The Power of Tomodachi: U.S. Military's Humanitarian Efforts Cemented An Alliance

Adm. Walsh salutes a Sendai base during Operation Tomodachi. Via.

When the March 11 earthquake struck Japan, the commander of the 7th fleet of the U.S. navy was off the coast of Singapore. Without orders, he set a course for Honshu and within a short time every U.S. naval ship in the region was under way for Japan.

As U.S. Navy Admiral Patrick M. Walsh told a standing room-only audience at the Japan Society recently [watch the full video], it was the beginning of Operation Tomodachi--or Operation Friend in English.

“The real story here is in the power of the idea, the idea of tomodachi, the idea that represents who we are, where our relationship is and what it could be,” Walsh said.

As 59th Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Walsh oversaw the mission. For him, Operation Tomodachi went way beyond providing help to a nation in crisis; it cemented the U.S.-Japan alliance and highlighted the importance of understanding the geo-political challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region.

To appreciate the scale of Operation Tomodachi it helps to list a few numbers: there were 20 U.S. naval ships and 140 aircraft deployed to the area, and 19,703 U.S. marines and sailors took part. Many of the U.S. bases in Japan from the disputed Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, to Yokota Air base just west of Tokyo and Misawa Air base in Aomori were involved. They provided humanitarian aid including 246 tons of food and 21 million gallons of water. They also helped to contain the nuclear disaster and deal with the “emotionally debilitating” aftershocks. It was an operation that called upon all the U.S. armed forces’ logistical and technical skills but that also required immense compassion and diplomacy.

United We Stand As Friends: U.S. Aid To Japan's Earthquake And Tsunami Victims

Via.

In the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan, the U.S. armed forces mobilized immediately to assist the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to provide relief for victims. The mission, Operation Tomodachi (tomodachi means “friend” in Japanese), not only saved lives during devastating times, but helped cement good relations between the U.S. and Japan, where tensions have flared due to base relocation issues in Okinawa.

Vice President Joe Biden called Operation Tomodachi the “largest humanitarian relief effort in U.S. history”, when he stopped at the Yokota military base to thank the thousands of personnel who participated. In her talk at the U.S.-Japan Council Annual Conference in October, Hillary Clinton recalled seeing firefighters sent from Japan to aid Americans during the 9/11 attacks, and said she was proud that America could return the favor.

This mission’s leader Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet who most recently was active in leading the Combined Maritime Forces in Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and various maritime security operations, believes Operation Tomodachi demonstrated “forward presence in the region to support humanitarian crises and deter aggression.”

Walsh appears at Japan Society on November 15 in Operation Tomodachi: Support, Compassion, Commitment. He discusses his experience leading the large joint relief operation, and shares what he personally witnessed during the monumental collaboration. Japan Society Chairman Wilbur Ross moderates.

--Sean Tomizawa

In Defense Of Lasting Relationships

After the end of World War II and the signing of the Postdam Declaration, Japan was required to disarm, dismantle and discard their war potential. The Japanese government reformed their defense into the Self-Defense Forces to deal with any problems that may happen in the mainland, but they were strictly banned from deploying outside their homeland.

The original intentions of Japan’s defense troops have changed in recent years due to changes in the international world. The JSDF have deployed on non-combatant peacekeeping missions and their provocative deployment to Iraq to help out on the reconstructive efforts. Also the geo-political arena has changed. Japan and the U.S. are concerned with the various problems facing both nations. The nuclear aggression of North Korea, the rise of China’s political, economic and militaristic juggernaut, not to mention core contemporary challenges within the basic framework of U.S.-Japan relations.

How do we assuage old ghosts and confront new realities? From a unique insider perspective, William H. Swanson, CEO of Raytheon, one of the world's largest defense contractors, comes to Japan Society to discuss the relationship with Japan, challenges of the 21st century, and how to maintain our amiable long-lasting friendship. The luncheon takes place Wednesday, October 6 at 12:30 pm, with the discussion starting promptly at 1:00.

More about Swanson and Raytheon in this recent Barron's article.

S.H.

'Our Alliance' Our Future?

