They had some great uniforms. You gotta give them that.
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I’m pretty sure that is not what is going on here. To the best of my knowledge based on almost 20 years of life in Japan, this way of thinking that you describe doesnt really have traction here.
I remember hearing that explanation in the late 80s/early 80s but no one could ever follow up with any proof.
Highly unlikely. The pop culture references to Third Reich imagery are too numerous and the influence of that small percentage of British Punk bands too small. The imagery of high school girls in that style uniform sells well enough on its own:
- Japan currently has no army. The Japanese Self Defense Forces (air, land & sea) exist but are tightly legally limited to defensive action only. This may seem like pedantry but here its a matter of constitutional law which is actively debated in the Diet and really quite important to citizens and service people.
- You may be confusing the Imperial Navy flag with the MSDF flag.
I’m curious if you read or speak Japanese. If you did and you spent any time talking to people, young or old, and strolled through bookstores or read the local newspapers/magazines, etc. most anywhere in Japan, you might not say that.
No crime was committed under Japanese law (IANAL). Thanks to the GHQ imposed constitution, Japanese law strongly protects freedom of speech/expression. The police would have nothing to act on here much less the courts.
Its a bit sad how quick people are to bring up the Axis without understanding the nature of the relationship. OTOH I also know I’m the oddball because when I first learn some bit of history that seems incongruous, my first thought is “why is that?” and I tend to go try and find out.
My bet is none. There isnt always a point to be made.
Not all fashion makes a statement. Fashion can be just that.
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I’m absolutely sure it’s more of a “style” statement than a “political” statement. In japanese imagery the bad guys always feature “nazi-like” uniforms, there’s a plethora of anime characters that you can see wearing something like they are wearing, sometimes even good guys.
Is that the Leningrad Cowboys?
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That was my first reaction to that hair as well.
Hmmmm… What’s their stance on the Confederate flag?
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The confederate flag is also big in the rock-a-billy scene in Scandinavia (heard this at a conference once talking about the Finnish scene). Some actually white power bands in Europe also incorporate the confederate flag, because they often can’t use the nazi flag, because it’s a illegal. In one case, it’s meant to just be a bland symbol of US southern culture, in another, it’s a knowing use of a racist symbol. To us, obviously, these are laden with meanings that it they don’t have elsewhere
It’s kind of a weird thing when you take symbols that are problematic in one place (confederate flag here in the US or Nazi symbols in Europe/N. America) may not be seen as such by those using them in another place. The use of nazi uniforms in this case seems to be that… Whether that makes it “okay” I honestly don’t know.
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I’ve wondered why Primal Scream used it on the cover of Give Out But Don’t Give Up, too.
Hopefully (and most likely?) this:
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Primal Scream is Scottish? That would be my guess, the bland US southern culture symbol… I think people tend to have different reactions to being confronted with how the confederate flag is viewed, FWIW.
Also, the confederate flag shows up in the John Waters film Cry Baby, too - he’s from Baltimore, so I have to imagine that Waters fully understands the meaning of the flag… but there it is:
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This encapsulates my experience of living/traveling in Japan as well. I used to love getting hold of Japanese stickers because they were so often completely divorced, symbol-wise, from any context-specificity that might’ve come with those same symbols in a western country.
English words were often used in the same…art-context–the meaning of the English words used had nothing to to with the thing being labeled or titled. The specific reasons for this are lost to me, but it’s something I noticed as well.
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India as well. Mein Kompf is a bestseller there.
I am convinced it was because they saw each others pornography.
“Did… Did he just deficate on that woman’s chest?”
“Well, it’s kind of a- Wait- Is that a police baton?”
“I think we’re going to be good friends.”
Bigger dick theory.
We literally went from nuclear weapons to “nah- We’re good. What do you want for that stereo?” in 25 years; and yet after 500 years we still have a problem with black people.
I am utterly convinced it has to do with preconceptions about how their penises stack up against white folks.
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Martin is a harmless geek, no idea what you’re trying to imply : )
A book for you:
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For Australians, a black face skit was just an old time American trope. For Americans it is something totally different.
[quote=“Israel_B, post:64, topic:88601”]
Japan currently has no army. The Japanese Self Defense Forces (air, land & sea) exist but are tightly legally limited to defensive action only. This may seem like pedantry but here its a matter of constitutional law which is actively debated in the Diet and really quite important to citizens and service people.[/quote]
Oh yes, right, their army is called “self defence force”. And Abe has been working actively for years to change the constitiutional limitations of Japan´s army. A controversial amendement has already been made in 2014 by his cabinet without prior debate.
That may be due to it looking exactly the same.
My Japanese is horrible, but I do speak a little, have studied the countries´ history, though I wouldn´t call myself an expert by any stretch, and I have been to Japan and talked to people there multiple times. I probably shouldn´t have said “the Japanese”, when I really meant the Japanese political elite and decision-makers, who tend to be extremely conservative and nationalist. I have seldomly found the people I have met personally anything less than delightful.
To demonstrate:
Imperial Japanese Naval Ensign:
Japanese Self-Defence Forces Naval Ensign:
Imperial Japanese Army flag:
Japanese Self-Defence Forces land flag:
Some cosmetic differences on the army flag, but the ancestry is pretty clear.
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Sure. But it’s not like Australia doesn’t have it’s own problem with racism, right? Or Britain. Or many other places. That’s the key problem here, right? Is decontextualized symbols in a different culture still problematic?
Also, in Britain:
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They were still broadcasting that on Australian TV in the 1970’s.
My reaction at the time was “this is weird but boring”.
