Breaking the monotony of life and the spectator mentality
More often than not, people get too caught up with daily life to do anything else. Wake up. Go to school or work. Argue with friends or office mates for a bit, do some work, check Facebook, eat, crack a joke, go home. Eat again. Watch a new Korean or Japanese drama on TV. Drink. Go to bed. And the cycle repeats the next day, and the next, with only minor interruptions like holidays to break the monotony of things.
Life becomes so self-encased for many. Everyone is so preoccupied with their little world, we oftentimes fail to realize there is a larger existence influencing our daily lives. And though we have become so connected through online media, the emergence of social networking sites and the like have allowed us to take on more of a spectator role than to participate in influencing these events themselves.
Just look at the Japanese political world as it stands. The incumbent prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, has put forth a motion to raise the consumption tax in order to contain Japan’s astronomical level of debt. People will complain, his ratings will probably drop (as they have already) and he’ll probably be put out of power. But have they found a solution to the problem? No! Instead, someone from the old guard will be ushered in to take his place, only to make new, false promises that he won’t be able to live up to and offering the same, tired “solutions” to the same problem to little avail. The Japanese public are more than willing to remain as spectators rather than as participants.
It honestly takes two to tango. You have an apathetic public and a public sector concentrated on its own survival in an increasingly difficult world. The public sector takes care of itself, yet the apathetic public complains but does nothing about it. It’s akin to going to the hospital because of heart disease, chastising and replacing the doctor for not taking care of you, then going to McDonald’s to get a Double Big Mac combo for lunch.
Granted, much of the blame can be placed on the Japanese government, and I doubt Ron Paul’s libertarian dreams would fly in a country which has, since its inception, been controlled by a large bureaucracy. But a corrupt, big government does not necessarily mean that it is permanent. The Arab Spring. The dissolution of the Soviet Union. Most events that led to major political shifts were led in the interests of the people and by the people. Active political participation, rather than playing the role of a common spectator, will be necessary in changing the Japan of today into a more efficient, better Japan of tomorrow.
We are at the point where we can no longer remain spectators in the grand scheme of things. We can’t just comment on how horrible something is actually without doing something about it. We can’t just keep pulling people down (particularly unwarranted criticisms) when we have nothing to offer ourselves. There is life outside our little bubbles. It will all come crashing down if we personally do nothing to act. To change. To form a better future for ourselves and for our children.
And that change will require a hell of a lot more than a family remarking “最悪だな” while watching TBS News at the dinner table.
Author Infomation
- Peter Dyloco
- Peter Dyloco is concerned about the gradual decline of the Japanese economy. His objective is to bring a fresh perspective to the issues currently facing the country, and spark discussion that may lead to their potential resolutions.
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14 Comments
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4
thepersoniamnow
The PROBLEM with Japan (and I am a Japanese citizen who has spent the majority of his life abroad) from my point of view is obviously more than simple apathy. But as far as apathy goes, Japan seems to be a country where it is deeply rooted in the culture to be many things that in one way or another makes them a non protesting country. Shi-Kata rules their interactions with each other and thus their minds in general. Often someone who speaks their mind, even in a very casual setting, is looked on in bewilderment. If you have a mouth to protest, you surely have a protesting mind, and this is not the case. Complaining and truly seeing the situation for what it is are not the same, and I agree with the author here.
Look at how Japanese companies who EXTORT salaries from their workers because they are in the red. I personally know Tokyu Inn and Joshin Electronics employees who tell me they are told to buy 100,000 yen worth of electronics or buy up empty rooms in order for their managers to save face. This is professional blackmail plain and simple.
I use this as an example to demonstrate how tightly wrapped the government has the people wound around their fingers.
They do not fear the population, and why should they?
The worst that can happen is a bow or two here and life goes on. When will the Japanese have had enough?
-1
ben4short
Peter, a bit disappointed by this piece, since I've enjoyed many of your previous ones. The old adage, "if you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem" has been around a long time. So has apathy. I think your attempt to connect our "little bubbles" to apathy is tenuous, at best. Apathy is born of simply not caring, fear of change and a host of other issues, least of which, I think, is the "monotony" (poor word choice) of our lives. In fact, I would argue that the reverse is true: an apathetic attitude in general is responsible for creating monotonous bubbles.
5
Piltdown Man
Peter, I found this to be well-written, and a refreshing take on the ages-old scourge of apathy. And your use of a patient and a hospital as an analogy for the public's involvement in politics was spot on. Thank you!
Sadly, I don't foresee the public becoming less apathetic any time soon, though. As it now stands, I think Japan is past the point of no return in terms of its economy (unsustainable debt burden), demographics (ballooning geriatric bubble yet lack of caregivers), corruption (corporate and political), and environment (nuclear disaster, dioxin from incinerators, etc). But, historically Japan has never been one to take decisive and preemptive action. Instead, a head-in-the-sand attitude reigns until the very last minute when all seems lost--and it is not until then that people are spurred to action toward social transformation. I think the beginning of true change is at least a decade off.
-1
gaijinfo
Nice article, and I agree with the sentiment, but I don't think it will ever happen in Japan. People here will just shouganai their way back into the third world.
0
sourpuss
gaijinfo,
And this is your educated opinion? Apathy is often mentioned, but in reality it is just a symptom of what lies beneath:self-interest.
