Final Fantasy and Animal Crossing Sales Explode

Julian:   0:08
Welcome back to Episode two of the Ryu Tokyo podcast. The show that brings you all the big news stories from this week in Japan. Coming to you live from Roppongi, Tokyo. I'm your host, Julian Domanski. And joining me is my co-host and Founder of Ryu Tokyo, Yasuharu Matsuno.  How you doing today, Yasu?

Yasu:   0:24
Great, Thanks.

Julian:   0:25
Yeah, very nice. Today is April 16th and on  today's show going to be discussing the following big news stories. The highly anticipated Final Fantasy 7 is finally released. Animal Crossing break sales records The problems with Hank Oh, in the modern age, the latest controversy from Shinzo Abe, and Japan's construction industries face harsh criticism after an employee's death.

Julian:   0:00
After years of teaser trailers, setbacks, and false rumors, the remake of Final Fantasy 7 has finally been released for the PlayStation 4. The game’s original release all the way back in 1997 blew audiences away with the use of 3D models used over 2D backgrounds, a technology that had never been used before in video games. These cutting-edge graphics mixed with a captivating original story created a timeless classic. However, this new remake is on track to be just as successful as it’s predecessor.

Julian:   0:00
Completely recreated from the ground up, Final Fantasy 7 Remake features a beautiful remastered OST, hours of new story which delves deeper into the world and characters than ever before and a new and engaging combat system that allows players to take part in the action directly. This remake is the first of several that will split the original story into different parts. This allows a fresh and new experience to be had even by veterans of the series. Unfortunately, it seems there will be quite a wait in-between part releases.

Julian:   0:00
So, Yasu. Did you mention you picked up this game?

Yasu:   1:44
Yes, I did, actually, it was released exactly a week ago. So, yeah, I basically pre-ordered on Amazon and I got the software, I installed it on my Playstation 4, but I haven't got time to play it yet.

Julian:   2:02
The age-old problem of being an adult and liking video games.

Yasu:   0:00
Exactly.

Julian:   0:00
Were you a big fan when you were a kid?

Yasu:   2:10
Yeah, So I still remember more than 20 years ago, actually, back in 1997 when the original version came out, I only had a super Nintendo and I was playing like Final Fantasy 7, well not, Final Fantasy 6. So I went to my friend's house to, you know, check out what 7 is like. And I was so shocked that all the characters, cities are in 3D. I still remember the kind of shock that I had. And yeah, fast forward 20 plus years, look at the beautiful graphics of this remake.

Julian:   2:57
Quite different. I mean, it's funny to think that back in the day, we were so blown away by the graphics, right. But now, when you look at the characters and Cloud has, like balls for arms, like most of the character you could barely see their faces so blurry. It was kind of the same when I first played a Resident Evil, or Biohazard they call in Japan. But there's a bit where you're walking in the corridor and these dogs burst into the window, and at the time it was terrifying, right? But now, having played it recently, just as a joke, it's just so bad. It's crazy.

Yasu:   3:32
As you mentioned. What's interesting is that back then, we never thought the graphics were bad. We rather thought graphics are superb. It was, like, unbelievable that everything was in 3D. But now we're more used a lot better quality, better graphics, and once we get used to such standard, it's hard for us to go back, to the past.

Julian:   3:58
I think, so. It's kind of shocking how quickly you get used to it. So I always say every time a new consul comes out and I play like the first game that comes out with new graphics and that's my new standard. Like, I can't go back to the old stuff. I mean, I can, but it doesn't obviously doesn't look the same. It's just how quickly you adjust to that new level. But yeah, this new Final Fantasy, I haven't played it yet, it looks incredible. I know there's been a bit of controversy online because the change of the battle system used to be turn-based, you know, the classic J-RPG format, but now it's a bit more action-RPG based.

Yasu:   4:32
It seems like it, but I think that there is no point repeating the same thing.

