Sunday, February 21, 2010













































Chris said...

Being somebody of Chinese origin, I agree. Alex Kerr is more interested in assimilation of Eastern cultures than anything else it would seem.

That said, Japan is a very split society right now. There's the high-tech, very modern Japan that most people here in the West are familiar with and then there is the lower end class. What is remarkable about such a division is that Japan has somehow managed to remain a relatively equal society. Look on the Gini indexes of many nations and you'll see Japan and Germany (interesting enough, the 2 Axis nations from WWII) as the most equal nations. Canada for an Anglo-Saxon nation is relatively equal, although poverty is much higher than we would like (look at the Scandinavians for low inequality AND low poverty).

In terms of education, Japan's primary education is very much ahead of the US. In terms of university, I think that the typical state, non-private university is falling behind. It's interesting for me as a university student because I am in Canada. Here in Canada, there is a sense that you don't want to end up in any US school unless you go to the elitist ones because the typical Canadian public universities are generally considered (and I don't mean to sound arrogant here) better. I'm not sure about that, but looking at statistics, I can tell you that average class sizes are much smaller, and that we haven't been hit as hard by the recession so our schools aren't cutting back as much. (Naturally, statistics can't reveal what universities are "better" in that sense).

As you will no doubt agree, it is with good reason that Japan, China, South Korea, and company all do not wish to follow the US. Heck, even here in Canada, people want a more independent economic policy.

If you are interested in reading about the truth about China, rather than Japan, I suggest this article here:

If you are interested, the Monthly Review is a genuinely socialist magazine, unlike the Tea Baggers, who seem to think that even Blue Dog democrats are "socialist". But it does have some very good opinions.

I for one am amused to see in the US that the largest recipients of welfare and state socialism also proclaim themselves to be firmly "anti-socialist" when they are receiving the benefits and the people are getting nothing more than crumbs (if even that).

Marc McDonald said...

Hi Chris, thanks for your comments. I enjoyed the Monthly Review piece you suggested. It'll be interesting to see, in future years, how Chinese authorities deal with the problem of rising inequality.

Chris said...

Equally interesting will be how the American people and the politicians in Washington respond to growing inequality. Most like, the politicians will increase inequality.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm... I'd rather have Japan's problems than the never-ending, exponentially-growing sh@t sandwich this country keeps feeding itself. I'd rather have health care, infrastructure that won't kill me, massive technical investments, a well-educated citizenry, and national broadband and wireless internet dating back to the 90's that shames U.S. private internets today.


acuvue oasys said...

Now, that's what you call a deep, thorough and engaging review!

Marc McDonald said...

Hi WageslaveZ,
Thanks for your comment. Having seen Japan first-hand, I have to say I was very impressed. Coming back to the U.S. was like entering a Third World nation, by contrast.

Sara said...

As someone who has been living in Japan for about 6 months now, I agree with many of Alex Kerr's observations. Many Japanese cities are, Kytoto for example, are very ugly and the houses are very poorly built with no insulation for example. And take the electrical poles on the street, Japan is one of the only 'industrial' countries in the world who hasn't buried their electrical wires. How high-tech is this? This is exactly what Kerr talks about, how Japan has failed to deal with the 'dogs' -everyday concerns like building properly insulated houses for people and burying wires and are instead spending on building 'monuments' like multipurpose halls that people don't even need or use. I have to say I was quite shocked when I came to Japan and realised how low tech and backwards it is in many senses. I think Alex Kerr has many valid arguments, especially how the constructions industry is overdosing on pouring concrete anywhere it can in nature; just look around yourselves and you can see that a lot of rivers and mountains have been covered. One wonders if it is really necessary. I think his book definitely a must read for anyone living in or interested in Japan, but also remember that it was written about 10 years ago so some things might have changed today.

Marc McDonald said...

Hi Sara,

Thanks for your comment.

You said you agree with Kerr on the "ugliness" of Japan's cities.
Having seen Japan myself, I would have to disagree. But I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Frankly, I think huge areas of U.S. cities are much, much uglier than anything I saw in Japan.
After all, what on earth could possibly be uglier than the typical messy urban sprawl that one sees in every U.S. city these days?

