This month’s Just Be Cause is a spew of hate and, quite frankly, racism:
That is precisely what tatemae does to Japanese society. It makes everyone into a politician, changing the truth to suit their audience, garner support or deflect criticism and responsibility.
One point I find interesting is that he appears to blame the Japanese for bringing Hiroshima and Nagasaki on themselves (my highlighting):
The Japanese Empire’s deception about its treatment of prisoners of war and noncombatants under the Geneva Conventions (e.g., the Bataan Death March, medical experiments under Unit 731), not to mention lying to its own civilians about how they would be treated if captured by the Allies, led to some of the most horrifying mass murder-suicides of Japanese, dehumanizing reprisals by their enemies, and war without mercy in World War II’s Pacific Theater.
If anyone would like to provide an alternative explanation, I’m all ears.
And of course, he finishes off with his usual "Fookooshimar will kill us all!"
As the public — possibly worldwide — sickens over time, the truth will leak out.
I’ve defended the printing of previous columns as being just the Japan Times trolling for page views, but I cannot do it in this case. Or perhaps the joke is on me – this is just an illustration of uso mo houben, mixing a certain amount of facts with wild speculation and flat-out disinformation?
“It probably explains, to some extent, why they can’t form any lasting meaningful relationships in Japan either.”
And there, with that one sentence, I think you’ve just identified the elephant in the room. Great work Kujirakira!
Yes, I thought the same thing as arenes when I read that line.
Sorry to get back so late. Pretty sure it was the JCP, I’m waiting to hear back from him. I heard he took a position in Australia, A very interesting man, when I first came to Japan he felt I saw the country threw “rose colored glasses” It was such a civilized country I deluded myself into thinking it had to be so much better than my own country. I would like to find some of his work, He’s Japanese and very critical of his own country so it won’t be called racism if I post some of his stuff. He was the one who recommended Embracing Defeat.It was an interesting period, a lot of lefty pinko types around me at that time.
http://www.gmu.edu/programs/icar/ijps/vol5_2/sumimoto.htm
Good paper on Religious Freedom In Japan, as an Atheist whatever right? Its nobodies business but their own what believes you have, you mind your business and I’ll mind mine. It’s a bit dated but it stands up.
The U.S. has a Communist Party
http://cpusa.org/ (Communist Party U.S.A.)
Bernie Sanders is a U.S. Senator from Vermont and a self described Socialist.
A few socialist/anarchist publications that spring to mind.
http://www.zcommunications.org/zmag/zmagabout.htm Anarchist/Libertarian (U.S.)
http://www.freedompress.org.uk/news/newspaper/lastest-issue/ Anarchist (U.K.)
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/ Trotskyist (I.S.T.) (U.K.)
http://www.newint.org/issues/2011/11/01/ Libertarian/Socialist (U.K)
http://cnt.es/en/node/4343 Anarchist (Spain)
The most striking thing for me was the use of Unit 731 as an example of Japanese suppression. Does Arudou have any idea about what actually happened? Unit 731 should have been front and center at the Tokyo Trial. Instead, the medicos were both protected by the occupation authority and paid for their ongoing cooperation in “money, food, gifts, entertainments and other kinds of rewards” to the tune of around 150, 000 and 200, 000 yen—the equivalent of about 20 million to 40 million yen today. Charles Willoughby, MacArthur’s chief of intelligence, proudly declared that the “information procured will have the greatest value in future development of the U.S. BW [biological weapons] program.” All mention of the unit was suppressed by SCAP.
The head of Unit 731 was Ishii Shiro, an army doctor. Captured by the U.S. after wisely evacuating out of the reach of the approaching Russians, he spent portions of the year 1948, the penultimate year of the Tokyo Trial, as a guest lecturer at the American biological weapons facility at camp Detrick in Maryland. The existence of Unit 731 eventually came to light in 1976 through the production of a Japanese documentary, much to the disgust of Justice Roling, the Dutchman on the Tokyo Trial’s bench. “It is a bitter experience for me to be informed now that centrally ordered Japanese criminality of the most disgusting kind was kept from the Court” he wrote. It was, of course, the U.S. government to which his complaint was being directed.
Of these uncontested facts, one can only assume, Arudou does not have a clue.