Julian:   4:39
Yeah, I think so, yeah. I mean, you can get Final Fantasy 7 on like almost every PlayStation, PlayStation 2, 3, 4, can get it on Nintendo Switch as well, you get it on PC, it's on everywhere. So if you're gonna remake something totally agree, you know, try make it look fresh, do something different. From what I hear is it uses the battle system from Final Fantasy 15, which is a bit more combat-oriented.  And I don't get, I'm not really big fan of menus and classic RPG battle, so I prefer that look more action-based thing. So I think you might pick it up soon. It looks pretty good.

Julian:   5:14
The latest entry in the popular Animal Crossing game series, New Horizons, has broken Nintendo Switch sales records, selling over 1.88 million copies in the first three days, making it the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch game in Japan to date. The explosive success can be accredited to the unique style of the game, which is centered around the player’s peaceful and relaxing days as they grow their village. Tasks like bug catching or fishing are as intense as the game gets, and each villager has their quirky personality that comes out the more you get to know them.  It ends up being a perfect counter to the stress and uncertainty many people are currently feeling—the recent trends of self-isolation and staying home further complimented the timing of this game’s release.

Julian:   5:57
So personally, I've actually been playing this game quite a lot. I'm a big Animal Crossing fan. Um, I think I've clocked for about 60 hours now, which is pretty pretty bad.

Yasu:   6:09
Oh, wow. You mean the latest one?

Julian:   6:13
Yeah, so it's called "Atsumare Dobutsuno Mori" in Japanese, right? So "Atsumare" is like, let's get together, right?

Yasu:   6:20
Yes.  

Julian:   6:20
Yeah, so in English, it's called New Horizons. But for me, I'm using it more to, I like the game, but actually I'm using it more to study Japanese. Because I'm trying to play more games in Japanese. When you are playing a game and like a character says something, you can't progress unless you understand it. So I feel like having that kind of pressure put on your understanding of the text. It helps you kind of understand it a little bit better, because of the way the game sells poets like just a little village of little characters stuff. They have all just talked about everyday stuff. So it's a bit more easy to digest. Well, I've tried to play recently, I tried to play Dragon Quest, you know, in Japanese. And it's just too...it's like Lord of the Rings but in Japanese. So I can imagine like a non-native English person, English speaker trying read Lord of the Rings would be quite difficult, but yeah, I'm really enjoying. Have you ever tried the series at all?

Yasu:   7:16
Yeah, I haven't played this one yet, but I played the one on Nintendo DS, I think it was around eight years ago. And, yeah, like for those who've never played this game like, it's somewhat similar to my craft in the Western world, except that it's more peaceful and relaxing as Julie mentioned.

Julian:   7:42
I mean, it's a big franchise and surprisingly, be franchised. But the reasons game overseas I had an extra boost in sales is just the current coronavirus situation. A lot of people are locked indoors, You know, if you're gonna play a game then playing a game about being stuck in a tropical island where you just catch bugs and eat through all day seems like a perfect way to escape.

Yasu:   8:02
And what I also heard is that this version allows us to play with eight players simultaneously.

Julian:   8:10
Yeah, you can play online, which is pretty funny, actually. because there's in the game they have this, the stock market. But they call it the Stork Market because basically by turnips. So what's the Japanese word for turnip?

Yasu:   8:24
Kabu.

Julian:   8:24
Kabu, right. So if you guys don't know, in Japanese. Kabu means stock as well, so Kabushiki, right, Kabushiki Kaisha is like a stock company. So it's a bit of a playing with words, so you buy Kabu, which is turnips and you buy them at low price, and you can sell them for really high price. So I found this really funny website online. It's called turnip exchange. So people, if they have like a high price on their island, they'll let people come to their island on the Internet. But they have to the people who come they want to sell their turnips right, get some good trade for their stocks. But they have to give presents to the island owners first. So it's actually, in a way, it's turned into this almost like Wall Street kind of stock trading simulator. It's quite funny, but there's lots of these little puns and things in there, which again go back to the language thing, a lot of these little jokes in the dialogue that sometimes I don't understand, so you have to dig a little deeper and you'll find some quite interesting quirks. So I think if you're learning any language, it actually might be a good game to pick up. But actually just one last point to mention the game sales. So it sold 1.8 million units in the first 3 days. But actually now, checking the latest sales day from yesterday came out, it's now sold 3.3 million units.

