Sometimes I don't quite get the Japanese. They're extraordinarily pragmatic about most issues-- excellent problem solvers -- but they get hung up about the wierdest things. Case in point: Our latest corruption scandal is bringing the current government to a standstill.
The longtime defense minister is friends with a defense contractor. Over the course of several years, the contractor takes the minister golfing twice a year. No exchange of cash, no promises either made or implied, no influence pedaling outside of the fact that these guys are friends. Now, golf in Japan is expensive; if the minister were to pay for the exclusive club membership, the hotels, etc., it would put him back a total of 35 grand over several years. But the contractor has a membership to the club and invites the minister along as a guest, so the contractor ISN'T ACTUALLY PAYING MUCH, if anything.
The disconnect for me really comes in light of seeing how people entertain one another here in Tokyo. In the US, you'd typically invite friends to your home for a dinner, a party, or simply to watch the game or visit. Here, among both gaijin and Japanese alike, it is very common for people to spend large amounts taking friends to restaurants or activities outside the home. For any number of cultural and, well, space reasons, it is very rare for Japanese to invite people to their homes.
The whole entertaining culture is focused outward, rather than inward. And entertaining is very important here; its part of the social fabric. Typically, the host pays. The guest reciprocates with an equivalent invitation at a later date. Friends and acquaintances have invited us to parties (many better Tokyo restaurants or clubs have separate party or meeting rooms), invitations to amusement parks, shows, concerts, and countless restaurants. In return, we've taken others to Tokyo Disney, movies, dinners, and other activities. It is rather rare for people not to entertain and be entertained. While the whole enterprise costs a heap, everybody entertains everybody else and it pretty much all works out in the end, cost-wise.
Which brings us back to our hapless, now-arrested Defense Minister Moriya. His offenses seem lightweight by comparison to US bribery and influence pedaling cases. Yes, by accepting gifts he would be outside the parameters of good government even in the US. But in the context of Japanese entertaining conventions, he just doesn't seem that corrupt to me. Censure the guy, get him to say "Oops, I made an error in judgment"(preferably in Japanese), let him pay back what he accepted. Then move on. But no, in Japan the full weight of the law falls upon this guy. He's been stripped of position, jailed, and awaits criminal trial. All over 2 golf outings a year with his buddy.
So I'd like to know: am I too soft on government-ruining corruption, or is the machinery of state just a little out-of-whack here? Maybe it simply boils down to the fact that partisan politics gets ugly; parties will use the machinery of state to pillory their opponents.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
Travelling in the Gai-jin Ghetto
When we first moved to Tokyo we agreed we would wait for a year to buy a car because the public transportation here is absolutely amazing. People here actually time the arrival of trains to the minute -- if your waiting for the 18:44 train, you don't get on the train that gets to the platform at 18:42, 'cuz that isn't your train. Since there are express and local trains with differnt stops, you're generally better off going on the exact train you need rather than the first available. Anyway, the point is that you can count on the train arriving and departing exactly when it is supposed to arrive or depart. If the trains are ever late, the transit authorities provide you with a note for your job since otherwise your boss will not believe you that the train was delayed.
However, with 4 kids we found it quite trying to go to the grocery store daily just to try to keep up on our food needs (not to mention being unable to purchase goods at a lower price outside of the city) and more time consuming to get places (particularly to church, which is at most 10 minutes by car and 30-40 minutes via train). In addition, we found that we left our kids at home frequently since they didn't want to join us for the never-ending grocery shopping expeditions.
With that said, we were ready to stick it out until we discovered that the "bullet train" (which is how Tokyo-based people visit the rest of the country) is approximately $300-$1,000 per ticket. What that meant was that without a car, we could not easily afford to take our family outside of Tokyo and, for the price of one family trip on the Shinkasen (bullet train) to Kyoto, we could actually purchase a car. Thus, we now are the proud owners of the "ugliest car in Tokyo," a 1997 Toyota Ipsum painted in a shade of radioactive green that could make the blind acquire sight.
