Originally Posted by Tristan

These few things about which generations the Japanese feel they belong to.

These are the names of current generations which roughly correspond, to the Boomers, Gen X and the Millennials.

Dankai-sedai (Generation of mass. Roughly correspond to Baby-Boomers)

Shin jinrui (New Homo sapience, who spent their late teens and early
twenties during the Bubble economy in late 1980's.)

Uchuu jin (Alien, people in their twenties now. This generation can be
also be called Dankai-nisei (second generation of Dankai)

http://subsite.icu.ac.jp/prc/bird/bi...e/v.41/63.html

The person who wrote the article is a Boomer peer born in the 1950?s.

http://www.cjas.org/~leng/otaku-e.htm

So . . . wild guesses . . .

War & Recovery Generation (Hero): c. 1918- c. 1937
Big Generation (Artist): c. 1938- c. 1957
New Human Generation (Prophet): c. 1958 - c. 1978
Alien Generation (Nomad): c. 1979- c. 1998
New Heroes: NOW

Originally Posted by William Jennings Bryan

So . . . wild guesses . . .

War & Recovery Generation (Hero): c. 1918- c. 1937
Big Generation (Artist): c. 1938- c. 1957
New Human Generation (Prophet): c. 1958 - c. 1978
Alien Generation (Nomad): c. 1979- c. 1998
New Heroes: NOW

Interesting thoughts, however I do think Japan's generations at least in cohort years lineup to America's. However what archetype they are I have not decided yet.

Originally Posted by Tim Walker

Jansen's description of the Taisho period reminds me of the Boom Awakening. There was a cultural chasm, and Taisho occurred just after industrialization while the Boom Awakening was on the industrial age/information age cusp. But the Japanese students described in Jansen's book reminded me not of Samurai-they reminded me of hippies! Environmentalism appeared during Taisho and was big during the Boom Awakening. Also, the two periods were similar in another way. Awakenings were described by S&H as frustrating big secular projects. But there is an exception. During the Taisho period, as described by Jansen, the new department stores were popular; during the Boom Awakening these stores were the "anchors" for the big shopping centers that arose in the suburbs (see The Malling of America).

This is a very late reply, however your quotes are interesting about the Taisho period in Japan. I have read a little bit about the era myself, the period did seem very much like an awakening period. With the awakening ending around 1925, The Pacific War period has a lot of hallmarks of the unravelling, for example most people in 1930's Japan were more focused on celebrity murder trails like that Abe Sada than on the war on China.

From what I know about Militarist ideology, there is a very mystical, spiritual component, which dominated it, around the divinity of the emperor and Japan's manifest destiny. I have a feeling the Militarists were a bunch of reactionary Propherts (at least with the leadership which was Middle Aged during the 1930's).

This is one of the quotes about Japanese society today, which caught my attention.

"I think mothers are to blame if their daughters in their 30s don't want to
get married," marriage counselor Hiromi Ikeuchi tells Josei Jishin. "Women
now in their 50s and 60s have continuously whined about how getting married
destroyed their lives and how their husbands don't care enough for them.
They've encouraged their daughters to be their own people and not depend on
men. They didn't teach their girls that getting married equates with
happiness. Unmarried women in their 30s have turned out exactly as their
mothers had brought them up to be."

I would say this is a typical Elder Artist on Young Adult Nomad quote. I have doubts if would be a typical Elder Hero on Young Adult Prophert quote, although I could be wrong.

Japan, China at odds despite their flourishing economic ties by Joseph Coleman The Associated Press Quoting:

"TOKYO-Despite a thriving economic partnership, political ties between Japan and China are at their lowest ebb in years. The two countries are locked in disputes over World War II history, natural-gas exploration and now a bold incursion by a Chinese nuclear submarine.

"The startling intrusion by a Chinese nuclear submarine last week into Japanese waters introduced a disturbing military aspect to the tensions between East Asia's two leading powers, putting greater urgency on calls for a repair in relations.

"The turmoil is a marked contrast to flourishing business relations. Bilateral trade hit a record $130 billion in 2003, a 30.3 percent increase from the
previous year, and officials expect another record to be set this year.

"Japan's military conquest of China in the 1930s and '40s and what the Chinese see as Tokyo's reluctance to atone for its aggression have gnawed for decades at Chinese sensitivities. Japan, in turn, accuses Beijing of using history to browbeat Tokyo into providing aid and political concessions.

