Japan Is Sinking

Unfortunately, there is a movie and book. or vice versa, out now called Japan Is Sinking, and why that's unfortunate is I'm trying to look up information on the net regarding the fact that Japan is actually sinking. I wanted to have a bit more to report to you than second hand hearsay from my old Korean students. All that's coming up in the search is pages upon pages of this book or movie. And "Japan apologizes to Taiwan for sinking ship." Always making friends, the Japanese.

So, Japan is sinking. It sinks more and more every year. As many of you know, my last job was teaching South Korean university level students here in the Philippines (don't message me about my time in Korea, because I was only in the airport, which I actually enjoyed very much), and you know that we talked for hours and hours and hours all day long. One of the elentybillion things that I learned was that Koreans, and I'd say most Asian countries have an adversarial relationship with Japan. Many of my students openly expressed disgust with Japan and everything Japanese. Many weren't as extreme and said that their qualms are with the government only. Some said, who cares? Pass the Kimchi.

Japan didn't make any friends over here during WWII. There are still debates that rage to this day about who should apologize for what. In addition, Japan has claimed a Korean island as its own. Japan also calls the East Sea, the Sea of Japan. My students were always disgusted with the maps made in the Philippines, or those that come from publishers connected with the west because that body of water is labeled as The Sea Of Japan, as if that were a fact.

"NO! Who published this!" were common cries about my atlas. Sorry guys.

So one day one of the students, while ranting about Japan, and their Imperialism, which some claim has not stopped, said they have to move other places "because Japan is sinking!" and I accidentally laughed. I think I chuckled because the student was so serious and then he said that, and I didn't expect him to say that... and I laughed.

"Yes! It's true!" During one class, one of the Engineer students drew something on the board that supposedly demonstrated the phenomenon.

I let them know that the islands of Hawaii have been largely bought up by the Japanese, or so I heard once.

"See!"

Invasion.

I don't know. But I thought that whole thing was interesting.