Being A Broad March 2011 #65
The monthly magazine for international women living in Japan
our cover girl: Tokyo Car Club’s SHELLEY SWEENEY
being a VEGETARIAN: a WEEK in the LIFE what does HAMAMATSU have to offer? foreign women OUT and ABOUT
walk the YAMANOTE LINE for OXFAM where have JAPAN’S FEMALE DOCTORS gone?
www.being-a-broad.com
ISSUE 4
It’s already March and spring is upon us. We will soon be enjoying hanami and those gorgeous few months before Japan turns too hot and humid to exist, never mind enjoy. Why not take advantage of the lovely, not-too-hot weather by cooking up some of the comfort food Patricia shows us on pages 10 and 11? Just following, Megan takes us on a culinary journey of her own as she recounts a week in the life of a vegetarian in Japan on pages 12 and 13. Not entirely about food, this issue also introduces us to the challenges Japan’s healthcare system is facing in terms of female doctors, an issue Gautam A. Deshpande, MA, MD discusses on page 16. I met Dr. Deshpande at the TEDxAoyama: Women’s Spaces and Places event and really enjoyed his talk. I hope you are as interested by what he has to say here as I was! We also have charity coverage (Room to Read on page 6 and Oxfam Japan’s Yamathon on page 17), a research scientist telling us about her job (page 14), Sabrina sharing how she found love (page 19), and lots more. Enjoy! Caroline Pover, BAB Founder
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being a broad news BAB news, Room to Read
our cover girl Tokyo Car Club’s Shelley Sweeney
women of the world news from around the globe
things we love the little things we love in Japan
6 our cover girl Image: Patricia Nyiri-Kovacs.
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out of the comfort zone
a diminutive Mt. Fuji trumps the real deal
Katsu-don: what it is and how to make it
being vegetarian in Japan: a week in the life
10 food & dining 12 feature 14
working
What’s it like to work as a researcher?
...Hamamatsu: far more than industry
15 a broad’s guide to...
the broads (and boys!)
10 food & dining
image: Joy Fajardo
Publishers Caroline Pover & Emily Downey Editor & Designer Danielle Tate-Stratton Advertisement Designer Chris May BAB Manager Dee Green BAB Reps Kelsey Aguirre (Shonan) kelsey@being-a-broad.com Shaney Crawford (Tsukuba) shaney@being-a-broad.com Ali Muskett (Shizuoka) ali@being-a-broad.com Arwen Murakami (Chiba) arwen@being-a-broad.com Wendy Gough (Nagoya) wendy@being-a-broad.com Contributors Christina Bell, Megan Kojima, Patricia Nyiri-Kovacs, Karinh Eurenius, Gautam A. Deshpande, MA, MD, Jessica Korteman, Sabrina Olivieri-Tozawa Cover Model Shelley Sweeney Cover Photographer Kerry Raftis www.keyshots.com Proofreading Jane Farries Printing Mojo Print Opinions expressed by BAB contributors are not necessarily those of the Publishers.
image: Kerry Raftis/www.keyshots.com
image: David Stetson
IN THIS
message from the founder
16 women’s health
where have Japan’s female doctors gone?
Tokyo Yamathon: walking the Yamanote
foreign women at events in Japan
falling in love with an unusual salaryman
17 18 19
community out and about she found love
18 out and about
Being A Broad magazine, editor@being-a-broad.com www.being-a-broad.com tel. 03-5879-6825, fax: 03-6368-6191 Being A Broad March 2011
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BAB NEWS
From the BAB Message Boards: BAB Shonan rep Kelsey asks: My Japanese boyfriend and I are thinking of moving in together before the big step. He said he will pay two-thirds of the costs and I can pay the rest. (Although I make more than him, but just by a little bit.) I was wondering how you ladies do your finances here in Japan… Member Steph replies: My husband is Japanese and before we got married, we lived together for two years and split everything 50/50. Since getting married, having a child pretty much straightaway, and also buying our own place, we changed how we did things. Basically, he pays the mortgage for both of us (we have two separate mortgages, one in each of our names for the same property, as there is no joint-mortgage over here), all the utility bills, yearly property taxes, food money, etc. I pay for anything child-related and my own taxes. We started doing it this way as it was beginning to get a bit annoying dividing everything by two
Subscriptions Being A Broad February 2011 #64
The monthly magazine for international women living in Japan
our cover girl: SUMMERHILL’S MONIQUE KELLER DE GUCHI
taking your own ROMANTIC PHOTOGRAPHY speaking at TEDxAOYAMA
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TIP’s PICASSO at the LAPIN AGILE
FOOD from FARM to TABLE ERIKA TRENT shares the KOTO foreign women OUT AND ABOUT LIFE on EXCHANGE
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Thanks for picking up this issue of Being A Broad. Like what you see? Then why not subscribe today? For just ¥4,500 you’ll get one year (12 issues) of Being A Broad delivered to your door. Email editor@ being-a-broad.com to subscribe today! We now have the past several issues of BAB on our website—check them out at www.beinga-broad.com, and let us know what you think!
each month. This way, we each have the things we are responsible for—he much more than me—but it suits us to continue with things this way. Member mediatinker contributes: We share a bank account into which we both put our money and pay everything out of it. All the money we earn is “our money” and there’s no need to do any math, though it requires trust and the occasional discussion over larger purchases. It’s a simple system, but it has worked for us for over 20 years. WendyGough shares: When I was living with my husband, I paid all of our living expenses like rent, spending money, etc. His salary was used for savings, travel, and unexpected expenses. It worked out well for both of us. Reader Kirsten adds: At first we did 50/50, but my income is unstable, so we tried just using his account. Using one account was kind of a pain because one of us would often forget to get the cash card from the other and get stranded with no money. He now pays mortgage, bills, etc., and I pay for food and other small stuff. All the money is “ours” but we are just too lazy to put it together. Member tenten contributes: We opened a new account and both pay the same amount into it each month for rent and bills. Whoever goes to the supermarket pays for the shopping, but as it seemed to be my boyfriend more than me, and as I earn more than him, I put some extra money in a purse each month that he can dip into for shopping. I tend to pay at restaurants, which I am happy to do. Member hapagirl shares: I lived with my husband for two years before we got married eight years ago and for those two years and the first half of our marriage, I made more money than he did—sometimes up to double. But for us it was always “our” money. It went to buy houses, holidays etc. Now I am a stay-athome mom, so our only income is my husband’s, but its still “our” money. I have an Excel spreadsheet and record all our outgoings—if I feel hubby is spending a little excessively, I mention it and vice-versa. It’s always worked for us. I also wanted to mention that situations can change—even if you make more than him now, it might not always be the case. Good luck! To read the rest of the discussion, visit us online at www.being-a-broad.com/index.php/forums.
“My encyclopedia, my translator, my phone book, my best friend!”
—Western woman living in Japan
514–page book including everything you need to make the most out of your life: case studies of Western women working in almost 50 different types of jobs; anecdotes from many of the 200 Western women interviewed; profiles of 23 women’s organisations; and essential Japanese words and phrases. An essential book for any Western woman living in Japan. Read about: • Coping with culture shock. • Finding clothes and shoes that fit. • Avoiding hair disasters. • Cooking Japanese food. • Telling a chikan where to go. • Dating and the singles scene. • Organising contraception. • Getting married and divorced. • Adopting a baby. • Educating your child. • Finding a job. • Teaching gender studies in the Englishlanguage classroom. • Coping with reverse culture shock when you leave Japan.
Alexandra Press, 2001, ¥3,000 (inc. tax) To order email info@being-a-broad.com
You can pick up BAB here: Shibuya-ku: Priya Indian Restaurant • British School Tokyo • Boudoir • Sin Den• Nua Japan Minato-ku: US
and Medical Clinic • Nissin World Delicatessen • Tokyo
Embassy • Canadian Embassy • Colombian Embassy •
sity • ROTI Roppongi • Beaute Absolue • Mitsubishi UFJ
Kobe-shi: St Michael’s International School Kawasaki: 37 Frames Kyoto: Kyoto International School Osaka: Osaka International School Yokohama: The
Elana Jade • Fifty Seven • Toriizaka Art • Suji’s • TELL •
Azabujuban • ai International School • ABC International
German School Tokyo • Treehouse Montessori School •
Nishimachi International School • Gymboree • National
School • ASIJ ELC • The Montessori School of Tokyo •
Yokohama Country & Athletic Club • through BAB Rep
Azabu Supermarket • Crown Relocations • Nirvana
Homat Viscount Akasaka • Willowbrook International
New York • Tokyo American Club • Asian Tigers • Allied
School
Saitama: Columbia International School Tsukuba: Tsukuba International School • through BAB Rep Shaney Shizuoka: through BAB Rep Ali Nagoya: Hope International • through BAB Rep Wendy Chiba:
Pickfords • Welcome Furoshiki • J’s International School •College Women’s Association Japan •Tokyo Mother’s Group • Tokyo Pregnancy Group • Tokyo Surgical
International School • Paddy Foley’s • Temple Univer-
Chiyoda-ku: British Embassy Meguro-ku: Montessori Friends Koto-ku: K’s International School Suginami-ku: Aoba-Japan International School • JUN International School Chofu-shi: American School in Japan
Kelsey
through BAB Rep Arwen
ROOM TO READ FUNDRAISING GALA
All images provided by Room to Read.
Some of the five million children Room to Read has helped so far.