Usa-kun and Arai Anzu take on ゴキブリ！

This week the U.S. military released a Japanese-langauge children's manga entitled Our Alliance — A Lasting Partnership, the first of a four-book series available in print and online. A spokesperson for the U.S. forces' Japan public affairs office told the BBC that the manga is a "light-hearted approach to telling the story of the alliance through the eyes of two young people who are learning why the U.S. military are in Japan."

The U.S. military community news site Stars and Stripes summarizes the story:

"It weaves the metaphorical story line of the American boy and Japanese girl with panels explaining Japan’s pacifist constitution, its self-defense forces and the 50-year-old Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, which essentially allows the U.S. military to operate in Japan in exchange for defending the island nation."

In the story, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Mr. USA (Usa-kun in the book) kills a cockroach for Alliance (Arai Anzu), a Japanese girl who is hosting the boy during his stay in Japan. 

"Next time, we will get rid of cockroaches together!" Mr. USA says.

Alliance refuses, then adds: "But I’m happy that there is a friend with me so that I can feel safe."

The message is simple and straightforward (though the symbologist in me can't help wonder what the cockroach represents), and the release is timely. In addition to commemorating the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, the publication bookends recently contentious (and ongoing) debate surrounding Futenma and America's first appearance at Japan's annual Hiroshima memorial.

This isn't the first time the U.S. armed forces have used manga to educate the Japanese public. In 2008 the navy published a 200-page fictionalized story introducing adults to the first American nuclear-powered naval vessel based in Japan. But to my knowledge, Alliance is the first time the U.S. has used a children's medium to explain 21st century politics.

The release is telling of the American government's belief in the power of Japan's soft power. I also wonder, if successful, would this sort of resource benefit American children? Growing up in the barely metropolitan Midwest (a.k.a. Topikachu), the Japan I was exposed to as a young person consisted mainly of Godzilla, "Mr. Roboto" and a few sections in the WWII chapters of my history books. I wouldn't learn of the intricacies of Japanese culture and the depth of the U.S.-Japan relationship until I came to work at Japan Society.

Perhaps Alliance is overly simple. Perhaps even one-sided (certainly neither pacifists nor Japanese militarists will be pleased with it.) But it does attmept to address complicated issues in ways that weren't available when I was a child.

There are still gaps in the system for teaching about Japan in the U.S. (something Japan Society's Education Program fills with school visits, lesson plans and teacher workshops). Whatever its reception, Alliance aligns possibilities of teaching Japan in the U.S. with Japanese tools. We know manga and anime can be used in the classroom. Is manga geared specifically towards the classroom far off for American schools? Manga Math anyone?

 S.J.

News Blast: Border Control, Holo-Vision 2022, First Lady Of Flight, Nimble Ninja Kids And More!

Cool Japan fest in NYC's East Village. Photos via.

Japanese Border Control & Immigration Policies

Where the U.S. army has a pronounced presence on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, the Japanese Self-Defence Forces plans to increase their presence over the next year. The Japanese Defense Ministry has announced plans to deploy more troops on Okinawa, as well as several hundred on the even more southernly Sakishima Islands. Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa cites increased activity by Chinese naval vessels as a chief concern this move will address.

On a related note, a new resource will no doubt prove invaluable for civilians looking to get through Japan’s borders. The brand-new blog Turning Japanese  is on a mission: to provide, in English, a comprehensive overview of the Japanese Immigration protocols as well as instructions for applying for Japanese Citizenship. What makes this news so exceptional is that there really isn’t another (official) resource for English-speakers on the subject.

News from the World of Food

The Telegraph has two news-items on possible health side-effects from eating certain kinds of food. First: soy sauce could reduce symptoms of menopause . Studies in Japan show that soy contains a compound that reduces the production of oestrogen, which contributes to menopausal problems. Of course, the news that soy sauce is a ‘miracle food’ should be taken with a grain of salt. The article also cites previous studies, which have showed that soy sauce can prevent cancer and lower cholesterol.

