First, I want to give Nori a thumbs up for giving his presentation in English without a translator. I think the audience got a lot out of hearing his words in his voice, and the nature of his talk depended on such direct narrative.
The presentation spread awareness on DU and Nori’s predicament in Japan. It also opened up an interesting discussion on media types, expectations, and pitfalls. But following what Nori said in class and how he called his own presentation “counseling” for him, I was most intrigued to learn that this US visit has been Nori’s first attempt at revisiting his experience from a positive perspective. He had not thought about DU activism since his return to Japan and tried to avoid supporters who seemed sympathetic and willing to talk about his book. By only facing his critics, it seems to me that he has been feeling the burden of their attacks and a need for some sort of repentance.
In one of the previous discussion posts, Noriko likened the criticism/hate mail/internet “festival” to ijime (bullying). I had not thought of this, but I think her comparison is valid, especially after seeing the actual letters Nori received. Why do certain Japanese engage in such meaningless, yet very violent forms of expression? We have talked about Japanese apathy towards politics and social issues, but i would think that looking up Nori’s address, writing hate mail, and paying postage require a lot more effort than going to the polls! Nori suggested stress as a major factor triggering such behavior, Kentaro brought up the bursting of the bubble, Jake added the culture of consumption, and I think someone else mentioned the peaceful state of post-war Japan. I think these are all relevant, but there also seems to be something deeper and less definable at work here. I am reluctant to call it inherently Japanese, but there seems to be something (or a combination of all of the above) in Japanese society that is conducive to mobilizing the masses to attack an easy target.
These thoughts, then, make me wonder if it actually took leaving Japanese society for Nori to reclaim his initial interest in DU activism and view his negative experience as a means for further activism (though, confronting his critics has yielded some meaningful exchanges and promising outcomes, also). Judging from his enthusiasm in class, his positive outlook during his presentation, and his most recent blog entry (3/30), it seems like Nori has gotten as much out of his time in Chicago as we have from his sharing his experience and thoughts.
-Makiko