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oom to Read’s Tokyo Chapter will be hosting their annual fundraising gala at the new Tokyo American Club in Azabudai on April 9, 2011. The expected crowd of over 300 guests from the Japanese and expat communities will feast on a gourmet dinner while taking part in a silent and live auction. The charge to attend the event is ¥25,000 per
venue for this very special event. Room to Read began its work ten years ago with a simple desire to bring books to the children of Nepal. Today it is a global organisation—working in nine countries across Asia and Africa—that helps millions of children gain access to quality educational opportunities. The organisation has built a foundation of scalable programming supported by a strong and diverse donor base, and an effective and passionate global team. By the end of 2010, Room to Read had established over 11,000 libraries, 1,100 schools,
provided long-term educational support to over 10,000 girls and benefited over 5 million children. Room to Read recently made headlines in Barron’s magazine as a “high impact” organisation for the second consecutive year in the “Top 25 Givers” issue. The list, which measures and ranks socially conscious individuals who are having the greatest impact on some of the world’s most urgent issues, was compiled in collaboration with Global Philanthropy Group. This year, Room to Read moved up two spaces to rank number nine, in between high profile individuals such as Bill Gates at number one and Oprah Winfrey at number twenty-one. The Tokyo Chapter of Room to Read is one of the 52 local chapters throughout the world that are comprised of volunteers who have made a commitment to promoting Room to Read within their communities. The organisation depends on these networks to achieve their vision of reaching ten million children by 2015. For more information about Room to Read, the Room to Read Tokyo Chapter, and the fundraising gala on April 9, 2011, please contact BAB japan@roomtoread.org.
BAB EVENTS THIS MONTH: 25: career seminar series
31: girls’ night out at 57
for more information:
Come along to the latest in our Career Seminar Series, this time to learn all about Being a Fashion Broad. From 7:30–9:30pm, ¥2,000, at Hays Japan in Akasaka. Please let Dee (dee@being-abroad.com) know if you’re coming so we can keep track of numbers, give you a map, and answer any questions you might have.
Come along to our March Girls’ Night Out—a great way to meet new people, catch up with old friends, reunite with those who have been away, or get together with people before the spring truly sets in! From 7pm at 57 in Roppongi. No cover, and your first drink is discounted! Let us know at info@being-a-broad.com if you’ll be coming.
in Asia and Africa. The evening will also feature a five-star dinner created and prepared by three top chefs—Nobu Matsuhisa, Yuji Wakiya, and Tsutomu Ochiai—and a world-class patissier, Hironobu Tsujiguchi. The new Tokyo American Club is a state-of-the-art complex, which opened in January 2011 and features sweeping city views and cutting-edge design, making it the perfect
y the end of 2010, Room to Read had established over B 11,000 libraries, 1,100 schools, provided long-term educational support to over 10,000 girls and benefited over five million children.
person or ¥250,000 for a table of 10. Auction items will include luxury goods, travel opportunities, and much more. John Wood, the charismatic founder and board chair of Room to Read, and author of Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children, will be in attendance. Mr. Wood will speak about Room to Read and lead a live auction to allow gala attendees to sponsor Room to Read projects including schools, libraries, girls’ education, and local book publishing programs
To learn more about these events find us on Facebook: (www.facebook.com/ being.a.broad) or Twitter: (http://twitter. com/BABBeingABroad).
Being A Broad March 2011
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our cover girl
SHELLEY
SWEENEY
of Tokyo Car Club, cover photography by Kerry Raftis, www.keyshots.com
Images Kerry Raftis/www.keyshots.com
Full name: Shelley Sweeney Age: 45 Nationality: Canadian Grew up in: British Columbia, Canada Time in Japan: 24 years Japanese level: moderate Works as: Freelance actress/model/narrator/ PR Tokyo Car Club Why did you come to Japan? I was scouted by Satoru-san, the president and owner of Satoru Japan Models. I came to Japan the first time for three months and extended my stay by a month because the work was great. I then did another term the following November and went to the New Osaka Branch, which is now closed. I went to England and auditioned for drama schools and got accepted into two. I went to one for one year and another for the second year. Carona Academy was the first, and though it has since closed down, reunions keep going with the talents. Italia Conti was the second drama school. I then travelled between Canada and Japan/ Asia a number of times for modelling and acting work before settling in Japan. Why do you stay in Japan? Japan has really become my home as it has for so many of my foreign friends. It’s a country with so much to offer, and it’s been good for me. I guess what it really comes down to are my wonderful friends, the people who have supported me in my
for drinks with the show. It’s a lot of fun, watch it sometime if you have time. Sometimes I just go for a haircut at Sin Den. I have a pet budgie named Buzzy Chan who’s loose in my house and
here are so many people from so many cultures in T Tokyo, and I enjoy meeting all of them. I also love my work.
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life, so many of whom are here in Japan. Also work has always been consistent, and I’ve developed a nice network within the industry in Japan. How do you manage to balance everything in your life? I really don’t have that much to balance. As an actress/model I have to keep my figure and get plenty of rest. For this I spend a lot of time at the gym—in the water and running. The biggest challenge is probably scheduling. When it’s busy I’m overwhelmed with work and I have to keep days open for projects, but all too often another client may want those days, too. That’s when it can be stressful and I have to work things out with my clients, but everyone has to do a little of that anyway. Overall, the balance comes naturally. What do you do to relax? Honestly, I’m lucky in this respect. Relaxing is easy for me and I enjoy the simple pleasures in life. I meditate and run with my friend Jack from our YouTube channel The Jack and Shelley Show. It’s a little side project that we do for fun that’s also relaxing. We end up going out to eat and
she keeps me company. Talking to my family in Canada is really relaxing, and I’m a Facebook addict. Colin Shea from The Tokyo Car Club is a good friend of mine and he lets me help with his business every once in a while. I love cars and yachts so I spend a lot of time studying them and riding in them. Also, running is my hobby! It’s really hard to get into the Tokyo Marathon, but I got accepted through the name lottery last August for the 10km part of the event that was on February 27. Best thing about being a foreign woman in Japan? It’s the opportunity to share cultures and experiences. There are so many people from so many cultures in Tokyo, and I enjoy meeting all of them. I also love my work. It’s exciting when people know me from shows I did years ago. There are so many great things about being a foreign woman in Japan and most of them aren’t even specific to being a woman. As a foreign actress/model in Japan some doors seem to open easier, and I have opportunities to meet and BAB work with some amazing people.
A Day in the Life: My work can be extremely demanding or extremely cushy depending on the day— every day is different. On days that I’m not booked, I usually wake before 7am without the help of an alarm clock. I go to the gym for a couple of hours and come home for lunch. From noon to 6 or 7pm, I spend my time answering emails, calling clients, and basically doing the maintenance part of my business. On the days that I have a job booked, I may wake as early as 3am to get to a location by 4:30 or 5am, go to makeup and spend an hour or so drinking tea and preparing for the first scene. We rehearse, shoot, and rehearse and shoot, and keep doing it until the day is over. A long day can be longer than 24 hours and a short day can be as short as a half hour. It’s an exciting business; I never know what I’m getting myself into when I leave the house. There are two constants though every day: I have milk tea in the morning while Buzzy Chan sits on my shoulder, and of course I feed her in the morning. Other than that, there is no typical day in my life; they are all very, very different. Some days are booked, some days I’ll go to three or four casting calls, some days I spend helping Colin Shea promote the Tokyo Car Club, and some days are just for fun.
WOMEN OF THE WORLD
compiled by Danielle Tate-Stratton
image: DavidMartynHunt
Researchers from the University of Rochester in the US have found that one type of heart failure prevention—cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator—is twice as effective in women as it is in men, with women in studies enjoying a 70 percent reduction in heart failure as compared to 35 percent in men. Researchers hypothesise this is because of the specific type of heart disease typically seen in women.
image: VasVas
Texas lawmakers are considering a bill that would require a woman to view an ultrasound of her fetus at least two hours before an abortion. Doctors would be required to explain relevant features such as size and internal organs, if visible, and women would also be required to hear the heartbeat. The bill would not allow for exemption in case of rape, but would allow the requirement to be bypassed if a woman’s health was in jeopardy.
The Royal Bank of Canada released a study that showed women are far less likely to be saving for retirement than men. For example, just 21 percent of women put money towards retirement in the past year, compared to 33 percent of men. Additionally, 16 percent of women contributed to investment funds compared to 23 percent of men in the same time frame. Women were also less educated about their investments, with 22 percent unsure of what was contained within their RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plans) compared to 15 percent of men who didn’t know.
Thousands of protestors have marched through over 200 cities and towns in Italy calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has been widely criticised for his attitudes towards women, following charges that he had sex with an underage prostitute. However, the 74-year-old leader is so far refusing to step down, saying he has always treated women with respect.
In her new book, The Science of Kissing: What Our Lips are Telling Us, Sheril Kirshenbaum shows that kissing makes us happier by releasing oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine, which are all hormones that lead to positive feelings. She also says that while men are more likely to kiss as a means to a sexual end, women do so for mateassessment purposes.
Scientists from the University of California recently completed a study showing that women become anxious around the time of their period because of their brain cells, not fluctuating hormones as was previously widely believed. The scientists took PET scans of 12 women with PMDD, a severe form of PMS, and 12 women without, and found that though both groups underwent a similar jump in their level of progesterone, only the group suffering from PMDD had a spike in activity in their cerebellum. The size of the spike directly correlated to the severity of symptoms.
image: akirsa
Though women in Namibia have a high level of knowledge regarding HIV transmission and prevention, they often lack control over their own sexuality and as a result, three out of four new cases of HIV infection present in women. A recent study by Lucy Edwards showed that since 2000, female mortality rates have doubled in the region, compared to male rates, which have risen 65 percent.
