The TV Dilemma (and What it Says About Me)

Over the past 5 years, the time I’ve spent in front of the TV has dwindled away, replaced by sitting at the computer, and sometimes healthier pursuits such as walks and shopping – although how healthy this last one is debateable.

The background to my current situation goes like this: when we arrived in Japan, Keiko and I did not have a TV. This didn’t bother me: I had a computer, internet connection, and a seemingly endless supply of streaming content. Keiko, however, felt we needed one, mainly so she could have some entertainment while I hogged the TV. So we bought a Toshiba 15-inch flat-screen. It cost us about ¥50,000 and is really good quality with all the inputs and features we needed. This TV was fine in a small living room where we sat relatively close to the TV, but now we have a larger living room, and we lounge around on our sofa. We’ve tucked the TV in the corner to maximise the space we have and it has become difficult for me to read subtitles (most Japanese variety shows have lots of text which I find easier to understand than the original speech sometimes). While I rarely watch TV, I often watch videos feed from my PC to the TV… many of which are subtitled.

Keiko agreed to getting a bigger TV so long as it was under ¥100,000. I checked online and discovered that we could find a good-sized TV for about that price, so we’re now saving up  for it in ¥500 coins. Having never been much of a TV-tech fanatic, I had no idea about what size we were looking at, so on Valentine’s Day, while present-shopping, we stopped off in Yodobashi Camera (the best electronics store in the world, in my opinion) and checked out what was on offer.

Our options were three-fold: 32-inch, 37-inch, and 40-inch. We could afford most 32-inch TVs, but I felt they were a little too small given that there were models in the 37- and 40-inch ranges that were also within our budget. Keiko ruled out the 40-inch TVs as being too big for our living room. They are a little over a metre long, and having checked the available space when I got home, she made the right call. We settled down to looking at two 37-inch TVs: one, a Panasonic TH-P37X1 Viera with a resolution of only 1024×720, or the full HD Sharp LC-37ES50 Aquos at a slightly more expensive ¥94,800. Both were being superceded by newer models and thus were on a time-limited sale (the Panasonic until the 14th, the Sharp until the 28th).

I had itchy feet. I had decided that I really wanted that Sharp. It always happens like that: I see something in a shop and I get that panicky feeling that I must have it. Keiko was surprised that I was even considering buying it straight away, but I could feel the hole burning in my wallet. Keiko convinced me to wait until her pay-day, but I was antsy.

We argued back and forth about whether we should get it. I felt that it was a good price and a good model, and we had no idea if such a good model would be available at such a good price when we finally finished saving. Meanwhile, I didn’t want to continue struggling to watch our current TV. For me, buying now made sense. As my friends chirped: “Buy now regret nothing.” Very true.

Keiko, however, was unconvinced. Having no problems with our current TV and unaffected by tech-fever, she was the calmer head. She argued that we could keep the money we would be spending just in case we needed it between now and the time we amassed our planned savings. She reminded me that we would be trying to go back to the UK in 2011, and that it wouldn’t be cheap. At each step, I countered with the arguments above, that is until Keiko mentioned that there would be summer sales too. Finally, at 1am, the calmer side prevailed and we’ll wait.

I’m a sucker for low prices, and I’m a terrible saver. I will do everything to make a good purchase today, but I cannot even contemplate the steps needed for larger purchases just a year later. It’s at times like this when I really appreciate Keiko’s financial discipline. She never stops me getting what I want, but she does a good job at convincing me to wait. If it weren’t for her, today I’d be playing with our new, big TV instead of writing this post. I think we made the right choice.

Thanks, honey.

Y150@Minato Mirai, Yokohama

2009 marks the 150th year of Yokohama’s status as an open port. Ever since Commodore Perry of the United States Navy forced Japan to open her ports (despite prior decades of mostly forgotten trade with various foreign nations), Yokohama has considered itself the hub of cosmopolitanism in Japan. Unfortunately, that seems to have missed in the city’s 150th anniversary celebrations which notably lack English translations of any kind. It is cosmopolitanism in a narrow sense, acknowledging that foreign enclaves once existed and have since dispersed without really opening itself to foreign tourists, despite the fact that one would find English or even other languages in other more fleeting exhibitions.

Yet still, it was nice to look around. The main exhibitions are based in Minato Mirai, home of some famous red brick buildings which acted as the customs houses of the ports. Minato Mirai marks the convergence of past and as its name implies, future. It is also a pleasant urban landscape set against the quiet beauty of harbour waters.

