So I’ve finished the book, and I’m rather distraught, thinking if it makes sense to stay in Japan.
For the uninformed, Alex Kerr is a well-known Japanologist who lived in Iya Valley and Kyoto and published a bunch books. This particular book focuses on everything that’s wrong with Japan, from free-wheeling bureaucracy, to corruption in construction industry and public funds that spent on it, to the ministry of finance helping the industry hide bad debts, to degradation of nature, as well as more pertinent things for me, like the roles that foreigners are allowed to have in Japan and the concept “poor people, strong state” and how that translates to education.
However, the book is now 20 years old, and I wonder what has happened since…
Surely some things, like Fukushima dai-ichi and release of radiowater into the ocean follow the patterns spelled out in the book.
I wonder if perhaps something got better?
Would someone point me to a comprehensive list (this is still bad, that is now different), or any modern, up to date resource?
15 comments
Why can’t we all just start using our autism for good?
” Japanologist”
Go outside. Touch the grass.
Everywhere is corrupt and fucked. Pick your poison
> I’m rather distraught, thinking if it makes sense to stay in Japan.
Try living in the US, I’m sure you’d love it there.
Bro just said Japanologist as if Japan is a commodity
Well, in the last years Japan was forced to change some aspects about their their own politics, and treat to the population due to the pression of the globalization and the access of the internet by the population.
The government still corrupt but now a politician can lost his job due to the pression of the people.
The treatment to foregeiner citizens improved still not as good as Europe but it’s better than in the 80’s.
“So I’ve finished the book, and I’m rather distraught, thinking if it makes sense to stay in Japan”.
That reads as if either a) you’re considering, consciously or under the surface, leaving Japan, and are using this book as a reason to justify acting on this desire, or b) you don’t have a lot of confidence in Japan as a country if a book written 20 years ago can influence your thinking that much.
I’ve read it too, although it’s been a while. His points are well made and he doesn’t pull punches, but it’s only one person’s view of things. Unless one is living in a genuinely dangerous and unstable place and one has to literally spend all one’s time trying to survive, then one has the choice to focus on the positives about the place or to focus on the negatives. If I put my mind to it, I could probably talk myself into leaving Japan, but that would mean going back to the UK, which is in a far worse state than Japan. Or I can stay here, acknowledge that it has its flaws like any country, but those flaws don’t stop me enjoying living here.
Alex Kerr likely has a website – I don’t know how much he interacts with it, but it may be worth shooting him a variation on your question. You never know, he may answer and then you’ll have it from the man himself.
‘Japan is bad because of this’ or ‘Japan has these troubles / issues’
Yeah – and they have those issues because society would rather have those issues than other issues. Trying to solve some issues often is just trading one set of problems for another set.
That’s modern society.
Japan has issues – but I’d rather deal with those issues vs say healthcare, drugs or guns in the US.
I think Kerr lives in Japan still right?
Japan stayed the same, but the rest of the world got worse….
Meh. “Above-ground powerlines oh mah gaahd!”
Having lived in a few different countries, my take is – every country has it’s good points, and less than good points.
Nowhere is perfect. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to choose where to live, we generally choose the places that has good points that we like, and less than good points that we can accept and/or do not directly affect us quite as much.
Look into what Kerr is doing now – there’s Chiiori in Iya Valley and some other renovated folk houses near there, I think he did a similar project in Kyoto, I remember there was a TV program where he was involved with a sustainable tourism project in these islands in Nagasaki prefecture where they have really old christian churches and stuff…. Maybe try visiting one of the locations and see for yourself.
Every country has problems, the more you dig the more you will find. Enjoy life and stop thinking about it
I’m not sure what you are looking for. 10 people are going to have 10 different opinions on what is “good” and what is “bad”. Decide for yourself what you do and don’t like about Japan.