Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The U.S. Responsibility

     President Barak Obama will visit Japan from Wednesday in this week, but it has been reported that he would not visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the cities that were atom-bombed by the United States during the World War II. The Nikkei reported that survivors of atom bombing have been disappointed with President Obama.

     In December 2013, the mayor of Nagasaki city had requested President Obama to visit Nagasaki when Caroline Kennedy, the United States Ambassador to Japan, visited Nagasaki. A week after her visit, she met with the mayor of Hiroshima at the U.S. embassy, and he handed the document that requested the President’s visit to Hiroshima to the Ambassador Kennedy. However, President’s visit was not realized.

     One of survivors of atomic bomb in Hiroshima claimed that, since President Obama received Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 because of his proposal of abolition of nuclear weapons, he should consider Japan as the atom-bombed country. Also, the president of Nagasaki victim of atomic bomb council was disappointed by claiming that President Obama should look at the reality caused by atomic bomb and should ensure there is no nuclear weapon in the world, as the country that had used nuclear weapons first in the world and also the country that proposed abolishing nuclear weapons.

     68 years has passed since the end of the WWII, and survivors of atomic bomb has been increasingly aged very much. It has been said that the memory of the disaster caused by atomic bomb has faded as time passes. I would say the fact that President Obama will not visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki would not directly cause huge negative effect on the U.S. public diplomacy to Japan since the population involved with this incident who are affected by his decision are now few compared to whole population in Japan.

     However, I would say President should have visited these cities and have had a talk with survivors of atomic bomb as an “engagement,” which is one of the factors that could lead valuable effect on public diplomacy. By doing so, his visit to these cities could be reported to all over Japan by mass media and social media. Then the positive image of the United States could spread from local individuals in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the public by social media. By doing so, eventually, the image of the United States that Japanese people have could move toward more positive direction.

     From my personal view, Japan is one of the defeated nations and the country that has cruelly colonized other countries so that Japan has had many factors that should be compensated. At the same time, however, the damage that Hiroshima and Nagasaki had received by atomic bomb is enormous, and survivors are still suffering from this historical incident. Even though atomic bomb attack by the United States related to Japan’s attitude toward the war at that time, the United States should consider Japan as the country that has been damaged by atomic bomb and should look at the reality of this damage since President of the United States proposed abolishment of nuclear weapons from the world, as a mayor of victim city said. In reality, Japanese people do not conceive hostility toward the United States about atomic bomb attack, but as I discussed above, the image of the Untied States that each Japanese individuals have could become more positive if the president Obama would visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Full Article: (Written in Japanese)

http://www.nikkei.com/search/article/?DETAIL_STYLE=0&ORD_KIND=kdt_DN&bi=2014%2F04%2F22&bj=2009%2F04%2F22&bu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h=1&ng=DGKDASDG2100L_R20C14A4CC0000&searchKeyword=%E3%82%AA%E3%83%90%E3%83%9E 

Swiss Mobile Houses

Presence Switzerland, the unit of the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs responsible for maintaining Switzerland's image abroad, has developed a new way of promoting Switzerland's image abroad in the form of mobile houses. These Swiss mobile houses are described by the Swiss Embassy as a "flexible and creative vehicle for public diplomacy promoting Swiss interests." The construction of the four Swiss mobile houses cost about two million Swiss francs and will help showcase and promote Switzerland's interests in the economy, science, political systems, sports, gastronomy, and culture. Presence Switzerland also aims to promote Swiss entrepreneurs, athletes, scientists and artists, as well as demonstrate Swiss interest in international events by hosting different events with sponsorship from other international organizations. The houses will be shipped to their destination to serve as a temporary activities venue, and will be broken down and shipped to their next location, as dictated by Switzerland's international public diplomacy agenda.

The Swiss mobile houses were designed by the Zurich-based architectural firm, Spillmann Echsle. Presence Switzerland requested a design that was both modern and traditionally Swiss to represent Switzerland's past and present. The end result was a set of wooden houses inspired by the country’s mountain chalets with a modern twist. The exterior of the houses are made up of flat wooden panels, with high ceilings and long glass windows that allow light to flow in and out of the houses. All of the construction materials, namely the wood, were grown and harvested in Switzerland, which was a very important aspect of the project. Of the mobile houses, Ambassador Nicolas Bideau, head of Presence Switzerland, states that they"…allow us to recreate a miniature version of Switzerland throughout the world, and recreating a Swiss atmosphere abroad is one of the best marketing tools to promote our country."

