Japanese Food

Osama's death rocks the world

           Osama bin Laden’s slaying by United States Navy Seals ended a decade of searching and brought closure to many Americans.  I was at a friend’s house when I got a text from another friend who lives in Washington, D.C. She told me to turn the news on because the President was about to make an announcement.  When I tuned into CNN, I was definitely not expecting what I saw on the ticker and what the anchor was saying.  When the tragedies of September 11, 2001 struck, I was only in seventh grade.  Now, as I am about to graduate college, the news of bin Laden’s death brought closure, but also more questions.  How are other countries reacting to this news?

           

            Coverage around the world about bin Laden’s death is vast.  Nearly every country had some sort of report on what happened.  While most news sites were objective reports as to what happened, there were also organizations that differed from the United State’s emotions of happiness.  From around the world, from the Middle East, to Africa, to Europe, coverage is as diverse as the people in each country.  Some are supportive of the United States and the end of terrorism, others are upset and are critical of the slaying. 

I found it interesting that this poster was hung with bandaids.   Someone found it important enough to hang up with any sort of sticky adhesive they had.  

            Even within the Middle Eastern countries, opinions differed.  For example, an article from the Jordan Times expressed extreme jubilation after bin Laden’s death.  The article explains that Jordan was one of the first countries targeted and terrorized by Osama and his al-Qaeda regime in the early 1990s.  It says America’s goal of ending the entire al-Qaeda regime is unrealistic because the organization cannot be stopped by one central area because the terrorist groups are so divided and localized in specific regions.  Instead, it suggests the United States focuses on solving other conflicts such as the Arab-Israeli conflict. 

            An article from Pakistan, where Osama was found and killed, has an entirely different viewpoint from the Jordanian piece.  The Frontier Post article says killing bin Laden was not as powerful as the western media is making it because he was “an ailing man, with no role in [current] al-Qaeda operations.”  It goes on to say he only symbolized terror and extremism.  Instead of feeling triumphant, it says, “What should matter to Pakistan is that its territory was invaded by foreign forces.” While the West is rejoicing, the authors of this article think their fellow Pakistanis should be upset with the United States for invading without permission from the Pakistani government.  It represents a broken allegiance between the two nations. It states, “the invasion of airspace, then the landing of American boots on Pakistan soil, any doubts about the role that Pakistan has in its relationship with its favourite ally have been removed.” Another article says, “The attack came at the time when the Pakistan’s army and the civil leadership are being harshly criticised in the backdrop of unilateral US operation in Abbottabad.”  It seems like the United States and Pakistan were already in a touchy relationship with each other, and the secret mission did not do anything to better that relationship. 

            In article, from Cairo, there is a discussion about the divide between opinions on the death.  It says, “For starters, the divisions are apparent. Some see bin Laden as a hero and a martyr, others look at him as a terrorist and then there is the third group that is trying to make sense of it all.”  It’s interesting to me that there is such a division in support of the death.  It means such different things to each group. 

Some Islamic extremists in Egypt take to the streets to protest Osama's death. 

            Another interesting report is from a Nigerian newspaper.  Nigeria is a traditionally Muslim nation, the same religion as bin Laden.  While they have an extensive article detailing the events of May 1 and bin Laden’s reign as the king of terror, many facts were incorrect.  For example, the article stated twice “the man who evaded the USA’s massive security network for 10 years after masterminding the crash of three aircraft into the US world trade towers on September 9, 2001.”  The lack of fact checking may be a sign that that Nigerians did not pay much attention to the September 11^th attacks.  It also noted that three planes went into the World Trade Towers.  Most people in western societies know that it was actually 2 planes into the Twin Towers, and one into the Pentagon. 

            To move to another continent, the Argentinean press has articles with a positive spin on the death.  It says, “There’s been a complete change of mood in this country— a feeling of relief, a new climate.”  The mood seems to be more like our’s in the United States. 

