As mentioned in my previous post Elephant collection, I stayed in Vientiane, Laos from late December 1974 to early January 1975, while Laos was fighting in the war as an ally of Vietnam. This was my first and last time as a television reporter. I stayed at the Lan Xang Hotel during that time.
The purpose of my stay in Vientiane was to report about a public relations program for the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), showing what they are doing.
The program was produced by TUC (TV Man Union Commercial), a TBS affiliate, and a team of four, including the director, assistant director, cameraman and myself. We went out for about 2 weeks.
On August 1st, 1974, the Overseas Immigration project, Overseas Technical Cooperation, and Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers were just merged to form a new organization: the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA was not generally known, but I knew about the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV).
Accompanied by Mr. Masaaki Hogan, I went to greet Mr. Shoichi Ban, Secretary General of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Secretariat. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to observe a Lao language training course for future members of JJOCV in Laos, conducted by Ms. Noriko Abe, who has become a leading expert on Laos both in the field and in her research.
Mr. Hogan, President and Program Producer of TUC, who produced series of programs for JOCV, also produced our new film in Laos.
As for TUC, Mr. Hogan left TBS after working as a director of the news department and became one of the founders of the TV Man Union. He was also the founder of the TV Man Union Commercial (TUC) when I met him.
I learned much later that he was a revolutionary who changed the course of commercials from the medium of advertising to Kirin Brewery's Kirin Densetsu.
I was fortunate to be able to participate as a reporter in a documentary filmed by him as a producer shortly after he resigned TBS.
As I followed Mr. Hogan around TBS, famous actors and TV talents would call out to him with respect and friendliness, "Mr. Hogan~!". Mr. Hogan himself was as charismatic in appearance as the actors and TV personalities. As I gradually learned, Mr. Hogan is said to have caused a stir in 1968 when he reported on the Vietnam War between the government and TBS, and as mentioned above, he later left TBS to become one of the founders of the TV Man Union and then founded TUC. I strongly sympathized with Mr. Hogan's stance, as I had witnessed the difficult situation between politics and TBS news programs during our time together. It was my good fortune to be able to participate as a reporter in a documentary that he shot as a producer shortly after his resignation from TBS.
This program led me to learn about JICA, which was established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The International Cooperation Service Center (now known as the Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE)) was established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and JICA in 1977.
I began working in international cooperation, youth exchange, and later on international students at the International Cooperation Center (now JICE).
The Laotian national flag depicted three white elephants on a red background, symbolizing “Lan Xang,” or “a million elephants”. Not only the flag, but also silver and wood carved handicrafts and souvenirs, all of which are representative of Laos, were beautiful, traditional, and made a strong impression on me.
It seemed to be the JOCV’s custom to hold the newsletter “Young Power” in our hands at our first meeting. We met up with JOCV members Tagayasu Hatano and Shunji Masuzawa in front of the Vientiane Telephone Station. Both of them were still employed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (not yet called NTT at that time) and could work as JOCV members, which was ideal for JOCV.
Mr. Hatano and Mr. Masuzawa’s passion for technical cooperation and their genuine approach to the Laotian people and society overwhelmed me beyond my imagination. I was rather skeptical of “international cooperation” at the time. In August 2019, I met Mr. Hatano and Mr. Masuzawa for the first time in 45 years at an international cooperation gathering in Tokyo. Perhaps it was the freshness of our first encounter, or perhaps it was our ongoing common interest in Laos, our conversation continued uninterrupted. They still seemed determined to continue to contribute to the society, to develop their own special knowledge and skills, and to continue cross-cultural exchanges and application.
Two or three days prior to our return to Japan, director Onuki told cameraman Yamazaki, AD Tanaka, and myself that producer Hogan in Tokyo had looked at the film structure so far, and although the wire phone coverage was good in content, he had not given the OK because he thought the program as a whole was too monotonous. Mr.Onuki decided to add other themes and said he would now go to the JICA office for consultation. He then was introduced to Ms. Tokie Numata and we decided to visit the Royal Academy of Home Economics (Fon Chanh Nhu School of Home Economics) where she teaches.
