1/25/08

The Changing Blue Collar Areas of Japan ~Sanya, Tokyo's Foreigners and Young People~

Recent documentary on a changing Sanya Area of Tokyo.

Formerly known as a dangerous area filled with day laborers, the old Sanya is slowly dissappearing. In its place are westerners who are trying to save as much money possible in expensive Japan and young people who do not even know that the area is known as "Sanya".

I have heard other countries like the USA get very negative when they hear former blue collar areas (such as where Ford Plants used to be) are disappearing. For a country that is supposedly much less welcoming of immigrants, notice how little Japanese think of dissappearing areas such as Sanya. It is even taken as a positive thing. Perhaps there is a different interpretation of "change" among the cultures.

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1/21/08

The Japanese Royal Palace: The World's Last Remaining Emperor and Longest Monarchy

Broadcast 1985 - Documentary on the Japanese Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Royal Grounds of the Last Remaining Emperor on Earth. At one point, atleast on paper, the Imperial Palace's real estate was worth more than the entire state of California. Theoretically, Japan could have bought the entire United States of America by selling only metropolitan Tokyo.

I think the Emperor should be given more power.


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Also Watch:
The Japanese Nationalists (Uyoku)

1/19/08

Whaling and the Silencing of Carribean Nations

Although the presentation is bland (they should have atleast used some still images to gather attention), what he says is interesting and it is not that long so try watching it.

Department of Fisheries Negotiating Officer Mr. Morishita talks about how much of the whaling policies is led by small economically underdeveloped Carribean nations, but Japanese as well as foreign media largely report whaling as a Japan VS. Anti-Whalers issue.





Video brought to my attention by Youtuber pin1973

I am Ainu

A segment on the Ainu Rebels, a group of young people trying to revive Ainu culture and pride. As you can see, as many researchers say (and for some reason many Koreans like to vehemently disagree), Ainu do indeed look old japanese-japanese (or Jomon) , or a bit caucasian.

On the other hand I do think parts of this are strange. I have only been to Hokkaido once, I am from Osaka so may be I am ignorant of the situation there but at least here, just like how she says, there really is no discrimination against Ainu. It is like these people are showing that there is discrimination. I mean, is'nt that something we should know on our own?

Hell, I think there is more discrimination against us people from Osaka than Ainu. Listen to this guy, The Japanese Rightist say that "Yes, this town is full of homeless people who seldom take a bath." Lol! And take a look at this anti-Osaka website (it is in very poor English) Osaka-Minkoku. In short, they like to say that we are uncultured, loud, poor, violent, naturally criminal people. Notice that the word Osaka Minkoku (Republic of Osaka, 大阪民国) is a play on Daikan Minkoku (Republic of Korea, 大韓民国). Hehe!





Also Watch:
Looking for the Genetic Roots of the Japanese
In this documentary, it shows that the Ainu and the Jomon Japanese are genetically identical. The modern Japanese are believed to be made up of the Jomon Japanese and the Yayoi Japanese, who are believed to be more from China.

1/18/08

Homeland Bound: Returning to North Korea

53 minutes 42 seconds -

Documentary on the little-known Homeland Project, in which 93,000 Zainichi Koreans were persuaded by North Korean Officials to return to their homeland. The fate of what happened to them is unknown.

Looking at the Homeland Project through eyewitness accounts and classified documents from Japan, North Korea, Russia, USA, Eastern Europe.





Also Watch:
Behind the gates of North Korean Schools in Japan
3 Generations of Life as a Zainichi Korean

Why Democracy? - A Bumbling, yet somehow Down-to-Earth (atleast to me) Politician in Japan


Fall 2005 - Follows the campaign trail of aspiring Liberal Democratic Party councilman Kazuhiko Yamauchi.

Possessing no experience, no charisma, no support, no knowledge of Kawasaki City, which he is running for, he is abruptly chosen as the candidate by Prime Minister Koizumi.

He goes on a comical campaign showing how politics functions in this instance. Hours of repeating his name to random people at the train station. Practicing the proper grip in hand shakes. Being told to repeat his name some more.

On the upside, this is very honest. Maybe by trying so hard to make democracy look bad, this is actually reflecting a good side of democracy as well? Where else would you find such an honest look at politics?



