Category Archives: Class Pages

Hope in precarious times

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Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

Anonymous student post

Almost all people may have desires to be something or to have good lives. However, old people in Japan often say that young people do not have any dreams. In fact, Japan is facing several difficult problems. The situation is severe and makes us gloomy, but it cannot make us give up at all. We younger people have more hopes for our future than they think. No one can jump to the conclusion of someone’s life.

As for me, I have a dream to be a person who can make someone happy and smile as a worker and a person. I really want to get the job which I can help people like refugees. So my biggest aim is to join an international organization. I’m interested in a civil war or developing countries and actually want to play a role in foreign countries.

Frankly speaking, I have no plan to work in Japan because Japan as a nation is too precarious. I think it is difficult for me to see Japan’s future. Many experts say Japan will not able to avoid a decline. Allison’s book also describes the problems Japan is having now. In particular, an aging society with a low birthrate is one of the biggest problems. It will be a burden of our lives. Speaking from my experience, an old woman who lived in front of my house tried to kill herself by jumping from her house. She was alone and lonely in her house and often said to neighbors that “I want to die because I have no reason why I live anymore”. In the end, she was saved, but no one has seen her since then.

Japan has the problems not only about the population, but about individuals. In this case, she needed an ibasho, as Allison’s book showed. What is ibasho? It is even difficult to explain. I think it is where someone feels peace of mind. In my case, when I am with my friends, I feel it is my ibasho. Maybe this is a common. Moreover, when I do what I want. Getting ibasho seems to be easy, however, some people feel it difficult. This may be mental problem. Therefore, it is difficult to explain.

Last of all, I will try my best to achieve my dream even if many people say it impossible. Now Japan has so many problems and is precarious. But it cannot break our dreams, because success depends on ourselves. This is all I want to say. We shouldn’t be pessimistic.

Reference

Anne Allison. 2013. Precarious Japan. Duke University Press

I have no concrete plans for my future

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Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

Anonymous student post

I don’t have any concrete future plans now. But 15 years ago, I had many dreams. For example, cake shops, bakery, and teachers. I don’t have a definite dream now. But I have many things I want to do. I want to go abroad and live there, to be rich woman, and to be mother. More than anything, I want to be happy. I like people smiling, especially my friends, my family, and people around me. Their smiling and laughing make me happy, too. I want to be a person who can make people happy, however, this is not a concrete dream.

However, I do not think that I am the only person who cannot find a concrete dream. This applies to many young people. I think many young people in Japan do not have some expectations because they, like me, aren’t able to see the future of Japan. Moreover, recently, Japanese society became like mechanized. Life in Japan seems to be already cast for Japanese families. Mothers should make foods, clean rooms, and do housework. Fathers ought to go to big cities to work, make money, and support their family. And their children should study, and their future, they will ought to work or do housework to support their family. Children tend to have  “one aim” that “they should choose”. Young people are likely to think that this “one aim” is the safest of all to live in Japan. I think these castings  deprive Japanese people of the opportunity to have a dream, too. This system will make people to bother to think about everything, and for example, increase hikikomori more and more.

Then, how we find our dreams? How we have any aims? I think that we should change the mechanized system in Japan. To change this system, Japanese young people’s ambitions to study not for their family or their safety, but for their desire what they want to do should be supported. University students in Japan seem to think that this course of study is not course they really want to study. This problem often happens because many of them only “studied to enter a college that is clever or famous”. If these people have “their own aim”, these problems will decrease and Japanese society and economy will grow. In conclusion, we should change Japanese plans (this is not official, but reality) that all children must study hard, and all children must go to college to work in the future.

I don’t have any concrete future plans now. But maybe I can find my original dream because I was able to awaken that goal. I want to enjoy to find dream, and want to have many dreams like in my childhood.

Avoiding becoming hikikomori

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Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

by Masanori Takino

The more precarious Japan is, the more difficult expecting my future is. As Anne Allison mentioned in her book, since the end of the bubble economy, Japan has been in a hard situation. This essay will focuses on terms such as hikikomori, and ibasho, and my expectation of my future.

First of all, I do not desire to be hikikomori in my future. General thinking in Japan, the word, hikikomori, gives people negative images such as not working, staying in your room all the day, and begging for money from your family. I strongly hope to get my own job, full-time employment, after my graduation from the university. One of the requirements of not being hikikomori is in the stable position in the work. Full-time employment guarantees  security; the stable and high salaries, some vacations in a year, and insurance.

