Finally, actually myself, I don’t mind not talking to the taxi driver, he is paid to take me somewhere after all, isn’t he?

And really, who the hell gets into a discussion about linguistics with your average taxi driver?! Treat it as chit chat, or agree that it was difficult and use it as an opening for a decent conversation.

“While you all are so quick to criticize and label him cranky, why don’t you stop digging for ad hominem attacks and instead discuss the central issues.”
それならポーランド語よりもずっと簡単な日本語で反論させてもらうぜ。

Instead of going to extremes it’s better to discuss what they want to do. I think the most interesting thing about it all is that the same people are in charge,

笹川良一みたいに、戦後は右翼活動の合間にノーベル平和賞もらうために、慈善にいそしんだのもいるぜ。どっちにしても、もうとっくに当事者はみんな死んでると思うけどな。

”Saying that these things are true for other nations is so terribly irrelevant…It doesn’t mean they aren’t true for Japan as well. I think the reason many people are afraid of Japanese nationalism is the power that ethnic nationalism has and how much more likely that form of nationalism is to develop in virtually mono-ethnic nations.”

”But prior to WWII the nationalists and their supporters downplayed this tradition and instead argued the preeminence of everything that is “Japanese”. Hmmm, this sounds kind of like what Pulvers and others say about contemporary Japan. This doesn’t mean that anything is going to happen but there’s no doubt the same factors are there. ”

別に戦前も日本人らしさを追及したからそうなったわけではない。政党政治が廃止され、言論が検閲され、軍隊が戦争をはじめたから起きたわけで、パルバースや君がいってることは結局のところ「日本人は危険だ。なぜなら彼らは日本人だからだ。だからオレみたいな歯に絹着せず日本たたきをするヤツが必要なんだ」というのと変わりはない。それに日本には
外国人が占める割合は年々増えてるんだぜ。（ウチにも二人ほどいるが）国民が同質的だから過激なナショナリスムに走りや易いというのは、アメリカ人（に限らないが）の偏見だ。今のアメリカやイギリスを見てみろよ。外国人から指紋は取るわ、国内の電話は盗聴するわ、街角という街角に監視カメラを置くわ。国内の人口構成が多様であれば、社会はよりリベラルになるというのは幻想だね。もっと複雑な要素が関係してくる話のはずだろう。それより、君らのウチの国は多文化でオタクは違うからﾀﾞﾒなんて論理のほうがよっぽどファシスト的だとオレは思うがね。

“One of the best-selling books in Japan right now is “The National Dignity”. Nationalism has definitely made a triumphant return to center stage in Japanese life and politics.”!

そもそも君は「国家の品格」を実際に読んだのかい？確かにくだらない本だと思うがあの中にはこんな一節もあるんだぜ。

「策士スターリンと毛沢東に誘いこまれたとはいえ、当時中国に侵略していくというのは、まったく無意味な「弱いものいじめ」でした。武士道に照らし合わせれば、これはもっとも恥ずかしい奇妙なことです。」

スターリンと毛がうんぬんというのはなるほど問題だ。スターリンの件に関して（おそらく）藤原が言いたいのは、ユン・チアンとジョン・ハリデーのベストセラー「マオ」の中で、柳条湖事件で張作霖が爆殺されてのは、日本で教科書にも載っている関東軍ではなく、ソ連のGRUの工作員が中国と日本を反目させるために起こした作戦と主張されていることを受けたものだ。
毛の方は多分コレが理由。
ウィキペディアより引用（日本側研究者の見解は、「中国側第二十九軍の偶発的射撃」ということで、概ねの一致を見ている（秦郁彦『盧溝橋事件の研究』175頁；安井三吉『盧溝橋事件』19頁）。中国側研究者は「日本軍の陰謀」説を、また、日本側研究者の一部には「中国共産党の陰謀」説を唱える論者も存在するが、いずれも大勢とはなっていない。
「中国共産党陰謀説」の有力な根拠としてあげられているのは、葛西純一が、中国共産党の兵士向けパンフレットに盧溝橋事件が劉少奇の指示で行われたと書いてあるのを見た、と証言していることであるが、葛西が現物を示していないことから、事実として確定しているとはいえない、との見方が大勢である。）