Nature’s Poetry: The Sherpa People of Nepal and the Wall of Light

Documentary on Sherpa Honey Hunters in a small 40 person village deep inside Nepal.

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The Japan that Japanese dont know -The Kumano Kodo (Kumano Ancient Path)-


Photo by Koji Kusumoto at 時空を超える熊野古道

The host, a former British National turned Japanese, explores the Kumano Kodo, a religious holy area for Japanese Shintoists and Buddhists. Around Part 2 and Part 3 there is alot of things about Shintoism.

Shintoism is a native Japanese religion, older than any major religion, which accepts any belief - whether it be Christian, Islamic, Jewish, or whatever. It means God’s Path and is very open. If you believe Jesus is god, then that is your path. If you believe in yourself, you yourself is a god.

Shintoists do not go out and preach to anyone how things should be. Alternatively, they do not keep anyone or anything out. In a climate of religious hostility such as in Israel, Lebanon, Korea, it is nice to see a religion that is not, should I say “competitive”.

I like part 3 the most. If you just watch 1 part watch part 3.


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Interesting Links:
Check this article by Ampontan about Shinto

Looking for Japan Past the Concrete City Streets - A train trip -

Follows a girl and her trip outside of Tokyo. She takes small local trains through all the little towns to find many small, less known things while meeting locals along the way.


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The Rise of the 5th Regime Yamaguchi Family

Very good documentary centered around the Nanbayasu Family, a Family operating under the huge Yamaguchi Family. We see many of the things of Yakuza Culture we normally do not see.

The Shintoist Rituals of the gangsters. The holy swords in the offices. The Family Flag and the philosophy behind wars. The small poor families, one of which operates out of an apartment complex, who seem to be operating not for money but for honor, or their interpretation of it. A Yakuza Elder Ritualist, who is at one glance just a neighborhood grandfather, and his philosophy on the Path.


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“The Yamaguchi Family is a Paramilitary Force.”

- Chairman Yoneoka of the Yoneoka Industries, a small family based out of Nihon-bashi, Osaka (Now a Otaku Enclave) They are known for their bloodthirsty temperament.


“You kill before you get killed. That is the Yakuza Way.”

- Waka-Gashira (Young Head, Underboss) Takeshi Kagotani of the Nanbayasu Family, based out of Sakai City, Osaka


“Not once have I ever regretted this life. Ever. I made my own decisions.”

- Chairman Hiroshi Yoneoka, 2nd Regime boss of the Yoneoka Industries, on his 14 years in the penitentiary


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“So as long as men continue to respect other men, the Yakuza will keep growing?” “Yes.”

- Chairman Ryuji Hayashi of the Hayashi Family, a small 30 member family based out of Kishiwada City, Osaka.


“A True Yakuza would never order his men to kill or die for him. Would a real father do that to his own children?”

- Yakuza Elder Kazuma Tsumura, on the Younger Yakuza

Ahh, Glory to Imperial Japan...





An Angel from China to Japan: One Little Student




Su Chang (張・素), age 9. She is a Chinese girl who came to Japan because of her father's work. Promising her mother that she will become #1 in Japan for China, she has come to a foreign land. Broadcast May 2000, this documentary spans a 2 year period. The producers, one Japanese and one Chinese, filmed this only with a Sony Handicam.

こういう映画はより多くの方々、特に反日とかに観てもらいたいです。英語を通してまだ届いた事のない人に観てもらえたら嬉しいです。金目的のFuji TVはどうか分かりませんけどプロデューサーも映画にでてる人も喜ぶと思います。広めて下さい。

Also watch -  Life as a Foreign Chinese Student in Japan

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Annyong Haseo: Behind the gates of North Korean Schools in Japan


Award winning documentary on the only North Korean School in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. To my surprise they actually teach some things you would assume a Kim Jong Il funded organization would hide, like how many Zainichi Koreans were not forced to come to Japan, rather they came for work but try to claim they were forced. Maybe North Koreans are not as brainwashed as we assume?
Also Watch:
3 Generations of Life as a Zainichi Korean


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A Yakuza Way To Die

Real Gangsters have to go out like a soldier!!! Can't be caught with any hamsters or teenage girl pop CDs now can we? lol



The Yakuza as Positive Contributors to Japanese Society - “The Modern Yakuza Support Theory”

2007 - Writer Manabu Miyazaki has written a unique book on looking at the Japanese Yakuza (Japanese Mafia for lack of a better word) as a positive, contributing segment of Japanese Society and Culture.

