The Impacts of Japanese Television Programs : World Wide "Oshin Phenomena"

The Impacts of Japanese Television Programs : World wide "Oshin Phenomena"

著者高橋一男著者別名 Kazuo TAKAHASHI journal or Journal of regional development studies publication title number 1 page range 143-156 year 1998-03 URL http://id.nii.ac.jp/1060/00003924/

Creative Commons : 表示 - 非営利 - 改変禁止 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.ja JournalofRegionalDevelopmentStudies(1998) 143

TheImpactsofJapaneseTelevisionPrograms: Worldwide “OshinPhenomena ”

byKazuoTAKAHASHI ＊

Introduction

OnOctober26th,1993,anEgyptianNewspaperreportedastoryaboutan Egyptianfamilywhosenew-bornbabywasnamed “Oshin."Japanesenewspapersandmagazinesalsocarriedthisnews.SeveralyearsafterthisJapaneseTVprogram(series

）,wasbroadcastinJapan,thestoriesandimpressionsitcreatedbecamepopularamongtheJapanesepeopleonceagain 。Anothermemorableepisodeabouttheseriesreportedintheforeignmediacamein1988inIran.OneIranianradioprogramairedinterviewswiththepeopleonthestreet,whowereaskedtonameawomanwhotheythoughtwasthemostsymbolicoftheIslamicwoman.Ane

χpectedanswertothatquestionwas,ofcourse, “Fatima",thenameoftheProphetMohammed'sdaughter.However,onepersonuttered “Oshin"as “themosttypicalArabwoman,"andthissentaShockwaveacrossIran.ThedayaftertheprogramwentontheairinIran,theAyatoUahKhomeini(supremeleaderforthenation),sentalettertotheIranianBroadcastingStation

（TR!B ）sayingthatthoseinvolvedinthebroadcastshouldbepunishedandbanishedfromtheiroffice.TheAyatollahwasreportedtohavesaid, “IfanintentionalwishtoinsulttheIslamicreligionisproven,whoshouldbeputtodeath."Thisledtothearrestoffourpeople.Toeveryone'srelief,theAyatollahlaterexoneratedtheaccused.Thisincidentcreatedastirovertheworldassoonasitwasreportedinthemedia.ItwasarareincidentinwhichaJapaneseTVdramawasthecauseofa

“trouble,"whichworriedsomeconcernedpeopleinJapan 。TheTVseriesOshin,whichwasatthecenterofthisfurorabroad.wasairedinJapanbyNHK

（NipponHosoKyokaiorJapanBroadcastingCorporation)everymorningforoneyear.startinginApril,1983.Atonetime,itachievedama χimum

*FacultyofRegionalDevelopmentStudies,ToyoUniversity !44 JournalofRegionalDevelopmenIStudies(1998 ）

viewingratingof62.9 ％,accordingtoapublicratingcompany.ThenameOshinbecamesynonymouswithqualitiessuchas “perseverance"and “patience,"whichcharacterizedthedrama.Somepeoplecoinedanewphrase “OshinYokozuna, ”orOshin,theGrandSumoChampion.WhentheairingofthedramaOshinwascompletedinJapan,itbegananewlife:overseasbroadcastsstartingin1984.InSeptember,1984,thebroadcastofOshinbeganinSingapore,followedbyotherAsiancountrieslikeThailand,China,HongKong,Macao,MalaysiaandIndonesia.Eventually,theOshinboomspreadtostillothercountries.InAugust,1992,are-runofOshinstartedinIndonesia.ByJune,1995,theserieshadbeenairedin44countries

。NootherJapaneseTVdramahaseverbecomepopularenoughtobere-runinforeigncountries.ThispaperaimstoanalyzehowOshinwasbroadcastandviewedabroad.ItfurtherlooksintothereasonsforOshin'sstrongappealtomillionsofviewersabroad.whilecomparingtheresultsofstudieswhichwereconductedinIranandIndonesia.AnotherpurposeofthispaperistoanalyzethecauseoftheOshinBoom,whichsometimesescalatedintotheOshinPhenomena.OshinBoominJapanTheTablel

