Japan certainly lives up to the paradox. It is so utterly western with its large hotels, western styles of dress, clean cities and focus on customer service and business. Yet, it is utterly and dramatically and stubbornly non-western in its cultural traditions. It almost seems as if Japan emerged from the Second World War to create its economic miracle by adopting certain aspects of western culture while disregarding the rest. Sadly, even now, 55 years after the war ended, Japan has never completely shouldered responsibility for its part in the war and continues to see itself purely as a victim. Amazingly, modern Japanese history is excluded from college entrance exams and does not appear to be taught in high schools. The Japanese have never apologized for their war crimes nor compensated its victims. So, while Japan is a modern economic miracle and can boast a remarkable and wonderfully rich cultural heritage, it still suffers from an inferiority complex, unable to make amends for its past and still the victim of western prejudice.
Part of the problem seems to be that westerners have never taken time to truly try to understand Japanese culture and psychology which is rooted in traditions highly alien to those of the west. There is little doubt that we in the west have a distinctly superior attitude about our own achievements.
As we
leave Japan on our way to Hong Kong, I meditate on what
we westerners can learn from Japan?