Learning initiative from Japanese
Many Americans believe that the Japanese don't enjoy as many freedoms as people in the U.S. Americans have been fed the "we're the freest country in the world" line for so long that they no longer question it. After living in Japan for over 20 years — and observing the direction the U.S. is heading — I think I can safely say there is no comparison. Japan, today, is a much freer country than the United States.
Sure, Japan has its problems; everywhere does. But I do not fear for my safety, or my family's safety, at night. I do not fear the police here. And I most certainly do not fear "terrorism" in Japan. Can most people living in today's United States make the same claims? I don't believe so. Today's America has become a police state, where the populace fears for its personal safety just like people used to in the Soviet Union.
There also seems to be some idea, among Westerners, that Japan is a sort of "nanny state." According to this view, the Japanese are so trapped in groupthink that they don't think for themselves or do anything without the government's permission. This is patently false. In many ways, Japanese are motivated to "do things by themselves" more than Americans are. They have some very valuable things to teach Western society. I'll give you a good example, but first, an observation about Japan that we've all made.
There are vending machines standing on the streets everywhere in this country. You'll rarely see one broken. I have never heard of one being stolen. People also keep beautiful bonsai trees in front of their homes. Some of them are over 100 years old and quite valuable. No kids run around at night kicking them over. No one steals them. Teenagers don't spray paint graffiti on walls here like they do in America.
Have you ever stopped to consider the reasons for this phenomena? Sociologists claim that Japan has a stronger family unit than the West, and that this explains its more stable society. This is certainly true. But there is one more thing that Japan has that the West does not: "kumiai."
"Kumiai" refers to a group of people, living in a neighborhood or working for the same company, who come together to resolve their local problems. This is done on a minute scale, without consultation or approval of the state. The "kumiai" have absolutely nothing to do with government or management. Some Westerners might confuse this with "voluntary socialism," but they'd be mistaken. Socialism, with its rules and structures, is never voluntary. As with any form of organized government today — and that includes so-called democracies — socialism operates under a form of coercion. The kumiai is completely voluntary.
One day, shortly after I had moved to Japan, I saw a group of neighbors cleaning the drainage ditches in the neighborhood. I asked my wife what they were doing. "It's the 'kumiai,'" she answered. "You should go out and help them." So out I went and shoveled dirt and mud from the ditches along with 12 or so neighbors. They were young and old, men and women, and after the ditches were cleaned, everyone thanked each other and bowed.
I was puzzled. "Why do people do this?" I asked. "Don't they pay taxes to have their ditches cleaned?" My wife explained that the people in the "kumiai" got together in an effort to keep their neighborhood beautiful, to lower their taxes and just to get to know each other better. They held meetings every once in a while to discuss neighborhood problems and how to deal with them. It was a way for the folks to grow mutual understanding, communication and trust. The "kumiai" was a group, but perhaps a better definition would be community.
I look back on that day as a lesson in politics. Had the government come in to clean the ditches, it would have brought in a dozen men, a few trucks and a tractor with a shovel. It would have taken all day, snarled traffic and eaten up a lot of tax money. But the local people got together and took care of it themselves. It was the community that resolved the problems. And it was up to me, as an individual, to decide whether or not I wanted to be a part of that community — which I did, in part because I might someday need help from my neighbors.
I think "kumiai" helps explain why kids don't vandalize neighborhoods here or why they don't go around raising hell: Mom and her friends are just going to have to clean up the mess anyway. "Kumiai" is one of the reasons that streets are safe at night, and it's a big reason, I think, why Japan offers a society free from crime and fear. This simple idea could teach Westerners a lot about how to live a peaceful life in a peaceful country.
Sure, Japan has its problems; everywhere does. But I do not fear for my safety, or my family's safety, at night. I do not fear the police here. And I most certainly do not fear "terrorism" in Japan. Can most people living in today's United States make the same claims? I don't believe so. Today's America has become a police state, where the populace fears for its personal safety just like people used to in the Soviet Union.
There also seems to be some idea, among Westerners, that Japan is a sort of "nanny state." According to this view, the Japanese are so trapped in groupthink that they don't think for themselves or do anything without the government's permission. This is patently false. In many ways, Japanese are motivated to "do things by themselves" more than Americans are. They have some very valuable things to teach Western society. I'll give you a good example, but first, an observation about Japan that we've all made.
There are vending machines standing on the streets everywhere in this country. You'll rarely see one broken. I have never heard of one being stolen. People also keep beautiful bonsai trees in front of their homes. Some of them are over 100 years old and quite valuable. No kids run around at night kicking them over. No one steals them. Teenagers don't spray paint graffiti on walls here like they do in America.
Have you ever stopped to consider the reasons for this phenomena? Sociologists claim that Japan has a stronger family unit than the West, and that this explains its more stable society. This is certainly true. But there is one more thing that Japan has that the West does not: "kumiai."
"Kumiai" refers to a group of people, living in a neighborhood or working for the same company, who come together to resolve their local problems. This is done on a minute scale, without consultation or approval of the state. The "kumiai" have absolutely nothing to do with government or management. Some Westerners might confuse this with "voluntary socialism," but they'd be mistaken. Socialism, with its rules and structures, is never voluntary. As with any form of organized government today — and that includes so-called democracies — socialism operates under a form of coercion. The kumiai is completely voluntary.
One day, shortly after I had moved to Japan, I saw a group of neighbors cleaning the drainage ditches in the neighborhood. I asked my wife what they were doing. "It's the 'kumiai,'" she answered. "You should go out and help them." So out I went and shoveled dirt and mud from the ditches along with 12 or so neighbors. They were young and old, men and women, and after the ditches were cleaned, everyone thanked each other and bowed.
I was puzzled. "Why do people do this?" I asked. "Don't they pay taxes to have their ditches cleaned?" My wife explained that the people in the "kumiai" got together in an effort to keep their neighborhood beautiful, to lower their taxes and just to get to know each other better. They held meetings every once in a while to discuss neighborhood problems and how to deal with them. It was a way for the folks to grow mutual understanding, communication and trust. The "kumiai" was a group, but perhaps a better definition would be community.
I look back on that day as a lesson in politics. Had the government come in to clean the ditches, it would have brought in a dozen men, a few trucks and a tractor with a shovel. It would have taken all day, snarled traffic and eaten up a lot of tax money. But the local people got together and took care of it themselves. It was the community that resolved the problems. And it was up to me, as an individual, to decide whether or not I wanted to be a part of that community — which I did, in part because I might someday need help from my neighbors.
I think "kumiai" helps explain why kids don't vandalize neighborhoods here or why they don't go around raising hell: Mom and her friends are just going to have to clean up the mess anyway. "Kumiai" is one of the reasons that streets are safe at night, and it's a big reason, I think, why Japan offers a society free from crime and fear. This simple idea could teach Westerners a lot about how to live a peaceful life in a peaceful country.
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posted by Davor Novakovic @ Friday, November 25, 2005
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