The post war Government shut it all down with help of the occupying forces? It would be more accurate to say, ‘the post war Government that the occupying forces insisted the people of Japan have shut it down’. It’s all there in Embracing Defeat. It is also worth remembering that amongst all of the post war vibrancy was all awful lot of starvation.
Dear me. Failing to comprehend the basic idea of tatemae/honne is quite remarkable for someone who wants to be considered some kind of expert on Japanese culture.
Then again, tatemae means not telling you you’re an asshole, but thinking it all the same. Perhaps tatemae is to blame for Debito staying for as long as he did.
Bloody Japanese. They never get anything right.
Greg 2
Dower 氏のEmbracing DefeatとWar without Mercyは読みました。傑作だと思いますけど、私は歴史に疎いので専門家にどう評価されているのかは、よくわかりません。これまた、ちょっと癖があるようなことを言っていた歴史通の人がいたような記憶もあります。私のブログにも歴史に詳しい人がいますので、より詳しい評価をお聞きになりたければ、その人に聞いてみます。
昭和史については、英語圏でとりあげられるような右翼の人による本ではなくて、日本語で、一般向けにわりにいい本が沢山出ています。いろいろあるのでしょうけれど、最近では、加藤陽子の著作なんかがわりに人気があるように思います。
なんていうかーーー例えば、英米哲学の本について日本語で書かれたのがいくつかあり、中には名著もありますけど、それだけ読んでいても十分とはいえない。かなり浅薄で、偏った知識にならざる得ない。実際に英語で書かれたものを何冊も読んで、それで評価していくべきだと思いますけど、それと同じで、日本の歴史にせよ、なんにせよ、日本で書かれたものを右翼傾向がつよいものから左翼傾向が強いものまで、いくつか読んでみて、始めて、ある程度まっとうな解釈ができるようになるのではないでしょうか？
英語圏でも例えば、Zinnによる歴史観と、Pat Buchanan による歴史観では雲泥の差があるでしょうし、例えば、原爆投下についても、実にさまざまな見解があるのは、ご承知の通りで、それと同様です。一応本になるくらいのものは、それだけの説得力をもつものが多いですが、しかし、一冊読んでみてその見解を鵜呑みにするのはまずい。
リンク先のT Sumimotoによる論文についてですが、これも一つの見解でしょう。ただ、あまりにもおおざっぱすぎる。そこで、どうしても固定観念的にとらえすぎているきらいがあるのではないか、という印象を持ちます。
彼の略歴をみてみると創価大学出身で、創価大学の先生である、という点も注目しておいてよいと思います。
http://www.gmu.edu/programs/icar/ijps/vol5_2/bio5_2.htm
もちろん、創価大学の先生だから、なにというわけではありませんが、しかし、論文の内容にそれが影響していることは見て取れるのではないでしょうか？
”the Japanese are among the least religious of nations. ”
これはわりにあたっているかな、と思います。
なお、
Religious Restrictions in the 25 Most Populous Countries
http://pewforum.org/Government/Religious-Restrictions-in-the-25-Most-Populous-Countries.aspx
参照
墓参りなど先祖崇拝などは定着していますし、民間の間で、心霊など興味を持つ人がいますけど、とくにこれといった教義もない。いずれせによ、イスラム教国やキリスト教国に比べると、宗教に関しては、淡泊である、というのは私の印象でもあります。
そのあとの文章も私は異議がありますが、多少抽象的なので飛ばしまして、
1. Lack of a Human Rights Tradition についてとりあげてみたい、と思います。
現代的な意味における、人権が日本の歴史で新しいものであったというのはその通りであろう、と思います。が、しかし、現代的な意味での人権概念は、西洋でも新しい。もちろん、自然権などは、概念としては、古くから哲学的にあったわけですが、”白人”という人種やあるいは、身分ではなく、人間であるが故に当然に認められる権利が、現実に認められはじめたのは、西洋でも極々最近のことでしょう。それでも、人権に関する共通の観念が市民に共有されているか、どうか、は日本でも欧米でも怪しいですし、また、より十全な人権確保にむけた途上にある、ということも、欧米でも日本でも似たようなものではないでしょうか？
なお、権利・自然権について
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kentanakachan/e/6190733220889c9193b3b7b34481737f
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kentanakachan/e/1d021cdfdc0580cd9c5e18e920e1f455
拙稿も参照されたし。
他方、身分に付随する権利というのは、権利という言葉はなくても、身分制度の下でも論理的にはあったわけです。
Immaturity of an Independent Judiciary
”In a 1959 decision, the Supreme Court explicitly stated that “the case is of a highly political nature; therefore, constitutional judgment on the case by the judicial court . . . is not appropriate”6 -a de facto admission that the court was unwilling to chart an independent course by setting itself above political considerations.”
