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Japan ERA |OT| We all お箸上手 and 日本語ペラペラ in here!
- Thread starter Mailenstein
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I'm not really one for the night life, lol. I hit up Nakano every so often to check out Mandarake, but not too frequently.
Anyway, if you like I could PM you my LINE info and we could chat anyway?
finally got my drivers license(MT) yesterday(did all the training and examination here in japan)!
the Japanese don't mess around with the education and rules around driving and owning vehicles. the the final driving exam was much easier than I expected though.
the Japanese don't mess around with the education and rules around driving and owning vehicles. the the final driving exam was much easier than I expected though.
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Huh. Do you think it's worth doing here vs in another country?
I never got my license back home but would kinda like to have one if I move back someday
depends on the country I guess, especially since you need additional examination for some countries to "transfer" your license to a Japanese one. It's not cheap, the whole thing cost me around 220 000 YEN - but it's comparable with what a license and all the training might cost you in Sweden so I'm not upset about it. The only part I hated about it is that you need to sit through 30 or so theory classes which felt like a massive waste of time, self study for theory should be an option. Also everything related to bureaucracy being paper-based instead of digital(as it is in sweden) is a massive pain in the ass - for the final test yesterday I think I had to go to 4 different desks and fill out 4 different forms, but that's just what japan is like in general for that kind of stuff.
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Oof, that cost is a lot. I'm from New Zealand and I think it only costs a couple hundred dollars all up. I think I might just wait.
yeah, both japan and sweden are known to be some of the most expensive countries to get a license in, but we also have comparatively low traffic related death rates so the stricter requirements unsurprisingly seem to be working.
I have a friend in sweden who ended up spending 5k euros on his license, these things can get our of control if you live in an urban area with nobody to train with. In japan at least costs are more or less capped unless you are incredibly bad at taking tests.
Went to Fukuoka for the weekend last Friday... man that place was crowded as all bawls this time. Star Wars, Sandime J Soul Brothers concert, Fukuoka Motor Show, and several pretty awesome Christmas markets all at the same time. Also met a guy who is in the special thanks of the Aerosmith Japan Concert (post 3/11) super nice guy who loved talking about rock and roll, but never gets many English speaking visitors since his bar is one of those side shops in a building with a million snack/caba clubs
It's always one of my favorite cities.
It's always one of my favorite cities.
Hi Japan Era, thought I'd check in for no real reason.
I lived in Tokyo this past summer for a summer research program and it was quite possibly the happiest time of my life. So much so that I've been thinking about going back after I receive my PhD for a postdoc, but while postdoc funding from the Japanese government does exist it's pretty freaking competitive. They're almost militant about accepting only 10% of the candidates in any given application cycle regardless of how many people applied.
Is anyone else that's currently living in Japan done so through government-funded research? I'd like to get more "tales from the trenches" of this application process so to speak but information is very very thin on this.
I lived in Tokyo this past summer for a summer research program and it was quite possibly the happiest time of my life. So much so that I've been thinking about going back after I receive my PhD for a postdoc, but while postdoc funding from the Japanese government does exist it's pretty freaking competitive. They're almost militant about accepting only 10% of the candidates in any given application cycle regardless of how many people applied.
Is anyone else that's currently living in Japan done so through government-funded research? I'd like to get more "tales from the trenches" of this application process so to speak but information is very very thin on this.
Those are the ones with the 10% acceptance rate :P
Unless I'm not looking at the right ones...
Ahh right, sorry. Unfortunately I can't help with the application process as I don't know much myself. My professor started her career in Japan and now works in Finland. I think all of her students who have applied for JSPS got it. Maybe the host organization can offer advice/help? Or the PI?
The acceptance rate doesn't always tell the truth, since there's always applications that don't fullfill the criteria or even properly fill in the paperwork. The real acceptance rate for a good application is going to be much higher. As with any postdoc, apply but keep your options open. You could also look for open postdoc positions online or email professors (or try to meet at conferences) working in Japan in your area.
Hey guys not sure if Ive searched correctly or maybe it no loner exists but is there a Japan Travel thread?
It was real useful the first time I visited this time last year and my wife and I are considering coming back in late March and wondered what we might be getting ourselves in for.
It was real useful the first time I visited this time last year and my wife and I are considering coming back in late March and wondered what we might be getting ourselves in for.
Thanks! I haven't been looking too deeply into it but the summer program was also a JSPS joint so i was just wondering if other people had experiences with them as well. Even if it's not first-hanf experience anything is useful haha, there's not too much info out there.
You're right in that mere acceptance rate doesn't give you the whole picture. I'll look into talking to the PI I worked with over the summer and see how open he might be to having me again as a postdoc.
you know I did and still managed to miss that lol. Thats horrendous of me.
