Japan’s stoic posture is a paradoxical conundrum in all senses. A problem doesn’t exist if you don’t utter a problem exists is the practice for the most part. Is it denial? Well, without saying and ignoring a problem exists peace can exist. By deferring to the feeling of others (even if they’re strangers) is what makes Japan a less chaotic country to live in. At the same time, the government is clever enough to avoid inciting widespread panic.
While radiative matter continues to spew out of the reactors at Fukushima Dai-ichi, the impact of radioactive contamination on the food supply chain only scantily garners the attention of the media in an effort to restore a sense of economic balance to a country has been in a recession for two-decades.
However, information control is nothing new to this society that has a tradition of being told what to do by deferring to the power of the authorities. But as the effects of globalization has become apparent in the high-driven technological society, politicians are thinking twice or thrice about what they decide to withhold from the public.
What is most paralyzing about Japanese politics is the lack of confidence the people have in the leadership ability of the government, which has been evident with five changes in government in the last five years. The stoic Japanese have lost their patience when it comes to the government.
To make matters worse, young Japanese university graduates are having trouble securing employment. This doesn’t bode well for a society that has been plagued with low birth-rates and an aging population. With such population disparities, Japan will have no choice but to allow immigration if it wishes to maintain and compete as an economic giant.
Still, the language barrier will be crucial in what type of immigrants would even be attracted to Japan. While low-scale laborers from the near-region have found Japan as a promise-land providing a better life than in their home countries, Japan fails to attract the intelligentsia that can make a country great. The language barrier may be at the crux of the problem. The only alternative is to seriously consider English as a true second-language.
James In Japan 