The events of the last seven days have hit especially hard for those of us in the geekonomy. Even if you're not directly involved in Asian-based fandoms, with the networking that goes on in the fan community, there's a very good chance they've touched your life in some way.
And what makes it especially hard is that an awful lot of our fellow progeeks chased their dreams to Japan, and were there when the quake hit – including some in the hardest-hit areas.
There's English instructors living over there who began learning the Japanese language through anime, furtherd their skills in college, and went to live in Japan to perfect them. There's Americans and Canadians working in the manga industry, in the game industry. There's aspiring fashion designers who crossed the Pacific to study the male and female forward fashions on display in Harajuku.
Adding to the anxiety for friends and familes of foreigners in Japan were news reports that obsessed over every miniscule spike in radiation from the stricken nuclear plants and showed terrified foreigners leaving the country in droves. (Many of those young professionals, though, steadfastly refused to leave, saying they wanted to stand firm with their adopted country and help any way they could.)
The Cool Japan train has definitely slowed down, with anime, manga and game releases being delayed in the wake of the rolling blackouts that have interfered with a lot of work in Tokyo. However, it is not entirely derailed. The very fact that the industry is moving forward at all, in the face of such an extraordinary catastrophe, is nothing short of remarkable.
If you're not over there now, I wouldn't recommend moving over there for awhile – it's going to take awhile for the country to get back on its feet, as it copes with the unfathomable loss of life and deals with a crippled power grid. However, if there's any country that can rebuild after something like this, it's Japan. For all the outward frivolity of their pop culture, they are strong, industrious and willing to do whatever it takes for their society.
The best thing we can all do for Japan right now is to support them – not only by giving money to charities and participating in fundraisers, but by continuing to buy their anime, manga, games and music. And in time, if you are so inclined to study either traditional or popular Japanese culture, by all means, go there.
As we have all learned from watching them endure this crisis with strength, dignity and willingness to to anything for the common good, the Japanese have a lot to teach us – and not just about animation, games and fashion.
- Bonnie Walling