Report on WAIT Japan Outreach

The WAIT trainers arrived in Japan on May 29, and traveled from Narita Airport to the Kiyen Center to rest and begin rehearsal for the week of teaching and performing.  The Tsubatas made a short trip to Tokamachi to visit their family, and to Matsunoyama, the small mountain town where they had lived for more than one year in 1993 and 1994. 

A very fortunate turn of events was the addition of the Hayes family to the WAIT group.  Peter Hayes, Hiromi Hayes, and their two children Naomi and Ken happened to be traveling in Japan at the same time and generously joined the WAIT outreach there.  Also, Yoko Becker, a longtime parent-leader of the Ohio WAIT team, decided to make a combined trip to see her own friends and family in Japan with WAIT tour.  Finally, the Presley family, Noriko and Nina, who were in Japan for personal travel, joined the team one day.  By the wonderful help of these addition WAIT families, the initially small number of trainers nearly doubled.

In addition to Kensei and Mie Tsubata, the official trainers included Year of Service member Yuri Ishida and Harmony Becker of Ohio, Andreas Culbertson of Ohio and Soin Alexander of New Jersey.  This group had been doing extensive preparations for several months: general performance rehearsals, translations of materials, preparations of brochures and PowerPoint presentations, and research of the AIDS situation in Japan. 

One of the most urgent needs of the tour was to develop ways to communicate the WAIT message to all audiences in spite of the language barrier. Kazuo Tsubata translated the song lyrics of “Hero” and “Save Yourself” and integrated them into a PowerPoint which Yoko Becker was able display during the live performances. Thus the audiences not only received the emotional aspect given by the trainers, but could also understand the literal meaning of each song.  Kazuo Tsubata also translated the introductions several acts, which the trainers in turn memorized and recited during performances, allowing for a direct, personal connection between the audience and the trainers.  The skit narration was translated and recorded digitally, and the trainers practiced all roles with new recording before arriving in Japan. 

What was truly miraculous, however, was number of uniquely talented and deeply inspirational individuals the team met in Japan. The Kiyen center youth leader, Mr. Takeda, has a background in international performing arts outreach through dance, and additionally is fluent in English.  Mr. Yano, the technical director for the Kawasaki PlazaSol event in the gorgeous Lazona mall, spent years in America and is currently the cultural department director for a large organization in Japan.  His daughter, Kawa, who attends a performing arts high school, learned a major role in WAIT skit and performed with the team at several events.  Masa Miata, who helped emcee and joined the “Desert Rose” act for the Kawasaki event, has traveled extensively with dance-based outreach work in Cambodia, Vietnam and Usbekistan.  And Choon Ja, who has been active in international peace-building efforts with a broad range of contacts, mobilized her network of experienced professionals to greatly aid the Japan tour. 

Lily-san, whom the Tsubatas had met many times in West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and Kentucky, was the guardian angel of the whole project.  Her introduction of WAIT to Kansai University professor Ueda, as well as to Choon Ja and others, was crucial to the team’s success in Japan. 

Amazing support was given by Mr. Tokuno, who had previously encountered WAIT in Kenya and Washington, and also by Mr. Takeuchi, who invited the team to the Kiyen project. And Mr. and Mrs. Yasuna, who had become acquainted with WAIT during previous trips to Washington, coordinated and helped execute the Osaka and Kyoto activities. They arranged a performance and personal exchange with nearby college-aged volunteers on final evening of the trip, an excellent addition to the tour’s already great success. All of these of these people were vital to allowing the team’s efforts to reach a wide audience in Japan. 

The first performance was Saturday morning at a middle and high school overnight event.  Nearly 20 youth leaders viewed the presentation, and several stayed into the afternoon to train with the team. The next day they performed in the skit with the trainers at a Sunday church service, conveying to the audience the great diversity and acceptance of the WAIT team. Later that day, additional training and rehearsing began with a few others joining to practice “Desert Rose” for Monday’s Kawasaki benefit concert.

On Monday, we were agreeably surprised by the professional theater prepared for the event: stage lighting, projector, soundboard, cyclorama and raised seating allowed us to create a really impressive presentation.  With the skills of Mr. Naoto, professional musician and sound engineer, and Mr. Kawata of PlazaSol, we had a really superb stage to work with.

After rehearsing with the technical crew for several hours, the Americans went outside to perform on the sidewalk to promote the event and invite people.  To their surprise, passersby ignored their efforts, maintaining the appearance of disinterest despite their sincere efforts.  Knowing how AIDS is increasing every year in Japan, the team felt desperate to reach the youth who are putting themselves at risk.  Several of the girls were moved to tears, and Andreas began speaking in English, urging people to understand the seriousness of the issue.  To their relief, some people did attend from their efforts, although they didn’t find that out until the performance was actually beginning.

Mr. Takeda and Mr. Miata acted as the dual emcees for the benefit concert, combining comic and serious commentary to bring out the deep message for the audience.  A wonderfully talented singer/songwriter, Chon Hwa, opened the concert with poignant and profound original songs which she sang to her own piano accompaniment.  

