Kabuki and Budweiser

When I first arrived in Tokyo a little over a year ago I was broke and unsure of how to start or conduct my dissertation research. Consequently Nico and I spent more time than we should have in an ugly concrete “park” next to Ikebukuro station drinking cheap beer and people watching. During one of these meetings we stumbled upon this sign for a liquor store:

What I find interesting/funny is that the gentleman is dressed like he is ready for a Kabuki performance circa 1800 but he’s holding a very modern and not Japanese can of Budweiser. What was the owner thinking when he ordered this sign, because its clearly custom made? Nico suggested that it would make a good cover for any future book, now I just need to get the back story…

Guinea Bissau

Where’s that?! Well, its in West Africa and as this excellent video from the Washington Post shows it is becoming a haven for Columbia’s cocaine industry because it is a gateway to lucrative European markets as the dollar remains weak.  Evidently the offspring of Pablo Escobar prefer the Euro and Pounds to Uncle Sam’s Greenbacks these days.

Out Of It - book review

I recently finished Stuart Walton’s Out Of It: A Cultural History of Intoxication, a well written but ultimately disappointing look at intoxication in Western societies. This is not to say that Walton is anything but an excellent and sharply obvious writer, but the book is hampered by unfulfilled potential. Although even this is likely too harsh a critique as he is attempting something few seem to have the fortitude for, creating a scholarly work that explains why getting drunk or high is not only fun but a fundamental part of humanity.

Unfortunately his narrative is haphazard and the leaps of logic occasionally border on the extreme.  His argument is one in favor of greater legalization of narcotics, citing the numerous psychoactive substances that are already legally available and the inevitability of consumption.  Upon this argument I am in agreement, the billions spent on the “war on drugs” have done little or nothing to stop consumption levels.  The only real accomplishment I see stemming from this “war” is the making painfully clear that a different policy is required.  Sadly this change in direction does not seem to be forthcoming.

Where Walton and I differ is in his selective scholarship and examples: he cites psychoactive plant consumption in the Amazon and London teenage club goers on ecstasy within the same paragraph, a parallel I am far from convinced we can draw.  Finally, his conclusion, a call for greater legalization and treatment is correct, but going about it by offering a drug-by-drug account of the likely effects one can expect from ingesting most of the known substances seems lazy and juvenile.

Overall it is a good read, Walton’s linguistic gymnastics often require you to re-read a sentence to get the full dose of clever word-play, but the book was ultimately disappointing as a call for realistic and necessary change in drug policy.

Vending Machines

The vast array of vending machines in Japan has been noted and commented upon by many foreign visitors. The comments also tend to follow a general pattern of pointing out how weird and exotic Japan is because you can buy nearly everything you need out of a machine. One essay I read even tried to link this vast array of automated consumerism to culture bound constraints on human interactions and requisite politeness that many wanted to avoid when purchasing a pack of gum. A bit of a stretch if you’ve been in a Tokyo convenience store when everyone’s in a hurry to get to work and seen how quickly politeness goes out the window.

What these essays fail to note is that while yes, used girls underwear, fried food, umbrellas, or the latest novel from Murakami can all be obtained a vending machine, finding these items is rare and difficult. Finding a machine selling something other than cigarettes or canned coffee and soda is a challenging undertaking and brings us to the link with alcohol. Japan also used to have a lot of beer, sake, and chu-hai vending machines, often placed next to the cigarettes and coke. The alcohol dispensing machines are designed to turn off automatically at 11 p.m. and then back on in the early morning. These however are becoming increasingly rare in big cities across Japan, due in part to the work of NGO groups like ASK who have campaigned for their elimination.

The result of all of this has been the recent introduction of ID scanners on any new beer dispensing machines in Japan, as seen in the photo.

That’ll ruin the commute

Photo taken on the Yamanote train line between Ebisu and Shinjuku.  Nico’s fancy camera work and new camera deserve all of the credit for the photo.

