Outside a train station near Tokyo, hundreds of people cheer as Sohei Kamiya, head of the surging nationalist party Sanseito, criticizes Japan’s rapidly growing foreign population.
As opponents, separated by uniformed police and bodyguards, accuse him of racism, Kamiya shouts back, saying he is only talking common sense.
Sanseito, while still a minor party, made big gains in July’s parliamentary election, and Kamiya’s “Japanese First” platform of anti-globalism, anti-immigration and anti-liberalism is gaining broader traction ahead of a ruling party vote Saturday that will choose the likely next prime minister.
Where, though? I live in Okinawa and visiting Tokyo with my family sucks because people there are so uptight like you said. Also, old people there are so fucking entitled.
Edit: I forgot to write how Okinawa is like the opposite. Kids are more free to be kids here.
In Taiwan we call Okinawa, 琉球. This was the original name and I think the people there agrees with me. 琉球 has their own history and language prior to the takeover. The culture is vastly different than the mainland.
That’s so awesome that you call us by that name. I wish we still used that as our official name as kind of a fuck you to the Japanese government, but it’s all 沖縄 now for government stuff. We do still see 琉球 used in the private sector though (as well as one of our universities). Are you Taiwanese? I’ve visited Taipei a few times and I really love it there.
Ya, I live in Taipei and it’s only a 1ish hour flight to 琉球. I feel the cultures of both our countries is very similar.
The people of 琉球 are super polite and their love for children is nothing like Tokyo or Osaka. My kids are welcomed.
Cool, so people there actually like the name Ryukyu? I used the word Ryukyu in a Japanese class one day but I got corrected by the teacher saying that Okinawa is the new name.
(I’m Taiwanese btw)
I think your teacher was just trying to be correct and didn’t mean she didn’t like it. Some locals might feel shy/awkward about it, but it’s not a taboo or anything — especially if you’re talking to a Ryukyuan :)
Glad to hear it’s not a taboo! I had been always under the impression that Ryukyu was some sort of taboo word that was never to be mentioned of. I had somehow connected it with the once-Chinese influence over the Ryukyu Islands and thought it would anger locals or something haha.
I was watching about singledom and loneliness in Japan, it seems like Okinawa is a world apart from the mainland because family ties and community is still strong in Okinawa. Well, fair enough that Okinawa is still culturally distinct in many ways than the mainland because of history, although it’s nice to hear some parts of Japan still have strong community and family values in a good way.
The family ties can be burdensome at times, but I really love that I’m still hanging out with my cousins in my 40s and our kids do too. We get together on obon, which is a day to honour our ancestors, and clean up our family tomb and get wasted lol.