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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Part 1
“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
Part 2
“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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!!”
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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
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.
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.
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?
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.
"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.
Hi! This site will focus on Asian Organized Crime, Politics, History related videos. I hope this will be a database where you can have lively discussion and watch rare videos. My goal for this website is to spread understanding to anyone interested in these topics.
If there is a certain kind of video you are looking for, for example a particular country you are interested in such as "North Korea" just use the search box or categories to the right. Please comment whenever I will read them all.
日本の主張や情報をより多くの外国の方々に理解してもらおうと思ってはじめました。最初は幾つかの動画を翻訳してyoutubeにだしたらスゴイ数の人がみました。興味はかなりあるんだな、と思い、ブログやニュース・サイトをみたら、日本人が英語で発信してるサイトはほとんどない。日本をよく分かってない外人が書いてるサイトが多く、間違った日本の事を書いてもらいたくないと思いこのブログをはじめました。どうぞコメントでも何か翻訳してほしい動画があったら、言って下さい。
Thanks,
oniazuma
