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> It's really sad but your average Japanese citizen has very little interest or idea about politics and policy and the population and the country suffers greatl
by bugglebeetle 2y ago
> It's really sad but your average Japanese citizen has very little interest or idea about politics and policy and the population and the country suffers greatly because of this.
Japan has been an effectively ”managed” democracy for the entirety of the postwar period, so I find this argument to be unconvincing. In the postwar period, the ruling LDP party was assembled by U.S. intelligence services from a mix of war criminals and far right business leaders and funneled millions of dollars and provided other forms of support for decades. There was widespread unrest as a result of this up until the early 70s, where the tensions around America’s use of the country as a FOB for the Vietnam War came to a boil and state police and security services engaged in widespread violence and crackdowns, ANPO was reauthorized, and it was demonstrated that no, actually, things will not be allowed to change. From this point on, most Japanese people became increasingly disengaged from politics because they correctly determined that their votes and protests did not matter, except to the extent that they reinforced the status quo.
> Democracy isn't in their DNA, it was imposed.
Separately, your depiction of the imposition of democracy is also entirely incorrect and ignorant of history. Japan had one of the most politically active and engaged populations in it prewar period, but this was strangled by its ruling elites because popular political movements were almost universally left wing. The perfect example of this was that the expansion of universal male franchise in response to widespread labor unrest was paired with the outlawing of left wing political parties.
- bamboozled 2y agoWhy is the argument unconvincing to you after you've just provided a bunch of evidence as to why Japanese people aren't engaged in politics and there is no opposition here?
- bugglebeetle 2y agoI disagree specifically with the framing that the “the population and the country suffers greatly because of this” as it was demonstrated that mass political movements would never be allowed to exert control over its politics. It’s an entirely rational response to a sham democracy. The country (now) suffers greatly as a result of the course the U.S. set it on by subverting its democracy to protect its own interests.
- bamboozled 2y agoAs someone who has a decent grasp on Japanese culture, I think your take is too conspiratorial. The issue is simpler than this. Japan has an extremely hierarchical society and authority must be respected. This isn't a great combination, especially when combined with a severely aging population. Young people have very little chance to enter into politics or gain any traction at all. There is almost zero chance a 75 year old will vote for someone in their forties. Combine that with the natural tendency for some to a lot of corruption among politicians and it's just a perfect storm of stagnation, corruption and vested interests, there is absolutely no US involvement required.
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- bugglebeetle 2y agoThis comment continues to be an entirely ignorant of the country’s modern history, which belies the claim that you have a decent grasp on Japanese culture. I recommend you spend some more time reading and less time making Orientalist claims of no substance.
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