May 14, 2008

Tokyo (JAPAN)

Japan's Article 9, Visiting the Japanese NASA (JAXA), and Catching a Baseball-Game at Jingu Stadium

I don't think there is another country in the world as averse to war, or conflict in general, as is Japan. As I have stated numerous times, this makes Japan a great country in which to live because the populace carries this attitude over to all facets of life. Who wouldn't want to live in a country where everyone goes out of their way to assist you?

However, I have recently been wondering how this attitude was instilled in the populace when it would seem nearly impossible anywhere else in the world. More specifically, it is understandable for some people to feel this way (via education, religion, philosophy, etc), but for an entire country to share the same value is remarkable.

The answer , like so many social topics, is complex and includes a far greater scope than I have time to cover. So, instead of working on a doctoral thesis (I am sure they have been written on this subject), I have been pondering one simple question: what would Japan be like if Article 9, the part of the Japanese Constitution banning war as a justifiable act of government, was never forced upon the country by the Americans after World War II? Would the current generation, now 60 years removed from the harsh realities of war, still feel this way?

I am not so sure. (However, "since it ain't broken...")

At 12:45 this afternoon I boarded a coach with 35 other students and drove to the headquarters of JAXA, which is the Japanese equivalent of NASA. It is located in a city called Tsukuba, roughly 75 kilometers north of Tokyo, so without traffic it took about 1.5 hours to arrive. We were given a lengthy tour of the facilities by various staff members (barring several R&D buildings that are off-limits), and even had a Q&A session with the head of the R&D department, who is a Tokyo Institute of Technology graduate.

While JAXA cannot compete with the budgets given to the likes of NASA and the Research Space Agency, this has not deterred the agency from developing highly advanced technology - particularly in the realm of solar power and automation. The billion-dollar annual budget will ensure the agency continues to grow in the future, and given the highly cooperative environment in space this bodes well for future global exploration.

Personally, I am also hesitant about the billions and billions of dollars that are pumped into NASA every year - especially considering there are more pressing demands right now. One case in point for excessive spending involves the space suit, which is designed by the United States at a cost of 10 million dollars per suit. Is it just me or is that a bit much?

On the ride back to Tokyo I began worrying about catching the opening pitch of tonight's baseball game between the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the Chunichi Dragons. Along with Eric, I lucked out with free tickets right behind home plate via Sato-sensei, my professor of Japanese culture. Fortunately, Hirose-sensei, the professor who accompanied us on the tour to JAXA, was on my side. He graciously told the bus-driver to make a detour on the way back to Oookayama campus, and the bus pulled up right next to Jingu Stadium to drop Eric and I off. How is that for star treatment?

Before entering the stadium, Eric and I ran to the nearest convenience store to buy necessities like beer and chips. There were also a line of stalls selling Japanese meals, and we each bought takoyaki (fied balls of dough with octopus legs inside) and yakitori (grilled chicken on a stick). Our tickets were VIP, and so the gate attendants neither checked our bags (which were full of beer), nor did they say anything about us bringing food into the stadium.

As for our seats, sure enough they were right behind home plate. The Dragons and Swallows are second and third (respectively) in the standings, which made for a thrilling game. Also, I luckily know a fair bit about the Chunichi Dragons because they were mentioned in a Haruki Murakami book I once read (my favorite Japanese author). We saw three home-runs in the game, including two by the batter above, Tyrone Woods.

Below is video footage from the game, when the Chunichi Dragons attempt a double steal, only to have a runner thrown at out at third, ending the inning...

This is the second time I have been to Jingu Stadium, with the first being to watch the season opener of Big6 Baseball (the top baseball universities in Tokyo). While the open-aired seating is a definite plus, the Tokyo Dome packs a far larger punch in terms of sound and creating an overwhelming feel. When the tickets are free, who am I to complain?!

Below is video footage of the strange celebrations of Yakult Swallows fans. For whatever reason, they open their miniature umbrellas and rock them in unison with singing. Two interesting notes from the video are that the red and white electronic sign seen in center field (around second 18) reads as "Tafuman" in Japanese, meaning "Toughman!" I have no idea what that is all about. The second funny thing is that at the end of the video I focused in on two pretty Japanese girls at the game, and one of them was looking directly at me when I was doing it. Oops...