どっちにしても今の日本では異端にあたる説で歴史学者からは支持はされていないし、教科書にも反映はされていない。俺が唯一ヤバいとおもったのはここだけ。あとはあの年齢のおっさんなら居酒屋で言いそうなことばかり。

ちなみに藤原の「武士道」とは「慈愛、誠実、忍耐、正義、勇気、惻隠」と「卑怯なことはしてはいけない」というもので、新渡戸稲造が英語で書いた「武士道」と酷似している。新渡戸自身は武士の家の出身で、むしろ札幌農学校時代に受けたキリスト教の影響に西洋の騎士道を混ぜ合わせてこの本を書いた。台湾の李前総統が賞賛しているのも、藤原と同様、新渡戸武士道であって、江戸時代のそれではない。ましてや戦前の軍人勅諭とは１８０度違うものだ。むしろ戦後リベラルの言っていることに近い。

俺には「国家の品格」はそれほど声高にナショナリズムを語っているようには見えないね。勘違いが全編に行き渡っているとは思うが、それは別に「危険」じゃない。

日本ではメディア、特に新聞が圧倒的に左寄りだ。（日本をめぐる海外メディアの視線も基本的に好意的なものは少数派だとオレは思ってる。）だから、その不満や反動は書籍部門のベストセラーという形で常に現れてきた。古きは辻政信の「潜行三千里」（１９５０年）から倉前盛道の「悪の論理学」（１９７０年）石原慎太郎の「NOと言える日本」（１９８９年）西尾幹二の「国民の歴史」といった形でだ。これらはもちろんさまざまな形で批判の対象となっているし、君がそうしたベストセラーにどうした世相を読み取るかは自由だ。だけどこうした現象は過去にも起きたし、それらはなんら日本の民主主義にも世論にも後にまで残る影響は及ぼさなかった。こうした経験に即して考えれば、「国家の品格」をめぐって大騒ぎをして、藤原の議論にハクをつけてやることのほうが、問題と思うけどな。

日本の社会で言論が保障され、メディア空間の左傾化が続く限り、この手の「反動ベストセラー」は今後も手を変え品を変え生み出され続けるし、そのたびに「日本の民主主義の危機」や「日本の危険なナショナリズム」が叫ばれるだろう。

Although women make up half the population these statistics show their clout in the workforce:
11 percent of managerial positions (compared, for example, with 42% in the US and even higher percentages in Europe.)
There are more numbers, but I think that says a lot. Yet where’s the outcry? I don’t know a single Japanese woman who likes this, but in all this time it hasn’t changed. ”

今いえることは、二つ。
一つ目は２０年前はその数字はもっと低かったということと、日本の年功序列制度が健在な限り、女性の管理職はゆっくりとしか増えざるをえない。そして、年功所列は終身雇用が存続することが前提で、そのためには正社員と非正規社員の
２重構造が必要だ。主に４年生大学を卒業した女性は非正規社員として日本企業を支えている。女性が大幅に企業社会に進出するにはこの２重構造を打破しなければならないが、多くの女性はそれを望まない。なぜなら彼女たちの多くは夫の収入で暮らしている主婦でもあるからだ。終身雇用を崩せば、社会不安が生じ、人々は不安定な将来に備え、消費を切り詰め貯金に走る。だから不景気が続くんだ。そして政治家は景気を良くしろと経済界からも有権者からも海外からも圧力をかけられ続けている。当然女性の社会進出は後回しだ

二つ目はこの問題は始終メディアに取り上げられているということだけだ。ここ数年テレビや新聞でこうした「格差社会」について語られない日はないね。君がそうした事実をなぜ無視するのかはわからないけど。

”Apathy itself is not dangerous, it just means that politicians have a freer hand. What’s bad or good is what they do with that free hand. ”

いまだに病院から出ることもできない安部晋三に、ぜひ君の口からそれを伝えてやれよ。

”with the same vested interests and cabals. I think any sensible person would be wary that those same people would make the same mistakes…”

