The Japanese political personality Book

An impressive book on the way politics and power work in Japan. For all those with an activity related to Japan this is fundamental reading. It will also help you reflect on the political system of your own country, and you will find yourself asking - is it different in my country? You will also wonder if such a comprehensive analysis on how things really work has been done for many other countries.

After reading this book, many things will fall in place, and you will appreciate much better what is really going on. You will also be able to distinguish those who have a grasp from those who don't. It changes your perspective. I can only recommend it as urgent reading.

Finally, there is the timing of the book. It was written at the end of the 80's when the Japanese expansion was about to halt. In a way the book was premonitory in identifying the inability of setting any policy and implementing it - this was clear and accurate. But it only slightly touches two massive shortcomings in the system, which have become clear in the past 20 years and we can today appreciate with hindsight. The first is the fundamental handicap in terms of innovation. The system was designed for catching up but not for leading, and is unable to generate the dialectic movements that make technologies, industries and ideas advance. Both because it is inefficient as it avoids competition, and because it fosters conformity instead of disruption. The last two decades show that the country has been progressively unable to compete internationally. The second is that social progress can still take place, an in the case of Japan the most extreme result of the work and family arrangements was the drop in the birth rate to a level where the country faces serious problems of sustainability - also because the system is unable to steer into solving them. It is, therefore, a blind juggernaut. The assessment of Van Wolferen is impressive in diagnosing and in predicting the dire consequences of the diagnosis. We'll all be here to watch.