Gaan of blijven? Dat is wat wellicht de meeste bezoekers en potentiele emigranten zich afgelopen weekend afvroegen op de Emigratiebeurs. Op zaterdag en zondag vond in het Expo Exhibition Centre te Houten de vijftiende internationale Emigratiebeurs plaats. De organisatie had vooraf via het Internet al een recordaantal kaarten verkocht, wat leidde tot een toeloop van zo’n 11000 bezoekers verdeeld over twee dagen. Willen echt zoveel mensen Nederland de rug toe keren en hun geluk elders … Continue reading
Posts about: Society
Lost in society: Tokyo’s homeless
Shinjuku. A major commercial and administrative center of Tokyo, one the most crowded cities on this planet and home to the busiest train station in the world. Every day tens of thousands Japanese crowd its streets. Although Japan’s economy has been in a downwards spiral for a long time – and with a quickly aging society where Japanese youngsters (even university graduates) have great troubles finding decent jobs – the streets of Shinjuku provide little … Continue reading
Three weeks after the World Cup
Until quite recently I had only heard about the two World Cup finals that the Dutch football team lost in 1970 (Germany) and 1974 (Argentina) and seen some video’s of those finals on YouTube. For years the lost finals of ’70 and ’74 were called ‘national trauma’s’ because the Dutch lost although they played brilliant football, known as ‘total football’, that is still remembered today. Today it is exactly three weeks since the final of … Continue reading
Een dag op het stembureau
Na weken van politieke debatten, beschouwingen en propaganda was het gisteren dan eindelijk zover: het uur van de waarheid voor de politieke partijen. Stemgerechtige burgers mochten – voor de zoveelste keer sinds 2000 – hun stem uitbrengen om te bepalen wie het de komende jaren mag gaan proberen in de Tweede Kamer. Ondergetekende maakte het Feest der Democratie rondom de Tweede Kamer-verkiezingen 2010 van dichtbij mee als stembureaulid op een stembureau in Barendrecht.
A world on it’s own: the Hachiko Area through Dutch eyes
Introduction The Hachiko Area is the area just outside Shibuya Station and in between the station and the famous scramble-crossing. Tens of thousands of people visit the area daily mostly on their way to meet someone or go somewhere, making Hachiko Area a truly fascinating place to be and to observe. The Hachiko Area is also one of the most famous meeting spots in Tokyo, which certainly adds to the amount of visitors the area … Continue reading
We and them: identity and homogeneity in Japan
Belief in a classless society and cultural essentialism form a big part of the widespread assumption by Japanese and non-Japanese alike that Japan has a homogeneous society. A belief which encompasses for example cuisine, popular culture and ethnicity. Japanese society however consists of many different minority groups such as the Ainu, Okinawans, burakumin, Zainichi, and migrant workers. Foreigners living in Japan are often lumped together as ‘the other’, ignoring the diversity among foreigners. In this … Continue reading
Public transport and the elderly: Tokyo on the verge of delay
TOKYO – Japan’s capital is facing an immense problem because of the growing presence of elderly in Japanese society, and it’s all happening inside it’s most famous symbols: the trains and subways. The punctuality and efficiency of Japan’s and in particular Tokyo’s public transport is in jeopardy, as the rapidly aging of society causes troubles in Japan’s public transport. Japan is the oldest society in the world in terms of demographics, meaning that in 2004 … Continue reading
Women cannot keep hands to themselves in public transport: men demand ‘men-only’ cars
TOKYO – Japan’s capital is facing an epidemic of women who cannot keep their hands to themselves and it’s all happening inside it’s most famous symbols: trains and subways. Increased lewd behavior by Japanese women in Tokyo’s public transport has caused a group of Japanese men to organize a action-committee and demand immediate action being taken against this disturbing development. During a press conference today they made their demands clear, stating that it is time … Continue reading