Japan

OSAKA, Japan- My last visit to Japan was over two decades ago when, as a columnist from Malaya, I was invited by the Japanese government to travel extensively throughout the country. Between then and now, my visits, if you can call them that, were stopovers at Narita and Osaka on my way to or from the US. There seems to have been no compelling reason to visit and the cumbersome visa process was a good disincentive to go as well.

But thanks to the current excellent relationship between our country and Japan, they have loosened up and have started to give five year multiple entry visas to Philippine passport holders. That made it easy for me to make a snap decision to join some friends in this visit.

Indeed, many Pinoy tourists who used to go to Hong Kong are now going to Japan instead. All our airlines have an abundance of flights not just to Osaka and Tokyo, but to other Japanese cities as well. Airline officials told me they are more than happy with the volume of passengers they get on their Japan flights.

I guess it helped our current ambassador to Japan, Manuel Lopez, has developed a very good working relationship with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. This eventually resulted in the Japanese prime minister strongly supporting the plans for the state visit of the Emperor and the Empress to Manila last year.

The Emperor last visited the Philippines as a representative of his late father, Emperor Showa, to reciprocate the State Visit to Japan by president Carlos P. García. The visit last year, after 54 years, was timed with the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between our two countries.

From bitter enemies during WW2 to the closest of friends, the relationship between our countries has dramatically transformed over the years. Other than the usual official development assistance we get from Japan for economic and social development, Japan is also now helping us modernize our ability to defend ourselves militarily. Brand new vessels for the Philippine Navy and surveillance aircraft are part of Japan’s military aid.

The Emperor also sounds quite contrite in his message to Japanese foreign ministry officials who worked on the state visit last year. The Emperor noted WW2 resulted in the loss of many Filipino lives and leaving many Filipinos injured. “This is something we Japanese must never forget... My heart aches when I reflect on this past. We must keep this engraved in our hearts as we continue to make efforts to contribute to the development of the friendly relationship between our two peoples.”

The influx of Filipino visitors to Japan should be a good thing. These visits expose us to a disciplined society that is also democratic. For many of us who think we need a benevolent dictator like Lee Kuan Yew was to Singapore will see in today’s Japan that progress, discipline and democracy can all happen together.

For me, I am totally fascinated with the honesty of the Japanese people. My wife and I took a taxi from Haneda airport to our hotel in Shinjuku. Before we got to the hotel, the driver told us we will get a 2000 yen discount on our fare. It is apparently part of things they do to welcome visitors.

I was happy to hear that. I can’t imagine our taxi drivers telling foreign passengers of this unusual benefit. On the opposite, many of our taxi drivers and NAIA sanctioned taxis try to get more than what is legal fare from unsuspecting passengers. Our taxi drivers also argue violently with passengers who protest overcharging.

We had dinner with Ambassador Lopez in Ropponggi and took a taxi back to the hotel. It was a Friday night and they were doing their version of DPWH’s “road reblocking” repairs. A four lane artery was reduced to one and traffic caused a delay that I estimated resulted in a 1000 yen increase on the normal fare.

The driver was apologizing profusely for the traffic delay and when we got to our hotel, told us we are getting a 1000 yen discount on the fare because of the traffic. That will never happen in Manila. On the opposite, our taxi drivers will demand a hefty tip because of the traffic. I suspect it is the boundary system that makes our drivers seem greedy.

The other thing I noticed about Tokyo and Osaka is the difficulty of finding trash bins in the streets and other public places. Our tour guide explained trash bins are not necessary because the Japanese are disciplined enough to know what to do with their litter. They put small litter in their pockets or bags for disposal later in their offices, homes or restaurants.

That reminded me of a commercial of then MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando instructing people to “ibulsa ang kalat at wag magkalat sa lansangan.” As the guide observed, the litter you see mostly in tourist areas are likely from visitors.

In any case, there are now a good number of Filipinos living in Japan who have hopefully imbibed the good habits of the Japanese that make life here more respectful of each other. There are about 230,000 Filipinos, but many of them have Japanese spouses. Sunday Mass here is an occasion for the community to gather.

Ambassador Lopez thinks more and more professionals and students from the Philippines will come to Japan to work and study. That, in turn, will bring up people to people contact to a whole new level that can only improve the ties between our countries even more.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco.