by Kensuke Kubo

We studied inequality around the world in class, and discussed it from various perspectives. In the discussion, the gap of income was discussed eagerly and our opinion was totally divided. For example, LeBron James, famous pro basketball player, can make money ¥5,340,000,000 in a year, but the average of teacher’s in come is ¥4,000,000 in a year. Is it fair that famous basketball player can earn 1335 times of money comparing the person who works as a teacher? The capacity of earning money is one of the results of people’s efforts in their life. Of course it cannot be said in all of cases, just a part of their efforts. But high income can be evidence of the size of their volume of recognition from other person.

As I supposed an example of sports player and teachers at first, there are lots of inequalities in the world. Some people said that “it is not fair condition because teacher is necessary to study various things, but sports player does not.” I think it is not a problem because it is one of the results of their efforts, and perhaps most of people recognize that teacher is an important job. The most important things to consider the problem are to provide same opportunity for the people in all over the world. Although the job is a result of their efforts, it cannot be fair condition if all people cannot have access to the opportunity to grant their wishes. I think that to provide the same opportunity is more important than reduce the income gap. The word “inequality” means not a part of income, but a different number of opportunities to access.

When we look around the world, the opportunity is totally different between rich countries and poor countries, and even in the rich country, there are some different to access the opportunity. The main fact comes from their educational background. Taking education is one of the ways to access their dream, but there are still lots of people who do not afford taking education even they have enough ability. My suggestion to improve their access is that government or international society should give all of education for free if people have enough ability to take them. I think that it can be one of the steps to open their possibility to the society.

by Chinatsu Kitamura

“Environmental justice” combines environmental protection with social justice. And “environmental justice movement” was movement which took place in the United States in the 1980s as criticism to “environmental racial discrimination.” It criticized the worst situation which thrust on poor people to concentrate Hazardous-wastes processing plants. In the United States, the environmental justice office was established in U.S. Commonwealth Environment Protection Agency in response to the rise of environmental justice movement of society in 1992. Then, in the United States, the contents of the damage of the minority who were weak groups in the world become clear with a rise of environmental justice movement. Mark Dowie said that the main damage of environmental racial discrimination is following.

First, the lead concentration in an African-American baby’s blood is so high. It is caused by a factory, a leaded gas which was delayed regulation, paint, and so on. Second, according to research of Environmental Protection Agency, the federal government, a hazardous-wastes disposal site is located in the communities of an African and a Hispanic people who are low income group in many cases. Third, the influence of a uranium mine and radioactive waste is concentrated on the place which former inhabitants live. For example, the number of cancer cases of his teens of the Navajo nation is 17 times the national average. Fourth, there are many pesticide poisoning persons among Hispanic agrarian laborers. Fifth, there are asthmatic who live in the big city to cause by the air pollution among the black people. And mortality rate is 5 times the white people.

Like this, although the minority has received environmental racial discrimination, the nuclear development and nuclear power generation as most serious damage are the points which cannot be overlooked for us who live in Japan.  For example, in the accident of the nuclear power plant, the number of the worker who was exposed to radiation concentrated on the subcontract workers to compare with the employee of an electric power company. This subcontract worker’s sources of supply are a cheap laborer and the minority. Furthermore, also in a nuclear test, when the wind in the nuclear test place in Nevada blew in the direction of big cities, such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas, an experiment was suspended. However, it was carried out when blowing toward the area of a minority like Nevada or Utah.

As for this, the same sight is seen also in a nuclear power plant of Japan. For example, the Tokyo Electric Power did not have a nuclear power plant in the own territory, but it located the nuclear power plant in the land of the next company and supported mass consumption of the metropolitan area. Thus, Fukushima suffered great damage in the earthquake on March 11. The majority desires a better life and forces a big burden on a minority. However, the majority have to solve the problem by yourself. Therefore, I think it is important to become a minority’s position and to just think.

Reference

Kiyoshi Toda. 2009. Kankyouseigi to heiwa-amerika mondai wo kangaeru- (Environment justice and peace.-Considering the problem of the United States-). Houritsu bunkasha.

by Tomotaka Isono

CEO or star players in the sporting world earn higher salaries. For example, according to my professor’s presentation, LeBron James who plays in Miami Heat made  about $53,000,000 in one year! And Apple CEO Tim Cook made $375,000,000 in 2011. In other hands, office workers in Japan made about 412 million yen ($51,500) in 1 year. Why are there the differences between CEO and office workers? Is it fair or unfair? Why on earth do they make such higher salaries? I’m writing about this question now.

