{"id":9123,"date":"2011-06-22T07:56:20","date_gmt":"2011-06-21T22:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=9123"},"modified":"2011-06-22T07:56:20","modified_gmt":"2011-06-21T22:56:20","slug":"bad-social-paradigms-encouraging-bad-social-science-uc-berkeley-prof-idiotically-counts-flyjin-for-h-japan-listserv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=9123","title":{"rendered":"Bad social paradigms encouraging bad social science: UC Berkeley prof idiotically counts “flyjin” for H-Japan listserv"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"IN<\/a>
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Hi Blog. I have a real rib-tickler for you today. Here we have an academic employed at UC Berkeley trying to squeeze flawed data into an already flawed paradigm — not just that of “gaijin<\/a>” [sic], but also of “flyjin” <\/a>— as she goes around Tokyo counting NJ as if they were rare birds (or, rather, rarer birds, according to her presumptions under the rubric).<\/p>\n

I raise this on Debito.org because it’s amazing how stupid concepts from Planet Japan<\/a> somehow manage to entice apparently educated people elsewhere to follow suit, and… I’ll just stop commenting and let you read the rest. Courtesy of H-Japan’s online archives, accessible to the general public. \u00a0Arudou Debito<\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

Courtesy http:\/\/h-net.msu.edu\/cgi-bin\/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-Japan&month=1106&week=c&msg=ZlvuE6%2bnxMsSGrzDqLzQvA&user=&pw=<\/a><\/p>\n

From: H-Japan Editor <\/strong>
\nList Editor: H-Japan Editor <\/strong>
\nEditor’s Subject: H-JAPAN (E): The Great Fukushima Panic of 2011 \/ empirical evidence on “flyjin”
\nAuthor’s Subject: H-JAPAN (E): The Great Fukushima Panic of 2011 \/ empirical evidence on “flyjin”
\nDate Written: Sun, 19 Jun 2011 18:19:01 -0400
\nDate Posted: Mon, 19 Jun 2011 18:19:01 -0400
\nOn-line editor: Janet R. Goodwin <\/strong><\/p>\n

H-JAPAN (E)
\nJune 19, 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

From: Dana Buntrock <\/strong><\/p>\n

For those of you who have not yet returned to Japan since 3\/11, it may be helpful to understand how significant the absence of “gaijin” is in the capital, a point noted more than once on this list.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I am using the term “gaijin” here to refer to racially differentiated (non-Asian) individuals, including those who appear to be from the Indian subcontinent. If mixed-race children were with a non-Asian parent, I\u00a0counted them. I also counted one woman in a version of the headscarf worn\u00a0by Moslem women, seen from behind, and her child (in a stroller), because\u00a0the attire was clearly non-Japanese in nature. That is, I tended to err\u00a0on the side of counting individuals as being foreign.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I did a casual count Friday, June 17 through Sunday, June 19. The first\u00a0two days, I went about normal activity, but the last day, I confess, I\u00a0deliberately went to a tourist spot. I included those seen within my\u00a0hotel, a nice business hotel that maintains a reservations web site in\u00a0English and often has foreign guests.
\n___<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Friday count: 22. (8 a.m.-7:30 p.m.) I went through 9 subway stations:
\nAkasaka, Meijijungumae, KitaSando, Shinjuku (Oedo at Minami Shinjuku),\u00a0Aoyama Itchome, Gaienmae, Akasaka-Mitsuke to Nagatacho, and Kojimachi. I walked at least 6 kilometers: from my hotel to the first station (.6 km),\u00a0from Kita Sando west for 1.2 km, from there to several floors, including\u00a0the 6th, of the Kinokuniya Bookstore in Minami Shinjuku (1.8 km), from\u00a0Aoyama Itchome to Gaienmae (.7 km) and from Kojimachi back to the Akasaka area (1.6 if done efficiently, which I did not).<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

