Reflection of Japan's Surrender 70 Years Ago: The Voice of The Showa Emperor Reverberates Still

[Aepsilons]

You think there were intellectual leaders like Fukuzawa who helped transition Japan from feudal / agrarian society into an industrial society.

Fukuzawa and many like minded intellectuals like him were indeed pivotal in helping shape Japanese educational system and learning of early modern Japan. It was intrepid men such as he that went abroad to learn from the west and brought it back to Japan and applied it to the Japanese context. I suppose the problem, my friend, is that while men like Fukuzawa helped to transform Japanese learning, in the core of Japanese society at the time, was still imbued with Imperialistic Ideology. Japanese society in that time was at a transitional period, so to say, very much like China of now; developing rapidly but still ideologically conservative.

Tho there were early Japanese state leaders who touted for Liberal Democracy, the time period was very archaic. It was a time of ideological warfare; we had the rise of Socialism , Marxism, Fascism, Democracy and Absolute Monarchy. In the pathway to finding the 'right' governmental methodology for Japan, I suppose the extremist imperialist radicals were able to get inside Japanese Government during this sensitive transitional period during the Meiji Era.

We had no advisers to help us find the right type of government; at that time there was no such thing as an 'NGO' or 'CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS' , that was an era of Imperialism still. I guess Japan tried to adopt Western 'Imperialist Mercantilism' and went over board in the Imperialist ideology aspect.

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I like to think meta-analytically, my friend. I believe Nations are like people, and Nations make mistakes for a reason, and hopefully can learn from past mistakes. The goal is to learn from past mistakes and not repeat the same ones over , and over, and over again.

 

[FaujHistorian]

Fukuzawa and many like minded intellectuals like him were indeed pivotal in helping shape Japanese educational system and learning of early modern Japan. It was intrepid men such as he that went abroad to learn from the west and brought it back to Japan and applied it to the Japanese context. I suppose the problem, my friend, is that while men like Fukuzawa helped to transform Japanese learning, in the core of Japanese society at the time, was still imbued with Imperialistic Ideology. Japanese society in that time was at a transitional period, so to say, very much like China of now; developing rapidly but still ideologically conservative.

Tho there were early Japanese state leaders who touted for Liberal Democracy, the time period was very archaic. It was a time of ideological warfare; we had the rise of Socialism , Marxism, Fascism, Democracy and Absolute Monarchy. In the pathway to finding the 'right' governmental methodology for Japan, I suppose the extremist imperialist radicals were able to get inside Japanese Government during this sensitive transitional period during the Meiji Era.

We had no advisers to help us find the right type of government; at that time there was no such thing as an 'NGO' or 'CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS' , that was an era of Imperialism still. I guess Japan tried to adopt Western 'Imperialist Mercantilism' and went over board in the Imperialist ideology aspect.

--

I like to think meta-analytically, my friend. I believe Nations are like people, and Nations make mistakes for a reason, and hopefully can learn from past mistakes. The goal is to learn from past mistakes and not repeat the same ones over , and over, and over again.

Well said.

Yes indeed, nations are like people.

I recently saw a study that it takes 49 years for a typical male to become emotionally mature.

I suspect that a given national system needs double that amount or almost 100 years to become mature and become relatively stable.

These 100 years are turbulent, but the end of 100 years could be very very violent.

For example

USA suffered a major and bloody war almost 100 years after its birth.

Other European countries too have gone through violent end to the previous 100 year cycle.

So in some ways late 1940s was an end to the 100 years cycle for Japanese society. A major turning point.

Believe you me, I do not say this jokingly. Because 100s of 1000s of people die and suffer at the end of this 100 years transition point.

But once it does happen, start of next cycle brings stability and prosperity.

So from this one could foresee the end of 2040s may indicate another major transition in Japanese society.

Any thoughts?


p.s. Pakistan kind of matches the 100 years cycle with that of Japan. From its birth in 1947, its political and economic system is in turmoil kind of similar to the pre-fukuzawa period of Japanese agrarian society. So for us too, 2040s will be a major upheaval. I hope we as a nation are ready for it and perhaps blessed with a youthful fukuzawa (who probably is about 10 years old right now ).

 

[Aepsilons]

Well said.

Yes indeed, nations are like people.