A study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that women who were diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and underwent surgery to remove their lymph nodes had survival rates no higher than those women treated with less invasive, nonsurgical techniques. While the results mirror those of a study of 3,000 women in Edinburgh 15 years ago, its findings remain controversial in the face of surgery-heavy practices that have been popularised over the past several years. Five Japanese women plus one of the women’s partners have filed a lawsuit demanding that a 113-year-old law requiring that married couples chose a single surname be crossed off the books. They are also seeking six million yen in damages. Japan is the only member of the G8 that requires spouses to share a surname, and women are increasingly fighting against the law, especially those who are already established professionally. Two plaintiffs in the case went so far as to obtain a divorce in order to allow the women to continue using her maiden name at work, though they remain together. Wishal D. Ramdas, of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, led a study of over 3,900 individuals that showed that for those women whose body mass index put them in the range of clinically obese, there was a reduced risk of open-angle glaucoma. The risk was reduced by seven percent for every point of increase in body mass index. Men did not enjoy a similar reduction in risk. The UK is considering a plan to implement a quota for the number of women in executive level positions. While Finland currently has a 40 percent quota in its executive workforce, and other European countries are similarly considering such programs, for the moment the UK is most likely considering a two-year window in which companies are encouraged to bring more women into the boardroom before any formal action is taken. BAB Being A Broad March 2011
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THE LITTLE THINGS
WE LOVE IN JAPAN Kagaya Pub is like any other traditional Japanese establishment, with low-to-the-ground tables and the traditional cross-legged position of seating, but what makes this little gem of a restaurant unique is the insanity of the waiter. I don’t want to give away too much, but expect to have all your assumptions of Japanese people thrown out of the window. The menus are written in child’s handwriting in crayon on a school notebook. For each order of drinks you are told to choose a specific country, which Mark Kagaya then acts out himself as a one-man show. The first time I went, I got a six pack from all the laughing. www1.ocn. ne.jp/~kagayayy—MJ Loofahs are so out, and Western washcloths are ancient history. What will make your shower experience a spa-like dream is replacing those antiquated tools of the bathroom with a beautiful new Japanese washcloth. It’s made from a lightweight woven nylon fabric, durable for years and years, and as exfoliating as a pumice stone. Also, it can lather up your pea-sized drop of shower gel into an out-of-control sudsy mess worthy of a bubble bath. I’ve had mine since high school and am convinced it’s the secret to my unusual and often scarily chipper personality in the morning. You can get them at any department store, Don Quixote, at most hundred yen stores, or order them online here: www.amazon.com/ Salux-Nylon-Japanese-Beauty-Cloth/dp/ B000CSDDDG—MJ
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Image El Kay Photorgaphy
If you have uncontrollable frizzy curly hair as I do, coming to Japan will only make it worse. Summer humidity ravaged my hair for the first month living in Tokyo, but with one tip from a Japanese girlfriend with similar hair texture to mine, I was literally saved an hour of hair prep in the morning when she told me about Japanese straight perms. The treatment takes about four hours, but afterwards it transforms unruly hair into sleek and glossy locks that don’t need a hair dryer or a hair straightener to maintain. Since it’s permanent, touch ups are only needed every four to six months. Best of all, they are inexpensive compared to treatments elsewhere in the world, at just ¥80,000 to ¥120,000.—MJ
I love Fifty Seven’s weekend brunch. You can get a full English breakfast that’s cooked so well that you almost leave feeling that you’ve had a healthy meal. The Bloody Marys are fantastic. And the separate children’s play area means that you can enjoy your meal in peace. www. fiftyseven.co.jp—CP
A tip from Sin Den: Sin Den loves your hair! If you also love your hair, come to visit our salon and get one of our “Love Your Hair” special packages to keep your hair colour always looking fabulous! Rediscover the blonde you want to be, the vibrant copper head-turner, or the sultry rich brunette. Revlon has a shade to suit any hair colour and the deep conditioning treatment will leave your hair moisturised and smooth, with a mirror-like shine. Contains no ammonia or peroxide and the acid pH respects your hair’s integrity. An instant hair colour combined with a nourishing treatment in only three minutes! • Purchase a haircut and receive a Revlon Colour Conditioner for free. • Have a blowave and recieve a Revlon Colour Conditioner for just ¥500. Offer valid for first 30 BAB readers only. Fabio Alfano Director, Sin Den www.sinden.com
I love the JMEC program. The Japan Market Expansion Competition is a great way for anyone to get experience in creating a real business plan as a solution to a real company’s needs. I’m having great fun mentoring a team on the program this year, and would recommend it to anyone interested in getting some real business experience and making great connections with the business community in Tokyo. www.jmec.gr.jp—CP I love DHC’s cleansing oil. You can get it from most combinis and pharmacies. It is the best cleansing oil I have ever used! I use it morning and night, followed by a cleansing lotion. It is the best product I have ever found for getting my heavy eye makeup off without leaving a trace behind!—CP
Do you have a little thing you love in Japan? If so, please let us know via editor@beinga-broad.com and we will include it in a future issue of BAB. We are always looking for restaurants, shops, products, and those little things you just can’t live without. Let us know in 50–100 words, and if you can, please include a photo.
SNEAK UP ON ME by Christina Bell
Images provided by Christina Bell.
Mt. Fuji was a fail-safe part of the vacation...
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olcanoes always sneak up on me. Any volcano, anywhere in the world; one minute we’re driving along, enjoying the scenery, and the next minute we turn a corner and there it is. Sometimes I’ve caught a glimpse of it a few miles back from an angle that made it seem smaller and yet I knew I would get there eventually. Nonetheless, regardless of how prepared I am, when it is suddenly right there the shock of having to crane my neck to see the top takes me by surprise every time. Mountains are beautiful, too, but there’s something about the way a cone volcano dominates the landscape that gets me every time. For me, seeing Fuji was the fail-safe of our last family outing. When we accepted an invitation to join friends on a ski trip, I figured that whether or not I enjoyed the skiing, it would be great to be that close to Fuji. I’d never seen this particular
items onto our children, I got really, really cold. After much grumbling and cursing on my part, we were eventually ready to hit the bunny hill. We clicked into our skis, excited to swoosh over to the moving sidewalk that would usher us up the 100-foot, 20-degree slope that would be our training ground, only to find that the kids and I couldn’t move at all. Even the slightest upward incline made me slide backward after every step. Rob helped the kids while I pushed myself along with my poles. For the sake of the kids, I resisted the urge to shout obscenities. Once I was on the moving sidewalk and could calm down for a second, I watched the Japanese kids on the slope with their parents, zipping around tiny obstacles and laughing. The image of them frolicking with Fuji in the background tugged my heart strings. It was so easy to picture Maya, who is strong and athletic, doing the same by the end of the day. I gazed up the hill to where Rob was waiting for us and focused my energy on trying to telepathically channel my “Maya as fabulous ski baby” vision to him. Instead of mirroring my dreamy look, he pointed behind me frantically.
y giving my child an outlet for her tenacity, something B she certainly didn’t inherit from me, Fuji’s diminutive twin had made my day complete. Looking down, I realised that Maya was no longer on the belt. In a second, Rob was behind me and able to recover our missing offspring, who had fallen off the conveyor belt, skis and all, and had been behind me trying to crawl back on. Soon we were at the top of the hill, ready to go. For the children’s sake, I tried to pretend the bunny hill didn’t look terrifying from the top, but it did. Rob worked with Max, and in some misguided leap into ridiculously poor judgment, I started down the hill with Maya.
a smart, coordinated, grown woman. Why shouldn’t IbyI’mlunchtime? be able to master the fine art of sliding down a hill Japanese national treasure up close. Besides, what could go wrong? Just because three out of four members of our family couldn’t ski, that didn’t mean we all couldn’t learn in one day. Worst case scenario, Rob would take our third-grader, Max, and I’d just figure it out quickly and take over teaching four-year-old Maya. I’m a smart, coordinated, grown woman. Why shouldn’t I be able to master the fine art of sliding down a hill by lunchtime? One of the main reasons I never learned to ski is that I get really angry when I’m cold. Unfortunately, during the hour it took to fill out ski rental forms, measure each member of our family for clothes and boots, and wrestle said
grinning. It made sense that he would walk over and pull me up, right? Wrong. My brain flashed through seven years of lessons about Japanese culture and I realised in horror that he would never help me. As shamed as I may have been by my predicament, I was sure that he believed he would only deepen my humiliation by coming to my aid. For what felt like forever, he watched me struggle. I tried for the second time that day to telepathically communicate with someone. “For the love of God, deepen my humiliation!” I mentally pleaded. “It’s OK! Make my shame complete! Just help me!” I think, after this trip, that I can safely say that I suck at telepathy. Rob had saved Max, and by the time I realised that I could release my boot from my ski, which is harder than it sounds when you can’t reach your feet, Maya had already taken off her skis and was walking down the hill. Skiing lasted approximately ten more minutes, less because the kids wanted to stop trying and more because Rob was simply outnumbered by beginners. Sledding was a more accomplishable goal since it gave the kids the thrill of rocketing downhill, but didn’t require lessons.
out of the comfort zone
VOLCANOES ALWAYS
Thirty seconds later, we had two people down and Max plummeting toward certain death. All I remember is lying in the snow, all of my limbs bent the wrong way, thinking, “Save the children.” As Max needed an immediate rescue, Maya and I would have to wait. Parental triage goes like this: moving toward danger trumps age; if everyone is stationary, save the little one first. In an effort to help myself, I pushed my poles into the ground and pulled with my arms. Nothing. I tried to slide my leg to a better position to gain leverage, but my ski had dug a trench in the snow and trying to move my leg made my knee twist in way that it was never meant to bend. As I was about to surrender, I saw a Japanese man watching me and
Right before we left, Maya took an interest in joining a gang of kids who were climbing a twentyfoot mini-Fuji, complete with a flag planted at the peak. Max climbed it in about 45 seconds, but for Maya’s little preschool legs, this was more of an undertaking. The picture of determination, she stubbornly tackled that thing from every conceivable angle. On most attempts, she would be within a metre or so of the top, only to lose her footing and slide all the way back down. Her tenacity was a sharp contrast to my willingness to give up on skiing. For the better part of an hour, she inched her way around, looking for the right approach, while I watched the clock, knowing that we had to leave soon and hating the idea of having to take her off her mountain before she reached the top. She’s much too stubborn to accept help, so all I could do was watch and cross my fingers for her. Finally, just as I was ready to break the news to her, she found a clean run and was at the top in the blink of an eye, sitting proudly with the other kids who had succeeded in scaling the mighty mini-Fuji. I called Rob and Max over to see her there, triumphant on her mountain of snow with the real Fuji looming large behind her, and I knew which mountain I preferred. By giving my child an outlet for her tenacity, something she certainly didn’t inherit from me, Fuji’s diminutive twin had made my day complete. Like I said, volcanoes always sneak up on me. BAB Being A Broad March 2011
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food & dining
LOVE JAPANESE FOOD KATSU-DON(カツ丼) ADDICTION by Patricia Nyiri-Kovacs
Katsu-don: Pork cutlet rice bowl.