それを言うなら、日本脅威論を展開している連中も同じだぜ。８０年代に日本が世界を買い占めるとか行ってたやつらや、９０年代に日本は破綻して世界を恐慌に巻き込むとか抜かしていたやつらは、いまだに日本がらみの仕事を続けているんだ。ウォルフレンやチャルマーズ・ジョンソンやジェームス・ファローズやスティーブン・クレモンズはなぜそう言われないんだ。「日本が軍国化」するという話もそうだ。この６０年間で一年でも「日本が危険だ」と言われなかった年があるかい？連中の無責任な予想ははずれ続けるが、なんのペナルティーも科せられないなんてバカなことがあるか。

パルバースの「予言」が当たらなかったら、彼の知的素養や日本に関する知識の信頼度はいくらかでも減るのかね。

オレの意見じゃこの手の「国際的オオカミ少年」産業は今後も安泰さ。連中は結局のところ英語と日本に無知な国際社会の壁に守られてるんだ。ワリを食うのはいつもオレたちさ。

“Hmmm, this sounds kind of like what Pulvers and others say about contemporary Japan. This doesn’t mean that anything is going to happen but there’s no doubt the same factors are there.”
The fact that it sounds “kind of like” what Pulvers is saying does not make what Pulvers is saying correct. And there is of course doubt. Some of the factors may be present in different amounts, but the extent of that presence, the significance of that presence, and the relative importance of each one are very much “in doubt.”

With regard to Hasegawa, while I am not taking issue with his thesis (at least not without having actually read it), it is important to note that just because a writer writes something, that does not mean it is true – why did Hasegawa write this book at this time? What was his goal with it? Who was its audience? Social critiques like that don’t generally come out of the blue and to understand his ideas we need to understand the context (can probably say the same about Pulver, for that matter). I do think it would be hard to label pre-modern Japan as “tolerant” in many senses of the word, for example, except perhaps in comparison to the draconian controls on anti-Imperial and anti-capitalist ideas in the 1930s. Hasegawa seems to been pushing for a more liberal, tolerant Japan in the late 1930s (which wouldn’t be hard to imagine). A bit of pushing at the limits of censorship perhaps? There’s an interesting-looking article at
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-168662849.html
that may be of interest. Don’t have time to read the whole thing right now unfortunately.

As to politicians having a freer hand, aside from hoping they become apathetic as well, hopefully their (presumably) draconian ideals will be largely ignored by the apathetic populace. I cannot imagine a nations of Freeters and Neets going Banzai and marching off to war any time soon….

“I think the reason many people are afraid of Japanese nationalism is the power that ethnic nationalism has and how much more likely that form of nationalism is to develop in virtually mono-ethnic nations.”

A good joke.

You are just joking, aren’t you?

The Japanese are very apathetic politically, both young and old. Corruption is rampant, half the population is discriminated against in employment. Recent studies have ranked Japan dead last for gender equality among all the developed nations. Although women make up half the population these statistics show their clout in the workforce:
2.1 -2.8 percent of upper management positions.
11 percent of managerial positions (compared, for example, with 42% in the US and even higher percentages in Europe.)
There are more numbers, but I think that says a lot. Yet where’s the outcry? I don’t know a single Japanese woman who likes this, but in all this time it hasn’t changed. The political system isn’t set up to handle dissent on a mass scale. It was established by elites, not by some uprising of the common man. That’s never happened in Japan. Saying that these things are true for other nations is so terribly irrelevant…It doesn’t mean they aren’t true for Japan as well. I think the reason many people are afraid of Japanese nationalism is the power that ethnic nationalism has and how much more likely that form of nationalism is to develop in virtually mono-ethnic nations. An interesting read on what happened in the 30’s is Nyozekan Hasegawa’s “The Japanese Character: A Cultural Profile. The main element of 30’s nationalism is actually when Japanese tradition is distorted and misconstrued by those in power. Hasegawa examines Japanese history pointing out that it has always been a tolerant and open society, liberally taking architectural forms, technologies, ideas, and even people from elsewhere and integrating them into Japanese society. He points out the willingness to transform and adapt that’s evident throughout Japanese history and discusses how this tolerance is the essence of Japanese culture. But prior to WWII the nationalists and their supporters downplayed this tradition and instead argued the preeminence of everything that is “Japanese”. Hmmm, this sounds kind of like what Pulvers and others say about contemporary Japan. This doesn’t mean that anything is going to happen but there’s no doubt the same factors are there. Apathy itself is not dangerous, it just means that politicians have a freer hand. What’s bad or good is what they do with that free hand. Instead of going to extremes it’s better to discuss what they want to do. I think the most interesting thing about it all is that the same people are in charge, with the same vested interests and cabals. I think any sensible person would be wary that those same people would make the same mistakes…If you’re interested in Hasegawa here’s the book description from Amazon:

