by Sarah Bijlsma

On a Monday afternoon, I enter the door of a small esoteric shop on Miyakojima that is hidden behind a bush of shell ginger (getto). I came here together with Kenji, a 40-year-old man originally from Osaka who, until recently, worked as a member of the Community Building Support Staff (chiiki okoshi kyōryokutai). I had been curious about the shop as it describes itself as a space where human vibrations align with the power of nature. The owner, a charismatic man who I estimate to be about 40 years old, tells us that the lapis lazuli, amber, and amethyst jewelry that he sells is inspired by Miyako’s natural world. Stones that have different shades of blue remind him of the ocean, while the darker ones represent the starry sky at night. According to the shop owner, customers often feel a strong connection with one particular stone; it is as if the jewelry picks the buyer instead of the other way around.

Behind the counter, there is a photograph of the owner and receptionist together with the late former PM Shinzo Abe. “He was a very spiritual person,” the receptionist notes. “And he and his wife grew their own vegetables. I don’t know anything about politics, but from a human perspective I had the feeling he was a very good man.” The receptionist, who introduces herself as Emiko, explains that Abe and his wife enjoyed the island because of the high number of negative ions that make Miyako into one large power spot. Negative ions are said to be molecules or atoms that are electrically charged with negative energy and are considered to have a positive effect on the physical and mental well-being of living beings [1].  Furthermore, the strong energy of Miyako can be related to the many dragon deities (ryūjin-sama) that live here. The world that cannot be seen (me ni mienai sekai) is very present, she explains. In that world, every living being is one and the same, that is why we need to share our knowledge and happiness with each other also in this world.

I ask Emiko whether the healing energy of the island remains as powerful as before amidst Miyako’s recent building rush.  She says that if development happens in the right way, energy can certainly be preserved. It is important, for example, that the sky of Miyako is not blocked, so winds and the dragons can freely move around. While she acknowledges that construction work goes hand in hand with environmental issues on Miyako, she stresses she is not against development in general. For example, until a few years ago, local children had only the option to go into sugarcane farming when growing up. Due to this lack of opportunities, most of them left and found jobs in other areas of Japan. Now some of them stay to work in the tourist industry or return to Miyako after a couple of years. Moreover, before 2015, the beaches were full of washed-up plastic and garbage that people had left behind. Much of this has been removed. So, development does not only destroy the environment, but it also creates opportunities for improvement. As we say goodbye, Emiko gives me a firm hug and says I can come back whenever I want to know more. Back in the car, Kenji mentions that judging on the atmosphere around her, he thinks she might be a local shaman (yuta) who mediates between the gods and the contemporary world.

We drive to the ICT center to attend a public talk on recycling. It is organized by Miyako’s Eco Island department that is responsible for environmental policies and PR activities. During the hour and a half presentation, we learn how garbage can be transformed into a valuable resource. Rubber ties can be turned into an energy source used for streetlights and greenhouses in the winter. Also, plastic can be recycled into fashionable drinking cups, of which we all get one after the presentation is done. At the end of the evening, I ask Kenji if he has gained some new insights during the talk. He tells me that he started to think fundamentally differently about Miyako’s development through today’s events. He knows that the community of Japanese migrants on Miyakojima is taking a strong stance against recent changes. But by listening to Emiko and the recycling specialist, he came to understand that development is actually not something that should be avoided at any cost. When you find the right balance, it can become a positive thing for both people and the environment.

When I left my house that day to learn more about Miyako’s environmental changes through the lenses of spirituality and local policies, I did not expect that in both cases economic development would be advocated to me. It made me realize that local residents think about nature in different terms than Japanese migrants from urban areas. This indicates that environmental issues are not so easily captured in terms of objective truth. Even on an island as small as Miyako, the question of what “nature” is and how it should be protected has different answers depending on who you ask.

References

[1] Jiang, S. Y., Ma, A., & Ramachandran, S. (2018). Negative Air Ions and Their Effects on Human Health and Air Quality Improvement. International journal of molecular sciences, 19(10), 2966. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19102966

by Kiyomi Misaki

Last November, I started to work for a local tourism association in Niseko in northern Japan as a local revitalization cooperator in the chiiki okoshi kyōryokutai program initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to encourage people from cities to move to and settle in rural areas and to engage in community activities. It is a countermeasure against the overconcentration of the population in Tokyo and the outflow of the rural population. I am doing fieldwork while working for Kutchan Tourism Association (KTA). Through my fieldwork and working for KTA, I am currently thinking that an economy-oriented climate may undermine the local community and local culture.