Presence Switzerland premiered the mobile houses at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in the Olympic Village with much success. The next stop for the mobile houses will be the Milan leg of the Giro de Gusto festival in Italy from May 1^st to May 10^th. This festival is considered the lead-up event to the 2015 World Expo in Milan, which is important for Swiss image given its large population of Italians and Italian-speakers. The mobile houses will also be utilized during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Given the success of these houses thus far, Switzerland is making headway in promoting its public image, as its public diplomacy effort is being well-received by international publics.  

Full Article: http://houseofswitzerland.org/ru/detail-news/106

Majoring in Social Media: Fad or Future?

No one can deny that social media is prevalent in today’s society. People of all ages are making profiles on sites like Facebook to connect with friends and family. Other sites like Twitter and Instagram are becoming increasingly popular which allow people to share their thoughts in 140 character blurbs or post pictures with fancy effects. Some people doubt the lasting power of such a “fad,” but the administration at Newberry College believe that social media is here to stay and is playing an increasingly more important role in the world.

In the fall of 2013, Newberry College introduced to its students the opportunity to major in Social Media. Some parents may be hesitant to pay for their child’s further education in an activity they believe probably takes up too much of a young adult’s time already. However, Tania Sosiak, the founder of Newberry’s social media program, assures the Huffington Post that students will receive a diverse education in topics such as graphic design, statistics, communication, marketing, business, and psychology. In fact, the curriculum only contains a total of four classes devoted solely to social media: Social Media Publishing Platforms and Introduction to Social Media, to name a few.

 
The students pursuing this new major will not be studying the art of taking a "selfie" or condensing the feelings on the sandwich they had for lunch in 140 characters or less. Rather the focus of the program is to educate students on how to incorporate their other classes (video production, digital photography, and market branding) into the social media platform. Regardless of the longevity of the social media websites that are currently popular, the skills these students learn will be invaluable to future employers. As more and more of the business model moves to the World Wide Web, any student hoping to snag a job after graduation will have to be technologically literate. This new major will prepare students to communicate with people all over the world with the click of a mouse.  

Article Used: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/social-media-major-newberry-college_n_2312699.html

Japan Has Stopped Whaling in Reaction to ICJ's Order

     International Court of Justice gave the order that Japan must stop whaling in Antarctica, from the case made by Australia that accused Japan of whaling. On April 3^rd, a few days after ICJ’s ruling, Japan has abandoned whaling program in this year. Prime Minister Abe declared that Japan would follow the court order.

     Japan has been whaling for “research purpose” in order to increase and to decrease of biological resources in Antarctica, and whaling for this purpose had been allowed from 1986 moratorium that has prohibited commercial whaling and has allowed whaling for research.

     The reason of Japan’s losing this suit is that, ICJ judged that Japan has been whaling for commercial purpose, since while Japan has been whaling for research of ecological system in Antarctica, killed whales has been frozen and delivered, and Japanese citizens eat them finally.

     In Japanese culture, people think that whale is food in cultural ways, while Western countries such as Australia think that whale is the higher animal and so that whales must not be killed. There is a significant cultural difference between West and Japan. Australia has gotten excited with Japanese losing suit, according to the report by Japanese newspaper.

     According to The Nikkei (one of Japanese newspapers), Japan had a choice not to follow the ICJ’s order that prohibited Japanese whaling. However, Japan has repeatedly appealed to South Korea that Japan would bring a suit into ICJ about the territorial right of Takeshima in Shimane prefecture (Dokdo in Korean name).

Moreover, New York Times claimed that Japan might have no choice to refuse the court at that time when Japan ask China to follow international legal law in the conflict over territorial right of Senkaku Island.

     Therefore, if Japan rejects to follow ICJ’s order, Japan will not be able to use ICJ as “trump card” to contend about Takeshima/Dokdo and Senkaku Island. That is why Prime Minister Abe declared that Japan would follow ICJ’s order, which is anguished decision.

     Japan’s action that stopped whaling from ICJ’s ruling has saved Japanese reputation from the countries against whaling such as Western countries, by not rejecting ICJ’s decision. Japanese diplomacy toward the world, especially countries that belong to Western culture, was kept as credible due to this Japanese wrenching decision in order to be predominant in the territorial conflicts with China and South Korea.

     Losing suit was big anguished outcome, but this will somehow affect Japanese diplomacy and also public diplomacy between East Asian countries in the future. Japan chose to protect reputation and the territorial right in East Asia rather than whaling.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/world/asia/japan-cancels-whale-hunt-off-antarctica-after-ruling.html?ref=japan

http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK0302Q_U4A400C1000000/ (Written in Japanese)