Olympian Switches to Uber Eats

Welcome back, everybody to episode six of the real Tokyo podcast, the show that brings you all the big news stories from this week in Japan. Coming to you live from the balmy Tokyo. I'm your host, Julian Umansky. And joining me is my co host and founder of Tokyo. Yasuharu Matsuno. How you doing today?

Pretty good. Thank you.

Summer's here. It's pretty, pretty toasty outside today.

Yes, it's almost like summer.

Yeah, wearing my mask on the train and down the street wasn't a pleasant experience.

I can imagine.

So it makes me concerned for when summer really kicks into gear it's gonna be it's gonna be tough. So today is May 15th. And in this episode, we're going to be discussing the following big news stories. Japan state of emergency is lifted in 39 prefectures, as aid package applications roll out large numbers of people crowd together. An Olympic athlete is working as an Uber Eats driver, Japan's longest running anime is put on hold. And celebrities break the mould by sharing their political opinions online. After announcing last week that the nationwide state of emergency will be continuing until the end of the month, the Prime Minister has just released a statement declaring that Japan will be lifting the state of emergency for 39 of its 47 prefectures. The decision was made after a meeting on the 14th with medical and economic experts, which had been announced together with the extension last week. As a result of the meeting, objective standards for releasing the state of emergency were established. The lift was supported by an estimate that currently only 0.5 people are affected out of every hundred thousand. Experts also came to a consensus that the quality of medical care has been steadily increasing as the number of patients decreases. As the remaining eight prefectures such as Tokyo and Osaka. They have been determined as still at risk and will remain in the state of emergency for now. However, another similar meeting has been planned for May 21st to reevaluate these prefectures conditions. If lifting the emergency declaration is possible, those prefectures are being considered to be reopened by the end of the month. From the prefectures that have been released from the state of emergency, the government is asking for continued cooperation for crona prevention by starting a new normal, which includes avoiding the three mitsus. So I can understand from an economic standpoint, why the government might want to open the economy as soon as possible. I still feel like they're trying to rush it a little bit.

I actually support this government's decision. But it was a bit unexpected, I would say, because I thought that the government wouldn't lift emergency declaration until the end of this month. And I think every country is now trying to find the right balance between staying safe and keeping the economy alive. And we can't just think about the risk of Corona and let the economy die, basically. So as far as I see the numbers, yes, Tokyo still has dozens of newly infected people every day. But that's not the case for most other prefectures in Japan. For example, you know, Miyagi Prefecture. Miyagi is the most populous prefecture in the Tohoku region, which has Sendai city with over 1 million people, but they only have five people like total of five people infected so far, and zero newly infected for the last 16 days in a row. And I also think that the government is now taking criticism from people more seriously. Well, people basically have been complaining that the decision making by the government has been So flow, right? And now it seems like we're, you know, trying to make decisions faster.

Hmm. Seems like they've got that the wrong way around there, right? It's like you got the start of a pandemic, you want fast reactions. And at the end of a pandemic, you want slow, well thought out reactions. So now it feels like they're just reacting on impulse. And to me, it just doesn't feel correct way around. I'm kind of worried a little bit.

Right. I see what you mean, yeah.

You know, I mean, this is in every country as well. A lot of people talk about, you know, a second wave coming, you know, and that's why people always say, like, flatten the curve, you know, it's not that you're going to eradicate the virus straightaway, but you want to reduce the rate that it spreads out. But just looking at the numbers. I think I mentioned this a few weeks ago, guys, if you want to check this out for yourself covid19japan.com . They have all at the most current stats, but just looking at about a week ago, on the sixth of May, there was 9,190 active cases in Japan. As of today, there are 4,859, so almost half in like nine days. So that's pretty good for active cases. And obviously, the recovery, the rough recovered amount is jumping up as well. So on the same day, the sixth had been 5,631 recovered patients, and there is now been 10,489. So that's almost doubled as well. There's a very kind of obvious crossover point on this graph. So it's interesting to see, but I think historically, with other viruses, and it's happened many times throughout human history, this is always the critical point when everyone thinks, oh, it's on the decline. It's safe. Let's just go back to normal.

Yeah, I think Abe also mentioned in the yesterday's press conference that he also doesn't exclude the possibility of the second wave or third wave coming.

