tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420606.post8759698190142108248..comments2022-11-05T22:26:28.943+09:00Comments on Japan without the sugar: The Great ExaggerationDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435915677126518313noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420606.post-1604787097428939462010-10-30T14:14:03.010+09:002010-10-30T14:14:03.010+09:00"...while we have fewer former athletes and e..."...while we have fewer former athletes and entertainers in politics here, we have way more lunatics."<br /><br />I was afraid of that...<br /><br />"And it's easy to be really credulous when it's a topic you're not familiar with."<br /><br />Which kinda makes it hard to believe anything. I hope the reporting on our wars is better than much of the stuff on Japan.Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16435915677126518313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420606.post-62155241863289999842010-10-30T07:08:47.687+09:002010-10-30T07:08:47.687+09:00D said...
By the way, you mentioned you are in De...D said...<br /><br />By the way, you mentioned you are in Detroit. Never been there, but from media reports that I have seen, I must assume you posted your comment from the back seat of a broken down Rambler sheltered in a decaying, abandoned factory. :)<br />_________________________________<br /><br />Ha ha. No, but, erm, I am posting from my husbands PC since someone recently broke into our Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420606.post-11885569029187025512010-10-30T06:47:20.705+09:002010-10-30T06:47:20.705+09:00D said:
"Right now, if I watch US news repor...D said:<br /><br />"Right now, if I watch US news reports on the US economy, and the political movements there, I have to conclude that Japan is much better off economically, and has fewer lunatics in politics. I do suspect, however, that I am not getting a full, accurate picture of what things are really like there."<br /><br />My first summer in Japan was 1979, before the Iranian Jeffreynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420606.post-14175279061318177902010-10-29T15:31:19.519+09:002010-10-29T15:31:19.519+09:00Exactly, Jeffery. We are taking a unique period in...Exactly, Jeffery. We are taking a unique period in history and holding Japan to that standard today. And I share your doubts about China.Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16435915677126518313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420606.post-33275177146119941712010-10-29T13:19:33.166+09:002010-10-29T13:19:33.166+09:00Anon:
I also think that to a large degree the art...Anon:<br /><br />I also think that to a large degree the article was about Western---esp US perceptions of Japan. The 80s Japan threat was blown all out of proportion (Japan was going to take over the world economy by destroying the economy of its biggest customer) just as I believe Fackler's article exaggerated the situation now. <br /><br />I spent a few years in Japan just after the bubbleDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16435915677126518313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420606.post-19307546863549226942010-10-29T13:00:48.859+09:002010-10-29T13:00:48.859+09:00I second Our Man in Abiko.
Japan has a fair ways ...I second Our Man in Abiko.<br /><br />Japan has a fair ways to fall before it is down and out, though I must say that the visible signs of poverty have increased dramatically since my first stay in 1979. And even without the post-Bubble hollowing, much of the perceived strengths and superiorities of "Japan Inc." were simply a matter of unique historical timing not unlike America's Jeffreynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420606.post-72007377648730354832010-10-29T01:01:43.086+09:002010-10-29T01:01:43.086+09:00The consensus from the twitterati seems to be that...The consensus from the twitterati seems to be that though Fackler was talking out his backside, drawing conclusions from spurious data and absurd examples, the basic thesis - that Japan is not what it was and the Japanese are resigned to gradual decline - seems sound. But speaking as a subject of a formerly great, now languishing world power, may I just say that "decline" is not the Our Man in Abikohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915661033105808209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420606.post-67788231146999892602010-10-29T00:58:38.865+09:002010-10-29T00:58:38.865+09:00Not sure what my point was above - lol. But I'...Not sure what my point was above - lol. But I'm sure there's a thought buried in there.<br /><br />Wanted to add - not sure if people outside the US are aware, but Detroit has been getting TONS of press lately. From Time, NY Times, etc. etc. And, just as they do with Japan - such august papers as the Times tell the same old trite story again, and again and again. They interview all the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420606.post-73791143563307696022010-10-29T00:53:34.234+09:002010-10-29T00:53:34.234+09:00I think the article is more about Western percepti...I think the article is more about Western perceptions of Japan (and what the story we believe to be true about Japan portends for us). The phrase 'from Godzilla to an afterthought' is not quantifiable, and therefore cannot be a FACT that is verifiable, or not.<br /><br />I live in Detroit, and I remember the hysteria about the looming power of fearsome Japan. Racism ran high, to the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com