Tickets to enter the three locations at Minato Mirai typically cost ¥2,400, but there are concessions available, and the most important of these is the night-time entry price: ¥1,200. At this lower price, I believe the price is worthwhile, but there isn’t really all that much for ¥2,400. At night it is cooler and the cityscape is at its best.

The first place we entered was home to four attractions. The first was a ENEOS stand full of company propaganda about how this oil company is helping the environment, it even had baseball star Ichiro to back up their presentation, but largely it was forgettable. Across the way was the much more important historical exhibition which showed Yokohama’s technological development following the arrival of Perry’s ‘Black Ships’, including the introduction of the steam train, gas lamps, western style suits, and food products. The entrance is flanked by period US Marine cut-outs and Edo-era samurai retainers, and this kind of cardboard presentation continues throughout. Below we see Perry and a retainer in negotiations about Japan’s closed ports.

Outside was the real highlight of this particular section: the food court… wait, I mean La Machine, a French art project involving a giant, robotic spider. The stuff of my nightmares.

Piloted by several technicians, la Machine moves with an awkward, tentative grace and really captures the animal it intends to, even if spiders aren’t (thankfully) blessed with the ability to spew out steam from their front and rear. The dance occurs several times a day, and is best seen from the terrace of the food court.

We moved onto the second area across the road. This section contains a movie theatre, although we didn’t really arrive at the right time to see it, and a big spherical balloon. The balloon is a projector screen, and the show played upon it addresses the lost of habitat and other environmental issues. The story, called ‘Home’, is quite brief (a few minutes long) and relatively abstract (lacking any narrative), but makes a succinct point.

We didn’t dwell too long in this section, mostly because there was nothing else there, and also because it was getting late, so we headed over to the final section, a Nissan-run celebration of ecological technology, or perhaps more particularly, a very large advertisement for a future electric car concept. We were hustled into a Super Hi-Vision cinema, skipping the immediate exhibits (which included space tech), and were presented with the crispiest moving images and best surround sound I’ve ever watched. Two videos were played, the first was called ‘Gift’ from Hawai’i, which was essentially a tech demo, demonstrating the system’s fidelity through a series of vignettes: hang-gliding, diving, and American football. So far, so very IMAX. Then came Nissan’s video which was a typically cheesy, romantic look at nature and kids at play. In terms of the latter part of the exhibit, which I will come to in a minute, the theatre section lacked any real point. It was out of place, and didn’t really set the scene for what was to come.

We were herded into the next room where we sat on tree trunk-like seats made of paper. In there, Nissan presented the future of electric cars: a cutesy little robot thing called Pibo. It was installed in the dashboard of a bubble-shaped car which had three seats, the driver being flanked by two passengers. The car’s wheels could turn at right angles with no turning circle, and the cockpit could turn to match it. A video attempted to show us how useful this could be for ambulances in Japan’s small cramped roads (although where you could put a patient is not mentioned), as well as parking. As an electric car, it could enter the home so that old people needn’t climb steps or fiddle with doors; although without a genkan of sorts, I don’t think many Japanese would take to it. It was propaganda of the highest order, a nice concept that stank of its corporate master’s branding.

In the final room, on a small piece of crepe paper we wrote what we could do today to help the environment, I wrote something about turning off the air-conditioners in my feeble Japanese, before we fed it into a suction tube that whisked it off into a giant bubble. Looking at what other people wrote was pretty fun, although clearly some were stuck for ideas. We then mingled around the impressive-looking installation, stomping on piezo-generators and so on, but again, there wasn’t really much to be done, so we piled out into the night air to reflect on the experience.

At their heart, the ideas presented in the Y150 locations were quite good, but really lacked in terms of cohesion and presentation. I couldn’t help but wonder why Yokohama hadn’t tried to internationalise it by making it more foreigner friendly. The latter part of the Nissan presentation and the historical side really could have done with some other languages or directions. Perhaps I missed the English language guide or something, but this could have been Yokohama’s World Expo, a celebration of its role as an international port and the origins of Japanese technological prowess. While I didn’t get a chance to see all the other parts of the Y150 (in Yamashita Park, for instance, or near Zoorasia), I was left wondering how the could justify the entry price when the beautiful urban landscape of Minato Mirai was available for free.

Milo and Project Natal – The Future of Gaming?

I am a huge fan of gaming, even if I do not have the money or time to really devote myself to it. The only gaming platform I own, besides my PC (and more frequently, iPod), is my Nintendo DS. However, I played the Xbox 360 at length last year, and have at least tested the Wii. Regardless of not dipping my foot into the current generation of consoles, I am nevertheless excited to have seen some of the ideas coming out of E3 this year: excited in a tech-geek way, but not really as a gamer.