“CountrieswhereOshinwasBroadcast"showsthattheserieswasfirstairedinSingaporein1984.ByJune,1995,thedramahasbeenviewedinatotalof44countries,inspiringmillionsofviewers.TheprogramwasshownmostlyinAsia,andfromthereitgraduallyspreadtoCentralandSouthAmericaandAfrica.Oshinwasmorereadilyembracedindevelopingcountries.ratherthaninadvancedindustrialcountries.andalsoincountrieswithalargepopulationofJapaneseancestry.Insomecases.Oshinwasbroadcastviastate-runTVstationsaspartoftheir

“nationaleducationalprogram."TheOshinphenomenaoccurredmoreofteninthecountrieswherethemediawereunderstatecontrol.Inactuality.however,theeternalsubjectsthisdramaaddresses,suchasfamily,workandlifeappealedtoviewers,Japaneseandnon-Japanesealike,transcendingnational,ethnicandculturalbarriers.andtraveledintothoseareaswherethestatepowerdidnotwieldcontrol

。Beforegoinganyfurther,itisimportanttoseehowtheOshinserieswasviewedinJapanandexaminetheoriginalintentionsofthewriterwhocreatedthescript.ThescriptwaswrittenbySugakoHashida.Shehadbeenfascinatedbytheoldvalueswhichpermeatedthelivesofwomeninhermother'sgeneration.Theseare TAKAHASHI:TheImpactsofJapaneseTelevisionPrograms:Worldwide ‘'OshinPhenomena" 145

thevalueswhichmodernJapanesehavecompletelyleftbehindintheirquestfor achievingfasteconomicgrowth.Ms.Hashidawantedtouseimagesofthepastto showtheplightofwomeninprevioustimesandthenaskmodern-dayviewersif traditionalvaluesshouldbeshovedasidesoquicklyinthenameofdevelopment. Howwasthewriter'smessagereceivedbytheaudience?Whatweretheingredients inthedramawhichattractedsuchalargenumberofviewers? BrowsingthroughthemassmediareportsabouttheOshinboominJapan,the keywordsonecanfindareadjectivessuchas “perseverant"or “resilient."TheveryrealistichardshipssufferedbyJapanesewomenwhowerebornduringtheMeijiandTaishoperiodsseemtohavedirectlyappealedtotheaudience.Howdidyoungergenerationviewthesudden,newOshinPhenomena?Originally,nooneconcernedwiththeproductionofthedramaintendedittobeeducational,eventhoughsomesaytheywantedtoconveythespiritof

“learningfromoldwisdom."Thedramatriggeredthoughtsofhowtheoldergenerationcouldandshouldconveytotheyoungergenerationsthedifficulttimestheywentthrough.ViewersregardedOshintobeagoodopportunitytolearnaboutbygonedaysbysharingthepovertyandtherags-to-richesstoryofJapanesewomen.Thewriter,Ms.Hashida,focusedonthethemesofthepreservationoffamilylineage,workingwomen,andtherelationshipbetweenthebride(whomarriesintoafamily

）andhermother-in-law （whoisthewomanofthehouse ）.ThestoryofmillionsandmillionsofJapanesewomenwhoovercameorsimplyperseveredthroughthephysicalandmentaltormentsassociatedwiththepreservationofthefamilylineagehadmuchtotell.The

“greatheritagefromourmother"wasthecentralelementwhichstruckhomewithOshinviewers 。Table1.CountrieswhereOshinwasBroadcast

Countries Year TVStations Episodes

1.Japan 1983 NHK 297 2.Singapore 1984 SBC （TCS)Ch.5L.A.,S.F.,NY.SBCCCTVPolishTVHKTVBTDMSaoPaulo297 3.Thailand 1984 297 4.U.S.A. 1984 297 5.Australia 1984 297 6.China 1985 297 7.Poland 1985 48 8.HongKong 1985 297 9.Macao 1985 48 10.Brazil 1985 297 146 JournalofRegionalDevelopmenlStudies{1998)

