Asian Area Studies Spring 2020

Guess what we’re DEFINITELY not talking about this week. Coronavirus. In much happier news that sparks much joy, the Japanese production company Studio Ghibli, famous for their movies such as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke, has agreed to distribute their movies and soundtracks globally, well almost. According to the Japan Times, the company has recently made agreements with Netflix and HBO streaming services to make their glorious and captivating animated films available, everywhere except the US, Canada, and Japan, through their subscriptions. There is nothing to complain about with this recent development as audiences worldwide will have access to a distinctly eastern animation style in addition to the cultural themes ubiquitous throughout the movies.   Part of the magic within these films is the peaceful melodies interlaced throughout composed by Joe Hisaishi.   The soundtracks for the Studio Ghibli movies will be available everywhere on streaming se

Now I told myself that I do NOT want to address anything regarding the coronavirus since that’s all the media wants to discuss nationally and globally. Much to my dismay, the overhyping and fear-mongering projected onto the civilian population has ignited severely racist attitudes against the Asian community across a multitude of countries. In France, a Japanese restaurant, Yuki, was vandalized with paint with the word “coronavirus” graffitied onto the side of the eatery. The most disappointing aspect in regards to the vandalism is the issue that “Asian French, or Japanese, are being targeted for racial discrimination because of the coronavirus!”. Racist attitudes projected against those of Asian descent happens within the Asian culture itself as “Japanese candy shops banned any and all Chinese people from entering the premises”. At this point in time, the coronavirus has 1. Spread to other parts of the world - so anyone can be infected at this point, not just Chinese or for th

In breaking news from the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte has dismissed the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between his country and the US as of February 12. The VFA is defined as a “legal mechanism to promote defense cooperation between the two countries, enhancing the preparedness of the Armed Forces of the Philippines against external threats”.   This decision is met with trepidation from local political figures in the Philippines as the Vice President   Robredo and Senator de Lima both voiced concern over the hasty abrogation. Lima states, “Duterte’s termination of the VFA is epically wrong. It is a geopolitical blunder and a previous misstep that may further unsettle the functioning of our very own government - one that is supposedly built on the constitutionalism and principle of checks and balances”. The Filipino President firmly stands behind his decision claiming he was considering “national interests” but a lack of national security undermines any type of i

How do you feel about possible nuclear waste in your water? I know I wouldn't love it. Japan has proposed a plan for disposal of their radioactive water from their Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. This comes at a time when waste tanks are nearing their capacity, and at almost ten years since the nuclear meltdown, the Japanese government insists on understanding how to treat contaminated water in order to assume the least adverse health effects possible. The Foreign Ministry in Tokyo claims that “releasing the water into the Pacific Ocean and evaporating it "are reasonable means of disposal of the radioactive water. Japan claims that this would not expose humans to a greater amount of radiation already existing in day-to-day life. While this seems like a plausible solution to a devastating issue there has been strong pushback from local fishermen and farming industries as their customers and businesses would be negatively affected.   The art