Student Presentations: Anna

Anna:

In my presentation I first talked about Switzerland. It has a population of about eight million people with 24% people being foreigners and 35% having a migration background. This, its position in Europe and its four official languages contributes to the diversity of the country, which also makes it attractive to refugees: Switzerland has a long history of people seeking for protection in the country.

After I presented the history of refugees in Switzerland since the Second World War I went on explaining the 1951 Refugee Convention which defines a refugee, sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum.

A chart displayed the asylum applications from January to October 2015 in Switzerland and showed that almost 30’000 people were seeking for asylum in this time. Most of the people are coming from Eritrea, followed by Afghanistan and Syria.

Then I presented the procedure of applying for asylum in Switzerland. Most of the people seeking for asylum get rejected during this procedure. In 2013 only 30% of the refugees got admitted. But with the refugee crisis in Europe the restrictions are weakened so that more people from Syria or Eritrea can get accepted.

But there are also a lot of people who are worried with the amount of people migrating to Switzerland, which is why there is a strong support for the right winged party SVP. They worry about their jobs, their wage level or the criminal rate even though the statistics doesn’t support this assumption. For example, there can’t be found a higher criminal rate for foreigners than for Swiss people.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to talk about this topic in class. It was very interesting!

Links:

•State Secretariat for Migration SEM, (November 2010). https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/en/home.html

•Swiss Refugee Council, (November 2010). https://www.refugeecouncil.ch/asylum-law/asylum-procedure.html

•The UN Refugge Agency, (November 2010). http://www.unhcr.ch

•Swiss Federal Statistical Office, (November 2010). http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index.html

•New Journal of Zurich, (November 2010). http://www.nzz.ch

Student Presentations: Fukumi

Fukumi

In 8/14, Mr. Abe issued a statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
But in past, the statements on the 50^th and 60^th anniversary were announced and both statements expressed the feeling of deep remorse (≒strong regret) and heartfelt (≒sincere) apology for inflicting immeasurable damage and suffering by colonial rule and aggression (≒invasion).

The remarkable point of 70^th statement was how much Mr. Abe would follow these past statements.
And there are four keywords, “colonial rule”, “aggression”, “deep remorse”, and “apology”, are especially paid attention.
Actually, Mr. Abe used all four keywords by indirectly quoting former cabinet’s recognition of history and made the position clearly which succeeds to the viewpoint of the former cabinet.
Based on this viewpoint, he said Japan hoist the flag of “Proactive Contribution to Peace” which is basic idea of Japanese security strategy.

Lastly, I’d like to introduce the foreign countries’ reaction.
First, China stated strict position and said that Japan should explain responsibility of war clearly and apologize victims sincerely.
Next, South Korea said there are some regrettable points but they concerned about the point which Japan made clear that the former cabinet’s position won’t change in the future.
Finally, America welcomed that Japan expressed “remorse”.

Through this issue, I felt recognition of history is very important for international relations and postwar handling is still have a great influence in the international society.

Student Presentations: Tatsuya and Haojun

Tatsuya:

i presented about okinawa millitary problem. it is usually talking as a battle between okinawa and government. okinawa prefecture thinks it is a japanese big problem
because u.s military doesnt only exist in okinawa but in the other prefecture. however, japanese government think it is a region problem. this difference makes a problem so complicate, i think.
  actually, okinawa prefecture get a lot of money from japanese government as a subsidy because they have a base. these money can use freely that they dont have tomake a schedule how to use these money and these money dont count as a general account. this is a contradiction. if okinawa want government to move away a base from okinawa, they shouldnt get subsidy. we need to think again about okinawa problem!!

Haojun:

 I gave a presentation about the China's One-Child Policy in our last class.I chose this topic because this policy influenced Chinese people so much, and it is also related to China's pupulation issue.
 We all know that China has almost 1/5th of the population in the world, it really caused a lot of problem such as food shortage, lack of medical resources, and lack of education. I still remember that it was very normal every class had more than seventy classmates until I graduated from high school in 2008. And maybe it's also hard for you to imagine how terrible that every year billions of people taking train during Spring Festival Travel Season even in such a big country,just like the picture I showed.So I don't think the policy was improper,in the situation 35 years ago. The thing I dissatisfied is the Ligation Operation and Forced Abortion. This also cause a phenomenon that an entire generation has no brothers or sisters, people are also worrying about their mental health.
 This policy cause population will reduce half by every generation.Just like Japan today, low birth rate is threatting the labor force,revenue in tax, and the Son Preference caused population structure imbalance.  Chinese Government want to solve this, but I think only release the policy isn't enough. In China having a baby and give him a stable growth environment isn't easy today. So I think the policy releasing won't be useful. But even if it works, we still have to wait for fifteen years or even more.

