Japan: Four points

Point one: Maybe some overlap and less centralization is good for PD

Reading the article by Tadashi Ogawa on the history of Japan’s PD made me wonder if it is better to have PD programs and structures more loosely organized. He looks at how after WWII, Japan’s PD was based on the British model, where the different actors involved in creating and running programs did not have a centralized organizing body. It made me think that while I think it is good to not duplicate efforts, maybe overlaps can be positive, as long as the different organizers don’t feel threatened when those overlaps occur and can instead build off of each other. Also, sometimes smaller efforts that don’t have to go through chains of command can be more effective and connected to specific locations.

Point two: My Japan unit in 4^th grade

My elementary school in NH (not a bastion of diversity) had a country or focus for each grade to study (Russia in 3^rd, Medieval Europe in 5^th). In 4^th grade we had an elaborate Japanese festival, where each of us learned cultural and artistic skills that we then shared. I was in charge of an origami table, and then ran a tea ceremony. Other kids learned flower arranging (one of our classmates was Japanese and his mother came in to help teach us). We learned some words in Japanese and other parts of Japan’s history. I am wondering now if this program was part of the program in the 1980s by the Department of Cultural Exchange to promote more cultural exchange. It certainly made an impression on me at age 9 and made me want to go there.

Point three: Odorlessness

We have talked about how the success of Japanese anime is due in part to it not being traceable back to its country/culture of origin. The class discussion brought up that if a product is odorless, than how can it be used as a PD program? But, if the point is to take the Cull approach to a PD where the origin of a program no longer matters, than maybe odorlessness is in fact key to PD. Because then the message may get through without needing the messanger as the focus.

Point four: PD as reciprocity

I was intrigued to learn about how Japan has had PD programs which are also about educating Japanese people about other Asian cultures. Perhaps the US could learn from this. We could certainly use a bit more education internally about “otherness”. The history of why PD in the US is separated from domestic programs made some sense when the government and media were able to gatekeep information. But with the international flows of media, it would make more sense for the US to embrace PD as not about messaging differently to domestic and overseas audiences. Instead, what if the US were to also think about the reciprocity of internal PD as a way to build bridges? It seems like in Japan, this approach has helped to educate Japanese people about other cultures, and created ties between people from Japan and other countries.