Lessons from Japan: Food Production, Gender and Society
By Dr. Ronya Foy Connor
It is roughly one week since I returned from the first half of the Sasakawa Leaders Workshop, in Japan, as part of an initiative by the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research. The Leaders Workshop brought together 20 professionals from around the world to discuss the interdisciplinary topic of “Food Production 2030.” International scholars journeyed from Australia & New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, Greece, Italy, Mongolia, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and, of course, Anguilla!
It was an honour to be the only participant selected from the Caribbean region, and one of the few participants with an ideological framework focused on the influence of gender and human rights in innovative plans for global food production. After two days of flying (St. Maarten-Amsterdam-Beijing-Osaka), I finally arrived in a country that has fascinated me since I was a child. In fact, in University I took a semester of Japanese language and used it firsthand in 2005 on my first visit to the region. However, this time around, my skills were limited to “Konnichiwa” (Good afternoon), “Oishii Desu Ne” (That tastes good!) and “Sayonara” (Goodbye).
The first two-day sessions of the Leaders Workshop were hosted in Sasayama, Japan, a small and traditional town on the outskirts of the city of Osaka. The town produces food locally – including rice, black soy beans and sake (rice wine). This setting displaying the power of local development, and using community talents for prosperous growth, led me to think about the opportunities for Anguilla. We must value our local resources both natural and man-made not just in agriculture and food production but in technological innovation, documenting local knowledge and preserving the island’s beauty not only in our seas but in our seers – our people.
Later in our sessions, a local Japanese professor and development expert discussed the concept of “Teikei” meaning cooperation and collaboration in achieving a goal of environmental unity and peace. Teikei is a system by which men and women work in unison in potentially different lines of endeavour, but still toward a common goal. In this structure, both consumers and producers contribute to local food systems that appreciate natural resource capacity, agricultural management, technology and innovation in food systems, health and safety and indigenous knowledge and values.
Japanese culture, similar to Anguillian culture, is one that is rare around the world. Japanese culture is one that is able to integrate the fine art of discipline and patience, a strong work ethic, a sense of order and cleanliness, an innovative entrepreneurial mindset and oneness with the natural surroundings. Thinking about the idea of “Teikei”, what are the aspects that you would say characterize Anguillian culture and society as you view it today? As I traveled on the high speed bullet train (known as “Shinkansen”) throughout Kyoto and onto Tokyo for sessions, with think tank leaders at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, I thought about this question of culture and society along with the intersection of food production and gender. I considered the following questions for Anguilla:
What do we stand for as individuals, and what do we stand for as the nation of Anguilla? What are our leaders doing to preserve the cultural aspects of Anguilla that make us united, strong and wise? What are we each doing to instill these values in those ready for the next phase of leadership? What policies and laws have we implemented, and how are they protecting vulnerable groups, building culture, managing the risks of disasters, ensuring health and safety, exploring export opportunities and increasing innovative income opportunities for our populations?
Some of my conclusions are that ethics and values are critical and it stems from the very throne of national leadership. Communal societies, in their true forms, offer equal opportunities grounded in talents and purpose. Populations are not marginalized based on societal classifications of gender, income, family ties or migration status. Instead, all members are considered essential for building a sturdy and sustainable society. Although we may be worlds apart, and separated by physical distance and diverse languages, we should want and strive toward these similar goals whether living in Japan or in Anguilla.
