All things about the media, marketing, business, Japan and other musings by Mike in Tokyo Rogers.
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Japan is a Peaceful Country - Crime of the Week? Sharks in Parks! Shark Attack!
Japan is a very peaceful country. Ask the Japanese, ask anyone who has ever been here. The Japanese will tell you, "日本は平和な国" ("Nihon wa heiwa na kuni" - Japan is a peaceful country). It is. Japan is an extremely peaceful country. In the west you constantly have news about grotesque crimes, murders, bombings and wars, in Japan? News about ducks crossing a road in downtown Tokyo.
The crimes that hit the news sources in Japan are completely out of this world when compared to the crimes that hit the news compared to, say, the United States. In the USA, the news is about riots, police brutality, government spying on citizens, Americans losing their freedoms, white collar crimes and idiocy about what kind of fashions movie stars are wearing.
Ducks crossing busy streets in the world's most crowded city,
Tokyo, was big news for several years in Japan.
Photo from NTV - Channel 4 Nihon TV (Japan TV) Network
In the USA, there are roughly 17,000 murders per year. Japan, with roughly half the population of the USA has about 1,000 murders a year... Many of those murders are murder suicides so it is not exactly an apples to apple comparison. If there is a murder in the USA, it doesn't even hit the news unless the victim is a famous person or the relative of a famous person. In Japan, a murder usually becomes big news all over the TV and news networks for weeks after the incident.
The comparison of US news and Japan's news shows two countries that are as different as night and day. Here's things I skimmed from Yahoo news just now.
Okay. Yeah, that cops beating people up story has been going on for a long time. It's winter now, just wait until it warms up again and then we'll start seeing more of this. Hillary Clinton's fashion? Ugh. The only thing worse than kissing Hillary Clinton would be to kiss Imelda Marcos. Who cares what her fashion is? Why are Americans so concerned with what people are wearing? Teen rapes 5-year-old? At a McDonald's? WTF!? Priests rape kids? Same old, same old... Murder says angel that told him to do it looks like Olivia Newton John? Well aren't all angels beautiful like Farrah Fawcet or Olivia Neutron Bomb?
A dead shark found in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park has sparked an investigation into who brought it there, an officer at Yoyogi Police Station said Monday.
A park security guard called the police at 7 a.m. Sunday after finding the shark, which was covered by a blue tarp and measured about 1½ meters long, the police said.
The shark had been gutted and was found near a parking lot for bicycles near one of the entrances leading to JR Shibuya Station.
"The shark was not rotten, so I guess someone left the shark not so long ago," Hiroshi Okano, a deputy chief at Yoyogi Police Station, told The Japan Times by telephone. He said the police station is keeping its carcass at a storage facility there.
Okano wouldn't disclose any other details because the matter is still under investigation as an illegal dumping case.
On Twitter, dozens of posts from Feb. 14 to early on Feb. 15 said a shark was being exhibited in front of a sushi restaurant in Shibuya. The tweets later said someone had taken it away.
Only in Japan! And, actually, this is a pretty big story here in Japan. So what the deal is was is it seems that this shark was on display in front of a sushi shop. The sushi shops claims that some dumb gaijin (foreigner) told the sushi shop that we was an artist and wanted the shark to use to create some artwork. So, the sushi shops gave it to him. They say he must have dumped the shark in the park...
Uh, huh... Riiiiiiiight. Now, pun intended, but that story sounds really fishy! I don't believe that for a minute and it seems that the police don't either. It also strikes me as odd that the supposed perpetrator of this heinous crime is, of course, the unknown and shady foreigner...
Now, we all know that all foreigners in Japan are criminals, crack-addicts, sun-glass wearing untrustworthy, despicable characters (present company excluded)... But I don't know too many who have a hankering to be walking around carrying a 1.5 meter long shark under their arm... Also, considering that all artists (and musicians) are dirt poor, how is this artist going to get this shark home? On the train? And to think that a sushi shop is going to pay several hundred dollars for a fish (yeah, yeah, I know a shark isn't a fish) then just give it away to some guy walking up the street is a bit too much to believe.