Countries Year- TVStations Episodes 11. Belgium 1985 BRT 297 12. Canada 1985 Tronto,Vancouver 297 13. Malaysia 1986 TV3 297 14. Indonesia 1986 TVRI 297 15. Iran 1986 IRIB 297 16. SriLanka 1987 SLRC 297 17. SaudiArabia 1987 SATV 297 18. Brunei 1988 RTV 297 788887778777777687777777766777777 19. Me χicoQatarBahrainSyriaPhilippinesDominicanRepublicBangladeshPeruPakistanBoliviaPanamaNepalGuatemalaNicaraguaEgyptIndiaRomaniaChileUruguayJamaicaGhanaHondurasCubaVietnamTaiwanMyanmarCostaRicaParaguayCambodiaLaosMongoliaSudanTurkeyBulgaria1988 Imevision 20. 1988 QTS 21. 1989 BahrainTV 22. 1990 SyrianTV 23. 1990 Ch.9 24. 1990 RTD 25. 1990 BTV 26. 1990 RTP 27. 1991 PTV 28. 1991 Ch.9 29. 1991 Ch. 日NepalTVCh.3SNTVEgyptTVDDITVRCh.9Ch.4JBCGBCCh.5ICRTVTVChinaTVMBSCh.2SNTTVKRTNLMRTVSNBCKANAL7BNT 30. 1992 31. 1992 32. 1992 33. 1992 34. 1992 35. 1993 36. 1993 37. 1993 38. !993 39. 1993 40. 1993 41. 1993 42. 1993 43. 1994 44. 1995 45. 1995 46. 1995 47. 1995 48. 1996 49. 1996 50. 1996 51. 1996 ／ ○944449994999999949999999999999999n7222222222222222222222222 52. 1996

Source:NHKInternational,Inc.,December1997 TAKAHASHl:TheImpaclsofJapaneseTelevisionPrograms:Worldwide'OshinPhenomena" 147

Fromaboomtoaphenomenon

Thescriptwriter,Ms.Hashida,neverimaginedthatthesesubjects,someof whichwereregardedasbeingtypicallyJapanese,wouldbeunderstoodinsomany foreigncountries.Shewasnotawarethatmanyn ニ)reignresidentsinJapanwerewatchingthedramaandwerebeingdeeplyimpressedwhenanOshinboomwasintheoffinginJapan.Theyweremostlyforeignbusinessmenandthemembersofthediplomaticcorps.TheywatchedOshin,talkedaboutit.andsomeofthem.uponreturninghome.wantedtoshowthedramatotheirfellowcountrymen.ItwasinSinaaporethatOshinwasfirstbroadcastoutsideofJapan.Letusnowseehowthisallcameintoreality

・

Singapore TheambassadorfromSingaporetoJapanin1983wasoneoftheforeign diplomatswhowatchedOshinonTVandlaterbecameanavidfan.Beforeheleft Japanattheexpirationofhisdiplomaticmission,hepaidacourtesyvisittoNHK ・HehadbeengivenanewassignmenttobecomechairmanoftheSteeringCommitteeoftheSingaporeBroadcastingCorporation(SBC).DuringhisvisittoNHK,heaskedifOshincouldbebroadcastinSingapore.Positivestepsweretakenfollow-ingthisrequest.TheselectedpartsfeaturingayoungandlateradolescentOshinwererevisedandasponsorwaslocatedbyaJapan-affiliatedadagencyinSingapore.ThedialogwasdubbedintoChineseandthebroadcastbeganinSeptember,1984

。Oshinwasaninstanthit.andeventually,all297episodeswentontheair.TheOshinboominSingapore,whichimmediatelyfollowedthebroadcasts,wasreportedbythemediatoallpartsoftheworld.TheairingbeganinThailandinNovember,1984,followedbyChinainMarch,1985.Afirehasbeenset.