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famous French chef who currently runs his own restaurant in Japan once said; “the key to the secret ingredient in every dish is love.” As I went through the process myself, I can say with certainty that it truly is that simple. Before moving to Japan, cooking was not among my main hobbies. However, after some months of experimenting and trying to prepare new and exciting dishes for my family every evening, I came to realise that cooking is an art, a philosophy, and a way of life. The transformation was astounding, the curiosity bursting, and so the plunge into creativity began.
Sushi is not a homemade dish. Although seemingly easy to make, Japanese rarely prepare it at home as it takes years and years of experience to become a sushi chef. Thus to eat sushi, people go to restaurants or buy it at the supermarket. Maki and onigiri are usually more common for preparing at home. Eager to learn what Japanese home cooking means to Japanese people, I conducted a short survey among my Japanese friends. Dishes such as nikujaga, oden, and curry rice were common answers, but one that was rather popular was katsu-don. The reason I decided to start my introduction with katsu-don is that it’s actually a youshoku dish. Due to the European influence it’s
famous French chef who currently runs his own A restaurant in Japan once said; “the key to the secret ingredient in every dish is love.” Have you ever felt that instant connection when meeting someone for the first time? Allow me to quote the famous French chef again who asks: “Why are we here? Why did we meet? The answer again is simple: It’s destiny.” I believe destiny is the reason—that instead of banking and finance, I am writing my very first article to you about cooking. Allow me to share with you my story through food, through my cooking, and hopefully help you create something delicious. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking of Japanese home cooking? If you only thought about sushi; dzzzz—wrong!
rather popular within the foreign community, yet at the same time very authentic. Youshoku (洋食) refers to the westerninfluenced cooking that was introduced to Japan during the Meiji period from 1868 to 1912. It was the period of enlightenment with opening up to the west, meaning that different styles of western cuisine started fusing with Japanese cuisine. Before we talk about katsu-don, let us look at tonkatsu, the main part of this dish. The meaning of tonkatsu is pork cutlet, originating from schnitzel. A traditional schnitzel is made of a big, thin slice of veal that is shallow
fried, served with kartoffelsalad (a type of potato salad with mayonnaise, vinegar, and onion). The Japanese version is made with a thick slice of deep fried pork loin accompanied with rice, cabbage, and misoshiru. There are several variations, depending on household traditions, but in most cases you pour tonkatsu sauce (which has a sweet taste) over the meat and cabbage and dip it in hot mustard before eating it with your chopsticks. As it was more and more ‘Japanised,’ katsudon was created by adapting the donburi (rice bowl dish) style of serving the tonkatsu. The word katsu is not only like the English abbreviation of cutlet, but also has become the synonym for fried. So if you talk about ham katsu, chicken katsu, or menchi katsu it will be a deep-fried variation of tonkatsu. At home, katsu-don is usually made from leftover tonkatsu slices, so if you are planning to eat tonkatsu, just make a couple more slices and use it for the katsu-don the next day. That way you can save time and have two dinners in one! The main difference between a tonkatsu and a katsu-don is not solely in the presentation, but also the texture of the meat. While tonkatsu is crispy and sweet, katsu-don is more soft and saucy, giving the impression of being boiled rather then fried. Furthermore, katsu-don is a mixture of sweet and savoury tastes. Varying from region to region, 95 percent of katsu-don will be the soy saucebased version found in the recipe below. Other variations include miso katsu, salt katsu, and demiglace katsu.
1. Remove any extra fat from the pork and cut along the stringy parts so it does not curl up during frying 2. Tenderise both sides of the pork by pounding on it. 3. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of each slice and then dredge in flour, making sure they are evenly coated.
8. While frying you can rotate the pork with chopsticks to get a golden brown colour. Transfer to a paper towel, pat to remove access oil, cut into two cm slices, and leave to rest while you prepare the katsu-don sauce.
pork cutlet into the sauce. 4. Immediately crack an egg, lightly mix, and pour over the tonkatsu. Place lid on pan and cook at high heat for 30 seconds. The egg should still be a little runny when done. 5. When ready, serve the steamed rice in a rice bowl and gently place the tonkatsu on the rice with the help of a spatula so it doesn’t fall apart. Place parsley on the top and serve. Tips: When pouring the egg over the tonkatsu, try and do it in a のの字 (nonoji, or spiral form) to get an even and appealing shape. Try and find a smaller, possibly flat, lid than your pan so it’s as close to the ingredients as possible (see picture) or buy the Japanese pan specially designed for these types of dishes.
food & dining
Recipe for katsu-don: Yields: four servings Time: 30 minutes Ingredients for the tonkatsu: • 4 slices of pork loin about one cm thick • all purpose flour (enough for dredging) • 1 egg • 2 Tbsp water • 1 Tbsp soy sauce • Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs, enough for dredging) • salt and pepper to taste • oil for deep frying
Ingredients for the katsu-don sauce (to serve one): • 50ml water • 1 tsp of dashi (granulated soup stock) • 1 Tbsp of soy sauce • 1 Tbsp of mirin • 1 tsp of cane sugar • ½ a small onion • 1 egg
4. Place the oil in a deeper pot and heat over medium heat. The oil should be enough to cover the pork slices. 5. Mix the egg with the water and soy sauce, then dip the floured pork slices in the egg mixture, 6. Transfer to the bowl of panko and evenly coat both sides by pressing with your fingers. Repeat with each pork slice.
7. When the oil is between 170–180 degrees (you can check this by placing the cooking chopstick in the oil and if the small bubbles are rising fast, it’s ready) gently lower the slices into the oil. Once the cutlets are golden brown, flip over and fry the other side (about two to three minutes each side).
Depending on the size of your pan, you need to make the katsu-don one or maximum two at a time. 1. Start by mixing together the water, dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. 2. Cut the onion into thin slices.
3. Place the liquid you mixed in step one and the onions in a pan and turn up the heat to medium. When boiling, turn to low heat, cook for another three minutes, and then place one entire sliced up
A word of warning to everyone who loves or will come to love this dish…it can be addictive! I have a friend who ate tonkatsu and katsu-don at least four times a week over a period of six months. Just think about the results! He gained 10 kg and literally had to go to Tonkatsu rehab. So this is just an extreme case, of course. Feel free to make this as often as you like, keeping in mind the above story! I would be interested in getting your and your family’s feedback about the recipe. Pictures are also welcome. Please write to me if you are specifically interested in any type of Japanese dish and you would like to learn more. Contact me via editor@being-a-broad. com to share your story, and I will be giving away a free cooking lesson to the lucky winner! Till the next recipe, if you are interested in other Japanese home-cooked dishes please follow me on my blog: www. lovejapanesefood.com.
Being A Broad March 2011
11
feature
EATING VEGETARIAN:
A WEEK IN THE LIFE by Megan Kojima
image: Ron Dollete
Tofu can be used in a number of unique dishes.
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T
o be a vegetarian is to be misunderstood in many places in our world today. Images are often conjured up of sallow, anemic, bleedingheart weaklings singing love songs to sheep as they walk with their heads in fluffy clouds. It is a source of pride for people to say they love meat; to enjoy a juicy steak is a topic that elicits approval from dinner parties, a hearty nod and an insider’s pat on the back. Whenever I tell people I am vegetarian, I hold my breath for the anticipated moment when the group will look at me with a pitiful stare and then immediately erupt into stories of their favourite chicken recipe. “I’m sorry, are we offending you?” is sometimes the question that separates me even further from their celebration of carnivorous pleasures, and other times it’s “Why on Earth would you do such a horrible thing to yourself? Are you trying to be unhappy?” Well, at least they don’t say, “Go back to your hippy commune!” When I became a vegetarian at the young age of 12, my motivations to stop eating meat were somewhere moderate; I was not going to throw red paint on anyone wearing fur, but I
Vegetables are a great way to fill up without feeling overly ‘stuffed.’
depriving myself in any way. Anyone can agree that being a vegetarian is tough, but it is especially so in Japan, a country that often doesn’t understand the difference between a vegetable and a piece of unwanted pork floating in your ramen bowl. If you, lovely reader, are vegetarian, I’m sure you can recall your first trip to a Japanese restaurant. So thrilled you were to have learned the new Japanese phrase, “Niku tabenai,” or in English, “I don’t eat meat.” I remember mine: I asked if there was any meat in a certain dish and was comforted by the sweet smile of the waitress and her calm assurance that it would be meat-free. Five minutes later, I stared into a plate of spaghetti covered in a tomato sauce mixed with minced beef. This story wouldn’t be worth quoting or interesting to read had the same situation not repeated itself nearly evey time I go to a restaurant in Japan. No matter how many times I repeat the phrase or if I use the honorific tense to sound more respectful, I know to anticipate the addition of meat to my dish. Now I remember to give the confused server a bullet point list of
nyone can agree that being a vegetarian is tough, but it is especially so in Japan, a country that often A doesn’t understand the difference between a vegetable and a piece of unwanted pork...