For my money, typical U.S. urban sprawl is the ugliest sight that one will find anywhere in the world. Endless acres of ugly exposed asphalt and parking lots; gas stations; car washes, junk food stores, big box stores, and a monotonous sameness, that exists no matter where in the country you are. If you've seen one Wal-Mart, you've seen them all.

Say what you want to about Japan's cities (and I admit, there are eyesore areas), but the thing I always find wonderful about Japan's urban areas is the fact that they are compact and friendly to pedestrians. Sidewalks and foot pathways are everywhere. You can walk everywhere---or take Japan's outstanding, modern mass transit (which is the best in the world).

By contrast, the ONLY way to get around in America's nightmarish urban sprawl areas is by car. You have no other options. In America's urban sprawl wasteland, there is, for the most part, no mass transit and no pedestrian-friendly walkways.

It's outrageous that a nation like America has such contempt for those of us who'd prefer other options than traveling by car. And in an era of dwindling oil reserves, it's downright irresponsible to an insane degree.
As social critic James Howard Kunstler has pointed out, it's also unsustainable.

Incidentally, I'd like to ask you the same question that I would ask Kerr if I had the chance: if Japan is so bad, then why are you living there?

Chris said...

Sara, as I pointed out, Japan is split in between the wealthy, tech-savvy people that people in the Western world have come to associate Japan with. Less well known is the underclass. Still, if you look at the statistics, the underclass there is much better off than the underclass here.

After seeing Canada, US, and parts of Europe (someday, I would like to visit Japan), I would say urban decay is probably the worst in the US due to the lack of real government efforts and public initiatives to prevent it.

Of course, the public won't be told all of this info. Take a look at this:

Welcome to the World's First Murdochracy

Somehow, I doubt that the public will be fed real objective information.

Marc McDonald said...

Hi, Chris,
Thanks for your new comment. I enjoyed the article on Murdoch.

>>>Still, if you look at the
>>>statistics, the underclass
>>>there is much better off than
>>>the underclass here.

Very true. And this is one important stat that is completely ignored by the likes of Japan-bashers like Kerr.

Indeed, the startling rise of poverty and the destruction of the middle class in America is a topic that has been all but ignored by our so-called "free" press.

No, they're too busy chasing the latest sleazy tabloid trash story.
(Indeed, one thing that has always amazed me about the Fox News Channel is how much time that network devotes to tabloid sleaze. If the MSM really was "liberal" as Conservatives claim, then you'd think that the likes of Fox would have their hands full setting the record straight. But instead, they spend all their time on junk news).

Chris, I do hope you get a chance to visit Japan someday. While the nation isn't a utopia, it is certainly a wonderful place to visit. Tokyo is probably the most exciting and dynamic city in the world. Of course, one gets the sense from walking around any East Asian metropolis these days that the world's center of economic gravity has now decisively moved from the U.S. to East Asia.

Misguided and inaccurate writers like Kerr are really doing their readers a disservice by suggesting otherwise.

Chris said...

Thanks for the comments too.

In this world, it is getting increasingly hard to find objective unbiased news. One does realize of course that news is not free, that to deliver high quality content, well you need high quality journalists who are willing to travel everywhere something happens, you need editors, you need support staff, and you need people who feel passionate about what they do.

Yet, difficult is not impossible. It can be done, has been done in the past, and could be done in the future. However, great potential and possibility are not a reality. These days, all too often what is written in books like the one that you reviewed or in the "news" feels like it is really tabloid content, that is is recycled, or that it is more of an advertisement than objective news. So long as that happens, the general public will never be informed because most people simply lack the attention span to bother to search for real news from informed and relatively unbiased sources.

I think that you're going to find inequality everywhere you go. If you truly wish to see terrifying inequality, visit India. You'll see research and technology parks not unlike the ones in Silicon Valley or Houston (no doubt mainly owned by Western firms who have decided that outsourcing is the greatest thing on earth), right beside massive slums and garbage dumps where thousands inhabit. By contrast, Japan is one of the most equal nations in terms of income distribution on earth. (You may be interested to know that some of the eastern European nations that broke off from the old Warsaw Pact and USSR are also some of the most equal nations on earth).

