Gender studies have revealed that men and women think differently, and both are confused about each others thoughts. Perhaps such a dichotomy does exist between the western world and the Asian world. As the era of globalization marches forward it has become a necessity for the west to expand its knowledge and understanding of the east. Such an understanding is not only important for global trade but is also important for peace and stability between the nations of the world. Understanding and the search for common objectives would not have been possible if Japan had not surprised the world with its rapid development and prosperity during the years after World War II. Japan is not only a global trend setter but is also the second biggest and most powerful economy in the world. As a modernized industrial nation and western ally, Japan is politically invaluable to peace and stability in South East Asia as well as the rest of the world.
Japan is an Asian country very similar to others
in Asia primarily because it has distinct traditional
values, is spiritualistic, has a trademark Asian
‘hierarchal’ structure which is apparent
in government, family and corporations and most
of all it has a rich cultural heritage which is
very prominent in Japanese literature, thought
and philosophies. The study of sociology has taught
us that what is virtue in one nation can be a
vice in another. A Japanese worker on average
would work for the same organization all his life;
loyalty and honor are virtues which have paramount
importance to all Japanese. Contrastingly, in
the individualistic society of the west it is
very common for people to change jobs and work
for different employers, something that would
amount to sacrilege in the Japanese society.
Asia certainly does have its own identity and
culture, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro
Nakasone wrote, ‘There are many
cultural common denominators among the Asian peoples.
Not least among these is a bent toward mysticism
and the transcendental that gives Asians the patience
to wait for events, in a sense, even as we are
moving them. This is in contrast to the legal
and determinedly historical mind set of the west.
Asian psychology is different. In Asia
it is common practice to contain water that overflows
river banks in a pond or makeshift reservoir and
to leave the water there until it recedes or eventually
dries up. We have time. We do not try to expedite
this process. Much the same is true of Asian attitude
towards strategy and diplomacy. Unlike Europeans,
Asians do not put a high priority on adversarial
discussion or military threat. This produces confrontation,
even when it is used as a bargaining counter.
Asians prefer to use dialogue, weather direct
or indirect, as a means of easing tension. One
might call this a tactic of ‘wait and see
and talk.’ The style of wait and see and
talk’ may seem, in short run, time consuming.
Some Westerners may feel that such diplomacy by
dialogue wastes time. It blurs the edges of controversy
and reduces the sharp opposition of issues. Yet
this is not a bad thing. It often prevents the
aggravation of disputes and indeed can work toward
their settlement.’ (Nakasone,
Yasuhiro (1986))Modernization in Japan has not
changed the Japanese cultural identity; rather
it has incorporated such an identity into the
process of modernization. And as the former Premier
adequately noted, even when modern the Asian people
sing to a different tune and that is very well
represented in the fields of diplomacy. Such cultural
aspects can be termed as ‘modernity’
but they are far apart from the more conventional
understanding of modernity which carries the essential
element of westernization. Japan is no longer
a developing nation and just as it serves as a
model for business practices, Japan is also a
model for the understanding of Asian modernities.
As an embodiment of the Asian way of thinking, Japan is a developed, progressive and modern country. Japan is modern in a way the west is not. To the west Japan is a far off exotic land, the land where Mount Fuji is located and a place where women are dressed like Geisha girls. Such a primitive understanding of Japan is very common in the west; however, the west is being forced to evaluate its opinions since a third of all their imports are produced by Japan, a country which remains to the west an enigma. Today the Japanese no longer pursue the isolationist policy which they practiced during the decades after the World War II, Japan is more liberal, more open and accessible and it is actively engaged in cultural exchange through the media, cultural events and student exchange. As a result, the west is warming up to the idea of Japan as a modern country but modern in a unique way.
Japan has had much to learn from history and
its political landscape has shifted dramatically
during the 20 th Century. Now, Japan is a democracy,
although the emperor is still the head of state,
he has no governing powers. The country drew its
constitution in 1947 and according to the constitution
legislative powers rest with a two chamber Diet
comprising of the House of Representatives and
House of Councilors and like the USA, the executive
powers rests with the cabinet which is composed
of the prime minister and ministers of state.
In fact democracy is so deep rooted in Japan that
each village and town appoints a mayor and a one
house assembly. Judiciary too is independent.
Democracy, however, is a recent development in
Japan and it is perhaps the hallmark of Japanese
modernity. After the devastation of the World
War II, the Japanese people realized the futility
of being a militarist state. They discovered that
the reason behind their troubles and loss was
the arrogance and shortsightedness of the militarist
regime. Hence the era of civil liberties and nation
building began and a whole nation worked together
toward development. The nation building process
took place on the bases of shared culture and
ideals. However, if Japan is not the land of feudalistic
landlords and radical militarists it certainly
does not mean that the nation has done a complete
about turn and forgotten the deep rooted elements
of its historical past. Although, Japan is now
a more socialist state, striking inequalities
between classes still exist and the feudal system
does reincarnate itself in the intricate and complex
structure of Japanese governmental hierarchy.