He breaks the Yakuza into 2 stages of transition -

The Modern Yakuza is what he calls the “Society-Oriented” Yakuza of after World War II. These groups were created and nurtured by the larger society in general. They were a place where the weakest in society (the poor, the discriminated, etc) went for protection from poverty. He explains that they served a social welfare function - they provided food, jobs, minority rights etc to those who did not have the means or power to get them.

The Present Day Yakuza is the Yakuza of now, and they are called the “Profit-Oriented” Yakuza. As poverty in Japan has diminished, the Yakuza began to lose their foundation of existence - to protect the weak from poverty. But they began to find that as Japan grew richer, other segments of society, namely the corporate, entertainment, and industrial segments began to need them. They became what Mr. Miyazaki calls “The Lubricant that moves Society”. They began to provide services that were needed by the corporate, industrial, and entertainment world - debt settling, money loaning, stock trading, etc.

He wraps it up with the idea that the Yakuza are a part of Japan and will never dissappear. Instead of trying to destroy the Yakuza, we should try to coexist with them.

I think this is a interesting idea. Whereas traditionally the Yakuza has been thought of as something unacceptable and must be destroyed, Mr. Miyazaki puts it as something that will never go away, and actually serves positive functions. Instead of trying to fight a impossible battle, should we learn to live together with the Yakuza just like how we learned to live with people of other backgrounds and races?

I personally have had no trouble with them and think society does need people like this whether you like it or not.



Are the Japanese actually Jewish? - Looking at the mysterious connections between Japan and Judaism

A very interesting and contested theory is that the Japanese are actually a part of the Lost Tribes of Israel. During the constant warfare and strife that engulfed Israel, 10 of the 12 Tribes of Israel dispersed into Asia and have since disappeared.

Israeli officials publicly acknowledge the mysterious similarities between Judaism and Japan. Recently, in March of 2007, Rabbi Avichail of the Israeli Investigative Body Amishav, which searches for descendants of the Lost Tribes, arrived in Japan. Although they only stayed for a short amount of time, the investigative body concluded that "There is no doubt that there is some kind of strong connection between Judaism and Japan. More research is needed to determine the details."

The connections are very interesting.

For example, the Japanese Shintoist Holy day is the Yamaboko Junko, or "Going atop the Mountain to lay to rest the Shrine". The day Noah's Ark rested atop Mount Ararat lies on the same day. The word "Essa", which is a carrying chant chanted by the holders of the Omikoshi, or portable shrine, is a word which really has no meaning in Japanese but means "Carry" in Hebrew.

One of Japan's largest festivals, the Gion Festival, is believed by many, including the Gion Festival officials, to be the same as Ancient Israel's Zion Festival. The month long festival is almost identical in each event, date, etc. The artwork depicted on the portable shrines in the festival are from ancient Japan, but are renderings of landscapes in the middle east - camels walking the desert, pyramids, Baghdad Palaces, and most surprising is a grand picture of Rebecca offering water to Isaac which is confirmed to be a rendition of Genesis 24 in the Old Testament.

For more in depth information, click here

These are only some of the mysterious connections...


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Ishikawa Prefecture Assemblyman The Great Sasuke

Professional wrestler and Assemblyman The Great Sasuke to the rescue!!! And you thought Arnold was cool? He is just a cheap imitation that cannot even keep his terminator mask on! lol.





Vietnam and Japan

Although their war with America was only a short while ago, the Vietnamese do not hold grudges against America. A forward looking, bright nation that has earned the respect of many Japanese.





A Gangster’s Palace - The TSK.CCC Building in Tokyo

Documentary on the Yakuza Castle built on prime real estate in Tokyo by Zainichi Korean Mobster, “Ginza Tiger” Hisayuki Machii.


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Burmese (Myanmar) Independence Activist Aung San and Imperial Japan

The story of Aung San, a Burmese Independence Activist.





The Only God, Jesus Matayoshi runs for Tokyo Governor

The Great Leader and Political Genius, “The Only God” Jesus Matayoshi, from the island prefecture of Okinawa, has blessed the Tokyo voting boxes with his bid for governor.