When we work, we get salary. Then, how is the salary decided? I think there are 4 factors.

First, the business contents are. For example, I work a part-time job, I earn $9.20 per hour. Making papers by using PC in 1 hour deserve earning 9.2 $. But in the business contents, I and CEO are not different very much? CEO also sometimes make papers by PC. So what are the differences between CEO and I? CEO, Tim Cook made about $43,150 per hour.

Second, I think one’s nature is including salary calculation. Steve Jobs has creative power that leave somebody speechless and attractive presentation skill.  Ichiro has good batting eyes and fast running ability. These abilities are not able to be imitated by any other people. Therefore they earn high salaries.

Third, these natures and abilities are based on their efforts. Jobs prepared presentation before 1 or 2 months, and Ichiro come to stadium the earliest in the team and started training.

Finally, effort is very important, but most important factor is good result. Ichiro recorded 200 hits in 10 seasons in a row. And player who produced good results got much salary.

These 4 factors; business content, nature, effort and result decide salaries. So CEO got higher salary than I. CEO’s job is not easy, but very difficult. CEO is the occupation that is to do the job nobody would like to do. It is to determine a course in the difficult situation. His determination make his employee lose their job, and effect bad result to the world.  CEO have to do job in the severe pressure. So CEO get higher salary than employee. I think instead of such high salary, CEO has huge responsibility for his employee, his country and the world.

by Hana Iwaki

These days, Japanese pop culture like anime and manga is very popular in the world.  It has effect to the people who watch or read it.  Most of them are interested in Japanese culture in no small way.  This is called soft power.  Nye defined soft power as “the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than through coercion.” He also noted that soft power “could be developed through relations with allies, economic assistance, and cultural exchanges.” (UCLA, 2005)  That is to say, the ability to attract and co-opt rather than coerce and rather than using force or money as a means of persuasion. On the contrary, hard power is means using militarily power or economic power to influence other countries.

Japanese anime is broadcasted over a hundred countries and amount sold of manga is over ten billion. Then why Japanese pop culture is popular in the world? It is often said that the quality of manga and anime is very high.  The scale of it is very huge and it’s like a movie. And the category is wide and all generation people can read or watch it. Serif of Japanese animation has special meanings. It sometimes encourages, heal and entertain people. There are many Japanese comic which theme school life. So young people feel it familiar to them. In many countries, animation is to be for children. However, Japanese animation is not only popular among young but also adult. So this is one of the reasons.

This popular, mainly among young, leads them to interest in Japan. Many people who study Japanese increased and some people think Japan is cool. The Japanese government exports Japanese culture and industry as “Cool Japan”. Ministry of Economy leads this, and they hold Japan expo over the world. It has succeeded.

However, the amount sold of comic is still lower than each country’s original comics. And also the amount sold of animation is very low.  The advertisement is not effective.  I think this is the reason. I often see my facebook friends who wrote Japanese animation character, wear Japanese traditional cloth “yukata” and dressing in costume. This is the influence of globalization. I want people all over the world to watch and read Japanese animation and comic because it is very interesting.

Reference

the data of manga market in the world. (2007, 9 4). Retrieved 7 1, 2012, from navigation of manga: http://manganavi.jp/interview/overseas/20070904/index.php?p=17

Japanese is popular because of animation and comic. (2011, 7 20). Retrieved 7 1, 2012, from JA: http://blog.livedoor.jp/janews/archives/5348892.html

a number of Japanese animation in the world. (n.d.). Retrieved 7 1, 2012, from animescales: http://wiki.fdiary.net/animesales/?%C6%FC%CB%DC%C0%BD%A5%A2%A5%CB%A5%E1%BA%EE%C9%CA%A4%CE%C6%FC%CB%DC%B9%F1%B3%B0%A4%C7%A4%CE%CA%FC%B1%C7%A1%A6%BE%E5%B1%C7%B9%F1%BF%F4

UCLA. (2005, 12 1). UCLA. Retrieved 7 1, 2012, from “Soft Power -The Means to Success in World Politics”: http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=34734

by Ryoko Yorifuji

On September 17 last year, a movement happened in New York. The movement, Occupy Wall Street, is that the grass roots people protest against a gap in the USA. The movement’s appeal began July in last year and happened to the movement after two months. Most of participants are the young and the unemployed. Their insistences are increase of employment, criticism of relief to financial institutions by the government and criticism of treating the rich very well. Moreover, the movement was spread around the world; New York, London, Berlin, Paris, Sydney, Rome, Tokyo, and so on. The movement showed how many people were dissatisfied with the present society in the world.