Oh, that's, that's reassuring. Yeah,

right. And I I also agree with that. So I think in the worst case, if the situation gets out of control again, then, you know, we just need to declare a state of emergency again.

Again, it's probably most likely that it would happen in Tokyo first.

I mean, don't forget, the lifting of the emergency declaration this time is only for 39 prefectures, except for the most major cities in Japan. And of course, our cities, including Tokyo is still under the state of emergency.

Yeah, I mean, if you guys are home obviously you think of Tokyo as this mega city, but actually the city of Tokyo is it's not small, but it's much smaller than probably what you think is greater Tokyo area. But that includes five prefectures. I think it's Tokyo, Ibaraki, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama? I think all together, because they're all they're all basically connected. The city just spreads out for miles, isn't it? So that technically covers about 32 million people. But the inner Tokyo area is about 12 million people. But I guess when you've got those prefectures, there's there's so it's almost like there's not really a border between the prefectures. The city just bleeds over.

Yeah. And that's the reason why, for example, our declaration for Chiba Prefecture wasn't lifted this time, because it's basically you know, adjacent to Tokyo. And as you said, it's part of the greater I'd say, like Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

Yeah, I think I think that's how it's referred to. So our next news story of the week, details for applying for Japan's Ju-man or hundred thousand yen stimulus package are finally arrived across the country. Naturally, many people are eager to receive the much needed aid and are hurrying to send off their applications. Instead of a mailed application. An online application is possible for those who have a My Number card with a digital chip in it. Due to an annoying process of filling out a detailed application and mailing off a request, many people in Japan do not carry this card. In an effort to apply for the Juman and quicker, people are heading to city hall to apply for their official My Number card or to ask about details of the written application. An unfortunate side effect of this effort is having to physically go to City Hall. Large crowds of people hoping to apply for their Ju-man yen online, are now forming in city halls. For some people having the card alone does not allow them to apply and for others, specifically the elderly, applying online is a process that they do not understand. To make matters worse, the more people that crowded into these offices, the harder it becomes to practice social distancing. Waiting in line at City Hall can be a cramped experience under regular circumstances. Better yet when the entire community is trying to enter the building at the same time. Many citizens were extremely dissatisfied with the hours that they had to wait. I don't have a My Number card. Do you? Yes. I don't know how kind of popular they are. But I've been meaning to pick one up for a while.

Yeah, I have my My Number card. But, you know, the one I have is still attended in one without my picture. So I need to send my application with my passport photo to the, you know, local municipal office to receive the official one.

Right. I have that it's the paperwork, right?

Right.

But I think they send you that automatically?

They do.

Yeah, so it's like, especially like a credit card sized piece of card isn't it's a bit flimsy. It's got your number printed on but I think for this application, you need to have the digital chip, the real one. So for you guys at home wondering My Number basically, it was a system launched in 2015, I believe. And basically, it's just a code assigned to every citizen in Japan, and is a way for the government to easily register things like your social taxes, healthcare, insurance, that kind of stuff. Anytime you might need to go to the Kuyakusho, which is the city hall, and do any kind of documents paperwork, basically, you can just link your My Number code to the application you're trying to file or whatever it is. And it's just much easier to keep digital records.

Yeah, what I found annoying about this My Number card is that after you send the application form with your picture, you actually need to go back to the municipal office like, I mean, physically, to receive the official My Number card, during the working hours of the office, what that means is that they don't mail you the card for the security reasons, right. And everyone's busy, like, during the daytime, and they're closed on the weekend. So you got to go to the office and pick it up is a big hassle.

Yeah, I mean, the amount of time I've had to go to my local office and do do numerous amounts of different paperwork is quite annoying. So obviously the the the irony of the story being that, you know, the money is rolling out. And enough, not enough people have the card. So now they're panicking, thinking, "Oh, well if I apply online, I can get the money faster. So I need to go to town hall, get my mind on the card." And this is obviously creating obvious problems with social distancing. I haven't actually been to my local office for a few weeks. Have you been to yours? Do you know like, are they putting any measures into kind of, you know, the setting of like queue systems or like, usually there's like big waiting areas inside, right. Are they saying like, you know, every other seat is blocked off or something like that?