—-<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Saturday count: 135. About 15 under 5 years old.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I went through Roppongi twice, Hiro once, and Midtown twice. I went through three crowded shopping areas–Ebisu, Midtown, and Roppongi HIlls, plus the Photography Museum. I went to National Azabu (upstairs) on a Saturday.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I was out 8 and a half hours, and I went through Roppongi Station (10:30 a.m.), Ebisu (subway) Station, and HIro Station. I walked 1.5 km around Ebisu, and from Hiro to Roppongi HIlls (another 1.5 km) to Gallery Ma (another 1.5 km) to Midtown (600 meters) and back to the hotel (1 km). About 6 kilometers.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

—-<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Sunday count: 60. I counted 13 women; 4 were children.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Out at 9 a.m., walked from Akasaka to near the foot of Tokyo Tower via Ark Hills (1.9 km), continued on to Daimon Station, boarded a monorail to Tenozu Isle (1.5 km), Walked a very short distance from there, then boarded a cab back to Akasaka. Afterward, walked to Kasumigaseki (2 km), continued to the Imperial Palace Gardens (3 km), walked from there to Otemachi Stn (1.5), direct line back to Akasaka, and back to hotel (.5 km) about 6:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

21 men and 8 women were seen in the area of the Imperial Palace, including joggers and apparent tourists. (Note: I attended an English-language church service, but did not count the congregants. There were about 45 people in the church, and between half and two-thirds were non-Asian. The church would normally have at least 50% more congregants, and often double.)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Walked about 10.5 km, was in three not-particularly-busy subway stations, but lingered around the Imperial Palace.<\/strong><\/em>
\n_______________________
\n DANA BUNTROCK<\/strong><\/p>\n

Associate Professor
\nDepartment of Architecture
\nUniversity of California, Berkeley<\/strong><\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

SOME RESPONSES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Courtesy http:\/\/h-net.msu.edu\/cgi-bin\/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-Japan&month=1106&week=c&msg=9NxPdJQedAvmyzo4ZXFdhA&user=&pw=<\/a><\/p>\n

From: H-Japan Editor <\/strong>
\nList Editor: H-Japan Editor <\/strong>
\nEditor’s Subject: H-JAPAN (E): The Great Fukushima Panic of 2011 (2 responses)
\nAuthor’s Subject: H-JAPAN (E): The Great Fukushima Panic of 2011 (2 responses)
\nDate Written: Mon, 20 Jun 2011 22:18:52 -0400
\nDate Posted: Tue, 20 Jun 2011 22:18:52 -0400
\nOn-line editor: Janet R. Goodwin <\/strong><\/p>\n

H-JAPAN (E)
\nJune 20, 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

(1) From: Georg Blind <\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: empirical evidence on “flyjin” vs. “fryjin”; ample statistics\u00a0available<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This is both a response to an earlier question on this list, and a comment\u00a0to Dana Buntrock’s post.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Concise entry and departure statistics are available from Ministry of Justice:
\n<\/strong><\/em> http:\/\/www.moj.go.jp\/housei\/toukei\/toukei_ichiran_nyukan.html<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The latest available tables are for March 2011. Total “gaijin” departures\u00a0were about 1% down from March 2010. In contrast, US citizens were down\u00a0about 20%; citizens of European countries about 5%.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As soon as available, April data will show the full extent of the exodus\u00a0if corrected for overall fluctuation (e.g., from a comparison of February\u00a0to April changes in 2010).<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

While interesting as an individual observation, Dana Buntrock’s gaijin\u00a0counts, are methodologically highly questionable. The following – not too\u00a0serious example – might illustrate this: let’s define “fryjin” as\u00a0foreigners working in Japanese KFC restaurants. Let’s assume one would\u00a0count fryjin presence in 10 different locations in Tokyo. Would that yield\u00a0a reliable picture of the “fryjin” situation? 1. The mere count of\u00a0“fryjin” would need to be compared to the number of Japanese staff. – How\u00a0many Japanese did Dana Buntrock count during her survey? 2. How many\u00a0“fryjin” were there one year ago; i.e., was there a change in the number\u00a0of “fryjin”? – And putting 1. and 2. together, was there some change in\u00a0the share of “fryjin”? 3. Are observations at Tokyo KFC restaurants\u00a0representative for the whole country? In that sense, the church example is\u00a0by far more telling than the street counts.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Best,\u00a0Georg<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

