Tag Archives: ibasho

A “normal life” is no longer “normal”

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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 Marie Kosaka

First of all, I would like to spend a normal life in the future. However, what is a normal life for us? Some decades ago, it was seen as a normal life to graduate from university, get a regular job, get married, have a baby and watch your child grow up. Now, such a “normal life” is no longer “normal” for today’s people. Though the percentage of students advancing to higher education in Japan is increasing, whether we get a permanent job is not guaranteed. In addition to this, Japanese tend to get married later in life. Because of this, a normal life which was thought the general standard becomes an age-old idea.

So, I thought about my future plan. Firstly, I think that graduating from university and getting a regular job is still important point for my future plan because they are essential factors to become independent. Without them, I can not even live without my family. My parents have worked so hard since I was born, so I would like to repay the favor of them by becoming independent. Even though it is certainly not easy to get a regular job, I hope to recover employment situation in Japan in the future.

Secondly, “kodokushi” (dying alone) is recently a very serious social issue in Japan because of the lack of connection with each other, especially marriage. People who don’t marry in their lifetime are increasing, and they will feel alone after they retire from their job. It leads to “muen shakai” (relationless society) and “kodokushi“. I think that marriage is the most important connection in society. If I marry someone, I will feel less lonely and keep the social connection. In order to keep the connection with society, I would like to marry a person who I can believe the most. While I hope for new connections, old connections such as my family, old friends, and my teacher are also significant. Even if I become independent, I want to meet my family with my new family sometimes a year, and seeing my old friends and talking about how I am doing are also important things.

Finally, I can’t expect where is my ibasho in the future. However, I should be in the place where I am satisfied with, and play a role as a member of society. Though Japan is a very precarious at present and its future can not be said bright, I can change a situation around me by myself.

My dream 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.

by Narumi Ito

Anne Allison describes life in Japan as precarious. Many problems were revealed after the big earthquake in Tohoku, on March 11, 2011. For instance, hiseikikoyou, muen-shakai, kodokushi and ibasho.  People have the image of Japan: Japan is dark, unstable and liquid. People tend to have worries about their future because of these problems. I focused on job and ibasho when I think about my future. I will explain two things.

First is work. I want to get a job after I will graduate from the university, not a part-time job but a secure job. I think that a secure job has social security and a few vacations in a year. The most important thing that I seek in the future is where I can work until I retire. “Stability” is the most important thing for me. Not only me but also everyone may search for a secure job.

However, it is difficult for a person to get a job in Japan. After the collapse of the bubble economy and the Lehman Shock, many companies cannot hire young people for lifetime employment. People who graduated from university and have good skill cannot be employed. Nowadays, more than 50% of young people go on to university. It may cause worse a job shortage because graduating a university is natural and lets people concentrate on their educational background. Thus they may not get the job that they seek. According to some data, the problem of a job shortage is improved gradually but nobody knows how is going on in the future. I have to worry about my future job.

Second is ibasho. I would like to get married and have a baby. The family that I make in the future will become an ibasho for me. I think that ibasho is the place I can feel relaxed and comfortable, have relationships and be sought by anyone. I do not seek ibasho at work thus I cherish it at home. People may have ibasho somewhere, yet people who are afraid of ibasho are increasing in modern Japan. Japanese seem to worry about the relationships extraordinarily because they may think that building good and strong connection with someone can keep their ibasho because people may be able to find their own ibasho in the connections. This idea is usual for Japanese. Thus people who do not stay in their ibasho feel isolation, and the lonliness sometimes makes people kill themselves.

I have felt keenly ibasho once in my life. When I went to Australia to study abroad, I stayed at host’s house. I talked with the family every day and I love the family, however, I could not feel relaxed and was always tired. I did not know the reason why I felt stress. After I finished studying abroad, I went back to my home. Just then, I could feel relieved and feel comfortable. Thus I seek my ibasho in my future-family by this experience.

Modern Japan has many problems. It is complicated to have a secure job and have connections. The situation may become worse or better. I should keep up with the trend of times and defeat this problems. I have negative image of Japan in the future but I will try hard and be realized my dream.

Reference

Allison, Anne. 2013. Precarious Japan. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Balancing my goals with reality and hard choices

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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

After I graduate from the university, I’d like to study at national university to get a master’s degree. (I don’t know what category I choose.) It’s still up in the air as of now.

What is indispensable for going on to a school and then continue to study is money. I watched a TV program named “part-time jobs are threatening student’s lives”. Students have no choice but to work to make money for their everyday life, because the money that their parents send is decreasing year by year. According to Allison (2013), “one-third of all workers today are only irregularly employed. Holding jobs that are part-time, temporary, or contact labor, irregular workers lack job security, benefits, or decent wages.” I’ve felt that Japanese lifelong employment has collapsed, as she states. That also makes students poor. I imagine I may contribute to my support like students who the program has taken up. According to “Education at a Glance 2013 OECD Indicators”, “public expenditure on education in Japan ranks in most lowest among the member state.”