Thailand Thailand'srecordedstaggeringworldtradedeficitof380millionBhatsin1993, 60 ％ofwhichwasaccountedf)rbyimportsfromJapan.Itledtoaverystronganti-Japanesesentiment.However,oneJapanesebusinessmandaredtoembarkonamission:tobroadcastaJapaneseTVprograminThailandoverThailand'sbroadcastingsystem.HerepresentedanadvertisingagencyaffiliatedtoJapan.AssoonasthepopularityofOshinbroadcastsinSingaporehadbeenreported.heimmediatelythoughtasimilarresponsewouldoccurinThailand.Thenortheast- 148 JournalofRegionalDevelopmentStudies(I99S)

ernpartofThailand,sufferingfromunderdevelopedagriculturaltechnologyand repeatednaturaldisasters,hadalargenumberofimpoverishedfarmers.Justlike Oshin,themainfemalecharacterofthedrama,manylocalfarmershadtosendtheir youngfemalechildrentocitiestofindworkandsupportthefamily.Another grouptowhichthedramaappealedwasalargenumberofChineseimmigrantsand theirdescendantsinThailand,whohadachievedeconomicsuccessinonegenera- tion.Manyofthesepeopleidentifiedthemselveswith “thesuccessstory,"anotheringredientwhichcharacterizedthedrama 。Thailand'sChannel5showedinterestandofferedtheprogramanairing,butundersevereconditions:theadvertisingagencywhichfirstpromotedtheideaofOshinairinghadtoundertakethespotads.andabsorbtheentiresponsoringfees

汀noprogramsponsorwastobefound.Channel5agreedtobroadcasttheOshinseriesfor30minuteseverynightbetween9:20and9:50,MondaythroughThursday,startinginNovember,1984.ThedialogwasdubbedintoThaiandtheentire297episodeswereaired

。Oshinprovedtobeinstantlysuccessful,exceedinginpopularitythealreadywidely-viewedJapaneseanimatedcartoonssuchasDoraemonandIkkyusan.Theanti-Japanesesentime

】ntquicklydissipatedinThailandwiththerapidlyspreadingpopularityoftheOshinTVseries.

China Atthebeginningofthel980s,ChinastartedbroadcastingJapanesemoviessuch as“TheRedSuspicion （AkaiGiwaku ）,"starringMomoeYamaguchi,thenaverypopularyoungJapanesesinger/actress.InterestinJapanesemoviesgrew.In1983,GeneralSecretaryofCommunistPartyofChinasawavideotapeofOshinduringhisvisittoJapan.HelatercontributedtotheformingofaprojecttoairOshininChina.WithhelpfromtheJapanFoundation,newbroadcasttapeswerereadied,andaJapanesehomeelectricmanufacturerofferedtosponsorthebroadcast.OshinwasairedunderthenewChinesetitleof

“Ashin"startinginMarch,1985.TheChineseBroadcastingstationservedasthekeystation,whichbroadcastAshinoverthe27stationsinitsnetwork.TheYoungandAdolescenceoftheseriesaswellastheFirstLoveweredubbedintoChinese,andre-editedinto90-minuteinstallments.Theprogramwasaired8times

（orfor2months ）onSundayeveningsat8 。AlthoughTVviewingratingisnotcommonlymeasuredinChina,theTV TAKAHASHI:TheImpactsofJapaneseTelevisionPrograms:Worldwide ゛OshinPhenomena 149

StationestimatesthattheaverageviewingrateinBeijingtohavebeen75.9 ％,whilethema

χimumratingof89.9 ％wasalsorecorded.Itwasreportedthattheaveragenationwideratingwas63.4 ％。Ashinwasviewedfarandwide,andsomebodywasreportedtohavesaid.

“WhenAshinstarts.peopledisappearfromcitystreets."InAugustofthen:)llo ＼v-ingyear(1986),theairingofthesequelswasdecided,andall297episodeseventuallywentontheair.AccordingtotheTVStation'sanalysis.about200millionpeoplealloverChinaviewedtheAshinseries,withtheviewersrangingwidelyinage.occupationandsex.butpredominantlywomenandelderlypeople.