wasn’t going to eat turkey on Thanksgiving just to maintain tradition and make others more comfortable. I originally chose this diet because of health reasons, but it wasn’t until educating myself on the adverse environmental impact that a meat-centred diet has on the world that I paid more attention to the political aspects of the diet. The more I learned about the benefits of eating vegetarian or close to it, the easier it was to order a BK Veggie instead of a Big Mac. Now I don’t miss the taste of meat at all, and in fact there are enough meat substitutes that make me feel like I’m adding to my food repertoire rather than
all that encompasses “meat.” Pork, beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, fish, and anything that has eyes, please! This tactic is nearly a guaranteed success, even though occasionally the chef overlooks my smiling yet insistent request/demand for no meat. For me, worrying about a little pork broth in my ramen soup isn’t enough to send back the dish and cause the server to lose that precious ‘face.’ In Japan, after all, it’s all about keeping the peace between people during uncomfortable or unpleasant circumstances. I must admit that I am a lazy vegetarian who sometimes misreads the kanji for umeboshi and eats the onigiri even if it
has a wad of shredded chicken inside, and I have been known to enjoy a plate of maguro sushi from time to time. Simply put, my once nearly religious resolve to stay veg-loyal has, unfortunately, been slipping into a muddled world of describing seafood as “vegetables of the ocean.” I thought to myself it would be beneficial to take notes for one week and dedicate myself again to the diet I once regarded as my own path to nirvana. It’s difficult to be vegetarian in Tokyo, but with a little guidance it’s possible. Enjoy! Monday: Today I awoke and cooked myself a delicious tofu scramble, chopping up some Japanese mushrooms and adding a sliced tomato for added flavour. A cup of coffee made the meal perfect. The best thing about grocery stores in Japan is the rich selection of tofu and soymilk products—much better than back home at my usual American supermarket. You can choose kinugoshi-dofu, the silky tofu used in smoothies and pudding, momen-dofu, the thicker and firmer tofu used in all stir fry, or aburaage, a deep fried tofu. Japanese cooking also features a plethora of tofu-inspired recipes. After eating a hearty tofu breakfast, my stomach began craving even more tofu! Turns out, there are people just like me all over the country, and one of these fabulous people decided to make a restaurant perfecting the art of a tofu-inspired menu. Here’s what I ate in Shin Yokohama for dinner: yuba, a way of eating tofu skin from the surface of heated soymilk, and soft silken tofu with a choice of a yuzu flavored salt, a sea salt from Okinawa, with sesame seeds as a garnish. Soy ice cream was for dessert. One hundred percent vegetarian if you ask for the meal without bonito flakes, this meal was light and uplifting. Tuesday: I had so much protein yesterday that I was prepared to dive into an ocean of carbs. Lunch was outside Nakano station at a restaurant called Govinda’s Vegetable Kitchen, a cute place that offers curry dishes as well as home-cooked
feature
to help create beautiful skin, so I’ll be watching out for my face to glow with radiance by the weekend. They also had interesting drink choices like Bakushu, which is beer made from honey, and freshly squeezed soy milk that you can order hot or iced. I then stopped by Manna, near Daikanyama station, to pick up a delicious raw food dessert— they make all their cookies and brownies and cakes using vegan and raw ingredients. Raw food hasn’t made a breakthrough in Japan yet, but with delicious cafés like this one, I can’t imagine why everyone wouldn’t want to change their diet. Raw food is a style of cooking that avoids heating ingredients more than 48 degrees Celsius, with the intention of maintaining all the important nutrients that are lost through cooking. Creativity is a must for this type of vegetarian diet, but Manna still manages to produce delicious recipes. Try their chocolate brownies! Friday: Even though I’ve been doing nothing but going to restaurants all week, I don’t feel the same bloated I-can’t-move feeling that I always do when eating out in the States. Maybe it’s because Japanese portion sizes aren’t designed to force you to take leftovers home, and deep-fried dishes aren’t considered an essential food group. I only had one more day of vegetarian cuisine so I went to a sushi restaurant, wondering if
must admit that I am a lazy vegetarian who sometimes misreads the kanji for umeboshi and eats the onigiri Ieven if it has a wad of shredded chicken inside...
One of my favorite restaurants, and the one most recommended for me to try in Tokyo, is Eat More Greens in Azabu Juban. I went to this place a year ago, and fell in love with the falafel plate. Everything on the menu is vegetarian and tastes so delicious that even your meat lover friends will thoroughly enjoy themselves. Why mess with what works? I ordered the falafel plate again. The place has a café vibe and is nice to visit with friends and linger awhile after eating. Thursday: Looking for a Japanese veggie restaurant with traditional Japanese ingredients, I was referred to a place near Nezu station called Nezu No Ya. Come here only for lunch, as it closes at 2:30pm. I ordered the lunch set of the day, and was pleasantly surprised with the assortment of hearty and invigorating vegetables. This place uses a lot of daikon, tsukemono, konnyaku, and renkon (lotus) that made me feel as if being vegetarian in Japan is as natural and simple as eating pasta in Italy. I was very happy with this recommendation! Dinner was at Brown Rice Café near Omotesando station. I had a tofu wrap filled with ratatouille with a side of miso soup and salad, and a smooth vegetable juice of carrots, tomatoes, and rosehip extract called Rescue. It is supposed
there wasn’t some sushi roll I hadn’t discovered yet that would make me forget about the mouthwatering unagi roll I had a few weeks ago… I happened to be visiting a friend near Saitama Shintoshin station and popped into my favorite kaiten zushi restaurant next to the movie theater. Instead of fish I ate tamago (egg) sushi, avocado and cucumber maki rolls, inari (fried tofu), oshinko (pickled plum), and a umeshiso maki roll. The best part about vegetarian sushi is the price—all these rolls are the cheapest to order on the menu. Saving money at the kaitan zushi made me feel a bit bolder, so for my last supper I chose a more pricey option of a Shojin Ryori restaurant, a term used to describe vegetarian cuisine established in Kyoto and also referred to as Zen vegetarian cooking. The food is rice, tofu, and vegetable friendly, eaten by Buddhist monks who cannot eat meat or dairy products. This style of food is not exactly popular with contemporary Japanese, but Shojin Ryori can still be found near many Zen temples across the country. Eat here for the traditional Japanese experience, and savour every delicious moment. Try Itosho in Azabu-Juban. Phew! After five days of eating vegetarian, I feel energised and balanced again. This is just
image: Pekka Nikrus
veggie sides and sandwiches stuffed with avocado, sprouts, and cheese, or a vegetarian burger topped with tomato gravy. Everything on the menu is approximately ¥1,000 and so worth it! Later, I stopped by the living-room-styled expat bar, The Pink Cow, and indulged in their Californian inspired and extremely vegetarianfriendly menu. My recommendation here is the black bean and cheese burrito—it is more expensive, but definitely enough to feed two people, and if you love Mexican food, this is definitely the cure for homesickness. Pink Cow also has a vegan buffet every month, and it has proven to be very popular with vegetarians and carnivores alike. Wednesday: Stuffed and a bit hungover from Tuesday, I skipped breakfast, and a proper lunch after rolling out of bed was a vegetarian buffet in Shinjuku, called SaiShokuKenBi. It was a bit hard to find, so make sure you look up good directions before going. Some items are vegan, but they are only labelled in Japanese—so be careful if you want to avoid dairy as well. The buffet is cheap at only ¥1,200 for lunch, and is filled with vegan desserts and different fake meat recipes over pasta and in sandwiches, with traditional Japanese dishes, too. If you’re feeling indecisive, this is the place to go for a nice relaxing brunch.
a sampling of the many restaurants in Tokyo that are vegetarian-friendly, including a ramen restaurant with a vegetarian ramen dish, Kagetsu, that I was unable to visit. I am optimistic that in the near future, the pale tragic figure that the word “vegetarian” conjures up into so many people’s minds will be replaced with a new, healthy, happy version—I mean, if Brad Pitt and Anne Hathaway are both vegetarian, then our PR campaign should already be taken care of, right? BAB General Tips for Vegetarians in Tokyo: • Understand that vegetarian diets are not commonplace and that sometimes vegetarian dishes might still have meat-based products in them, depending on the restaurant, especially soups that will generally use fish or porkbased broths. • Cook traditional Japanese food—most of it is heavy on the vegetables and light on the meat. • Take advantage of groups around Tokyo that meet at vegan and vegetarian restaurants, using the website www.meetup.com. •Remember there are always vegetarian options at most restaurants, so don’t be afraid to ask probing questions about the ingredients in a dish—pretend you are allergic to meat if you have to—others will be less likely to find your vegetarian ways disturbing the wa of the group.
Websites: • http://vegetokyo.com • www.bento.com • www.vegietokyo.com • www.happycow.net
Being A Broad March 2011
13
working
KARINH EURENIUS
Senior researcher at Tokyo University
Images provided by Karinh Eurenius.
At the torii gates in Inari, Kyoto.
