J@pan Inc Newsletter<br><br>The 'JIN' Japan Inc Newsletter<br>A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>in Japan.<br>Issue No. 431 Wednesday September 12, 2007 TOKYO<br><br><br>****OUT NEXT WEEK
J@PAN INC MAGAZINE'S**** <br> LEGAL SPECIAL (SEPT/OCT 2007)<br>Intellectual Property-Jury System-Arbitration-ALB Awards<br>PLUS Failed Businesses in Japan & Women in the Workplace<br>-------<br><br>Jews in Japan
<br><br>In 1904 Japan and Russia were struggling to expand their <br>empires and influence in South China. Recognizing the need for<br>strong naval defences, Japan knew that it had to build more <br>battleships if it was to stand any chance. The Meiji government
<br>turned to the US for funds. Although the US were generally <br>reluctant to lend the large amounts that were asked for, one <br>Jewish banker, Jacob H Schiff, aware of the way the Russians<br>were persecuting the Jews at the time, managed to get the States
<br>to go ahead with the loan. This earned him great favor with the <br>Emperor and was perhaps the first significant encounter between<br>the Japanese and Judaism in the modern era. (For some more <br>unusual and earlier stories of Japanese-Jewish relations see
<br><a href="http://emol.org/nihongo/japanlinks/japanesejewish.html" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://emol.org/nihongo/japanlinks/japanesejewish.html</a>)<br><br>The story is one that is relevant to the state of Jewish-Japanese
<br>relations today. Many Japanese believe that all Jews are rich,
<br>have connections with banks, and are able to influence <br>governments. In an interview with us, Rabbi Henri Noach of the <br>Jewish Community Center in Tokyo (<a href="http://www.jccjapan.or.jp/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://www.jccjapan.or.jp/
</a>) <br>explained how he once went out for lunch with a Japanese woman <br>who was interested in Judaism. After about an hour she looked him<br>in the eyes and confessed that she was having trouble believing <br>that he was Jew. When asked why, she replied, in all sincerity,
<br>'because we have been talking all this time and you haven't <br>mentioned money yet.' Rabbi Noach went on to say that he has also<br>had a Japanese businessman inquire about becoming a member of <br>the synagogue in Tokyo because he believed it would give him
<br>access to 'Jewish business secrets.'<br><br>While Noach agrees that such naivety about Judaism and lack of<br>knowledge about the one in five Israelis who live below the <br>poverty line is misguided, it is also understandable and
<br>essentially benign. If Japanese believe Jews to be rich, smart<br>and well-educated, then 'maybe it's a good thing.' It is <br>certainly a stark contrast to the very blatant anti-semitism that<br>Jews experience in Europe. While he had threats made against
<br>his person when working in Brussels, Rabbi Noach has never felt<br>the need to go to the police in his five years in Japan, and this<br>is in part behind his reasons for moving here. In Europe,<br>associations between Jews, the finance industry and money have
<br>fuelled hatred and persecution but in Japan, it is respected and<br>in no a way a focus for social anger or hatred. <br><br>There are roughly 2,000 Jews in Japan. They are scattered around <br>but the majority of them reside in Tokyo. There is also a
<br>synagogue for the Kansai area in Kobe and there are a handful of <br>US Jews on the bases in Okinawa. Rabbi Strausberg who leads the<br>community in Kansai (<a href="http://www.jcckobe.org/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://www.jcckobe.org/</a>
) told us that there <br>are between 60 and 70 regular congregants at the synagogue in <br>Kobe. The majority of these are Israelis although there are also<br>expatriate Americans and Europeans as well as a few Japanese.
<br><br>In their work 'Jews of Japan', (<a href="http://www.jcpa.org/jl/jl425.htm" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.jcpa.org/jl/jl425.htm</a>) <br>Daniel Ari Kapner and Steven Levine claim that the first Jewish
<br>settler came to Yokohama in 1861 and 'the earliest Jewish
<br>tombstone dates from only four years later. By 1895 this <br>community, which developed to about 50 families, was able to<br>dedicate Japan's first synagogue.' After the war however, Tokyo<br>became the most active community and the synagogue in Hiroo
<br>(<a href="http://www.jccjapan.or.jp/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.jccjapan.or.jp/</a>) was formally chartered in 1953.<br><br>Around 60% of the community in Tokyo are of North American
<br>origin, another 20% are European and a further 20% are from
<br>elsewhere including Japan. While the vast majority of conversions<br>that Rabbi Noach performs are in relation to Japanese women who<br>intend to marry foreign Jewish or Israeli men, there are also <br>some Japanese who have converted to Judaism for personal,
<br>spiritual reasons. Rabbi Noach believes that there is no cultural<br>incompatibility between the Jews and Japanese and indeed sees<br>similarities in terms of the emphasis on community, the work <br>ethic and appreciation of the arts and education. He also
<br>mentioned that Jews could learn much from the Japanese such<br>as the tendency towards understatement that could take the edge<br>off a Jewish, particularly Israeli, tendency to overstatement.<br><br>At a practical level, keeping kosher--adhering to Jewish laws
<br>relating to diet, such as only eating meat killed in a special <br>way--is something of a challenge in Japan. However, both the <br>Kobe and Tokyo synagogues are fully kosher and have their own<br>lines of supply. Jews living in Japan are able to import food
<br>from the US or there are actually some local options such as <br>that offered by Chabad Rabbi Binyamin in Tokyo who has set up<br>a kosher food business (<a href="http://www.kosherdelica.com/about.htm" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://www.kosherdelica.com/about.htm
</a>) <br>that supplies chicken and cows slaughtered in the kosher manner <br>from Hokkaido. <br><br>It seems that slowly, as Japan becomes more international,<br>Jews along with other faiths and ethnic groups will be able to
<br>build on the foundations of community that they have already <br>established. In Tokyo the community is able to do this quite<br>literally having recently become the beneficiary of a 600 million<br>yen windfall that will enable them totally rebuild the synagogue.