これは誤解があるように思います。
統治行為論はアメリカの判例の理論のなかで、Political questionとして、理論化されてきたもので、現代ではそのまま使わないにせよ、三権分立等の観点から、司法審査が除外される場合があるというのが通説であり、特に日本特有のものではない。これをもってして、司法権の独立がない、あるいは、未熟だというなら、どこの国の司法も未熟といわざるえない。
まあ、いずれにせよ、全般的におおざっぱすぎる、という印象です。
共産党員に対する監視についてですが、会合によっては、まったくありえない話でもない。ある程度の年齢の方なら誰でもご承知のように、日本共産党幹部宅盗聴事件というのもあった。
共産党というのは、戦前から戦後のある時期まで目の敵のようにされてきた。マルクス主義自体は、日本の知識人は多かれ少なかれ影響を受けているわけで、共産党にしても、一時は勢力があったときもあったわけですが、ソ連崩壊以降、最近はかなり落ちぶれてしまってーーーといっても、国会議員も地方議員もいるわけですがーーーー、最近でも監視しているのか、どうか、そこらへんは微妙なところでしょう。
イスラム教徒の監視についても、そうした監視があったのでしょう。もっとも、ロイターでしたか、アメリカの警察がNYでのアラブ系の監視をしていた、という報道があった。アメリカ以外の他の国でもそうした報道があったように思いますが、９．１１以降、各国の警察によりそうした監視活動があったことは確かなのだろう、と思います。
で、日本人の意見をお聞きになるというのは非常にありがたい話で、結構なわけですけど、日本人といってもいろいろいるわけです。
日本の政治に問題に関して批判的な人など、隣のおばちゃんでも批判的です。そして、その批判の対象や批判の理由も様々なわけです。
私のブログにコメントしてくださる日本人の人も私に同意してくれる人もいますが、全般的に言えば違う意見を持っている。それは当然なわけです。
自分のガールフレンドが、日本は○○である、といった、あるいは、信頼できる友人が日本が△△といった、といって、だから、日本は○○だ、△△だ、と結論づけてしまう人をみかけますけど、それらは一つの日本人の意見ではありますが、一つの意見に過ぎない。
日本人でも、アメリカ人の一人の友人がアメリカではこうなんだって、と聞いたから、アメリカはこうだ、と決めつけてしまう人がいますが、やはり、それは違う。
上記の私の意見も一つに意見にすぎない。
ですから、いろいろな人々と対話してもらいたい、と願っています。いろいろな意見があり、また、知識の深さもいろいろです。その上で合理的な断定もできるのではないか、と思います。
で、有道氏のブログなんかでアメリカ人やドイツ人の友人と話すように日本人の中で素直に話したりする友達がいるか、というようなことが話題になっていたことがありますが、いない、と応えた人で、そもそも、日本語で、こうした会話をできる人がどれだけいるのでしょうか？
私は癖のある人間ですから、ともかく、日本人でもいろんな人がいる。私よりも知識が深い人も沢山いるわけです。不思議なのは有道氏のブログではみなさん日本語で会話できることになっているが、ネット上では、誰一人日本語で日本人と語り合おうとしないーーーなぜなのだろうか？全くの謎です。
Roughly have of the proxy’s won’t allow you to navigate the site properly and posting is iffy. They take me back to the search page. Do you think the free VPN’s are any good? Better to pay? I’m using a mac. Appreciate advice and recommendations.
Cool, I have a friend that works pretty close with the JCP (I think his NGO is partly funded by them), but he’s never told me any stories like that. My understanding was that while the people in black vans don’t like them, everyone else views them as a functioning part of society, giving the “socialist” view a voice.
I haven’t read your link yet, but I will this week.
I also would have thought debito understands tatemae in practice.
To get him to allow you to comment on his site with any sort of sensible counter-argument, you have to use tatemae, butter him up, withhold the harsher points.