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Name: Karinh Eurenius Nationality: Swedish Qualifications: BSc Chemistry with Nanotechnology, MSc Advanced Materials, PhD Materials Chemistry Job title: Postdoc/senior researcher Employer: Tokyo University through The Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Time in this job: 15 months Job description: I start from a—hopefully— good idea about making a new material with the specific properties I want it to have. This requires research about what other people have done before so that you don’t get started on a project that has already been dealt with. Since it is research, it should be new, but, for instance, it can involve proving a theory wrong. Sometimes you even need to go back to old schoolbooks or browse the web for basic education about it if it is a new field to you. Then I plan the practical part, the actual experiment, and discuss it with someone who can give good input and general advice. At this level, often you are doing something totally new, so trial and error actually works as well, since most of the time you have no one to ask. The next step is to make the new material in the lab, which is the synthesis step. Since you are making up the experiments and changing very small details, you need to take quite specific notes on even the smallest things in the beginning. This part of the project is often the most timeconsuming. Once you have repeated the synthesis a couple of times, you can start time-planning and make an overall lab report. It’s like being in the kitchen and making up your own recipes; it gets easier and tastes better or gets more successful the more times you try. When the experiment has been carried out to a level that you are happy with, it’s time to carry out the different analyses. Here you need to have an understanding of what you are
looking for, i.e., what you want to prove and how. This is the step when you learn the most different techniques and also get heaps of data for your final analysis. The data needs to be put in an order that makes sense to follow and it usually involves learning a lot of new computer programs and calculations. Then, of course, you also want it to look nice and preferably point at something revolutionary. Often one has to go back to the synthesis step, since you may have discovered that to prove the point you were aiming for is not possible under the experimental parameters you used at the beginning. More often than not, what you set out to look for in the start is not at all what you find, so you have to change the direction of the project. The final step is to present the study, which can be done by putting the results into educational materials and lectures or showing it at scientific conferences with posters and presentations. The study also should be written up, which again can be released as educational material, lab descriptions, or what most researchers race for: the publications! To put all the above very briefly: I invent new materials for hydrogen fuel cells. General requirements: You need to be innovative, have a huge amount of drive, and be able to work closely with people from all over the
In Ueno for hanami, with her husband.
planet—or sometimes completely alone. Japanese requirement: They said none when I applied, but it would have been a lot easier for communication with the group members if I had spoken Japanese. General conditions: Since space in general is very expensive in Japan, most Westerners feel that the labs and offices are very crowded. I thought it would be much more high-tech, since the research we see in the West coming from this part of the globe is often very advanced. You have to be quick, not shy to speak in front of people, and be good at explaining what you do and think. How she found this job: An old colleague recommended that I check out the fellowships through JSPS and thought it sounded really good. Best thing: Japan in general! I love the weather, that there is sunshine throughout the whole winter, and that it’s so safe and clean. Since I got used to the food, it has really been an adventure. I’ve even tried chicken sashimi (raw chicken)! Worst thing: The difficulty of communicating in English. It has unfortunately put a huge strain on everyday communication, professional situations, etc., since most of the written information is also in Japanese. Interesting stories: Well, some of my coworkers accidentally called me ‘Colin’ instead of ‘Karinh’ (pronounced like the English ‘Karen’). It took me a long time to understand who ‘Doctor Colin-san’ was, and I spent the first weeks desperately searching for an older English gentleman named Colin... Issues affecting her as a woman: I only have male colleagues, so of course it would be nice to be in a more mixed environment. Advice: If you want to work within academia, as a woman, in Japan, make sure you know good Japanese if you want to stay for a longer period of time. Recommended resources: BAB and the Swedish Women Educational Association (SWEA). Other jobs done in Japan: None. BAB
by Ali Muskett
Images provided by Ali Muskett.
A float at the Hamamatsu Festival.
Where do you live and what’s it like? I live in Hamamatsu, which is a large city in Shizuoka Prefecture, right in the middle of Japan. Despite a population of over 800,000, Hamamatsu is not considered a major city by many people, and it’s certainly not somewhere that the average tourist would visit. However, Hamamatsu is an exciting and very international city. There are around 19,000 Japanese/Brazilians working in Hamamatsu, and a large number of expats from Brazil and many other countries living and working here. There is a really strong Brazilian influence in the city, and you can even catch small Brazilian street carnivals and events sometimes. Hamamatsu is a lot more spread out than Nagoya (where I used to live). There’s a lot of countryside in the surrounding areas and I can even see mountains in the distance on a clear day. People say that you need a car to get around, but I’ve been managing pretty well on the buses and trains, which have a fair bit of signage in English. What is your town known for? Hamamatsu is famous for two things: eel and the Hamamatsu Festival. Eel (unagi) is famous here, and eels are caught in nearby Lake Hamana. Even if you feel a bit squeamish about trying eel, I recommend hitsumabushi (grilled eel on rice), which is absolutely delicious. The Hamamatsu Festival happens annually from May 3 to 5. It’s a spectacular event, including a kite battle on the beach during the day, and parades of large floats around the town at night. The city comes alive with the sounds of the festival, and doesn’t sleep for three days! What do you think are some must-do attractions in Hamamatsu? Some people are very negative about Hamamatsu because, let’s face it, it’s not Tokyo. But there are actually so many things to do here. There’s a small castle that is a good spot for autumn leaf viewing, the Hamamatsu Festival, which I mentioned
Unagi Inu, a local character. above, and the Museum of Musical Instruments where you can play instruments from around the world. If you’re willing to be a bit adventurous, there are also a lot of off-the-beaten-track attractions that you can reach by bus, such as the Ryugashido Caves, Kanzanji Hot Springs, Birdpia Hamakita Bird Park, and Nakatajima Sand Dunes. The Tourist Information Centre in the station has a great pamphlet in English that gives more information about these places. Also, Hamamatsu is known as the “city of music.” There are often musical events, such as taiko drumming or local bands playing by the station, and many of these events are free. Where is the best place to buy the food you miss from home? There’s a foreign food store called Seijyouishii in the basement of May One, which is the department store connected to Hamamatsu Station (it has a red sign and just says supermarket in English). It’s not huge, but I think it covers all the main things. I always find it hard to get food from England in Japan, but I can find a lot of American and Australian food here, and they do also stock my beloved Dorset Cereal (for homesickness emergencies!). Where can you buy books and media in your native language? My life generally revolves around the May One department store in the station. There’s a bookstore on the eighth floor called Yajimaya, which has the best selection of English books in town. They also have a fairly large selection of Japanese study books. I mean, it’s nothing compared to the selection you would find in Tokyo, or even Nagoya, but it’s enough to tide me over until another care package comes from home. Another good thing about Yajimaya is that there’s an Excelsior Caffe attached to it, so you can relax and read your newly purchased books over a coffee and cake, or meet your friends there to chat or study. Where do the expats hang out in your area? There are two Starbucks coffee shops in town. The main one is nicknamed Zaza Starbucks because it is on the first floor of the big shopping complex called Zaza City. Nine times out of ten, when you go in there you will run into another foreigner you know. If you happen to be in town on a Monday night, the place is usually overridden with foreigners, who generally meet there once a week to hang out before going on to a bar or restaurant. There is a huge expat community in Hamamatsu. Most of those whom I have met have been working as some kind of teacher, but I’m sure there are also other groups around, as I have seen women with children meeting at Starbucks during the day to catch up with a friend over coffee. Where do you get your hair done? I always
get my hair done in Toni & Guy, a British salon located in Zaza City. The staff are so kind and friendly and, up until recently, they had a lovely guy working there who spoke English. Unfortunately he’s left now, but the other staff do try their best to help foreigners. Hamamatsu is known as the windy city with good reason. It really blows here! So, when you get your hair done, make sure you find a weather-friendly style! Best place to grab a pint with friends? Brunch? There are a few foreigner bars in town (such as Liquid Kitchen, an Australian bar), but if you want somewhere nice to chat with some girlfriends I would highly recommend Passeretti (www.passeretti.jp), which is perfect for brunch with a mouth-watering selection of desserts (as well as main dishes, of course). If you want to try something a bit different for lunch or dinner, I would recommend Surabaya, which is an Indonesian restaurant near the station. It’s worth visiting for the décor alone, which makes me feel like I’m in Bali. Anything else you would want BAB readers to know about your town? Don’t dismiss it! Hamamatsu is so easily classed as an industrial city in the middle of Japan, but it’s also a lot more. So, if you happen to be passing through Shizuoka with some time to spare, why not make a stop, buy some unagi pie as a souvenir, and try to spot Mount Fuji from the top of Act Tower? For more information about the city, visit www.city.hamamatsu.shizuoka.jp/foreign/ BAB english/index.htm. Getting here: Hamamatsu is a stop on both the Tokaido line (some hikari and all kodama trains), as well as the Tokaido Shinkansen line. The nearest airport is Shizuoka Airport, roughly 40 kilometres away. Many of the places mentioned above are featured in my blog, Haikugirl’s Japan (www. haikugirl.wordpress.com), so please check it out. If you have any questions about Hamamatsu, please feel free to contact me at: ali@being-a-broad.com.
Being A Broad March 2011
a broad’s guide to...
HAIKUGIRL’S HAMAMATSU
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DOCTORS GONE? by Gautam A. Deshpande, MA, MD
While women nurses are present, female doctors are scarily under-represented in Japan.