I was glad that female students were to be interviewed as well, but I remember that I was told to ask them questions , such as “Do you like someone?” or “Do you want to get married?” which I found to be boring questions and this greatly frustrated me. However, at the end of the whole program I was told that I could speak freely. I never actually met Ms. Numata (now Mrs. Ayabe) after that, but Mrs. Ayabe was working for JICA, and there was a time when we were in contact with each other when she was about to work in Samoa and the JICA Hokuriku office.
Ms. Ayabe was in charge of cultural and specialized education such as ikebana, music, and handicrafts at the School of Home Economics. she said he heard from people that the students were placed by the government in important departments during the transition from the monarchy to socialism because they had received higher education and excelled especially in languages and writing. When I met Numata and his colleagues from December 1974 to January 1975, the government was about to shift from a coalition of the monarchy and the socialist Pathet Lao government to the Pathet Lao government after a bloodless revolution (a quiet revolution). she was very worried about their disappearance, wondering if they had been sent to the new education centers away from Vientiane.” It was only natural, since she loved the girls and thaught them with such a passion” I murmured to myself, “Wherever they are, they are smart and honest schoolgirls, and there is no reason why they should not be cared for” Vientiane was undergoing a transition of power under the guise of quietness. As I stood in the courtyard of the hotel in the evening, two young men at the reception of the Lan Xang Hotel said to me in their usual relaxed, quiet voices, ” Tomorrow we are leaving for Samnawa,” they said, a name I had never heard before. ‘Where is Samnewa? It’s in the north, near the border with Vietnam. He smiled, as if it was a natural part of his job. The competent people at the Lan Xang Hotel, which was a guest house during the monarchy— The fact that the staff in the hotel, who spoke both French and English, had left at some point was happening right before my eyes. At that time, I felt that I might be involved in a war-related transfer. The fact that the transition of power was to take place was completely unknown to the general public. After returning to Japan, I occasionally recalled it and imagined it. It was necessary to promote human resources for a new era in Laos. I imagined that while educated people were excluded in some countries, Laos needed educated people. I am convinced that this was indeed the case.
Over the years, I have come to know Laos’ position in the Vietnam War and what was happening there in 1974 in fragments. The actual situation in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos was also confusing to the Japanese press, due in part to what is now called “fake news” that were created among the countries that were fighting for supremacy.
Everyone reiterated that Laos was a friend of Vietnam, but it would be several years before the reality of the situation could be outlined. The forested area on the border with Vietnam had become a major battleground for guerrilla warfare, and the Laotian side was also filled with land mines. In addition to the activities of Western volunteers clamored for the removal of these mines, the Self-Defense Force(SDF) alumni dispatched from Japan also had devoted for the disposal of the explosive mines, which went unnoticed by the public.
It was reported in the web bulletin of the SDF alumni’s organization that it would take decades and decades to remove all the mines. According to Japanese newspaper reports, cluster bomb attacks since 1968 have been directed not only at Vietnam, but also at Laos, killing over 350,000 Laotians, according to the latest published figures. At the same time, it has become clear that humans, wild elephants, and all other living creatures that inhabited the forests were sacrificed.
On a side note, the Lan Xang hotel in Vientiane where I stayed on this business trip had numerous elephant figurines at the entrance, in the lobby, and in the backyard. The wooden doors of the guest rooms as well as halls and restaurants were shiny and thick, and each door had elephant carvings on both sides. 1990s saw a gradual increase in the number of new functional hotels in Vientiane, and the Lan Xang hotel gradually outgrew its role as a state guesthouse and was leased to three reliable foreign business persons with a long term contract. After receiving the foreign investment, there were no longer carved elephants on most of the doors of guest rooms and halls at the Lan Xang hotel. One can only hope that all are cherished by collectors of elephant artifacts.
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