Just say no... in Japan.

Image borrowed from Japan Today, 3/15/14. Caption reads: What do you think of this ad by the Osaka Pharmaceutical Associations warning people to be aware of the danger of marijuana. It features Monster Engine, a comedy duo from Osaka, and says Dame Zettai or Absolutely No.

The bottom text includes the kanji characters for cannabis (大麻 or taima) and marijuana written in katakana (マリファナ or marifana). The text on the right side of the image can be translated as "the wrath of the gods." Monster Engine seems to have skits where they portray the play of the gods. Here is a YouTube clip to get an idea of who these guys are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJODLiCIvS8

I'm not sure whoever made this poster was thinking. Japan and the Osaka Pharmaceutical Associations need to reassess their ideas about marijuana, especially when countries, states and communities have lax laws or even support medical and/or recreational uses of it. An acquaintance of mine recently went to consult his English speaking Japanese doctor about stress related illnesses both mental and physical. The doctor prescribed handfuls of pills without explaining possible side effects. My acquaintance did some simple research on the internet and found many negative side effects of the stress relieving prescriptions, including addiction, depression and sexual dysfunction that would not go away for two years after the use of the drugs. At their next meeting my acquaintance asked the doctor about medical marijuana in Japan. The doctor just laughed... "Oh! Not in Japan!"

I recently had a cold and went to the doctor and requested a prescription for a strong cough syrup. He seemed confused. Both my Japanese interpreter and I extensively explained what I wanted and he seemed to understand. When I took the prescription to the drug store I was handed four different sets of pills and no cough syrup. The doctor didn't seem to understand in the end, or perhaps he thought he knew best and simply prescribed drugs made by company members of the Osaka Pharmaceutical Associations.

It would be nice if individuals had the opportunity, choice and respect to collaborate in their own health... And not be subject to such blatantly biased (and misinformed) propaganda. (Sorry for the rant. Being sick sucks no matter where you are...)

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/picture-of-the-day/view/crock-pot

"Teens sharing photos of themselves 'praying' for victims of Tohoku disaster cause stir"

Image and text borrowed from Japan Today, 3/14/14.

Last Tuesday marked the third anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku disaster, a day on which tens of thousands of people lost their lives and many more were displaced, never able to return to their homes. At 2:46 p.m., the exact moment the quake struck three years ago, people across the country stopped to take part in nationwide moment of silence.

Teens across the land also took a moment to pay their respects that day, although the actions of a few were perhaps a little misguided. Soon after the moment of silence, photos emerged online showing kids “praying” inside “purikura” sticker photo booths, which were quickly shared and “favorited”.

Internet commenters reacted angrily to the images, calling them disrespectful and deploring how the smartphone generation feels the need to broadcast almost everything they do.

Although some people, busy as they were, went about their day oblivious to the fact that the moment of silence was being held, the vast majority stopped what they were doing and took a few seconds to reflect. Even on the streets of Tokyo, hundreds of people came to a sudden halt as memorial services were broadcast on big screens.

Not long afterwards, a number of photos appeared online showing teens supposedly praying and showing their respects for the dead. Many included messages such as “in memory of those who lost their lives on March 11, 2011,” and seemed quite genuine. Others less so.

Naturally, the online community was both surprised and angered to see such photos, which were mostly taken in “purikura” photo booths, which require manual operation and for the participants to strike a suitable pose while the machine takes their photo. They’re also almost always located within noisy video arcades, begging the question of whether these kids were really taking their reflection seriously.

Despite being daubed with the kanji characters for silent prayer (黙祷), few netizens believed that these shared displays of respect for the dead were genuine, and found the very idea of taking photos of oneself during a time like this, not least then sharing them online, in very poor taste.

“What on earth are these people doing sharing photos on Twitter of themselves praying? What on earth is wrong with Japan?” wrote one of the many angry Twitter users in response to the photos, adding that surely the money spent on taking the photo would have been better given to a relief fund to help those affected by the disaster.

The majority of the comments made online, however, were far blunter:

“Man, this pisses me off.”
“Idiots.”
“These kids have zero morals.”
“Are they even praying properly?”
“Purikura is anything but silent prayer.”
“Silent prayer isn’t some event you know!”