At least in Minato ku. I don't think it's as bad. You just go up to a machine that issues like a queue number, and once the number is displayed on the on digital screen, then you just go to the counter.

True, true. Yeah. For most people, I guess like it's totally up to you, right? I mean, if you got there and it was super busy, you can decide just not go in. But it's hard for me to get in the mindset of a person who is perhaps a bit more desperate. Because we might have talked about this last week, but I think both me and you, Yasu thankfully not really felt any effect of this whole situation financially. But there's obviously a lot of people out there who kind of live hand to mouth basically every paycheck, and I'm sure they're really struggling at the moment.

So you remember, we did some street interviews in the Inokashira Park earlier this week, and met to Japanese woman who just, you know, visited the municipal office to prepare for the application, right. And yeah, this is also ironic, but she mentioned one of them mentioned that she has the My Number card, but she forgot the PIN number. So she had to visit the office to reset the number.

Oh, right. So it has like it was like a four digit PIN, like a bank card.

Something like that. But to be honest, I don't remember either. Anyway, like talking to them. I noticed that one time payment of Juman or it's actually less than 1,000 US dollar per person, is not enough for many people. Maybe I wouldn't say most but at least many people are suffering more than that.

So talking of people out of work due to the current current situation, no longer having a shot at gold in 2020 Japanese Olympic fencer macchio Rio has turns to Uber Eats for work. He can be seen biking through the streets in his official Olympic track uniform delivering takeout orders to customers. Miyake stated that with the current state of living, he needed to support his cost of living. Miyake stated that given the current situation he needed to support his cost of living, and that through Uber Eats, he can remain physically active while working the world class fencer when silver the London Games, and was guaranteed several sponsorships from companies for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, with a lack of an Olympics this year mixed with Miyake being unable to participate in any fencing practice, he stated that it is truly unfortunate that he has chosen a sport that does not mix easily with society, and one that requires people to come together in order to practice. Hopefully, he will be able to get his chance in the coming year. This is a super interesting story. And it just kind of highlights all kinds of issues and problems, which have to do with the state of the world. I mean, this guy I mean, for one, we've talked about this a lot kind of just in random conversations, but the increase in Uber Eats drivers we've seen in Tokyo, right? They're just everywhere nowadays.

You know, what's interesting is that he sounds quite positive rather than negative about starting to work as Uber Eats driver. And to clarify, as he mentioned, he's one of two Japanese silver medalists and fencing, where silver is the greatest achievement by a Japanese athlete for this sport. Oh, so I initially wondered, "Why can't he find like corporate sponsors to fund him?" But then he explained on Twitter that he's actually got some offers to sponsor him. But then he thought that you know, since we never know when or if Olympics, we will be held in Japan. He felt that it's a bit irresponsible to take the offers from those companies. He also implied he's not just doing this Uber Eats thing for money, but to you know, stay active and also kind of be responsible for himself. And when I read this I felt "Oh, what a Down to Earth guy."

Yeah, that's the kind of vibe I get from he seems like a really genuine person. He actively refused sponsorships because he just felt it was irresponsible but all of a sudden like to hear me just saying he was like, he felt like it was dishonorable to be taking this money for this event that is not happening at the moment. He sounds like a very, very genuine guy. And and yeah, he's probably being wearing his Olympic track uniform, or like, you know, fencing uniform, as you're not not not fencing uniform. I guess it's like it's like a tracksuit. Yeah, he hasn't been like with a mask you know, the steel. I guess the the masks it's just like a wire mesh, right. So it's probably not very good. Keeping the COVID out. But yeah, he's been wearing this Olympics track uniform as he cycles around Tokyo. I haven't seen him yet, but it'd be quite funny to spot him going past. I've seen a few quotes from him in some interviews, but I quite like this one. I saw an interview with Japan today. He said, "I don't know when I can resume training or when the next tournament will take place. I don't even know if I can keep up my mental condition or motivation for another year. No one knows how the qualification process will go. Pretending everything is okay for the competition is simply irresponsible." So yeah, that kind of really sums up I think, I don't know the guy. But I think just from that one, quote, you can really get a vibe for this for his attitude, really. But that's another interesting point, isn't it? Because when you postpone a competition like this, all these athletes, they're so focused on hitting that target and you know, winning the medal at that point in time. So to keep that, that high focus for another year must be mentally exhausting.