The problem with Japan, is that it's like every other democracy. It's run by a bunch of self-interested people who are elected by another bunch of self-interested people. The status quo may seem like a better option for many, but this doesn't mean people are apathetic, it means they are thinking about themselves.
Here's a prime example: A truck was driving around our neighborhood yesterday saying that if the taxes are raised it will hurt the sales of small businesses.
That is hardly what you'd call a "shouganai" attitude? Shortsighted? Maybe. Premature? Possibly. But the vast number of such trucks, along with all of those people shouting through microphones in front of the train station leads me to believe that apathy is a bit of a straw man.
2
JapanGal
Made me apathetic just reading about this.
3
Nicky Washida
Interesting, and I agree with what has been written, but seriously, nothing we dont already know. The question is not why this apathy exists, but rather how to break it.
Yes, it has been done in the former Soviet Union and during the Arab Spring - but look at the faces of those people and compare them to the faces of ordinary Japanese we see here every day. Passion and conviction as opposed to utter helplessness and defeat.
How bad does it have to get here before people WILL rise up? 3 hour long queues for your weekly ration of manky cabbage and government brutality in the streets? Japanese THINK they have it good, and know it could be so much worse - thats why the apathy here. Or maybe they are just too overworked and exhausted to give a crap anymore.
0
GW
Peter
good article, I have often commented on how poor the lives of many in Japan are & I had hoped the 3/11 tradgedies wud have sparked some serious change, but its not to be.
I have long given up on caring how most spend their lives in Japan, concentrate on my own which is pretty good, nothing special just trying to balance work with home life, enjoying a few hobbies etc, doing stuff, hell just going for a walk or pulling weeds in my yard I have probaby 80% of the country beat...........
The Japanese are as a whole a VERY fatalistic bunch, 3/11 clearly wasnt big enough to bump start these isles, I am afraid its going to take something MUCH larger to induce any chance of change here, not sure if I want to be here for that!
0
gaijinfo
C'mon now, sourpus, there aren't a vast number of these trucks driving around rallying the people for a better japan. Maybe a few scattered here and there, but compared to the huge political machine and the vested interests of it's corporate supporters, your vast number of trucks won't make much of a difference.
Yes, Japan, like other democracies, has inherent structural flaws. But the shouganai attitude seems to be much more prevalent here than in the other countries I've lived.
I've had plenty of people tell me that they wouldn't like higher taxes (to use your example) but that it just can't be helped. Rarely have I heard considerations of any alternatives, like lowered government spending, lowering tariffs to reduce trade, adjusting monetary policy which might make exports more competitive, etc.
And yes, like you said, this is present in all democracies, but much more so than Japan. How common are revolutions, massive demonstrations, strikes, or political upheavals in Japan that you see other countries on their road to democracy?
I stand by my statement: Japan will shouganai it's way back into the third world.
1
sourpuss
gaijinfo,
maybe it's my area, but the trucks go around pretty much everyday, and yes, every single day there are pols at the station.
but let's address your issues anyway: first, saying one doesn't like taxes but they're the only possible solution isn't apathy; it's pragmatism (whether it really is the only option or not). not knowing of other options is not apathy, it's ignorance.
second, no offense, but I don't think you're actually listening to a lot of people, because the idea of reducing wasteful spending is not only a topic of discussion in the general populace, it is actually a problem being addressed by numerous levels of government (sometimes with real consequences, and sometimes purely for appearances, but nevertheless it IS a fairly well-discussed topic). if you watch the news, you'll see that it's regularly addressed.
as for tariffs, the TPP is a huge issue right now. haven't you been reading the news? it was even here on JT.
regarding demonstrations, in front of every single JR train station I've used in the past 9 months there has been some kind of anti-nuclear demonstrators/ pamphleteers soliciting people to join them in their regular protests in Kasumigaseki. don't you take the trains? they're so obvious. actually, activism is surprisingly present in Japan, not just about nuclear power, and if you have children or are active in your community, you'll understand what I mean. and if you know Japanese history, you'll know that revolution and mass demonstrations have been part and parcel to Japan becoming a modern nation. just because one political party rigged the system in their own favor for 50 years doesn't mean that there was never any disagreement. the intra/inter-political party squabbling going on every day on the news should give you a perfect understanding of how fragmented and factional Japanese society really is.
I think it's way too easy for foreign people who live in Japan, who have only a basic grasp of the language to go through their daily routines oblivious of what is really happening right in their own neighborhoods. and before you paint an entire nation of 127 million individuals with the broad brush of the label "apathetic," you really should read/watch the news more, and talk to a wider variety of people.
if you really want to know what people are thinking, don't make the mistake of asking them in English. their poor level of English will immediately put up a barrier to what they really want to say. fear of grammatical mistakes or whatnot will rule the entire conversation.
-1
gaijinfo
Well sourpuss, where Japan ends up fifty or so years from now with respect to its international economic standing will illustrate whether or not the Japanese people have got what it takes.
Despite the amount of trucks and demonstrations you mention, I have my doubts. Personally, I think the whole "economic miracle" of the post war Japan is just a bubble that will never be inflated again.
Of course, I hope I'm wrong. Time will tell.
0
sourpuss
I do too, but I think Japan is shooting itself in the foot every chance it gets. On that point, I think you're right.
0
Serrano
"When will the Japanese have had enough?"
When the consumption tax goes up to 10%?
1
Paul Paul
So what should we do? (other than reading and writing complaining articles like this one)
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