Let me just say, "I don't think so."
I seems that the police don't believe this story either and are "grilling" (pun intended) the people from the sushi shop. It seems obvious to me that they had this huge shark that they didn't know what to do with and some Einstein there decided to dump it in the park and blame it on the scummy foreigners...
Heck, that's what any thinking person would do!
Well, that's the sort of thing that hits the news in Japan.
Ok. Maybe I would call the police... Or at least the the Coast Guard or the navy!
The other thing about this that really surprises me is that the park attendant, upon finding the shark, would actually bother to call the police? Really? If it were me, I'd just get a big trash bag and throw it out on trash day. The other thing is that the police would actually bother with this. Do the police in Japan actually have so much free time that they'd launch and investigation as to where this shark came from?
Don't those police clowns have any real criminals to catch? No they don't... They only have traffic tickets to give out and sushi to eat, in between raiding prostitution parlors andarresting S&M dominatrix queens.
Nihon wa heiwa na kuni. Japan is a peaceful country. (With the police wasting our tax money).
Would a dead, 1.5 meter shark be considered 燃えるごみ? Those ducks were super cute by the way. There's something about baby ducks swimming that seems to draw a crowd.
Don't worry, Clark.. Still4Hill isn't a real person. Go check the site. It's somebody paid to write this sh*t for Hillary. Actually, no one in their right mind would vote or even go near that hag. She probably smells worse than catfish bait.... And that's pretty bad. Hillary Clinton is representative of everything that's bad about the USA.
It appears that you have mentioned a number of “taboos” in this article.
1.The idea that Japan is a peaceful country. What about WW2!?!? Pearl Harbor! USA #1!!!!! 2.The idea that the USA is anything but heaven on earth. How dare you! What kind of islamo-commie-fascist are you? 3.The idea that a problem in Japan could be the fault of the Japanese. Everyone knows any fault comes from those devil gaijin!!>?! 4.The idea that there are differences in cultures. OMG how bigoted and racist of you!!!
It seems strange, that the internet news in the US is rather trivial, and the Japanese news seems generally more serious. The situation seems reversed in regards to TV.
Regarding the Japanese TV media, in some ways it seems to out-Youtube Youtube, with it's emphasis on the strange and the trivial. Maybe Macarthur was right, Japan is a nation of 12 year-olds. At least it appears that is what the TV media tends to believe whom its viewers are.
I have noticed in the USA regarding the TV media, the old phrase of “if it bleeds it leads” as being pretty true. It stands in stark contrast to even its next-door neighbour, Canada.
Is it any wonder that the economic situation in the USA is becoming more and more third world like, and because of that, it s looking like citizens of the USA are acting like citizens of a third world country?
Mike, may I be blunt? Is it any wonder that a state full of culturally Japanese people, Hawaii, has a murder rate in-line with Japan? Or that the states full of Scandinavian people, have had murder rates on par with Scandinavia. Of course, the converse also seems true. Economics matter, but culture seems to run pretty deep.
Of course this is a major taboo in the USA. The idea that cultures are different. Because that means that some cultures are naturally better, or worse, than others. It seems that the converse tends to be true of Japan.
It looks like many Japanese people believe that culture matters, and that their culture is superior to all others.
It appears that the police dealing with real criminals in both the USA & Japan isn't their true mandate. If one is a libertarian, a look at the history of the "peelers" might be in order.
In both Japan, and the USA, how dangerous is it to a policeman's career, or even life, when one goes after the real criminals?
Hi Mr. Nobody, I thought someone would bring that up. What I mean, is conditions inside of Japan. But, if you want to take it further, then yes, even considering WWII. Japan is nowhere near as bad as the USA. The USA killed a million Philippinos in the late 1800s. Millions of Indians before that. Dropped two atomic bombs, using nuclear weapons (depleted uranium) all over the world still to this day, has killed a million Iraqis, is currently bombing six muslim countries and about to do the same to Iran. There's no comparison.
I only brought up the points as a form of satire, since it seems the first thing most people in general, and US people in particular bring up is the whole us vs. them arguments,
Who is this Mr. USA you refer to? I doubt that many citizens in the US, Japan, Korea, Russia, Germany , China, or anywhere, want war.