           

            Western media couldn’t get enough of Osama coverage.  Twitter and Facebook were filled with posts about the death.  The United Kingdom’s Telegraph says according to Twitter officials, “news of bin Laden’s death ‘saw the highest sustained rate of tweets ever’.”  It is even reported that the news was leaked on Twitter first by the former chief of staff to Donald Rumsfeld, Keith Urbahn. 

I saw this picture all over Facebook in the days following the death.  Lady Liberty represents freedom, and now the world is free from the world's most wanted terrorist. 

            The announcement of the death way a hay-day for the conservative Fox News Network.  The lead to an article posted one day after reads, “Declaring “justice has been done,” President Obama announced late Sunday that Usama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan, marking the end of the worldwide manhunt that began nearly a decade ago on Sept. 11, 2001.”  The article details the events from start to finish.  It explains the US government got a tip over the summer about Osama’s whereabouts and the mission was highly secretive.  The President made the announcement to the American people, and the world within hours of informing top White House officials and members of Congress. 

           

            I will never forget turning my television on and hearing the news.  I felt a feeling of triumph, and am hopeful that the United States patriotism can be renewed to what it was like right after 9/11.  In the days following the death, nightly newscasts were filled with stories about families who were hurt in the attacks in 2001.  It brought tears to my eyes quite a few times hearing families of fallen firefighters say they felt closure and relief to hear that Osama was now dead.  

Osama Death: Reports from Abroad

From YouTube site: RussiaToday

Video-Blog about death

Japan's Reaction to the death of Osama bin Laden

The Japanese media did not have much in terms of content created from its own papers and news sites.  The stories published were primarily from international wire services.  The accounts were mostly fact-based, with little opinion.

I did, however, find a blog-like opinion piece from a Japanese-American.

From Print:
The world after bin Laden

Bin Laden's execution dissappoints

Anger remains over 9/11

From Twitter:

Family members of Japanese who died in 9/11 attacks react to news of Osama bin Laden's death. http://bit.ly/mu4v2F

BREAKING NEWS: CNN reporting that Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is dead. President Obama is due to make televised address soon.

American Perceptions of Japan

Any Google search of “Japan” today will return countless articles and links to information about the March earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant meltdown.  But how much did we know about Japan before these disasters shook-up the world?  I spoke with three generations of Americans, and all returned fairly similar responses in terms of knowledge and awareness of social events in the Pacific Island nation.

Everyone I spoke with was able to identify the capitol, Tokyo, and the location of Japan as a country in the region of the continent of Asia.  The consensus among interviewees about a past event within this century was the recognition of the bombings of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. 

US and Japanese military leaders work together to agree to a surrender of Japan, which ends WWII.

My Papa, who is 79 years old, went to Japan with the Navy less than a decade after WWII ended.  While he reminisced, he told me, “I was there only 9 yrs after WWII and there was absolutely zero animosity.  They [the Japanese] recognized their error in starting the war.”  He explained he and his fellow sailors were told not to worry at all about trusting the Japanese workers aboard their ship and that “they were incredibly honest people.”

His wife, my grandma, voiced some of the same ideas about how our country views Japan.  She has traveled to Japan and says the most interesting part of the country is the “beautiful art… their talents are unbelievable.” She also told me about an experience she had at a tourist spot.  As she looked around for a towel to dry her hands, an old Japanese woman approached her with a handkerchief from her purse and lent it to her so my grandma could wipe her hands.  She described her sincere generosity as something that’s hard to come by in the United States. 

Dennis Louie, a 57 year old from the Bay Area, told me when he was growing up he faced people who were prejudiced against his family, even though they are Chinese, because people thought they were Japanese.  I found this interesting, since it is contrary to what my Papa told me about the lack of animosity in Japan immediately following WWII. 

One Cal Poly student, Nadia Nosrati, said her “dad brought her back a kimono from a business trip he had in Japan.” She told me she “hated it at first, until she matured and appreciated the culture behind the gift.” 

Kimonos are more than just an item of clothing, they represent part of Japanese art, showcasing the intricacies and attention to detail that is so common in other forms of Japanese art.