Another thing I found on the web last night is that significantly more people in Tokyo have started working as Uber Eats drivers like after the or during the Golden Week. But I understand where they're coming from. First, it's not healthy to stay inside the building all the time. And most Uber drivers in Japan ride bicycles to deliver food. So it can be a good exercise. And also, you want to feel like you're doing something productive. And of course, it's always good to make money at the same time. It seems like working as Uber is drivers are in Tokyo has been a societal trend recently. So we are going to interview we will be interviewing some people, some Uber drivers in Tokyo, probably in the next week.

Yeah, true. Yeah, so anyone's listening at home we do have a YouTube channel as well. And we started that recently. But just like the podcast, we try to cover current events and and we've been hitting the streets recently to interview people about the current COVID situation. So yeah, when this episode is finished, be sure to head over to YouTube and check us out there you Tokyo. Okay, our next story of the week, the anime series Sazae-san will stop airing new episodes starting from May 17th. Sazae-san is the longest running anime ever. The series was created in 1969 and boasts over 7,000 episodes. The decision to stop new episodes has come about after considering the risk of continuing anime production during COVID-19. Information about restarting new episodes will be released on the television channels public website. In the meantime, the series will begin to play older episodes during the usual time slot. So this is, this is unprecedented as isn is playing reruns not just the longest running running anime in Japan, but in the world. It's, it's just all these old ideas. It has so many episodes. So 1969 that would make it 51 years old.

Its original manga version started in 1946, a year after the war ended.

I mean, I'm aware of this show, but I've never really watched it. Did you watch it when you were a kid?

Yes, sure. And I still sometimes watch it with my family once in a while, especially as have small kids.

Yeah. Like I haven't watched it a lot. But it seems like the stars hasn't really changed in all this time.

Yeah, that's the point.

So it's very wholesome. Right. And how do your kids react to it? Because obviously, their kids growing up in like, you know, the year 2020 you know, it's a vastly different world to when this show was created. But do you think like the the general message of the show is still relevant today?

I'd say it's a bit like a tricky question by even though the main characters and, you know, relationships between those characters haven't changed much, I would say more or less, you know, the Sazae-san's show have has been, like evolving over time to meet the current like, climate or the you know, environment of the society. Yeah. So, um, yeah, it is still like enjoyable, I would say, even though like my my kids prefer, you know, more like other animals that are more targeted towards small kids, but still, we genuinely like it.

What's the general age range for Sazae-san?

Very wide. But as a matter of fact, more than 10 million people every week in Japan are watching this show.

Yeah, that's about it, 10% is so big, which is I mean, 10% doesn't sound big but when it's just one TV show, a lot of younger people don't really even use TVs anymore.

So yeah, considering that most TV shows these days won't reach over like 10% viewership. So it's, it's a monstrous show.

Yeah. 7000 episodes. So assuming that most of our listeners are somewhere in the Western world, the English speaking Western world, they've obviously got a probably a certain show that pops into their mind when they think of the longest running animated show. Can you guess what that is, Yasu?

Hmm, Micky Mouse? I don't know.

Simpsons.

I actually tried to say that first.

Mickey Mouse is not a bad guess. It is an animation but it's not really like a series.

Yeah, it's not like ongoing, that's what I thought. Simpsons, I think Sazae-san is somewhat like closest to Simpsons in the Western world.

Yeah, I mean, it's got a similar kind of vibe, which covers family life. It's probably not as like, I don't say the Simpsons is rude, but they have a bit sometimes more adult humor kind of hidden in there is any family friendly, but there's like...

Not really for small kids, right?

Yeah. I mean, there's like, I used to watch it when I was a kid like a kid. But like, it has like layers because you watch it as a kid and it's more like just funny characters. But when you get older, you watch it again. And you think, Oh my god, I can't believe they kind of like they hid that like innuendo or like some kind of like rude joke in there. So I think yes, I sounds a bit more wholesome than that. But the numbers comparing the numbers. It's not as old Simpsons but as a percentage, right? The Simpsons aired in 1989, which is the year that I was born. So that's like, I've just had the Simpsons my entire life. So over 31 seasons, it's had 679 episodes. That's pretty much 10% of what Sazae-san has achieved in not 10 times the time. So that's just kind of crazy. But actually doing a little research into like the longest TV shows in the world. Seems it's actually number three. Sazae-san is number one. Do you know what might be number two?