It may be confusing that Niseko does not technically have the definition of a region, and people first come to mind is a mountain area in Kutchan town when they hear the name Niseko. For that reason, Niseko in this article means Kutchan town. Niseko, with a population of 15,000 people, is a tourist destination known for powder snow in winter, attracting skiers and snowboarders from all over the world. The mountain area in Niseko has been redeveloped since the late 1990s by Australian entrepreneurs. Since the season in Australia and Japan is opposite, some Australians enjoy skiing and snowboarding throughout the year, going back and forth between Niseko and Australia each winter. Since 2014, the proportion of Australians, which accounted for half of all visitors, has gradually decreased and visitors from Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore and China have increased instead.

With so many foreign tourists, Niseko is a very international place. English becomes the common language in its ski resort during the winter. Long queues at ski lifts and lodges packed with international tourists are a familiar sight during peak season. Land prices going up due to foreign investments and expelling small local businesses from the community. Niseko is now regarded as a successful example of rural revitalization and internationalization through tourism and a front runner of challenges such as overtourism and gentrification at the same time. As a result, media attention and the image of Niseko that people envisage focus on tourism development and internationalization led by tourism. Niseko also uses the international image to attract more tourists and immigrants.

While tourism development significantly impacts the community in Niseko, the community is not only about tourism. People engaging in agriculture have a different lifestyle from those working in the tourism sector. Business owners in the city center (20 minutes’ drive from the mountain area) have different perspectives from those located in the mountain area (ski resorts) regarding community development. They complain about what KTA is doing because they think tourism only contributes to the mountain area and leaves people in the city center behind. I joined a French conversation club in the city center to meet new people. Eventually, I met people with diverse backgrounds, such as an illustrator moving from west Japan to seek powder snow, a housewife coming to Niseko due to her husband’s transfer and a woman who has been running an inn for over 20 years. I am a researcher at a university in Australia/ a chiiki okoshi kyōryokutai member/ born and growing up in Hokkaido. We have different motivations for coming here and diverse perspectives. We all create current Niseko, meaning that local culture is an accumulation of interactions between such people living in the place and nature.

Therefore, culture should be recognized as grassroot politics, practices of people with various values, contradictions, conflict and cooperation emerging from diverse social relationships. However, culture can easily be transformed into a source of profits. Amidst globalized urban lifestyles, rare and unique practices are commodified for tourism in information capitalism [1]. Tourism seemingly brought economic prosperity and diversity to Niseko, but it seems to undermine cultural prosperity and diversity. Cultural prosperity is not promoting the culture as a commodity but creating a climate where people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives can discuss matters of the community.

What is happening in the local community is closely linked with the national policy for regional revitalization. In the shrinking domestic economy, the Japanese government encourages communities to create a unique culture that attracts people to come and immigrate to the area to survive from decline. Many members of the chiiki okoshi kyōryokutai make efforts to find local characteristics for branding and the promotion of tourism to distinguish communities from each other. In this context, communities must become a “kasegu” (making money) community. Many rely on competitive public subsidies to become part of the Kasegu community. Although powder snow and an international image have become an attraction for tourists and immigrants in Niseko, cultural diversity seems missing. Some residents feel that diverse backgrounds and perspectives other than tourism are often neglected in local politics.

The same is true for the decision-making process. Our association is a good example. KTA, does not only depend on subsidies from the town, but is also a hierarchical and patriarchal organization. The top-down process is effective for implementing projects because projects financed through subsidies need to show short-term outcomes. Deliberation is omitted to achieve results in a short time. A short-sighted plan precludes a time-consuming process with many stakeholders. Moreover, middle-aged men are still at the center of the local economy and are responsible for money-making activities. Who is excluded from the decision-making? Should the local culture, understood as all the people and nature creating the community be considered more and how so? In my PhD project, I am trying to explore possible answers to these questions.

References

[1] Yoshimi, S., & Morris-Suzuki, T. (2004). Gurōbarizēshon no Bunka Seiji (The cultural politics of globalisation). Heibonsha.