"The countries also have squabbled over territory and natural resouces. Both, for example claim a cluster of Japan-controlled East China Sea islands, called the Senkakus in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. The two also are sparring over Chinese exploration of natural-gas fields near Okinawa that Japan claims could infringe on its exclusive economic zone, and they have competing plans for an oil pipeline from Siberia to East Asia.

"The flare-ups illustrate an increasingly competitive relationship.

"China's spectacular economic performance has turned it into a global growth engine, and Beijing is eagerly converting that power into diplomatic influence.

"Tokyo nurses fears of being eclipsed and has eyed with suspicion Beijing's military spending and diplomatic maneuvering. The influential right wing strongly favors responding with a more robust and assertive Japanese military.

"'In the political arena , conservatives aren't really trying to get along with China,' said Makoto Iokibe, a political scientist at Kobe University. 'People who want to be tough with China feel as if we were about to go to war when something like this-the submarine, or gas-development issues-happens.'"

Originally Posted by Tim Walker

Japan, China at odds despite their flourishing economic ties by Joseph Coleman The Associated Press Quoting:

"TOKYO-Despite a thriving economic partnership, political ties between Japan and China are at their lowest ebb in years. The two countries are locked in disputes over World War II history, natural-gas exploration and now a bold incursion by a Chinese nuclear submarine.

"The startling intrusion by a Chinese nuclear submarine last week into Japanese waters introduced a disturbing military aspect to the tensions between East Asia's two leading powers, putting greater urgency on calls for a repair in relations.

"The turmoil is a marked contrast to flourishing business relations. Bilateral trade hit a record $130 billion in 2003, a 30.3 percent increase from the
previous year, and officials expect another record to be set this year.

"Japan's military conquest of China in the 1930s and '40s and what the Chinese see as Tokyo's reluctance to atone for its aggression have gnawed for decades at Chinese sensitivities. Japan, in turn, accuses Beijing of using history to browbeat Tokyo into providing aid and political concessions.

"The countries also have squabbled over territory and natural resouces. Both, for example claim a cluster of Japan-controlled East China Sea islands, called the Senkakus in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. The two also are sparring over Chinese exploration of natural-gas fields near Okinawa that Japan claims could infringe on its exclusive economic zone, and they have competing plans for an oil pipeline from Siberia to East Asia.

"The flare-ups illustrate an increasingly competitive relationship.

"China's spectacular economic performance has turned it into a global growth engine, and Beijing is eagerly converting that power into diplomatic influence.

"Tokyo nurses fears of being eclipsed and has eyed with suspicion Beijing's military spending and diplomatic maneuvering. The influential right wing strongly favors responding with a more robust and assertive Japanese military.

"'In the political arena , conservatives aren't really trying to get along with China,' said Makoto Iokibe, a political scientist at Kobe University. 'People who want to be tough with China feel as if we were about to go to war when something like this-the submarine, or gas-development issues-happens.'"

So I guess the Huntington school is wrong about Japan cozying up to China via the historical "bandwagon" effect. That's probably a very good thing.

Originally Posted by William Jennings Bryan

Originally Posted by Tim Walker

Japan, China at odds despite their flourishing economic ties by Joseph Coleman The Associated Press Quoting:

"TOKYO-Despite a thriving economic partnership, political ties between Japan and China are at their lowest ebb in years. The two countries are locked in disputes over World War II history, natural-gas exploration and now a bold incursion by a Chinese nuclear submarine.

"The startling intrusion by a Chinese nuclear submarine last week into Japanese waters introduced a disturbing military aspect to the tensions between East Asia's two leading powers, putting greater urgency on calls for a repair in relations.

"The turmoil is a marked contrast to flourishing business relations. Bilateral trade hit a record $130 billion in 2003, a 30.3 percent increase from the
previous year, and officials expect another record to be set this year.

"Japan's military conquest of China in the 1930s and '40s and what the Chinese see as Tokyo's reluctance to atone for its aggression have gnawed for decades at Chinese sensitivities. Japan, in turn, accuses Beijing of using history to browbeat Tokyo into providing aid and political concessions.

"The countries also have squabbled over territory and natural resouces. Both, for example claim a cluster of Japan-controlled East China Sea islands, called the Senkakus in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. The two also are sparring over Chinese exploration of natural-gas fields near Okinawa that Japan claims could infringe on its exclusive economic zone, and they have competing plans for an oil pipeline from Siberia to East Asia.