The case in point, Project Natal, is Microsoft’s impressive attempt to divorce consoles from their controllers. Natal captures your movement in a skeletal form without having to wear a motion-capture suit (all black with ping-pong balls stuck everywhere). It can also pick up your facial expressions, scan items, ‘listen’ to you, and even recognise you. It’s all technically accomplished, but is it practical for gamers?

The blogosphere is already debating its usefulness from a gamer’s perspective, asking questions such as will all gamers need to be professional athletes in the future? Will the casual vs hardcore gamer rift deepen? Can you use a system like Natal to play your favourite games? All good questions, but many of the comments thus far have focused on the tech videos shown my Microsoft at E3.

Reviews of hands-on access to Ricochet and Milo (see above) are positive, but highlight the possible (nay, probable) gap between exhibition and reality. In the advertisement above, we see a family playing a racing game, and the Wired review also experimented with a Natal-capable version of Burnout Paradise which recognises the motions of the user… but does it require exaggeration? Is it natural? Or is it, like the Wii, a bit of a cop-out? The problem with seeing the pre-recorded footage as we did above (putting aside the excellent painting application) is that we are unable to see the problems encountered during filming. Milo, to me, seems a little too polished, if not, then a little by-the-rails for what is the precursor to a retailable game.

Once bitten, twice shy. Lionhead Studios is excellent at bluesky thinking, but Black and White, The Movies, and Fable all left me a bit cold. Great ideas but inherently limited by technology or interest. Much like EA’s The Sims, after a couple of weeks, it’s very difficult to find a good reason or the will to continue. How much will Milo be limited by the realities of software design? Are we doomed to yet another disappointment from the company that promises too much?

At the moment, Milo is a listener, a modern day ELIZA, answering without addressing the subject of the conversation. Even so, the prospect of in-depth interaction with a character, a 3D Galatea if you will, is simply fascinating to me. Imagine the possibilities, if at all programmable: interacting with Jedi in a Knights of the Old Republic-style game, or a Hotel Dusk-like detective game with interrogation scenes like that from Blade Runner. It’s all very far in the future, but this is a step in the right direction.

Regardless of the progress of Natal and its soon-to-be imitators, there will still be games for joypads, just as there are still games which are best enjoyed with a joystick (Street Fighter IV anyone?). Natal offers not only casual joys like those found in Wii Fit, but also the opportunity for an in-depth character study unlike anything made so far. I would love to see an interactive story along the lines of Fahrenheit utilising this system. The nay-sayers will be legion, but Natal is part of gaming’s future, and I welcome it with open arms.

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/06/project-natal/

The Changing Face of the MSDF

Japan’s Self-Defence Forces have undergone a significant change in direction in past 20 years as the country has grappled with the US-unipolar system, most notably in coming to terms with the humiliation of its ‘checkbook diplomacy’ in the Gulf War, the adoption of UN Peacekeeping Operations (PKOs), and the threat environment of the War on Terror. The future is still largely uncertain while constitutional revision remains largely undesired expecting the vocal minorities. Each of the services has attempted to adapt to the modern challenges of the SDF’s role in their own ways, but like most nations, its procurement flexibility is hobbled by big war (in this case, war of defence)  mentality inherited from the Cold War – see, for instance, my previous posts on the ASDF’s prospective future fighter, the ATD-X, and the GSDF’s prospective MBT, the TK-X. In this post I will examine the Maritime Self-Defence Force’s changed role and procurement in light of its current and future use.

The MSDF has taken the brunt of Japan’s contribution to post-Cold War military operations. With its roots in the surveillance of Japanese waters for Soviet submarine incursions, it entered the post-Cold War period with a sizable diesel submarine force (Japan’s ‘Three Non-Nuclear Principles’ could be read to rule out nuclear submarines). With the end of the Cold War came a gradual, yet significant change to the character of its operations. Just as NATO began to explore Out-of-Area Operations in the face of US grumblings of freeloading, so too did the MSDF have to look outside its borders as the US became interested in more than just its former Socialist foe. The watershed was the 1991 Gulf War, in the aftermath of which an MSDF mine-sweeping unit provided force protection and clean-up assistance to coalition forces. From that point on, the MSDF has provided logistical support for UN PKO (e.g. Cambodia – 1992), international independent disaster relief (Indonesia – 2004), and most notably logistical support and interdiction roles for US-led multilateral operations in the Indian Ocean (2003-present). Currently it is engaged in multinational anti-piracy efforts in Somalia, although its role is strictly in support of Japanese vessels. While the MSDF’s international role grows, its defence of Japan role is undiminished.