So why doesn't everyone drive here in Tokyo? The cars are cheap (our used Toyota, with an English-speaking Navi and a year's worth of liability insurance, was a bit over one month's "cost of living adjustment"), well made and generally immaculately maintained. The reason (for Russell and other public policy wonks) is that, in the greater Tokyo Metro area, you need to prove that you own the rights to a parking spot before you are allowed to register a car in your name. While the cars are affordable and plentiful, these parking spots are not. They come standard with most expat housing (which is double or triple the size of typical housing), but comparatively few middle- and even upper-middle-class folks have parking rights. Consequently, Tokyo has a disproportionate number of luxury cars, especially "poodle cars" such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc. (A BMW or Benz is more or less ho-hum here in Tokyo.) Moreover, most people of all class levels are perfectly content to take the excellent, safe and clean public transportation. Since so many people eat out frequently, constant shopping isn't as much of an anguish for them as it is for us. And if they need to get somewhere in a hurry, cabs are plentiful. I guess the bottom line is that a mass-transit society works well for people who abide by the norms of that society (ie - few kids, not much need to travel outside the local region, willing to engage in frequent outside dining and entertainment), but not so well for Mormons from the States.
When we first moved to Tokyo we agreed we would wait for a year to buy a car because the public transportation here is absolutely amazing. People here actually time the arrival of trains to the minute -- if your waiting for the 18:44 train, you don't get on the train that gets to the platform at 18:42, 'cuz that isn't your train. Since there are express and local trains with differnt stops, you're generally better off going on the exact train you need rather than the first available. Anyway, the point is that you can count on the train arriving and departing exactly when it is supposed to arrive or depart. If the trains are ever late, the transit authorities provide you with a note for your job since otherwise your boss will not believe you that the train was delayed.
However, with 4 kids we found it quite trying to go to the grocery store daily just to try to keep up on our food needs (not to mention being unable to purchase goods at a lower price outside of the city) and more time consuming to get places (particularly to church, which is at most 10 minutes by car and 30-40 minutes via train). In addition, we found that we left our kids at home frequently since they didn't want to join us for the never-ending grocery shopping expeditions.
With that said, we were ready to stick it out until we discovered that the "bullet train" (which is how Tokyo-based people visit the rest of the country) is approximately $300-$1,000 per ticket. What that meant was that without a car, we could not easily afford to take our family outside of Tokyo and, for the price of one family trip on the Shinkasen (bullet train) to Kyoto, we could actually purchase a car. Thus, we now are the proud owners of the "ugliest car in Tokyo," a 1997 Toyota Ipsum painted in a shade of radioactive green that could make the blind acquire sight.
So why doesn't everyone drive here in Tokyo? The cars are cheap (our used Toyota, with an English-speaking Navi and a year's worth of liability insurance, was a bit over one month's "cost of living adjustment"), well made and generally immaculately maintained. The reason (for Russell and other public policy wonks) is that, in the greater Tokyo Metro area, you need to prove that you own the rights to a parking spot before you are allowed to register a car in your name. While the cars are affordable and plentiful, these parking spots are not. They come standard with most expat housing (which is double or triple the size of typical housing), but comparatively few middle- and even upper-middle-class folks have parking rights. Consequently, Tokyo has a disproportionate number of luxury cars, especially "poodle cars" such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc. (A BMW or Benz is more or less ho-hum here in Tokyo.) Moreover, most people of all class levels are perfectly content to take the excellent, safe and clean public transportation. Since so many people eat out frequently, constant shopping isn't as much of an anguish for them as it is for us. And if they need to get somewhere in a hurry, cabs are plentiful. I guess the bottom line is that a mass-transit society works well for people who abide by the norms of that society (ie - few kids, not much need to travel outside the local region, willing to engage in frequent outside dining and entertainment), but not so well for Mormons from the States.
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