After studying at a graduate school, I’d like to get a job at an NGO in order to accumulate experiences of supporting people in hard situation. Later some years, working as a member of international institutions is my final goal.

In the case, it takes much time to hunt job at these institutions than others for way of severe employment. That means I have to work to earn my living until getting the job. Though, I doubt whether I find a sustainable job. Allison says (2013) “one-half of all young workers are ‘working poor'”. I might slide into this one.

Ideally speaking, before I turn thirty years old, I hope that I will be hired. Though there’s no guarantee. While I’m striving for the goal, my parents and grandparents could come down with a disease or divorce. In a worst-case scenario, somebody might die alone. As Allison states (2013) “All alone people die, which happens everywhere in Japan”, which is no longer other people concerns.

Taking account of these facts, I expect that I will hesitate to make a choice of working abroad or in Japan. Roughly speaking, serving at an NGO or an international institution in Japan could be possible. So that I can imagine that I will be working in Japan by any chance. It occurred to me that to start work as soon as I graduate from school. This idea might make my parents feel relieved, even though it also means giving up my goal.

From my expectation, I wouldn’t get married. I won’t want to part with my career that I will have built up. In Japanese society, women’s marriage means retiring from their work conventionally. But for family such as husband and child, probably no one knows of my death.

Thus to avoid dying alone, I hope that I will keep in touch with my friends and cousins, familiar people from now on. When think of ibasho, I consider a comfortable space where people who accept without reserve as ibasho. For me, ibasho is the place where my familiar people are.

The other day, I heard that the elementary school which my father went to may be closed within a few years due to a decrease of children. This typical reality shows example of shoushikoureika (Japan’s declining population). In the future, it will be going on more and more. I predict this phenomenon affects my future in form of maintaining living standard.

References

Allison, Anne. (2013). Precarious Japan. (pp.12) Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

NAVIGATION 2014.4.25 “part-time jobs are threatening student’s lives” from NHK online Website: http://www.nhk.or.jp/nagoya/navigation/past/

OECD (2013), Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing from OECD Web site: http://www.oecd.org/edu/eag.htm

Gender equality and my 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 Marina Furuichi

I am going to state my future plans from two points of view and my ibasho.

First, I will mention my future plans from two points of view, marriage and work. I don’t only want to get married and have children, but also I want to work hard. After graduation, I will take a civil service examination, pass the examination and be a diplomat. By the time I turn 28, I will work with all my heart. When I am 28 years old, I will get married. These are my dreams. However, if I try to do so, I will face some difficulties. In fact, it is said that Japan doesn’t have good work environments for women. In this paper, Anne Allison says:

even during the boom period of the bubble economy, women were overly representative in the peripheral workforce as part-time workers (which they remain today with 70% of female workers employed in irregular jobs and with 80% of temp workers being female).

If this circumstance isn’t improved, the future of working woman will not be bright. In other words, it is not easy for me to achieve my dreams. Now, I think about the future of Japanese working environments. I expect that more working women will be able to live a full life by working sufficiently. Sylvia Ann Hewlett says:

As the looming demographic crisis threatens to reshape the economy as drastically as any natural disaster, better using its educated women would be an innovation that, according to a 2010 Goldman Sashs study, would add 8.2 million brains to the workforce and boost the economy by 15%. Japanese women are poised to make this happen and looking to employers to lead the charge.

I agree with this idea. I think it is inefficient that a well-qualified woman is passed over for a plum assignment. Therefore, I think that Japan should make more chances for working woman.

Second, I will state my ibasho. I think that ibasho is a little different from place. Ibasho is something we can rely on. In other words, ibasho is not so much physical place as mental place. My ibasho is the time to spend with my important people such as my family and friends. Therefore, in my future, it will be irreplaceable to have a time with my new family. To make my dreams come true, I will never divorce. I will clear a path for my own future.

References

Allison, Anne. 2013. Precarious Japan. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

TIME Japan’s Working-Woman Problem. http://ideas.time.com/2011/12/11/japans-working-woman-problem/

Future anxiety

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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

When I thought about my future, I imagined only bright future without anxiety and my plan would do well in my future. However, after reading chapters 1 and 2 of Anne Allison’s book, I felt anxiety about my future. In this chapter, I show clearly my ideas about my plans of business for the future and about my ibasho (a place of security and stability)

First, I start to show my plan about business. I decided my dream for the future when I was 12 years old, and my dream is to work at clothing company because I am very interested in the clothing business. Although I didn’t know the differences between an irregular worker and a regular worker when I was 12 years old, and I didn’t have any worries about my future. But I hope that I will be able to work as a permanent worker at clothing company after graduation from Ritsumeikan University.