Book Description
Written during a period (1935-38) when, according to the author, there was much talk of the Japanese spirit and of the superiority of things Japanese, the essays collected here explore the essential nature of the Japanese character. The author notes that “the virtues of the Japanese national character are not only mistaken by foreigners, but are frequently misunderstood by the Japanese themselves.” His penetrating examination of the Japanese character opens up important new avenues of thought on a subject about which, even today, comparatively little has been written in English.

As for the Japanese hardest language in the world thing, as someone else pointed out that completely depends where you’re starting from. I don’t think poepAnyway that’s my two cents. Given the strength of the American dollar I know it’s not much but there ya go. Peace

Pulvers is an exiled American now has Australian citizenship.I can understand his phobic on anything that look and feel like a patriotic zingoism,but…

I thought we were seen pretty much as nationalistic back in the good ol’ bubble days of the 80’s with Nakasone goes to Yasukuni and Mitsubishi buying Rockefeller center and all.Can’t find my old copy of “Rising Sun”,so can’t tell exactly how America felt all that”Japanese are coming”scare.

Anyway Pulvers is definitly an ideal contributor for “Without fear nor favor”.

Kyodo News

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda calls a now defunct office established to promote his predecessor Shinzo Abe’s initiative to build “a beautiful nation” a waste of money.

Fukuda made the remarks after the government reported Wednesday that the office spent ¥49 million in its six months of existence, before it was scrapped with Abe’s resignation in September. The office had held only two meetings of experts in that period.”

So much for Pulver’s fearmongering. But anyway, for Pulver, wouldn’t this be a bit like Hiranuma Kiichiro (PM after Konoye Fumimaro, who was PM when 1937 war with China started) saying that the China War was a waste of money and withdrawing troops? Since he didn’t and they didn’t, can we suppose that Utsukushii Kuni is not actually anything like 1930s fascism? (Of course I could get into the whole idea that the government of Japan at the time didn’t *want* a war with China to start, or expand [不拡大論], but nah. Otherwise we’d probably have to suppose that the Utsukushii Kuni idea was promoted by the Teacher’s Union (Nikkyoso, standing in for the Army) or something equally daft. The whole thing is daft.

But wow, fifty million for two meetings? I’d support Utsukushii Kuni (or anything you like, frankly) for that kind of money….

“This country seems to be opting for a kind of Designer Fascism social model, with decisions largely made in political cabals after only a semblance of democratic debate. Meanwhile, the media is shamefully abrogating its watchdog role, acting more like the Establishment’s lapdog, docile and tame, only emitting the occasional growl. And throughout this, the attitude of the Japanese people is a shrugging, apathetic, “Whatever.”"

Two things. This could be be pretty much any person complaining about any state at any time in history – “My voice isn’t recognised! Young people are worthless!” And second is that Apathy is Good. Apathetic people are by definition not fanatical, and thus not likely to follow fanatical goals. Back in those dreaded late 1930s, people were not apathetic – it was “how can I serve my country?”

“If democracy is threatened in Japan, it will be due not solely to politicians enacting pernicious laws, or government bureaucrats channeling spending into the pockets and accounts of their corporate chums. It will primarily be the fault of ordinary Japanese people, whose apolitical apathy and social lethargy let democracy down.”

How many pundits, I wonder, are writing the same things about the US? George Lucas, for one, in his thinly–disguised critique in Star Whores III about democracy dying with thunderous applause.

“While the government’s policies today are, as yet, a far cry from the aggressive military policies of prewar Japan, the state of society now is not all that different from that in the 1930s, when seen from the point of view of the ordinary citizen.”

Well, the first part of that is actually correct. The second part might be debated by people who were ordinary citizens back then. And then he links all the cherry-blossom Great War of Asian Liberation rhetoric with Abe’s much-ridiculed (by Japanese) “Utsukushii kuni” idea? Rather than “dissent” being quashed, wasn’t Abe quashed instead…?