Not sure who can help me (or who's willing) here that's in Japan now. I had someone that used to ship me stuff on the other site. I'm completely out of this http://shop.yawataya.co.jp/category/BIRDEYE/2525.html I need like 10x. I would never trouble you for a ton of stuff. I usually a request per year.
OP
OP
When I called out the blackface that Hamada did in Gaki no Tsukai this year, I got this response.
"国際的って欧米だけを指していってないかい ブラックフェイスは欧米の文化から生まれたタブー、それを欧米で守るのは当然 でもアジアにそれを押し付けてどうすんの 欧米が世界の中心だから従えってこと？ 差別的な意味をこめてたら別だけどさ 卍という漢字がタブーの国に配慮して日本語から消すの？"
I thought it was a load of horseshit topped with a straw man. Do you all think that Japan gets a pass on stuff like blackface just because they have no history with it? Personally, I don't. I recognize there's just ignorance surrounding the subject, but if you're told what the problem is, and then you defend it? That's ridiculous. How hard is it to just not do it? "But it's funny!" What's funny to you is hurtful to a lot of people. There are black people and half black people living in Japan, and they're ostracized enough.
Edit: Also this "俺たち欧米様が世界の中心だから欧米のルールに従えってか"
Is it that hard to get the point? What a weird take.
"国際的って欧米だけを指していってないかい ブラックフェイスは欧米の文化から生まれたタブー、それを欧米で守るのは当然 でもアジアにそれを押し付けてどうすんの 欧米が世界の中心だから従えってこと？ 差別的な意味をこめてたら別だけどさ 卍という漢字がタブーの国に配慮して日本語から消すの？"
I thought it was a load of horseshit topped with a straw man. Do you all think that Japan gets a pass on stuff like blackface just because they have no history with it? Personally, I don't. I recognize there's just ignorance surrounding the subject, but if you're told what the problem is, and then you defend it? That's ridiculous. How hard is it to just not do it? "But it's funny!" What's funny to you is hurtful to a lot of people. There are black people and half black people living in Japan, and they're ostracized enough.
Edit: Also this "俺たち欧米様が世界の中心だから欧米のルールに従えってか"
Is it that hard to get the point? What a weird take.
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i agree with the japanese twitter person. the audience of the show is japanese people. you watching it as a non-japanese person and apply non-japanese logic to it is pointless. ive been here how many decades now and still wouldnt try to push some weird foreigner angle on something. content made by japanese for japan is subject to japan's social norms. if they packaged it and shipped it overseas, then your argument might be relevant. its like youre trying to apply gaf moderation rules to the real world lol.
Blackface existed in Japan after Americans showed it to them as humor. Black people being a punchline is not appropriate anywhere. It doesn't matter whether it is distributed in other countries. Black people live in Japan, too.
Not sure what this has to do with another website's moderation. I'm not banning Japanese people for racism—I'm saying what they're doing when they do blackface is hurtful to Black people, especially those who live in Japan. It isn't just forum boards that care about racism and representation.
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This is a tough topic. I'm gonna type out some of my thoughts on it.
Blackface is, at its core, a different thing from dressing up as a black person as a part of a bit. In the US (and by extension the majority of the English speaking world) the history of blackface is such a deeply hurtful and unavoidable part of entertainment history that any usage of makeup by a white person to imitate a person of color has been deemed taboo by society, conflating the two to the point that doing an impersonation of a black person (using makeup) has come to be viewed as one and the same with "blackface."
This is not the case in Japan. Japanese entertainers regularly use makeup and prosthetics to do imitations of people regardless of ethnicity. Just because the person being imitated is black does not make it blackface. That doesn't preclude it from being problematic; if a comedian were to do a bit about all black people being criminals, or unable to repress their sexual advances towards white/Japanese women, that would be horribly racist and fucked up.
But that's not what happened here. There is no joke of which black people are being made the butt of. It was just one of a number of celebrity impersonations, done because the celebrity in question had a famous and beloved character who was related to the topic of the skit.
Meanwhile Americans and other foreigners view this bit and immediately have a gut reaction of "makeup-aided impersonation of black person = blackface." It's so baked into our worldview that it's our first thought upon seeing it. But it's not theirs (the Japanese peoples'), nor should it necessarily be. I agree 100% that anything made for a worldwide audience needs to be aware of and respectful of this sort of thing, but this absolutely is not made for a global audience.
I've talked about these things with my wife (who is a black American), and she mainly agrees, though with a bit more "yeah, but they really ought to think more globally." She also brings up that there are places in Europe which regularly use actual blackface as part of traditional festivities, like "Black Peter" in the Netherlands, which she views as far more problematic but also far less scrutinized than minor things like this cropping up in Japanese media.