Class Presentations: Rika

Rika

According to Asahi Sinbun, it is said that 79% of Japanese people have their own opinions, agree or disagree  about TPP. However, 80% of them answered No when they were asked whether the Japanese government gives us enough information or not. Then I came up with one question that "how can they judge the social issues?" or "how can they have their opinions about those?" So I used TPP as an example, and explained how you should have your own opinions about social issues.

Every issues happening in the world have positive and negative sides. The important thing is to look at both sides especially negative sides when you think about your opinions like agree or disagree.

Now, it is said that Japan may probably join TPP. If we join TPP, they have many good points, but also bad points. I picked some negative points like food problems, self sufficiently rate, medical problems, and ISD problems.

Class presentations: Takemasa and Kohei

Takemasa:

 In the latest class, I made a presentation about middle east. I explained details about the middle east countries from three points of views － historical, racial・religious and human view.
 The democratic movement which was called ”The Arab Spring” was one of the main cause of the conflict in the middle east. As I used the French Revolution for an example, after the dictator has been overthrowed it won't connect to immediate peace. There will be another issue, for example, who will become the head of the new structure. Then I explained Syria from the second view I mentioned above. There is three major groups involved in syrian conflict  －Sunni, Shia, and Kurds. The former two are the types of denominations of Islam. Kurds are the biggest ethnic group which was devided into different areas by the Saikusupiko agreement declared during WWI. Finally, I focused on the relationship which surrounds Syria. Russia and US want to destroy ISIS, but there is a complicated relation between those countries and the government within Syria which is making the situation confusing. Russia now entered the conflict by bombing and this is making the Syrian citizens suffer. Therefore, those citizens fled and head for Europe. This connect to the issue of ”Syrian Refugees.”

Kohei:

Japanese government will change tax system in 2017. They will rise consumption tax from 8% to 10% and introduce reduced tax rate. But, we do not understand that enough. Then, let’s think about it.

First, what is consumption tax? It occupies almost 34.7% of government tax revenue, and occurs every time properties are transferred. Though the system is not so, but we can say that consumers pay the money. So, consumers have to take more burden if the policy come true.

Second, why consumption tax will rise? It is because of Japanese financial condition. Japan goes to Aging society with fewer children, so fewer young people have to support large aged people in social security system. But it’s so hard, then government decided that we take all-Japan support system in social security system.

Third, what is reduced tax rate? It is lowered rate tax. This is an example when we have reduced tax rate. When you go to a supermarket, there are 100 yen waters and 100 yen cokes. You bought both of them. But, after accounting you noticed. You paid 108 yen for water but you paid 110 yen for cokes. So you said “it’s mistake” for employee. But he answered” Coke is luxury item, so you have to pay 10 % consumption tax.”.

These things will happen when we introduce reduced tax rate.

At last, let’s see the good and bad aspects of these system. These system will provide necessary money for social security and financial reconstruction. These are good aspects. However, there are two big bad aspects. First, it increases burden for economically weak. I say here economically weak means low-income people and small companies. The second point is the complexity of system. As I showed reduced rate tax will make troublesome situation, it’s complex for not only consumers but also companies.

Conclusion. I hope the system not only good for the future but also for the current.

 

Responses to Mr. Sawa, of Kyodo News

In reading Mr. Sawa's responses to our questions, many of you were deeply impressed by two issues in particular: that of bias and that of anonymity in Japan.

"Every single choice in newsgathering and news editing is subjective."

As Fukumi put it: "I was surprised Mr. Sawa said he didn't blame bias in journalism. I usually think bias is not a good thing. However, I was convinved it exactly provides wider perspective and choice because people have their own gauge of importance of news."

Rika mentioned that the quesion of which news makes the top page made her think about the issue of bias.

