Do Web Interfaces Have Politics? A Japanese Social Network Site mixi and the Imagined Boundary of “Japan.” [Conference Notes]

by Latoya Peterson

These are the notes for “Do Web Interfaces Have Politics? A Japanese Social Network Site mixi and the Imagined Boundary of “Japan.”” The notes are from a paper by Ryuta Komaki, presented at the Texas A & M University Race and Ethnic Studies Institute’s Symposium exploring Race, Ethnicity and (New) Media.

This paper looks at mixi( A Japanese social networking site) with a specific focus on its web interfaces

Komaki argues that the interface has its own politics

About mixi

Japan based/Japanese language SNS (social network sites)
Similar to MySpace, Cyworld (Korea), Facebook
First SNS to target the Japanese market
16.3 million registered users
Invitation only

Here, Komaki begins to describe the Racial/Ethnic Minorities in Japan. He notes these are social categories, and this is not the same as official designations.

Zainichi Koreans and other Japanese-born foreign nationals
People of Okinawan origin and Okinawan descent

Some argue that Okinawa was Japan’s first colonial project

Immigrant workers
Kikoku-shijo (Returnee children)
(The Ainu People) – Hokkaido

Interfaces influence user behavior as well as organizes the activities and experiences of the users

mixi Provides a “Menu Driven” Identity

“[The] interface feature [of the major portal sites, that forces the user to choose ‘what’ they are, and allows only one choice at a time], enforces a menu-driven sense of personal identity that works by progressively narrowing the choices of subject positions available to the user.” –Lisa Nakamura, 2002
Asks for the birthplace
Drop down, no free text entries
Lists prefectures, then city and township

poses problems for those born outside of Japan
Only option for those not born in Japan is (Overseas) then (Countries)

mixi is based on the assumption that experiences and memories at certain places in Japan will be standard; however these things are influenced by race, sexuality, etc.

mixi’s interface that renders those who deviate from the model of the ‘typical user’ as a ‘non fitting’ part of ‘typical users’

Komaki’s conclusion is that mixi, through use of drop downs and choices, reinforces the ideas and boundaries of Japan, and shows a preference to those born within Japan proper. Many people who live in Japan and have done so for their entire lives have their “otherness” reinforced by mixi. In his paper (currently unpublished) Komaki explains how through the choices provided to users, mixi encourages assimilation and rewards users that “fit in” with the established idea of what Japan should be. Users who do not “fit in” like children born overseas, immigrant workers, or Zanichi Koreans find their networks severely limited and their ability to connect with others compromised.

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Comments

atlasien wrote:

The closing sentence could just as easily apply to face-to-face networking in Japan:

“Users who do not “fit in” like children born overseas, immigrant workers, or Zanichi Koreans find their networks severely limited and their ability to connect with others compromised.”

Minorities have had to form their social and media networks…

Posted 16 Jun 2009 at 9:21 am ¶
InJM wrote:

Hmm. I wonder if mixi’s “communities” are included in this paper. Communities are key in increasing your network.

Posted 16 Jun 2009 at 9:40 am ¶
Hsiu wrote:

Wow, thanks for the notes write-up! I work with college-age, female Japanese students, most of whom are on Mixi. They described it as a MySpace-type networking community and we’ve left the conversation at that, but now I’m very interested in asking about their experiences and how they negotiate identity.

Posted 16 Jun 2009 at 10:43 am ¶
Kaonashi wrote:

This doesn’t surprise me. A few friends of mine got Mixi accounts before they decided to limit it to people living in Japan–and you have to have a keitai with a Japanese phone number to even open an account.

Posted 16 Jun 2009 at 2:06 pm ¶
little mixed girl wrote:

^
since when did they change it?
i got one in 2006 when it was still “invite only”.

the paper brings up some interesting issues regarding mixi.
i haven’t really thought about those before.

however, i can say that compared to cyworld or facebook, mixi comes in last.

a lot of japanese people assume that it’s a safe community because it’s invite only, but it’s no different from myspace.
unless your privacy settings are set high, you get messages from men interested in having sex, messages from people who are basically stalking your page, and the other messages are vapid comments like, “can i ask you a question?”, “american clothing sizes are big, aren’t they?” and “i want to be friends with foreigners”.

that last set of questions certainly mimics how japanese people tend to interact with foreigners in japan.

anyways, i’d be interested in seeing more studies on mixi.

Posted 17 Jun 2009 at 10:04 am ¶
Kaonashi wrote:

^ Last year. Everyone who already had a Mixi got grandfathered in, but they they won’t open new accounts for people living outside of Japan. When they first made the rule, people just started registering with .jp email addys and that’s when they slammed down the “Keitai w/Japanese number only, LOLZ.”

I’m just mad because a couple of years ago friends of mine who were also studying Japanese would offer invites and I was like “Hell no don’t want no Mixi” (for the reason you mentioned) and when I finally decided I wanted one they were like “Too late!”

Posted 18 Jun 2009 at 12:21 am ¶
little mixed girl wrote:

yeah, that is messed up.

but, i guess mixi is conducting itself in the way the country wishes it could:

excluding foreigners and creating a bubble free of foreign influence.
inside that bubble, japanese people are free to conduct themselves as they please, without having to worry about foreigners.

facebook has multiple language settings.
cyworld has various versions for various countries.
mixi has no interest in branching out to the world, and couldn’t care less…

Posted 19 Jun 2009 at 12:27 am ¶
okinawa wrote:

Japan always closing itself off from the “foreign” world always seems strange to me.

Posted 02 Jul 2009 at 10:36 pm ¶