That's a tough question.

Oh, yeah, I think most people would struggle with this. But thanks to Wikipedia know, the epitome of global information. It's a Chinese anime. And I'm not going to try and pronounce the real the name, but the translation is called Pleasant Goat and Big Bad Wolf. I didn't watch it, but it looks to be something very similar to Peppa Pig. You can have simple animations and stuff like that, but they've got 2,427 episodes, over 31 seasons the same as the Simpsons, but it aired in 2005. So in 15 years, it's accumulated two and a half thousand episodes.

We never know. Like, we could be, you know, creating like thousands of episodes in the long run.

True, yeah. We could be a comeback in 20 years. Ryu Tokyo Podcast, Episode 4000. You never know you never know. So on to our last story of the week, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's recent attempts to extend the age of retirement for prosecutors in Japan is being met with strong backlash. The proposed bill would extend the age from 63 to 65. As well as allow for Cabinet approved extensions of term of office. This proposal has led to public protests and online rants from concerned citizens and celebrities who are calling this act and abuse of government power. Such strong opposition to a proposition can be called uncommon, but the overwhelming voicing of political opinions from celebrities is downright unheard of. Strong opinions, especially regarding politics are typically avoided by those in the public eye in Japan. Dozens of celebrities have put out statements criticizing the proposal, including popstar Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, whether this topic is simply being taken very seriously by all citizens, or confidence in expression is growing within the country, or a mix of both remains to be seen. Yeah, this is definitely unprecedented, I would say. I mean, I haven't lived in Japan for very long, but all my interactions with like my Japanese friends, for example, as a British person who is quite used to going down the pub, having a drink after work, arguing with my best friends about politics. Usually, there's lots of swear words involved. You know, we're very used to sharing our opinions, but we don't treat it as like a personal thing. You know, we'll argue and then we'll kind of get rid of it. But anytime I bring it politics with a Japanese person, that's not my wife, they generally try and they'll nip it in the bud very quickly, and just they'll move on to something else. It doesn't seem to be a very common thing to share your political beliefs in Japan.

Right. But I'd say it's overall a good thing that celebrities are starting to raise their voices. For some reason it's being considered a taboo in the Japanese society for a celebrity to discuss political issues publicly. And as he said, maybe it's not just celebrities, but for most people. And maybe that's coming from our traditional mindset that we shouldn't go against the authority or the government. You know, that that kind of like mentality has been around since Edo Era. But, you know, things are certainly changing these days. And, you know, these celebrities, they are not just like celebrities, but also normal citizens of the country, and they're paying a lot of taxes. Probably a lot more than more than most people, right. So they have every right to speak up whatever they think is right.

You know, the democratic system works in Japan quite well. But it's almost like a lot of people don't realize that there is a democratic system, like most people don't seem to care about voting. They just kind of accept the system the way it is, which, you know, if you kind of don't vote, then it's not really a democracy, is it? A lot of people online, especially a lot of foreigners, they always say that, like, whenever these kind of things happen, you know, they'll be like, Oh, don't don't westernize Japan don't, you know, don't make Japan like the West. But I don't think this is really that kind of case. Because it's just basically making people aware of the democracy that they already live in. And it's just saying, you know, like, this is out of order. You know, this is a abuse of government perhaps, and, you know, for the citizens, regular Joe on the street. You know, if you don't like it, then you know, you've got the power to vote and help change or protest, you know, I think this kind of this kind of behavior, I think would be beneficial to Japan in the long run.

Yeah, I agree that it's not about East or West. But you know, it's about democracy, right. But there's also a downside too by this, like, celebrities speaking up, because just like yesterday or the day before, Kyarry Pamyu Pamyu, which is so hard to pronounce even for a Japanese, but she tweeted that she is against this legal reform. And then her fans started a huge debate, or, you know, maybe I should even call it arguments in the comments section of her Twitter account. And she was so unhappy to see her fans being divided into two groups, and basically kind of starting to hate each other. So she eventually deleted this tweet, because she was so upset.