Yasu:   9:39
Right, and that that's like excluding the number of downloads?

Julian:   9:44
That's physical sales, that's physical only, and that puts it only 0.2 million behind (the latest version of) Pokemon. And, like everybody knows Pokemon, right, even old parents, your grandparents know Pokemon. But most people probably know what Animal Crossing is. So to say that it's basically it's as popular because it sold that many units in, like three weeks and Pokemon came out in November. The latest Pokemon game, so I imagine that within the next week it will have solved more than Pokemon, which to me, is insane. So, yeah, a runaway success for Animal Crossing.

Julian:   10:19
So next up is the problem with Hanko. In Japanese society, using a hanko, a stamp or seal used to represent a signature, is as ingrained into culture as bowing or using chopsticks. No official document gets turned in without the hanko seal, usually several, of approval. On any given day, a single person could stamp dozens if not hundreds of documents with their personalized hanko. Recently, Japanese businesspeople are expressing how they desire to want to work from home and avoid public commutes but claim they cannot due to their hanko responsibilities. The majority of documents also requiring the hanko of several higher-ups in ascending order makes it even easier to justify going to work. However, the fact that digital hankos exist and can be stamped onto digital files as needed raises obvious doubts about the need for direct stamping. The main question posed here is whether business people genuinely feel that they cannot forgo stamping documents, even during a state of emergency, or whether this is simply an excuse for some to continue working.

Julian:   11:18
So Yasu, as a foreigner, I can often get away with using my hanko. I do own one, but I don't actually have to use it once officially in Japan. But as a Japanese person and as the CEO of a company, how often do you have to use your hanko and how important you think it is to your daily business?

Yasu:   11:38
Yes, I actually do use a lot of hankos in my daily operations, probably almost every day, pretty much for all official documents related to the company. But actually at the same time, it's not the most efficient way of executing the documents. So I did some research and found out that hankos and signatures in Japan, from a legal standpoint, have the exact same effect. Which was a bit surprising because I thought, you know, that's the other way around. However, there is a problem in case of the dispute. And when someone starts complaining that his signature is forfeited and thus the contract is invalid, it will actually be your responsibility to disprove his claim, which is virtually impossible.

Julian:   12:34
Yeah, you have to prove somebody else's signature is not correct. So I guess does that count for all versions of someone's signature? Because for me personally, sometimes like my signature changes because I forget what it is just like write my name quickly or sometimes we do it like half the length or it's so inconsistent, which I kind of It's a kind of a good point for Hank. Oh, I guess so. It's the same thing, but that sounds like a tough job to do to prove somebody else's signature is not his, right.

Yasu:   13:07
As you say, I kind of see where you're coming from and even for my own signatures, sometimes you're in a rush, and maybe you just spend one second to sign on a cab or something, then you know, even you wouldn't be able to tell whether it's your or not, right. So as you said, for someone else to prove it or disprove it is almost impossible. So that's the biggest issue. And on the other hand, if it was a hanko, because all important hankos or "Jitsuin" are registered to your local musical office or a branch office of the Legal Affairs Bureau, it's easier to prove or disprove authenticity based on the certification.

Julian:   13:54
How much variation can you get hanko design? Because obviously its the kanji of your name, right? But can you have it written in different fonts or does it need to have a universal...I guess it doesn't really matter what the actual design is, right?

Yasu:   14:07
Yeah, the design doesn't matter. And actually, variation is infinite. You can have whatever fonts you like, but you can only basically register one hanko at your municipal office or the legal bureau.

Julian:   14:33
So I heard that for companies the boss of a company, they all have their own personal hankos, but there's also like company hankos as well, right. So if actually my wife was at this problem before where is she's basically a  director. She runs a business basically but she's not the main shareholder, so she needs to move large amounts of money and you go to the bank. She needs to have her hanko, her boss's hanko, and the company hanko to verify all. But she can stamp them alone herself, but which seems weird because she just goes there. She could have stolen them. You know, I guess, is the fact that she's carrying someone else's hanko then she must have got them, they must have authorized it. So you don't actually have to physically be there to stamp it. Which almost makes it redundant, right? Because the whole point of saying that Hanko is more secure and it's like you have to verify. But if someone stole your hanko, there's no way to prove that you didn't stamp something right? Unless it's a video of someone else like physically doing so maybe that's kind of a negative side of the hanko.