From there, the concert proceeded into a short PowerPoint about the devastation of AIDS internationally, translated into Japanese, with an instrumental musical accompaniment.  Then, the emcees introduced WAIT.  Beginning with the breakdance which incorporated the girls and the guys both, and then the skit, with new members playing some of the key roles, the group sang “Wait for Me” and “Hero” with the translated lyrics projected onto the large rear screen simultaneously.  The girls presented “Rose is still a Rose,” followed by a short interview with Kensei about the outreach to Kenya, during which short video clips showed some of the exciting experience of using the arts to teach about AIDS in the nations that are hardest hit. 

The finale was “Desert Rose” incorporating a juggling segment by Kota and a Pop and Lock routine performed by Takeda-san and Miata-san, and with special effects of fog and lighting enhancing the message of the search for hope and the way talents can be used to bring us together. 

After, the emcees invited the audience to share their comments in a response sheet, and to make a donation to the work of supporting education of young people in Africa.  The audience members were enthusiastic and generous, expressing their appreciation to the performers personally and exchanging contact information.

Although exhausted, the team gratefully enjoyed a delicious Korean barbecue meal provided through the generosity of Mr. Tokuno at the restaurant which sponsored the event.

We sang “Change the World” for the wonderful restaurant staff, who helped us to the train station for the long trip back to Kiyen for a short but very intense rest.  Early the next morning, we prepared the equipment and belongings to make the long trip by Shinkansen to Kyoto.  Bidding goodbye to Kiwako san in the rain, we made our way to the train station, sprouting umbrellas looking like moving mushrooms. 

Hefting the many bags through several train changes, we finally got on the bullet train, and enjoyed a break as we sped our way to Kyoto.  At the station, we were met by three vans and the Yasuna family, as well as a number of college students.  We drove to Otsuka to the Kansai University campus there, and trained the students on the terrace that overlooks the valley below.  There, we met our host, Professor Ueda, a highly-respected academic who advocates world-citizenship.   We performed before a set of steps where his class—and some other guests—sat. 

The outdoor setting was a lovely backdrop to work in, but didn’t allow us to project the lyrics to the songs.  We tried to make up for it with a short speech by Kate Tsubata about the serious situation of AIDS in the world, translated by Kazuo Tsubata, and some additional translation through the performance.  However, it was the heart of the presenters which really came through, especially through the dance “Beauty from Pain.” 

At the end of the presentation, although the professor concluded the official part of the class, the audience stayed to talk and share with the team informally.  The class are both IT and education students, so they responded to the idea of sharing a serious message in an arts-based format very positively. 

Piling back into the vans, we made our way to the edge of Lake Biwa to our final event.  We introduced our work, gave a 30 minute performance, and were able to experience the songs and the comments of the student volunteers who had accompanied and performed with us that day.  They mentioned the heartfelt effort of those like Yuri, who was working hard despite a sprained ankle, and the seriousness we have about stopping AIDS and saving lives. 

We tumbled into beds after nice hot showers, and prepared for the following day of travel.

With the kind support of the Yasuna family, we made it to the train on time, and got to Kyoto’s Shinkansen station.  On the way to Narita, we dropped off Andreas in Kasegawa and Yuri in Shizuoka to stay for a few more days with their respective families.  

The remainder of the team made it to the airport, where we met with Yeon Ju Inoue, the sister of Hyung Won Lee, along with her husband and two daughters.  We ate a ramen lunch together, and set the kids off for America, while Kazuo and Kate stayed longer, and then re-boarded the train back to Osaka, where they were scheduled to depart the following day. 

There, they met the group that they had originally traveled with on coming to Japan, who were mostly from the Detroit and Windsor, Canada area. 

The WAIT outreach in Japan concluded with 6 performances, 3 training sessions, and some wonderful exchanges with Japanese youth.  In addition, several personal contacts were re-established, and some important translated materials were developed.  The moneys collected at the benefit concert—a bit over $100—are being allocated to Kenya’s WAIT team.  Also, several young people expressed the desire to work with WAIT’s overseas activities.

These efforts would have been impossible without the contributions of so many families: the Hayes and Becker families were uniquely helpful, but also the Presleys, Ishidas, Alexanders, and the WAIT team leaders.  In addition, the Japanese organizers were the true heroes, enabling us to teach both our message and our methods to a large number of youth and families. 

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who made so many efforts to welcome us and to connect us with others.  It was extremely impressive to see the skills and expertise that have been developed there.  Also, realizing that the methods that we have found to reach youth here and in other nations can also help Japan—despite its impressive accomplishments economically and educationally, it desperately needs the abstinence and faithful partnership prevention message to prevent the soaring infection rates now happening. 

Our hope is that the already skilled and prepared educators there will take the initiative to work there, as has been done in other countries, to really turn around the HIV infection situation in the country and in many others as well. 

WAIT wishes to thank all the sponsors and contributors to the WAIT Japan outreach.  In our estimation, Japan has the capacity to take WAIT to the next level.  We will do all we can to support that.

Reported by Kate Tsubata