On the more dangerous side of the spectrum: konnyaku, a Japanese jelly that’s harvested from a very starchy tuber known in English as the konjac (though it’s also known by such sinister names as Devil’s Tongue and Voodoo Orchid). In Japan, it’s usually eaten raw, as konnyaku sashimi in long thin strips. However, the dense chewiness of it has led to over 20 deaths in the past 16 years, and over 20 hospitalizations, all among the elderly or young people. Kenta Izumi, parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet, has convened a panel of lawmakers, doctors, and manufacturers to come up with a safety standards law to reduce casualties. The American Food and Drug Administration actually removed a number of konnyaku-based candies from US shelves starting in 2001 as a response to deaths in America.

A Bumpy Ride in U.S.-Japan Relations?

In the pages of Newsweek, columnist Tobias Harris predicts rough times ahead for Japan-U.S. relations. For Harris, the tension will mostly stem from issues of security: the U.S. is interested in pursuing a more security-based partnership with Japan, where Japan will expand their army, and join the U.S. on key missions. Japan’s DPJ, however, have a tenuous hold on power after the disappointing elections a couple weeks ago. In this political climate, it doesn’t look like the Japanese government will allocate more funds to defense, and therefore will enter a more dependant relationship with the U.S.

Bite-size News:

►Bloomberg-BusinessWeek reports Japan's Provinces are 'withering away'  and that budget cuts are most likely accelerating rural decline. The warning stems from the Bank of Japan's Sakura Report, a regional survey akin to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.

►Variety examines the possibility of Japan broadcasting live holographic television by World Cup 2022.

►FIAF inspects Japan for 2022 World Cup hosting bid, finds it 'very balanced'.

►67 countries pledge to attend the August 6 peace memorial service marking the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

►A decision on the U.S. air base in Okinawa is not likely until November. 

►Japan Today profiles Ari Fuji, Japan's first female commercial flight captain, who had to get her license from the U.S. because of Japanese height restrictions.

►Mainichi profiles Noriko Williams, a Japanese langauge teacher who authored a pictorial kanji character textbook for English speakers. Says Williams, "I wanted to teach kanji learners that these seemingly meaningless combinations of lines actually derive from ancient wisdom."

►The New York Times has further news on the story from last week about the Japanese government agency that allegedly exploits foreign workers and interns.

►Celebrating dramatic growth overseas, Twitter CEO Evan Williams tells a cheering crowd in Tokyo: "We've come a long way in two years especially in Japan."

►Peter Fernandez voice of Speed Racer (and who wrote the American lyrics for the show's theme song) died this week. Anime News Network's Egan Loo told The New York Times "He took a quintessentially Japanese title and made it so Americans could enjoy it," calling the show "one of the first titles that turned Americans into fans of Japanese animation."

►The annual Tokyo Toy Show wrapped last weekend, and Kotaku has a collection of videos of some of the choicest toys. Dibs on the robot butterfly!

►Reports from Gothamist and Examiner on last weekend's Cool Japan street fest.

►Japanese and American manga publishers are scouring this year's Comic-Con for talent.

►Overview of the alums and allies petitioning to keep the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program alive.

►The Wall Street Journal is looking for examples of "Jinglish", notes that around 10% of Japanese stems from English words, though Frank Daulton, author of Japan's Built-in Lexicon of English-based Loanwords.

►A ninja themed excercise training facility for kids.

►Behold the portable watermelon cooler/heater.

►Canadian practices old-school silk making in Japan.

►Japanese men "muscle in on ballet, cooking, ikebana classes."

►Japan's giant salamanders may hold the key to stave amphibian extinction.

►U.K's Sansbury Centre offers an awesome electronic gallery guide for Unearthed, an exhbition of prehistoric ceramic figurines from Japan and the Balkans and Japan. Thru August 29!

►Japanese travel magazine, Paper Sky  has posted a fascinating three part series on fishing superstitions in the port town of Yaizu. Yaizu is home to one of the biggest fisheries in Japan and the biggest catcher of mackerel and tuna in Japan.

N.O., S.J.

Senator Inouye Speaks At Japan Society

"this is one of the most trying and challenging times experienced in the U.S. and Japan relationship during the past 65 years" -- Senator Daniel Inouye

Japan Society had the privilege of welcoming U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye on Monday, June 14. to deliver a rousing lecture on U.S.-Japan relations.