Kiyomi Misaki is a PhD candidate at Asia Institute, the University of Melbourne, and a researcher at Center for Advanced Tourism Studies, Hokkaido University. She currently works as a member of chiiki okoshi kyōryokutai (translated as local revitalization cooperator) as part of her fieldwork in Niseko, Hokkaido.

Part 2: (Im)Mobilities and economic risks

by Johannes Wilhelm

In rural Aso, the pandemic was initially perceived as a problem of urban areas, but the then unknown disease frightened many. The initial impact in Kumamoto was most noticeable in schools, where graduation ceremonies and new enrollments for the new school year around March/April 2020 were cancelled. Events around the cherry blossom season – such as the beautiful village festival in the 9th district of Kugino – did not take place in most cases. One exception was the hifuri no shinji at Aso Shrine on March 18, 2020, a festival in which hay bundles are tied to a rope and twirled around the shrine’s entrance area. In a sense, the festival marks the beginning of the agricultural year, which is symbolized by a cultic marriage of two deities. Interestingly, the festival almost always coincides with the beginning of the cherry blossom season, an old woman told me. The sandō path to the shrine was lined with numerous people following the festival after dusk, since it is one of the most important holiday ceremonies at the sacred site.

The steadily growing number of so-called inbound tourists from abroad until the turn of the year 2019/2020 – in Kyūshū’s case mainly from China and Korea due to the relatively short distance –came to an abrupt stop with the country’s closure to foreigners. Japan’s entry restrictions had a huge impact on the tourism sector. Aso was no exception. As a resident, this had some advantages such as fewer cars, for example. Before the pandemic, tourists suddenly stopped and parked their car somewhere along a serpentine and even wandered around at times to take photos with their cell phones for social media. One day in May 2020, I had an interesting encounter in Uchinomaki. I was invited by a local group as a guest to stay overnight at the beautiful Sozankyō guesthouse. Throughout its history, the old guesthouse has accommodated famous people like the well-known poets Yosano Tekkan and Akiko. On the way back from breakfast, I unexpectedly met a middle-aged German who had made his way to Japan after an odyssey from Polynesia, where he wanted to wander around as a tourist for as long as possible. Well, each to his own, I thought .

Less tourism also has its advantages, but for those in Aso whose jobs depend on tourism, the pandemic has been a disaster with an unclear end. Y., an employee at the so-called Shokuan (Shokugyō antei-sho, commonly known as “Hellowork”) told us that the number of job seekers was skyrocketing. Since she was also responsible for non-Japanese clients at the “employment office,” she was also able to tell me more about the many foreign helpers, especially in the agricultural sector (Nōgyō jisshūsei, i.e. officially “agricultural interns”). Many among the latter found themselves in an absurd situation, a pandemic limbo, because on the one hand it was not possible for them to leave Japan or enter their home countries. Meanwhile, they ran the risk of overstaying their residence permits and thus slipping into visa crime. By the time the relevant authorities were able to offer a solution to this very problem, the immigration authorities were completely overrun. I experienced this firsthand, when I had to extend my visa in March 2020.

The case of four siblings from the Philippines shows how migrants were affected by this situation. They originally came to Japan as interns and were later hired as helpers by the landlord of my regular pub, where small jazz sessions were held. But the pub had to be constantly closed for a certain period of time and the landlord finally had to file for bankruptcy in April 2021, leaving the siblings more or less out in the cold. The employment office worker told me about nursing schools that were suddenly overrun with women from the Philippines seeking to retrain in nursing despite their lack of Japanese language skills. These schools, in turn, urgently needed support staff and funding to teach basic language skills in the nursing sector.

In contrast to urban areas, the risks of infection in rural Aso were initially manageable. As a result, young urban families and freelancers (e.g., in the digital sector with no local ties) began to move to the countryside. This was actually quite similar to what had happened after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. The new concept of working holiday was gratefully received and also propagated by numerous media-savvy academics and government agencies (abbreviated as wā-hori it should not be confused with the same abbreviation for workaholic), which in turn led to subsidy programs for office conversions for numerous hostels. Let’s see how long this trend lasts, I thought. At the same time, these new migrants seemed somewhat selfish to me, especially since – in most cases – they ignored the local residents and local conditions to some degree. They did not want to give up their urban lifestyles and do ‘their thing’. Such an attitude, together with a lack of integration efforts by the local authorities tied to Corona measures, was doomed to fail. That locals were hardly willing to make their partly empty properties available was may be a sign of resistance. In the spring of 2020, the waiting list counted more than 200 households who wanted to move in from urban areas to Minamiaso-mura.