BelgiumandHolland InBelgium,theBelgianTVStation （BRT ）airedallofthe297episodesonChannel2betweenMarch,1986andOctober,1988.ThedialogwasinJapanese,butsubtitlesappearedinFrisian.SincethislanguageiscloselyrelatedtoDutch,BRT'sChannel2airedviacabletelevisionwasalsoviewedandenjoyedbythepeoplelivinginHolland.Itwasreportedthattheviewingratingswere8.1

％inBelgiumin1986,14.4 ％in1987,and17.7 ％in1988.Theratingincreasedeachyear ・A1 ％viewingratingisequivalentto50,000viewersaged12yearsorolder.SincecableTVisnotverywidelyavailableinHolland,theaverageviewingratingofOshinwas0.6

％.A1 ％rateinHollandisequivalenttoabout130,000people.TheviewersinbothBelgiumandHollandweremostlyelderlywomen.thoseaged55orover.

Peru InPeru,afterFirstnameFujimori,whoisofJapanesedescent.wasinaugurated asPresident,the48installmentsoftheOshinserieswereairedbeginninginJanuary, 1991.ThesewerethepartsinwhichthecharacterofchildOshin,thusfarplayed byFirstnameKobayashi,wasreplacedbytheadolescentOshin,portrayedbyFirst nameTanaka.Attheendofthisseries.OshinmadeuphermindtogouptoTokyo totryherfortune. ”Hardwork"wasthepoliticalsloganoftheFujimoriAdministration,which wastryinghardtosalvagetheeconomyunderatighteconomicgrip.Oshin's centralthemeofrepeatedhardshipssufferedbyagirlbornintoapoorpeasant familyandhereventualsuccessinbusinesswerejusttherightingredientsn:) 「Peru.TheTVdrama'spopularitywasusedbythegovernmentforpromotingtheir 150 JournaldRegionalDevelopmentStudies(1998)

politicalgoal.ThePeruvianBroadcastingCorporation,whichwasthekeystation. determinedthattheOshinserieshadtobeviewedasaneducationalopportunity, andevenissuedacommentthatthegovernmentexpectedthephilosophyofpersever- anceandhardworktopermeatefarandwideamongitspeople 。SincenoaccurateviewerratingsorresponsewasmeasuredinPeru,itisdifficulttojudgewhethertheirgovernmentalpolicywasachievedorwhetherOshin'ssuccessstoryreallystruckhomewithPeruvianviewers.However,theOshinboomsooncaughton.TheviewerswantedTVstationstocarryotherinstallmentsandeventu-ally.alltheremainingepisodeswereaired.

TheUnitedStates

OshinwasbroadcastintheU.S.overtheJapanese-languageTVstation （UTB ）anditsaffiliatedstationscoveringfourareasintheUnitedStates:LosAngeles,Hawaii,NewYorkandSanFrancisco.InLosAngeles,OshinbroadcastsbeganonOctober2,1983overtheUTB-LAstation.Atthebeginning,theprogramwasairedasonce-a-week30-rainuteepisodes,butstartingin1984,itwasairedas15-minuteinstallmentsbetween7:15amand7:30am.InHawaii,theKIKUStationstartedOshinbroadcastsonOctober29,1983as30-minuteepisodeseverySaturday.ThebroadcastbeganonNovember26,1983inNewYorkwith30-minuteinstallmentseverySaturdaynightat10.InSanFrancisco,thebroadcastbeganinJanuary,1984,airing30-minuteinstallmentseverySundayatHam.ThispaperreportedthatthefirstoverseasbroadcastingofOshinbeganin1984inSingapore,sincethisprogramwasairedwiththeoriginaldialoginJapaneseintheUnitedStates.BecauseoftheJapanesedialog.viewersweremostlylimitedtoJapanese-AmericansorJapaneseresidentsintheU.S.TheairingintheUnitedStates,therefore,wasnotconsideredthefirstbroadcastofOshinabroad,sincethedialogwasnottranslatedintothelocaldialogandsincethemajorityoftheaudiencewasnon-Japanese.Ashasbeenseen.aboominonecountryspreadtoothercountriesuntiltherewasanOshinPhenomenononaninternationalscale.TwoInternational-scaleResearchesonOshinWehaveseenhowtheOshinBoomdevelopedintoaphenomenon.Letusnowlookattheactualviewerratingsofthisprogramandviewerresponsesbasedontheresultsoftwointernationalresearchefforts. TAKAHASHI:TheImpactsofJapaneseTelevisionPrograms:Worldwide ｀OshinPhenomena" !51