If we look and evaluate all aspects of modernization,
especially the western model of modernization
and modernity, we will find that Japan conforms
to the western model of a modern state. Japan
is a nation state; it is developed and industrialized,
it has a free market economy and it is a staunch
advocate of capitalism, it is increasingly becoming
a welfare state, has representative democracy,
most of its population lives in urban cities,
the literacy rate is almost 100% and the media
is not only active but is also free from government
intervention. If Japan has all these properties
then can it truly represent the notion of ‘Asian
modernities’ for the rest of the Pacific
and Southeast Asian countries? What modern similarities
are there between Indonesia and Japan? Can we
understand the concept of Asian modernities as
they apply to Viet Nam and Cambodia with reference
to the Japanese model? Is the Japanese model a
reflection of the ideal state a South East Asian
country can achieve? If modernity describes the
positive aspects of advanced technology then many
Asian nations would not display the type of modernity
that Japan would, since essentially there is a
technological and economic gap. Japanese on average
live a more comfortable life and have more disposable
income than other countries in the region. Japanese
can afford to travel more, get better education
and have different consumption patterns. The western
version of modernity implies that technological
advancement similar to that which occurred during
the industrial revolution would lead to economic
and political change. True, industrial progress
in Japan has resulted in economic and political
change but the process of industrialization was
learned in Japan rather than the internal development
and evolutionary development exhibited by western
nations during the Industrial Revolution. Similarly
China is learning industrialization, Hong Kong,
South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia
saw rapid progress because they simply adopted
the process of industrialization. Therefore, Japan
having achieved the goal of modernization can
be declared as a model for ‘Asian modernities’.
While commemorating the ASEAN- Japan Exchange Year 2003, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizomi said, ‘Japan and ASEAN should strengthen their cooperation under the basic concept of "acting together--advancing together."’ This statement may be perceived as directed towards the maintenance of peace and stability in the region, however, it implies more than that. Japan and the ASEAN countries share a common cultural and religious heritage, therefore, any expansion and progression of the free market economy in the ASEAN countries would result in similar changes in society and social structure. Japan saw this progress as the coming Pacific era during Yasuhiro Nakasone’s premiership who commented, ‘Here the vigor and competitiveness of Western – particularly American – capitalism has been enriched by the Asian cultural heritage, in a life style that values harmony over adversarial procedures, conciliation over confrontation, and circumspection over assertion. We might call this our Confucian Heritage. It is, I believe, an extremely useful shock absorber for a modern society with its tendencies towards division and conflict.’ (Nakasone, Yasuhiro (1986))
It was the intent of the Japanese government
to industrialize and westernize, they were however,
able to achieve the first target but the second
target was elusive. Japanese traditions and religion
play a vital role in the every day life of the
Japanese. The western concept of modernity involves
the evolution of secular and rational thought,
a certain disregard for tradition and religion
is achieved via modernization. Moreover the society
moves toward individualism. This concept of modernity
cannot be applied to Japan where people are still
spiritualistic and give importance to traditions.
The most striking example of the Japanese defiance
to western culture is their architecture. Doors
are made of paper panels and in every home there
is the traditional Japanese low table. Dana Buntrock
wrote in his article ‘Without Modernity:
Japan’s challenging Modernization’,
‘After all, in economic terms
Japan
has surpassed many of the countries that were
its original models. Instead, as one of the few
nations to success-fully initiate industrialization
in the nineteenth century, Japan offers provocative
evidence that modernization can be had on terms
which are not those established by the original
modernizers.’ (Butrock, Dana)
The Japanese approach to management is another reflection of the deep rooted cultural values in Japan. Other countries have adopted the Japanese style of management but few have been successful. This is mainly because the Asian culture affords a unique opportunity to practice the Japanese style of management. This culture, however, is not present in the west. The most clear example of the impact of Japanese culture on its business is the total absence of industrial action (strikes, picketing), whereas in the west industrial action and frequent worker dissatisfaction is not uncommon. The success in Labor relations may not be the only achievement of the Japanese; rather it is actually the mutual trust between organizations, employees, employers and the government. In no other country do all businesses operate on a just in time policy. This policy requires trust. In addition, although the business sector has emerged as a feudalistic empire with a very distinct seniority based hierarchal structure, the communication within organizations is bottom up instead of being the other way round as it is in the west. Workers regard their company as a family and they never leave this family, at the start of each day they even sing the company song. ( Asia Research Center) Consequently the social status of the worker is very much linked to the success of the company for which he works. An evaluation of the Japanese way of business leads full circle to the basic philosophy of the Japanese. Love nature, reduce and avoid conflict. This is now the heritage of the Japanese nation and qualities similar to these ideals are found in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
In today’s world, Japan is no longer a
specimen under the sociologist’s microscope.
Japan is by all means leaping towards a comprehensive
leadership role in the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
Japan wants to transform its neighbors into more
vigorous economic nations. The way Japan approaches
conflicts through negotiation and dialogue only
bolsters the effort on the part of other countries
to resolve conflicts. Despite being the second
largest economy in the world, Japan has only a
small ‘Self Defense Force’ and this
attitude towards the active pursuit of peace makes
other nations more willing to corporate. These
are the reason behind the phenomenal success of
the Japanese foreign policy. Japan’s influence
is most felt in the ASEAN countries, not only
is Japan leading these countries towards modernization,
it is also teaching them the Japanese way. A long
time ago Japan was a passive isolationist state
but now it is actively engaged in the creation
of peace.
The conflict with North Korea, deep routed antagonism
between the Chinese and Japan, the situation of
Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam all require Japan’s
guiding hand and influence. If Japan has taken
up the responsibility to transform nations then
obviously Japan as a country serves as a model
in all respects of Asian development.
David Hitchcock, head of the Asian Pacific section of the United States Information Agency carried out a survey in which he evaluated the personal and societal values in the United States and East Asia. He found that American’s valued (in descending order of priority) free expression, personal freedom, individual rights, open debate and thinking for oneself. Whereas the East Asian countries exhibited a sharp contrast, their values were having an orderly society, social harmony, official accountability, new ideas and respect for authority. (Sopiee, Noordin, 2001) In my opinion as I have expressed frequently in this paper that it is the similarity in values and culture between Japan and other Asian countries due to which Japanese expression of modernity can be used adequately as a model for all East Asian countries. This effect is enhanced by the active international role played by Japan. Therefore, Japanese perspective, although not universal, is certainly Asian. |