Any honne comments that he doesn’t censor are labelled anywhere between “off topic” and “cyberbullying” depending on how close to the bone they cut.
Though maybe this explain that video interview he did with his friends at the FCCJ (?)
1. Being socially-inept enough to ask in a surprise pop quiz “What parts of the book did you like?” and putting his friends in a bind like some silly sitcom.
2. Not noticing when everyone was at a loss what to say. (Though shizzle-man did finally come up with “Poontang!” to get everyone off the hook.)
His friends used tatemae right there!
Or maybe it was mokusatu for some of them.
Link please!
And while we’re at it, since it seems basically debito is just desperately flailing to be as offensive/provocative as possible given this rant and his recent apparently denied-for-publication just-under-1600-word Godwinesque ‘Japan today is just like it was in WWII’ article on his blog.
..well, can we just basically draw up a list of the topics and memes that are most likely to provoke a reaction from the Japanese audience? Predict the next rant?
He already hit the ‘Japan deserved Hiroshima’ and ‘all Japanese are liars’ points. Earlier we got the ‘Japanese women are cold fish’ bit, among other racist rants. What else is there?
I was going to say Unit 731, but then I actually read through his entire article… and voila! IT WAS ALREADY THERE!
Debito is just trolling now, so can we predict the next troll?
Insult the Emperor?
Pooh-pooh a few more Ivy League Japanologists?
Say something offensive about suicide in Japan? (Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s already been done.)
What else is there?
Anyone?
Can anyone offer a counter to the following idea?
Debito wants to go down in a blaze of “glory”, get himself fired from his JT gig for finally crossing the line (if there even IS a line at the JT), get “blacklisted” by serious Japanologists (as if he’s on any of their “look this guy up for advice” short lists), so he can gain street cred in his budding future as a Japan conspiracy nut. Conspiracy nuts can make a living preaching to the choir and hawking self-published books, but they have to have 2 qualifications.
1. Some tenuous connection to the conspiracy “I worked at Area 51 (or some other air base nearby) as a (sanitation) technician.” for the UFO nut becomes “I lived in Japan for decades as a professor (of eikaiwa, not physics) at a Communications university” for the Fookooshimar.
2. Some claim of “oppression” by The Man who seeks to silence them (not publish their loony crap). Thus “proving” they are just, and history will one day show they are telling The Truth and statues will be made of them. (can’t believe debito is already using that meme from the conspiracy loon checklist)
Bonus qualification: Get a “doctorate”. In anything. From anywhere. Don’t pay extra for the frame, that’s how they screw you.
The Fookooshimar conspiracy already gets him the anti-nuke crowd, the neo-Luddite crowd, the 0.000000000000% pollution-for-the-children crowd, and the anti-foreigner crowd. Much overlap on that Venn diagram, but it should be enough of an audience to put gas in the mobile home and travel from one UFO/crystal healing convention to the next.
Prediction for 2013:
Coast-to-Coast AM, First, 3 hours with Richard Hoagland, and his fascinating new book about the Lizard Men from The Moon: They Walk Among Us, and in our last hour, a talk about the “Truth of Fukushima” with guest Dr. Arudou Debito, Ph.D. including the possibility that Lizard Men caused the whole thing
A “self described Socialist” isn’t a Communist. Especially in America where “socialist” just means “healthcare reform.”
The fact that he’s an Independent also underscores my point.
I also didn’t contest that there are anarchist or “socialist” publications, I asked if there are any credible ones. Ones that would be cited as valid sources in mainstream media (not including ridicule) and regarded as having a viable opinion and influence on political debate and shaping the political landscape.
You seem to be moving the goalposts and acting like you proved something I didn’t state.
You forgot comfort women, the Nanking Massacre, and the Liancourt Rocks.
Sorry, just read what Sora said now.
The fact that he’s a Sokka professor makes me take anything he says with a huge grain of salt. All the power to him, and I’m not one to believe everything I read on the Internet, but he most likely has an agenda, and an agenda he’s not letting me in on.
This is such a good point.
Of all the Japanese people, I have to change what I say the most to Mr Arudou at Debito.org. With my in-laws, colleagues and classmates, it usually boils down to “don’t be a loud ass”. Luckily, although I have many faults, being a loud ass isn’t one of them.
