Somebody's Gotta Die Part 2

OK. So I divided my train of thought into two posts. Provided I held your interest through the first post you are back for more. Many scandalous practices in Japan promote change but they only come about after somebody has died. The earthquake in 1995 and then in 2011 was my first example.

Next, bullying at schools. Bullying at schools is something that happens practically everywhere. Most people have stories of feeling awkward during their teen years. Japan however has almost a historical and cultural love/hate connection to bullying. Japan's culture practically promotes conformity with the majority. If you are different, if you speak out, if you break the rules then you are wrong. Even corporal punishment was until recently an acceptable way of educating and reforming behavior that was deemed undesirable. Now corporal punishment is illegal but there is no legislation to punish those that break the law. If you rob a bank you go to jail. If you physically abuse a student at school....your boss might give you a stern talking to. While measures to stem the bullying of students by their peers has been in place for many years it is only recently that bullying by teachers or corporal punishment by teachers has come to light.

In late 2012 a high school student in Osaka complained that his school basketball coach had slapped his face on several occasions as punishment for poor performance as the team captain. When his complaint went unanswered and when the slapping continued he committed suicide. It is only after this terrible incident that the country realizes that there might be something wrong with corporal punishment. Not the whole country came to this realization though. Former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara said "Corporal punishment is one process of imprinting" and is necessary for raising a child. If somebody was ever in need of a slap it certainly is this guy.

For more on Corporal Punishment in Japan and Mr. Ishihara's opinion: Japan Times "Two Sides to Corporal Punishment"

Somebody's Gotta Die Part 1

Something that I've been thinking about from time to time is how scandals hit this country in waves. And when something tragic occurs the government and policy makers react the same. They reexamine, evaluate and try to "fix" what went wrong. The problem that I see is that with the majority of these changes only happen when someone has died.

I think the first incident I experienced was the Hanshin earthquake at the beginning of 1995. This quake was the first major quake in recent history in Japan. At least the first quake in which there was a large loss of life and major damages. At the time I was living in south Osaka in a rundown two story building. It was the first earthquake that I had ever felt and despite not being very close to the epicenter it was still terrifying and it still caused damage to the building I called home. The surprising and scandalous thing about this disaster was the response of the the government and how they mishandled the rescue efforts. First off, the then Prime Minister  Tomiichi Murayama wasn't even informed of the quake until hours after the fact. Then, later when rescue efforts were starting to get underway, the Japanese officials didn't know how to coordinate local or foreign relief groups. Many international rescue workers were left waiting at the airport for days.

In the aftermath of the 1995 quake the flaws in the system were recognized and many improvements were implemented. Namely the early warning broadcast system. Now any earthquake is announced on television stations across the country. Relief and volunteer coordination has improved greatly since 1995 but there is still a "fear" of international help. After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 the U.S. military had to wait several days before the Japanese government would accept help. Many relief centers wouldn't accept donations that weren't from listed organizations. In frustration, many volunteer groups skipped the bureaucracy and started handing our food and supplies directly to the people.

The scandal taken away from the 2011 earthquake is the abuse of donated funds. The millions of dollars donated to the relief and reconstruction has been used in ways that has nothing to do with the people that need it. (ie a contact lens factory funded by donations).

Earthquakes aren't the only example of changes being made after the fact. I am sure I could ramble on about other earthquake centered scandals for pages and pages but I'd like to show other examples of corruption in hopes of shaking things up. Or at least rattling things up enough that people might actually question the methods of their leaders.