As much as I sound socialist, I really do think that all nations need to set up some sort of a plan as to where they want to see their nation and its people in the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years, and what a world their grandchildren wish to inhabit. Central planning and industrial policy are decried by modern capitalists, yet there was a time, WWII and the 1950s when the US itself engaged in such policies.

Chris said...

I don't think that the left is ever going to reconcile with the right. In 2008, there was a psychological study done that interested me. The findings:

1. Misinformation will have a lasting effect on people, even after it has been proven false. Not a surprise; human psychology.

2. You are more likely to believe things that you wish to believe. Again human psychology.

3. Both the left and right are vulnerable to this, however the right appears to be very vulnerable to this. By nature, it would appear, people who are told to obey and be authoritarian are more likely to be vulnerable than those who advocate for more independent and objective thinking. This is however, a curse for the progressive movement politically as it is hard to unify the entire progressive movement at times on certain controversial issues.

And finally, most interesting:

4. When you are told something that you do not wish to believe and additional evidence pops up supporting the position that you are against, you are more likely to believe that story even less, despite more evidence.

The experiment was done on a group of conservatives concerning Iraq, the 2003 invasion, and weapons of mass destruction. At the start of the study, only 34% of conservatives believed that Saddam had such weapons. After evidence from multiple independent sources was shown, that number nearly doubled to 64% who believed that Saddam had weapons. This was repeated with Bush II's tax cuts with similar results. Also, often the subjects would argue against the evidence itself. This study was then performed on left wing subjects on stem cell research and several other topics, however, without the backfire and with the expected effect - that support would corroborate with evidence.

What does this mean? Fundamentally, the left and the right will never agree because they don't think the same way. It's believed that #4 will hold true for issue such as the current economic climate and how neoliberal policies caused it, global warming, poverty, and other political issues.

As such, there will always be those who will believe books like the one that you read and Fox News because that is the way that they think. Of course, the long term implications of this study are very troubling indeed.

Anonymous said...

Returning from a three week trip to Japan I picked up a copy of Kerr's book at the Narita airport. While it stuck me as perhaps excessively negative, much of what he says was confirmed by my own observations while in Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Koyasan and Tokyo. I feel that much of what Kerr says has a ring of truth.

I should point out that many of the "exceptions" the reviewer points out (USA's waste of the Iraq war, the financial bailout, etc.) are things which occurred AFTER Kerr's books was published in 2001.

In short, I do not agree with this review and feel that while the book may have some faults, there is much of interest in Kerr's book that make it worth the time.

Marc McDonald said...

Hi Anon, thanks for stopping by.
>>>I feel that much of what Kerr
>>>says has a ring of truth.

I'm just curious: do you have any specific examples?

Anonymous said...

Marc, having lived in Japan, what are your thoughts on propaganda that is put out by the bureaucrats or the media for that matter? Is it noticeable? I know every nation programs its people but I have read about propaganda in several books about Japan, including more neutral ones. Also can you talk about their attitudes towards foreigners?

Myron L. said...

While your many criticisms of Kerr are "spot on," you miss two overriding "truths" contained in his observations: (1) The ills, extravagantal waste/cost overruns, and environmental damage of the Construction State are well documented by the various writings of Jeff Kingston, a much more systematic obsevor than Kerr. (2) Kerr decries the changes taking plae in Japan and the loss of traditional Japanese values and beauty, as evident in the transformation of Kyoto. He is much more pro-Japan and pro-"Eastern" than your review indicates. He may not appreciate the need for modernization, and, hence, is more than a bit paternalistic as he does not balance the "good" with the "bad" as Kyoto's civic leaders chose modernization--a viewpoint that is too often typical of westerners who value an idealized, unchanging Japan.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Myron's assessment of Kerr's writing in that he "pro-Japan." Kerr has spent most of his life in Japan, and obviously has a deep affection for the country and the people. While he sometimes uses the United States as maybe a less than appropriate model (since the book's publication in 2001: 2 unpopular wars, financial meltdown, hyper-partisan politics degrading the national debate, etc.), his points on Japan are with merit.