When does one gauge the level of violence? Over the course of the history of the USA, from 1776-2012, or some other timeframe? Outside of smaller countries, can you name a first-world country that hasn't engaged in mass war? India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, USSR/Russia, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, the USA, Korea, and even Japan have all engaged in it. While I don't excuse it, it does not seem the least surprising.
A final thought, why should one expect a level of peacefulness, which tends to be a result of homogeneity, in the USA , which is one of the least homogeneous nations, compared to Japan, which is homogeneous to the extreme? Wouldn't a better example be Brasil or South Africa in comparison to the USA?
Perhaps the only way to unify a large disparite country, or empire, in our modern era, the USA, is through the forge of war.
Hi Mr. Nobody, I see... OK. You're right. No citizen wants war... I wish we coud eliminate our govvrnments... When, oh when, will citizens realize that having a government generally means war? Your last two comments would be a great discussions over a beer. Could they be construed as saying: "So in order to have a peaceful (homogenous) nation, then we need war to bring territory together"? Meaning "War is peace?" This is a deep subject!!
I don't want to put all of the blame on governments. There is a sort of continuity of responsibility from the individual to the government. There is a degree of responsibility that the leaders, and the citizens both possess. Also, there are degrees of governance and power. When was the last time Iceland, Switzerland got into a war?
Though I am unsure if the blindspots that people have to power and control, is due to either an inherited mental disorder, or that they have been inculcated since birth.
Many countries have said basically those things. Look at the history of the Romans, English, Turks, Germans, Russians, etc... I disagree with them, but empires tend to say those things...
More importantly, I recommend the writings of Mr. Chris Hedges. In particular:
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Comments must be succinct & relevant to the story. Comments are checked frequently and abusive, rude or profane comments will be deleted. I’m just one of many bloggers who answer questions online and sometimes for the press. I usually handle questions about Japan, marketing or the economy, so in those areas I’m more likely to make sense and less likely to say something really stupid. If I post something here that you find helpful or interesting, that’s wonderful. This is my personal blog. If you don't like what you have read here then, just like when you go into a restaurant or bar that allows smoking, if you don't like it, there's something at the front that has hinges on it and it is called a "door."
Would a dead, 1.5 meter shark be considered 燃えるごみ? Those ducks were super cute by the way. There's something about baby ducks swimming that seems to draw a crowd.
ReplyDeleteVoted for Hillary Clinton. Will vote for her again. Would kiss her any day of the week and love it!
ReplyDeleteThat sure was a stark contrast between the two countries. A nation of vipers vs. a naked woman. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteThat sure was a scary shark picture too, but Still4Hill's comment was even scarier and uglier, willful ignorance knows no bounds.
- clark
Don't worry, Clark..
ReplyDeleteStill4Hill isn't a real person. Go check the site. It's somebody paid to write this sh*t for Hillary. Actually, no one in their right mind would vote or even go near that hag. She probably smells worse than catfish bait.... And that's pretty bad. Hillary Clinton is representative of everything that's bad about the USA.
Hello again Mike!
ReplyDeleteIt appears that you have mentioned a number of “taboos” in this article.
1.The idea that Japan is a peaceful country. What about WW2!?!? Pearl Harbor! USA #1!!!!!
2.The idea that the USA is anything but heaven on earth. How dare you! What kind of islamo-commie-fascist are you?
3.The idea that a problem in Japan could be the fault of the Japanese. Everyone knows any fault comes from those devil gaijin!!>?!
4.The idea that there are differences in cultures. OMG how bigoted and racist of you!!!
It seems strange, that the internet news in the US is rather trivial, and the Japanese news seems generally more serious. The situation seems reversed in regards to TV.
Regarding the Japanese TV media, in some ways it seems to out-Youtube Youtube, with it's emphasis on the strange and the trivial. Maybe Macarthur was right, Japan is a nation of 12 year-olds. At least it appears that is what the TV media tends to believe whom its viewers are.