However, if I pursued job stability, I would have to become a public officer. While the economy situation is precarious in Japan, the work conditions are also unstable. Even if people could obtain full-time employment in the usual companies, they might get fired when the company is in a troubled situation. The most stable jobs in Japan is “public officer.” The jobs will not force the worker to quit. That is why there is a huge competition in Japan. I am the one of it. I desire to be a public officer to pursue this stability. If I fail it, at least, I would like to get the full time employment. I am not hikikomori.

Second is about my ibasho. It is difficult to express it. For example, one of my ibasho is the department of International Relations at Ritsumeikan University. I have friends there, and I have never felt loneliness there. I am not sure about my future ibasho, however it will be the place I will belong to. If I could succeed in job hunting, my ibasho will be the company which employs me. If not, I will be hikikomori, so my ibasho will be my room. My ibasho in my future is depending on what I will become. So I hope my ibasho will be a company.

In conclusion, my future is precarious, same as the present Japanese situation. In a few years, I hope the situation will drastically change, and become much more stable than now.

Living with parents

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Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

Anonymous student post

In my future, I have some plans to live with my children and my parents at a house for a two-generation family.

I lived with my parents and grandparents in the same home for 18 years. Now, I live in Kyoto alone and I don’t know much about what does my family does recently. And my grandparents moved to a new house from the two-family house. My grandfather is suffering from cancer and he needs somebody’s help. But mainly my grandmother cares for him because they live in a different house from the house where my parents and brother live. So I hear from my mother some reports of my family’s latest news, it is often about grandparents, and she sometimes said such as “we hadn’t known it up to now.” I worry about the case of my old grandmother cares for my old grandfather when if something happens to them. To live with only old persons has some risks and hardships.

As I consider my future based on my experience, I want to live in a two-family house. In this house, when something happens for old persons or someone in family, the family member can support them easily. And from other points of a two-family house, the house has a good effect on children and parents. Because, in the case of both working for a living and they live at a one-family house, when they are working, their children have to go a children’s hall or stay alone at home. But if they live in a two-family house, then grandparents can care for the children. Actually, my mother and father working together, so I did not have much time to spend together. But I did not feel lonely because then I played and ate with my grandparents. They often cared for me and I liked those times. It was my ibasho.

The one of the causes of precariousness in Japan is people feeling lonely or feeling alienated from other people. I think that problems such as hikikomori and kodokushi are caused by feelings of helplessness or isolation. To live in a two-family home is very important point to decrease the rate of those problems in recent Japan. And the situation can make ibasho for someone.

My future plan is to live in a house for two-generation family. And I want to make ibasho for my family, as I was with my grandparents and I didn’t feel lonely.

Doing what you want in precarious times

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Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

Anonymous student post

Today, more and more people tend to seek stability and security for their lives, so younger people study hard to go to famous universities and try to get secure jobs. Given the current precariousness of life in Japan, it may be necessary to live in Japan. However, will it really make you happy and comfortable? I don’t think so. The reason is that you cannot always be assured of security and a happy life whatever you get as your job. Also, what makes you happy is not only steadiness. When the whole of the society is not secure and stable, even if you get a secure job, like as a public employee, there is some possibility of failing and losing everything. Now, Japanese society is precarious, and that is why you should do what you really want to do! I know it is difficult to do actually, but it is worth trying because I believe that the current precariousness of Japan means the turn of Japanese society.

For the reasons mentioned above, although my dream is not a stable job, I would like to get the job.

I have had my dream since I was in junior high school. In the future, I would like to work for people and with people in developing countries. They have suffered from poverty, wars, or something difficult. We have to pay more attention to those serious problems and struggle with them to improve and solve more positively. In my case, the first time to recognize those obviously was when I was a junior high school student. In English class, I opened a page of my English textbook and saw a well-known picture. The picture’s name is “The Vulture and The Starving Child” taken by Kevin Carter in Sudan. I was shocked by the picture and I couldn’t concentrate on the lesson at all. It was not until I saw the picture that I recognized what poverty was in developing countries and how people were in those countries. After that I became to think I should something for those people and be interested in some jobs for people who suffer around the world vaguely. Now I would like to be involved in international cooperation as a Japanese and a member of a Japanese agency. Although the current Japan is in unstable and dangerous situation, it doesn’t matter to me. I want to live strongly for not my stable life but my dream.

Friends and coworkers in precarious Japan

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Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

Anonymous student post

My future plan is influenced by my parents. My mother likes to work harder than other people and really loves her job. Her job is to sell some cosmetics. It looks very difficult because she come back home late at night every day. However, she looks very happy. She really loves her job and has many great coworkers. She is always supported by them, so she can enjoy it. I think she has an ibasho at her place of work, and I respect her. It is very important to have such good coworkers at one`s job.