In fairness, we’re sure that at least some of the kids who took photos like these genuinely meant well and that their hearts were in the right place. They’re young and, what with growing up in the age of smartphones and selfies, by sharing their photos in this way they may have felt that they were showing their respects appropriately. Rather, it is down to their teachers, parents and even older siblings to tell them that while social media can be a wonderful tool for spreading a message, there are times when we should put down our phones and appreciate the gravity of the situation, and certainly not just for show.

Stepping into a purikura booth to document your prayers for the dead is most definitely not a good idea. But then again, sharing photos of yourself supposedly passionately kissing your boy/girlfriend, or taking time out from “having an amazing time with the best friends ever” to Tweet or update your Facebook status with is perhaps just as idiotic, so maybe we’re not really setting the best example?

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/teens-sharing-photos-of-themselves-praying-for-victims-of-tohoku-disaster-cause-stir

Special Screening of "HAFU"

With an ever increasing movement of people between places in this transnational age, there is a mounting number of mixed-race people in Japan, some visible others not. “Hafu” is the unfolding journey of discovery into the intricacies of mixed-race Japanese and their multicultural experience in modern day Japan. The film follows the lives of five “hafus”–the Japanese term for people who are half-Japanese–as they explore what it means to be multiracial and multicultural in a nation that once proudly proclaimed itself as the mono-ethnic nation. For some of these hafus Japan is the only home they know, for some living in Japan is an entirely new experience, and others are caught somewhere between two different worlds (from the Hafu project website).

VAOJ presents a special screening of this film sponsored by the Kansai Gaidai University Center for International Education.
When:Tuesday, March 11, 2014, 6:45 PM
Where: KGU International Communications Center 4th floor Grand Hall
Admission: FREE

For more information about the film and project, and to see the film trailer, visit the project website: http://hafufilm.com/en/about/

Not Japan, but... "Massachusetts Court Rules Upskirt Photos Not a Crime"

We discuss the ethics of doing fieldwork and photographing in Japan quite often at VAOJ. Protecting the privacy of our informants/collaborators is of utmost concern. An extreme example of not respecting privacy that appears quite often in the Japanese media is up-skirt photo taking. It would seem to be common sense that up-skirt photos are a breach of privacy - isn't that why we call them private parts? Taking such photos is against the law in Japan. But apparently this is not the case in many parts of the United States... Read on. Story from NBC News.com, March 6, 2014:

Massachusetts lawmakers are pledging to pass a law against "upskirting" after the state's highest court ruled that a man who took cellphone photos up the skirts of female subway riders did not violate existing statutes.

Michael Robertson was arrested in an August 2010 sting operation, and a lower court upheld the charges against him.

But the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday that because the women were not nude or partially undressed — requirements under the state's Peeping Tom laws — Robertson was not committing a crime.

"A female passenger on a MBTA trolley who is wearing a skirt, dress, or the like covering these parts of her body is not a person who is 'partially nude,' no matter what is or is not underneath the skirt by way of underwear or other clothing," the court said in its ruling.

State law "does not apply to photographing (or videotaping or electronically surveilling) persons who are fully clothed and, in particular, does not reach the type of upskirting that the defendant is charged with attempting to accomplish on the MBTA," the court said.

Prosecutors had argued that the current law could be interpreted to make upskirt pictures illegal. Now that the court has weighed in, they want lawmakers to amend the statute.

Politicians in both houses of the legislature said that would happen.

"The ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court is contrary to the spirit of the current law," Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo said. "The House will begin work on updating our statutes to conform with today's technology immediately."

Senate President Therese Murray said she was "stunned and disappointed" with the ruling.

"We have fought too hard and too long for women's rights to take the step backward," Murray said in a statement. "I am in disbelief that the courts would come to this kind of decision and outraged at what it means for women's privacy and public safety."

In the meantime, transit police may not be able to make any arrests for upskirting.

Some other states, such as Nebraska, are also moving to rewrite statutes that now apply only if the person being photographed is undressed or on private property.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/massachusetts-court-rules-upskirt-photos-not-crime-n45441

Program Announcement: Japan Travel 2014 Intern Program Begins

This announcement was passed along to me from a colleague (Thanks, SZ). While VAOJ does not necessarily endorsement any program, this internship looks like it might be worth looking into.