The slogan of Occupy Movement is “We are the 99%”. This slogan shows the situation which is assets of the rich; high-rank 1% has continued to increase in the USA since 1970s. In 2007, the richest high-rank 1% has 34.6% of all of assets in the USA, and the next 19% has 50.5% of those. The taxation system in the USA doesn’t strict against the rich, but against the poor, the system is stricter than the rich. So, the rich become is more and more richer, and the poor is more and more poorer. In this way, the gap is wide and the poor’s complaints are grown; why the rich is continued to treat very well? We keep living in poverty. Such a condition is unfairness!

However, I cannot attack the rich and agree the poor simply. I am not rich and I don’t intend to stand by the rich. Why do I think like this? The reason that I think the rich’s success is the result of their efforts. But I feel that the movement insists the rich earn their income by doing easy jobs or nothing. In fact, the rich is treated well and a part of them may do easy jobs. However all of them are not like this. If some had taken pains and climbed all the way up to the present position. So, I cannot unconditionally say the rich should be levied heavy tax.

The movement has a feature; Internet or SNS (Social Network Service). In New York, a crowd of several thousand people gathered for the movement. Why could so many people gather? The answer is Internet. They looked at Twitter, Facebook and other SNS and knew about the movement. The movement spread too rapidly. Why? The answer is Internet or SNS. By Internet, other country people could know the movement and take action at once. So, the movement was only today.

The movement express today; poverty, gap or SNS. And insists of the movement are doubted. I look at nothing but venting the participants’ anger.

However, I think the present society should be changed; the low-rank people need not to live poverty. If the high-rank people made the effort, the present gap is too wide. And the gap must be corrected. The movement is weak and transient. But the movement shows the society is needed to change. Now the movement becomes calm, however such a movement must be happened in the near future.

Reference

Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for World Revolution. [occupywallst.org/] (2012/06/11)

Occupy Wall Street | World news | The Guardian. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/occupy-wall-street] (2012/06/11)

Occupy Wall Street and the King Memorial Ceremonies. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/clarence-b-jones/obama-mlk-memorial-_b_1016077.html] (2012/06/11)

It’s the Inequality, Stupid. [http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph] (2012/06/11)

by Yuuki Tashiro

Now I study the affairs in 90s personally. When I thought the changed point before 90s and after it, I noticed the collapse of the Soviet Union had important role. In this blog, I write the cause and result about it.

Firstly, as we know, the Soviet Union had big power and influence to a lot of country as a biggest communist country from 50s to 80s. However, in the country corrupt practice gradually became quiet common among the communist party. And the power decreased through the cold war with the US. For example, they used huge budgets to military affair. So a lot of material and daily necessities lacked with ordinary people. Beside the party’s oppression to people was a big problem in the country. Soviet Union needed to oppress democratization in order to oppose with democracy and capitalism which the US insist on. Although, Gorbachev who elected as a secretary- general in 1985 started liberalization and democratization. It is called perestroika. At the same time, he started glasnost in this policy, public information proceeded. For example, a nuclear power plant disaster in Chernobyl was known by people at the first time. And people knew that government hide a lot of information. As a result, this action by Gorbachev guided collapse of a wall of Berlin. Finally Soviet Union lost the influence to the communist countries and member of Soviet Union left from it in 1991. Then Russia gave up communism and made CIS. This is the present Russia.

Well, the collapse of Soviet Union affected all over the world. There are many changed things before and after this collapse. The end of cold war is one of the biggest occurrence. By that time, opposition between communism and capitalism made built frame of the world, however, after this incident, new frame was built up. Firstly the US had biggest power and influence. In other ward, the US got hegemony of the world. So now, American’s globalism spread to everywhere. Also It can say that capitalism and liberalism, democracy spread except for a few countries, for example North Korea. I think it is good point, but there are bad points, of course. After this incident, ethnic conflict increased. East‐West confrontation had hidden ethnic conflict, but collapse of Soviet Union opened the veil. But at the same time, United Nation gradually works well. In cold war, Soviet and the US used many vote powers, so United Nations Security Council was not able to work in such conflict. It may be good changed point of collapse of Soviet.

References

ポスト・ペレストロイカの世界像、「帝国」はなぜ崩壊したのか / 進藤榮一著　筑摩書房

MSN Sankei news 2011.12.19. <http://sankei.jp.msn.com/world/news/111219/erp11121907510003-n1.htm&gt;