AJJ Fall Meeting November 2, 2002 Sophia University Ichigaya Campus

1. AJJ Fall MeetingNovember 2, 2002Sophia UniversityIchigaya Campus Session 1B: Global Encounters

2. Hail Japan's Conquering Heroes:

3. sports reports and the discourse of national efficacy

4. Todd Joseph Miles Holden Graduate School of International Cultural Studies (GSICS)Tohoku UniversitySendai, Japan http//:lark.langc.tohoku.ac.jp/~holden/Presentations/AJJ-02

5. I. Introduction: Sports, Globalization, and the Discourse of National Efficacy

6. “Aim for Shinjo…” Peter Tasker is a British commentator who has lived and worked in Japan. He has penned a couple of books about the politics and economics of the country.

7. “Aim for Shinjo…” After discussing: • the possible rebirth of Japanese nationalism, • The populist stylings of Prime Minister Koizmi, • The problems inherent in an “elite” model of technocratic leadership, • The frustrated pathways for youth and women workers…

8. “…Aim for Shinjo” The host displayed Tasker’s “message to Japan’s citizens…” It read: “the kind of spirit needed to open the country …”

9. “Aim for Shinjo?”… Host: “What do you mean by that?” Tasker: “I mean, the top-level players like (baseball’s) Ichiro or (soccer’s) Nakata, for example, go overseas and achieve big results… “but even players who cannot excel to that level but can reach their potential and achieve a result at that (lesser) level… that’s the kind of role model (Japan needs now).”

10. Role Models and Challenges Female announcer: “You are not seeing that in Japanese today?” Tasker: “Right. Not that degree of challenge… “From the international forum we see a good trend. (But) there is a wall between the outside world and Japan that must be overcome (in order for Japan to prosper).”

11. During this interchange the host joked:“Let’s not make a mistake… you don’t mean the Shinjo city in the state of Niigata…” The joke being that Niigata is one of Japan’s less progressive areas, home to rural farm interests. Niigata was home to Prime Minister Tanaka, one of the more powerful politicians in the Post-War era. It is because of him and the conservative policies of his Liberal Democratic Party, in power for 5 decades of nearly continuous reign, have led Japan into its current lethargy

12. To some, not very funny… At the close of the show, the host apologized for having joked about Niigata in that way.

13. International Sports / the Global and the Local In this vignette we encounter discourse about: • internationalism, • domestic economic policy, • spiritual renewal, • the engineering of success, and • global versus local

14. International Sports / the Media Most importantly, we see how Japan’s sports exports – players like Ichiro, Nakata and Shinjo – have become essential text in mainstream media They are “Sports Exports” who become “Media (or Information) Imports”

15. Media and …The Discourse of National Efficacy They are part of the public conversation about things other than sports • Things such as will, ability, achievement • They serve as signifiers for what Japan can be, as opposed to how it normally is • They tell viewers about a Japan that is potent and efficacious

16. A Telling Example,A Research Thesis This vignette is far from uncommon In fact, one thesis of this research is that the outflow of cultural goods – in the form of sports stars – over the past decade (but moreso in the past 2 years) has had profound, but relatively invisible effects in Japanese society

17. Consider France? • But it is not just Sports stars. • It is all things sport that somehow pertain to Japan. • For instance: news about this guy:

18. Who is that man? The recently departed head coach of the Japanese national squad… Here exchaging a few words to Prime Minister Koizumi before bidding “adieu” to Japan

19. For the two weeks he was negotiating to become the head of the French National soccer team his name was in the Japanese press more than this guy:

20. Sports: more significant than world politics? When this would-be assassin pulled a rifle out of a guitar case and fired a shot at French President Jacques Chirac, it was news for 30 seconds on one day in Japan. Moreover, it was the rare time that France ever appears in national television news in Japan…

21. II. Terms

22. Term 1: Globalization One aspect of the Export / Import phenomenon, clearly, is globalization But… what is globalization?

23. An Early Conception: Wallerstein and World System Analysis Capitalism – the economic – rather than the political has been the fundamental global influence It has been the most adept at enabling the penetration of goods, values and practices It has been the least resistant to the integration of these elements into local contexts

24. Giddens: 4 Dimensions of Globalization Nation-state system World capitalist economy World military order International division of labor

25. Eades: on GlobalizationGlobalization and Social Change in Contemporary Japan (with TomGill and Harumi Befu, 2000) Invokes Castells, who sees the world economy – through the aegis of multinational companies -- speeding up the flow of capital (and, consequently, labor) both within and across international boundaries Adds a cultural dimension globalisation is "the global diffusion and 'creolization' of cultural forms and meanings, manifested in phenomena such as the 'McDonalidization' of eating habits, the proliferation of theme parks, or the popularity of international brand name goods.”

26. Appadurai On Globalization Of all the formal theories of globalization, the most widely cited is Appadurai’s (1990). In his conception, globalization was about the push-pull between: • cultural homogenization • cultural heterogenization

27. Appadurai Applied: As we consider in conclusion, the Sport Export / Media Import phenomenon engages Appadurai’s categories in almost every contemplated way

28. Sports and globalization For now we can observe that numerous changes have prepared the foundation for sport export / media import (globally). Among these: • the advent of professional sport leagues • the proliferation of electronic forms of communication • the steady accretion of leisure-time • the concomitant ascent of sport as a fixture in many national cultures • The lessening difficulty of international travel • The increased connection between local clubs and foreign-based media markets • The rise of a global pool of athletes

29. Term 2: Sports Imports Sports imports have long served as a potentially powerful globalizing force One of a small list of external infuences that are allowed to enter a relatively hermetic Japan Now, however, we are in the throes of a different phenomenon: A reverse process of cultural flow

30. Term 3:Sports Exports This flow can be called “Sports Exports” Now we are in the throes of a diaspora of Japanese athletes, competing in foreign markets, participating in professional leagues from America to England, Holland to Italy.