Following on from our inaugural photojournalism internship in 2013, JapanTravel KK is pleased to announce the launch of its 2014 program. We are looking for foreign students and recent graduates of photojournalism and videography courses to live and work in Japan for 6-8 weeks this year.

* If you are a photojournalist you will be photographing an assigned area of Japan and writing short stories about your experiences. Our expectation is 1-2 articles a day, and you can be a native in either English, French, Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian, Korean, or Chinese.

* If you are a video journalist, then you will also be assigned a region to cover and will be expected to produce an edited 2-3 minuteclip every two days.

For more information, go to: http://en.japantravel.com/interning

VAOJ Once Again Participating in Kameraoke

For more information: http://www.kameraoke.com/

Previous VAOJ coverage: http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.jp/2010/12/kameraoke-photographic-democracy.html

More tattoo controversy in Osaka: "Female Osaka school clerk's pay docked over tattoos"

From Japan Today, 2/1/14:

A 23-year-old woman who works as a school clerk in Osaka has been disciplined for having tattoos.

The woman had her salary cut for one month for violating ethical rules, the Osaka board of education said, NTV reported Friday.

According to the board, the woman got three tattoos from 2012 to 2013: one on her left arm and two on her left ankle. There was an anonymous call to the school complaining about the tattoos, which prompted the board to investigate the case.

NTV reported that the woman has agreed to have her tattoos removed.

This is the first time an Osaka government employee has been punished for having tattoos since Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto announced an anti-tattoo policy in June, 2012.

Hashimoto conducted a compulsory survey in which all employees of the city government were pressured to provide information about visible and concealed tattoos. Hashimoto said the local government would block the promotion and advancement of any city employee who declined to respond to the survey asking them if they have tattoos.

The survey was criticized by lawmakers and teachers throughout the prefecture, where about 800 teachers and other school workers refused to respond, saying it infringed on their right to privacy.

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/female-osaka-school-clerks-pay-docked-over-tattoos

VAOJ has long been covering this tattoo controversy. I have had students who have done research on tattoos in contemporary Japan. The difference between yakuza and other (dare I say western influenced) tattoos is quite obvious. Tattoos for visual kei and other popular culture fans are becoming more common as well. One might wonder why Osaka mayor Hashimoto is so concerned about tattoos when there are other more pressing issues to consider... Personally I would not mark my body with ink. But I know many people who have done so with their tattoo having an extremely personal and important meaning. Should they really be socially punished?

"Facial ID tech to be set at [Osaka] station"

Image and text borrowed from The Japan News, 1/30/14.

Not only are you being watched and recorded, your behavior is being analyzed as well. So much for the Personal Information Protection Law and privacy in public...

Countless cameras scanning pedestrians’ faces and tracking their behavior—it may sound like a science fiction movie, but this is to be a reality at JR Osaka Station come April.

The station, which serves 820,000 passengers per day, is scheduled to be the stage of an unusually large study on tracking location data using facial-recognition technology.

Although attempts to utilize location data as “big data,” such as in crime prevention, are expected to become more and more common, it remains to be seen how accepting people will be of their behavior being tracked.

The study is being conducted by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), an independent administrative institution based in Tokyo.

About 90 cameras are to be set up on the first to third floors of Osaka Station and the station building, Osaka Station City, around ticket gates, coin lockers, escalators, shops and other areas.

Each camera is to photograph people’s faces within a three-square-meter area, and assign each face an ID based on its characteristics.

When a person is recognized by another camera, the time and location will be recorded. Each person’s behavior will then be tracked for one week.

According to the firm supplying the facial-recognition system, the technology can distinguish an individual with an accuracy of 99.99 percent.

Each day, 820,000 passengers use Osaka Station, and at least 320 million people have entered the shops in the station building since it opened in May 2011, making it one of busiest places in the Kansai region.

An NICT official said the institute wants to better understand the movement of people to help improve evacuation instructions during disasters.

The study is slated to last for two years. Afterward, the data is to be given to West Japan Railway Co. free of charge, after facial images and other information has been scrubbed.

A JR official said the company has not decided how to use the data.

Facial images could be used to determine a person’s identity, which is a form of personal information that falls under the Personal Information Protection Law, which requires people to be notified if they are being photographed.

Independent administrative institutions, however, are exempt from this law. Still, NICT said it plans to notify people they are being photographed through signs inside the buildings and other means, but has not decided how large, where, or how many signs will be posted.