His great proposals include returning Japan to a fishing and farming society and banning the smoking of cigarettes while walking. His brilliant political debate style is to just tell his opponents to “DIE AND SLIT YOUR STOMACH OPEN!!!”

He barely received any votes. lol.




Japanese Revolutionary Fascist Koichi Toyama Runs for Tokyo Governor

This is a political broadcast that all candidates, no matter how ridiculous, are allowed to have. If you think about it, it really shows how free of a country Japan is.

When he is not working to destroy nations, he is a musician working for tips on the side of the street.




Fixing Families: Documentary on a Former Gangster who raises Troubled Youth

Documentary on Ito, a former Bosozoku Gangster and Ex-con who raises troubled kids in his own home alongside his family. Centers around two youth, Take and Takashi. Take is a former carjacker, who regularly beat his mother and took his family hostage and threatened to kill everyone he knew. Takashi is a repeat thief who was violently abused as a child. After getting his throat slit by a brother and almost dying, he has lived in foster homes all his life. Can Ito change their lives?


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Japanese Bushido: An Untold Story between British and Japanese Soldiers

Former British Naval Officer Sir Fall comes to Japan 60 years after the war to tell an untold story of respect and bravery on the battlefield. The Japanese Officer had not told anyone of this story.


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Looking at the Nanking "Massacre" Photographic Evidence provided by the Chinese Communist Party

Looking at the Nanking Incident through Photographic & Statistical Evidence.

Some pictures have been proven and admitted by the publishers that they were in fact fake, but still circulate as historic evidence to this day. Others have been cut off to not show the original caption or have shadows that are seasonally impossible to have happened during the time of the Nanking Incident.

Is this issue too touchy to investigate, or should all things taken as "fact" atleast be examined before being believed?


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Political Problems between China and South Korea

We all know that there are political issues between Japan and China/Korea. But lately, China and Korea have had numerous run-ins with each other.

They include territorial arguments over Cho Haku Zan (Korean: Paek Tu San), a mountain located on the border between North Korea and China. It is holy to the Korean people but the Chinese up until recently have paid very little attention.

Also, there is the Kogurye Theories and the mysterious motives between why the Chinese Government-sponsored Historical Committee would want to start bringing this up now. The Kogurye Theory states that the Ancient Korean nation of Kogurye was actually just a Chinese Province.

The Kogurye Theories, by extension, would mean that most of the Korean Peninsula even Pyongyang and Seoul are actually rightful historical possessions of the Chinese. All of a sudden bringing this up now could mean that growing China is positioning herself to move into and occupy starving North Korea if and when it does collapse.


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The Japanese Uyoku (Nationalists)

90s era documentary on the Japanese Uyoku, or Japanese Nationalists. Shows the diversity beneath their stereotype as a group of extremists.

We see some groups that are more like a simple Shintoist religious organization, some that are centered around environmentalism, and some that are openly backed by the Yakuza.


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1/17/08

A Mysterious North Korean Island: Tensions between China and North Korea

Very strange to see the "human wave" tactic...


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The Yama-Ichi War and the 4th Regime Yamaguchi Family


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What would you do if your daughter wanted to marry an idiot?





Lol!

Imperial Japan's Aboriginal Taiwanese Volunteer Unit





Taiwan will forever be close to our hearts. We eternally owe Taiwan. The Aboriginal Taiwanese are quoted as saying that they will forever be a part of Japan. It is more like Japan will forever be a part of greater Taiwan.

American Otaku in Japan







LOL!

Taiwan and Japan





5 minutes 15 seconds

We love Taiwan! Taiwan is Independent! Taiwan has nothing to do with China!

Banana Man Himura Spends a Week with Japanese Gals!

Japanese Yakuza Backed Forgery Ring arrested in South Korea




1 minute 18 seconds -

A Japanese man and a Korean man with known Yakuza connections were arrested in Seoul, South Korea on allegations that they made US $2 million by selling 30,000 forged prepaid highway cards valued at US $130 each.

We Japanese should remember foreigners are not the only ones that come and commit crimes in Japan. We have to be fair and know that we also goto other countries as well.

Recent Shootouts in Kyushu Island Yakuza War



2 minutes 26 seconds -

News clip of recent shootouts in Japan's Southernmost Kyushu Island between Kyushu Island's largest Yakuza Organization, the Dojin (Road of Yakuza Honor) Association and a splinter group, the Kyushu Seido (Kyushu Island Road of Sincerity) Association.

