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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2017)
U.S.A. August 21, 2017 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 7 Back to bomb shelters? North Korea threats revive nuke fears By John Rogers The Associated Press OS ANGELES — After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the era of nuclear nightmares — of the atomic arms race, of backyard bomb shelters, of schoolchildren diving under desks to practice their survival skills in the event of an attack — seemed to finally, thankfully, fade into history. Until now. For some baby boomers, North Korea’s nuclear advances and President Donald Trump’s bellicose response have prompted flashbacks to a time when they were young, and when they prayed each night that they might awaken the next morning. For their children, the North Korean crisis was a taste of what the Cold War was like. “I’m not concerned to where I can’t sleep at night. But it certainly raises alarms for Guam or even Hawai‘i, where it might be a real threat,” said 24-year-old banker Christian Zwicky of San Bernardino, California. People of his parents’ generation were taught to duck and cover when the bombs came. “Maybe those types of drills should come L back,” Zwicky said. He isn’t old enough to remember the popular 1950s public service announcement in which a cartoon character named Bert the Turtle teaches kids how to dive under their desks for safety. But Zwicky did see it often enough in high school history classes that he can hum the catchy tune that plays at the beginning. That’s when Bert avoids disaster by ducking into his shell, then goes on to explain to schoolchildren what they should do. “I do remember that,” says 65-year-old retiree Scott Paul of Los Angeles. “And also the drop drills that we had in elementary school, which was a pretty regular thing then.” EMOTIONAL FLASHBACKS. Pictured is a sign at the entrance to the former Nike Missile Control Site LA-96, which was operational for a period of time during the Cold War, at San Vicente Mountain Park on the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles. The Cold War years, from the 1950s through the 1980s, were a time when people often felt confident to let their chil- dren play outside unsupervised while simultaneously fearing they might perish with them in a nuclear war between the United States and Soviet Union. With the collapse of the Soviet Union those fears seemed to end. With recent exchanges between North Korea and the U.S. in the news, they are back. People once again are fretting how they can stay safe. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Even as a 10-year-old, Paul said, he wondered how much good ducking under a desk could do if a bomb powerful enough to destroy a city fell nearby. No good at all, his teacher acknowledged. Then there were backyard bomb shelters, which briefly became the rage during the missile crisis of 1962, when it was learned the Soviets had slipped nuclear-tipped missiles into Cuba and pointed them at the United States. After a tense, two-week standoff between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that some believe brought the world the closest Continued on page 8 Changing tastes brew bitter times for Japan’s beer makers Continued from page 5 announced it is acquiring Anchor Brewing Company. It likely would take way more than a cameo by Depp, though, to reverse the trend away from beer. Data compiled by Kirin Brewery Co., a rival Japanese brewery, found the annual global consumption of beer, at nearly 184 million kiloliters, fell in 2015 from the year before, for the first time in 30 years, as consumption in China peaked. By region, Asia still tops the world in beer consumption, making up 34 percent of global beer guzzling, followed by Europe at 27 percent. North America accounts for 14 percent and Africa just seven percent, according to the Kirin study. By nationality, Czechs were No. 1 in per capita consumption of beer. Americans ranked No. 20, while Japanese were 55th, down from 38th in 2010. “The days of the daily kanpai and chugging beer are over,” says Kirin spokeswoman Naomi Sasaki. At least, though, Japanese are starting to appreciate more nuanced craft beers, she says, reflecting their more individual-oriented lifestyles. Japan now has about 200 small craft breweries, giving consumers more choice about the beers they drink, said Hiroyuki Fujiwara, president of the Japan Beer Journalists Association. Fujiwara believes changing tastes in part reflect a change of perspective after the tsunami and nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan in 2011. These days, many Japanese are less concerned about keeping up with their neighbors, he said. “The biggest contrast to that kind of thinking is the bubble era when people simply wanted what was considered cool by society, be it their home or their car,” he said, referring to the go-go economy of the late 1980s, which collapsed in the early 1990s. Last year, Kirin signed a deal with Brooklyn Breweries, founded by former AP war correspondent Steve Hindy, to replicate its flavors at its plants in Japan. Kirin also opened a craft brewery — still relatively uncommon in Japan — in Tokyo’s fashionable Daikanyama district two years ago: Spring Valley Brewery. Asahi opened one near its head office recently. Kirin’s brewery has a western menu, a spacious terrace, and beers with names like DayDream and Jazzberry that are brewed behind transparent walls. Shizuka Nagasawa, 29, was enjoying a recent weekday afternoon off at Spring Valley Brewery with her husband Keita Nagasawa and their three-year-old son. They’re such fans, they joined the brewery’s club and have craft beer delivered to their home each month. “There is such a wide range, like bitter-tasting ones and fruity flavors. Checking them out is fun,” said the clerical worker at a tea-maker. Later that day, in Nihonbashi, an older part of downtown Tokyo, about a dozen “salarymen,” jackets and ties off, each armed with a glass of cold beer, were downing their after-work beers the old-fashioned way. At Mitsukoshi department store’s rooftop beer garden, it was all-you-can-eat-and-drink for three hours at 4,801 yen ($44) for men and 4,301 yen ($40) for women. The food: classics like fried noodles, curry, and wieners. The star beer: Asahi Super Dry. Eiji Itou, 50, a technology company employee who was sitting beside his company’s president, shrugged at the notion that drinking with co-workers in a beer garden is no longer trendy. “Kanpai,” the group shouted in unison, raising their beers together and gulping them down. “We, the old guys, are upholding tradition,” he said with a smile. Cambodia’s PM wants U.S.-born grandchild to not be American Continued from page 4 leader Vladimir Putin, while Hillary Clinton had a record of pushing for war in Syria when she was secretary of state. He has also expressed his agreement with Trump’s disdain for the press. Hun Sen recently shared his opinion on CNN — a Trump nemesis — which the Cambodian leader com- plained had broadcast a misleading program about child prostitution in his country. “CNN television de- served to be cursed by Pres- ident Donald Trump,” he said. “May I send a message to Donald Trump to praise you because your cursing CNN was fair and right, not wrong.” “The American media is too spoiled,” he said. TALKING STORY IN ASIAN AMERICA n Polo Polo’s “Talking Story” column will return soon.