Blackface is, at its core, a different thing from dressing up as a black person as a part of a bit. In the US (and by extension the majority of the English speaking world) the history of blackface is such a deeply hurtful and unavoidable part of entertainment history that any usage of makeup by a white person to imitate a person of color has been deemed taboo by society, conflating the two to the point that doing an impersonation of a black person (using makeup) has come to be viewed as one and the same with "blackface."
This is not the case in Japan. Japanese entertainers regularly use makeup and prosthetics to do imitations of people regardless of ethnicity. Just because the person being imitated is black does not make it blackface. That doesn't preclude it from being problematic; if a comedian were to do a bit about all black people being criminals, or unable to repress their sexual advances towards white/Japanese women, that would be horribly racist and fucked up.
But that's not what happened here. There is no joke of which black people are being made the butt of. It was just one of a number of celebrity impersonations, done because the celebrity in question had a famous and beloved character who was related to the topic of the skit.
Meanwhile Americans and other foreigners view this bit and immediately have a gut reaction of "makeup-aided impersonation of black person = blackface." It's so baked into our worldview that it's our first thought upon seeing it. But it's not theirs (the Japanese peoples'), nor should it necessarily be. I agree 100% that anything made for a worldwide audience needs to be aware of and respectful of this sort of thing, but this absolutely is not made for a global audience.
I've talked about these things with my wife (who is a black American), and she mainly agrees, though with a bit more "yeah, but they really ought to think more globally." She also brings up that there are places in Europe which regularly use actual blackface as part of traditional festivities, like "Black Peter" in the Netherlands, which she views as far more problematic but also far less scrutinized than minor things like this cropping up in Japanese media.
correct. hence the twitter person being on point with foreigners trying to apply their egotistical world views on other countries and cultures. the term blackface itself has no relevance in a convo about japanese media unless they are literally doing blackface,
yes. there are. are you saying in your mind black people are all people with african american backgrounds that have the same cultural and societal experiences? would it blow your mind if there are black people that arent offended by hama-chan?
yes. there are. are you saying in your mind black people are all people with african american backgrounds that have the same cultural and societal experiences? would it blow your mind if there are black people that arent offended by hama-chan?
I saw your original post and I have to say it came off as confrontational and antagonizing.
Calling people "ignorant" for not sharing an western point of view, while dismissing their own point of view, comes off as cultural imperialism even if that was not your intent. Naturally this results in people taking a defensive stance, they view it as an westerner trying to impose his values and beliefs over theirs.
The reality of the fact is that Blackface is not viewed as racist by Japanese society as a whole, and I think it's important to acknowledge this.
Keeping that in mind, a better way to approach this discussion would be to talk about how Blackface negatively affects black people living in Japan, even if that is not the intent of the people doing it.
It's always best to start a conversation from a point of understanding, rather than to take an aggressive stance.
No, it wouldn't just as it shouldn't blow your mind that there are.
It's not about white guys with tar on their face, someone's race shouldn't be the butt of a joke. Period. Being black isn't a boke.
zero issue with anyone being offended by a joke about black people. where was such joke during this week's special?
I guess when Hama-chan came out painted like Eddie Murphy they were just laughing about something in the background.
I'd like to add that Japanese folks throwing out their "We're different leave us alone!" card is one of the worst arguments I see on the Japanese internet. Like, nah, there's an ever growing foreign population in this country, and you can't just keep hand waving these problems. You don't get to abstain from this shit just cause it's culturally convenient. There are actual black people on TV every day here. It's offensive, insensitive, and it should not keep happening.
The original post was "This year's Gaki no Tsukai having blackface is just so ignorant."
I didn't say they were stupid. They're uninformed about blackface. Is this an incorrect statement? I didn't say they were malicious or evil. It is ignorance. It wasn't about a western point of view. It was about recognizing how the depiction upset Black people. If half black Japanese natives were upset by it, which according to some twitter posts, they were, then it's not inherently a western view. Lots of Japanese people were posting about how they thought the sketch was offensive, too.
I recognize your point, but I don't think you have the whole picture.
right. that was a joke about black people. eddie murphy from beverly hills cop during a police special is really just a way of them saying man fuck all black people, they suck. har har. lol. fuck outta here
i know black people and halfies here that were not offended and were crackin up. so now what? should i tell them theyre wrong and ignorant?
i know black people and halfies here that were not offended and were crackin up. so now what? should i tell them theyre wrong and ignorant?
That some were not offended does not invalidate those who found it racist. The people you know are of course entitled to their own opinions.