<br>While this won't do much to counter the Japanese perception of<br>Jews as wired into the wealth of the world, it will certainly be <br>a source of stability and excitement for the Jews of Tokyo.<br><br>J@pan Inc wishes its Jewish readers Shana Tova: Happy New Year!
<br><br>By Peter Harris<br>Chief Editor<br><br>Want to comment? It is now even easier to voice your opinion<br>than ever before! Simply visit <a href="http://www.japaninc.com/jin431" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
www.japaninc.com/jin431</a> and<br>post a comment below the article. Alternatively, you can email
<br>it directly to the author at <a href="mailto:peter.harris@japaninc.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">peter.harris@japaninc.com</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------
<br>"As I look into the clear blue sky,<br>across the crystal blue waters of Okinawa
<br>I had not known anywhere could be so peaceful and pure."<br><br>Work getting you down? Need a break from the everyday ordinary?<br>Have a taste of the good life, Yaeyama style.<br>Immerse yourself in the traditional culture and relax
<br>surrounded by the beautiful coral reefs, mangrove jungles,<br>waterfalls and an array of tropical fish.<br>And don't forget the awamori!<br><br>Hirata Toursim Inc.<br><a href="http://www.hirata-group.co.jp/english/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://www.hirata-group.co.jp/english/</a><br>Tel: 09-8082-6711 Fax: 09-8088-6945<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>++CORRECTION<br>Last week's JIN on Disney in Japan (<a href="http://www.japaninc.com/jin430" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
www.japaninc.com/jin430</a>)<br>quoted a marketing expert who set up the site <br><a href="http://www.japanmarketingnews.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">www.japanmarketingnews.com
</a> -- we referred<br>to him as Mike Fiorelli but his surname is actually Fiorella. We
<br>apologize for this mistake ad thank Mike for speaking to us. <br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Japan's First Family Social Network is here! <a href="http://www.piqniq.jp" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
www.piqniq.jp
</a><br><br>Are you raising a family in Japan? Do you speak English?<br>Would you like to meet other English speaking families in<br>your area? Piqniq is a Social Network Service tailored<br>specifically for you!<br>Our concept is "Families helping Families" and we invite
<br>anyone that wants to meet other families, help other families,<br>or discuss family-related issues pertinent to life in Japan<br>to come and join the Piqniq today!<br><br>For more information: <a href="http://www.piqniq.jp" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
www.piqniq.jp</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>++EVENTS<br><br>------------------- ICA Event-Sept 20 -------------------<br><br>SPECIAL JOINT EVENT with the AUSTRALIAN NEW ZEALAND CHAMBER
<br><br>Speaker: Tim Williams, Founder and Director of Value Commerce<br>Topic: Japan Success Stories - Value Commerce<br><br>Details: Complete event details at <a href="http://www.icajapan.jp/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://www.icajapan.jp/</a>
<br>(RSVP Required)<br>Date: Thursday, September 20, 2007<br>Time: 6:30 Doors open<br>(Light buffet, beer, wine, soft drinks included)<br>Cost: 3,500 yen (members), 5,500 yen (non-members)<br><br>Open to all-location is Australian Embassy B2
<br><a href="http://www.australia.or.jp/english/seifu/embassy/map.html" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.australia.or.jp/english/seifu/embassy/map.html</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------
<br><br>YMCA Foreign Community Support Committee (FCSC) Charity Ball
<br>on September 28th at Hilton Shinjuku. Donation of 25,000yen<br>person. Table of 10 = 10% discount.<br><br>Champagne, wine, dinner, live band and dancing, raffle draw,<br>and auction featuring authentic signed items:<br>
Guitars by Eric Clapton and Keith Richards, David Beckham's<br>jersey, Michael Schumacher's F1 Glove, baseball bat by Ichiro,<br>photo Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Valentino Rossi, and much more!<br><br>Bid on these rare items from Aug 23rd at
<br><a href="http://www1.ymcajapan.org/content/01_home" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www1.ymcajapan.org/content/01_home</a><br>All proceeds to benefit YMCA's Challenged Children Project.
<br>Please contact: 03-5367-6640 <a href="mailto:fcsc@ymcajapan.org" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
fcsc@ymcajapan.org</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>Start a Company in Japan<br><br>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 6th of October, 2007<br><br>If you have been considering setting up your own company,
<br>find out what it takes to make it successful.<br>Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 13 start-up companies in Japan,<br>will be giving an English-language seminar and Q and A on<br>starting up a company in Japan.<br>This is an ideal opportunity to find out what is involved,
<br>and to ask specific questions that are not normally answered<br>in business books.<br>All materials are in English and are Japan-focused.<br><br>For more details: <a href="http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/
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<br>- J@pan Inc Magazine IT Feature-November/December 2007 issue -<br>
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