell products. Moreover, Nike taking a high road with social justice issues is a bit ironic, given their history of child labor and sweatshops. Above all, human rights and business do not always mix well, and businesspeople are essentially opportunists. So let\u2019s first not delude ourselves to think Nike is primarily motivated by altruism.<\/p>\n<p>The other point worth mentioning is the attention that the ad got: 11 million views so far on YouTube. Naturally, internet trolls, xenophobes, and haters got triggered. Unfortunately, even responsible media (such as the AFP and BBC) gave them oxygen by reporting their overblown calls for a boycott, then fumbled the issue by getting soundbites from unqualified \u201cexperts\u201d with no real training in Japan\u2019s history of civil rights, social movements, or race relations issues. These rubes missed the mark by denouncing Nike Japan as a \u201cforeign brand,\u201d or dismissing these kids as \u201coutside voices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is worse than just lazy journalist hackery. This fumble was a missed opportunity to highlight issues that have long been ignored in Japan\u2019s media\u2014the existence of a growing number of visible minorities. So let\u2019s make up for that in this column by acknowledging that Nike Japan\u2019s ad was a big step in the right direction&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Rest of the article at http:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2020\/12\/21\/visible-minorities-nike-japan-does-some-good\/ Read it before it goes behind a paywall on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,28,18,22,44,19,34,33,35,52,20,5,12,4,13,60,17,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-anti-discrimination-templates","category-academia","category-cultural-issue","category-discussions","category-education","category-exclusionism","category-fingerprinting-nj","category-good-news","category-hate-speech","category-history","category-human-rights","category-immigration-assimilation","category-japanese-government","category-media","category-nj-voices-ignored","category-sport","category-8"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16338","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=16338"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16341,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16338\/revisions\/16341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}