ResearchConductedinIran ThesurveyinIranwasconductedbyProf.HamidMowlanaoftheAmerican University(Washington,D.C.,U.S.A. ）andProf.MehdiMohsenianRadoftheImam-SadeghUniversity(Teheran,Iran ）.Thetitleoftheirsurveyis “JapaneseProgramsonIranianTV

－AStudyintheInternationalFlowofInformation- ”Thestudywasconductedin1989inTeheranaswellasin16localcitiesbyinterviewing500peoplefrom184families.OshinwasbroadcastinIranwiththeIranianBroadcastingStation

（IRIB ）actingasthekeystation,andwasairedonChannel2startinginNovember.1987.Allofthe297episodesweredubbedintoPersian.TheratingssurveyconductedbyIRIBshowedthattheywere82

％and79%inthetwoquartersif1988,whichwerethehighestratingseverrecordedinthiscountry.Anotherindependentsurveyshowedthatabout67%ofIranianpeoplewatchedOshin.LetusnowsummarizetheactualdevelopmentofOshinairingandviewing,basedontheresultsofthestudy.Theresearchershadsetupfourhypotheses.First,theresearcherswantedtoanswertheirquestion:whatpartofthepro-gramattractedtheviewerssomuch?Thestudyreportsthattheviewersweremoreattractedtothestoriesthantothecountrywhichproducedthem.Manyviewershadrespondedthattheywereattractedtotheveryhumannatureofthecharacters,andespeciallythatofthemaincharacter

。Secondly,someresearcherspointedoutthatthenationalandsocialback-groundsinIranatthetimeofsurveytakingweresimilartoJapanatthetimeofherdevelopmentintoamodernsociety.Whenthebroadcastsbegan,IranwassufferingfromeconomicdifficultiesandmaterialshortagesasaresultoftheIran-IraqWar.ManyviewersidentifiedtheirplightwithOshin'shardships.Thirdly,oneofthecentralthemeswhichunderlaytheOshinepisodeswastheconceptofthefamilyandthehome.TheresearchersconcludedthatthereweresimilaritiesbetweenIranandJapanintheirunderstandingofthefamilyandthehome.andconcludedthatthissimilaritymadeOshinreadilyacceptabletoIranianviewers.Forexample.thenamesofthemaincharactersweresimilartoIraniannamessothattheviewerswereabletorecognizethemeasily,aswellastherelation-shipsbetweenthem

。Fourthly,theresearcherspointoutthatwhiletheveryhighratingsindicatethepopularityoftheOshinseries,itisalsoimportanttonotethefactthatonlyafewprogramswerebroadcastinIransothatviewersdidnothavemuchchoicein 152 JournalofRegionalDevelopmentStudies(1998)

selectingwhattoseeonTV. Inadditiontoreachingtheaboveconclusions.theresearchersalsoanalyzed theirviewersbycategorizingthemaccordingtotheirbasicattributes.Forexample. womenshowedgreaterinterestintheideasconveyedbytheprogramthanmen, regardlessoftheirage,academicbackgroundandoccupation.Theresearchers concludedthatOshinwasastorywhichappealeddirectlytoIranianwomen.