This review obviously comes from someone who has never been a resident of Japan, because Kerr's observations are painfully obvious to almost anyone who has lived in the country (both foreigners AND Japanese citizens). This review is far more concerned with bashing America and Kerr's use of it in comparisons, than addressing the real motives of Kerr's observations. It completely misses the point, which is that Japan has essentially wasted one of the great opportunities modern civilization has ever witnessed in their post WWII development.

As they rapidly grew economically, they sacrificed so much of what made them a cultural jewel in this world. They could have used this expansion to improve upon already magnificent cultural traditions and cutting-edge infrastructure, but instead stubbornly followed a path of misguided "modernism." It is truly tragic to anyone who loves the country, including many Japanese citizens whom I call my friends.

As Kerr notes, tourists come to Japan with preconcieved notions of futuristic cities intermingling with ancient traditions, and they inevtibily find that to be true. They snap pictures of this "culture clash," ooh-ing and ahh-ing along the way. But a tourists perspective is blinded to the realities that created this clash, and the sacrifices made that produced this illusion of harmony. And to note, I consider Tokyo to be my favorite city in the world, so its not as if I miss the allure. Its important to understand the history as well though.

Also, this most recent nuclear crisis only further cements Kerr's observations on the bureaucratic wall that surrounds information in Japan. Much of this book is unfortunately being proven correct in a sad and dangerous manner as we speak.

Marc McDonald said...

Hi Myron,
Thanks for your comment.

>>He is much more pro-Japan and
>>pro-"Eastern" than your review

I'm not sure I agree with you here. I read "Dogs and Demons" twice and I must have overlooked the part where Kerr has anything positive to say about Japan. Where, exactly, in this book does he have a good word to say about Japan?

Actually, I wouldn't mind an accurate, well-researched critique of Japan. But the worst part of Kerr's screed is that he is just downright wrong on many issues.

Marc McDonald said...

Hi Anon, thanks for your comment.

>>Kerr has spent most of his life
>>in Japan, and obviously has a
>>deep affection for the country
>>and the people

You could have fooled me. "Dogs and Demons" is one of the most brutal, savage (and dishonest) critiques of any nation that I've ever read. One would think, after reading this book, that Japan is the worst country on earth.

>>It completely misses the point,
>>which is that Japan has
>>essentially wasted one of the
>>great opportunities modern
>>civilization has ever witnessed
>>in their post WWII development.

I completely and totally disagree with you here. Since WWII, Japan has emerged as one of the great success stories in world history.

At the close of WWII, Japan lay in ruins. It was broke, starving, friendless, lacking in any resources and had no infrastructure. Somehow, Japan rebuilt itself with astonishing speed and today is a $5 trillion economy, which until very recently was the second largest on earth (I doubt many Japanese are too troubled by China recently taking the No. 2 spot---after all, China has more than 10 times the population of Japan, so it's not really an apples-to-apples comparison).

Incidentally, for a country that has supposedly made such a mess of things, I find it interesting how the Japanese model is more closely followed by other nations like China these days. And for a country that fancies itself as the gleaming model for the world to follow, I find it interesting how many countries reject the supposedly "superior" American model.

China, our generation's great success story, has completely rejected the American model, while embracing many aspects of Japan Inc. For example, China has rejected building a U.S.-style service economy. Instead, like Japan, it has relentlessly pursued building a manufacturing base. Like Japan, it has put the interests of the nation first (instead of the idiotic U.S. model, which puts the interests of a dreamy, utopian "free market" first).

And China has copied the Japan model in that technocrats hold all the real strings of power. China has rejected the U.S. model (in which all the power is held by the wealthy and by large corporations).

True, China has deep historical animosities with Japan. But it's also true that China sees the Japan model, not the U.S. model, as the one to emulate.

Incidentally, maybe I'm alone in this view, but I believe that the most positive thing any nation can achieve is two-fold: (A) to build a prosperous society and (B) to do a good job spreading that prosperity around.

On this score, Japan probably does better than any other nation on earth. The fantastic gap between rich and poor that plagues the U.S. simply doesn't exist in Japan. Japan is, in fact, the most egalitarian major nation on earth.