"The flare-ups illustrate an increasingly competitive relationship.

"China's spectacular economic performance has turned it into a global growth engine, and Beijing is eagerly converting that power into diplomatic influence.

"Tokyo nurses fears of being eclipsed and has eyed with suspicion Beijing's military spending and diplomatic maneuvering. The influential right wing strongly favors responding with a more robust and assertive Japanese military.

"'In the political arena , conservatives aren't really trying to get along with China,' said Makoto Iokibe, a political scientist at Kobe University. 'People who want to be tough with China feel as if we were about to go to war when something like this-the submarine, or gas-development issues-happens.'"

So I guess the Huntington school is wrong about Japan cozying up to China via the historical "bandwagon" effect. That's probably a very good thing.

IIRC, Huntington classifies Japan as a separate civilization from China and it's offshoots (Taiwan, both Koreas, Singapore, Vietnam). That, I think would make Japan bandwagoning with China a little less likely, even if there wasn't the oceans of bad blood left over from the last 4T. Personally, I can more easily envision China leaving the 'dirty work' of 'dealing' with Japan to North Korea (who has plenty of their own reasons to act, from the same period), thus keeping their own hands clean.

Originally Posted by Titus Sabinus Parthicus

Originally Posted by William Jennings Bryan

Originally Posted by Tim Walker

Japan, China at odds despite their flourishing economic ties by Joseph Coleman The Associated Press Quoting:

"TOKYO-Despite a thriving economic partnership, political ties between Japan and China are at their lowest ebb in years. The two countries are locked in disputes over World War II history, natural-gas exploration and now a bold incursion by a Chinese nuclear submarine.

"The startling intrusion by a Chinese nuclear submarine last week into Japanese waters introduced a disturbing military aspect to the tensions between East Asia's two leading powers, putting greater urgency on calls for a repair in relations.

"The turmoil is a marked contrast to flourishing business relations. Bilateral trade hit a record $130 billion in 2003, a 30.3 percent increase from the
previous year, and officials expect another record to be set this year.

"Japan's military conquest of China in the 1930s and '40s and what the Chinese see as Tokyo's reluctance to atone for its aggression have gnawed for decades at Chinese sensitivities. Japan, in turn, accuses Beijing of using history to browbeat Tokyo into providing aid and political concessions.

"The countries also have squabbled over territory and natural resouces. Both, for example claim a cluster of Japan-controlled East China Sea islands, called the Senkakus in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. The two also are sparring over Chinese exploration of natural-gas fields near Okinawa that Japan claims could infringe on its exclusive economic zone, and they have competing plans for an oil pipeline from Siberia to East Asia.

"The flare-ups illustrate an increasingly competitive relationship.

"China's spectacular economic performance has turned it into a global growth engine, and Beijing is eagerly converting that power into diplomatic influence.

"Tokyo nurses fears of being eclipsed and has eyed with suspicion Beijing's military spending and diplomatic maneuvering. The influential right wing strongly favors responding with a more robust and assertive Japanese military.

"'In the political arena , conservatives aren't really trying to get along with China,' said Makoto Iokibe, a political scientist at Kobe University. 'People who want to be tough with China feel as if we were about to go to war when something like this-the submarine, or gas-development issues-happens.'"

So I guess the Huntington school is wrong about Japan cozying up to China via the historical "bandwagon" effect. That's probably a very good thing.

IIRC, Huntington classifies Japan as a separate civilization from China and it's offshoots (Taiwan, both Koreas, Singapore, Vietnam). That, I think would make Japan bandwagoning with China a little less likely, even if there wasn't the oceans of bad blood left over from the last 4T. Personally, I can more easily envision China leaving the 'dirty work' of 'dealing' with Japan to North Korea (who has plenty of their own reasons to act, from the same period), thus keeping their own hands clean.

Huntington definitely does separate Japan from Sinic civilization, agreed. But I believe he has Japan moving closer to China in his analysis. Furthermore, he and his ilk seem big on the (Chinese) bandwagon phenomenon and have been predicting Japan would move in that direction.

Right now I think it is too early to tell. Japan does seem to have an inherent inferiority complex that has them vacillate between obsequious bandwagoning and aggressive nationalism (whether isolationist or externalized).