Yes there also is humouring grandpa-in-law when he’s drunk and goes off, but that sort of social harmony I do with my own grandfather (who asked my in-laws how they feel about the whole Fermosa thing not being Japan anymore).
That’s my hometown! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Thanks sora for the post, that was a hour or so trying to tackle the language again. I’ll put Dower’s War Without Mercy on the lengthy list of stuff to get threw.
Thanks for the links, have always been a big fan of Zmag and Michael albert’s lectures on PARECON. A great lecturer, and very down to earth.
Hmmm……could be a few ‘hots spots’ around there. You never know what they were getting up to.
@ kujirakira. I misunderstood your original post. When you asked for credible publications I thought that’s what you wanted. It would be difficult for me to prove something you didn’t state but if my post came across as anything other than giving that information then I apologise.
I mentioned Bernie Sanders as an example of the wide range of political thought tolerated in modern U.S. ‘democracy’…
I have some questions.
What sort of ‘valid sources’ do you think the mainstream media would be willing to cite? How would the mainstream media decide what is a ‘viable opinion’? How do you measure ‘influence on political debate’?
Woah – are we actually seeing a debate on Debito.org?
http://www.debito.org/?p=9599#comments
Wonders never cease!
Off topic sorta but. Got a question Is it true the Soka Gakkai own many business’s outright? Rumor has it they own the following or are the owners members?
Japan Railways (JR),
UniQlo,
Tsutaya,
Mitsubishi,
AVEX,
Kirin,
Doutour Coffee,
Book-Off,
NAMCO,
Don Quijote,
Asics,
Comme ça du mode,
100 yen shop DAISO,
Nippon Ham,
Lotteria,
SECOM Security,
K-1,
Bikkuri Donki (hambag restaurant).
” Is it true the Soka Gakkai own many business’s outright? Rumor has it they own the following or are the owners members?”
Perhaps Ken knows better.
There are lots of anti-Soka rumors on the internet. For instance,
http://nvc.halsnet.com/jhattori/rakusen/AntiSouka/souka.htm#List1
I am not interested. And I’ve never heard that the companies you listed are owned by Soka. I’ve heard of the rumor from an acquaintance that Daiso has an connection with Soka; I didn’t care if it had or not. But since you asked, I’ve checked it. According to wikipedia,
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E5%89%B5%E7%94%A3%E6%A5%AD#.E6.B2.BF.E9.9D.A9
社名に「創」の字があるために、創価学会との関連があるのではないかとの噂が一部であるが、会社は取材に対してこれを明確に否定している
The company denies the connection with Soka.
And the articles linked from the wiki also deny the connection between Soka and the rumored companies such as Bookoff and Sanrio
http://www.cyzo.com/2008/06/post_625.html
Rumors are rumors; probably most of them are false. It is hard to believe that the companies such as Mitsubishi and JR are influenced by Soka and I don’t understand the implication of it even if there were some connections with Soka.
Thanks again Sora. I try to support local Japanese Business, I would feel pretty foolish knowing the money was going to the Soka Gakkai. I’ve been told by Japanese people they are pretty cultish. That list comes from foreigners living in Japan so who knows what to believe when the rumors start flying. I thought someone here might know.
Wait a minute! didn’t you say Americans treat introverts like they have a disease or something like that? Bit of a stereotype? Just kiddin dude, In Australia they give you a hard time cause they like ya. Don’t get me started on Australians and their tall poppy syndrome. In Canada the running joke, BY Canadians is thats it’s not hockey thats the national pastime but complacency, and if you’ve been to Canada you would agree. Been to france? The french male really is arrogant and self diluted they live there lives in a fantasy world, and insulting! They can’t seem to hold an adult conversation without hurling a insult. I know it’s not PC but is something to stereotypes?
Stereotypes aren’t inherently bad.
They have limits.
Regardless, I was just expressing my personal view of American Society — not Americans in general. And it’s a view I was bouncing off other people to see if it hold any water, or just my personal experience.
It may be in situations like that that the problem is entirely my own. I’m willing to explore that option so that I can fix the defects I have.
I wish debito took a similar approach and maybe considered that all the problems he faces aren’t somebody elses fault. A good portion of them are his own failings and he’d be wise to maybe have some introspection and work on those before he starts demonizing an entire country just to stroke his own ego and feel better about himself.