Soon, however, the pandemic will also reach rural areas as we have learned from the so-called ‘Spanish flu’. More on this in the following parts of the report.

[… to be continued …]

Johannes Wilhelm is an independent researcher and is affiliated with Vienna University. His main studies focus on the relationship between nature and society. His interests include fisheries, pastures in mountainous regions, and rural areas as much as general phenomena in society such as radicalism, migration and social vulnerability.

by Ngo Tu Thanh (Frank Tu)

In July 2022, I finally made it to Fukuoka after 9 years! This is my first visit to Kyūshū since my time as a high school senior in Yame-shi – a small rural city in Fukuoka Prefecture. Needless to say, I was overjoyed to be back or as they say in Japanese: “dokidoki-kan, wakuwaku-kan hanpanai”. The excitement does not only come from the fact that I can reunite with my host family, high school friends and teachers after such a long time. But it also stems from the main reason why I am here: to research Fukuoka’s regional revitalization policies. During my two-month stay here, I will be mainly based in Fukuoka City to interview officials at the Fukuoka prefectural government, as well as in Buzen City to meet municipal officials. 

“Humidity”, “beachy”, “hospitality”, “energy”, “positivity”, “touristy”, and “gastronomy” are the words I would use to describe my stay in Fukuoka so far. Facing the sea on three sides, Fukuoka Prefecture is home to many beautiful beaches, many of which are accessible by public transport. In the summer, Fukuoka is humid and hot, similar to most other parts of Japan. However, the salty sea breezes here gives a very different feeling from other cities such as Tokyo. Fukuoka’s beaches are also hotspots for small businesses such as bars, restaurants, diving, surfing and swimming courses. Personally, I often went swimming in Momochi beach (Fukuoka City) after work and “contributed to Fukuoka’s economy” by getting a fresh cocktail. Yet, I kept wondering why the beach never gets overly crowded. In response to this question, the owner of the flat I am currently staying at told me that Fukuoka’s beaches used to attract many tourists from Korea, Taiwan and some Southeast Asian countries. However, Covid-19 has put a stop to tourism from outside of Japan and hence the number of visitors declined. But right now, thanks to the summer vacation period and the Obon festival (July – August), domestic travelers can still be seen everywhere. 

In addition to beaches, Fukuoka Prefecture also offers a wide range of tourist attractions. For instance, Dazaifu Tenmangu (Dazaifu City) is a well-known shrine dedicated to the God of Education. Japanese students usually visit the shrine before exams for good fortune. Personally, I also went to Dazaifu Tenmangu in 2013 before my university entrance exam, and visited it again this time around in hope of a successful PhD graduation.

Another example is the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival (Fukuoka City), which is held every year during the first half of July. This festival returned for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. The festival was a multi-day race between groups of men who had to run a five-kilometer course while carrying a one-ton festival float (kakiyama). Despite the extreme heat and humidity in July, visitors to the festival could feel the energy and vitality emanating from the participants. The festival did really revitalize the city!

Furthermore, Fukuoka is highly famous within Japan for its various delicacies, such as Hakata ramen, chanpon, and especially seafood. Also, visiting a street food stall (yatai) is often introduced as one of Fukuoka’s must-do activities, even by locals. Gastronomy is one of the main attractions for many tourists in Fukuoka.

As described so far, Fukuoka Prefecture seems to have a lot of potential for tourism, and that is exactly what many of its municipalities are striving for. During my stay here, I had the opportunity to speak with a former Cabinet Office official who now works at Fukuoka City Hall. The official informed me that many places in Fukuoka Prefecture do not have large rivers necessary for factories, and therefore many communities call themselves “service towns” and focus on tourism. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has made the strategy of focusing on the service sector very risky. Therefore, it is important for municipalities in Fukuoka to diversify their strategies for regional development.

