The start of US-Japan

This article gives us some background on the reason to celebrate the alliance, and how it all started.

From Angry Asian Man

I know this is supposed to be a US-Japan focused blog, but when we talk about East Asia it's hard to ignore China.

Here, on "playing the China card."

Then, on a related note, a study was done on the rise of xenophobia in America. Not necessarily towards East Asians, Japanese Americans included, but our communities were definitely subjected to these kinds of statements once upon a time. Is there no reason to stand up for these communities now? They are being victimized with racist rhetoric and unacceptably negative treatment. It's nothing new, really, but why does this keep happening? Seems like a good study, here.

Could definitely be something to think about in the larger global discussion...still thinking of ways it directly ties into the US-Japan relationship. Maybe it doesn't, yet. But the intersection, I'm sure, is undeniable at some point. Perhaps it will lead to a better understanding of the kinds of things this organization needs to do to promote greater acceptance of what may be perceived to be "foreign" communities, for better collaboration and cooperation. We will not have the same kinds of struggles the South Asian and Southeast Asian communities are having now, so that makes us lucky. But being cognizant of the significance of sentiments like these could prove beneficial if we can figure out how rid of these kinds of detrimental viewpoints that merely demonstrate clear lack of understanding about other cultures and people.

US-Japan is at least a great start.

Wow.

Seriously, what is this?

Like Angry Asian Man said, definitely racist and xenophobic. This is our world, sadly.

Yay for US-Japan Open Skies!

Read the article, here.

And then, United Continental's response in an article - they give their applause.

Now if only we could work on those study abroad students....

Countdown for the JAs

5 more days until the JALD application deadline. I am so nervous-excited! Once they all come flooding in, and once they are all done flooding in, the work will be nonstop for the next couple of months.

U.S. and China (and Japan)

The topic of China seems to be a sensitive one, within this organization, even within this country.

Among this organization's many target issues is the topic of clean energy, which has run into some resistance in this country due to financial and funding problems (i.e. total lack of funds and Prop 23 in this upcoming election). But here, an article on why U.S. and China should team up on the clean energy front.

Japan and the U.S. have had much to collaborate on, both with clean energy as a prospect and also on high speed rail. But both are also things that China has been jumping in on, and even received praise in the U.S. for their advanced technology and ability to move forward on these issues, unlike the U.S. side.

China is a point of worry for many people, for various reasons, though it all comes down to that fear that China is going to one day take over the whole world. The world's largest powers are feeling threatened, and justifiably so. China has already overtaken Japan as the 2nd largest economy to the U.S., and that is starting to make people nervous. Most of all, if China becomes the new focus, what will happen to the U.S.-Japan relationship? Granted, that relationship is considered fairly stable, but who knows what will happen once China jumps in and creates a stable relationship with this country, if that ever happens.

This whole "ruling the seas" tension is already making things much more complicated than all 3 countries need them to be. It's a shame that the Conference's Trilateral Relationship panel didn't turn out to be the most ideal of arrangements; it could have sparked some very significant and much needed dialogue on the topic. I would have liked to hear where it could go.

Overall, I don't feel like I know enough about the relationships between the 3 countries to really make any critical judgments or form any substantial opinions on the issue, but I do think that this organization needs to continue to work hard to provide Japan activities and the Japanese American community's activities with large amounts of visibility. The work that's going on there needs to continue to be recognized, not overshadowed by fears or potentials with China. At least the US-Japan activities and collaboration are real.

On China and Japan tensions

An article by Sheila Smith.

Basically...the Japanese don't seem to be dealing with this China issue very well. They're too internally focused to really think effectively about how to solve the problem and deal with China. So Japanese.

Current Projects

Current projects on the LA side:

2011 Japanese American Leadership Delegation (applications due this week)

CG/JA Leaders Meeting

Other ongoing:

Hawaii Symposium, Dec. 3rd

Governors Meeting, Nov. 15

Board Meeting Call, Nov. 1st

JALD work has been on the lighter side, but as soon as the applications come flooding in the work load will increase exponentially. Nervous but also excited to see how the program and delegation team will turn out this year.

Welcome to my work world.

Although I only just started in May, in just a short amount of time I have learned so much about the US-Japan relationship. The work I've done and become involved with since then, especially since the Annual Conference in September, has become an integral part of my interests and everyday life.

The purpose of this blog is to log current ongoings with the organization for my own personal use, as well as keep track of important articles, links, or other resources that are or will be helpful to my work and projects here.

It is in no way representative of the organization, and contains my views only.