Yasu:   15:43
I actually do agree with that. So one of the most important assets of any Japanese company is hanko. Because, as you say, if it's stolen, then the person will be able to represent a whole company here. And he can basically, you know, claim as the owner of the company. So he will be able, sorry, maybe not an owner, but at least representative of your company. So he will be able to do whatever he wants with the hunko, including like withdrawing cash from the bank account.

Julian:   16:23
So do you think that people say for bank example, do you think people ever get suspicious if someone comes in, and perhaps there, like their physical appearance, doesn't quite match the status of a hanko. Do you think other people doubt that like, this is actually your hanko or not?

Yasu:   16:38
Oh, you're actually correct because, at the bank, they also require you to present your ID.  

Julian:   16:46
Right? Okay.  

Yasu:   16:47
And they, of course, take a look at the ID or whatnots and then check if the picture on ID and you match.

Julian:   16:56
Oh, uh, well, that takes against some of the worries I had. If you're trying, like, defraud a company...

Yasu:   17:03
But you would still be able to settle a contract with other companies with just hankos. And for those contracts, you don't need to, like, attach a copy of your photo ID or anything. So, it's still super risky, dangerous.

Julian:   17:23
Yeah, if you want to sign up to some big contracts on someone else's behalf without them agreeing.

Julian:   17:32
Okay, so next up, we got more controversy from the prime minister, Shinzo Abe.  

Julian:   17:39
Amid the coronavirus panic, particularly over the past several weeks, Japan prime minister Abe Shinzo has seen a fair share of mixed reactions to his handling of the situation. However, his recent video might have landed him in his most controversial spotlight to date. Last week, Abe Shinzo posted a twitter video with Japanese pop star Hoshino Gen. Gen sang and played guitar in the video alongside Abe as he expressed the struggles of not being able to go outside or see his friends. His video essentially showed him at home, hanging out with his dog and drinking tea. Abe stated that by staying home, we are helping to save lives and ease the burden on the medical staff. His intent to promote self-isolation seemed apparent, but many Twitter users were quick to point out flaws in the video. 

Julian:   0:00
The reason for the public outcry was mainly cited as a lack of understanding from Abe himself. A vast majority of people are still being required to go to work to make a living, despite the growing corona numbers. While people risk their health and lives to fight through the corona, life-saving decisions like implementation of a national stipend to support those who have lost their income or to aid struggling small businesses seem to be lost in political limbo. While the population is getting restless for decisions to be made, and emotional appeal video of this kind, which seemed to lack any sense of urgency, was the perfect recipe for the media explosion that followed.  

Julian:   19:01
So what do you think about this story, Yasu? Personally, I felt it was mostly innocent misjudgment on Abe's part. I guess I don't quite understand the subtle mindset of the Japanese psyche. Do you think this was a bit out of touch when you kind of missed the mark on this one?

Yasu:   19:20
Yeah, I understand the reaction from the public, but I personally think that it doesn't matter what he does at home as long as he does what he has to do as a prime minister. And there are always some people in Japan that want to go extreme saying things like, you know, politicians should work 24/7 without any salaries or rest or even sleep. And how can anyone work productively without taking a rest?

Julian:   19:48
Yeah, that's crazy. Or without any salary, haha.

Yasu:   19:50
Haha, for you and I for sure.

Julian:   19:54
I'm one of the people who say that, would they like to work for their salary?

Yasu:   20:00
Yeah, I mean, you know, they're just talking nonsense, right. But I know where many people are coming from, and they're quite dissatisfied seeing the video because they feel that the government hasn't done enough most notably financial aids and whatnots to keep their daily lives going. You know, if I were one of them, I could have been so annoyed seeing him like so relax at home, drinking tea, and playing with his dog or cat and yeah, so it's quite an emotional reaction.

