Senator Byrd has very eloquently summarized the most stark result of this week’s events:
“Today I weep for my country,” said West Virginia Democrat Sen. Robert Byrd. “No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. … Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned.
“We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance,” Byrd said, adding: “After war has ended the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America’s image around the globe.”
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After programming into the wee hours of night, I woke up late this morning and turned on the TV, expecting to hear some indication of whether the war had started.
I don’t watch TV much here in Japan but when I found myself staring at CNN I was surprised. I don’t remember having CNN access here in Japan…
What I discovered was that more than half of the channels were covering the attack, which had begun with an explosion just a few minutes earlier. In the hours that followed I was beginning to get a feel for how the Japanese television media covers the war.
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Together with my friends Lee and Lars, I went to get a “Re-entry Permit” from the new Tokyo regional Immigration office in Shinagawa.
I will be heading back to New York for about 10 days or so from the 17th of February. I’m looking forward to seeing friends (and Sayaka!), and taking care of a few things at Columbia.
Getting the permit, which allows me to re-enter Japan using the same visa, was, as best I can remember it from my stay in Yokohama in 97-98, a really miserable process involving hours of waiting and multiple forms. I have nasty cold and was not in any mood to deal with a bureaucracy…
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My friend Lars brought over two issues of Newsweek today, the Japanese and American versions of the same issue. The contents are never identical, but major articles are often translated from English to Japanese. This time, however, the contrast between the covers of the February 3rd (US) and February 5th (Japan) issues are interesting…
The title of the US issue is “Hell Bent on War: Will Attacking Saddam Really Make Us Safer” set on a background of a young soldier (American?) with perhaps a hint of anxiety in his look.
The cover of the Japanese Newsweek issue is a cartoon globe with a rather comical depiction of Bush riding (and holding the reigns of) a bomb marked with the US flag, reminescent of Dr. Strangelove. The cover line is ブッシュは世界の敵？正義を掲げるカウボーイの異常な「戦争愛」 which I guess can be translated as “Is Bush the world’s enemy? A Cowboy’s twisted love of war in the name of Justice” (leave a comment if this is off) The major cover article on “War and its consequences” in the US magazine is translated into Japanese and included in the Japanese issue with all the usual maps and military statistics, though the title of the Japanese version is translated oddly as “The Attack on Iraq cannot be Avoided”