Facial-recognition technology was developed in the 1990s and has been employed to identify people at entrance gates for market research and for other uses.

Beginning around 2011, Facebook and other social media outlets began integrating the technology, but using it to follow people’s behavior with large numbers of cameras is unusual.

Yoichiro Itakura, a lawyer privy with privacy issues, said the location of the study in a busy public space was problematic.

“A station is a public area, so people who don’t want their faces identified can’t really avoid it,” he said. “It’s inappropriate to have selected a place for the study where users have no other choice. At the very least, they should put up a clear notification before one enters the study area.”

Wi-Fi also used

The wireless Internet capabilities of smartphones are also being used to analyze behavior.

Starting in May last year, KDDI Corp. and Mitsui & Co. began installing devices that emit Wi-Fi signals in commercial establishments.

The devices collect an identification number from customers’ smartphones via the devices’ wireless signals, and use these to track people’s movements.

Twenty-two such devices have been installed in Grandberry Mall in Machida, Tokyo, and 25 devices have been placed around Tamaplaza Terrace in Yokohama. Each device can apparently identify customers within 10 square meters.

The stores have a smartphone app that gives out coupons. When a customer downloads the app, the user contract explains that it “is used to survey location data.”

However, even customers who have not downloaded the app will have their ID numbers collected if their smartphone Wi-Fi is on, though most customers are unaware of this.

KDDI and other parties involved said if location information is obtained from a customer who has not downloaded the app, the data is not analyzed and discarded within six months.

However, a similar form of behavior analysis that took place in London came under heavy criticism and was forced to end.

Last August, an advertising company set out garbage cans fitted with Wi-Fi devices, according to Mayumi Tanimoto, a telecommunications consultant who lives in Britain.

The devices were used to collect ID numbers of the smartphones of passersby without their permission. When the practice was discovered, the company was criticized for privacy invasion and eventually had to remove the trash cans.

Source: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000974145

Nippon Connection 2014

14th Nippon Connection – Japanese Film Festival
May 27 – June 1, 2014, Frankfurt am Main/ Germany

Nippon Connection is the largest showcase of Japanese film worldwide and takes place in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. The festival’s aim is to contribute to the development and promotion of Japanese film culture and it presents the whole range of innovative Japanese film art: blockbusters, dramas, animation and experimental films, documentaries as well as short films. Nippon Connection gives special attention to young and innovative talents and independent productions.

The programme is divided into six sections: Nippon Cinema, Nippon Visions, Nippon Animation, Nippon Retro, Nippon Kids and Nippon Culture. All films are selected by the festival programme committee. Not all selected films take part in the competitions. Accepted films are short and long feature films as well as documentaries, experimental films and music videos.

Festival organizers are looking for films that have been made after 2011 and produced or shot in Japan. All lengths and genres will be considered. Submission deadline: March 15, 2014.

For more information: http://www.nipponconnection.com/

Entry form: http://www.nipponconnection.com/files/downloads/en/NC14-EntryForm-eng.pdf

"The Mysterious [Deaf] ‘Charity’ Linked To Dennis Rodman’s North Korean Basketball Game"

Dennis Rodman is a pretty colorful character in many ways and would be an excellent subject for a visual anthropology project. I was reading the sports pages this morning about Rodman's latest trip to North Korea and it mentioned something about him organizing a basketball game with the proceedings going to a deaf charity. Huh? Deaf charity? I was able to find this very interesting report on ThinkProgress.org:

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman told reporters on Monday that all the proceeds from his controversial basketball game in North Korea would go towards a North Korean charity for the deaf, a claim that neither his agent nor the trip’s sponsor knew anything about.

This week’s trip marks Rodman’s fourth journey to North Korea, the latest in a string that has been borne of a surprising relationship between the former Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls player and Kim Jong Un, the country’s leader since 2011. “Just to even have us here, it’s an awesome feeling. I want these guys here to show the world, and speak about North Korea in a great light,” Rodman told the Associated Press upon landing. “I hope people will have a different view about North Korea.”