ResearchConductedinIndonesia ThestudyinIndonesiawasconductedbythewriterinSeptember,1990.The surveywastakeninthesevencitiesofJakarta,Palembang(Sumatra),Yogyakarta (Java),Surabaya(Java),Uiunepandans(Sulawesi),Manado(Sulawesi)and Denpasar(Bali)usingthequestionaire.Surveyresponseswerecollectedfrom164 menandwomenwhowere20yearsoldorolder. OshinwasbroadcastinIndonesiabetweenNovember,1986and1989overthe IndonesianNatlonalTVstation(TelevisiRepublikIndonesiaorTVRI).There wasanationalbroadcast.TheyairedtheEnglishversionwithsuperimposed dialoginIndonesian.Eachepisodewasairedasa30-minuteinstallment.As describedattheverybeginningofthispaper,OshinwasdubbedintoIndonesianand re-broadcastinAugust,1992overtheIndonesianEducationalBroadcastingCorpo- ration(TelevisiPendidikanIndonesiaorTPI).Sincenomediasurveysorratings surveysareconductedinIndonesia,accuratedataregardingtheavailabilityofTV andviewerratingsarenotavailable 。ThesuggestionsobtainedbytheIndonesiaresearchcanbesummarizedasfollows.ThemainattractionoftheOshinseriesisthelifeofperseverancerepeated-lyshownbythemaincharacter,inthefaceofallthekindsofhardshipswithwhichshedeals.Womenviewers,especially,werereportedtobetearfulwhentheywerewatchingOshin.Intermsoffamilyandthehome,thetraditionalJapanesecon-ceptsandthoseexistinginIndonesiaweresimilar,andthisseemstobeoneofthereasonswhytheviewerssoreadilyidentifiedthemselveswiththecharacters..Ne

χt,whenoneanalyzestheactualOshinBoomthatdevelopedinIndonesia,onenoticesthatitofferedtopicsfordiscussionsuchaseducationathome.Oshinplayedaroleinshowingthehardshipssufferedbytheparents'generationtotheyoungergeneration.Moreover,manywomenviewersidentifiedthepotentialforgrowthintheircountrywiththehistoryofmodernizationofJapan,especially,inthelivesofthemanywomanwholivedthroughthesechangingtimesandgained TAKAHASHl:TheImpactsofJapaneseTelevisionPrograms:Worldwide ｀OshinPhenomena 153

eventualsuccess 。The “legacyofourmothers"whichtheoriginalscriptwriterwantedtoconveytoherviewersisverydramaticallyrepresentedintheOshinepisodes.Inadditiontohavinganexcellentscriptandfineproduction,OshinwasviewedbymanyIndonesianswhosharedthesamevalues.Thisproveshowinternationallyappeal-ingtheprogramwas.Oshinwasproducedtobeaseriesofstorieswhichunfoldedslowly.andtherefore,wasnotdifficultforpeoplesofdifferentculturestofollow.ThisisanotherreasonwhyOshincouldleapovernationalandculturalborders.Intheresearch,respondentswereaskedtowritehowtheirimpressionsofJapanchanged,ifatall.beforeandafterviewineOshin.Theywereaskedtowritetheircommentsfreely.Someoftheinterestingresponsesarelistedbelow.1

）（BeforeviewingOshin ）ItisahistoricalfactthatJapanesepeoplearecruelandinhumane.ThepeopleofIndonesiasufferedunderJapan'sruleforthreeandahalfyears.

一一〉（Aftertheviewing ）AsfarasOshinisconcerned,Japanesepeoplearehard-workingandlaw-abiding

・2 ）Japanesepeopleseemedtoshownointerestineachother,anditwasfeltthattheywerenotsympathetictootherpeople.

一一〉Actually,Japanesepeople.especiallywomen,wereobedientandloyaltotheirparentsandhusbands.3)Japaneseareconsideredasegotistic,illatease.andarenotpatient.

一一〉SomeJapanesearepatientandhard-working.4 ）Japanesearesadistic.retainingmanybadhabitsandcustoms.Japanesepeoplehadnomanners.

一一〉Actually,theircultureisgoodandsodifferentfromIndonesia'sown.5 ）IonlyimaginedwhatitwasliketoliveinJapan.

一一〉Japanisanadvancedcountryintermsofindustryandeconomy.whichlhavelearnedwhilewatchingthisprogram 。Theresponsesquotedaboveareonlyapartofthedataobtainedintheresearch.TheyclearlyshowthattheirimpressionsofJapanandtheJapanesechangedbyviewingOshin.Thepotentialpowerofthemediaisquiteapparenthere.