For Takemasa, the confirmation that news comes to us filtered by journalists and editors made him think about the importance of "the skill to realize or notice whether the news you're reading is true or partly true or false. This is kind of similar to 'critical thinking'."

"I am afraid people here value too highly leaving people alone, perhaps not thinking seriously that it means letting things be done by somebody else, perhaps authorities, whom you perhaps assume are trustworthy. I doubt that it is democracy."

This statement deeply impressed you. Takemasa mentioned that he still associates showing a complete profile online with risk and danger. Fukumi said that she hadn't thought of this tendency as a fault, but as a "Japanese characteristic." Rika noted, "I never realized [that Japanese news were more anonymous] since I only know the news style in Japan."

Fukumi seemed persuaded by Mr. Sawa: "I can understand journalism makes the world visible and provides crucial things for democracy, so I think we should be more sensitive to what happens in the world and speak out our opinions little by little." But Takemasa wanted more details on the link between speaking out and democracy.

On the fact that Mr. Sawa began reading the news for fun as a child, Takemasa ventured that we should try to approach reading the news not as study but out of the love for it, as if it was a hobby.

Some of you still had some questions. Wataru wondered when it was that Mr. Sawa began to think of the news as "the first rough draft of history," and how it was possible to get information from so many different angles and yet to remain impartial.

It is obvious that you enjoyed the thoughts that Mr. Sawa shared. As Rika put it, "thank you so much for answering our questions and sharing your impressive stories."

Journalists to Interview

Glenna GORDON

Award-winning photojournalist who has worked extensively in Africa

twitter
website

Rose HACKMAN

Rose Hackman is a British freelance journalist based in Detroit. Her work appears on both sides of the Atlantic in English, Italian and French.

twitter

blog

SAWA Yasuomi

Kyôdô tsûshin journalist

Has written on the differences between Japanese and British journalism and covered the UN in NYC

twitter

U.S. Military in Japan (and the world)

Important Dates in the History of U.S. Military in Japan

1945: End of WWII

1945-1952: US Occupation of Japan

1950: Korean War

1952: U.S.-Japan Security Treaty

1960: Renewal of Treaty / Protests against Treaty

1954: Vietnam War (1961 US Troops Enter)

1972: Okinawa reverts to Japan

  Vietnam War ends 1975

Key contemporary issues:

Ospreys at Air Force bases
Okinawan issues (75% of military forces based in Japan are in Okinawa)

U.S. Military in the World
Images of U.S. military presence

And, does Japan have a military already?
Japan's actually high military expenditures
Japan spends a relatively high amount on defense

History Behind the News #1: Nuclear Power in Japan

The history of the development of nuclear power in Japan includes both international and domestic events. Also notable is the ongoing tension between anti-nuclear activism and pro-nuclear energy pressures.

A key issue for modern Japan has been resources. Those who support nuclear power for Japan argue for energy independence. Currently, imports meet 90% of Japanese energy needs.

However, how can people in Japan support nuclear power when there is still the ongoing challenge of an incredibly expensive and vast cleanup of Fukushima Daiichi?



A big historical question is how Japan came to have nuclear power plants in the first place, considering the history of not only Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also of the "Lucky Dragon."'Lucky Dragon'.

The story of how communities allowed nuclear power plants to be built had to do with local economies and the pressures put on them, which were also linked with global movements (such as the political control of oil).

Here is a timeline about nuclear power in Japan that we will discuss in class:

1945: Nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1945-1952: The Allied Occupation of Japan
1952: Ban on nuclear power in Japan lifted
1954: Nakasone Yasuhiro requests yen from the National Diet for nuclear research. In March, the "Lucky Dragon Incident" strengthens popular resistance to nuclear power, but the Diet budgets money for nuclear research.
1955-1965: Japan shifts from relying almost entirely upon coal to generate electricity to using more and more oil.
1973: First "oil shock"
mid-1970s: Opinion polls in Japan show that 70 percent of residents supported Japan's continued nuclear power program
1979: Second "oil shock"
1980: Three Mile Island Accident. In November, opinion polls in Japan show that only 30 percent of residents supported Japan's continued nuclear power program.