New rural lifestyles in Japan (part 2)

by Cecilia Luzi

I am about to leave for fieldwork in Japan and I am looking forward to visiting my two field sites, Hasami-chō in Nagasaki-ken and Buzen-shi in Fukuoka-ken. Today I will introduce images and online representations of Hasami. I have never been to Hasami. I never visited the ceramic park nor did I enjoy a freshly brewed ice-coffee in one of the cafés in town. My image of Hasami however is that of a trendy village and it is based on hours spent following Instagram accounts, watching YouTube travel videos in my office in Berlin and a few online interviews with locals. Hasami-chō is a small village of around 15.000 inhabitants surrounded by mountains. Along with many pottery studios and workshops selling handmade porcelain to suit every pocket, Hasami is full of small, cozy cafés with delicious handmade food and welcoming owners. Hasami is the only municipality in Nagasaki prefecture with no direct access to the sea. There is no train station either, but Hasami is only a two-hour drive away from Fukuoka, so tourists visit its historical kilns and the ceramic park often by car. Usually, visitors come for a one-day trip, though a few stay overnight.

 According to the online videos, after a quick stop at the first ramen-shop on the road many visit  Hiroppa a famous ceramic themed park designed by a Tōkyō-based architecture studio. Hiroppa holds a shop selling ceramics from different kilns, other small boutiques, cafés and a wide garden. It perfectly fits the contemporary aesthetic standards of the most stylish and “Instagrammable” places in Tōkyō: a mix of industrial design, minimalist decor and photograph-worthy details. The tour of Hasami then continues with a visit to old porcelain manufactures and more recent workshops, where traditional styles and techniques of local potters stand next to the original works of younger craftsmen and craftswomen.

In Hasami, small cafés have spread over the past decade, and visitors can take a rest to sip fresh brewed coffee and taste eye-catching dishes while enjoying the atmosphere of an old Japanese house or renovated ceramic workshop. They can choose to have customized crêpes (Morinaga special crepe), artisanal ice creams (Kometama) or French-style cuisine (Yōshokuya Forest). Some of these places are affiliated with a porcelain studio (as at Zoe l’Atelier de poterie), while others are located in what was once an old ceramic manufacturing complex (e.g. Nishinohara, where migrants who arrived around 15 years ago also built an indoor climbing wall!). Each of these businesses is unique and they all share a cosmopolitan and sophisticated atmosphere.

A couple of my research participants explained to me how Hasami’s townscape has changed in only one decade. When some of the migrants I interviewed arrived between 2007 and 2010, the town was not particularly attractive for young urbanites. However, favorable economic conditions and political choices for rural repopulation created the right mix of incentives for many new small personal businesses including cafés and crafts shops. Young artists and ceramic artisans also started to settle down. As a result, tourists and one-day visitors increased. This Hasami-būmu, as one of my informants called it, has been transforming the town from a place where “nothing was there” (nanimo nakatta) to a cool, stylish and trendy location (osharena tokoro). Yet, the case of Hasami is not unique but rather reflects what happens in many small municipalities in rural Japan that are undergoing some degree of transformation under the influence of urban-rural migration and domestic tourism.

The online images of Hasami I have introduced above, show that the digital transformation of daily life is impacting the way rural Japan is experienced by residents and perceived by outsiders. In this context, online space plays an important role as a platform for both the production and consumption of a new image of rural Japan. Understanding the importance of the online dimension for the dissemination of these representations is essential, especially since a large proportion of them are created by urban-rural migrants who target other urbanites. To attract this specific type of audience, rural Japan is portrayed as stylish, traditional and innovative and as a vibrant place with interesting activities and people living close to nature. Rural areas are depicted as beautiful landscapes with terraced rice paddies, small villages and lush mountains.

The changes of images and perceptions of rural areas taking place in the digital space are visible through social media like Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. But this transformation in the production and consumption of rural Japan impacts the physical space and daily lives of rural dwellers as well. Not only does the landscape change, but businesses and new activities also open up new opportunities for long-term residents. One of my research participants, who runs a café that was among the first businesses that kicked off Hasami’s transformation, told me that after an initial period of skepticism, Hasami’s elderly residents slowly began to frequent her establishment and eventually became regular customers. They now sit in the café alongside travel bloggers from Fukuoka and recent immigrants from Tōkyō, providing the place with the touch of authenticity many (former) urbanites are looking for.

Yet from my desk in Berlin many questions remain. These include for example: How are things really changing? How is the digital representation of rural Japan mirroring real life experiences of both locals, newcomers and settled migrants?  I plan to leave for fieldwork by mid-October. I’m looking forward to being in Hasami and to meeting and talking to its residents about all these transformations in person.