Japan showed signs of breaking out of it's post-WWII deference to America in the 1980's and early 90's as a Nippocentric attitude began to resurface. But their bubble-burst and America's seeming reassertion of political and economic strength has put them back in deference mode to the alpha power.

With the rise of China, Japan has three futures within the above context.

1. Stay deferential to America and side with Washington in any Sino-American polarity.

2. Become deferential to China and side with Beijing in any hot or cold
conflict.

3. Return to Nippocentrism and either withdraw from both, or, more likely, aggressively assert itself into the dynamic as an equal.

Number one is more likely than number two, but I don't know by how much. I think America is in a lot of trouble structurally with the coming Dollar Crash and insolvency. But China will also be gravely affected when it's own bubble bursts.

Future Three is highly unlikely, but who knows? Most Saecularists here on the board think Japan is in an early-to-mid 3T right now, about where Japan was in the last cycle when it took a detour into Manchuria.

Japans New Assertiveness

Article stating that Japan is moving closer to Taiwan.

States that some Japanese lawmakers support President Chen's efforts to change Taiwan's constitution & name.

Comments that native Taiwanese remember relatively benign occupation by Japanese navy, rather than brutal occupation by Japanese army of other Asian countries.

This may be of strategic importance. As I recall from The Coming War With Japan, Japan has turned more and more to the Indian Ocean basin for raw materials (and most especially Middle East oil). Regarding the sea lanes-Taiwan is to the south of Japan.

Originally Posted by Tim Walker

Japans New Assertiveness

Article stating that Japan is moving closer to Taiwan.

States that some Japanese lawmakers support President Chen's efforts to change Taiwan's constitution & name.

Comments that native Taiwanese remember relatively benign occupation by Japanese navy, rather than brutal occupation by Japanese army of other Asian countries.

This may be of strategic importance. As I recall from The Coming War With Japan, Japan has turned more and more to the Indian Ocean basin for raw materials (and most especially Middle East oil). Regarding the sea lanes-Taiwan is to the south of Japan.

Dear Tim,

Japan is becoming increasing nationalistic -- right on time, given
that World War II ended in 1945.

Japan's natural enemies are Korea and mainland China. Thus, it isn't
surprising at all that Japan might be aligning itself with Taiwan as
the "clash of civilizations" world war approaches.

According to the WSJ article you referenced:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1...009687,00.html

Originally Posted by Wall Street Journal

> It is those kind of personal ties that particularly worry Beijing.
> Mr. Lee is a longtime admirer of Japan who has said he felt more
> Japanese than Chinese during his childhood. That mirrors the
> experience of many native Taiwanese, who harbor relatively benign
> memories of their occupation by the Japanese navy at the turn of
> the 20th century. Other Asians are more likely to recall the
> brutality of the Japanese army during World War II.

> That is of more than historical significance since it colors
> Japanese attitudes toward one of Beijing's top foreign-policy
> priorities -- detaching America's allies from its side in the
> event that China takes military action against Taiwan. Beijing has
> already pursued this tactic with some success against Australia.
> In recent months, the normally reliable U.S. ally has signaled
> strong doubts about whether it would join Washington in defending
> the island against attack.

> Tokyo, by contrast, has been moving steadily closer to Taiwan. The
> granting of Mr. Lee's visa comes in the wake of a series of less
> widely publicized decisions, including making it easier for
> ordinary Taiwanese to visit Japan and support among some Japanese
> lawmakers for President Chen's efforts to change the island's
> constitution and official name.

> The common thread in all this seems to be a recognition that the
> conciliatory approach has failed. As China becomes more
> geopolitically ambitious, Japan has to be more conscious of
> protecting its own position. No event would be more destabilizing
> in East Asia than a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. And by granting
> Mr. Lee a visa, Japan seems to be signaling that Beijing cannot
> count on it standing to one side in the event of a cross-Strait
> conflict.

However, I disagree with this reporter's appraisal of the situation
with Australia. Actually, countries throughout Southeast Asian are,
more and more, beginning to "pick sides" in the conflict between
China and Taiwan.
http://www.generationaldynamics.com/...i.taiwan040823

Australia has stated quite clearly that it will support Taiwan in a
conflict with China. Actually, Australia is required to do so under
treaties signed with Ameirca. Furthermore, Australian President John
Howard is a strong supporter of George Bush's policy in Iraq, and was
reelected decisively three months ago, despite that support being an
election campaign.
http://www.generationaldynamics.com/...g0410#e041009b


So it's getting easier and easier to see who'll be on each side of
the upcoming war.

