Semi-drifting 4/4/19

Okay, so my funny fellow Hokkien guy called me just now. Thanks to his feedback, I realised why I have to fight the lag like an Archer. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=14ax9TL7GZM

In other words, I’ll need to wait for 2 more weeks. After that, I’ll have no choice but to test whether bandwidth gluttony in the family is still at Gilgamesh’s Chaldean level.

In other news, I’ve gotten sick and tired over trying to navigate the obstacles Safari and Apple chuck at me when it comes to scrolling down after getting shot back to the top. The futility was like trying to reason with a random nihonjin from the Nippon Kaigi where actual differences between Jiken and Bōsō are concerned. You know it’s not going to work. Shikata ga nai. So what I’m going to do is trying to write posts without shifting text alignment as much as possible.

Now before I begin, I need to apologise for a moment of misinformation. In one of my previous posts featuring the Ainu and illogical photo taken with a Japanese tourist, I failed to mention the Ryukyuans. Despite Aragaki Yui being an Okinawan, just because she looks like the typical Japanese doesn’t mean Ryukyuans don’t exist. They do exist and they did suffer under Japanese imperialism like China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. The Battle of Okinawa was morally wrong in ways more than one. Google search for that and you’ll know why we need to see the Ryukyuans as fellow brothers and sisters in history. If unborn lives and black lives matter equally much (and they truly do unless you’re a hypocritical activist), then no one should say Ryukyuan lives are made in China. #RyukyuanLivesMatter

This post is about the most sensitive topic of the year. Namely, the controversy surrounding Reiwa. Not some company in Australia (although positive PR is currently needed in Australia right now), but rather the new era name. In this post, I’ll try dissecting it.

Firstly, what is Reiwa? As we all know by now, Reiwa was inspired by a poetry work recorded in the Manyoshu. Worries of nationalism were bound to happen since Manyoshu was effectively Japan’s very own Epic of Gilgamesh. Except that no flooding was recorded. Now the problem with the era name isn’t as simple as a conflict between two sides of the same story.
https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3004304/when-japans-emperor-akihito-steps-down-will-his-pacifist

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/04/8185e2949929-japan-says-name-of-new-era-reiwa-translates-as-beautiful-harmony.html

The controversy is more about whether a double entendre was smuggled in. If a pacifist PM was to pull this off, the rest of Asia wouldn’t be calling for him to be crucified. As it turned out, Abe Shinzo’s socio-political stance is always there for all to see. At this point, only time will tell whether he’s willing to be more opportunistic and less idealistic (a trait I suspect Koizumi Junichiro of having despite doing the very same things his senpai-tachi and kohai-tachi have been doing since the Potsdam Declaration declared Japan’s damnation).

This comes to a potentially embarrassing episode where Abe might have to deal with his dis’Abed moment.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/04/national/reiwa-added-list-candidates-japans-new-era-final-stage/#.XKXvRxpGShA

To understand the severity of the episode, one must understand the history of the Japanese press. No, not some kind JAV technique inspired by the Kamasutra but the Kobun incident which made a kombu out of a news media giant of its time.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/01/national/look-reiwa-picked-kept-wraps/#.XKXxwhpGShA

I admit to having a schadenfreude moment while reading this last night. After all, I’m blessed/cursed with a sense of humour like the Brothers Grimm. The only moment topping this would be Heisei 84 listed below.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/21/national/media-national/emperors-abdication-highlights-inconvenience-behind-countrys-imperial-naming-system/#.XKX1ExpGShB

The insane manner of divine intervention couldn’t be more evident. An embarrassing moment for Abe Shinzo may not be enough for him to rewrite the post-war Constitution (actually, it won’t), but a prank pulled off by a whimsical Susanoo might just have a better effect than speculations involving Emperor Akihito’s abdication intending to delay Abe’s ambitious vision of a truly abled Japan.

Which now comes to my next point. Such a speculation is no different from speculating whether the Ainu and Ryukyuans will form a terrorist coalition to overthrow the government. In other words, it’s nonsense. Because Safari and Apple are declaring war on me again, I’ll cut this short in point form.

1. The desire to abdicate was effectively a challenge to a law prohibiting such an act in the first place. Simply put, Emperor Akihito’s declaration could carry serious consequences for the government. This was why there were analysts believing that a mutual compromise would be the likeliest outcome.

2. As a result, the entire National Diet got itself into an awkward situation. Approve the abdication and you’ll have to change the law. Say no and you’ll run the risk of disrespecting the Emperor. Remember that Japan isn’t Singapore where doing what I’m doing right now won’t get you into trouble.

3. Was it an overkill to force a delay in this manner? The correct question should be whether it’s practical. This is the most important part. Ask me and I’d say no. Delay merely means letting your firstborn son carry the burden for you. Emperor Akihito has always proven himself to be a shrewd man when it comes to maneuvering in circumstances. That’s how he earned the respect of the world. The courage of Achilles is needed, but you also need the mind of Odysseus.

P.S: I suspect Emperor Naruhito may just be the nationalists’ worst nightmare instead of his father. His courtship of Empress Masako was the stuff of romantic legends before G.R.R. Martin invented the tale of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.