I remember one time when I was studying in France, the teacher asked all of us to write down a very general description of WWII. I remember thinking how stupid it was to sum up such a huge event on a small piece of paper.
Then, when people started reading their responses, I realized why she had done it. Of twenty people in the class, 16 were Asian (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), and they all wrote about Japan, only mentionning (if that) Germany and Europe. The rest of the class (American, Swedish, Belorussian) talked about the European part of the war.
I’m wondering what the general East Asian perspective is on the “War on Terror.” My girlfriend’s Taiwanese, and I think the only reason she knows anything in detail about it is because she has an American boyfriend who’s constantly venting about it. Otherwise, I’ve never gotten the impression from any of my Asian friends that it is on the front burner, so to speak (except for one Korean friend).
I hate to make generalizations. I know there’s no general “American” or “European” view of any of this. I know it’s all nuanced. I’m just wondering what the you Asian (native or expat) dopers perceive.
I know that there is no single answer. I had meant to put this in IMHO, but I clicked the wrong forum.
I know that each country will have a different perspective, and that most people in each country will have a different perspective. I’ve been enough places around the world to know that.
Maybe what I should have asked is, to people get the impression that Chinese/Japanese/Koreans/etc. are as focused on the issues surrounding the war in Iraq/Afghanistan, the relations between Israel and other Arab nations, and Islamic terrorism in general.
Does it dominate their news?
Are certain aspects of it more emphasized than, say, in Western news media?
Do they debate it in their bars and cafes?
I’m moving to Taiwan in two weeks, but I won’t be able to understand anything on the news for a long time. I’m just trying to get the gist of the perspective over there.
I’ve had a business lunch with several of our japanese managers and engineers in Tokyo a few months ago and this topic came up. They were mostly uninformed about the subject and were entirely unaware that any part of the US population was opposed to military action in Iraq. They were under this, rather naive in my opinion, impression that a) Nobody can find Iraq on a map b) Everybody wants to take over Iraq.
Although they couldn’t understand point (a) I quickly cleared everything up by suggesting a completely implausible scenario of Japan invading Chile over fruit exports. I asked that what percentage of Japanese would be able to find Chile on an unlabeled map now, and how many would bother to learn where it is if a war started. The manager had to concede that probably not that many and he wasn’t sure if he could find Chile himself.
I do not think the phrase “War on Terror” means anything to anybody in Tokyo. Hell, I really do not think the phrase “War on Terror” really means anything consistent to anybody anywhere inside or outside of the US but that’s definitely GD territory.
You have much different meeting with Japanese businesspeople than I do. Here’s how I would envision it going:
Me: “What do you think about the War on Terror?”
Business Person 1: “Aha.”
BP2: Nods slowly
BP1: “This is an interesting question.”
BP2: Hrrumphs
A full minute of silence ensues.
BP1: Nods and smiles.
It’s always as if there is some sort of award for the greatest volume of non-verbal communication. I’m sure they get together afterwards and marvel at how much was said by not saying it.
The actual phrase “War on Terror” certainly wouldn’t mean anything to the average Tokyo-jin, but the current events associated with it are quite well known. The sarin attacks in Tokyo were probalby more akin to the the Oklahoma federal building bombing than 9/11, but the Japanese still remember the horror of the event. Similarly, there was a great deal of discussion surrounding the involvement of JDF troops in Iraq in 2004, and how that affected the Constitutional amendment proposal of 2005 with regard to the Japanese military.
Still, it hasn’t affected day-to-day living all that much. For example, the security checks at Narita Airport don’t seem much more stringent than they were before 9/11 (although Cerowyn would be the better judge, as he flies between Japan and North America much more than I do). The biggest change I’ve encountered is that security staff will pick people out of the check-in line and search their suitcases before they’re checked in (and occasionally critique their packing technique). No shoe searches, and no random confiscations of everyday items.
Now that I think about it more, there was an increased police presence at some of the major train stations, and many stations covered over their trash containers, but that only lasted for a while. Now there’s just a pre-recorded message (that plays along with arrival and departure announcements) asking people to look out for suspicious activity or objects.