by Francesco Giappichini –
Few countries fascinate geopolitical enthusiasts like Japan. The Land of the Rising Sun, just to give one example, has recently signed various agreements and understandings, in order to counter the claims of China, Russia, and North Korea. Think of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD or Quad) established with Australia, India and the United States; or to the trilateral alliance with the United States and South Korea, which Beijing has defined as a “mini NATO” in Asia. And why not, we also highlight the project, called Global combat air program (Gcap), the former Tempest, which links Tokyo to Italy and the United Kingdom, for the construction of a sixth generation fighter-bomber: technically, everything is defined by the treaty which establishes the Gigo (Gcap international government organization), a truly international organization.
And that’s not all. For decades now, foreign policy enthusiasts have been trying to understand the nature of the Japanese white whale, namely the Liberal Democratic Party: the conservative Jiyū-Minshutō (Jimintō) remains firmly in power despite the many turbulences that shake it, and the division into opposing currents . In recent months, the most conservative current, the one that traces its roots to former president Shinzō Abe, assassinated in July 2022, has been under the eye of the storm. However, even Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s power group is not free from scandals. And then the slow economic and demographic decline of the Asian nation, which recently left Germany the prestigious qualification of the world’s third economic power, also arouses a certain morbid curiosity.
While the phenomenon of johatsu (evaporated) is growing, that is, those who disappear voluntarily, following some economic or existential failure. To find out more about the Asian country, we spoke to the Bolognese journalist, writer and photojournalist Pietro Scozzari, one of the most brilliant travel reporters (and storytellers) on the national scene. Our compatriot has now resided for several years near the Okinawa islands, in Japan, and has dedicated a blog and above all two publications to the fascinating Ryūkyū archipelago: the anthology “An Italian in Okinawa – Six years of whoredom in the Japanese tropics” and the photography book “Okinawa – Chasing the moment”.
He is the author of numerous tourist guides, among which “Cuba” stands out, written for the Giunti publishing house together with the well-known Hispanist Danilo Manera, and above all of many travel fiction books. If perhaps his strong point remains “Tropico Banana. Italianos da Cuba al Brasile” for Feltrinelli traveller, we would like to point out his latest literary work “Cuore Crazy. Moving systole”. It is a series of stories, all centered, in the words of the author, «on the almost pathological ability of the protagonist to fall in love at the first blink of a woman’s eyelashes».
– Can you describe the books you dedicated to Okinawa? “An Italian in Okinawa” was born from a blog, while “Okinawa – Chasing the instant” collects «seven sweaty years of photography».
““An Italian in Okinawa” is an anthology of the best-worst delusions, as an alien on Japanese soil, during my first six years of life as an accidental immigrant. Me and them, where they are also my compatriots, each with their own follies. The photo book, however, is the only child I had and that I want. The first seven years in Okinawa I spent on foot or on a bicycle photographing everything, especially the people. The book was a very sweaty birth (an indigenous printer wanted to rob me, I ran away to print in my beloved Bologna, there they only know how to make tortellini). Once the book was published I took early retirement. I bought a moped and the bike died of rust in the garage“.
– To what do you attribute the resilience of the Liberal Democratic Party, which retains power despite everything? Neither the economic difficulties, nor the scandal of illicit financing, nor the links with the sect of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, manage to make a dent in him.
“I was about to skip the question, the term resilience has been giving me various dermatitis for some time (but never how much synergy). The Japanese party that has always been in power is like our old, dear Christian Democracy: it gives security to office mice and school teachers. My grandmother voted DC, if she had been a Japanese grandmother she would have voted for the horrible Liberal Democratic Party. The difference with the Christian Democrats is that the Japanese Liberal Democrats don’t have to go to church: they almost don’t exist here“.
– What do the Japanese fear most? Chinese expansionism, Russian imperialism, North Korean provocations? Or the risk that US bases pose?
“A mix of the first menu, I would say. Only a minority is against the Stars and Stripes bases. Too many seem to have forgotten the atomic bombs. The past is the past, new tensions at close range keep public opinion high, especially TV-dependent ones. Many people see Americans as the lesser evil or, for those who dream of the States, as their best friends. A divided society, the Japanese one: it reminds me of Italy“.
– In recent months, the economic contraction has turned into a technical recession, and there are those who point the finger at excessive taxation, the weak yen, the rise in inflation. Does this scenario have concrete effects on the daily lives of citizens?
“Very concrete. The barber who for ten years just asked me 500 yen for a lawnmower cut now wants 1000. But I continue to go to him. The only thing that hasn’t increased is my little salary as an English teacher. Venues close and open with impressive speed. Taxation on consumer goods went from 5% – stable for years – to eight and then to ten. In Italy these are numbers that make you laugh, but here they have had a strong impact. Incidentally, a courgette here costs the same as a kilo here. I don’t remember the taste anymore“.
– Are you troubled by such a competitive society? From the stigma that affects every failure, not just at work, from the shame suffered by those who disappoint certain expectations?
“I am intimately zero troubled. Born and raised freelance, I only know the competition. The problem here is that the school educates people to be office cogs, to never discuss anything (the exact opposite compared to Italy), the boss never argues, even if he is an admitted drunkard. In reality, however, Japan is a country that guarantees a job for everyone, even if it is useless or low-paid. Those who sleep on the sidewalk do so by choice or due to mental breakdown. I believe that competition is stronger in many other places on the planet, especially among the poor: here there is always a cushion to fall into if things go wrong. But I don’t argue: I live as a Venusian on Mars, far be it from me the nightmare of becoming Japanese and playing the native. The only competition I really feel around me is the one against the passage of time“.