Vietnam and Cambodia: The Endless Tragedy of a People



15 minutes 32 seconds -

“If they are poisonous to society, even if they are your parents, smile and kill them.”
- Pol Pot, Leader of the Khmer Rouge in a message to Cambodian Children

Also Check out:
Cambodia's Pol Pot Regime - 1.5 Million Dead

Japanese Samurai Art Kendo: Passing Japan’s Hardest Test



48 minutes 51 seconds -

Harder than becoming a lawyer or a surgeon in Japan is becoming a 8th dan Kendo Swordsman. Chronicles 2 men and their attempt to reach that peak - one is a former National Kendo Champion who has failed the very 1st step of the test 4 times. The other is a 78 year old man who has been taking the test for 24 years.

Looking for the Genetic Roots of the Japanese



47 minutes 45 seconds -

Note that the Japanese sequence is 21% Unknown Other. I wonder if they have researched more into it and now know what the 21% other is?

Delves into genetic research which has totally changed notions of who the Japanese are. Overturns Korean claims that the Japanese are descendants of Koreans. Rather, the Japanese are a very diverse people made up of Ainu, Okinawan, Chinese, Korean, and various other genetic sequences.

The Modern Japanese were thought to be a mixture of ancient Jomon and Yayoi Peoples. Recent Genetic Research has proven that the Jomon and Yayoi People themselves were a mixed ethnicity even when they first reached the Japanese Islands.

Also shows the Ainu People, indigenous people to Northern Japan who have their own language, custom, and cultures. Genetic Research has uncovered that the Ainu, who some believe are partly Caucasian, are in fact direct descendants of the Jomon Japanese. It also uncovers that the Ketchua People of the South American Andes, who created the Incan Empire, are genetically the closest people on earth to the Ainu, in turn meaning that the Incans are genetically identical to Jomon Japanese.

NOTE: 37:22 It is not 1.5 million years, but 1.5 billion.


Japanese Ainu

Speech by a Zainichi North Korean High School Student



A Zainichi North Korean is a North Korean National who lives in Japan. Almost all Zainichi North Koreans have been in Japan for decades, because North Korea does not let it's citizens out. They are a very clannish people, and tend to goto their own schools (comprising a curriculum based around the history of the dear leader Kim Jong-Il), work at their own companies, and socialize within their own circles - all while being under the watchful eye of the Chongryon, a North Korean Nationals Association.

Although North Korea related groups are known to tell their people what to say, there is no information to the contrary so as far as I know this is a genuine speech. What do you think?

A Chinese Dream



A Chinese man from rural, impoverished Enkitsu fulfills his dream - to build a school in his hometown.

Cambodia's Pol Pot Regime ~ 1.5 Million Massacred ~



49 minutes 27 seconds -

Very informative documentary on the Khmer Rouge. Features Nuon Chea, former 2nd in command of the Khmer Rouge.

Also check out:
Vietnam and Cambodia- The Endless Tragedy of a People

Jibin Wong, 19. Soh Kan, 26: Life as a Foreign Chinese Student in Japan

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Filmed 1996-2000. 1 hour 36 minutes 17 seconds -

Real Life Documentary on 4 years of life in Japan for 2 Chinese Students. 1 is Jibin Wong, a 19 year old woman and the other So Kan a 26 year old rich man whose father is a governor and mother a mayor. After spending his life savings in about a month, Kan quickly realizes that in Japan he is among the poorest. Wong too must work long hours to support herself. Documents the true story of Chinese Students working hard amid poverty. Their stories are totally different than Foreign Students from other nations with stronger currencies - these 2 arrive in Japan nearly penniless.

NOTE watch to very end after the song. there is a important message at the end.

ALSO WATCH:
An Angel from China to Japan: One Little Student

3 Generations of Life as a Zainichi Korean



34 minutes -

"I'm not Korean, I'm not Japanese. I have my own history, my own people. I'm Zainichi."

Documentary on a 3 generation deep Zainichi family in small town Shimonoseki's Green Mall Koreatown, aka Little Pusan. Chronicles their history as well as the history of the town and the Kanpu Ferry which brought some of the Zainichi over to Japan.

1/15/08

Looking at the world through windows: Laos

I don't know who made it... but I liked it.