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city lifeDear AMA,ASK METROPOLIS ANYTHINGI met a friend of a friend for the first time theother day, and I didn’t like her at all. Although Ibelieve in giving people a proper chance, shebehaved in a manner that was loud, rude andat times racist. Thankfully, she’s not my friendand I can at least keep my distance… but I alsofeel I should say something. I’ve told my friendthat I probably won’t go out in a group if she’sthere—but how should I handle her if I meether again? The foreign community isn’t thatbig and I don’t want to be nasty.—No OffenseDear No Offense,We’ve passed your question on to the goodpeople at TELL. Here’s what they had to say:I can hear you are concerned about your friendand her new acquaintance. You are right: asforeigners in Japan, our community is verysmall and our friendships overlap, which cancomplicate the situation.Finding people you like and maintainingfriendships can be challenging in anycountry or community. As foreignerswithout extended families and regularfriends, the friendships and relationshipswe make in Japan become even moreimportant.Your friend’s new acquaintance appearsto have added a stress to yourrelationship, and your ability to socializetogether. This has left youquestioning how best to respondto your friend and this new person. I can hearthat this person has many traits and behaviorsthat challenge your values and beliefs regardingacceptable behavior. These are oftenculturally defined and vary considerably. Forexample, someone from New York typicallybehaves very differently from a Japanese person,and also from a Greek person, and so on.Friendships—like any relationship—takework, and I am concerned that your feelingstoward the new acquaintance may damageyour existing friendship, and I can hear youcare about this friend. Our Lifeline counselorscan explore your concerns and help youto work through your feelings and optionsthat might work for you, should you meet theacquaintance again.Answer courtesy of TELL. If you need to talk,they’re here to listen. Call the TELL Lifeline at03-5774-0992 from 9am-11pm, 365 days ayear. Or visit their website at www.telljp.comIf you want to “Ask Metropolis Anything” about lifein Tokyo, send your questions to askanything@metropolisjapan.com and we’ll find the mostappropriate people to answer your queries.in personAUTONOMOUSAUTHORBY JEFF W. RICHARDSForeign authors in Japan aren’t all writingabout shoguns and geisha, otaku culture orHarajuku fashion. Iain Maloney writes aboutplaces and eras dearer to his home.The Scottish author’s third and latest novel—andhis first to be published—First TimeSolo, is a tale of young, British men on the homefront in 1943 who learn to fly and play jazz.The settings of his stories also reflectthe writer’s environment—in particular,his current country of residence.“I’ve written a lot of short storiesset in Japan, and one day I hope tocollect them all into a book,” says theAberdeen-born Maloney, who movedto Japan with his wife in 2005.“The novel I wrote before [First TimeSolo], Dog Mountain, was set in Japanwith all Japanese characters. It wasabout political corruption and abuses of power—aswell as being a thriller with odd fantasyelements, like talking dogs.”Maloney’s writing has manifested in variousgenres of expression: short stories, poetry, haikuand articles on music, travel and literature. Buthis heart remains closer to writing novels.“Novels are where my passion lies,” saysMaloney. “I love the sprawl, the structural possibilities… the space that a novel gives you.“I’ve written four [novels], of which FirstTime Solo was the first to be published. Thefirst I wrote is too embarrassing to show anyone,the second was shortlisted for the 2013Dundee International Book Prize and thefourth will come out sometime [in 2015].”Maloney also harbors an interest in writing forthe screen and stage, but is first eyeing translatingworks by Japanese authors to bring theirworks to an international audience.NOVELSAREWHEREMYPASSIONLIES.”“Not enough contemporary writersare given exposure in the Englishliterary world. I’d love to bring outa book showcasing … lesser-knownJapanese writers like Ryuichiro Utsumiand Nao-Cola Yamazaki—andall the ones I’ve never even heard ofyet. There’s so much great literature inthis country that the rest of the worlddeserves to enjoy.”Asked about the trappings of writingstories with foreign characters or settings,the writer says it’s all too easy to fall into theusual clichés. “It takes a brave, imaginativeleap to free yourself from viewing a cultureas an outsider, and to believably inhabit thepsyche of someone from that culture, withall the different pressures and expectationsthat follow.”First Time Solo(Freight Books) hasbeen shortlisted forThe Guardian’s Notthe Booker Prize,and is available onAmazon (¥1,660).You can followIain Maloney athis website: www.iainmaloney.wordpress.com20