The lecture attracted 175 movers and shakers, including Ambassador Nishimiya, Consul-General of Japan in New York, Michihisa Shinagawa, the head of Sumitomo Corporation of America, and Yoshihisa Suzuki, the head of ITOCHU Int.. The lecture was presided by Douglas Petersen, COO of Citibank.

According to Chris Poston, director of Japan Society’s Corporate Program, Inouye “spoke at a time of political instability in Japan on an issue that has for 65 years relied on political stability, namely the state of the U.S.-Japan security alliance. He raised some interesting issues of the need for Japan to increase its defensive capability, so that the U.S. military can reduce its footprint in Japan."

This topic is especially prescient now because of the debate surrounding the Futenma military base in Okinawa – which was a factor leading to PM Hatoyama’s resignation. Senator Inoyue took the Democratic Party of Japan to task for having questioned the deal struck with the Liberal Democratic Party in 2006, thereby ruffling feathers in D.C. and causing some on the Hill to question the strength of the alliance. He noted in his speech "We must keep in mind that the supreme goal of our two nations is to strengthen our relationship, and in that process bring about stability and the absence of military violence in the Asia –Pacific region." (Full speech.)

Senator Inouye has served as a senator from Hawaii since 1963 - for 47 years. He was born in 1924 to Japanese parents, and raised in Honolulu. In World War II, he served with the U.S. Army, and lost his right arm in the Assault on Colle Musatello in Northern Italy. He received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Medal of Honor, and returned to university after the war thanks to the GI Bill.

Over his almost 50-year congressional career, Senator Inouye has served as a moderate Democrat. Last year he was appointed chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, which manages the Senate’s discretionary spending.

Keep an eye on our Corporate Programs page for upcoming opportunities to listen to politically and socially topical lectures like these – not to mention hob-knob with decision-makers!

N.O.

News Blast: Kickin' It With Samurai Blue

Artwork via Vanity Fair , ESPN and the AM I Collective.

World Cupdate

Japan's men's soccer team (affectionately nicknamed the Samurai Blue) landed in South Africa on Sunday to gear up for another warm-up World Cup match for 2010. Japan faced Zimbabwe on Thursday and came to a tie 0-0. Fans at home geared up too by holding a screaming competition in honor of their team. Whoever screamed the word 'GOAL!' the loudest got unofficial bragging rights. Norio Nakayama won (32 seconds) and said in regards to Japan’s fate in the World Cup the "The ball is round and everything may happen." But added: "Of course I'd like them to do their best and be hell-bent on winning." Watch a video of his winning scream here.

Naoto Kan Chosen as Next PM

The Democratic Party of Japan chose ex-PM Hatoyama’s Finance Minister, Naoto Kan, for Japan's next Prime Minister. Kan, 63, was elected last Friday by a wide margin in an internal Party vote. He has a reputation as a whistleblower and a civil rights activist. Early in his career in the 1970s, he served on the election campaign of Fusae Ishikawa, a major figure in the Women’s Rights movement. Also, while serving as a Health Minister in 1996, when his political party formed a ruling coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party, he exposed and apologized for his government’s accidental distribution of blood tainted with HIV. His frankness and candor won him many allies both within the political sphere and in the public’s eyes.

While Hatoyama’s Cabinet resigned en-masse to make way for Kan’s picks, Kan re-instated most officials in the same positions they previously held.

Kan will continue many of Hatoyama’s policies – most notably on the U.S. military base on Okinawa. He telephoned President Obama to discuss Futenma, saying  both the U.S. and Japan should do more to resolve the base issue. In his first press conference as PM, he said he wants to "drastically rebuild Japan" and that fiscal challenges are "the biggest issue the country must tackle and must be discussed beyond our party’s boundaries."

Almost immediately following his formal appointment earlier this week, a number of fake Twitter accounts purporting to be Kan himself cropped up, though they were quickly shuttered.