Another student, Kela Driggs, said when she thinks of Japan, a documentary about capturing dolphins for meat comes to mind.  She says the horrific images and ideas in the movie stand out as part of a culture she does not agree with. 

A fifty-year-old fire captain I spoke with said he thinks of the recent Toyota recalls.  He says most Americans see Japan as a leader in the technology and auto-manufacturing business. 

Once we got past the initial reaction about the earthquake as the number one topic for discussion, the array of answers from word association with “Japan” led to an interesting mix of responses.  From kimonos to cars, everyone had a different idea of what American’s of being part of Japanese culture.  It seems like Americans have a pretty good understanding of Japanese culture, and certainly of the current events of today.  

Twitter & News site of the Week: Japan

Twitter site: The Daily Yomiuri
It's the Twitter site of the English-language sister paper of Japan's largest newspaper publication.
It includes posts about the earthquake, world leaders visiting Japan, and commerce.

The post that struck me as most interesting is:

@DailyYomiuriThe Daily Yomiuri

Space agency researchers are planning to use sunflowers to decontaminate radioactive land in Fukushima Prefecture. http://bit.ly/hRwckl

Link to article

News Agency site: Metropolis Magazine 

"Metropolis is Japan’s No 1 English magazine.

Metropolis is the only magazine that has its distribution of 30,000 copies independently verified by Japan’s Audit Bureau of Circulations. The magazine is read by over 70,000 readers from 1000 distribution points throughout Tokyo, Yokohama and Chiba. There are a further 30,000 regular internet readers.

Japan has the wealthiest international community in the world. Metropolis readers are 79% business professionals in Tokyo with an average income of ¥437,375/month. 52% pick up Metropolis every week. 59% keep copies for reference.

Metropolis has 250 clients in each issue, the largest of any English magazine. Most Metropolis advertisers are long-term clients that started with small sizes, received good results and have upgraded their ad sizes."

Japanese Families

The roots of Japanese culture go back centuries to the era when emperors ruled the land and samurais fought as noble warriors.  Today Japan is seen as a technological Mecca with bustling cities like Tokyo with over-crowded streets and tech-savvy business men.
 
The family system is important to Japanese culture.  Traditionally a family unit consisted of the eldest son, along with his wife and children, living with his parents under the same roof.  This is considered a “stem” system and the younger sons branched off to establish their own families.  According to Anne E. Imamura, author of The Japanese Family, “[The family] is especially important because the family rather than the individual is considered to be the basic unit of society.”   Marriages were typically seen as economic liaisons between families, and the two betrothed had little to no say in the arrangement.

The Japanese Royal family is an example of the traditional structure of multiple generations living together.

This traditional system of the family began to shift towards what is prevalent now in the late 1960s.  The website “Facts and Details” says, “The number of three-generation households decreased from 56 percent in 1972 to 29.7 percent in 1999.” Today, the family unit is more westernized in the sense of the nuclear family living in a single household rather than with extended family.
 
I am fortunate to have my own experiences with Japanese culture.  My family hosted two Japanese exchange students, Sayo and Miki, for summer programs.  Watching the girls integrate into our American family, I caught a glimpse of what family life might be like in Japan.  Both girls were extremely shy and reserved.  When each girl arrived they gave us many gifts from their mothers.  The gifts were like peace offerings and signs of respect for housing their daughters.
 
Throughout the program all of the families hosting students participated in group activities where the girls shared some of their culture.  One activity was a ceremonial dance performance where the girls uses samurai swords and wore kimonos.  It showed how important tradition is to the Japanese people.
 
The most interesting part about hosting an exchange student was observing her habits and mannerisms.  Upon arrival the girls stayed in their room downstairs and only came out for meals or when we specifically invited them out.  This changed as they became more comfortable with our family, and by the end of their stay, it was as if they were a part of the family.  Learning first-hand about a culture is a rewarding way to experience the world.

We took our Japanese exchange student, Miki, to Disneyland to share with her a piece of our American culture.