The threat from Russia has largely been replaced by the threats posed by increasingly weighty China, and sabre-rattling North Korea. The post-Cold War period has seen a number of interdictions against incursions by unknown vessels into Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In a role shared with the Coast Guard (JCG) – where the JCG is unable to continue, the MSDF is to step in – these vessels were chased down – most escaped. One particular incident in March 1999 saw the JDS Destroyer Myoko and a JCG patrol ship in pursuit of two vessels detected off the Noto Peninsula. After a 20-hour chase in which only warning shots were fired, the boats escaped and were later detected entering a port on North Korea’s east coast. This was a first for both the MSDF (their first maritime police action) and the JCG (their first shots fired). The incident highlighted the problem of incursions from Japan’s neighbours and gave impetus for the Maritime Safety Law that gave the JCG the teeth they bared in December 2001 in the East China Sea in which a North Korean spy ship was scuttled by its crew following a firefight with four JCG vessels. China, too, played its part most notably in November 2004 when it is believed a Chinese Han-class nuclear attack submarine entered Japanese waters off Okinawa for two hours leading to the deployment of MSDF vessels.

The Japanese government and its services proved capable of adapting to these intrusions. While the government implemented the Maritime Safety Law, the MSDF looked into creating a special forces unit: the Special Boarding Unit. The crew of the JDS Myoko were very apprehensive about the possibility of having to board the suspicious vessel in 1999, and  with British help, the Special Boat Service, I imagine, the MSDF created the Special Boarding Unit (which is most famous for the bullying to death of a trainee in 2008). Other threats have equally been met with adaptation: for instance, Japan is a nation surrounded by nuclear powers, as the nuclear ambitions of North Korea have developed over the years, the Japanese have pursued a deterrent in the form of their Kongo and Atago-class AEGIS-equipped Guided Missile Destroyers. In 2005, after a decade of North Korean ballistic missile testing, Lockheed Martin were contracted to upgrade its Kongo-class destroyers with anti-ballistic missile capabilities. Some 20-years on from the end of the Cold War, the MSDF has carved out a out-of-area niche for itself that is likely to stick, but with military procurements worldwide traditionally lagging a good 20-years behind current planning  (e.g. Britain’s Typhoon), how is its future shaping up?

In March 2009, the MSDF commissioned  the first Hyuga-class Destroyer (official designation)/Helicopter Carrier (most practical designation), originally planned amidst some controversy. This flat-top vessel, typically carrying 4 helicopters, could, with some modifications, be used as a Short Vertical Take-Off/Landing (SVTOL) carrier. Indeed, some are even concerned/hint at a revival of Japanese carrier-borne aviation. Its primary role is anti-submarine warfare (ASW), however, its design inevitably hints at the possibility of helicopter-borne force projection and rapid reaction missions, but for now it should be considered as a ASW Destroyer with the potential for much more.

The ASW role, vital to the defence of Japan, is clearly still the core of the MSDF vision, and the real-time electronic intelligence capability required for that role is easily adapted and conducive to anti-incursion missions and a wider ABM network. Other than static sensors, maritime patrol aircraft are very important to ASW, and Japan is looking to replace its long-serving P-3C platform with the Kawasaki P-1, based on a cargo transport under development allowing for a shared cost. It will have an array of sensor packages, as well as a computer-aided anti-submarine munitions delivery package. In order to decrease sensor interference, Kawasaki are ditching fly-by-wire in favour of fly-by-light, which has yet to be deployed in a production aircraft. It is expected to enter service in 2010.

(Click for a larger image)

Finally, the last major procurement on the books is the 19DD, a 4500-tonnes (UK tonnes) destroyer to guard the prized AEGIS Guided Missile Destroyers which have become capital ships for the MSDF. It, like the Hyuga-class Destroyers, will be fitted with a small FSC-3 AEGIS phased array radar for fire-control.With a maximum speed exceeding 30 knots, a low radar cross-section mast, and a hull packed with surface-to-surface missiles, torpedoes and a 127mm cannon, it will provide the ground cover lacking in the Atago and Kongo-class vessels. The first two of four planned vessels are scheduled to be commissioned in 2012, although with the economic crisis, some slippage can be expected.

