Other Things That Happened in Japan

I’ve compiled a list of some other things that happened while I was in Japan. Since none of them fit in with the posts I wrote a couple months ago, I decided to wait until now to create the list. In no particular order, here are some thing that I remember happening:

• I didn’t know which direction the train station was, so I asked a young guy which way it was and he walked with us a couple blocks (in the opposite direction that he was going) to point us to where the station was.
• On my way back to my hotel from my parents’ hotel near Kannai Station in Yokohama, I walked through an area that I thought was pretty harmless at night. Instead, there were a lot of guys in business suits asking me to come into their bars and clubs. I hailed a nearby taxi and asked him if where he picked me up was a bad area and he said “Yes.” Oops.
• My parents and I walked into a bar in the Kannai area of Yokohama and the bar owner said “Sorry, Japanese only” in English and smiled.
• My friend Brook and I found a soul-music bar called Chap Sweet and Mellow that seated about 10 people. We chatted with locals and made music requests.
• On my way back from my mini Japanese bachelor party with Brook and our friend Yuhito, I got on the train, slept, and stepped off the train at its last stop, which was halfway between Tokyo and Yokohama. In Japanese, I asked a guy if a train to Yokohama was coming, slurred speech and all.
• While I was preparing for the wedding ceremony, the lady who was helping me asked me to strip down to my boxers so that I could change into my hakama. And then she stood there and watched me take off most of my clothes. Awkward.
• After meeting with my friend Doug, I saw a man sitting on the sidewalk near a crosswalk at a busy intersection; he was passed out and it was only 5:30pm.
• While I was waiting for Brook to meet me at a train station near his apartment, I watched a kid on his bike get sideswiped by another bicyclist and take a nasty spill. His M&Ms and other bags of goodies were a complete loss.
• A child kept pointing to me and calling me “English teacher” in a store.

Critics of President Obama, Since When Was Being Disrespectful an Appropriate Sign of Power?

President Obama bowed to Emperor Akihito on November 14?? This is a huge deal! Why would the United States, one of the world’s largest powers, show any form of respect to Japan—or any other country? I’m disappointed. It’s absolutely absurd…

… that politicians, who are supposedly the voice of reasoning and leadership for our country, are making a big deal about this.

Seriously. Who in their right mind thinks it’s a bad idea to show any form of respect while you’re a visitor on foreign land? The argument that people are trying to make of this is ridiculous. Just because Emperor Akihito’s father is the one who approved of Japan’s military attack on Pearl Harbor, people think we need to show disrespect toward everyone directly or indirectly involved. Some conservative guy said, “I don't know why President Obama thought that was appropriate.” Wait, so, showing disrespect would be more appropriate? Hm, that’s not what my parents taught me.

To put bowing in perspective, my wife, Yang, said this to me:

“In Japan, bowing is a greeting and showing of respect. In the United States and other Western countries, it’s probably seen more as a display of loyalty.”

If the critics saw President Obama’s bow as a showing of loyalty to the emperor of Japan, then that’s a culture fail on their part. Not being open or at least researching why a culture conducts itself in a certain way is just selfish and creates an unnecessary hurdle for future engagements. What was a showing of respect in the eyes of both parties might now be an embarrassing situation for both President Obama and Emperor Akihito—embarrassment toward the United States’ reaction and the international publicity that followed.

Think about it. If you had a Toyota Corolla that suddenly malfunctioned and you had to take it in to get repairs, would you be justified in treating the mechanics at the dealership with disrespect just because a problem happened that’s beyond their control? Absolutely not. And, if you did disrespect the mechanics, the relationship is tainted; you can’t trust each other. all of a sudden, you’ve got a $2,500 bill for what should’ve been a $500 fix. The same applies to this situation. If you don’t show respect to someone who deserves it or is in a position that is influential, you risk ruining future business, partnerships, and other potentially beneficial propositions. When people say it’s a bad choice that President Obama showed courtesy toward Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, they are either close-minded to the courtesies of other cultures or riding on a mysterious power trip. These people need to get over themselves.

Although I personally haven’t witness much change personally, it’s been less than a year since this guy’s been in office. Sure, some people complain that he isn’t doing as much as he should. But remember, it took ex-President Bush less than a year to show change in the United States, resulting in billions of the world’s population disliking him, for example, the guy from the shoe-throwing incident in Iraq.

I will admit, though, the picture of President Obama and Emperor Akihito is a little odd to me…

… I’ve never seen someone bow while shaking hands.

 

*Looking for this post in Japanese? A translated version of it is on my Mixi blog (Mixi account required). Thanks for translating it, Yang!