Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

The Japanese and the Chinese often refer to a concept of 国民性 (roughly translated as "national character), which states that citizens (and long-time residents) of a particular country share certain similarities in behavior because they have been residing in that particular country for a long time. This concept tends to be much broader than that of "customs" used in the West to denote practices shared by people of a particular culture. The Chinese and Japanese have such a strong faith in this concept of 国民性 that in attempts to find it out about other countries, their "research" often border racism in their incessant desires to generalize the patterns and trends of different people of one country into a formulaic one-fits-all stereotype. For example, just after meeting a few Indians in the company, some Japanese colleagues made no hesitation to talk about "those Indians ALWAYS do..." But perhaps the one instance when this idea of 国民性 actually does make

A Japanese politician making irresponsible comments is definitely not a rare sight, partly helping to explaining why many of them at the top level get kicked out so shortly after being elected . But the newest fiasco perhaps tops them all, especially considering that it is directly about the current national crisis. Mr. Ishihara, the Governor of Tokyo, recently remarked (and later retracted) that the Quake was a "heavenly punishment" for Japan. Never mind the superstitious nature of the comment completing unfitting with the rather "modern" image of Japanese democracy, or how absurd and unusual that such comment can come out of a right-wing ultra-nationalistic politician, the most hurting thing about the comment is perhaps that it is...actually true on some levels. Now, before you starting jumping to conclusions and call me a racist, let me explain why I think in such a fashion. A stroll in town at night shows why the emotional national unity the country displayed

The media is trying hard to not let any of us loosen up our nerves even one tiny bit. After reporting explosions at the Unit 1 and 3 of the Fukushima nuclear power plant , it made sure to scare the people even more with news on the most recent explosion, this time at Unit 2. There is rumors (reported ones, unfortunately), that the radiation level, even here in Tokyo, is going to reach 25 times the normal level. Heeding the cautions about staying in Japan issued by various embassies, the foreigners are starting to put into practice their plans for departing the country for a short period of time . Even those with no plans (or tickets, most likely) to leave the country are prompted by the fearful news to head west toward Kansai and Kyushu areas. And with some (actually, most) companies reducing the number of workers temporarily to deal with the power cuts, the mass movement of people is officially under way. But as for myself, I am seriously feeling that my conscience would not allow

The 100th post of my blog could not have come at a more opportune and interesting time. In a tech-savvy Japan suddenly devoid of its extensive cellphone connections in much of the disaster struck areas and other parts of the network jammed by massive volumes of calls, the Internet once again proved itself to be the life-saving technological innovation putting in touch people in Japan with their worried friends and families both inside and outside the country. Yet, the power of the Internet would not have been so important at such times of disaster if its ability to allow for nearly instant social communications and sharing of information was not so well developed and utilized by large numbers of users. SNS, especially Facebook, by breaking down the dangerous anonymous nature of cyber-populace , has allowed us to easily and quickly identify our loved ones affected by the disaster. And then there is the consumer-generated media (CGM). Whether it be a simple status update on Facebook

The crowds of the Tokyo Immigration Bureau was perhaps the most chaotic scene I have witnessed in this otherwise calm and orderly atmosphere after the Quake . Thousands of foreigners, students and professionals alike, rushed to obtain the permits for reentering Japan before heading back their respective native countries. The noises of complaints about slow processing mixed with immigration personnel's unending apologies for inefficiently handling the "unprecedented crowds" (certainly no exaggeration there). Also heard among the crowds were frequent phone calls, those from faraway families checking on the conditions of the receivers of the calls, but more frequently, those in the endless queues for permits confirming their plane tickets back home. In all this noise and crowds, I, for the first time in the past few days, finally felt, physically rather than just mentally , that Tokyo, hundreds of miles from the disaster areas, is really going through something unusual an

"The earthquake made me feel that my life can end at any moment, so I should just enjoy it to the max right now..." These were the spoken words of a colleague as we walked through the streets of our neighborhood, slowly filling back with people after two days of being deserted. Shops are opening back up and some are boldly trying to convey a romantic atmosphere to the passer-by. Yes, the first "holiday" since the quake was in, and people, in their defiance to the power of nature , are going to enjoy it to the fullest. This highly commercialized "holiday" is called White Day, a unique concept only in Japan and Korea when males who received chocolates from females on Valentine's (exactly a month ago) are supposed to give back certain gifts. The extensive social hierarchy means that often (rather, mostly), the gifts on both sides were given as social obligations rather than actual liking, and the social burden is especially on the guys to give back

With emergency meetings still under way in Rakuten , and some missing employees still unaccounted for, the short-term future of the company should surely be in the mind of every employee at the company. But just as it is important for Rakuten to help the employees (and the shop owners) in a top-down fashion , conversely, the employees, at their own individual levels, should be thinking of how best to support their own company through this massive physical and economic calamity.