Sincerely,

John

John J. Xenakis
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com

Japan seems like the most inexplicable mixed up culture on earth to me?next to the US maybe. The dwindling population?how long will this continue....will it stablize somehow? Are they actually gonna start importing people at some point?





"Age-old problem for Japan


March 7, 2005


Anthony Faiola and Sachiko Sakamaki The child shortage is raising fears about aging Japan's ability to remain the second-largest economy after America. AFP, REUTERS


When Kami Hinokinai Junior High opened half a century ago in the picturesque northern village of Nishiki, Fukuyo Suzuki, then a young mother, remembers joining other parents on a warm May afternoon to plant pink azaleas in the schoolyard.

The azaleas are still here, though bare in the winter snow and, like the new occupants of the school, more fragile than they once were. In a nation grappling with a record low birthrate and the world's longest average lifespan, Suzuki, 77, is spending the daytime hours of her twilight years back in the halls of her son's old school.

The junior high, which ceased operation six years ago because of a shortage of children, now houses a community center for the elderly. Suzuki comes to pass her time sipping green tea and weaving straw baskets with other aging villagers.

``I never imagined this school would close and that I would be back here myself,'' said Suzuki, a farmer's widow who lives with her 52-year-old son. Like one out of four men in Nishiki, her son remains single and childless. ``Now, I hear our elementary school is going to close, too,'' she said. ``It's so sad for us. Children are vanishing from our lives.''

The change at the junior high in this shrinking village of 5,924 is an example of what analysts describe as Japan's greatest national problem, a combination baby bust and senior citizen boom. Indeed, next year Nishiki is set to pay the highest price for its shrinking population. Unable to sustain its annual budget, it will join a growing list of Japanese towns that have officially ceased to exist and have merged with a neighboring city.

In the aftermath of World War II, the rush to build a modern economy sparked migration from rural towns such as Nishiki to Japan's urban centers. But officials say the lure of the big city is no longer the key factor driving depopulation. For at least the past decade, the leading cause of the town's shrinking population base has been a disturbingly low birthrate.

Last year, 42 babies were born in Nishiki, the lowest number since the town was incorporated in the 1950s, while 75 villagers died, according to statistics. Nishiki's plight, analysts said, could be an omen of Japan's future.

The national child shortage, even as the population ages, is raising fears about Japan's long-term ability to maintain its status as the world's second-largest economy after the United States. With more Japanese choosing to remain single and forgoing parenthood, the population of almost 128 million is expected to decrease next year, then plunge to about 126 million by 2015 and about 101 million by 2050.

Many people are asking: Will there be enough Japanese left to participate in the economy in the years to come?

``A nation requires a certain scale in the population to continue its momentum, but in Japan, we are confronting a serious combination of a low birthrate and an aging nation,'' Education Ministry deputy director Kota Murase said. ``Our pension system is already being tested to its limits. And with fewer young people in society, the question is: How are we going to sustain the elderly and the nation's future? We don't have a clear answer yet.''

Japan's disappearing schools are emblematic of the problem. More than 2,000 elementary, junior high and high schools nationwide have been forced to close over the past decade. The number of elementary and junior high students fell from 13.42 million in 1994 to 10.86 million last year. An estimated 63,000 teachers have lost their jobs.

Even as the percentage of people over 65 steadily climbs, an estimated 300 more schools a year are scheduled to shut their doors over the next several years - including Nishiki's 122-year-old Kami Hinokinai Elementary School, whose final graduating class will leave in 2007.

``We simply can't go on as we are,'' Nishiki mayor Chiyoshi Tashiro, 55, said. ``We don't have enough children being born to continue as an independent village. It is sad, but it is our reality.''

The baby shortage is altering Japanese society and traditions. In Kisawa, a town on Japan's Shikoku island, elders at the Unai Shrine have long called out the names of newborns at their autumn festival for happiness and health. Last year, there were no new babies to announce.

The lavish department stores of Tokyo have begun eliminating their rooftop playgrounds, replacing them with cafes and picnic areas for adults and the elderly. Over the past decade, 90 theme parks designed for children have closed in Japan. In the same period, Disney opened a popular sea-themed amusement park just outside Tokyo that targets adults more than children and allows the sale of alcohol.

