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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2018)
February 19, 2018 ASIA / PACIFIC THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5 Holidaying frog game finds fans among China’s harried youth HOLIDAYING FROG. Jia Weiwei plays the Jap- anese mobile game Travel Frog on her smartphone in Beijing. Travel Frog has attracted a massive following in China by speaking to a desire for a more passive existence among harried young people some have termed “Buddhist style” for its desired goal of zen- like serenity. (AP Photo/Dake Kang) By Shanshan Wang The Associated Press EIJING — Wang Zhuyin studies 10 hours a day preparing for a series of tests to obtain a U.S. physician’s license. But like millions of young Chinese adults, the 26-year-old has found a new way to cope with the pressure: an online game about a frog. A frog that’s perpetually on vacation. Wang’s diversion, the Japanese mobile game Travel Frog, has attracted a massive following in China by speaking to a desire for a more passive existence among harried young people some have termed “Buddhist style” for its desired goal of zen-like serenity. The game has only two scenes, a loft home and a courtyard where users can collect clover leaves to buy food and other travel supplies for their frog. There isn’t much else a user can do, either. The virtual frog randomly spends time reading a book at home, eating, or going on vacation around Japan. Since users have no control over their frog’s behavior, waiting takes up most of the playing time. “When your frog goes sightseeing, there is nothing you can do but go with the flow,” said Wang, a native of the high-tech center of Hangzhou outside Shanghai. “This is similar to the situation young people are facing. Suffocated by stress, we learn to pretend we don’t care.” The game’s popularity underscores the degree of pressure Chinese millennials face in a highly competitive society where stability and opportunity have become ever more elusive. Developed by Nagoya-based Japanese company Hit-Point, Travel Frog — also known as Tabi Kaeru — has become the most downloaded free game app in China, despite never having been translated into Chinese. The game’s simplicity has users enthralled. Wang and others describe a sense of healing when gallivanting frogs send photos from their trips, or just relax at home. The frog “doesn’t interact with you or B talk to you. You just watch the frog living its own life,” said Jia Weiwei, 37, who works with autistic children in Beijing. “There isn’t a lot of information, which gives you plenty of space for imagination.” Jia has studied an online translation guide and checks her phone regularly to see whether her frog will surprise her by sending a photo or bringing home souvenirs. Psychologist Hai Ming says the popularity of the game shows that human relations have declined in an increasingly data-driven digital society. “Behind every frog-raising player is a lonely person,” Hai said. “How do you externalize your loneliness, your indecision? Through the frog.” On Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social- media platform, the topic #TravelFrog# has received more than 1.96 billion views. According to Travel Frog developer Mayuko Uemura, Travel Frog has racked up about 30 million downloads on Apple’s App Store and Google Play since its launch in November. Fully 95 percent of downloads of the game from the App Store were in China. “We were hoping to some extent that people overseas would be able to enjoy this game as well, but I would never have imagined that it would become so popular with people in China,” Uemura said. The company is now considering producing an international version that could be tai- lored to appeal to local audiences, she said. Social media plays an important role in the game’s success, said Chenyu Cui, a game analyst with IHS Markit in Shanghai. Gamers can show off on Chinese social-media sites by comparing photos of their frogs’ “travels,” Cui said. Some users refer to the frog as their child and will worry if it hasn’t been home for even two days. “It connects with people’s common experience,” said Shao Yuanyu, 32, a Taiwanese doctor based in Beijing. “Now I know how my mom felt when she waited for me to come home.” For young people living in China’s fast-paced modern society, the game provides a sense of connection, said Xu Ziwei, a counsellor from the mental-health center at Beijing’s Renmin University. “To some extent, you feel that you have a stable relationship with the frog. If it leaves, it will always come back, it will send you a postcard,” Xu said. Not all are as positive. The game and the social trends it embodies run counter to the ruling Communist Party’s