For starters, we’re taking things a bit out of context at this point.
The original contention was that Japan is not a free society because there aren’t *as many* communist and anarchist publications in Japan anymore. I’m positive you can still find some if you look.
Hell, Aleph still has a publication.
I’m just playing by that poster’s rules to demonstrate how “backwards” America must be.
“wide range of political thought tolerated in modern U.S. democracy”
You are kidding, right?
The US has 2 ever-present utterly dominant parties, both of them which would be considered conservative in Japan.
The US has to be one of the smallest ranges of political thought in the world. Certainly, it’s far more narrow than Japan… with a large amount of niche parties.
The best you can offer is a “self-described socialist” (whatever that is) who ran as an Independent. Japan has effing Communists from the Communist Party in the Diet and sitting as Governors. Those politicians would be murdered in the US.
The diversity and socialist credentials of Japan also plays out across actual policies.
Japan has one of the most efficient national healthcare systems in the world. Not that I’m saying it’s perfect, but America is conservative to the core. Both parties are fundamentally conservative in nature and dominate all levels of government at the national, state, city, and even bureaucratic levels.
If the left-leaning tendencies is the measure by which Greg2 measures a country’s freedom — Japan is far more “free” than America.
As for how to measure the relevance of papers. That’s fairly intuitive and obvious. HuffPo may be utter malarkey, but it’s undeniably a part of American political landscape. Faux News may be nothing but lies and misinformation, but the same holds true. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert may just be comedians, but their shows are also undeniably part of the political landscape in America.
People pay attention to what they say, even if they don’t agree.
Any dimwit can self-publish. See debito as proof.
Or even Japan Times. Japan Times only credibility is in lazy foreign press that don’t speak Japanese and know they can get away with reporting bullshit because none of their readers will be able to check the facts in Japanese either.
Outside of that, JT is only relevant to it’s small niche community, predominantly illiterate eikawa, which it caters towards. It’s for illiterate expats, by illiterate expats.
As I pointed out earlier, Aum Shinrikyo had a paper. And they actively campaigned for office. They went down the violent path because nobody took them seriously.
TL;DR: Just having a paper doesn’t make one relevant or important. If you need to think about whether a certain group’s publication is relevant, it’s probably not.
Wait, he hasn’t mentioned Nanking? (recently, at least)
Guess that’ll be in next month’s Just Be Cause. Some rant linking the Fukushima “cover up” and “radiation denialism” with Nanking revisionism. How to work in the comfort women angle, though?
Liancourt Rocks? Hmm, that’s a tough one to work into the Fookooshimar conspiracy.
Japan wants them back to use as a dump for Fookooshimar radioactive rubble.
Simple, Japanese men needed comfort women because of their cold frigid sexless marriages! It also explains all the aggressive colonialism! Pent up sexual frustration! Hmm needs more !’s
Code of Criminal Procedure
Code of Civil Procedure
As a side, I love an English joke.
Is that why you were not fined?
Matt D. Says:
November 8th, 2011 at 11:31 am
http://www.debito.org/?p=9599#comment-278093
I can’t speak for others ,but I think Japanese society is good in some respects but bad in other respects just like any other society.
Matt D, you came very close to the truth. But I think it is not reminiscent but identical with racist claims made historically and with hate messages made by hate groups globally.
If he actually taken his bat and ball and cleared off to Canada then the emperor would be the natural choice. That way he could claim that he wants to come back but if he did his life would be in danger from right-wingers and thus, he’s residing in Canada in exile.
空 Says:
November 8, 2011 at 9:25 pm
http://tepido.org/just-be-cause-i-hate-japan/601/comment-page-2#comment-10110
“I think Japanese society is good in some respects
but bad in other respects just like any other society.”
In what respects have you noticed Japanese society is bad 空?
Please list a few examples where Japanese society is bad, and
please offer some ideas of possible solutions for each example.
