Miabelle SalzanoRyan Shaffer thinks that President Donald Trump and his administration are 鈥渘ot helpful and not relevant鈥� in dubbing the coronavirus names like the 鈥淐hinese virus鈥� or the 鈥淜ung Flu,鈥� respectively. But for the president of the Japan-America Society of Washington D.C., the coronavirus has caused more than worrisome words. The organization鈥檚 annual Sakura Matsuri Street Festival has been postponed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not using the word canceled,鈥� said Shaffer.
The Japan-America Society hosts the popular street festival as well as the National Japan Bowl, which it is reimagining as a virtual competition, as part of Washington, D.C.鈥檚 National Cherry Blossom Festival.听
Diana Mayhew, president and CEO of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, said, 鈥淚t is a difficult decision and one that we do not take lightly,鈥� in a news release about the cancelation of the festival.听
After four months of planning for the events, both of the Japan-America Society鈥檚 events will be postponed until May, if circumstances allow, said Shaffer. The organization has definitely been financially set back, he said. But if the events end up happening in May, 鈥渘o harm, no foul,鈥� said Shaffer, it will merely have to plan to devote more money to salaries.听
鈥淭he question is: will people attend?鈥� said Shaffer.听
There is a concern for an Asian event, said Shaffer. Although most people involved in the events are friends and neighbors from the D.C. area, some of the performers do travel from Japan. 鈥淲ho would want to go to an Asian-flavored event at the moment that the coronavirus is breaking out in Asia?鈥� said Shaffer.听
The virus, which started in China and spread from Eastern Asia throughout the entire world, .听
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Shaffer, who is not Asian-American, said that he had not seen or experienced this kind of racism firsthand. 鈥淭he racism that I鈥檝e seen involves people not able to understand the difference between a Chinese person and a Japanese person and having that bleed over.鈥�
Allie Santiago, a Phillipino-American student living in D.C., said that she has not personally experienced this sort of racism, 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not coded as Asian.鈥� She said most of the time, people regard her as Latinx and she ends up facing biases connected to that. 鈥淚 definitely think it鈥檚 a visual assumption that people make.鈥�
鈥淎lso, I haven’t really been out much,鈥� she added.
Shaffer was in Japan a few weeks ago, before the quarantines in the United States were issued. He had to self-quarantine upon his return. At that time there were more cases in New York than in Tokyo. 鈥淭he notion that someone should have to quarantine just because they鈥檙e coming from that area was absurd,鈥� he said.
Right now, there are more in the United States than in Japan.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 racism or the instinct that a problem that exists overseas is more acute and scary than a problem that exists here,鈥� said Shaffer of people鈥檚 feelings toward Eastern Asia right now. But it鈥檚 鈥渋rrational,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he risk of contracting the virus has nothing to do with Asia,鈥� said Shaffer. 鈥淎 disease is a disease. It doesn鈥檛 care.鈥�
Not only is the Cherry Blossom Festival a showcase of the beginning of the spring blossoms, but it鈥檚 also a celebration of the rich Japanese culture from which these trees came.
The cherry blossoms were a gift of friendship from Japan to the United States in 1912, according to the National Park Service. Today, the city observes a four-week festival during peak bloom to celebrate these 3,000 trees, art, and diverse cultures.
鈥淭he National Cherry Blossom Festival has for the past 93 years, and will continue to do so, celebrate, promote, and preserve the U.S.-Japan friendship,鈥� a spokesperson from the festival wrote in an email.
In planning for the postponed events, the Japan-America Society faces a host of new challenges brought on by the virus, said Shaffer. 鈥淭he question [about racial violence] you鈥檙e asking presents a new one that I hadn鈥檛 considered yet.鈥�
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