The 19DD is a key part of the MSDF’s reorganisation into a more flexible and faster reacting order of battle. Under the 2004 Mid-Term Defence Programme, the MSDF reorganised in FY2007  into a more streamlined force (see diagram, right). There are now fewer Escort Divisions with more ships, with a pair of Escort Divisions making up 4 flotillas: each pair will eventually consist of either one Hyuga-class helicopter carrier destroyer, one Kongo-class destroyer and two other destroyers (DDH-type division) or one Kongo and three other destroyers (DDG-type division). The 19DD will be included in each division to take the heat off the Kongos, freeing them up for ABM. Each of these Escort Divisions is considered a Mobile Operations Unit available for rapid-response operations.  Furthermore, the number of district fleet divisions (located within a defined area for Japan’s defence) was reduced from six to five each consisting of a slightly larger district escort division.

The streamlining is clearly about making ships available for deployment at a short term notice and it reflects the hope that some of us have for a broader MSDF role in international security operations. The Japanese government has proved itself willing to send troops at short notice to engage in the anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, which was the purpose of the reorganisation. It is a measured response that doesn’t stretch either its constitutional bounds or its primary defensive mission. In all, it is a step in the direction of becoming a more useful and internationally-interoperable modern force , something that will undoubtedly be strengthened as the new procurements roll out. The question remains: can Japan live up to the roles suggested by its growing capabilities? Time will tell.

Google Earth vs the Burakumin

The Japan Times today published an AP report on Google’s most recent clash with a civil rights group:

When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online collection last year, the search giant didn’t expect a backlash. [...] But Google failed to judge how its offering would be received, as it has often done in Japan. The company is now facing inquiries from the Justice Ministry and angry accusations of prejudice because its maps detailed the locations of former low-caste communities.

[...]

Lists of “dirty” addresses circulate on Internet bulletin boards. Some surveys have shown that such neighborhoods have lower property values and residents have been the target of racial taunts and graffiti. But the modern locations of the old villages are largely unknown to the public, and many burakumin prefer it that way.

Google Earth’s maps pinpointed several such areas. One village in Tokyo was clearly labeled “eta,” a now strongly derogatory word for burakumin that literally means “filthy mass.” A single click showed the streets and buildings that are currently in the same area.

Google posted the maps as one of many “layers” available via its mapping software, each of which can be easily matched up with modern satellite imagery. The company provided no explanation or historical context, as is common practice in Japan. Its basic stance is that its actions are acceptable because they are legal, one that has angered burakumin leaders.

“If there is an incident because of these maps, and Google is just going to say ‘It’s not our fault’ or ‘It’s down to the user,’ then we have no choice but to conclude that Google’s system itself is a form of prejudice,” said Toru Matsuoka, an Upper House Diet member. [...]

[For more information on the Burakumin's history, take a look at my previous post on the issue: Burakumin]

Of course, Google has recently been under fire (in Japan and the UK especially) for invading people’s privacy with Google Streetview. Personally, I have no problem with that. It is a highly useful tool, and it’s not really an invasion of privacy… it’s not real time, it’s just a snapshot of the street and its houses that is far less intrusive than actually  standing outside someone’s house. I can’t go through the bins, I can’t look inside the windows, and what I see could be months or years old.

Of course, this new issue is different. It’s about publishing the historical locations of areas whose populations are still subject to discrimination, including discrimination due to where they live and/or were born. The Buraku Liberation League need no urging to jump onto this kind of issue. They actively seek out anything that can be construed as discrimination, as you might imagine, and are persistent in stamping it out. Google has already censored the maps, removing the references to Etamura (Filth Villages).

The situation raises a major issue: is Google wrong to publish historical maps in their entirety? Should it be censoring historical documents? Many of the locations of Buraku are widely known in their locales, and such historical maps are clearly accessible to employers who still discriminate against Burakumin. Google made the information easily accessible, just like so much of the internet.

Is fostering ignorance the best solution to the Burakumin discrimination problem? I’m no so certain. Ignorance would certainly work to stop pervasive discrimination, but the information still exists in oral history, archives, and employment agencies. By hiding their history, the Burakumin can never make the rest of the country come to terms with it. They are hobbling their own efforts while neglecting the long-term battle that still awaits.

Meanwhile, it is rather telling that this is being picked up by the foreign press while the Japanese press seemingly remains silent. A Google search revealed no articles covering this in the Japanese press, although perhaps it was picked up earlier on (foreign reporting of Japanese news is usually a month or so behind!).  The closest I could find is this article quoting the American Yahoo! News. If this is truly the case, then it acts as a reminder of just how much the BLL has to fight for.