And you're entitled to yours. But why are you forcing it on others and calling a country ignorant? I'll be conservative and say 95% of Japan disagrees with your take on this topic. And rightfully so. If you're expressing your opinions with that in mind, then that's great. If you're assuming they're all idiots that will one day see the light, you gonna have a tough time here playa.
Sprsk I'll assume you're new to japan or the show. Every year Hama-chan is dressed up in the most ridiculous fashion for theme. For this year his entire getup was to induce laughs not just for the other contestants but the various guests too. The joke is Hama-chan being as far away from his normal self as possible. It has nothing to do with black people.
Sprsk I'll assume you're new to japan or the show. Every year Hama-chan is dressed up in the most ridiculous fashion for theme. For this year his entire getup was to induce laughs not just for the other contestants but the various guests too. The joke is Hama-chan being as far away from his normal self as possible. It has nothing to do with black people.
I didn't call "a country" ignorant. Hamada doing the joke was ignorant. Those thinking it's not offensive to anyone are also ignorant. I'm not assuming they're idiots, either. I'm thinking Japanese media doesn't often have a great representation of Black folk for sure, and I do believe that is something that will change one day. I doubt it'll happen soon.
Calling anyone ignorant is always going to come off as an attack, even if it's accurate.
As I mentioned, in Japan society as a whole doesn't consider it offensive, even if half black Japanese natives and immigrants are upset by it.
This is unfortunate, but it's important to recognize as it means that, from their perspective, they don't think of themselves as ignorant.
As such starting the conversation that way comes off as aggressive and as if you're imposing your views.
I also didn't mean to imply that it's an inherently a western view, just that the way the post is framed makes it come off that way.
This is not to excuse blackface, but to try and frame the discussion about Blackface with Japanese people in a more productive manner, and to explain why the replies you got weren't receptive to your post.
They probably weren't receptive because there was no black face anywhere in the show. Unless you again apply a very specific region of the world's interpretation, which then immediately makes the argument worthless as it's no longer a convo about the same thing.
The "joke" is that Eddie Murphy showed up when they were doing a bit about cops in America. Not that he's black.
(The fact that impersonations of people appearing is viewed as extremely hilarious is one of the reasons that I don't watch much Japanese TV, but even with the limited amount I do happen to see I'm aware that the reaction from the target Japanese audience would have been exactly the same if he had been dressed up as Mel Gibson from Lethal Weapon)
(The fact that impersonations of people appearing is viewed as extremely hilarious is one of the reasons that I don't watch much Japanese TV, but even with the limited amount I do happen to see I'm aware that the reaction from the target Japanese audience would have been exactly the same if he had been dressed up as Mel Gibson from Lethal Weapon)
Considering many black people, including my friends, believe it's blackface and were upset, I'm gonna trust their view on it. Please, tell Black folk how they shouldn't be offended, though.
That's reductive and not gonna help people take your point. As I typed in my original post above, it's really difficult to get over the lurch in your gut when you see someone with makeup rendering them black. We've been trained by society from a young age that that is not okay, and it's not an easy thing to step back from that gut feeling of something that everyone knows and realize that it's a completely separate thing, at its core, than what you're seeing on Japanese TV.
But I just said many black people including my friends enjoyed it and laughed. So I will let them form their own views and not use them as some tool to try and push my own opinion and win internet arguments the way you immaturely are. I also assume you're neither black nor Japanese.
Who is we? I have not received such training. Neither has Japan. The country we presumably live in. Why would anyone force their random societal brainwashing on a completely foreign country?
We is myself and the other people like myself who feel the feeling described in my posts, obviously. I don't know why you thought I was talking about you.
This user is warned for this post: Defending practice of racism even if that practice stems from ignorance and not malice. Insulting the intelligence of fellow thread participants.
Because admitting that such ridiculous training as you call it should ever be used in an international context is frankly..not intelligent. Hence why Aizo was rightfully called out by the twitter people. And this whole convo is about foreigners in Japan trying to wrongfully do as such. Of which I am indeed a foreigner. But definitely not of the ilk that would push their opinions on a culture. Calling hama-chan ignorant is flagrantly stupid.
I don't think this is an argument with a winner. I recognize I won't convince you to feel the same as I do. That's perfectly fine. I just want representation to change. When my friends from the US, Jamaica, and Kenya have told me their stories about the discrimination they've felt in Japan, that's upsetting. To see something on TV from a show (a show that I enjoy every year) that hurt these same people—that upsets me. It's not an agenda that I'm using people to push. It's a reaction caused by the negative experiences people have felt and feel in Japan as Black citizens.
I obviously have a different feeling about it than others posting, so I'm just derailing the thread at this point. I'll bow out.