(Oh, and before you respond and tell me all about Japan's poverty, let me say this: I've spent time in both the U.S. and Japan. Yes, there is poverty in Japan, but it is nothing to compare to the vast scale of horrible, bottom-of-the-barrel poverty in the U.S.)

Marc McDonald said...

Hi Anon,
I had to break my previous comment into 2 parts, due to technical limitations. The rest of my comment follows:

Japan is not utopia (no nation is). But it's clear that Japan is, in many ways, the most successful nation in modern history and is the biggest post-WWII success story. This is reflected in many ways, from average life expectancy rates (where Japan leads all major nations) to the increasing value of the yen, which has steadily been increasing in value over the past half century.

The yen was worth 360/one dollar at the close of WWII. In the 1970s, it was worth 240/one dollar. In the 1990s, it rose to around 112/one dollar. (Note that, at that time, many commentators claimed it was overvalued and could rise no more---and that any such rise would wipe out Japanese manufacturers----a claim that Western commentators have repeatedly made since WWII).

In the event, the Western commentators were proved wrong. The yen continues to climb in value. And yet Japan's current account surplus continues to set new records (in fact, it's currently vastly higher today than it ever was back in the booming 1980s).

Anonymous said...



You are a fucking MORON.

Marc McDonald said...

Hi Anon,

>>These mother fuckers have
>>DESTROYED our planet

Got any specifics? Didn't think so.


Yeah, whatever, Skippy.

Benjamin Freeland said...

I think it's worth bearing in mind that Dogs & Demons was published over a decade ago and the product of research in the post-Bubble era, and that a lot has changed since then. The 1990s was a time of particularly egregious pork-barrel spending as the LDP government at the time saw fit to "spend" its way out of a recession, which of course was a failure. It wasn't long after the publishing of D&D that Koizumi came to power and slashed a lot of unnecessary public works. The other thing that has happened since in Japan is a domestic tourism boom, which has resulted in a renewed sense of civic pride (and commitment to preserving historic neighbourhoods and whatnot) in places like Kyoto and elsewhere. Kyoto even went to far as to institute a new law called the 'Keikan' (scenery) law, which requires that all new buildings have slanted roofs so as to preserve the traditional skyline. There's still a lot of ugliness, but at least they've turned a corner. And Kerr has been one of the people promoting such laws - and has been a HUGE proponent of tourism to Kyoto, Iya and elsewhere.

When I was a journalist in Japan, I interviewed Kerr twice, and on both occasions he expressed optimism (albeit cautious optimism) about Japan's current direction. The irony about D&D is that most of its critics were foreigners whereas the book was almost universally well received by its Japanese readers, including Tokyo governor Ishihara who famously championed the book. According to Kerr, it's now recommended reading among JTB staff and within the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. It's certainly made a difference.

Marc McDonald said...

Hi Benjamin, thanks for your comment.
You raise some interesting points. But I think in my article, I've made a pretty good case that Kerr's book has a great deal of content that simply isn't true.
As far as Dogs & Demons' supposedly favorable reception in Japan, one thing I've noticed over the years is that a lot of Japanese admire (or at least claim to admire) Western works that bash their country. I'm unclear as to why this would be---but I've seen enough of it to know that this bizarre phenomenon definitely does exist. Perhaps it is tied in to the "ritualized false modesty" that writers like Eamonn Fingleton have documented. (Fingleton noted how the Japanese are constantly bashing their own nation, especially to foreigners, and how they have this "poor little me" complex that Western writers have observed for decades in Japan).
I myself have seen this on a number of occasions. For example, I once had a correspondence with a Japanese person on the topic of cinema. At one point, he told me that his favorite film was "Lost in Translation." I found this extremely bizarre. After all, Lost in Translation is a film that is incredibly harsh on Japan and, for much of its running time, viciously bashes the Japanese people with one racist stereotype after another. I've never understood why this film's racism didn't generate more comment in the Western media. I can only assume that it is because in today's American cinema and culture, racism against the Japanese is fine (just as racism against Arab people is fine, as well).