Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

Older Japanese men are not the most politically correct when it comes to expressing their opinions. After decades of managing younger people as top-level salarymen and getting what they want both during and after work , many become highly intolerant of situations in which things do not go the way they are supposed to based on social conventions and commonly understood protocols. Even as powerless retirees, they somehow continue to believe in their responsibility and necessity to help defend "the way things are," just as they have as career salarymen maintaining a stable corporate culture in major Japanese firms.

It almost seems deliberate just how Joker is timed to match the real-world protests happening around the world. The recently premiered film that traces the origin of the most famous villain of Batman features a growing tension of the rich and the poor in a Gotham that has seen public services fall apart as conservative politicians cut back government funding to supposedly help the poor stand on their own feet. The movie begins with one mentally problematic man's journey to navigate a city that seems to be turning its back on people like him by the day but ends with thousands of anarchists taking to the streets to destroy the physical symbols of the powerful and the rich monopolizing the power to dedicate the city's future.

Today, it was announced that Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister of Ethiopia, won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, beating out other favorites, notably Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist who has grabbed the world's attention through her often fiery speeches. The praise Abiy received, despite being a young 43-year-old coming to power just last year, is a recognition of the great political advances Ethiopia, under his leadership, has achieved in just a year. While the Nobel committee primarily gave Abiy the award for his effort to end the on-and-off military conflict with neighboring Eritrea, his efforts at pushing through greater freedom of expression and economic development at home are no doubt also highly evaluated.

The implementation of the anti-mask law by the Hong Kong government ought to be a new tool for authorities to finally put more pressure on protestors to calm themselves down. With security cameras and facial recognition technology, there would certainly be more anxiety among people on the streets that their untoward acts toward the police, government authorities, and supposed pro-China business establishments will be punished later when their personal identities are revealed. No doubt, the policy escalation is a move that would gain approval from those who see protestors as violent rioters bending to destroy the city.

In front of the Harajuku train station in Tokyo is a busy shopping arcade called Takeshita Street. During the 90s, this was the epicenter of a major fashion counterculture in Japan. Young women with tanned skin, boldly colored hair and gaudy clothing strutted down the street, presenting themselves as the antithesis of a mainstream culture that believed in the beauty of fair (read: white) skin, jet-straight shiny black hair, and cute blouses with toned-down designs. The eponymous "Harajuku style" became known worldwide as a streak of individualism in a Japanese society perceived as fundamentally conformist .

"Variety shows" are one of the mainstays of Japanese television. Entertainers put on skits and funny talks about exaggerated versions of everyday events, getting laughs from the viewers by making fun of just how absurd even the most mundane situations can be if pushed to the logical conclusion. With thousands of funnymen trying to make living doing their own skits, only the most memorable few make it to the big stages of national television, become household names, and earn a decent living by regularly performing and hosting their shows.

One of the oddest things about traveling in smaller towns in Japan is the lack of family guesthouses. While national hotel chains are present throughout the country's many towns and cities, they are able to keep prices relatively high because consumers, outside major tourist attractions, have few choices other than staying in those national chains. And considering that big chains will only invest in massive multistory facilities that are consistent with their brand images, little towns with little out-of-town traffic simply will not be considered for future investments.