by Yukari Deguchi

Today, most countries accept immigrants. Global immigration is sometimes seemed as a new issue, but it has been controversial for long time. In case of Japan, it has Koreans who are deeply related with WWⅡ. After the war, from 1970s, European and American men moved to Japan as “Gaijin-shain (外人社員means foreigner office workers)”, and women from South-east Asia came to work at sex-related business. From 1980s, because of rapid economic growth and labor shortage, Japan accepted a massive amount of Nikkei-jin like Japanese-Peruvian and Japanese-Brazilian as blue color workers. Recently, foreigners who work for nursing and caring have become a major issue about immigrant in Japan.

This kind of workers came from mainly the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. From 2004, based on EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) between Philippine, Indonesia and Japan, around 500 workers have come to Japan in each year. In Japan, labor force is shrinking while people who need care are increasing because of the falling birthrate and aging population. Therefore, foreign nurses and care givers will be important and essential in the near future.

However, the situation those workers are in now is very tough. For example, the workers have to take Japanese lessons and study for the national exam to get license while they continue to work. If they couldn’t pass the exam, they have to go back to their home country as well as they can’t get opportunity to work in Japan. The exam is written by many difficult kanji even for Japanese and very few workers can pass it. In addition, they can prepare for the exam only for 3 or 4 years. Since this reality, the government is criticized by media and citizens and the situation has come better through only gradually.

Many criticisms focus on their sever conditions to pass the exam, but I think there are another important point for foreign workers. They are all young people who are from Muslim countries. I wonder if they can easily get use to differences of culture and customs between Japan and their home countries. Are they allowed to wear scarfs during work time? When and where they pray? Aren’t daily meals which are supplied by their reception facility prohibited for religious reason? Don’t they feel homesick? I had many questions so research and seek answers, but I could find little information. Dose it imply that these cultural problems get little attention in the society?

Japan has accepted many workers and now, the amount of them are more than 1,400. They will support Japan society and many of us will reap a benefit thanks to them. Therefore, we, Japanese have to think about it and suggest alternative way that they can live in Japan without such cultural obstacles.

I think it is helpful for workers to make community for foreign nurses and care givers like many immigrants in the world make and manage their cultural community. If it is difficult to gather, SNS like facebook can be useful. Sharing their stress, working condition, information about exam, and way to deal with cultural problems, they can get alternative home and find comrades. By strengthen ties among workers who have same nationality, it will become easier to support workers for their home country’s government and also strengthen ties between workers and their home country.

I think it is important not to make these workers an issues lays in host and home countries, but key persons who have good influence over ties between host and home countries as well as labor shortage problem.

Reference

Takashi Yamazaki『看護・介護分野における外国人労働者の受け入れ問題』(Problems on accepting foreign workers for nursing and care giver) http://www.ndl.go.jp/jp/data/publication/refer/200602_661/066101.pdf accessed in 2012, Oct.

Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry『外国人雇用対策』(Employment Policy for Foreign Workers) http://www.mhlw.go.jp/seisakunitsuite/bunya/koyou_roudou/koyou/gaikokujin/index.html

by Ryoko Yorifuji

In last class, we see a PV which was made Japanese fashion by Gwen Stefani. It seemed that she got inspiration from Harajuku, but in my opinion, the PV is crazy. And I think many things; why are back dancers’ hair styles traditionally Japanese hairdos? Why they wear a school uniform with the hairdo? Does she look down on Japanese culture? Anyway, I was shocked that Japanese cultures are misunderstood. However, possibly we may misunderstand foreign cultures too. So, I mention the gap.

First, I mention that I felt senses of incongruity before. I sometimes watch movies. From these movies, especially making in the USA, we can find some strangeness. For example; “The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”, in a scene of wedding, the ceremony is Japanese fashion. The bride and groom stand in front of a torii and wear like a yukata. In fact, we don’t hold a ceremony in front of torii. And a bride generally wears a white kimono. And “Godzilla” in the movie, fishermen in fishing boat printed the Hangul eat sushi and watch sumo on TV while warming themselves at a kotatsu. I think there aren’t kotatsu and TV on the boat, don’t eat sushi and the Hangul isn’t Japanese! Moreover some foreigners think Characters are cool. So, they wear T-shirts printed Characters and tattoo on Characters. But they decide from Characters’ form, these meanings are sometimes strange. I saw a foreigner wear T-shirts printed “妹”, the meaning is “sister”. But it seems that such T-shirts are popular in foreign countries. In same case some foreigners tattoo with Characters odd meaning; “台所”, the meaning is “kitchen” or “日本製”, the meaning is “made in Japan”. Such as these things, Japanese cultures are misunderstood. But they may be regarded as exotic things, Japanese admire foreign cultures too.