The reason why I will want to work as a regular worker at clothing company in the future is that the salary of a regular worker is higher than of an irregular worker. I will pursue my career in the field of apparel, and hope to manage my tailor’s shop at some time in the future. Therefore, I will need funds deeply to manage the shop, so I don’t want to be irregular worker absolutely. Also I can’t bear to continue living in constant fear of dismissal. Although I noticed that I don’t know yet whether I will be able to get a job as a regular worker or not.

Recently, Japan is very precarious and increase irregular employment. Even if you graduate from a famous university, you have no guarantee that you will get a job as regular employee. Actually, according to Anne Allison, one-third of all workers today are irregular workers in Japan, and 70％ of all female workers are irregularly employed. It seems difficult for women to work as regular worker in Japanese society. The current situation is wholly unexpected to me and makes me anxious.

Second, Anne Allison wrote that the number of Japanese people who don’t have relationships is increasing. I always am blessed with having people around me. Therefore, I have never been in a situation like this. However I reconsider where is my ibasho. It is a place where I can relax from the heart, such as family and friends, and it isn’t formal like a boss in company. The most important thing about ibasho for me is my family. I was raised in a loving home and always felt a strong bond with them. I can tell them how I feel. My family is the most important persons in the world. In my future, if I become a mother, I want to give my kids the security of a loving marriage, like my parents. Furthermore, my friends are also important ibasho to me. I always laugh a lot and have a good time with my friends. When I got depressed, I can get over the sting thanks to my friends encouragement. I’m grateful really to my family and friends.

In conclusion, I realized that japan is in a precarious situation now through business for my future. While I had a difficulty empathizing with those who lack relationships because I have a supportive community, I want to value my relationships with them forever.

Neighborhood ties and feeling at home

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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 Tomohiro Doi

In this class, we are studying about difficult Japanese problems, such as hikikomori and muenshakai. These problems are difficult to solve and Japanese people have physical blessings but some Japanese people do not have emotional blessings. Therefore, Japan has improved Japanese economy but the connection of people has declined.

Several years ago, it was a natural thing to get together for residents’ association. In my hometown, the connection of people is strong still now. A circular bulletin notice exists. It is circulated and the opinion is gathered by majority decision. In other places, local residents people gather and talk with each people. And besides, in this society of my hometown, clean-up activities are done frequently. These activities might clean up a park or rivers in the hometown areas not only the connection of people might come to become strong. I live in Kyoto nearby Ritsumeikan University now. In Kyoto, these connection is very thin. In the fact, I have not seen faces of neighbors in my rooming apartment. The tendency which people meet neighbors declined is obvious. It is not only around ours.

It is difficult to solve this tendency. However, I would like to study the way which people willingly link with each people and to make use of these research.

In this university, I am studying many kinds of field. I think these studies are very useful. However, in a university, it is not only study. Ritsumeikan University has a lot of group activities and clubs. Certainly, studying is very important for university students. But I think if students do not join group activities and clubs, it is difficult to make up an ibasho (home, place of comfort) for students. I think it is an ibasho. I intend the ibasho connects us in our life strongly. Several years ago, my father said that “friends of university are as friends in our life. So you must cherish your friends. You must treasure your friends and you must look for friends who cherish you, too. These friends might become an ibasho.” I think this speech is very meaningful in our lives. These days, some young people are unwilling to join a kind of ibasho. However, it will not be a fruitful life. So to be a fruitful life, I would like to join a kind of an ibasho and to continue in these ibasho. And besides, I hope to keep on maintaining these ibasho for along time.

Planning for the future in unstable 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.

by Teppei Funatani

I have a clear plan for my future. Since I was a freshman, I have dedicated myself to helping refugees living in Japan. Through this activity I have found that giving them help surely changes my life and also the refugees’ future. Therefore I want to work at an NGO or NPO related to helping refugees.

Of course I want to find refugees helping work and dedicate to the job in my life, however there is a big problem for doing such activity.

The problem is a low salary. I met a lot of people who serve in NGOs and NPOs and help refugees. Except for few of them, most of them said that they could only get a small salary even though they worked really hard. They told me that helping the refugees was really a good job, because they could see smiles of the refugee and were cheered up. However, lacking of money was a reality they had to face up to and they could not afford to get marry. They don’t have enough money to save.

