Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2012

IDIOT BOX

Regarding “Method to the Madness” (Feature, Nov 9): Great, now all we need to do is learn Japanese. Honestly though, Japanese TV looks so incredibly juvenile most of the time, it’s more like kids’ hour. Maybe we need to be fluent in Japanese to see this “sophistication” in Japanese TV you write about. I somehow doubt it, though. TV here looks so low budget, and apart from some clever games, very unoriginal and uncreative. Most of my students say TV in Japan is much worse [now] than it has ever been, and according to a Yomiuri report, Japanese are turning off their TVs in droves.—kevin dunn

I’m close enough to fluent to say that on the whole, these shows are about as sophisticated as a warm fart on a cold day. There is absolutely nothing wrong with comedy done purely for the sake of laughs, and indeed acts like the Marx Bros and the Three Stooges personified that (and Gaki no Tsukai is pretty damned funny). But in the West, comedy is also used as a vehicle to subvert and challenge cultural norms—and Japanese comedy completely lacks that aspect. For better or worse, Japanese society and culture simply isn’t geared up to allow a comedian in the vein of Richard Pryor or George Carlin to exist with any measure of mainstream exposure. So this is what we get: a billion Ashton Kutchers on your TV, every goddamned night.—Dan Orlowitz

Tore is great for learning Japanese—all the cryptic-clue puzzles and kanji quizzes. I like Shabekuri 007 as well. JTV is not for everyone, but there are some really interesting shows. G20 and Ite-Q are good as well!—George McPorge

BLOGITICS

Regarding “The Nationalism of the Small Difference” (The Last Word, Nov 9): Sorry? What? Western countries have long since given up the folly of war, so bow down to Korea and China? Border disputes don’t matter if it’s “rock droppings” in the sea? You don’t think they are important, so you look down your nose at one of the three countries involved? Probably, that’s the country that you most likely reside in as well, enjoying a comfortable life while putting any other Asian country with a dog in the race on a pedestal because, well, you don’t actually live over there, but they must be all shiny, pure and holy. Gosh, I hope you feel the need to tell everyone you meet how wrong they are at geopolitics and what they must do to put it right. Because you! are! a! 20-something! political! international! blogger! Twenty dollars says you never thought about Nanjing once before you came to Japan, but now it’s almost like you were really there! I suppose once you wash your hands of the filthy lying Japanese you will be welcomed with open arms in China or Korea, two of the most famously open and multicultural liberal states in the world…—Johnny Rabbit

Johnny Rabbit has a lot going on, only some of it literate, and absolutely none of it interesting. Strange how criticism of a small group of overly influential and unrepresentative politicians qualifies, in your books, as sweeping condemnation of the Japanese people. Who’s doing the generalizing here? And where exactly is this 20-something blogger absolving the Chinese and Koreans in this? Take your Japan hat off for a second and read the last paragraph again. It could quite easily be a description of the flag-burning nationalists in China. That’s not to mention this part: “China and South Korea have refused international adjudication.” A factor that has allowed the whole thing to swell up to such proportions in the first place. Oh—and about Nanjing. If only the people who were actually there at the time are allowed an opinion, then you realize that also disqualifies you from having an opinion, don’t you? D’oh! Anyway, even if precise details are disputed, it doesn’t mean you should wipe it completely from the textbooks. You’re going to have to try a little harder if you’re going to defend the repressive Hashimotos and Ishiharas of this world.—deeppackage

SENSITIVE TOUCHES

Regarding “Cuddles” (Upfront, Nov 9): In one sense, things like this are a sad indication on how starved for affection and socially repressed some people are. Granted, this is just something for a niche market, but someone thought there were enough customers to justify opening a shop.—cloudfish