I have noticed in the USA regarding the TV media, the old phrase of “if it bleeds it leads” as being pretty true. It stands in stark contrast to even its next-door neighbour, Canada.
Is it any wonder that the economic situation in the USA is becoming more and more third world like, and because of that, it s looking like citizens of the USA are acting like citizens of a third world country?
Mike, may I be blunt? Is it any wonder that a state full of culturally Japanese people, Hawaii, has a murder rate in-line with Japan? Or that the states full of Scandinavian people, have had murder rates on par with Scandinavia. Of course, the converse also seems true. Economics matter, but culture seems to run pretty deep.
Of course this is a major taboo in the USA. The idea that cultures are different. Because that means that some cultures are naturally better, or worse, than others. It seems that the converse tends to be true of Japan.
It looks like many Japanese people believe that culture matters, and that their culture is superior to all others.
It appears that the police dealing with real criminals in both the USA & Japan isn't their true mandate. If one is a libertarian, a look at the history of the "peelers" might be in order.
In both Japan, and the USA, how dangerous is it to a policeman's career, or even life, when one goes after the real criminals?
Hi Mr. Nobody,
ReplyDeleteI thought someone would bring that up. What I mean, is conditions inside of Japan. But, if you want to take it further, then yes, even considering WWII. Japan is nowhere near as bad as the USA. The USA killed a million Philippinos in the late 1800s. Millions of Indians before that. Dropped two atomic bombs, using nuclear weapons (depleted uranium) all over the world still to this day, has killed a million Iraqis, is currently bombing six muslim countries and about to do the same to Iran. There's no comparison.
Mike
Hi Mike,
ReplyDeleteI only brought up the points as a form of satire, since it seems the first thing most people in general, and US people in particular bring up is the whole us vs. them arguments,
Who is this Mr. USA you refer to? I doubt that many citizens in the US, Japan, Korea, Russia, Germany , China, or anywhere, want war.
When does one gauge the level of violence? Over the course of the history of the USA, from 1776-2012, or some other timeframe? Outside of smaller countries, can you name a first-world country that hasn't engaged in mass war? India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, USSR/Russia, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, the USA, Korea, and even Japan have all engaged in it. While I don't excuse it, it does not seem the least surprising.
A final thought, why should one expect a level of peacefulness, which tends to be a result of homogeneity, in the USA , which is one of the least homogeneous nations, compared to Japan, which is homogeneous to the extreme? Wouldn't a better example be Brasil or South Africa in comparison to the USA?
Perhaps the only way to unify a large disparite country, or empire, in our modern era, the USA, is through the forge of war.
Hi Mr. Nobody, I see...
ReplyDeleteOK. You're right. No citizen wants war... I wish we coud eliminate our govvrnments... When, oh when, will citizens realize that having a government generally means war? Your last two comments would be a great discussions over a beer. Could they be construed as saying: "So in order to have a peaceful (homogenous) nation, then we need war to bring territory together"? Meaning "War is peace?" This is a deep subject!!
Hello again,
ReplyDeleteI don't want to put all of the blame on governments. There is a sort of continuity of responsibility from the individual to the government. There is a degree of responsibility that the leaders, and the citizens both possess. Also, there are degrees of governance and power. When was the last time Iceland, Switzerland got into a war?
Though I am unsure if the blindspots that people have to power and control, is due to either an inherited mental disorder, or that they have been inculcated since birth.
Many countries have said basically those things. Look at the history of the Romans, English, Turks, Germans, Russians, etc... I disagree with them, but empires tend to say those things...
More importantly, I recommend the writings of Mr. Chris Hedges. In particular:
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/hedges.php?articleid=6294
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2SaM8RJ30c
All the best!
I totally agree with you!
ReplyDeleteThat said you seem like you are totally bored out of your mind in Japan.
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteBored out of our minds? Don't confuse getting beat up by cops and criminals as "Interesting"...
Wow that was odd. I just ωrote аn very long comment but after
ReplyDeleteI clicκed submit mу сomment ԁidn't
аppear. Grгrr... well І'm nоt wrіting
all that oѵеr agаin. Anyωaуѕ,
juѕt wanteԁ to sаy great blog!
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