The Japanese are a strange bunch, but bravo to them for being intelligent with regard to this, unfortunately, I very much doubt ‘we’ will learn lessons from how the grown-ups behave.
Just as an aside, I thought the national colours of Ukraine were blue and yellow ? Maybe the author is a bit confused and still languishing in the Russian debacle during the Winter war from Soviet days ?
?
“the municipal offices in Shinjuku were lit up in the blue and yellow of Ukraine”
Bernard Hill
2 years ago
…given the BS on most of the MSM about what is going on, and the hysterical response of the UK in particular, Japan’s NHK is actually providing the most measured reporting of events that I’ve seen so far.
Terry M
2 years ago
We should consider how we would feel if we were traveling in a foreign country when our country did something awful. Would we want to be blamed for the government’s actions? Of course not. We should behave the same. “Do unto others…”
Dominic A
2 years ago
Surely the UK and others have banned some cultural and athletic Russians as a means to getting to the Putin regime, not out of ‘Russophobia’. The notion of Russophobia altogether seems to be a bit of Kremlin spin – 50 years out of date, as usual. The truth is closer to the opposite – Western Europe has belated learned that they trusted Russia too much (the leadership, not the individual people – obs), We trusted Russia enough to supply our energy needs, and buy up housing, football teams, companies, and political parties, and had minimal objections when they killed people on our soil. I have read almost nothing in the UK or US media suggestive of general Russophobia – the closest it got was a rather mild article saying that whilst it’s understandable why Russian people are cowed by the regime, they could be doing more to push for good leadership. Rather, like the embargoes on SA during the Apartheid era, the hope is that such measures bring effective pressure on the regime, at an acceptable cost (no violence, just loss of earnings). It is understood that Black South Africans, anti-apartheid whites, and regular Russians will end up paying a price – and that is regretted.
Lisa I
2 years ago
Sounds like cancel culture hasn’t come to Japan. Anecdotally, the cultural / sports boycotts and so on seem to be helping the rally round the flag effect in Russia.
The response that western governments and media have taken to Russians is interesting. There has been a big emphasis on avoiding Islamophobia in society in the aftermath of terrorist attacks. Perhaps because Russians are Europeans there hasn’t been the same caution taken?
The best way to fight Identity Politics is to not participate in it.
David Harris
2 years ago
But no mention of what the 9000 Russian expats in Japan are saying or doing. Do they send send money and food to Ukraine? Do they defend Putin or attack him? That would have been a good thing to investigate.
Digging into the affairs of a large number of legal residents due to their national origin or ethnicity is complicated. I am not saying it shouldn’t happen, just that it can easily be taken too far (like putting American citizens in internment camps during WWII because of their Japanese ethnicity).
The UK interned thousands of Germans in WWII, including Jewish refugees from Germany. Quite right, since we were actually at war. The Japanese seem to have got it right; the faux-bellicosity of Truss etc is not helping the situation.
The Japanese are a strange bunch, but bravo to them for being intelligent with regard to this, unfortunately, I very much doubt ‘we’ will learn lessons from how the grown-ups behave.
Just as an aside, I thought the national colours of Ukraine were blue and yellow ? Maybe the author is a bit confused and still languishing in the Russian debacle during the Winter war from Soviet days ?
?
“the municipal offices in Shinjuku were lit up in the blue and yellow of Ukraine”
…given the BS on most of the MSM about what is going on, and the hysterical response of the UK in particular, Japan’s NHK is actually providing the most measured reporting of events that I’ve seen so far.
We should consider how we would feel if we were traveling in a foreign country when our country did something awful. Would we want to be blamed for the government’s actions? Of course not. We should behave the same. “Do unto others…”
Surely the UK and others have banned some cultural and athletic Russians as a means to getting to the Putin regime, not out of ‘Russophobia’. The notion of Russophobia altogether seems to be a bit of Kremlin spin – 50 years out of date, as usual. The truth is closer to the opposite – Western Europe has belated learned that they trusted Russia too much (the leadership, not the individual people – obs), We trusted Russia enough to supply our energy needs, and buy up housing, football teams, companies, and political parties, and had minimal objections when they killed people on our soil. I have read almost nothing in the UK or US media suggestive of general Russophobia – the closest it got was a rather mild article saying that whilst it’s understandable why Russian people are cowed by the regime, they could be doing more to push for good leadership. Rather, like the embargoes on SA during the Apartheid era, the hope is that such measures bring effective pressure on the regime, at an acceptable cost (no violence, just loss of earnings). It is understood that Black South Africans, anti-apartheid whites, and regular Russians will end up paying a price – and that is regretted.
Sounds like cancel culture hasn’t come to Japan. Anecdotally, the cultural / sports boycotts and so on seem to be helping the rally round the flag effect in Russia.
The response that western governments and media have taken to Russians is interesting. There has been a big emphasis on avoiding Islamophobia in society in the aftermath of terrorist attacks. Perhaps because Russians are Europeans there hasn’t been the same caution taken?
Maybe
The best way to fight Identity Politics is to not participate in it.
But no mention of what the 9000 Russian expats in Japan are saying or doing. Do they send send money and food to Ukraine? Do they defend Putin or attack him? That would have been a good thing to investigate.
Digging into the affairs of a large number of legal residents due to their national origin or ethnicity is complicated. I am not saying it shouldn’t happen, just that it can easily be taken too far (like putting American citizens in internment camps during WWII because of their Japanese ethnicity).
The UK interned thousands of Germans in WWII, including Jewish refugees from Germany. Quite right, since we were actually at war. The Japanese seem to have got it right; the faux-bellicosity of Truss etc is not helping the situation.