This history helps us understand how Japan can have a "nuclear allergy" and yet also continue a nuclear power program. This is the history behind the news about restarting nuclear power plants in Japan now. Knowing more about this will help you to inform your own opinion about the future of nuclear power in Japan and in the world.

Brainstorming Topics for "History Behind the News"

Hello All,

Please post a comment below by May 13 (Wednesday) with three (or more) ideas for topics to discuss as "history behind the news" sessions.

For examples of this kind of topic, you can see posts from last semester's class on this blog.

Best,

CSS

Welcome! Behind the News Fall 2015 at Meiji University

Welcome to our class blog! We will use this website to communicate, share information, and present our findings.

Please post a comment below to share the news story you found for April 22, 2015.

Be sure to discuss the "five Ws": who, what, where, when, and (most importantly!) why you find the news article interesting.

I look forward to discussing these with you soon!

People Behind the News: Journalist Interviews

Our final project this semester was interviewing foreign journalists via email with questions about their work.

Bryan Derballa
Brooklyn-based photographer, Bryan Derballa has taken photos for The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Vice, The Financial Times.
http://lovebryan.com/bryan/

Questions for Mr. Derballa mostly focused on the role of photography in the news and telling a story with an image.

Nodoka described her reaction to Mr. Derballa's response in this way:

"He does not believe that photos alone can accurately portray the news,but he thinks they have a visceral and emotional power that words often lack. I used to think photo journalist believe that photos tell everything and they are so eager to take photos that have strong image. He thinks seeking the truth is the most important. I respect this behavior. However, I felt he has passion to be a photo journalist. He appreciate a photo with strong content captured with a sense of artistry. He said there are so many factors including timing, light, composition, movement, distance, relevance, color, emotion and so much more. He claimed that: 'No photo will have everything,but some get close. Every photo I love is for a different reason.' I really moved this response and understood how much he loves photos."

Masayoshi also added: "In addition, he told that one of his favorite things to see in photos is metaphor,   and he explained how photography functions as a visual language and can produce complex ideas and powerful emotions. I surprised his deep insight and understanded how to enjoy seeing a photos. Next time I see a picture, I will try to see carefully."

Eszter Farkas

Now in Budapest, Eszter Farkas wrote for the German wire service, Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) in Ghana, covering West Africa.

https://twitter.com/farkas_e

So wrote of the interview with Ms. Farkas: 

"Her news chief once said that whenever he had to decide whether a piece of information was news or not, he posed the question: 'would my mother care to read about it?' I was so surprised to hear this story. It's true that journalist should pursue justice, but they must also forget the news that nobody gets interested in and reading in meaningless."

"It's very difficult problem. When journalists decide whether an information is news or not, they should care about contents and readers. If they care about readers rather than contents, news story can probably become something like a 'low' weekly magazine."

In light of this, he noted that there is a need for balance.

Ichiro was interested in Ms. Farkas' motivation to become a journalist:

"The questions that I asked Ms. Farkas were why did she choose to become a journalist, and what is the best thing about journalism. I asked these questions because, to be very honest, I wasn’t interested in Journalism. So I wanted to know what is the attraction or fascination of journalism. Her answer to the former question motivated me a lot. She says she didn’t have a specific dream at the age of mine. But she made an action. She started to work in her field while attending classes, and as a result it was her beginning of her career. I don’t have a specific dream right now. But I feel like I should make an action, instead of just waiting for the moment that I find my dream. Her answer to the latter question, she says the good thing is the contribution to people’s better understanding and the role is not only transmit the news, but also give voice to those who are generally underrepresented or oppressed. Journalists might have some power to change the world. I never knew this big role of journalist before I take this class. Ms. Farkas and this class changed my perspective on journalism a lot."

Derek Henry Flood

Derek Flood has covered conflicts in Georgia, Mali, Syria, Libya, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, Kurdistan, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. He has appeared on CNN, France 24, BBC World Service, BBC Arabic television, and Voice of America as an international affairs contributor.

https://twitter.com/DerekHenryFlood

http://the-war-diaries.com/

Toru was interested in the issue of going to dangerous areas to collect news: "I thought IWhy they go to a dangerous area?'  I heard that Mr.Derek often go to a dangerous area to interview as freelance journalist, so I decided to ask him."

