Journalist's Japan visit reveals lessons for NZ
Visiting Japan earlier this year, Newshub's Alexa Cook delved into stories that connect the North Asian nation with New Zealand, including indigenous language revitalisation, dairy farming and volcanology. In this article, Alexa reflects on the visit and the stories she covered. The trip was made possible with help from an Asia New Zealand Foundation Media Travel Grant.
Alexa: "We hope our coverage has helped demonstrate the many ways in which Japan and New Zealand can learn from each other and collaborate on everything from science to farming and language."
Prior to departing for Japan, I met with Emeritus Professor Paul Spoonley to discuss Japan's demographic challenges.
"‘I think the Japanese have let it go for too long and are now facing it at a crisis point," he said. He believes New Zealand can learn valuable lessons from Japan's population crisis.
Professor Spoonley's words resonated throughout our 10-day trip as we explored the challenges Japan is currently facing.
I was travelling with camera operator Richard Cooper, and we had four very different stories to film - demographics, dairy farming, the Ainu-Māori relationship, and the explosive volcanic history of Japan.
Te Reo Māori revitalisation inspiring Japan's Ainu people
Our first stop was the island of Hokkaido. We landed in Hokkaido's largest city, Sapporo, and drove out through the countryside to the small village of Nibutani. There we met language teacher Kenji Sekine at the Ainu Cultural Museum and learnt about how the Ainu people are using Māori language techniques to revitalise their language.
I was struck by how the two cultures are so similar - the pieces of cookware, tools, weapons and textiles in the museum were very similar to historic items from the early days of Māori habitation in New Zealand.
Alexa interviewing Ainu language teacher Kenji Sekine
Just 0.1 percent of Japan’s population identify as Ainu, but Kenji tells me that’s partly because the people have been discriminated against for so long that many Ainu choose not to register themselves officially.
It wasn’t until 2019 that Japan’s government officially recognised Ainu as an indigenous people of the country.
"They are struggling to survive their culture and language," Kenji told me, and I could see from his pained expression that revitalising their language meant so much to him.
My dream is to make a kindergarten, where everything happens in Ainu
Kenji Sekine
Kenji has been working with Dr Ruakere Hond in Aotearoa since 2013, learning about theTe Ataarangi language method of immersion, and it’s proved very successful as he now has a group of people who can converse for over an hour in Ainu, without needing to speak Japanese.
Over his many visits to New Zealand, Kenj's been impressed and inspired by the number of people speaking Te Reo, and the number of kohanga reo and kura kaupapa.
“My dream is to make a kindergarten, where everything happens in Ainu," he said.
Ruakere Hond said the relationship between Māori and Ainu, which dates back 100 years, is a very special one and he enjoys helping them revitalise their language.
"They're like part of our whanau - our extended whanau of using art, but also of language revitalisation.. and we look up to them.
"Every one of them is hugely courageous. Brave in every sense of the word because it's super difficult to revitalise the language. It's not easy," he said.
Declining milk production opens door for NZ farmers
From Nibutani we drove through torrential rain and over a mountain pass to reach the rural farming area of Yuni to film another story.
The weather could not have been worse, but fourth generation dairy farmer, Baba Satoshi, was very pleased to see us and show us around his property.
He didn’t speak any English, however his farming consultant Kenji Takada was able to translate for us, and he was very interested in my upbringing on a dairy goat farm in New Zealand - asking many questions about how the system worked.
Japan’s farmers are struggling with costs, as the conflict in Ukraine is pushing import feed prices too high.
“It's a difficult situation for the farmer," he said.
When we interviewed Fonterra’s head of sales in Tokyo, Kenichi Hada, several days later he explained that with a declining number of Japanese farmers, New Zealand is filling the gap.
"We want the Japanese government to increase the total amount of imports going forward, in light of the decreasing milk production in Japan," he said.
Alexa interviewing Fonterra's head of sales for Japan, Kenichi Hada
NZ should heed Japan's 'population crisis'
From Hokkaido, we headed south to Tokyo where the rest of our trip would be based, and I found the hectic bustling streets such a contrast to the rural quietness of Hokkaido.
One of the key issues I wanted to learn more about in Japan was the demographics, and Prof. Michael Cucek from Temple University was the perfect person to explain it to us.
Japan has the world's oldest population, with nearly 30 percent of Japanese people now aged over 65 years. Since the 1970s there have been more deaths than births and Cucek said this led to a population decrease of 800,000 people last year.
“Like a catastrophe is happening, but it's a natural catastrophe that's been in preparation for more than 50 years,” he said.
Prof. Michael Cucek on Japan's declining population: "[It's] like a catastrophe is happening, but it's a natural catastrophe that's been in preparation for more than 50 years."
I wanted to know whether Japan Government’s efforts to encourage women to have families had worked, and so I interviewed three of his students. Interestingly all three told me they wanted children, but that the demanding work culture of Japan was a big handbrake.
"It's hard to meet someone, get married and start a family" said Juri Tanaka.
And if Japan’s youth are struggling to find a partner, let alone have children, then this is a concern. And Paul Spoonley warns that New Zealand needs to prepare now for similar problems.
"Immigration becomes our major, population policy," he said.
Kiwis learning from Japan's volcanic expertise
The final stop on our trip was Izu Oshima Island to meet kiwi volcanologist Chris Conway and his Japanese colleague Kiki.
We took a jet foil ferry out to the island, which is 100km off the coast of Tokyo, and it was a nice change of scenery from the chaos of the capital with Mount Fuji looming out one window and endless blue ocean out the other.
Conway is working for the Geological Survey of Japan, because there are 111 active volcanos there, compared to just 12 in New Zealand.
His findings will help Kiwi scientists predict future eruptions, and is a clear example of the strong scientific collaboration between our two countries.
Kiwi volcanologist Chris Conway's work on Izu Oshima Island could help New Zealand predict future eruptions
We hope our coverage has helped demonstrate the many ways in which Japan and New Zealand can learn from each other and collaborate on everything from science to farming and language.
The Foundation's Media Programme helps New Zealand journalists cover stories that shed light on Asia and on New Zealand’s ties to the region.
Our Media Travel Grants provide New Zealand journalists with funding to travel independently to Asia to research and prepare stories – to help demystify Asia for New Zealand audiences.