Images: Ken Lee.
women’s health
WHERE HAVE ALL THE
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ender matters. The statement itself seems so obvious as to be a cliché, but it’s something that we are still learning in the global healthcare arena. Whether you are a woman or have a mother, sister, or daughter, the fact that a doctor’s gender matters in the sacred patient–physician relationship is, to some degree, intuitive. No matter who you are, when your body is laid bare in its most vulnerable state, gender and power dynamics cease being the stuff of graduate school dissertations and become focused, heightened, and threateningly real. Lest I be misunderstood, this is not to say that gender differences between physicians and patients necessarily lead to strife— as a male primary care physician, I’d like to think that I provide empathic care to all my patients regardless of gender (or race, creed, and colour, for that matter). Nor do I mean to suggest that all women prefer being cared for by women physicians—in fact, a female friend recently confided to me that she preferred seeing male physicians when I brought up this topic. But her case stands in stark contrast to, say, my mother, who still remembers the nearly total lack of empathy shown
While women do indeed graduate from high school in similar numbers to men, only 30 percent matriculate to medical school. This may have to do with discrepancies in traditional social expectations (balancing career with a desire to raise a family), family expectations ( Japan continues to have a strong patrilinear physician career path, wherein the sons of physicians become physicians), as well as a marked lack of role models at the high school and early college levels. Of the 30 percent of women who comprise medical students in Japan, the majority do well and graduate into a residency program, again reflecting the fact of equal competency and ability compared to male peers. However, a study in 2009 by researchers at the University of Tokyo found that the physician workforce in Japan was comprised of only 16 percent women in 1990, and that this actually represented a decline compared to 1980! This is nothing short of shocking. By comparison, in most economically developed countries, the physician gender gap has not only closed at a meteoric pace over the last several
he physician workforce in Japan was comprised of only 16 percent women in 1990, and this actually T represented a decline compared to 1980! to her by a male obstetrician (the guy who delivered me), an experience that has prompted her in the ensuing four decades to continue going out of her way to find female physicians. She would have to go far, far, far out of her way in Japan. I moved to Japan a few years ago to help my wife be closer to her aging parents. Working now as a healthcare policy and practice researcher at a large Japanese hospital, the paucity of female physicians is noticeable, and the dearth of female physicians over the age of forty is striking. Why is this, given that Japan has an excellent secondary school system—especially in math and science— that graduates young women at rates equal to or slightly exceeding their male classmates? It turns out that the low numbers of women physicians is a multi-step process of attrition.
decades, but has overshot in a number of areas. According to recent US census information, women healthcare practitioners (not including nurses) comprise more than 65 percent of the practitioner workforce. At the risk of sounding glib, the huge discrepancy between women physicians in the US and Japan may be plausibly explained in one word: kids. The University of Tokyo study found a steep and sudden decline in women physicians in their late 20s to early 30s, while men continued to work into their 60s. Having seen numerous female physician colleagues leave the workforce shortly after marriage or pregnancy, the pressure to be a “good mom” by conventional Japanese standards is evident to even an outsider like me and undoubtedly plays an enormous role in leeching away women physicians. Anecdotally,
stories of employment conditional upon “not getting pregnant any time soon” are, sadly, not uncommon. In addition, healthcare facilities and other employers appear to tacitly accept, or even encourage, permanent retirement of women physicians by making it exceedingly difficult for a physician-mother to return to the rigours of clinical practice. Lack of part-time employment structures, flexible working hours, daycare facilities, and upward career mobility are often cited as reasons why women physicians choose to stay home. As a male American physician, I run the risk of sounding interfering at best, or patronising at worst, when I level this fairly sizeable criticism at the Japanese healthcare system, one that has welcomed me with open arms. But the stakes are, quite literally, too high to ignore. With Japan’s rapidly aging population and shrinking youth base, a physician shortage of epic proportions is widely anticipated and has been well-publicised in the professional and mainstream media alike. At the same time, massive physician maldistribution towards large cities and away from Japan’s numerous rural areas leaves vulnerable a large portion of the most at-risk in the Japanese population. Finally, extreme shortages of physicians in critical specialties such as obstetrics/ gynecology and pediatrics (which just happen to be traditionally women-fielded…coincidence? I think not), have led to relatively isolated but widely publicised, horribly unfortunate patient outcomes. These have unfairly become the international face of Japanese healthcare, with stories running in the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, and Newsweek, in addition to domestic news outlets. Making it easier for 15 percent of an entire nation’s physicians, currently absent, to return to clinical care will put a large dent into these impending issues. As more women physicians are encouraged to return to or stay at work, this will promote a positive feedback cycle in which young women residents, medical school students and high school students will have the confidence and support to make the admittedly difficult decision to forgo a traditional life in order to substantially contribute to the health of a nation. On a very personal note, as a husband and father in a bicultural family in Japan, I anticipate being in the country long enough for my prostate to act up, several joints to wear out, and perhaps even an organ system to fail altogether. Ensuring that my adopted home has a diversity of well-trained and accessible professionals to take care of us is of vital importance to me, BAB my family, and my community.
ULTIMATE URBAN ADVENTURE by Jessica Korteman
I
have travelled on the Yamanote Line, that accesess the heart of Tokyo, countless times. Although I have never travelled its full circle in one go, I know it would take approximately one hour. I wonder how long it would take to walk it? This was the question I pondered as I held onto the handrail and stared at the screen on an early-morning train making its way through the cover of darkness. This was not a hypothetical question, but one that I would find the answer to in the not-too-distant future. Because that is exactly what I was about to do: walk the Yamanote line. You may think I am crazy. I mean, why walk when there is a perfectly efficient and convenient train system at my disposal? Well, the idea came from a group I am involved in, the Oxfam Japan International Volunteer Group (IVG). The IVG is the English-speaking arm of Oxfam Japan, an international NGO providing emergency relief and development projects worldwide. It is run entirely by volunteers and holds a variety of regular fundraising events to raise awareness of issues facing the millions suffering from poverty and injustice around the world. We hold Awareness Workshops twice a month where volunteer instructors present a variety of topics that allow participants to share opinions about global issues. We also run fortnightly pub quizzes where attendees can enjoy a fun night out while putting their knowledge to the test. The latest event to be added to our calendar is the Tokyo Yamathon—a physical endurance, teamwork and navigational challenge, and the ultimate urban adventure. The idea itself is simple: teams of three to four people walk the entire length of the Yamanote Line in the shortest possible time. However, the event includes a host of variables to make every team’s experience unique. With almost infinite possibilities, the Yamathon is an event that one could repeatedly take part in and never have the same experience twice. I was making my way to Harajuku, one of Tokyo’s biggest attractions known for its cheap shopping and as a guaranteed spot to view some of Tokyo’s quirkiest cosplay fashion. I arrived just as
the sun started to throw early morning light on a waking city. As I made my way to Yoyogi Park, just a couple of minutes’ walk from the station and the site of the official Yamathon opening ceremony, I glanced over at an empty Takeshita Dori, Harajuku’s famous shopping strip known for its insane crowds, especially on weekends. With the shops’ shutters pulled down and barely a soul in sight, this was the beginning of a whole day of discoveries: seeing the familiar in a new light and discovering the ignored and less obvious as unsung delights. As teams began to arrive, excitement began to build. With an off-hand idea a couple of months earlier we had created the inaugural Tokyo Yamathon with 110 participants across 29 teams, contributing ¥123,000 to Oxfam Japan in 2010. One of the things I love about the IVG is the freedom to decide on the scope of our activities. We choose the events we would like to hold, and as a team work out a way to achieve them. There was a sense of history in the starting of a tradition that could become the ultimate urban adventure for foreigners and locals alike. At 7am, the first of the teams made their way to Harajuku Station to buy a ¥130 train ticket to mark their starting time and take an initial photo, the first of 30 they would take on the course, one at each station along the way (two at Harajuku station, at both the beginning and end). From there, walking or running were the only permissible forms of transportation. The Yamathon is unique in that there is no set course, the only requirement being that teams must visit all 29 JR stations on the Yamanote—and, of course, no train travel! Teams can either move in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. Teams are provided with a Google map as a guide, but are encouraged to use their creativity to find the best shortcuts—whether they be through parks, underground passageways, or shopping malls. This navigational challenge adds another fun, competitive element to the event. It’s like going orienteering, but with the whole of inner-city Tokyo as your canvas. Or as one team put it, it’s like a treasure hunt. Unlike other marathon events that require months of serious training, the Yamathon is suitable for those of all ages and fitness levels. Spirited competitors can take on the event as an athletic challenge, while others make it an extended stroll, taking in some of Tokyo’s most infamous sites as well as hidden gems in back streets. While we set a target time of 12 hours, there is no time limit, so teams are free to set their own pace and take as many breaks as they like. As teams can travel in either direction around the loop, teams often cross paths, which creates not only spirited competition but also a nice sense of camaraderie and common experience. Discovery is part of this urban adventure and
Loving the journey!
Image: Rachel Pilbeam.
Image: Andrew Hancock.
More than 100 people took part in the last Yamathon.
community
TOKYO YAMATHON: THE
teams passing each other from opposite directions often pass along information about great things they find and what to look out for along the way, including delicious snack stops to keep you genki. You may think you have seen Tokyo before, but Tokyo by foot presents new facets to a city that many of us foreigners have grown to love. Even for the numerous Japanese who took part, many said it was as if they had really experienced Tokyo for the first time. So the answer to my question is: 12 hours. Six and a half for runners. Can you do it faster? Join us for our now twice yearly urban adventure and be a part of the fastest growing event in Tokyo. Want to know more about the IVG? Check out www.oxfam.jp/en/whatyoucan/ivg. The IVG is currently seeking volunteers to take on leadership roles and is actively recruiting new board members to fill the positions of president, vice-president, promotions coordinator, awareness coordinator, fundraising coordinator, and website coordinator for the April 2011–March 2012 term. If you’ve ever thought about volunteering and want something great to add to your CV, then now is the time to join us! Being part of the IVG Board is a rewarding experience. Gain professional skills that look great to any prospective employer while contributing to a great cause and having fun as part of a supportive and passionate team. We invite anyone interested in being on the new board or any other of our volunteering opportunities to attend one of our monthly meetings, or email oxfamjp.ivg.coordinator@ gmail.com for more info. The next Yamathon will be held on Saturday, April 9, 2011. To register or for more info, please BAB see: www.tokyo-yamathon.com.