As many as 117 hospitals nationwide now have no permanent obstetrician due to lack of demand and a shrinking pool of obstetricians and gynecologists, according to a survey conducted last year by a medical society based in Tokyo. The number of hospitals in Japan with pediatric wards fell to 3,473 in 2000 from 4,119 in 1990.

The list of solutions is short and complicated. The most obvious - opening Japan to more immigration - is enormously controversial in a society that is 98.8 percent ethnically homogeneous and, in many respects, still markedly xenophobic.

Some farmers in Nishiki who have failed to find Japanese women willing to live traditional lives in rural villages have sought brides in China instead. But village officials said several of the Chinese women fled after they failed to win the acceptance of their new in-laws.

Although it is a national problem, depopulation is most severe in rural areas such as Nishiki, a proud farming and forestry town where the population peaked at 9,180 in 1956. Over the years, families left Nishiki, seeking better fortunes in Japanese cities. The population stabilized in the 1980s, but the birthrate began declining in the 1990s.

It has happened in part because towns such as Nishiki suffer from a shortage not only of children, but also of eligible women. When Japan's economic bubble burst in 1990, Japanese companies seeking less expensive alternatives to men began hiring women for contract and part-time jobs. Gender roles have changed as a result. With increasing financial independence, more women are avoiding marriage.

According to a poll released by Japan's Yomiuri newspaper, seven out of 10 single Japanese women say they have no desire to become wives - a role that in Japan still largely means staying home and raising children.

In Nishiki, daughters are now more likely to leave to seek work in big cities, while their brothers stay behind to claim their family inheritance rights. Single men exceed the number of available women by a ratio of about three to two.

``It's hard here,'' said Kazutsugu Asari, 47, an unmarried employee of the city's construction department. ``There are lots of single men but fewer women. And many are not interested in traditional lives. I can understand why the women would leave town. But I have an obligation to stay as the eldest son.''

Japan has tried just about everything to boost the fertility rate, or number of children per woman, which hit a record low of 1.29 in 2003, compared with 2.01 in the United States. Nishiki is offering cash awards to families that have more than one child, even sponsoring mixers to bring young couples together. But so far, most attempts have failed.

Kami Hinokinai Elementary School, where the number of students peaked at 266 in 1960, awaits closure. Today, there are 33 students left, 11 of whom will graduate this year. Only five new students will enter the school this year. Those numbers prompted the decision to shut Kami Hinokinai in 2007 and bus the remaining children to a school about 40 minutes away.

With no other children their age, the two girls and boy in the second grade have learnt to make do. Tatsuya Wakamatsu, eight, says he persuades the girls to play baseball with him at recess and after school. In return, he grudgingly agrees to jump rope with them. ``There aren't so many kids for us to play with in the neighborhood and sometimes the older kids tease us, so the three of us always play together,'' he said.

Adults take part in sporting events to help the students form football and baseball teams. Last year, first-grader Takuya Suzuki, seven, had to play two roles in the school play. ``I was a mouse and a grandfather,'' he said, laughing.

When a baby is born in Nishiki, it is huge news. Last August, Yuna Wakamatsu arrived in a part of the community where no child had been born for 10 years. Traditionally, only women would come calling, offering gifts of food and money. But the men also turned out this time, showering Yuna with so many gifts that they now fill most of one room in the Wakamatsus' wood-frame home.

``They all wanted to see the face of a baby again,'' said her beaming grandmother, Tazuko Wakamatsu, 59, who takes care of the infant because both parents work.

In Nishiki, the last pediatrician switched careers in the 1990s, becoming a geriatric specialist. The nearest doctor for Yuna Wakamatsu is almost an hour away in bad weather. ``But I suppose there is nothing that can be done about it,'' her grandmother said. ``It's just how it is.''



http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/s.../GC07Dh01.html

Perhaps if Japan got their heads out of their collective asses and start embracing the concept of diversity and maybe valuing children, I wouldn't be surprised to see them become a footnote in cultural history by the end 23rd century.

There are plenty of things I like about the Japanese, but one thing that makes no sense is their insistence on maintaining stasis. That leads to stagnation and death.

It's no wonder why certain aspects of Japanese pop culture became so wildly popular among people my age. With the reducing market for children, the anime and videogames and comic books start catering more to older and more mature audiences (not like they weren't a demographic before). This makes it all the more attractive to people in the US where kiddie culture still rules their age group regardless of how much they matured.