Second, I’m worry that Japanese cultures aren’t distinguished from Chinese or Korean cultures. In fact, these cultures are used Characters and these exist in Asia. So I understand foreigners cannot tell them. Recently I hear that Korean culture is introduced as Japanese culture in France. What is more, Korean culture makes a profit by using the problem. To prevent such an incident, Japanese government makes an effort to impress our culture on foreigners.

But after all, I’m glad that many foreigners are interested in Japanese cultures even if the understand is made mistake.

However, I think Japanese misunderstand about foreign cultures too. For example, I study French now, I learn many French words are misunderstood in Japan. In Japan, Japanese foreign languages are flooded. Especially, Japanese English is the best. Japanese English is that the meaning change and made in Japan. For instance, the former is “sandbag”. The original meaning is “blackjack”, but it changes to “punching bag” in Japan. And the later is “Office Lady”. This meaning is “female office worker” in Japan. This word is made in Japan. Such as things, I think this is one of the intercultural misunderstandings. I know nothing about foreign culture, and perhaps foreigners are the same. So, I would like to study right foreign culture.

References

Movie

Tim Story (2007) “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” by 20th Century Fox

Roland Emmerich (1998) “Godzilla” by TriStar Pictures

Music video

Gwen Stefani (2004) “Harajuku Girls”

by Yuuki Tashiro

These days, globalization more and more is spreading. In Europe, the European Union was established in 1991 by Maastricht Treaty. And currency was unified to the euro and regulation of immigrant workers was relaxed. However, in Europe, the number of unemployed increased recently and economic crisis was happened in Greece and other countries. So I wandered globalization is good for economy and life of ordinary people actually.

People who live in area of the EU was admitted to work at freely everywhere of this area. I think that it is one of the globalization. It led deregulation of work and mobilization of economy, however it made a lot of problem. Firstly, in large country like France and Germany, many immigrant workers came to these countries in order to get better jobs than these of their countries. Because their native countries’ minimum wage is lower than that of French or Germany, employer can make them work at low wage. As a result, it became difficult for the French and Germans to get jobs. And the number of unemployed increased. For example, in Germany, the number of unemployed was 5.8 % in 1991.¹ But after establishing of the EU, the rate became 11 % in 2006. ² With other cause, I guess that establishing of the EU is cause for this low number of unemployed.

Besides deregulation of working area made inequality between immigrant and other people. Because a lot of immigrants who went abroad to look for new jobs can get only unskilled works, for example works in factory or house keeper usually, their wage is very low. So between immigrants and other people, big inequality is made.

In addition to economic inequality, cultural inequality is also problems. In French, a low which ban Islamic women from wearing veil approved these days.³ As the background of this law, there is exclusive mentality. Because many French lost or can’t get jobs by immigrants who came from other countries, they turned this anger to immigrants.⁴ Globalization increased the number of immigrant rapidly, but diversity of race and religion which were made by it led exclusive law mentality of people.

Reference

¹²・The World Economic Outlook database　2012.6.29. http://www.imf.org/external/ns/cs.aspx?id=28

³⁴・China Radio International　仏「スカーフ禁止法」、正式発効　2004-09-03. http://japanese.cri.cn/1/2004/09/03/1@26042.htm

by Momoyo Tanaka

Globalization creates inequality between developed countries and developing countries, and rich and poor in domestic. One researcher showed that developed countries like the U.S., EU and Japan are one hundred times as rich as developing countries like Ethiopia, Haiti and Nepal. The West countries have been developing since nineteenth century (after the Industrial Revolution), and also the rising nations.  However, ex-colonial countries have not.  In addition, because of globalization, domestic inequality between rich and poor is a big problem now. There are some causes that occurs inequality; education and poverty.  Then, I will show the solution.

First, education causes inequality because of globalization. Generally speaking, benefits cannot be divided equal in globalization because capitalists and people who owe resources gain most of benefits.  Because of globalization ― expansion of the market and the development of IT technology ― when companies find employees, they tend to hire the people who have high skill, not the number of people.  Rich people can have high education, but poor people are difficult, and they lost the chance of working.  Rich people would get high wages and widen the sphere of work, but poor people tend to work in bad labor conditions and low wages.  Education is necessary to survive the global world, and it causes inequality.

Second, poverty causes inequality. A lot of developing countries suffer from poverty because they do not have chance of business. Developing countries are dependent on Mono culture which grows coffee, cotton, and so on. At the colonial period, these countries were forced to grow one material to create industrial products in law prices. After finished Colonization, the system of Mono culture remained.  Developing countries cannot create industrial product because they only produce one material, so they cannot extricate themselves from poverty.  If developing countries escape from poverty, they might develop and less poverty.  Then, developed countries are developing because of globalization, for example trade, the development of industry and technology. These countries are rich and have skill, so they succeed in globalization. Recently, inequality between developing countries which were colony and developed countries which were suzerain states are expanding. Thus, poverty causes inequality.