A good question。
そうですね。ちょっといろいろありすぎるといえば、ありすぎる。
みなさまに関係の深いのから、問題点を思いついたことをいってみましょうか？
例えば、広い意味での人種問題。
移民が少ないせいもありましょう、私は日本人が一般に外国人を憎悪しているとか、嫌悪している、とは全く思わない。一部で嫌韓の人々がいるが、それは一部だろう、と感じている。反面、弱者に対する思いやりのある人もいるし、特に欧米人にあこがれを持っている人もいる。
ただ、差別意識があるところにはある。だがそれが、マイルドなだけ、問題意識もうすいのではないか、と感じている。
マスコミや教育界なんかがもっと、注目してもいい。例えば、日系ブラジル人の若者が学校でいじめられたとかテレビでやっていたのをみたことがある。しかし、そこから、じゃあ、どうする、というつっこみがたらない。
だいたい、いわゆる差別というものは、ある社会的歴史的に区別された人々ーーー在日韓国人、女性、ハーフなどなどーーーを十把一絡げにし、そのグループに属しているから、しかじかであり、かくかくすべき、といった誤った観念を押し付けることで、押し付けられた方はたまったものじゃない。それを理解することは簡単なことで、あるいは、日本人でも外国にいけば、そうした体験はする。自分が嫌なんだから他人にもするな、個人ベースで人を評価しろ、とそれだけの話で、いろいろな場面で応用のきく考えなのに、なぜか、定着しない。それは日本特有の問題とは考えていませんが、しかし、そうした問題意識をもっともっていくことが必要だと考えている。
まとまりのなさーーーこれは良い面でもあり、悪い面でもありますけど、外国人の思っているほど日本人は集団主義的でも、調和的でもなんでもない。
現代の政治状況をみてみれば、まったくまとまりがないでしょう。原発問題についてもそうでしょう。
まとまりがないから、ダラダラやっている。そこで、強い指導者が望まれるわけですけど、そうしたのはでてこない。出てきても、猛烈に叩かれるわけです。
これは、ごちゃごちゃやっているうちになんとなく意見交換をして、落としどころをさぐっているわけですけど、速度感がない。
また、例えばの話、私が有道ブログは日本・日本人憎悪の論調でひでえぞ、と宣伝しても、誰も集団で行動しようとしない。英語圏の記事で日本のナショナリズム云々をいわれると、？？？？となる。韓国でゲリービーバーという竹島日本領説を唱えるアメリカ人がいた。英語圏で発言して、韓国の若きナショナリストの集団にしめ上げられて大学を移転せざる得なくなった。あれはナショナリストの不当な対応でしたけど、同様なことは、日本では起きない。起きなくていいわけですけど、反面ちょっと羨ましいという思いもある。
そうですねえ・・・・行政でいうと、例えば、情報開示が足りない。より情報開示をしていく。国民主権のもと、政府が持っている情報は、特段の理由がない限り国民のものである、ということもっと徹底していく。今回の原発の放射能予測するSpeediなんかの情報をいち早く開示しなかったのは、全く愚かとしかいいようがない。
で、いま、マスコミは原発に集中していますけど、同じことは警察や検察による司法手続きにも言えるわけで、可視化の問題、これもはやいところ法制化すべきこと。
官僚ーー優秀な人がいるのかもしれないが、しかし、マスコミで指摘されるような天下りは問題で、徹底して排除すべき。それと、誰の責任か、ということをしっかりと明記する。官僚は自分で責任をどこかになすりつけようとして、そのなすりつけあいで、誰の責任かが曖昧になる。民主党がそうしたことはしっかりやると言っていたが、どれだけできているのか、わからない。
政治家にせよ、メディアにせよ、日本の直面する大きな問題、つまり、安全保障や経済の制度的改革、少子高齢化などなど、大きな問題から目をそらさずぶれるのが困る。賛否両論あって、喧々諤々 ( けんけんがくがく )でもいいから、その軸をめぐって常日頃議論してもらいたい。安倍さん以降、菅さんにいたるまで、政策問題よりも、人物攻撃にはしったり、どうでもいいような問題で、政治家マスコミがときにヒステリー状態になるーーー無意味。
経済は全くの素人で経済音痴なわけで、なんともいえませんけど、直感的には、参入の自由や、民営化の方向ーーちょっと世界的に少し人気がなくなりつつありますけどーーーーが好ましいと思っている。そこで、いまの日本にはそれが足らない。政官業が癒着して既得権益を持った人たちが、なかなかしぶとい。こうした現状を打破していく必要がある。
難しい問題はありますよ、ニューヨークその他で格差デモが起きている。先日池田信夫氏が投稿していたが、自由化により、資本家に富が集中して、格差問題がどうしてもおきてしまう。これにどう決着をつけるか？
今思っているのは、一つは、こうした富の集中の原因の一つはやはり、政官業の癒着だと言われている。それをぶった切る制度づくり。
もう一つは、格差自体が問題ではなく、貧困層、あるいは、中流階級の没落、貧困化が問題なんだろう思うわけで、これは、やはり、企業への税率を上げることによってではなくーーー企業がへこたれては雇用がやばいーーーー個人への税金を上げることによって再配分していくしかないんじゃないか、とも思っている。ただ、累進所得税など課税の倫理的正当化、というのはこれまた、難しい問題があるので、そこらへんの整合性がどうなるかなああ、また、経済的に個人への課税だけで、決着がつくのかなあ、なぞとごちゃごちゃ考えています。
あとアメリカでも先日記事になっていましたけど、世代間格差の問題。若い人が元気に夢を見られるような社会。これをどうしたいいか・・・まあ、もうすこしいろんな情報を収集しないと解決策はわからない。
まあ、ちょっと居酒屋談義みたいになってしまいましたけど、日本社会の悪い側面という意味でぼくは、いわゆる、日本人論や、アジア人論などには与しない。
