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Japanese woman's radio show builds bridges in China
(Yomiuri Shimbun, The (Tokyo) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) GUANGZHOU, China _ In the biggest city in southern China _ population 7 million _ and site of violent anti-Japanese protesters last April, every Friday at 3 p.m., a voice in Japanese comes on the radio.
"How are you everyone? I hope you'll enjoy the next 40 minutes with me," says Akiko Aoki, a nonfiction writer who has written a number of books including one on young Chinese. She is known to her listeners in Guangzhou as Mingzi Xiaojie, meaning Miss Akiko in Chinese.
In the program, which started in October with the aim of introducing the latest J-pop, she talks _ in Japanese _ about contemporary Japan in between tracks by J-pop luminaries such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Ai Otsuka, and Porno Graffiti.
Aoki writes the script for the programs, which are recorded in one session once a month. One time, she talked about which Chinese movies were popular in Japan, while another time, she talked about the way Japanese celebrate Valentine's Day, explaining, "It's a day for girls to confess their love to boys."
"Lucky boys," her Chinese colleague said.
Aoki first moved to Beijing in 1995. At the time, recession gripped Japan. Aoki was worried about losing her job, despite having been a writer for more than 10 years and running a planning and editing office in Tokyo.
She started recalling scenes she had seen on trips to China, scenes that refused to leave her mind. A couple of lovebirds sitting next to each other at the table of a food stall. Young people posing like movie stars in a park. As the country proceeded toward reform and liberalization, cities in China were upbeat. "I wanted to be part of it," she recalled.
Her first two years were spent learning the language. In 1998, she started working for a radio station in Beijing, hosting a program to introduce J-pop. The program was a hit, receiving dozens of requests every week. Some listeners said they began learning Japanese so they could understand lyrics.
Gradually, however, she felt a growing tide of anti-Japanese sentiment. A taxi driver asked her, "Is it true that Japan doesn't recognize its history of invasion?" _ and a friend studying in China was criticized for not "knowing history."
"This is it," she thought. In 2001, she decided to return to Japan.
After returning to her hometown, she was surprised to see how Japanese feelings toward China had soured. At a bookstore in the city, there was a whole section devoted to anti-Chinese books.
To her, it seemed a negative chain reaction between the two countries was taking place, in which mutual distrust and feuding was becoming more pronounced.
"Young Chinese who listened to my radio program knew how it really is in Japan," she thought, and regretted giving it up. She knew she could write books to explain China to Japanese and knowing that led her to think about what she could do to help Chinese get to know Japan.
It did not take her long to decide to start a new radio program in China.
She was rushed off her feet looking for sponsors in Japan and tried to persuade broadcasters in both countries to air the show, explaining it could contribute to an improved relationship.
In April last year, she finally found a station _ Guangdong Satellite Radio Station, which has an audience share of 30 percent in Guangdong Province _ that bought her idea.
They made their decision just after anti-Japanese demonstrations were held in Guangzhou. Having seen Japanese restaurants with smashed windows and Japanese firms removing their company signs, she could hardly believe it.
On the Internet bulletin board for her program, there is a section where listeners can post their thoughts. "Why is it broadcast only in Guangzhou?" one wrote. "Start it in Beijing, too." Another asked, "Air the program at night, so more of us can listen," while one wrote, "Once a week isn't enough."
(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)
There are 4,000 such posts, some of which have been translated into Japanese.
Aoki returned to China because she believed culture could bridge differences between the two countries, and go beyond politics. She thinks she is right and is determined to continue the program until 2008, when the Beijing Olympics will be held.
Def Tech's "My Way," the song she played on her first show after hearing about it from her niece, is what she remembers when she goes to Guangzhou every month to record her show. The song's lyrics tell her to keep her feet on the ground, her head above the clouds, and to keep going.
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(c) 2006, The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Visit the Daily Yomiuri Online at http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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PHOTO (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099).
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