Then, what can developed countries to correct inequality?  One solution is that to achieve Millennium Developing Goals (MDGs). MDGs aims to achieve peace and safety, development and poverty, environment, the role of 21^st century, and so on by 2015.  However, it is said that it is difficult to achieve it by 2015 if the present situation were to continue.  The world needs to cooperate with each other more to accomplish MDGs and to correct inequality.

References

・Future Problem Solving. “Globalization Creates the Inequality in Developing Countries”. June 29, 2012. http://www.geocities.jp/fpspjapan/inequitypaper.html

・the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “What Japan Do to Achieve Millennium Developing Goals”. June 29, 2012. http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/press/pr/wakaru/topics/vol13/index.html

・Hunger Free World. ”the Relation between MDGs and Us”. June 29, 2012 http://www.hungerfree.net/special/31_2.html

by Mari Sunagawa

The accident of nuclear power plants in Fukushima occurred in 2011. The radioactivity spread in vast areas and a large quantity of debris was contaminated. This debris hasn’t been dealt with yet. The accident has a big influence. A lot of countries decided to decrease the dependence of nuclear power. There are many demonstrations and social movements to stop the plants. In Japan, there are 54 nuclear power plants. Where did Japan construct them? How did Japan choose the area?

There are nuclear power plants in Fukushima, Takahama, Shimane and so on. The common point among them is poor finance. They don’t have particularly popular special products and famous sight seeing spots. They had been in trouble before the construction of nuclear power plants. The government in Japan suggested building the plants. The poor area couldn’t reject the plan because they wanted the subsidy. Once the local government accepted the nuclear power plants, they tended to construct more plants. The area relied on the industry of nuclear power. The plants created the employment in local area so people were not able to remove them. Now, even after the accident in Fukushima, some people in local area want the rework of the plants.

There are some reasons why not-poor areas do not accept the nuclear power plant. First, it has the high risk that huge accident might occur someday. Every Japanese know the accident in Chernobyl. They understand how damage it suffered. The nuclear power plant lacks of safety. Second, the plants require wide space. People cannot live in the area near them. Moreover, the plants produce radioactive wastes. The way to disposal them is not decided completely. The waste is accumulated and stays in the plant. The nuclear power plant has many problems.

People had lived depending on the energy of nuclear power until 2011. However, they didn’t imagine the people in areas near the plants. The rich areas pushed the plants which they don’t want to accept onto the poor areas. There is the economic inequality among the areas in Japan. It creates new inequality of danger. The situation that certain areas can do nothing but depend on the nuclear power plants should be improved. The government must provide poor areas with economic support without the plants. It is important to do social movement in order to decrease the gap among the areas in Japan.

Reference

Nihon Genshiryoku Gijutsu Kyoukai http://www.gengikyo.jp/facility/powerplant.html

by Akiko Takano

Globalization progresses in the world, and coming and going of people, things, money, and information is taking place on a global scale now across a border. The spread of the internet that assists the globalization simplified access different culture to people. When communication technology and means of transportation did not yet develop, it was common that the people knew the event of even the neighboring village after a few days passed. However, now we can just know that what happen at this point by TV, a radio, newspapers, and the Internet in the world and there are many people going to the foreign countries and coming from the countries. When the coming and going of people becomes active, the interchange of the culture becomes active, too. I discuss how the culture changes by globalization in this essay. At first I explain the thing which globalization brings culture and then I discuss how we should deal with globalization of the culture.

The culture that spread through the world by globalization is American culture. For example, there is McDonald’s anywhere now in the world. Also, Disney is the character which is the most famous in the world. I think that the life of world people may change in Americanization. In japan, culture products of made in USA overflow now. The people imitate the fashion of America, listen to American music, eat a hamburger and drink Coke. Indeed, it may be impossible to put take on this trend. However, it is important to receive he different culture of other countries and send to a thing, the world I follow the unique culture of the own country while receiving the different culture of other countries by globalization and protect the unique culture of the own country at the same time, and send the own culture to the world. Japan has culture of traditional wabi sabi, and the modern Japanese comics ‘Manga’ and animated cartoon receive a high evaluation in the world.

Globalization advances, and there is the criticism that the cultures becomes Americanization and equalizes, on the other hand, the culture of the own country became easy to send and it is possible to develop variety of the culture. The influence that globalization gives in culture is big, but not only criticize the negative aspect, but also find a positive aspect. I think that we should balance with the reception of the culture of other countries, protection and sending of the culture of the own country.

Reference

MitsuiHirotaka. (２００５). “比較文化の心理学　カルチャーは社会を超えるのか”. kyoto: ナカニシヤ出版