On the other hand, my father is bad. I think he does not have such an ibasho because he does not like to connect with old friends. Nobody surrounds him. Nobody can succeed in this precarious society of Japan without friends or coworkers who support other people. I do not respect him.

In my future, I want to connect with many people like my mother because it will be useful for my job. For example, if I had many friends who have other sorts of jobs, I can learn numerous good things from them of which I can make use in my job. It means that I can spread my outlook on job. It may help me and connect to an ibasho.

Then, concretely, I will describe my future. I am really interested in some developing countries in the Middle East. Many countries in the area are not able to maintain peace and order, for example, there are a large number of child soldiers in the area who usually kill people. It is unbelievable for Japanese. I want to go to such dangerous area and do research. Moreover, I want Japanese to know the bad situation of this area. In short, I want to become an international journalist. To achieve this goal, of course I need to study hard, but the research will not be enough if I did it alone. In other words, I will not be able to succeed without someone’s help, so I must have great coworkers who can help me. My ibasho will be formed by my coworkers.

In conclusion, I can say that an ibasho will not be formed by just myself. I need a lot of support from other people, so I will not forget my friends who I made since I was a child. It will help me at many difficult situations in the future.

Seeking security and social relationships

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Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

by Natsuki Ota

I hope that I will spend my life with enough money in the city, and I can have a family and a particular job with security. Although Japan is in a precarious condition now, I would like to live by getting along with people around me. I show my future expectation with three points. First, I talk about having a family. Second, I will get a general job and take a stable salary. Third, I expect relationships with people for my bright life. I desire that I get a regular job and have a connection with people including family.

To begin with, I will marry a man who can earn a stable salary from my late-twenties to thirty because I would like to work in society, and not depend on the income of my husband, and have both of us support our family. And I will have up to two children because bringing up a child costs plenty of money. It is difficult to earn enough money to take care of many children in such a bad economic condition, for example rising taxes, and declining salaries. Moreover, I may not have time to take care of my children due to my work, because Japan does not have sufficient circumstance so women can manage both working and childcare. My plan almost refers to Anne Allison’s vision: “The overall social trends are away from marriage and family” (Anne Allison, 2013, P.33). Therefore, I hope that Japan can become a society in which it is easy for women to do that in the future. If the condition is improved, the overall social trends will change better.

Second of all, I desire that I get a job as a regular worker with secure welfare. According to Anne Allison, the wage disparity between regular and irregular employment exists in Japan. Although being hired as regular one is good, removing the disparity is the best. My finding job may be difficult. As Anne Allison wrote, it is hard for youth to get a job because companies tend to hire senior workers. This has a big influence on me because I heard about my acquaintance’s hard job hunting.

Finally, I make connections with people such as family and neighbor in order to prevent solitary death, and have my family look after me when I age. My ibasho arises in such relationships. In my opinion, ibasho is the space and place which needs me, so workplace and family is my ibasho.

In conclusion, the current Japanese unstable situation has a big impact on our future. In particular, the bad economy leads to various problems, such as rising taxes, reducing wages, and even family style. So I will work hard to support my family and I hope that Japan become the place which women can do more easily both job and childcare.

Reference

Anne Allison (2013). Precarious Japan. Duke University Press. (pp. 1-42)

Planning a future with social ties

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Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

Anonymous student post

I would like to tell you about my plan in the future. I have a small dream about work in the future, but it’s not clear now. I think I would like to get to work related to sports, because I love sports very much, especially baseball. Sports give me many collages and impressions. I can’t talk about my life without it. Additionally, I am a manager for a baseball club in my university, and this gives a sense of self-fulfillment. Therefore I support people who play sports as hard as they can, although I can’t express this in concrete terms. Also the Tokyo Olympic game will be held in 2020. It’s big news for Japan. I would like to take part in it in any way.

Next, I would like to have a good family. I would like to get married when I’m 26 years old, and to give birth to three babies. I would like to cope with both my work and housework very well. Japan has increased a nuclear family since postwar. It is linked to various problems in Japan. For instance, muenshakai, which causes kodokushi, hikikomori, and so on. My family lives with my grandmother, and my grandmother and my family help each other. I think it is my ideal. Also I will live with my parent or my husband’s parent in the future.

