Culture, Identity and Citizenship in Japan and Canada
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Culture, Identity and Citizenship in Japan and Canada Edited by David W. Edgington, Norio Ota, Nobuyuki Sato, and Jackie F. Steele Research Series ISS Research Series No. 59 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO Culture, Identity and Citizenship in Japan and Canada Edited by David W. Edgington (University of British Columbia), Norio Ota (York University), Nobuyuki Sato (Chuo University), and Jackie F. Steele (University of Tokyo) 1 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables, Figures, Photos and Graphs………………………………………...……………..5 Editors’ Preface……………………………………………………………………………………7 1. Keynote Presentation – Former Tsukuba City Councilor, Jon Heese, English is Spoken Here: The Challenge of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics…………………………………………………….10 2. Keynote Presentation – Past President and Professor Emeritus of Tsuda College, Masako Iino, Japanese Canadians (Nikkei in Canada) and Their Identity……………………………………...17 3. Hiroko Noro, Voices of Kakehashi……………………………………………………………28 4. Norie Yazu, The Volunteer Interpreter Training Project……………………………………...39 5. Michiko Aramaki, Why Multicultural Co-Habitation is a Bad Idea for Japan………………..53 6. Ryoko Ishikawa, Multiculturalism for Women………………………………………………..70 7. Etsuko Kato, None of My Business……………………………………………………………77 8. Susan S. Lee, Gender and Disability in Canadian Workplaces: Lived Experiences, Diversity Practices, and Cultural Shifts ……………………………………………………………………89 9. Brian Pendleton, “Excitement, Entertainment and Enlightenment”: Tokyo Hosts the Olympic Games – 1964 and 2020………………………………………………………………………...105 10. Yasushi Aoyama, Urban Planning Challenge and the Olympic Games: Tokyo, 1964 and 2020……………………………………………………………………………………………..115 11. Keisuke Enokido, Exploring Postmodern Urban Transformation through the Preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics………………………………………………………………………129 Contributors……………………………………………………………………………..……....139 3 4 List of Tables, Figures, Photos and Graphs Tables Table 1. Total number of high schools and high schools that teach languages other than English in Japan (2003-2012) Table 2. Number of test-takers of “foreign languages” of Center Nyushi and the breakdown by language Table 3. Profile of the seven “Gaidais” (names, languages studied, number of students) Table 4. Sporting Events with KUIS students’ participation, their venues and foreign languages used (2014) Table 5. Curriculum of the 1st Volunteer Interpreter Training Seminar Table 6. Demographics of Employees and Managers in Canadian Workplaces Figures Figure 1. Canadian English Modules <26. Saying you intend to do something> Figure 2. Singapore English Modules <26. Saying you intend to do something> Figure 3. The waterfront areas in Tokyo Figure 4. The Tokyo Big Sight Building Figure 5. Multiple-center urban design Figure 6. The National Capital Region Central Loop Road owing to Ring-Forming Megalopolis Structure Plan Figure 7. Ring Road Structure Plan Figure 8. The Heart of Tokyo Photos Photo 1. A KUIS student at the Sochi Olympic Games (February 2014) Photo 2. Photo 2: KUIS students at the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup in Tokyo (August 2012) ©Kanda University of International Studies Photo 3. Poster advertising the first “Volunteer Interpreter Training Seminar” with a red tag that says “Full. Thank you.” (April 13, 2015) Photo 4. Lecture of “Understanding Different Cultures (Intermediate)” (August 25, 2015) Photo 5. Shinkansen – Launching Ceremony 5 Photo 6. Elevated Highway Construction Photo 7. Construction Congestion Photo 8. Olympic Village, Washington Heights Photo 9. Sakai Yoshinori Photo 10. Nihonbashi area Expressway Graphs Graph 1. Gender of Interviewees in Vancouver Graph 2. Age Groups of Interviewees in Vancouver 6 EDITORS’ PREFACE The eleven edited papers gathered in this volume were among those presented at the International Conference on `Culture, Identity and Citizenship in Japan and Canada’ held in Tokyo at the Canadian Embassy between May 20-23, 2015 at the Embassy of Canada to Japan, and Chuo University Tokyo. The conference was organized jointly by the Japan Studies Association of Canada (JSAC), the Japanese Association for Canadian Studies (JACS), and the Japan-Canada Interdisciplinary Research Network on Gender, Diversity and Tohoku Reconstruction (JCIRN). Other papers delivered at the Conference will be published in a separate format on the JSAC web site. The Conference theme was chosen to encourage dialogue on important issues surrounding culture, identity and citizenship in both countries. For instance, debates over to what degree Japan and Canada should, or can, accept foreign refugees and migrant workers depends in part on embedded cultural values in each country. In Japan, demographic