____________________________<\/p>\n

Georg Blind
\nResearch Fellow and Lecturer
\nThe University of Zurich
\nInstitute of East Asian Studies
\n8032 Zurich
\nSwitzerland<\/strong><\/p>\n

(2) From: Cecilia <\/strong><\/p>\n

With respect, I am not sure how constructive it is to be adopting the term\u00a0“flyjin”. Though the term may appear to be cute and clever, in reality in\u00a0the Kanto area in particular it is a loaded word that in some circles has\u00a0become derisive and abusive. The term flyjin trivialises the reality that\u00a0there is an evacuation zone in place and that there is a serious radiation\u00a0problem – the extent of which is still not clearly determined. It also fails\u00a0to consider that people who left were in many cases acting on embassy\u00a0advice or company instructions. I have been in Tokyo since the earthquake,\u00a0except for a Golden Week sojourn in Tohoku, with no thought of leaving but\u00a0have been dismayed at the macho vitriol around who stayed and who left. It’s\u00a0disappointing to see the term being picked up unproblematised in academic\u00a0circles.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A spot count of conspicuous foreigners on the streets of Tokyo tells nothing\u00a0about the numbers of people who have left Tokyo. In particular it ignores a\u00a0distinction between residents (short and long term) and tourists. It also\u00a0ignores the fact that most foreigners (both resident and tourists) are\u00a0Asian. A spot count that has no control, defines foreigners in racial\u00a0terms (which probably labels Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Singaporeans and\u00a0many other SE Asians as Japanese) and conflates people that have actively\u00a0left with people that decided not come, is meaningless.\u00a0For the dip (plunge) in foreign visitor numbers the Ministry of Justice data\u00a0is much more useful. <\/strong><\/em>http:\/\/www.tourism.jp\/english\/statistics\/inbound.php<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Cecilia Fujishima
\nTokyo<\/strong><\/p>\n

————————————————————————<\/p>\n

OKAY, ONE MORE COMMENT FROM DEBITO<\/strong>: \u00a0Bravo Ms. Fujishima. \u00a0It’s also disappointing to see the racial term “gaijin”<\/a> thusly\u00a0being picked up unproblematized in academic circles, but that’s a long-standing terminology that people just seem to laugh off as grounded in general use. \u00a0But see how it feeds into a general idiocracy and flawed paradigms vis-a-vis scholarship on Japan? \u00a0D.<\/p>\n

ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a real rib-tickler for you today. Here we have an academic employed at UC Berkeley trying to squeeze flawed data into an already flawed paradigm — not just that of “gaijin” [sic], but also of “flyjin” — as she goes around Tokyo counting NJ as if they were rare birds (or, rather, rarer birds, according to her presumptions under the rubric).<\/p>\n

I raise this on Debito.org because it’s amazing how stupid concepts from Planet Japan somehow manage to entice apparently educated people elsewhere to follow suit, and… I’ll just stop commenting and let you read the rest:<\/p>\n

H-JAPAN (E)
\nJune 19, 2011
\nFrom: Dana Buntrock, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley<\/p>\n

For those of you who have not yet returned to Japan since 3\/11, it may be helpful to understand how significant the absence of “gaijin” is in the capital, a point noted more than once on this list.<\/p>\n

I am using the term “gaijin” here to refer to racially differentiated (non-Asian) individuals, including those who appear to be from the Indian subcontinent. If mixed-race children were with a non-Asian parent, I counted them. I also counted one woman in a version of the headscarf worn by Moslem women, seen from behind, and her child (in a stroller), because the attire was clearly non-Japanese in nature. That is, I tended to err on the side of counting individuals as being foreign…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,19,29,26,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bad-social-science","category-education","category-fun-facts","category-ironies-hypocrisies","category-problematic-foreign-treatment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9123","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=9123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}