If the Japanese disappear, younger sister will be out of a hobby.

Makes me wish I could go visit Japan and start a ruckus just to see what happens and probably stir up some controversy. "Oh no, crazy gaijin mocking valuable traditions of our people! Destroying the 'wa' making ourselves uncomfortable in the world."

They should be.

I think Japan has something like a collective split personality, on an epic scale. A traditional, highly regimented, xenophobic culture?transformed by one of the most culturally diverse, "extroverted" cultures, after WW2. That, plus a true love of a very destablizing factor, technology, makes for a strange place.

Seems like many of its people are of a "culturally diverse" mindset without actually coming into physical contact with other peoples, other cultures?only through technology.

Tora? Tora? Tora?

A poll by Shiseido, the Tokyo-based cosmetics giant, found that more than half of Japanese men in their twenties and thirties said it was important to be "gentle" while only a third said the same of being "intelligent." Perhaps most inexplicably, male thugs in the yakuza -- or Japanese mafia -- are now known to wear pink women's sandals and floral-patterned shirts while prowling the streets late at night.


Nagami Kishi, 60, head of the Research Institute for People and Corporations, who has lectured on the feminization of Japanese men, insists the movement is tied to a generation of absent fathers who "abandoned" their sons in a woman's world of mothers, sisters and aunts to spend all their time at work during Japan's post-World War II economic miracle. "When I was young, we were trained not to cry, but nowadays, men in their twenties freely express their emotions and cry even in front of women," Kishi said. "Young Japanese men are gentle, shy and sensitive; they've turned into a bunch of . . . mama's boys."

The Seattle Times Jan. 15 06. Japanese soldiers train on U.S. shores by Tony Perry and Bruce Wallace.

"Coronado, Calif.-On a U.S. Navy base where the streets are named for bloody World War II battles on Pacific islands, American sailors and Marines are teaching Japanese soldiers the basics of mounting an amphibious assault.

"...it is meant to boost the capabilities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces....

"About 150 Japanese soldiers are spending three weeks at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, where the main street is named Guadalcanal. he training will culminate in a 2 a.m. 'assault' on a beach at Camp Pendleton with soldiers rushing ashore as if they were attacking an enemy.

"The exercise comes at a time of rising tensions between China and Japan....

"Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's government has presented Iron Fist to the public as a necessary step in the defense of Japan's far-flung Ryuku island chain.

"The importance of defending the Ryukus has escalated over differences with China concerning the control of undersea natural gas fiels in the East China Sea. Reports in recent months that the Chinese have conducted exploratory drilling in waters that Japanese maps show as Japanese territory have aroused great unease in Tokyo.

"The ongoing political tensions have dampened any alarm that the anti-war stream of Japanese opinion might once have felt as seening the Self Defense Forces expanding its capabilities."

The Seattle Times Jan. 15 06. Japanese soldiers train on U.S. shores by Tony Perry and Bruce Wallace.

"Coronado, Calif.-On a U.S. Navy base where the streets are named for bloody World War II battles on Pacific islands, American sailors and Marines are teaching Japanese soldiers the basics of mounting an amphibious assault.

"...it is meant to boost the capabilities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces....

"About 150 Japanese soldiers are spending three weeks at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, where the main street is named Guadalcanal. he training will culminate in a 2 a.m. 'assault' on a beach at Camp Pendleton with soldiers rushing ashore as if they were attacking an enemy.

"The exercise comes at a time of rising tensions between China and Japan....

"Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's government has presented Iron Fist to the public as a necessary step in the defense of Japan's far-flung Ryuku island chain.

"The importance of defending the Ryukus has escalated over differences with China concerning the control of undersea natural gas fiels in the East China Sea. Reports in recent months that the Chinese have conducted exploratory drilling in waters that Japanese maps show as Japanese territory have aroused great unease in Tokyo.

"The ongoing political tensions have dampened any alarm that the anti-war stream of Japanese opinion might once have felt as seening the Self Defense Forces expanding its capabilities."

Originally Posted by Tim Walker

The Seattle Times Jan. 15 06. Japanese soldiers train on U.S. shores by Tony Perry and Bruce Wallace.

"Coronado, Calif.-On a U.S. Navy base where the streets are named for bloody World War II battles on Pacific islands, American sailors and Marines are teaching Japanese soldiers the basics of mounting an amphibious assault.

