Comments on: This is not something you see every day

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:23:51 +0000

Japan is very much a democracy, although I can understand how it could appear otherwise. The key is that while the LDP was in power for most of the post-war era, it was not a monolithic or ideologically rigid party. Japanese politics is based much more on individual personalities than party identity, and different personalities & sects within the LDP regularly emerged throughout this period, embracing different ideas and rising or falling in prominence in response to the voters. It was not uncommon for politicians to change parties without changing ideologies, or change policy positions without changing parties. Had the LDP been inflexible and refused to accommodate the demands of voters at any point in this period they would have ceased to be the ruling party. In fact, in 1993 they did become the minority and there was a short-lived non-LDP coalition government, although this had more to do with a party realignment than an actual change in voting patterns. It is also worth noting that the rule of the LDP ended in 2009, and the ruling party since the 2009 elections has been the DPJ.

This is not to say that the Japanese system is without problems- it has plenty. But it is inaccurate to say that it is not a democracy. Also, the factors behind the long single-party rule are extremely complex and do not boil down to simple cultural values such as hierarchy.

By: breast gain

breast gain — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:40:06 +0000

The adults whom you knew in your childhood lived through WW2, and through the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. They read the stories and may have known someone who lived through the Bataan Death March – I am 63, and in my childhood I knew 2 adults who did so. Both were badly disfigured and crippled by torture.

By: Sascha

Sascha — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 03:01:08 +0000

Quite agree with almost everything about the Japanese, except, it is not the Japanese as such, but certain cultural characteristics that the east Asians around that area share, e.g. not having to suffer the remnants of Judeo-Christian culture as much as Westerners.
The Chinese are now catching up, jeeps and all, and we should indeed welcome them taking over the world, which they do soon without a doubt:
http://www.science20.com/alpha_meme/asia_has_taken_over_scientific_leadership_role_us

By: Antoni Jaume

Antoni Jaume — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:32:55 +0000

Nemo, you say “Tony P, they are still not a republic. A democracy, yes, but not a republic. Like Britain.”

But I disagree, I don’t think they’re a democracy either. After all they had the same party in power for the 54 years following the end of the II world war. It seems to me they’re much more hierarchical. On the other hand they’ve a high opinion of consensus, so most opinions are taken in their reckoning before the decisions arrive.

By: nancy brownlee

nancy brownlee — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:27:54 +0000

Traditional Japanese culture was, and is, one of the most uncompromisingly xenophobic in the world. When I lived there for a couple of years in the Sixties, it was commonplace for gaijin to be spat upon in public.

These truths are not justifications for racism or cultural bias; there are NO justifications for those attitudes. But they are truths. Westerners have no monopoly on xenophobia.

By: doug l

doug l — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:55:41 +0000

All Japanese people hate stereotypes.

By: Nemo

Nemo — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:58:14 +0000

Tony P, they are still not a republic. A democracy, yes, but not a republic. Like Britain.

By: Tony P

Tony P — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 23:10:27 +0000

Japan is a fascinating story. They rose from a dynastic monarchy to a republic in a very short time.

Not only that, they embraced western culture and made it their own. In fact they probably made it better, not worse.

And you’re right, used to be a day that “Made in Japan” was a symbol of lack of quality. But I hold in my hand right now a radio made by Vertex Standard a Yaesu VX-7R made in Japan and it’s one hell of a radio and well worth the price I paid for it.

And I’m sitting on a leather chaise that was made in China.

So yes, Asia can build high quality goods.

But I wish we still built some of it in the United States.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:14:23 +0000

Thank you for this article. I’ve never commented before, but this entry spoke to me personally in more than one way. First, my mother’s situation growing up was likely similar to that of your neighbor, Billy. I am too young to have seen the historically intolerant attitudes of Americans toward the Japanese that you described, and it is not something my family talks about. However, I am certain that what you describe is a lot of the reason my generation (in my own family and the few people I have met who share a similar family history) tends to have a complicated relationship with that part of our heritage. Fortunately for me, my branch of the family has embraced it.

Second, because of my connections to the country (including some time spent living there), I have felt very deeply affected by the events in Japan, even after confirming that my friends & family there were safe & relatively unaffected. It has therefore been strange to see my friends here in the US, while sympathetic, finding it so easy to put it out of their minds.

But with your point that many seeing the images out of Japan do not have a “normal” reference point to compare it to, this makes a little more sense. No matter how horrible the pictures, understanding what has been lost, what those places should look like and the daily life that has been interrupted, perhaps makes the images cut more deeply. To many, as you pointed out, this is just what Japan looks like right now.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 20:35:42 +0000

Everybody’s a jerk. We’re just trying to overlook that in our friends who are getting hammered at the moment.