Japan’s coffee wars

According to the Mainichi Japan is in the midst of a coffee price and popularity war. Even more surprising is that McDonald’s new “Premium Roast” is the early winner. While the popularity is not entirely surprising based on cost, the McDonald’s coffee retails for ¥100 while Starbucks cheapest cup is over ¥300. The biggest loser in all of this however seems to be Doutor Coffee, Japan’s largest chain and long time haven of chain-smokers since Starbucks began the process of making them social pariah.

But whatever the final outcome, the McDonald’s commercials still make me want to claw my eyeballs out.

Montana Meth Project

While it has no connection to alcohol use in Japan, the state of Montana’s recent Montana Meth Project is worthy of attention and debate. You can find there well-designed website here: http://www.montanameth.org/index.php

Included in this site are the wide range of advertisements in print, television and radio form that it would seem are currently playing across the state.  In addition to the high production value and celebrity director for several of the videos, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu of Babel and 21 Grams fame, they show the shocking and disturbing side-effects of meth use.  My critique is that what these ads lack or fail to consider is why Montana or any state’s youth are using meth in such numbers.  A lot of attention has been paid to the rise in meth use across America but this debate, I feel, has not addressed the question of why at a meaningful level.

One of the television ads shows a roomful of teenagers watching tv while a friend goes into a drug induced seizure on the floor.  The scene then shifts to a roomful of the same teenagers well into their meth addiction and unable to notice their od-ing friend.  Is the message that they should be happy watching television as this is the ‘normal’ activity?  I am not trying to normalize meth use but I think there needs to be a recognition that boredom, especially in rural America is in part responsible for meth use.  Further, I have long felt that misguided drug policies in the United States, such as targeting ‘gateway drugs’ like marijuana have consequences when they drive up the price and limit the access to a relatively innocuous substance.  I do not feel that the relationship between rising meth use and drug policies targeting gateway drugs are unrelated, and until there is a recognition of this all of the well-produced ads in the world will have trouble changing the root causes of drug use and abuse in America and beyond.

Finally, the sites homepage has an ad for an upcoming benefit dinner that features “skiing, fine dining, and distinctive Gaja wines”.  No one else see the irony in advertising high-class boutique wines on a website for the prevention of drug use?

Pain meds meet tradition

This article from the New York Times highlights some of the trends in Japan’s medical system regrading the dispensing of narcotic based pain medication. Despite little or no hesitation by the average Tokyoite to gulp down copious amounts of over the counter medication at the first sign of a cold, narcotic based pain killers like morphine remain quite stigmatized and taboo. This aversion to morphine the authors state stems from the fear of developing addiction and dependency in the patients. While we could question the extent of this thinking in the contemporary, it cannot be denied that narcotics are kept at arms length by most in Japan, and this has hampered any debate on there relevance or usefulness in society. Drugs crimes are often prosecuted to the fullest extent possible (this is after all the nation that locked up Paul McCartney for a few days when he was caught with pot at the airport) and the drug use that goes on in Japan is done in as clandestine a manner as is possible. Sadly it seems, the result of this near paranoia regrading narcotics is that the aging and often sick population will face socially institutionalized hurdles in getting care that minimizes their suffering.

Prohibition

Prohibition in America ended 75 years ago on April 6th and this article is an informative look at the history of the eighteenth amendment. As many probably know prohibition’s history has strong links to temperance unions, many of which still exist in a much diminished capacity today. Many of these groups have strong religious ties and also promote a slate of progressive social programs and values.

Japan also has a history of prohibition and strong temperance unions operating in the immediate pre and post World War II periods. As with the United States these groups have seen membership shrink dramatically as fewer citizens feel that society’s ills are rooted in drink. The head of one of Japan’s remaining temperance unions reflected the wanning interest with membership figures. Immediately following the second World War they had 50,000 dues paying members nationwide and published several newspapers on a weekly basis. Today they have 70 members and their single publication comes one three times a year.

While prohibition may have become a historical relic, this anniversary seems like a good time to reflect on that historic piece of legislation and the broader, worldwide components it represents.

Japan’s microbreweries

This article from the New York Times is a bit old but still an interesting look a microbreweries in Japan. If you find yourself in Tokyo I highly recommend Popeye, the bar they mention, in Ryogoku. Best selection of craft beers in Japan, including the widest available range of Japanese microbrews you can find.