frequent exhortations to the public to strive for economic advancement. In a speech last year, President Xi Jinping called on young people to “write a vivid chapter in your tireless endeavors to serve the interests of the people.” The party’s official newspaper, People’s Daily, stated in a recent Weibo post that young people should spend their time enriching themselves “instead of just being a lonely frog-raising person.” But others see the frog game and the popularity of “Buddhist style” thinking as examples of young Chinese expressing a newfound independence. People born in the 1990s are largely better off than earlier generations of Chinese and they’re searching for meaning beyond material wealth, said Jia, the frog raiser in Beijing. “This is like the western lifestyle we always envy: to be able to really be ourselves and not care about how others judge us,” Jia said. “The ‘Buddhist style’ doesn’t mean a lack of pursuits or simply giving up,” Jia said. “I think it’s a spiritual pursuit. It’s not harmful if it makes people more at peace.” Associated Press reporters Dake Kang and Emily Wang contributed to this report. Japan public grade school under fire over Armani uniform By Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press OKYO — A Tokyo public school has adopted Giorgio Armani uniforms for students, triggering criticism in a country where hefty school fees are already burdening young parents. Taimei Elementary School in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza shopping district has announced plans to introduce the new uniform option, which costs more than 80,000 yen ($730) for a full set. A minimum set — a navy-blue jacket and matching trousers or skirt, a long-sleeve shirt, and a hat — would be more than twice the price of the current uniforms. The school’s principal, Toshitsugu Wada, told a news conference that the top fashion brand would fit Taimei’s identity as “a school of Ginza.” He said he chose Armani because its boutique is near the school. Wada acknowledged the new uni- form would cost more, but considered it worth it. He said his decision is unchanged despite the criticism. “I thought Taimei can use the power of the foreign fashion brand for its identity,” he said. The Armani uniform, to be launched in April, is recommended but not compulsory. In Japan, where a sense of belonging and conformity are valued, uniforms are worn at most secondary schools and used to be considered durable and thrifty. Prices have jumped in recent years and have become a big initial investment for Japanese parents. “Armani at a public elementary school?” T asked Naoki Ogi, a popular education commentator, in his blog. “It’s like saying no to poor people and welcoming only those who take pride in Armani.” Besides the cost, critics say uniforms are part of rigid school rules that could infringe on diversity and children’s rights. Government education officials said school principals are free to set school rules and uniforms, but that in the Taimei case, they should have done more to reach a consensus with parents. “Schools should be mindful of uniform prices so that parents won’t be overbur- dened,” education minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. “We also expect them to have sufficient discussions in the process with involved parties” including students, parents, or parent-teacher asso- ciations. The Armani uniform also came under attack in parliament. “School uniforms are already more expensive than the business suits we wear,” said Manabu Terata, an opposition lawmaker. “But these uniforms at Taimei Elementary School are especially questionable.” School uniforms tend to be expensive because they come with special school emblems, buttons, and other designs. It’s also a billion-dollar market, domi- nated by a few major manufacturers and competition is lacking, according to a recent Fair Trade Commission report. Even finance minister Taro Aso, a descendant of a former aristocrat known for his dandy fashion, called the costs “pricey.” N orman H uynh SIBELIUS’ FIFTH SYMPHONY SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2018, 7:30 PM SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2018, 2 PM M ONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2018, 7:30 PM N orman H uynh, conductor • Francesco Piemontesi, piano Barber: Essay No. 2 • Franck: Symphonic Variations • R. Strauss: Burleske Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 :LGHO\FRQVLGHUHG6LEHOLXVƌɃQHVWV\PSKRQ\WKLVVWXQQLQJPXVLF VKRZFDVHVWKHFRPSRVHUƌVDɅ QLW\IRUQDWXUHSDUWLFXODUO\WKHIDPRXV KRUQWKHPHLQVSLUHGE\DɄRFNRIɄ\LQJVZDQV Tickets start at $ 24 orsymphony.org | 503-228-1353 YO UR O FFI CI AL SO URCE FO R SYM PH O N Y TI CKETS a r l en e sc h n i t z er c o n c er t h a l l
