Ged Carroll

Search results for: “Shenzhen”

  • Akiba-kei

    Akiba-kei – A Japanese word meaning related to Akihabara. Akihabara or ‘Electric Town’ was the place in Tokyo where you could go to get everything from electronic components to new and vintage devices. The electronic component shops inspired generations of budding engineers that went on to work for the likes of Sony and Panasonic. Think of it as Shenzhen’s SEG electronics market (in the SEG Plaza building located in the Huaqiangbei neighbourhood of Futian district, Shenzhen). 

    akihabara
    Akiba-kei or Akihabara in December 2006

    Vintage gadgets were available from high end hi-fi to games consoles. All are very Akiba-kei.

    In more recent times it has also evolved to cater for fans of Japanese technology with a raft of computer stores and service providers.

    It is also becoming known for catering to other geek consumer tastes including anime, manga and cosplay – think a cuter version of a Star Trek convention. Whether you like anime, manga or dressing up as your favourite character Akiba-kei has something to offer.

    Finally there is the maid culture, which is kind of like a fancy dress tea house, often with a specific theme related to anime or manga related culture.

    Akiba-kei transcends geography. It now represents a mindset, a culture that has gone around the world, but whose spiritual home in Akiba-kei continues to evolve over time. The exportation of Akiba-kei culture started in the 1960s and70s when Japanese manufacturers products were seen to be technological wonders, from hi-fis and watches to cameras. 

    Sailors, servicemen and ex-pat business people took (often superior) Japan-only models of the latest hifi home together with a step up transformer if needed. With TV syndication and video recorders interest in anime rose as well. The 1980s brought long term interest in games consoles. These cultural provided a bridge over time for the wholesale export of Japanese popular culture through and influenced by Akiba-kei. 

    Thanks to Peter Payne and the J-Box newsletter. More Japan related topics here.

  • China Inc. – The 800-pound dragon in the room

    The New York Times has a great review of China Inc. by Ted C. Fishman which highlights the growing economic might of China. Some interesting facts and figures featured in the review of the book include:

    • From 1982 through 2002, the United States economy grew at an annual rate of 3.3 percent. China’s economy grew at an annual rate of 9.5 percent,
    • In 2003 China bought 7 percent of the world’s oil, a quarter of its aluminum and steel, almost a third of its iron ore and coal, and 40 percent of its cement.
    • China makes 40 percent of all furniture sold in the United States
    • China has 3,000 Christmas-decoration factories which exported more than $900 million tree trimmings and plastic Santas in the first 10 months of 2003.
    • China still only makes one-twentieth of everything produced in the world
    • China can rely on a vast low-wage army, working for an average of 40 cents an hour, that can turn out consumer goods of every description
    • American and Japanese companies spend $1 billion to $2 billion to develop a new car
    • New super-cities like Shenzhen, a fishing town of 70,000 20 years ago that now has 7 million people, making it larger than Los Angeles or Paris, swelled by migrants from the countryside looking for a better life in the city
    • Up to 300 million Chinese have migrated from the country to the city over the past 20 years
    • The Asian Brown Cloud, a wind-borne industrial smog that originates on China’s east coast, can be seen in California as it rides the jet stream
    • China has seven of the world’s ten most polluted cities


    The book also provides some insights into the differences between the rise of China and Japan. Unlike Japan, China Inc. is driven by local enterprises rather than the central analysis and planning carried out by Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) [now known as the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry] to find key markets to conquer. There is a certain irony in the socialist state using the brutal darwinism of the marketplace in a way that Adam Smith would have appreciated.

    Current reading at chez Renaissance Chambara:

     

More posts