Being A Broad March 2011
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OUT AND
ABOUT T
hough it can sometimes be hard to find them initially, there are tons of events going on—in Tokyo and around Japan—where foreign women can feel very much at home. While BAB offers several women and girls-only events, plenty of other organisations offer events geared to the entire expat community, which, of course, includes plenty of you amazing women. Here we give you a peek into just a few of these great events, hopefully insipiring you to venture out to some of your own. If you’ve attended or organised an event somewhere in Japan where foreign women were in attendance, and would like it to appear in a future issue of BAB, please send your photos to editor@being-a-broad.com, and let us know when and where they were taken. Kanpai!
images: Joy Fajardo/www.joyfajardo.photoshelter.com
Run for the Cure (November 27, 2010)
BAB Girls’ Night Out (January 24, 2011)
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Biervana Brunch (January 30, 2011)
FALLING FOR AN
she found love in Japan
With her new husband in the Maldives.
Image provided by Sabrina Olivieri-Tozawa.
UNUSUAL SALARYMAN by Sabrina Olivieri-Tozawa
“
I want to go home!” Those were my first thoughts about life in Japan. Just arriving from New York, where life was easy and I was quickly able to acclimatise, I was all the more cultureshocked when landing in Tokyo. Struggling to find a place in this country, I learned a lot about myself, changed as a person, and finally started to love living in Japan. That was the reason why I decided to come back from my home country, Luxembourg, why I decided to take Japanese classes, why I decided to find a job in Tokyo, and why I didn’t want to leave. Even now, I have more reasons than these to make me stay in the land of the rising sun! AUTOMOBILES: But let’s start from scratch to tell you my BEAUTY: Japanese love story: My best Japanese friend, Ryoko-chan, was trying to take my mind off things and wanted to introduce me to a representative, Hideki, who was coming to her office. Honestly, the first time she showed me his picture on her mobile phone, I was disappointed. Ryoko-chan told me how handsome and what a nice and kind person he is. However, from that picture, I was only able to think: “Oh no, she wants to present me to a typical Japanese salaryman. No go!” Not to hurt her feelings, I agreed to meet him and she organised a dinner. For moral support in case the evening turned out badly, I asked another friend of mine, Chiara, to join us. It was lucky I did so, as I learned later that the Japanese way of meeting someone always involves more than just two. Before our first meeting, I had no real motivation and had it not been for Ryoko-chan and Chiara, I would have cancelled the dinner with the Japanese salaryman. On the way to the restaurant, I told Chiara that we would not stay too long! Arriving at the restaurant, Ryokochan and her other friend were already waiting, but there was neither hide nor hair of my blind date. Suddenly, Ryoko-chan’s mobile was ringing: he would be late because of his work. ‘A typical Japanese salaryman…,’ was still my only thought. While waiting for Hideki to come, we already started to warm up and have an aperitif. Finally
he arrived and it was worth waiting, because the Japanese salaryman who entered the restaurant was not at all the person I imagined and much more cute than on that silly mobile phone. And with his eyes looking so trustful and warmly into my direction, I can say now that I had a little crush on that Japanese man—who could have known? Speaking about several general topics, time just flew and we ended up having a traditional second party at another bar and even extended our date to a karaoke box, where we four were singing until early in the morning. I had to admit that Ryoko-chan made a good choice and that she was not at all wrong about how handsome Hideki was. As it was the end of fiscal year and Hideki was busy, I had to wait for more than a month to meet him again. And this time it was a real tête-àtête date, just us two. Thinking back, I have to admit that on that day I behaved just like a teenager: I went to the hairdresser, put on my best clothes, and scurried around while doing my makeup. Just before I left the house, it started to rain cats and dogs (luckily I was ready quite early). I called a cab, but all the taxis were busy and it was getting late. I wanted to avoid being late on our first date, as I did not know what to say to Hideki. Eventually I managed to get a cab and finally arrived at the station, my hair a little bit disordered, but still on time. When I turned around in the crowd, I remember, as a kind of magical moment, that in all the faces of the crowd the first person’s face I saw was Hideki’s. We greeted shyly and headed to the restaurant. As I was a little bit delicate about Japanese food, Hideki, before our date, discreetly inquired and made some special requests to the cook for me. How indulgent! I was very concerned about our communication and especially about the topics of our conversation, as I was not fluent in Japanese and was scared Hideki would be too shy to speak all evening in English. My initial fears were hushed as Hideki was leading the conversation and our communication took a natural flow. It was a really nice and unforgettable dinner, even though I had to refuse some food… Hideki surprised me by bringing me to a very small and nice bar and we enjoyed concluding the evening with a nice chat and delicious drinks! We definitely were both open to meet more often and continued seeing each other regularly. Even though we met several times, we never kissed and I was honestly waiting for that day to happen! When it happened, I could only tell him that I was glad he finally got the courage to do so and that (compared to Europeans) he took
quite some time to kiss me! To my surprise he explained to me that in Japan, typically the boy first asks the girl if they want to be a couple and then they kiss. Luckily, he didn’t ask me as I think I would have fled right from the spot! As in every first state of being in love, we enjoyed our time together, talked about our future and also living together. After several months of being in a relationship, we moved in together (quite a big step for a Japanese man, as, even though it’s changing, the tradition says that you only move in with your wife) and he presented me to his family. However, shortly after our moving, our relationship got tested: I had to go back to Luxembourg because my mum fell sick, and I couldn’t let her endure that by herself. We decided that Hideki would come visit me as soon as possible, not only to see me, but also to meet my family. It was the hardest six months in our relationship, but we passed through this experience together and it only strengthened our love and respect for each other. Back in Tokyo, we slowly got re-accustomed to living together and one day (more precisely on Hideki’s birthday), he popped the question. However, it was so spontaneous and unexpected (and in Japanese) that I was not able to answer him on the spot. Not insisting on it, Hideki one day mentioned cautiously that I never answered his question and enquired if I would not be considering marrying him. I told him that I was so surprised that I was not able to say anything then but that of course I was considering marrying him! Hideki was the first man I was able to imagine having a family and settling down with. So why not marry him? We started to think about the wedding and, a few months later, during a night walk under the cherry blossoms, he romantically asked me again and I said yes! From that day, we made it official and told our families and all our friends. As we wanted to have the wedding on October 10, 2010, and as it was nearly impossible for our families and friends to either gather in Japan or Luxembourg, we decided to fly to the Maldives to have our dream wedding on the beach and have this special day just to ourselves, both of us in paradise. Of course, we are now in the middle of planning parties in both countries, but the most important thing is that we found ourselves. On another note, let me tell you that Ryoko-chan is of course also coming to our wedding party in Luxembourg. We even asked her to sign our wedding notice, as she was the decisive and prime mover in the early stages of our life together! Reflecting on our love story, I can say that after meeting Hideki, my life turned out just perfect! BAB Being A Broad March 2011
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Being A Broad Resources
FAMILIES: BEAUTY:
by CAROLINE POVER
translation by Satomi Matsumaru
ASK CAROLINE
ABOUT LIFESTYLES, CONFIDENCE, FRIENDSHIP, APPEARANCES, CULTURE, CAREERS, LOVE, SEX, MOTHERHOOD...
Ba
Caroline Pover
www.askcaroline.com
se RE d on AL R Jap EAL an qu es es e w tio om ns en fro ! m
Teacher’s Edition Alexandra Press
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Being A Broad March 2011
Being A Broad Resources
HOTELS:
HAIR & BEAUTY:
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AUTOMOBILES: BEAUTY:
RELOCATION:
BUSINESS:
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Being A Broad March 2011
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FOOD & DINING:
FOOD & DINING:
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PHOTOGRAPHY:
PRINTING:
RELOCATION:
RELOCATION: BEAUTY:
COMMUNITY:
SPORTS & FITNESS:
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TAILORING: BEAUTY:
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COMMUNITY:
Being A Broad March 2011
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Being A Broad Resources PAMPERING & BEAUTY:
e Hom e of thrls’ gi BAB out. t nigh GNO: Next h 31, Marc 11. 20
laurel springs
Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office
We are here to protect you
-- If you are suffering from domestic and sexual violence --
PURPLE DIAL ０１２０-９４１-８２６
Calls accepted From 10 AM, February 8 (Tue) -- 9 PM, March 27 (Sun)
Many people are suffering from domestic and sexual violence. You are not alone. We are here to listen with our heart and to support you by giving right information. ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Information shared is strictly confidential Counseling is provided in English, Tagalog, Thai, Chinese, Korean and Spanish. When you dial the above number, you will hear a recorded voice in Japanese. Then press 4, if you are a foreign language speaker. Counseling is available free of charge, both for the call and the counseling service, between 9 AM and 9 PM, excluding the first and the last days. Counseling is available for everyone, regardless of visa status. Please seek help for any kind of suffering and damage. Your information will be kept strictly confidential. Callers not wanting to be known by name are also accepted. Counseling from friends and family of victims are accepted as well
Have you experienced any of the following? All of these are domestic violence (DV)
Sexual violence is not restricted by the type of perpetrator or the duration of violence
Physical violence: Punching, kicking or shoving Mental/psychologicalviolence: Ignoring you for a long period of time, not giving money for daily expenses or monitoring phone calls, e-mail and your interaction with friends Sexual violence: Coerced sex or noncooperation in contraception Others: No or lack of respect for your culture or religion or noncooperation in visa processing, etc.
Counseling is accepted from all persons who have experienced rape, rape stemming from sexual harassment and coerced sexual acts, regardless of who the perpetrator is and regardless of the duration, age or whether you have reported this to the police.
<Other reference information>
The following contact information includes institutions that accept counseling after the Purple Dial service ends, as well as information on relevant public services and systems. ※ Information on support provided to domestic violence (DV) victims: http://www.gender.go.jp/e-vaw/index.html (Information in Tagalog, Thai, Korean, Chinese, Spanish & Russian) ※ Human rights counseling center for foreign nationals:http://www.moj.co.jp/JINKEN/jinken21.html(Information in English) ※ Immigration Bureau website: http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/(Information in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish & Portuguese) ※ Multilingual community living information:http://www.clair.or.jp/tagengo/index.html (Information in English, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, etc.)