Ichiro also noted his curiosity about working in a conflict zone: " I got interested Mr. Flood because I was always wondering how the journalists in the conflict zones work and feel about the issue. The people’s life in the conflict zones are geographically and psychologically very far from us. I have never felt fear or danger when I sleep. I cannot even imagine what the people in the conflict zones feel and think. I thought the role of those journalist was very big and responsible."

Toru linked this experience to current events in now: "Among these answers and reactions [from the journalists], what I thought it was interesting was about self-protection that I asked Mr. Flood. Now two Japanese are captured by ISIS. I do not intend to say they neglected self-protection. However, when you go to a dangerous area, no matter how you are cautious, you can never be too cautious. I think Japanese freelance journalists should learn from Mr.Derek."

Ichiro noted how interviewing Mr. Flood also led him to new conclusions about current events: "The questions I asked Mr. Flood were what does he feel when he sees war or conflict, doesn’t he feel fear when he is in dangerous situation, and what makes him relaxed when he feels afraid or stressed out. I thought the first question was very deep. I thought I could get a response that indicate why he has chosen the career and maybe he has very strong opinion about the issue. I asked the rest of question because I just wanted to know how the people in danger feel. 

His answer to my question was very to the point, and I totally agreed with his opinion. He says self-sustaining cycles of violence are much easier to foment than to break. I think not only the conflict in the Middle East, but in everywhere this problem could be found. Reading his great answer, I noticed the weakness of human. Since I followed Isis, I thought I knew much about the issue. I thought only destroying them would be a solution, but as he says the real solution would be that one must go there, talk and make them understand the whole situation rather than providing the violence, to prevent violence-cycle. To the question about fear or stress, he says the books, DVDs, humor and love makes him relaxed. These are the stuffs that also make me feel relaxed when I get stressed out. He is a very great guy, but I felt kind of close to him. His answers were very deep and gave me different perspective. It was very great to interview him."

Takumi noted that in interviewing Mr. Flood, who first became involved in journalism after experiencing 9/11 in NYC, he reflected on his own position as an observer of historical events: "In first question's answer, he touched on 9.11. Indeed, it connected chain of events in Afhganistan, Iraq and Syria today. I believe I am also a witness crucial event. Especially, 3.11and Fukushima problem. This accident is element enough to think about society, and to begin more studying .If I am not to be a journalist, I make effort more than ever before."

Martina Kix
Martina Kix is an editor for Neon Magazine, and a former editor for Vice Magazine in Germany.
https://twitter.com/martinakix
https://twitter.com/neon_magazin

Hayato noted that: "I was impressed by her thought that minority group's voice is very important.

I can clearly find the existence of minority stream.
I got to think we should choose topics and discuss about variety of streams.

She also know about Japanese culture and news very well.

I got to know what these people who is in other countries think about current events in Japan."

From his interview with Ms. Kix, Hayato came to feel: "I strongly got to want to know the news using a lot of sources and points of view. Prejudice is not good for knowing news, and we should always think about that."

Overall, the chance to interview journalists via email, and have Mr. Sawa come and visit the class, left us with a deeper understanding about the people behind the news we read.

Nodoka: "Through this interview, I realized journalists were so careful to tell news stories. They must not write uncertain articles. I used to think journalist's works are machine-like, but I realized that was wrong."

Masayoshi: "I have read news papers for a long time, but I have never think about the journalists,and I have not read carefully and think about the contents of the articles deeply. In this class, I can get the opportunity to know about the journalists, and I know journalists take efforts to express the news better. Now, I attempt to know what the journalist try to express when I read and watch the news.
I still have one question. What should I do to understand what the journalist want to express accurately?"

Ichiro: "Through asking these journalists and taking this class, I noticed that there is actually a person who struggled to get information and truth. When I read the news before, I only read the fact, but now I unconsciously read the story. Also I noticed that the journalists connect big news with our ordinary life to make us interested in."

Takumi:

"My impressive things in this class is the class by Sawa-san. This is because, he helped me to understand about making news. I think I can hear just an interesting story at first time. However the accident happened that French media was attacked.Their mood in the press caused this tragedy. All news is made by human. Therefore,we have to pay attenstion some human who make the news, and receive the news."

Takumi ended by remarking that: "You are also one of those behind the news, aren't you?"