To that end, Rodman continued, proceeds from the game would go to a charity for the deaf in North Korea. The opacity of both the DPRK and the trip itself makes it difficult to verify the accuracy of that claim. For starters, related to the proceeds themselves, ThinkProgress reached out to Paddy Power, an Ireland-based bookmaking website and the sponsor of Rodman’s trip, to learn more. Paddy Power said that it had scaled back its involvement with the excursion. In a statement regarding that pullback, released in December, the betting site noted the international disdain for the DPRK as why it was ending its association. “It was really a reaction to the worldwide focus and total condemnation of the North Korean regime over recent events,” the statement said. “We don’t want to be associated with that.” According to Sky News, the firm is still paying for the trip, to fulfill contractual obligations.

Paddy Power’s spokesperson instead pointed to Rodman’s representatives at Prince Marketing Group for comment. When reached, a representative initially told ThinkProgress, “I don’t have anything for you” related to Rodman’s claims. A follow-up email with more detailed questions related to the amount of proceeds expected to be donated went unanswered as of press time. Given the state of the DPRK’s economy, it also remains unclear precisely who would be paying for admission to the exhibition basketball game between the American and North Korean players to generate the proceeds Rodman says will be donated.

As for the other part of Rodman’s announcement, it’s difficult to track down just what charity he may have meant. The most likely candidate is the North Korean-based Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled (KFPD), which has worked with several international NGOs on issues surrounding the deaf. The World Federation for the Deaf in 2011 signed a memorandum of understanding with KFPD to “develop cooperation between the two organisations with the view of further improving the living conditions and equal opportunities of deaf people in all fields including deaf education, deaf culture, arts and deaf sports.”

Handicap International (HI), another organization devoted to improving the lives of the disabled, worked closely with KFPD for a time, but according to its website is still determining their relationship moving forward. This came after the North Korean government in 2005 announced that the country no longer needed international aid in this area. The same site notes that members of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs also serve alongside KFPD staff and HI’s two full-time workers, a testament to the lack of independence KFPD likely has in operating in the Stalinist country.

And while British NGO Action for Deafness hosted a delegation from KFPD in July to help provide training for North Korean doctors to diagnose and treat auditory disabilities, attempts to discern whether other local deafness groups exist came up empty. KFPD also does not provide contact information, making confirmation of whether it is expecting a new windfall all the more difficult.

Rodman has for months billed his trips as an example of “basketball diplomacy,” something that the U.S. government has been quick to explain is not officially sanctioned. This time around, former NBA players and All-Stars including Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson and Vin Baker join Rodman in flying to the Hermit Kingdom. ThinkProgress was unable to reach representatives for any of the former ball players for comment about the charitable aspect of the game. Former New York Knicks player Charles D. Smith did tell reporters upon his arrival that he hoped that the game would foment new ties between the U.S. and DPRK. “It’s new being here, but overall the concept is not new,” Smith said. “The team is made up of a lot of guys who really care, that’s the most important, it’s not about bringing dream-teamers. It’s about guys who are coming that want to be a part of this, that care, and really that care about humanity.”

Caring for humanity does not usually come to mind when discussing North Korea, given the widespread human rights violations it is more commonly known for. Its relationship with the disabled is one that has troubled outside observers for years, a stigma they have been attempting to lift in recent years. Pyongyang in 2013 signed — but has not yet ratified – the Convention for the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) and in 2012 for the first time attended the Paralympic Games when they were hosted in London.

But as defector Lee Aeran told Radio Free Asia in 2007, during the rule of Kim’s father Kim Jong Il, life for those born with disabilities is a harsh one. Though those disabled in combat are honored, even the families of disabled children aren’t allowed to live in the capital city, Pyongyang, instead facing expulsion. “Disabled babies are seen as persona non grata in Pyongyang, and their families are banished from the capital city and forced to relocate in rural areas,” she said, a claim backed by the U.S. State Department.

“The disabled are thus forced to live in a difficult environment that does not provide for their special needs, and that makes North Korea a terrible place to live for persons living with a disability,” Lee continued. Whether the proceeds Rodman claims will be donated will help alleviate this climate of intolerance and repression remains to be seen.

Update

USA Today is reporting that Rodman did meet with representatives of KFPD, though with no new information on what sort of proceeds can be expected to be raised nor how the quasi-civil society organisation, as the European Union has termed it, will spend them.

Source: http://thinkprogress.org/security/2014/01/06/3121621/rodman-north-korea-deaf/