Politics: The Next Step

I remember sitting down on the couch with my host mother and watching TV. It was not to terribly long into our stay here, but I would guess it was about two weeks or so. I remember seeing the head of the Japanese government on the TV, and, to my surprise, my mother made a comment under her breathe. I asked her what she said, and she continued to tell me that the politics of Japan are full of liars. Then Obama came on the TV, and she asked me what I thought of him. I told her that I didn’t think very highly of him, but I also realized that he wasn’t the one who was really in power. The conversation ended in politicians being liars and idiots. This being said, I remember when the elections were taking place a little further into our stay. I remember being greeted every-single day with the beautiful sounds of the “めんどくさいもの” that drove in front of our house, and through town, all day. During this time, my host mother and I also harped on them. Soon came the time when we were greeted with the new leader of Japan. Of course, one might think that, since he was replaced by vote, he would be better standing than the last guy. However, within a few weeks to a month he managed to make it down to the title of “idiot” and “liar.”

This being said, I have noticed a sense of discord between the governors and the governed that has reached across entire oceans it seems. I must admit that I figured Japan would have a much tighter ship than that of America or Britain due to their reflection techniques and their ability to think about the bigger picture. However, I was corrected in this. Jobs are hard to find, money, people aren’t reproducing fast enough, etc. These are all issues that Japan has been dealing with. Adding the Great East Earthquake onto that already complicated pile of issues, and you have “wide open spaces.” So much so that it is “big enough to make a big mistake.” What Japan is going through right now is tough. There is such a negative view of politicians in the world. This being said, the vast majority of those ‘negative Nancies’ are not lifting a finger to do anything about it. Japan is dealing with a feeling that all nations are dealing with, I feel. People aren’t happy, and there are issues that we haven’t really dealt with before. I think that the message that has been plastered on buses, benches, and tissue packets for Iwate and Tohoku of “がんばって” is not going to be enough to really deal with these issues. I feel that “がんばって” has undertones of enduring through the same old things just to get through them. However, Japan, like nations around the world, will need to start looking beyond endurance of systems to really take that next step towards an unknown future.<\c>