Julian:   20:37
I mean, I thought the message of the video is solid, you know, it's just saying, "Stay at home," right? He's obviously not doing that all the time, right? And I would imagine that that whole video was filmed in about five minutes. Someone like his personal assistant was like, "Okay, just hold the dog. Drink tea and sit over there and pretend like you're reading a book." It's not like he was doing that all day, and someone just took snippets throughout the day, right. So it seemed like a bit of an overreaction. But I was wondering the because I've seen a lot of things like this popping up like someone from Brian May from the other day of like...do you know Brian May?

Yasu:   21:12
From Queen?

Julian:   21:13
Yeah, he put a video of himself playing one of the Queen's songs.

Yasu:   0:00
Oh really.

Julian:   21:17
And he put like, a challenge, and people were reposting on the Internet. We're like half the videos are his original clips and they were jamming along with it. So I was wondering, like, was this actually like a collaboration with Hoshino Gen? Or did he put that video out first of him playing guitar on his own, and Abe kind of like posted it together?

Yasu:   21:35
So, yeah, Gen Hoshino is one of the most popular artists in Japan today, and he posted his video...was he playing guitar?

Julian:   21:48
Yeah, he's playing guitar and singing, right?

Yasu:   21:50
And he basically, you know, called out all people to join him, collaborative videos.

Julian:   22:00
Oh, that's what I thought it seemed like. Because I think people were saying like he was like, teaming up with him or something a lot. But I felt like, yeah, but I thought Gen Hoshino put the video out first to his fans, right? Say, stay home. And then people were kind of like downloading and redoing it because it looks like being a lot of celebrities doing that kind of thing.

Yasu:   22:22
Yeah, so this is definitely not just Abe, but a lot of celebrities and non-celebrities are doing.

Julian:   22:29
So our last story of the day.

Julian:   22:30
Shimizu Kensetsu, one of the five major construction companies in Japan, announced an immediate stop to all construction projects from April 13th following a corona outbreak of 3 employees, and even one worker death due to the virus. The employee had come to work for four days straight with a fever and symptoms of the virus. Even with the stopping of all projects, the company is already facing backlash for lack of proper treatment of employees. Not only did the company itself receive a five percent drop in stocks following the announcement, but the construction industry as a whole also fell in stocks. Private companies are now being criticized for lack of responsibility concerning employee health. Another concern is the speed of available testing in Japan. If tests are not readily available for those who show symptoms, even companies who are accurately monitoring their employees will not be able to prevent outbreaks. In the meantime, over 2,000 employees of Shimizu Kensetsu are being sent home for a month.

Julian:   0:00
So this is obviously a concern for a lot of people in any profession, right. But I guess in building sites, there's a lot of people, sometimes gathered quite closely together stuck in small spaces. Do you think companies, in general, are doing enough to keep their employees safe in Japan?

Yasu:   23:56
Yeah, I think it depends on the industry as well, but I certainly think that the construction industry is not doing enough in terms of preventative measures. And as a matter of fact, like, are you know, walking in Roppongi, you see a lot less business people, but you still see lots of construction workers out there.

Julian:   24:21
Yeah, well, today especially, right. We've got some construction outside the building which hopefully you guys home gone here. But yeah, they don't seem to care at all. There's just the same amount of work going on as before the announcement. So I guess for some people, I mean, I don't know, for a lot of construction workers, do they work some more like day laborers might work on more loose contracts. So maybe they really can't afford to, not go to work, right? Or I don't know.

Yasu:   24:56
I don't blame the workers, you know. I imagine that many of them have no alternatives, so they, you know, just need to work regardless of the virus. But the companies are certainly responsible for you know, monitoring and managing the state of health of its employees, right.

Julian:   25:19
Yeah, well, I mean, certainly the study a preferred way to deal with this con situation. But I actually heard a story of a company in Yamagata Prefecture. This is certainly they're not the correct way to handle the situation. But there was a 20-year-old or 20 something-year-old employee that came to work. And told basically by the boss, the foreman of the construction company has told everyone to stay home. But basically, the next day, the guy came back to work and they got into a fight and the boss actually punching the guy in the face because basically, someone in the company had already had the coronavirus infection. And the boss was just, like, not happy that so he traveled from another prefect to come to work. But, you know, the boss wasn't happy that he'd elevated the risk of someone, you know, giving it to all the other employees, even though the guy himself didn't actually have coronavirus. But it seems that the boss was actually arrested after that, you know? Well, fairly. So you know, probably the best way to deal with this kind of thing, but it's just it's one of the probably many cases where people are obviously reacting in a negative way because of panic or of worry for everything really other people's safety stuff. It's a bit of a concern.