Beard Burn in Isesaki City

In Isesaki City, about 60 miles north of Tokyo, the municipal government has banned beards on all city officials. The ban follows a number of public complaints that found beards on some workers to be "unpleasant." Local barbers and 'beard advocacy groups,' such as the Hige (Beard) Club are trying to work within the confines of the ban: Minoru Fujii, a Tokyo member says "I am designing beards for my customers that are considered acceptable in the company workplace." According to The Japan Times’ 'Views from the Street' public opinion column, most people agree that public officials should be neat and tidy, but that banning all facial hair is going a bit too far. Isesaki is the only municipality in Japan to instate such a ban.

Government Adds 'Sexy' Kanji to Everyday Use List

The Council for Cultural Affairs added 191 new characters to the jōyō kanji list, the list of kanji approved for everyday usage and taught to elementary- and middle-schoolers. Most of the new kanji had been omitted when the last list was compiled in 1981, because they were considered too complex to have to write longhand on a regular basis. However, because most people nowadays write on computers or cell phones, there is no longer as much need to write by hand. New kanji includes: 額 (ton – stop or pause), 藤 (fuji – creeper plant), and 艶 (en – sexy/ voluptuous) .

Bite-Sized News:

►Construction on a golf course in Japan’s ancient capital Nara disturbed some ancient tombs. We're hoping nobody picked up a curse!

►The spread of foot-and-mouth disease in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan’s livestock center, continues.

►Japanese and American manga publishers fight scanlations.

►Japanese construction conglomerate Shimizu, Corp. unveiled plans to build a floating eco-city. It’s a joint project between 14 Japanese universities and the corporation to be completed in 15 years. "We would like to make it a utopia that belongs to no particular state," says Makoto Kajitani, director of the Super Collaborative Graduate School project director and president of the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo.

►A UK vet will publish a book about his experience as a prisoner of war during WWII, detailing his resulting lifelong friendship with one of his Japanese prison guards.

►A moving memorial for butoh legend Kazuo Ohno by Antony Hegarty from Antony and the Johnsons.

►NYT profiles director Shu Matsuri, noting "contemporary Japanese theater remains by and large terra incognita" around the world. The paper also profiled vernerable Japanese dance duo Eiko & Koma.

►Arthur R. Miller, one of America's top legal minds collects the ukiyo-e woodblock prints of Utagawa Kuniyoshi because of the artist's championship of free speech.

►Kuniyoshi in closing: "Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters… is part history lesson, part barometer of Japan's political climate of the day, part manga precursor. It is all exquisitely created, boldly rendered, and remarkably preserved."

►Asahi reports "wacky candy says 'Japan' like no other gift"

►Finally, Japan Society launched a Japanese-language Twitter feed @js_desu  in addition to @japansociety, @Education_JS, @Innovators_JS, and @JSNY_Film. Happy following!

N.O.

America's Heroes: Meet Graphic Heroes

Starting Memorial Day, the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families have echeloned over 700 museums and galleries across America for the Blue Star Museums initiative.

Japan Society is honored to be taking part, inviting active duty military personnel and their families to enjoy Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters for FREE through the exhibition's June 13 closing. With New York City's Fleet Week in full swing, we'll start the Blue Star Museums action a bit early on Saturday, May 29.

Graphic Heroes, Magic Monsters' 1850s pacific overtures are filled with selfless samurai, tattooed tough guys, lovely ladies, ghastly ghosts, cozy cats, and rockin' octopi. The critics have noted Kuniyoshi's "eye for the fantastic and the ghoulish remains unmatched," and his "greatest prints represent turbulent, epic visions" that are "as fresh as this morning’s manga."

Blue Star Museums lasts through Labor Day. Though Japan Society Gallery closes June 13 until fall, other New York City organizations taking part include: American Folk Art Museum, Asia Society, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Bronx Museum, Guggenheim, The Jewish Museum, The Met, MoMA, Museum of Arts and Design, Museum of Jewish Heritage, Museum of the City of New York, New York Botanical Garden, New York City Fire Museum, New York Transit Museum, Noguchi Museum, Staten Island Children's Museum,  Wave Hill, and the Whitney.

This Memorial Day Weekend, Japan Society Gallery is open Friday until 9 pm, and Saturday & Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. The Gallery is closed Monday. As always, members and children under 16 are free anytime.

Have a safe holiday!

(NO, SJ)