VisualMediaandInternationalCulturalExchange AsshownbythewayOshinwasbroadcastinmanyf(:)reigncountriesandbythe resultsofthetwointernationalresearchstudies.theOshinBoomdevelopedintothe 154 JournalofRegionalDevelopmentStudies(1998)

OshinPhenomenon,impressingmanywomenviewersthroughthebroadcast. Thereisatendencythatthisphenomenonwillfurtherspreadtoothercountries.It hasalreadyreachedCentralandSouthAmericaandAfricaandthephenomenon stillhasmuchtoshowus. TheresearchinIndonesiasuggeststhatanimageacertainpeoplehaveabout anotherpeoplecanbechanged.Byusingtheconceptionof “pseudo-environment"byactivelypromotingtheairingofJapanesebroadcastprogramsabroad.itispossiblecancreateanenvironment,actuallyitisjustpseudo-environment.whichcanfosterunderstandingaboutJapan.The

“realenvironment"whichonecanactuallyfeelandexperienceis,inreality.quitelimited,andcanbelocatedremotely.However,theartificialenvironmentscreatedbythemassmedia,inotherwords,thepseudo-environmentforcesustoadopttothem.Forexample,whenweleavehomeinthemorning,wedebatewhetherweshouldtakeanumbrellaalong.Welookupattheskyforjudgment.butalsousetheweatherforecastrelayedbyTVortheradio.So,evenwhentheskyisclearandblue.wetakeourumbrellaalongwhenrainisforecastfortheday.Itmeansthatwereadfromourpseudo-environmenttheinformationthatismeaning-fultousandimagineanewenvironment.Thisimaginedimageisknownas

“environmentalimage."Thereareasmanyenvironmentalimagesasthenumberofpeoplelivingonearth.Themiddle-ageandelderlypopulationsinJapanoncewatchedU.S.madeTVhomedramasandHollywoodmoviestocatchaglimpseofAmericansocietythroughtheirhomes,schoolsandworkplaces.The

“Americanimage"thusportrayediswhatiscalledthe “environmentalimage"here.ByofferingJapaneseprogramsabroad,weletpeopleofdifferentculturesreadfromthemsomesignificantmeaningwhichisusedtoformulateanenvironmentalimage.Thus,acommunicationprocessiscompleted.Inthesatellitebroadcastageoftoday.wehavetolivewithmanychannelstochoosefromwithashortageofsoftwarerelayedbythem.StarTV,whichstartedbroadcastinginHongKongin1991,triggeredBBC,CNNandthethreemajoru.S.networkstodeveloptheirborderlessbroadcastsinAsia,centeredaroundSin-gapore

。Facedwiththisnewageoftelevision,itisdesirablethatculturalexchangeandinternationalexchangebepromotedbyofferingvisualsoftware.However,thisexchangeshouldbepromotedwithouttriggering

“culturalinvasion."Fortunately,inthenationswheretheOshinPhenomenadeveloped,theJapaneseTVprogram TAKAHASHl:TheImpactsofJapaneseTelevisionPrograms:Worldwide “OshinPhenomena" 155

wastakenfavorably,withouteverbeingviewedasaculturalinvasion.Inthe future,thereismuchtobeexpectedthatactualexchangebepromotedbetween JapanandthecountrieswhichacceptedOshinsoreadily.!naddition,theorgani- zationswhichpromotetheexchangeofvisualimagesareexpectedtofurtherfriendly exchangewithNorthAmericaandEuropeancountriesaswellasotherplaceswhere theOshinPhenomenonhasnotoccurred 。Onethingthatshouldbekeptinmindisthatinternationalculturalexchangethroughthevisualimagesgoesbothways.TheJapanesepeopleshouldnotbeignorantoftheproductsofthevisualmediawhichothercountrieshave.Keepinginminda

“well-balancedflowofinformation,"policymakersshouldmaintainitisdesirablethatagoodorderbemaintainedintheflowofinformation.withouttippingheavilytoselectedcountries.Iftheimagemediakeepsflowingfrom

“informationadvanced"societiestothelessdevelopedcountries,theofferingoftheimageswouldmerelybetermedasthe “internationaldirectflowofinformation"withoutachievinginternationalexchange.

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