Sayaka Chatani

Something Wrong about Authority

Sometimes government-like authorities do very stupid stuff. Michi found hilarious hyperlink rules that are set by the committee of the big sports event currently held in Greece (I also wanted to ridicule them!).

I remember when Michi was getting ready for the scholarship life in Tokyo, the Japanese government required him to sign a sheet with a list of various rules, within which the funniest one was, I think, "promise not to dishonor Japan."

These rules are pretty entertaining, but some rules set by some institutional authorities are not funny at all, rather obnoxious. I was helping Hui-ting, a very smart Taiwanese girl who is applying to the Japanese scholarship program, the other day, and stunned when I saw her application form. It requires applicants to fill out "Family members, their ages, and their occupations." Rumi was also shocked and said "it's prohibited to ask for such information even in elementary schools (in Japan)"

I should remember this is not the problem peculiar only to Japan, but I have a very negative image of the Japanese way of writing a resume (履歴書). You usually have to write "本籍地 (a very abstract concept of the "original place of your family"), and attach a photo. (本籍地 used to show whether you are from the normal social class or the lowest.)

Posted by sayaka at August 23, 2004 03:30 AM | TrackBack