31. Term 4:Information Imports Stories of these human exports’ exploits and information about the worlds they venture out into, is re-imported by news and entertainment media.

32. Information Importsare MediaRe/ Imports And due in large part to the media, these exports have served a powerful transformative function in Japanese society: influencing attitudes and behaviors about self and society

33. III. Theses

34. Thesis 1:Sports Imports are part of the Discourse of Self This importation transpires ONLY because it touches and concerns Japan, its information consumers and their interests. However, once imported, this information takes the form of valuable knowledge. It carries a potent moralizing and socializing function • In a word, it is socially productive

35. An Example Hidetoshi Nakata was Japan’s first high-visibility soccer export. • Not the first to venture out, but the first to project confidence • Brash, by Japanese standards • Possibly even arrogant

36. “Hide”: Individualist “Hide” as Nakata is called was one of Japan’s so-called “new, new human beings”. • He thought and acted for himself • He didn’t defer, he didn’t apologize, he said little, but when he did he was outspoken • Advertisers soon moved to use this image as a signification for their unique or bold products

37. Hide: Signifier And so, Hide was presented in a copier ad in a vaulted, Baroque European chamber full of chairs Each chair was different: some ornate, others austere, heavy, delicate, antique, modern. Hide is depicted considering each chair carefully: sitting in each, feeling the fit, choosing which he wishes to be seated in Hide becomes a signifier for a company, but also for a different kind of Japanese, a different kind of Japan

38. Thesis 2: Sports Exports Become Information Imports The examples we have seen or will see: • Tasker/Shinjo • Troussier/Chirac • Hide/Individualist • Ono/persistence All exemplify how individual lived text becomes part of the public discourse • through media

39. Thesis 3: Cultural Production is linked to Societal Transformation Re-Importation works to communicate numerous things to Japanese. Not the least of which is: • Their identity • Their possibilities • The status of their country in the world of nations • The thoughts and behaviors of “others” beyond Japan’s borders

40. Thesis 4: Media Plays a Central Role It is because of the media that this transformation is transpiring • Without the importation of information about these cultural exports, everyday Japanese – and the life that they live here – would not be much affected The transformation is via TV: • News, advertising, game and quiz shows primarily • (but also newspapers and magazines): The content centers on: • the players’ travels and daily exploits, • the sights, sounds, values and behaviors of the places in which they are plying their trade But for the active hand of the media: the lessons learned (or interpreted or invented) would not strike the information consumer back home

41. Thesis 5: Sports Imports are Information Imports Clearly, sports provides more opportunities to learn about the world than via cultural exports (and many other imports).

42. An Example In the recently completed World Cup, Japan encountered large segments of the world that it normally never thinks about. Some of this was due to its role as host But the rest of it simply was because Japanese media was passing national experience through the filter of sport

43. Through Sports’ Information Imports: learning about the Other Thus, cities that played host to the participating nations set up: • Special language courses for their citizens, • Food and cultural fairs, • Sponsored web pages that introduced the history and cultures of the nation they were hosting • Introduced the foods of the visitors into the school lunches of the children

44. Thesis 6: Sports Exports / Media Importsare a major component of Japan’s contemporary globalization

45. IV. Media Role

46. The Media: Filtering the Imports In communicating information about the imports, news and entertainment media play an essential role • They educate Japanese about the thoughts and practices of the various nations participating, for example, in the world cup • Same with the traditions of Wimbledon or the British Open

47. Sports-Inspired Discourse:Entertainment For example, consider the popular “Wonders of the World” quiz show, aired on Saturday nights at 9:00 p.m. The show’s format is to explore a particular country, explain various aspects of its history and culture, then raise obscure riddles. Based on these descriptions six celebrity panelists seek to solve the puzzles. Just before the World Cup, Belgium – one of the teams in Japan’s preliminary round group – was presented. What “wonders” were presented? What riddles to solve? After showing some preferred foods (like waffles and parfaits) that Belgians like to eat, the question was asked: “with what topping do the Belgians eat french fries?” The answer: “mayonnaise”. And television viewers in Japan suddenly knew that much more about Belgian culture.

48. Sports-Inspired Discourse: News Such “Infotainment” shows are pervasive on Japanese TV today. And it has become the dominant mode of discourse in news, as well. With sports content as one of the core thematic areas. Consider the following example, again just prior to the World Cup

49. Sports-driven Infotainment One of the news stations (set to broadcast a few of the matches) sent their anchor to Tunisia Why Tunisia? Because, like Belgium, it was another team in Japan’s preliminary group. The anchor: • Interviewed the people of the country, • Explained Tunisia’s history, • Visited important sites, • Ate their food and drank their coffee Need it be mentioned that under “normal” circumstances, Tunisia is never on Japanese television, never in the news.

50. V. Japan, Globalization and Sport