Reading this it cements what I see... a very clear pile of evidence that single-nation multiculturalism, and hence globalism, is a terrible idea. We should celebrate this Japanese cultural uniqueness as we should the cultural uniqueness of all countries.
What a wonderful, refreshing, educational essay. I have been looking into the role of religion in other cultures like Japan, which I know is very different and mostly non-Christian. I think religious extremism is (one of the things) destroying the US. When I think about religion in Japan I'll admit with some embarrassment that I think about the studio Gigli movies. I'd be interested in your thoughts.
No need to be sheepish. Ghibili is the best way into the Shinto mindset. Especially totoro. It nails the mindset exactly.
There’s something out there. It’s not human. It’s not human-like. It doesn’t spend its time and energy worrying about human things. It lives in nature. It’s not really threatening, it can help you if you’re nice to it. Give it nice things -an umbrella maybe- and it will reciprocate. You want to be on its good side. There’s no better way to explain Shinto to a foreigner than to show them Totoro.
"If Tokyo is disconcertingly functional, that’s in part because it’s a parasitic organism sucking the life out of the rest of Japan. All the good jobs are here, all the opportunities, and so all the ambitious young people are here too." Sounds like London and the rest of the UK.
Wonder how much this piece conflates “the West” with America. In particular, how polite language needs to be between strangers is a function of language, with English being different from say French.
There is somewhat more politeness grammar in many western languages than is found in American English, that is true. The system that is used in Japanese is a lot more involved than anything to be found in western languages, though. Yoko Hasegawa's Japanese: A Linguistic Introduction offers relatively brief and approachable coverage of it.
I know a lot of people have an aesthetic preference for hyper-dense cities, but demographic decline and urban density feel tied. If you look at a the list of prefectures by TFR in Japan, Many are above 1.5/1.6 (not great, not terrible). Then there's Tokyo at the very bottom (~1.0). I'll take my car-centric suburb, especially if that helps facilitate the continuation of civilization!
Such great and underreported points! I'd also note the absolute and complete lack of crime. This has a profound impact on so many aspects of life.
...and I would also note that many 2nd tier cities are still vital and vibrant - some even moreso than Tokyo. But it does feel like the springs feeding these places will eventually dry up.
I dunno man, my in-laws are in Kitakyushu so I spend quite a bit of time there. It's _grim_. They can feel their city dying around them. They're so sad about it, but all the kids finish high school and move to Fukuoka or to Tokyo.
Then we also have family in Kurume — more a large town than a small city— and there the demographic collapse is utterly shocking. You don't need anyone to explain it to you, the place is visibly hollowed out.
I'm told it's not an exception: a lot of towns in that sort of 50,000-150,000 range are in crisis. Just sad.
100% agree that 3rd tier cities and everything else on down the chain are grim and often otherworldly - especially because there is zero crime so you can walk down a main street and basically see shops frozen in time on the day that their proprietor died. Oof.
But 2nd tier places like Osaka and Takamatsu are still very much alive, and even young and exciting. But seems clear that these places only have one or two generations left before all the people flowing into them from 3rd tier places ends and then they start draining into Tokyo. Then maybe only a few more generations before Tokyo withers away (or at least becomes not-Japanese).
Reading this it cements what I see... a very clear pile of evidence that single-nation multiculturalism, and hence globalism, is a terrible idea. We should celebrate this Japanese cultural uniqueness as we should the cultural uniqueness of all countries.
The nicest and nicest bizarre aspect for me is that in public places there are no trash cans and no trash. Everyone simply takes all their trash home.
What a wonderful, refreshing, educational essay. I have been looking into the role of religion in other cultures like Japan, which I know is very different and mostly non-Christian. I think religious extremism is (one of the things) destroying the US. When I think about religion in Japan I'll admit with some embarrassment that I think about the studio Gigli movies. I'd be interested in your thoughts.
No need to be sheepish. Ghibili is the best way into the Shinto mindset. Especially totoro. It nails the mindset exactly.
There’s something out there. It’s not human. It’s not human-like. It doesn’t spend its time and energy worrying about human things. It lives in nature. It’s not really threatening, it can help you if you’re nice to it. Give it nice things -an umbrella maybe- and it will reciprocate. You want to be on its good side. There’s no better way to explain Shinto to a foreigner than to show them Totoro.
"If Tokyo is disconcertingly functional, that’s in part because it’s a parasitic organism sucking the life out of the rest of Japan. All the good jobs are here, all the opportunities, and so all the ambitious young people are here too." Sounds like London and the rest of the UK.
Wonder how much this piece conflates “the West” with America. In particular, how polite language needs to be between strangers is a function of language, with English being different from say French.
There is somewhat more politeness grammar in many western languages than is found in American English, that is true. The system that is used in Japanese is a lot more involved than anything to be found in western languages, though. Yoko Hasegawa's Japanese: A Linguistic Introduction offers relatively brief and approachable coverage of it.
I know a lot of people have an aesthetic preference for hyper-dense cities, but demographic decline and urban density feel tied. If you look at a the list of prefectures by TFR in Japan, Many are above 1.5/1.6 (not great, not terrible). Then there's Tokyo at the very bottom (~1.0). I'll take my car-centric suburb, especially if that helps facilitate the continuation of civilization!
with 8 billion people consuming the planet dry, maybe we need some decline???? At least for awhile?
No room? Ever been to Nebraska? Or the Dakotas (not the one on Central Park West)?
No jobs? Not true with "work from home."
Urbanist "agglomeration effects"? Silicon Valley arose as a car-centric suburb.
Fascinating portrayal.
"There are quite a few workers from South Asia, Southeast Asia and Latin America here now, doing jobs that would otherwise go undone."
It appears to be slowly growing.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2025/01/ed5a539b7d05-no-of-foreign-workers-in-japan-hits-new-record-of-23-million.html
"The number of foreign employees in Japan reached a record 2.3 million as of the end of last October..."
This works out to about 3.3% of the work force.
Such great and underreported points! I'd also note the absolute and complete lack of crime. This has a profound impact on so many aspects of life.
...and I would also note that many 2nd tier cities are still vital and vibrant - some even moreso than Tokyo. But it does feel like the springs feeding these places will eventually dry up.
I dunno man, my in-laws are in Kitakyushu so I spend quite a bit of time there. It's _grim_. They can feel their city dying around them. They're so sad about it, but all the kids finish high school and move to Fukuoka or to Tokyo.
Then we also have family in Kurume — more a large town than a small city— and there the demographic collapse is utterly shocking. You don't need anyone to explain it to you, the place is visibly hollowed out.
I'm told it's not an exception: a lot of towns in that sort of 50,000-150,000 range are in crisis. Just sad.
100% agree that 3rd tier cities and everything else on down the chain are grim and often otherworldly - especially because there is zero crime so you can walk down a main street and basically see shops frozen in time on the day that their proprietor died. Oof.
But 2nd tier places like Osaka and Takamatsu are still very much alive, and even young and exciting. But seems clear that these places only have one or two generations left before all the people flowing into them from 3rd tier places ends and then they start draining into Tokyo. Then maybe only a few more generations before Tokyo withers away (or at least becomes not-Japanese).