But I was sometimes anxious for Japan and future. As I read Precarious Japan, I remembered the past. When I was a junior high school student, I felt that I didn’t have an ibasho. It was very serious problem for me at that time. My best friend left the softball club I belonged to because she had a disagreement with our teammates. My role was to be an intermediary between her and the teammates. I heard from each of them about some abuses from my friend and teammates. It was so hard, also there was nothing I could do. Then I feel I don’t have ibasho. I was still a child mentally, so I didn’t understand how family is big and important for me. Even now I feel sometimes where my ibasho is. But I have friends with whom I can talk about my true feelings. They listen to my talk, also they were console a grieving me. The moment which I feel my ibasho is to be called by my name by anyone such as acquaintances. I think ibasho is unstable things especially for Japanese. Compare with foreigner, Japanese desire to make ibasho for themselves and dislike to be left alone. I think the reason why everyone have some anxiety for society.

In conclusion, I can’t expect my future and Japanese future, but that’s reason why I make plan and time. I don’t think I realize all of my plan, but I would like to do my best.

Planning my future ibasho

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Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

by Atsuko Omura

Nowadays, there are many problems in Japanese society―for example, karoshi, muenshakai, an aging society and so on. The number of old people will keep on increasing. It seems that many Japanese people feel misgivings about the future of Japanese society. However, young people as I have own hopeful dreams and future plans. In this article, I will introduce my future plan.

First of all, after I graduate from Ritsumeikan University, I am going to work in Japan. I have not decided the type of occupation, but I am interested in a travel agency. The reason is that I like traveling and would like to recommend customers the tour plans made by me. I am interested in being a local civil servant also because I would like to plan the projects to revitalize the local economy and society. On the contrary, I would like not to be a non-regular employee like a permanent part-timer. The reason is that a non-regular employee get low wages and do not have a high social position. I think that the high wages and high social position are important to live comfortably. Besides my parents worry about working as a non-regular employee and I will not be economically and mentally independent of my parents.

Second, I will talk about my future family plan. I am going to marry when I am in my late 20’s. And I want a girl and a boy. I would like to go shopping to buy clothes with my daughter and want to play with my son. I am going to retire from the company when I have a child. I felt lonely that my mother went out for part-time work and no one played with me when I was an elementary school student. I would like not to make my children feel lonely. So I do not work until the time my children at least begin junior high school, and will return my home when my children come home. After my children become independent, I would like to enjoy my old age with my husband and my friends. It is very important to associate on friendly terms with neighbors. There are two reasons. First, the frequent contact in my neighbors may prevent crimes―for instance, kodokushi, kidnapping, and so on. Second, communicating my neighbors improve the conditions of “muenshakai”. Therefore, I will treat relationships with my friends, my family and neighbors as an important matter. And my ibasho is in my family and friendship.

Nowadays, there are many problems in Japanese society. Japanese people should think the problems seriously and solve that to enjoy our life.

Planning a future with family and relationships

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Note from Editor: Students are reading Anne Allison’s book Precarious Japan, and sharing their thoughts on how their own future plans are impacted by the instability and insecurity that Allison describes.

by Takashi Nakai

In the first class, when the professor asked me what I want to be, I must have answered that I have no idea. However, as I joined in this class and discuss the contents with some classmates there, I think that I need to have a clear vision of my life, because as I read Anne Allison’s Precarious Japan, I learned a lot from the current precariousness of Japan.

I will start to think the expectations of my work. The author says that there is a large number of irregular workers in Japan. They have as high a risk of being cut off as regular workers. Also, today even if you can be a regular worker, many people might have an uncomfortable impression on their working conditions. One of this is that some workers are forced to work hard beyond their working time. It is not until know these facts that I would like to be a regular worker in the office and when I have to choose what kind of working in the future, I should have no mistake of choosing the office.

Allison analyzes the current relationships of Japan. I begin to think from this what I want to be about them. Today there are many cases that people meet the end of their lives. Especially, this situation may apply to the old who live alone because of the lack of the relationships around the community and their family. When I read or listen to the fact, I strongly hope to avoid dying alone. To do it, I might have to have a family of mine and have children and grandchildren. Add to this, I should have the good relationships of the community, for example: office, family, friends, neighborhood, and so on. In the various kinds of categories, I should have what the term of “ibasho” expresses.

I will make the conclusion about my expectations. After graduating from this university, I may well enter the office and continue to work for long years of my life without the special reasons. On the other hand, needless to say, it is difficult for me to get some job which I am eager to, due to the recession of this society. After all, I think it is essential for me to make many kinds of experiences.