I'm sure she does care about our fans, you know, it's an interesting point. Because obviously before they would all just unite with like, they all love her, right? So Oh, you're a European family fan as well, let's, let's be friends. But when you bring politics into it, so it's a bit dangerous. I mean, Twitter is just one giant argument. I've never seen a neutral comment on Twitter. People just arguing just all the time, right. And it just gets a bit overbearing, but I imagine for I don't actually know, I don't even think it's new for Japanese people. Because I'm always surprised at how vocal Japanese people are on Twitter. And I think they really maybe even more than westerners because maybe they feel more scared to say things in person. So they kind of use it as a release online.

Yeah, that's the thing. But you have to remember that most Japanese Twitter accounts are anonymous. And that's pretty much the reason why they can be more vocal than they are in the real world.

Yeah. They use it as like an escape pro because you do have free speech in Japan. Right? Is that part of your constitution?

Theoretically.

Theoretically, that's all yeah, that's kind of the point I was getting on to, like you do have free speech, like a lot of countries actually. Particularly in Asia, I'd say like a lot of countries have the concept of free speech, but whether or not people actually enforce it or not. So like, you know, in England or America, somewhere like that, free speech is strongly upheld everywhere. And most people even if someone is saying something, you know, abusively, offensive or vulgar or whatever, you still have to respect their right to say what they believe. But in Japan, it tends to be that like, if you kind of think that what you're going to say is against the grain against the common Joshiki, isn't it? The kind of the common sense, so what's the opposite like, "Fu-joshiki?"

Hi-joshiki.

Hi-joshiki. So that's like the uncommon opinion. So if you think your opinion is Hi-joshiki, then you tend not to say it out loud, out of fear of being seen as an outsider. So that wraps it up for all the news stories, this episode. Now let's jump into the final segment of the show Word of the Week.

Okay, so today I'm not going to discuss a Waseieigo, as we usually do, but an interesting Japanese term related to one of the news topics that we discussed today. So here we go. Sazae-san Syndrome or Sazae-san Shoukogun in Japanese. Can you guess what this means?

Interesting. Sazae-san Shoukogun, syndrome.

Yeah, so Shokogun means means syndrome in Japanese, right.

Uh, okay. This is a tricky one. Like I said mentioned earlier, I've never watched the show properly. Really. So I'm not really into the the terminology that comes along with it right? Let me have a guess. I think this means, I don't want to say "obsessed with the show" that sounds too obvious. I'm going to say that it's comparing your life to the family of the show. If they're like a model family, and then saying that like, "Oh, my family should be like, Sazae-san's family," maybe.

Yeah, I actually like that answer. I mean, it's a different than the, you know, official understanding of the Sazae-san syndrome. But I think your interpretation is also interesting. It certainly happens to some people.

Well, it was a complete guess. But appreciate that.

As I mentioned, so so that's an has been the most like classic anime in Japan with over 10 million people watching it like every Sunday, right? And it starts from 6:30pm and ends at 7pm, and while you're watching this advice, and you can't help but be reminded that it's Sunday night, and is about to, you know, Sunday is about to end and you have to start working or you know, going back to school again from the next day, which is Monday. So the symptoms of Sazae-san syndrome include having a headache, like feeling anxious, upset, or even like depressed. I believe it's a similar concept to what's known as Blue Monday outside Japan. Have you ever felt that way?

Yeah, definitely. Actually, I've known it as a different term. It's very similar with Sunday blues. Because you get to the end of the Sunday and you're thinking, Oh, god, it's Monday morning tomorrow in like eight hours after I could go to work. I think this is a concept that's probably relatable to any any country in the world, right? But it's funny that you guys have linked it to this show. 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 single week.

Thanks for listening, everyone. For more Japan related content, check out ryutokyo.com. You can also find us on Twitter @ryutokyonews for any questions or comments about today's show.

So our show always goes out on a Saturday night. Hopefully tomorrow you won't be feeling the Sazae-san syndrome. But if you are then listen to the show, maybe on the work on the way to work, pack yourself up a little bit. Stay healthy. Stay safe, everybody. And be sure to check back next week for the next episode of The Ryu Tokyo podcast.