I recently saw a study that it takes 49 years for a typical male to become emotionally mature.

I suspect that a given national system needs double that amount or almost 100 years to become mature and become relatively stable.

These 100 years are turbulent, but the end of 100 years could be very very violent.

For example

USA suffered a major and bloody war almost 100 years after its birth.

Other European countries too have gone through violent end to the previous 100 year cycle.

So in some ways late 1940s was an end to the 100 years cycle for Japanese society. A major turning point.

Believe you me, I do not say this jokingly. Because 100s of 1000s of people die and suffer at the end of this 100 years transition point.

But once it does happen, start of next cycle brings stability and prosperity.

So from this one could foresee the end of 2040s may indicate another major transition in Japanese society.

Any thoughts?

Japan has been a Liberal Democracy now for close to 70 years now and the culture of social transparency, awareness of the workings in government is apparent. Leaders who are guilty of corruption and abuses of power have been sacked from office such as then-Prime Minister Hosokawa Morihiro , who was complacent with the Sagawa Express Scandal, and then public outcry facilitated his resignation and reshuffling of Government.

Japan is an active constitutional, representative, participatory Liberal Democracy. So literally there are checks in government; there is an independent judiciary, there is the legislative body and then the executive branch. There are checks to said branches from gaining too powerful. I suppose the active participation of Japanese citizens in political affairs is due to the party-elections in the civic level , which then transcends up to the national level.

If you observe Japanese politics, you will see that any instance of corruption is usually associated with termination of legitimacy of said politician. The politician will have lost face in the public eye, and with loss of honor, he or she would have no choice but to resign.

Japan thus has gone so far now in the democratic pathway ; the next 20 or so years will see Japan remain firm in the democratic process. More mature, definitely.

 

[Aepsilons]

p.s. Pakistan kind of matches the 100 years cycle with that of Japan. From its birth in 1947, its political and economic system is in turmoil kind of similar to the pre-fukuzawa period of Japanese agrarian society. So for us too, 2040s will be a major upheaval. I hope we as a nation are ready for it and perhaps blessed with a youthful fukuzawa (who probably is about 10 years old right now ).

Ah, Pakistan is indeed a Nation of immense potential, my friend. Pakistan’s latest period of military rule, over eight years under General Pervez Musharraf, ended in 2008, with the elections that brought the PPP to power. Mr Musharraf had planned to stay on as president, which is supposedly a ceremonial position, but he was eased out after that election by Mr Zardari, who replaced him. Musharraf went into exile, though he is currently threatening to return and stand in the current polls.

During the last election campaign the PPP’s leader, Benazir Bhutto, who had served as prime minister twice before, was killed by a suicide bomber. The PPP suspects that the military establishment was behind the assassination, though it has been able to prove nothing about that while in office.

After Ms Bhutto’s murder, a huge wave of sympathy and goodwill took the PPP, traditionally a left-leaning party, to power in 2008. That opportunity was squandered by Mr Zardari’s cynical politics, which seemed motivated only by his determination to cling to power and its spoils. With the PPP holding just over a third of the seats in parliament, Mr Zardari’s skills proved to be in building a coalition and keeping it together.

There were strong challenges to the PPP’s continuation in office, though not really from the political opposition. Firstly, a movement by lawyers for an independent judiciary, motivated by Mr Musharraf’s sacking of the chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, in 2007, a move that proved to be the beginning of the end for the general’s time in office. Mr Zardari didn’t want the troublesome judge to be reinstated either. But a march on Islamabad by the lawyers, joined by Mr Sharif’s party, forced the restoration of Mr Chaudhry, in March 2009. This is an example of legal participatory nature in the country. This is ideal and is only found in nations that have a huge potential to be come great democracies.

In my opinion Pakistan is experiencing a transformation of a reorientation to participatory, representative democracy and has made huge leaps in just the 8 years after Musharraf. I believe that Pakistan definitely will become a responsible and mature democracy , it is progressing in the right way. I admire the participatory nature of your beloved people, and because of this, I know that Pakistan will blossom eve more !


Regards,

 

[VCheng]

Musharraf went into exile, though he is currently threatening to return and stand in the current polls.

Musharraf returned quite a while ago. The rest of your post is very well written.