Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

A term that is frequently used when Japan talks about foreign countries and individuals is 親日, roughly translatable to "friendly to the Japanese/Japan" or more directly, "pro-Japanese." Often, the usage of the term crops up in discussions concerning international exchange at a grassroots level. A "pro-Japanese" country, the narrative goes, is much more likely to be friendly and helpful to Japanese individuals traveling or living in the country. Local citizens, additionally, would be much more receptive toward learning about Japanese culture and adopting at least some aspects of it in their daily lives.

At first, the show seems to be just another Japanese TV show that features a bunch of well-known comedians and other celebrities sampling good food around the country. For this episode of the typical "variety show," the group headed to Yokohama Chinatown to find the best-tasting and best-valued Chinese buffets in the area. The hour-long show featured the group going to four different restaurants to try out shrimp, shark fin, spicy stir-frys, and gourmet fried rice. There were plenty of mouth-watering close-up shots of the food and plenty of celebrities talking about how good the food is. So far so good.

In recent years, major train stations in Tokyo have been increasingly home to a new type of poster. Amidst ubiquitous ads for commercial products and services are government-issued notices encouraging citizens to look out for terrorist activities. Frequently highlighting scared citizens at the front and center, these posters call upon citizens to report to the local police on any sort of suspicious persons and activities, under various slogans that state that "preventing terrorism is the responsibility of all citizens." Highly trafficked train stations, as the posters imply, ought to be the focus of vigilant citizens.

As an avid reader of the Economist magazine, I often admire the publication's willingness to take a more pragmatic approach to advance a progressive agenda that it cherishes. The "progressive pragmatism" the magazine shows is on full display when it comes to the issue of international migration. On one hand, the Economist is unabashedly pro-migration, arguing that a freer movement of workers would greatly boost productivity and wealth in destination countries. But on the other hand, the magazine concedes that hostility toward migrants is a reality in the same destination countries, and new practical thinking is needed to appease the anti-migration crowd.

The elite in every country, first and foremost, is defined by money. Your normal middle-class person cannot fathom the amount of money a member of the elite has. It is not just about the ability to buy whatever material goods or services without having to worry about budgeting to not run out of money. Instead, there is so much money in their bank accounts that they can buy up entire companies, start brand-new ones, and pay to make governments and laws work for them so that they can continue to retain and increase the amount of their wealth across multiple generations.

While the world and its major media outlets are fixated on the ongoing protests in Hong Kong and across South America, the never-ending problems faced by fragile governments in the Middle East, as always, gets pushed to the back of the collective mind. As the civil war and subsequent refugee problem in Syria amply demonstrate, the world has become too callous toward the chaos that originates in the Middle East and is becoming all too complacent and willing to assume that the region will be surrounded by unending violence and suffering that outsiders have little power to stop or control.

The atmosphere is absolutely relaxing. An extra-long wooden sofa with plump fluffy cushion in a leafy courtyard. Playing in the background are acoustic covers of some of Japan's most famous pop songs from the 1990s. Next to the sofa is a stand serving up carbonated blueberry juice and coffee from Myanmar. Customers lounging around on the sofa are quietly sipping their drinks while reading copies of artistic magazines describing the most innovative architecture and delicious specialty food stores around Tokyo under a windy but sunny cloudless sky.