IS GLOBALIZATION CHANGING JAPAN?

Is Globalization Changing Japan?

2006.04.26

I have many questions, which I really don’t expect answers to but which I bring up here in the hopes of opening some discussion or debate on the subject.
Historically, Japan has in modern history, undergone two, maybe three significant periods of change. The first period of change was in the ending stages of the Tokugawa Shogunate, when the “barbarians” came out of the East and West, and forced the opening of Japan to the rest of the world, followed by the Meiji Era. I think in this case, at this point in history, Japan had no choice but to change and it’s people made drastic and wonderful achievements at becoming a member of the world nations.

The second period was that following WW2. What can one say about that, except that it happened and Japan again did marvelous things to rebuild and to, in many ways, re-invent itself?

Perhaps the third period was during and immediately after the “Bubble Economy.” Now there is a trend toward “world globalization”: instant communication and commerce anywhere in the world - instant exchanges of information, instant business. I am wondering if this could (or is) having a negative effect on Japanese culture and the Japanese people.

I wonder if the Japanese government and the people in the Diet haven’t gone about things wrong, at the sacrifice of its people and culture. The government has done things so quickly, so rapidly that it makes me question whether they have really thought about what they are doing. Has the government in its diplomatic and economic decisions, really considered or thought about Japan and the people, instead of only catering to the wants and desires of their political friends. I am concerned that there has been little thought given about the people and the culture and that in the long-term, the ordinary Japanese people will suffer and pay for the effects of government decisions.

Everything is done these days in such a hurry – rush, rush, dash, and dash. I think that this has potentially done great damage to Japanese culture and society. One of the things that made Japan great, that enabled it to make so much wonderful progress in the Meiji Period and after, was Japanese diligence. Japan was famous for its quality craftsmanship and industrial ability because Japanese people (even the “little people” – artists, crafts people, etc.) took the time to do good planning, and to properly investigate things before doing something. They took their time and did not rush. It would seem that the Japanese government, Japanese business, and now even the people themselves, no longer take the time, the thought, the care, that made them so special and unique in the world.

Politicians are not connected to the lives of the real people – to the real world. There is now a vicious cycle of the people paying more, for example gasoline, and then having to work more to pay for things, and because they are working more and are earning more, the prices go up once again. It is potentially a never-ending cycle. It is like a dog trying to catch its own tail – it doesn’t happen. And because they are caught up in this cycle, there is not time for anything else – no time for art, for culture, not even to be kind (which is something else that made Japan and the Japanese people stand out in the world).

The good news is that it all can be changed, while Japan still maintains its place in the world. Greed and the seeking of power I think, drive globalization. There is no vision of tomorrow, unless it is only about how profits will appear on the next quarterly report. No one, from the top and now progressing downward to the average person, things about the future. It is, in my mind, becoming more a world of only “now” and of “self”, which I will admit is the way of things in the US now. Most sad.

I am wondering if such things as Bushido have even more relevance now in the life of Japan, on all levels. Should it come back? Can it come back? I think so. I think everyone it is an important consideration – to be accountable or responsible for our mistakes and to move forward from them with discipline. It is something that is missing in American culture and is disappearing from Japanese culture, and I think it is necessary.

Today we play the “Blame Game.” It used to be if there was something wrong, you stopped, thought about the problem, fixed it, and then moved on. The “American Way” has been to find someone to blame, punish him or her, and then move on. That is becoming more of a “global” attitude towards things. It saddens me.

I come from an older generation that had a respect for the land and for other people. In Japan, people felt a responsibility, a duty; to do not only what was asked of them, but in addition, what was not asked of them. It gave strength of character that is lost in the US and is being lost here. We no longer take the time to sit and talk to our children, and they do not take the time to sit and listen, and to learn from older generations with the result that American culture has slipped away, and Japanese culture is rapidly slipping away.

I an American, not a Japanese, and while I love and embrace many things of Japanese society and culture, I will always be an American. But with globalization I see a trend for young people (especially) to try so hard to be “non-Japanese” and I worry about there becoming a “non-Japanese Japan.” Englishmen are Englishmen, Americans are Americans – there is nothing wrong with that. What is so wrong with being Japanese? We don’t expect Japanese people to be like us or us to be like them. It is one of the things that makes us all unique, makes Japanese unique, and makes the world a sometimes fun and interesting place. I think young Japanese people should enjoy being Japanese. This is from someone who is on the “outside” looking in. Sometimes I think (especially young people) are on the “inside” looking out, and forget to see themselves. Be yourself! It’s nice!

Lastly I am wondering, does it fall on people of my generation to teach again, how to be Japanese or to be the preservers of Japanese culture? Is that right or is it wrong? Is there a place for such people as myself, who studies the old ways and teaches the old ways, and practices the older arts, in Japan? Should fathers and mothers take the time to teach their children, or make it possible for their children to learn about what makes Japan a most unique place in the world?

I wonder.