I think that I can manage to do everything at first even though I make only the small money, however as time goes by I get old and need a lot of money for many things. For example, I had a surgical operation for a lymphoma twice and it cost about 400 thousand yen each time. If I can only earn the small money, I probably cannot afford to pay for the operation.

I believe that getting the job that what you really want to do is important, however as I said that low salary is surely disturb your decision. As Anne Allison said in her book Precarious Japan, many people can only get an irregular jobs that are very unstable and they worry about their life and future. Both NGOs and NPOs are not irregular jobs, however mostly they don’t have enough money and you can get only the small salary. Of course a motivation to change a social problem is important, however you cannot keep working only with the motivation. Some NGO staff members told me that they got married when they were young and their married lives were good at first. However, as mentioned above, supporting refugees is really hard work with a low salary. Therefore they had no time to spend with their husband or wife and could not afford to have a baby. Finally, they got divorced and one of their ibasho was lost. I don’t think people can live alone. If your ibasho is only the job, after quitting the job what you can do?

In conclusion, I cannot decide now whether or not I should work at an NGO or NPO. There may be some possibilities to work for refugees. I need time to think about my future deeply.

Finding my ibasho in society

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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 Yusuke Sugiyama

When I think about my future, I cannot imagine that what kind of work I would do, and what kind of people I would connect with. However, one thing which I want to value in my life is relationship with others. I want to place emphasis on a time, opportunity and ibasho which I can deal with others.

I was born in Kobe and lived with my family before I entered Ritsumeikan University, and it is my ibasho where my family and my friends who spent a same time for 18 years live. Then, I entered this University and I started to live alone in Kyoto, and all is new for me. Naturally there is no ibasho where I can really get comfortable, and it was not until I am away from a familiar ibasho that I understood the importance of family, friends and that is ibasho. Everyday life was terrible before I found my ibasho in Kyoto.

I think ibasho is one of the most important things in our life, and the people who cannot find own ibasho in society have possibility to be hikikomori. Maybe there are many people such them in present Japan. Now I have some important ibasho, it is indispensable for my school life. That is why I would like to place emphasis on connection with people in the future and also I will improve my communication skill for it in University life.

In addition, as my future direction, I would like to overcome a linguistics barrier and get an ibasho because people who live different countries have different ideas. I like the surprise which I feel when I realize new idea from different point of view, and so I would like to over the border, and find my ibasho. Also, I think that I can realize a Japanese precariousness and a good point of Japan. Therefore, I will go to a lot of countries in my life.

When I think about my future job, I do not have a concrete idea, but I want to earn enough money to be able to make a trip, play with my friends, and repay my parents for raising me so well. Indeed, Japan is an unstable society now and it might be difficult to get stable job, but if I am into such a situation, I will find my ibasho in society, and place importance on a connection with people.

Seeking ibasho at home and work

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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 goal in the future is to work for the Ministry of Defense in Japan. I had an opportunity to listen to a lecture by a staff member of the Ministry of Defense at Ritsumeikan University. I became interested in working for Japan and thinking about how improve the position of Japan in international society through this lecture. The staff at the Ministry of Defense requires a high knowledge of security. Therefore, hard work and various experiences are necessary when I am a Ritsumeikan University student. Although I have a clear future goal in working, working is not everything in life. Through Anne Allison’s Precarious Japan, I rethink the concept of ibasho.

Where is my ibasho? Ibasho is a comfortable place to me. Although it is invisible, a good life needs it. My present ibasho is family, Ritusmeikan University, the American football team, and so on. I think having more than one ibasho is necessary, one is family and the others are public, for example school and company. My anxiety in the future is that I can get ibasho in both family and work.

Unfortunately, Japan is still not a women-friendly society. It is true that the number of working women is increasing and the condition for working women is improving. However, Japanese society still has a trend in which woman should have the burden of child rearing and housework. A lot of working women quit their jobs because of giving birth and child rearing. Some companies wish pregnant women to quit their job. It is difficult for women to get both ibasho in family and work.

I would like to be able to cope with my work and my family like my mother does. However, my mother’s work is women-friendly. She took childcare until I was 2 years old and got summer and winter vacations. I would like to choose work that I want to do. When I am employed, I hope Japan is a more women-friendly society.

Clear visions of a precarious 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.

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 are large numbers of irregular workers in Japan. They have a high 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 I knew these facts that I would like to be a regular worker in the office and when I have to choose what kind of work I would do in the future, I should have no mistake of choosing the office.

According to this book, the author writes about 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 his or her own life. Especially, this situation may apply to the elderly who live alone because of the lack of the relationships around the community and their family. When I read or listen to these facts, I strongly hope to avoid the unknown dead. 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 “ibasho” expresses.

I will make the conclusion about the expectations of mine. 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.