"...it is meant to boost the capabilities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces....

"About 150 Japanese soldiers are spending three weeks at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, where the main street is named Guadalcanal. he training will culminate in a 2 a.m. 'assault' on a beach at Camp Pendleton with soldiers rushing ashore as if they were attacking an enemy.

"The exercise comes at a time of rising tensions between China and Japan....

"Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's government has presented Iron Fist to the public as a necessary step in the defense of Japan's far-flung Ryuku island chain.

"The importance of defending the Ryukus has escalated over differences with China concerning the control of undersea natural gas fiels in the East China Sea. Reports in recent months that the Chinese have conducted exploratory drilling in waters that Japanese maps show as Japanese territory have aroused great unease in Tokyo.

"The ongoing political tensions have dampened any alarm that the anti-war stream of Japanese opinion might once have felt as seening the Self Defense Forces expanding its capabilities."

Is it just China, or also North Korea that could be the impetus behind this? Interesting regardless.

Originally Posted by Tim Walker

The Seattle Times Jan. 15 06. Japanese soldiers train on U.S. shores by Tony Perry and Bruce Wallace.

"Coronado, Calif.-On a U.S. Navy base where the streets are named for bloody World War II battles on Pacific islands, American sailors and Marines are teaching Japanese soldiers the basics of mounting an amphibious assault.

"...it is meant to boost the capabilities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces....

"About 150 Japanese soldiers are spending three weeks at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, where the main street is named Guadalcanal. he training will culminate in a 2 a.m. 'assault' on a beach at Camp Pendleton with soldiers rushing ashore as if they were attacking an enemy.

"The exercise comes at a time of rising tensions between China and Japan....

"Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's government has presented Iron Fist to the public as a necessary step in the defense of Japan's far-flung Ryuku island chain.

"The importance of defending the Ryukus has escalated over differences with China concerning the control of undersea natural gas fiels in the East China Sea. Reports in recent months that the Chinese have conducted exploratory drilling in waters that Japanese maps show as Japanese territory have aroused great unease in Tokyo.

"The ongoing political tensions have dampened any alarm that the anti-war stream of Japanese opinion might once have felt as seening the Self Defense Forces expanding its capabilities."

Is it just China, or also North Korea that could be the impetus behind this? Interesting regardless.

No, the article did not mention North Korea. But a good guess would be that North Korea is a problem exhaustively studied in the Japanese gov't.

No, the article did not mention North Korea. But a good guess would be that North Korea is a problem exhaustively studied in the Japanese gov't.

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IMO Japan is that the start of an Unravelling. The rise in nationalism in Japan in the last few years sounds like the US under Reagan. I rember reading several things about history textbooks whitewashing theeir brutal occupation of China and the Rape of Nanking, sounds very culture warish.

Originally Posted by Odin

IMO Japan is that the start of an Unravelling. The rise in nationalism in Japan in the last few years sounds like the US under Reagan. I rember reading several things about history textbooks whitewashing theeir brutal occupation of China and the Rape of Nanking, sounds very culture warish.

I fully agree with you Odin about developments in Japan. Japan and maybe Korea are one of the few areas of the globe not on our saeculum or very near to it. The Middle East and maybe Latin America is another.

The developments in Japanese society during the last 2 decades is indicate of a 2T. Nowhere near as much upheval in society as last 2T was for us, more like what happened during the Missionary Awakening or the The Great Awakening. But some big changes have happended in Japanese society.

Originally Posted by Odin

IMO Japan is that the start of an Unravelling. The rise in nationalism in Japan in the last few years sounds like the US under Reagan. I rember reading several things about history textbooks whitewashing theeir brutal occupation of China and the Rape of Nanking, sounds very culture warish.

The rise in nationalism and erasing the past (World War Two) is a part of a major generational change that screams 4T from every direction. No wonder, since we fought the same crisis.

Originally Posted by MichaelEaston

The rise in nationalism and erasing the past (World War Two) is a part of a major generational change that screams 4T from every direction. No wonder, since we fought the same crisis.

Well the huge changes which occured in Japan's institutional framework happended after the war, not before or during it.

Japan's political institutions were pretty much stagant during the 1930's, even despite the militarists took over the fundamental shape of Japanese institutions remained little changed. Also the Japanese militarist leadership were very much fanatical midlife idealists.

In Germany and Russia on the other hand, massive changes occured in the institutional structure during the 1930's.