Julian:   26:41
Okay, so that's the last story of this week in Japan. To finish up, we've got phrase of the week. I'm gonna pass it over to Yasu now, who can introduce a new word.

Yasu:   26:49
In this section, we introduce you some useful, or not useful, “Japanese-English words.” Japanese-English or Wasei-eigo (和製英語) are Japanese-language expressions based on English words, or parts of word combinations, that do not exist in standard English or whose meanings differ from the words from which they were derived. Japanese-English word of the Week is…”Overshoot” or to be accurate “オーバーシュート” in Japanese. Have you heard of this phrase?

Julian:   27:25
Actually, no. I mean in English, yes, overshoot. So I mean, if I was gonna guess what the meaning it was...this is never the case because never means the same thing as the English, does it? Haha.

Yasu:   27:59
That's the point.

Julian:   27:59
Probably the most common way of hearing this in English is to overshoot the mark...to miss the target or  put too much effort into something or completely misjudged a suit situation, right? 

Yasu:   28:00
Yeah. Good guess, but wrong. This is a relatively new Wasei-eigo that Yuriko Koike, the governor of Tokyo started using about a month ago. Ooba shuto, is to describe a pandemic or an explosive surge in infections. In this case, the word overshoot exists in English, but the way it's used in Japan is so different.

Julian:   28:25
So I'm trying to wrap my head around. Is she means that, ah, the pandemic is growing? Is that what she means? Like overshoot...like it means that it's spreading? What does she mean when she uses this word?

Yasu:   28:44
Well, it's not just spreading, but it's supposed to mean an explosive surge in infections.

Julian:   28:51
Oh, Ok, a sudden increase.

Yasu:   28:54
So according to her Ooba Shuto hasn't happened yet. But, she's just afraid if people keep on going outside, then overshoot may happen.

Julian:   29:05
Ohh...we're gonna overshoot soon.

Yasu:   29:08
And I saw a tweet from BBC Tokyo correspondent Rupert Wingfield, he said, "Japan the only place in the world using the English phrase overshoot. What does it mean?" I imagine this is a normal reaction from most English natives, right?

Julian:   29:28
Yeah, I would imagine so. I mean, even for myself, someone who speaks, you know, possible Japanese, I guess I've not heard this one. You know, I always find these kinds of Wasei Eigo phrases pretty funny, but this is yes is definitely a new one. I don't know if you saw the videos. There was a kind of an announcement from Koike-san this week where she's basically making, like, a daily announcement about the virus, right? But she's making one every week, every Friday in English, right? I didn't know she spoke English. Actually, when I watched it, I was quite impressed with her level. She's really good at English, right? So for someone who has that level of English, how did she end up using this word?

Yasu:   30:09
That's what makes me wonder too. I was also surprised to see her, like, speaking English quite naturally. But yeah, for someone like her, why would she want to use such a weird wasei eigo, right? And what's more ironic is that for most Japanese locals, many actually complained that they don't understand what Ooba Shuto is. They actually demanded that politicians explain these terminologies in proper Japanese words. And in this case, like Kansen-bakuhatsu (感染爆発) Have ever heard of that?

Julian:   30:45
I think so.

Yasu:   30:46
Kansen (感染) means infections and Bakuhatsu (爆発) means explosion. Which seems like the most appropriate word to use.

Julian:   30:56
Yeah, And that brings us to the end of this week's episode. Whether you're listening to the podcast or watching on YouTube, make sure that you're subscribed for a new episode every week.

Yasu:   31:06
Thanks for listening, everyone Form or Japan-related content, check out ryutokyo.com.

Julian:   31:12
So let's hope we don't overshoot it this week. Everybody stay healthy, stay safe, and be sure to check back next week for the next episode of the Ryu Tokyo podcast!