Commodore Perry and Japan in the 21st Century

Since last year, there has been a series of events and exhibitions to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the coming of Commodore Perry (with the U.S. Navy), which ended Japan’s self-seclusion. What I find strange about a dominant discourse of the commemoration is its celebratory tone and a lack of reference to the unequal treaty imposed by Perry as a representative of the United States. Hmm, what is so celebratory about the past encounter with the colonial-imperial power (which ultimately led to WWII)? Do some Japanese love the United States so blindly that they fail to notice the “dark side” of the history of the U.S.-Japan relation?

This Japanese fixation on the U.S. may prove fatal in the 21st century. When I went to the AEon Shopping Mall, which is probably the most popular commercial space in the city, I saw at least 30 foreigners: most of them are Brazilians, but there were also Chinese and Indians. That is, people from three of the superpowers of this century—Brazil, China, and India—are living even in my provincial hometown. And yet, they are not as well treated as Americans, and some of them are even looked down upon. This is really very strange.