日本人による空気論、タテ社会論も、あるいは、欧米人がよくいう集団主義論も、日本社会を説明したり、あるいは、改革したりするのに有益な概念だとは思っていない。
上記の文章は極々一般的に言って、どんな社会にも良い面もあれば、悪い面もある、という常識的な意味です。反有道＝日本称賛者だと誤って考える人がいるので、一応指摘する必要があった。
要するにどんな社会でも、その社会的歴史的に熟成した問題に直面している。その個々の問題について様々な人がさまざまな意見を持っている取り組んでいるわけです。古いやりかたに固執ばかりしていて新しい問題に適応できないと、社会は自滅してしまいますが、しかし、伝統や地域社会の古いやり方を全く無視すれば、社会がバラバラになってしまう危険もある。そこらへんに様々な葛藤がありながら、バランスをとって前進していくしかない。そう考えています。
お聞きになっていることの答えになっているかどうかわかりませんが、なにか特に他にありましたら、どうぞ。
またご意見がありましたら、それもどうぞお気楽に。
まだ、気づいたことがありますけど、これくらいにしておきます。
I suspect a different level of intercourse is required if crowd-sourcing a thesis.
Thank you for sharing some of your thoughts 空、 感謝します。
So, as the debate continues, there appears to be a positioning that the column’s ire is aimed only at “The Establishment,” and is not meant to broadly brush the whole of Japan as a society (or race?) of two-faced liars:
http://www.debito.org/?p=9599#comment-278111
Yet, when I read statements like:
and
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20111101ad.html
Now, admittendly the debate is kind of descending into a ten-dollar-word schlong-measuring contest with the contestants vying to show who is the most academic (fertile ground for that thesis, by the way), but is this an example of mis-reading? Or revisionism?
Hmm. Perhaps “Authority Lies” is the palatable Tatemae and “Everybody Lies” is the Honne?
I believe that’s checkmate.
Just popping in to mention the irony of debito (the man who brought us “Truth Octane”) taking a stand against white lies and withholding the honne.
Yet another case supporting the 1st Law of Debito:
When debito takes a stand, it is probably hypocritical.
I bet you could make a Letter to the Editor entirely with his own words refuting his tatemae/honne essay. Even try posting it to debito.org and watch it get banned.
Heh, well spotted!
BTW, I notice in Matt D’s posts what Level3 has been on about before – he is busy apologising in advance for perhaps having misunderstood Mr Arudou’s point.
As a side, “Uso mo houben” 嘘も方便 comes from a Buddhist Sanskrit text, Lotus Sutra. In one of the stories, a wise man succeeded in saving the children by telling they could get what they wanted outside the house when the children insisted on playing inside and refused to escape from the house on fire.
It means lying is bad but it is sometimes justifiable depending on the context.
This is a very interesting video on the ubiquitous nature of lying in *all* societies.
How to spot a lie
By Pamela Meyer
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/13/opinion/meyer-lie-spotting/index.html