evidence shows that a declining and aging population will lead to a shrinking workforce, and many politicians and commentators are saying ‘only immigration can save Japan’. Some propose bringing in 10 million migrants over 50 years. Others, however, argue that Japan should retain its ‘no-immigration principle’. Indeed, a central tenet of Nihonjin-ron — a popular genre of writing on national identity — is that the Japanese are a homogeneous people (tan’itsu minzoku) who constitute a racially unified nation. While Nihonjin-ron has been thoroughly discredited in academic writing, it remains deeply rooted in popular discourse. Canada was the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy. Acceptance of multicultural policies gives Canadians a feeling of security and self-confidence, making them more open to, and accepting of, diverse cultures. Proponents of multiculturalism argue that all citizens in Canada can keep their identities, can take pride in their ancestry and have a sense of belonging. Nonetheless, there are critics who point out that multiculturalism promotes ghettoization and balkanization, encouraging members of ethnic groups to look inward, and emphasize the differences between groups rather than their shared rights or identities as Canadian citizens. Indeed, some propound that many Canadians no longer feel a strong sense of belonging in Canada and cannot integrate themselves into society as a result of ethnic enclaves. In this viewpoint, multiculturalism is often seen as hurting the Canadian, Québécois, and Aboriginal culture, identity, and nationalism projects; and it perpetuates conflicts between and within groups. Gender issues are intermixed with citizenship and identity matters. Can women rescue the Japanese economy? Yes, according to the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose ‘womenomics’ policies have marked the first time that a Japanese government has made the promotion of working women a signature feature of the country’s growth strategy. However, many commentators are not so sure, especially as Japan’s inability so far to generate a system that allows women to achieve a work-life balance has had dire economic and demographic consequences. While Canada has long supported women in the work force, in terms of overall gender equality Canada barely makes the grade in the top 20 countries. According to the four measures used by the World Economic Forum (economic participation and opportunity, education attainment, health and survival and political empowerment) Canada is outranked on 7 gender equity by countries such as the Philippines, Ireland, Nicaragua, Latvia, Cuba and Lesotho, as well as South Africa. Clearly, issues of citizenship, culture and identity as well as gender are of critical interest to scholars in Japan and Canada. Language issues were also important to the Conference theme. Thus, in preparation for Japan’s hosting of the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, it is suggested that the country establish ‘special English zones’ where English would be designated as an official language to be used by local people in return for tax reductions. In Canada, language identity and politics have been prominent since federation, and today there are concerns about the number of older as well as recent immigrants who are not being linguistically integrated into Canada (i.e. not learning either English or French). The JSAC Keynote speaker at the Conference, Jon Heese, while not an academic per se, spoke about his own compelling personal story of growing up in `small-town’ Saskatchewan, Canada, and how he went to live and work in Japan, initially without Japanese language skills. Over the years he became both a local entrepreneur in Tsukuba city, Ibaraki, and then a municipal politician. Based on his own challenges introducing `foreigner friendly’ signage programs in Tsukuba he gives encouragement to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee to introduce similar plans in the years leading up to this important international sporting event. The JACS Keynote speaker was Makino Iino. Her address focused on how Japanese Canadians (the Nikkei) expressed their identity and their citizenship in Canada in the difficult years immediately after World War II. She points out the importance of local Buddhist churches (Bukkyokai) in Toronto, Canadian Nikkei involvement in sending relief supplies to Japan through the LARA program, and aspects of the repatriation of many Canadian Nikkei back to Japan. The remaining papers in this volume fit well the theme of our Conference and report on scholarly research carried out in both Canada and Japan, often with an explicit comparative methodology. Thus, Hiroko Noro takes up the role of Nitobe Inazo as a kakehashi, someone who can bridge cultures. Nitobe was a Japanese diplomat who coined a powerful metaphor of the “Bridge across the