HOT POTATO (WITH A CORPSE)
One of the big draws of Nara is its sacred deer, population 1,000. The Shinto religion believes that the deer are messengers from the gods, and as such, must be treated with reverence. Mistreatment or killing of the deer was made a criminal offense after protein-starved locals started poaching from the herd around the time of World War II. The legislation also spawned a new tradition among the Nara denizens that persists today. Every morning, homeowners wake up early to inspect their lawns and confirm that a deer has not dropped dead overnight on their property. Should they find a corpse, the practice is to sneakily move the animal into their neighbor's yard before city authorities find out and start making accusations.
I have no data on how many times a deer carcass has been moved in one morning.
THE BUSINESS OF GROUPTHINK
Japan has been in the news quite a bit lately, not for achieving Olympic glory (though Japan did recently win the Little League World Series) or technological breakthroughs, or other positive developments. Rather, the country has been critiqued for some of its economic and business practices. First, there was a rather damning article on the penalization of Japanese students who choose to study abroad. Even graduates with degrees from top-notch institutions like Harvard or Oxford have had a difficult time finding work in Japan. In fact, many of them were blackballed, because their Western training made them appear unsuitable for integration within Japanese professional culture. It doesn't take an MBA to see how backwards this is in today's global market. Equally surprising was the backlash surrounding the announcement by at least one Japanese company that it had taken the drastic step of making English the mandatory language of daily operations.
Rakuten Inc., a competitor of Amazon.com, made waves when its CEO announced that company employees would be expected to communicate almost exclusively in English in their day-to-day tasks, with the implication that any employee falling short of those standards could look elsewhere for work. The gambit is that by increasing English fluency across the organization, Rakuten will make itself more accessible internationally, as well as more competitive, which will hopefully eventually widen their profit margin.
The final standout article I read recently had to do with the strength of the yen. Several visitors and prospective visitors have complained about the yen-dollar exchange rate. "Doesn't Japan want to attract tourism?" reasoned my uncle (correctly). One would think. However, a year in Japan has taught me that often the most obvious solutions are the least employed. According to the piece above, the yen is kept at an artificially high level in order to protect the large aging population here. The stronger the yen, the cheaper various imports are, making it easier for the elderly to live in relative comfort. Conversely, however, Japanese exports are more expensive, making them less competitive with goods from other countries. This has really hurt Japanese businesses, many of which are losing big clients, or having to take drastic steps, like relocating to other countries in Asia, where the cost of overhead is lower and conditions are more advantageous for businesses. A key quote from one such entrepreneur who moved his factory to Vietnam: "Pretty soon, nothing will be made in Japan anymore."
One positive is that the Japanese seem determined to do their part to keep the economy afloat with ceaseless shopping. I've always thought shopping was an errand you ran, but the Japanese make it into a national pastime. The best of all worlds is to take a trip to Korea, where you can buy the same goods for a fraction of the price.
Rakuten Inc., a competitor of Amazon.com, made waves when its CEO announced that company employees would be expected to communicate almost exclusively in English in their day-to-day tasks, with the implication that any employee falling short of those standards could look elsewhere for work. The gambit is that by increasing English fluency across the organization, Rakuten will make itself more accessible internationally, as well as more competitive, which will hopefully eventually widen their profit margin.
The final standout article I read recently had to do with the strength of the yen. Several visitors and prospective visitors have complained about the yen-dollar exchange rate. "Doesn't Japan want to attract tourism?" reasoned my uncle (correctly). One would think. However, a year in Japan has taught me that often the most obvious solutions are the least employed. According to the piece above, the yen is kept at an artificially high level in order to protect the large aging population here. The stronger the yen, the cheaper various imports are, making it easier for the elderly to live in relative comfort. Conversely, however, Japanese exports are more expensive, making them less competitive with goods from other countries. This has really hurt Japanese businesses, many of which are losing big clients, or having to take drastic steps, like relocating to other countries in Asia, where the cost of overhead is lower and conditions are more advantageous for businesses. A key quote from one such entrepreneur who moved his factory to Vietnam: "Pretty soon, nothing will be made in Japan anymore."
One positive is that the Japanese seem determined to do their part to keep the economy afloat with ceaseless shopping. I've always thought shopping was an errand you ran, but the Japanese make it into a national pastime. The best of all worlds is to take a trip to Korea, where you can buy the same goods for a fraction of the price.
THE CRUDENESS OF CRUDITE
When it comes to my midday meal, I am a lunch bringer, not a buyer, usually some array of leftovers from earlier in the week. My fellow teachers are always curious about my cooking, and often come over to inspect the contents of my lunch. Recently, carrot sticks were on the menu, to the incredulity of Panda-sensei.
Panda-sensei: "Eri, what is this?"
Me: "These? Oh, they're carrots."
PS: "Carrot? You are rabbit?"
M: "Haha, no. I just like carrots. You don't eat raw carrots in Japan?"
I offered him one to try, which he took after making a big deal about finding the smallest stick. He put the carrot in his mouth, bit into it, and grimaced. Then he closed his eyes and made a gagging sound that was alarming given his proximity to me. He opened his eyes, shook his head, and put the rest of the carrot back on my desk. "No, Eri, " he said, "No carrot. Bad taste. Very strange."
I asked around, and while some Japanese people said that they found raw carrots to be delicious, most of them clearly thought that I was crazy. At least I'm not alone in this experience.
