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GLOBALIZATION AND JAPAN.

Response of Japan to globalization. Discusses the historical context. Resistance to globalization. Rebuilding of Japan after WWII. Postwar era and issues of economic, political and social transformation. Japan's postwar economy. Development of a national consciousness. Nationalism. Motivating force of corporate imperialism. Influence of America. Trade protectionism. Uniqueness of Japaneseness.

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Globalization in the 21st century is tied to Japanese identity. This paper will discuss the historical context in which globalization has become important to the experience of Japan and then examine the response that Japan as a nation has had to the phenomenon--which, despite evidence of the country's resistance to it, continues to unfold, to the benefit of many industrialized countries and ultimately to Japan's cost.
After World War II, Japan was vanquished, and what had been an imperialist economy was transformed into a capitalist system. The fact of that transformation was dominated by an internal shift from a defeated military empire into a superior force in international economics. Japanese politics appeared to stabilize as well, transforming from an imperialist, expansionist fascist police state to a government engaged in economic development and the c

According to Weiner,the Meiji intelligentsia and political apparatus made a project of"disseminati[ng] [] 'racial' knowledge and the production of 'Otherness'"(1997, p. Global Culture: Nationalism, Globalization and Modernity. That group itself has a distinctive Japanese identity. Smith suggests that regional"nationalist" affinities could arise that cut across traditional nation-state boundaries. Furthermore, it is likely thatindividual enterprise will have far more to do with the shape that thismachine assumes in the future than "group thinking." Meaningful innovationmay involve cooperation, and undoubtedly globalization anticipates theparticipation of multiple entities, but the spark of new ideas does notnecessarily emerge out of a committee. Suchimperialism has no "memory" and no national loyalty. However, whereas the industrial capitalist countries of theWest came out of their economic crises in the 199 s and began to flourish,Japan sank into recession, a recession from which it has not yet recoveredas of 2 3. The fact ofthat transformation was dominated by an internal shift from a defeatedmilitary empire into a superior force in international economics. . Global culture: An introduction. Forexample, many Japanese, frustrated by proper-place thinking of Japan,consider America to be a classless society with unlimited opportunity forall. 26), even though he also acknowledges thatglobalization "is a basically contested process" (p. Indeed, itbecame one of the world's top ten economies. Hamburgers and other food at McDonald'sare considered a "snack" rather than a "meal," partly because in Japanesetradition, people do not stand up or sit in chairs while taking a meal,partly because they do not hold food directly in their hands to eat, andpartly because rice and not bread is considered to be "real" food. 114). . Introduction: Transnationalism, localization, and fast foods in East Asia. It would also help explain whyMcDonald's fast food found acceptance in Japan from the 196 s onward(Ohnuki-Tierney, 1997). From that perspective, globalization of agricultural productsrepresents a threat. This can be seen inreference to the issue of globalization. imperial expansion was not merely an expression of Japan's distinctive "national essence" and the equally unique kokuminsei (characteristics of its people), but the best available means of ensuring the survival of the Japanese "race." . L. Ohnuki-Tierney's reference toJapan's "apparently unlimited growth propelled by capitalism" (1997, p.161) captures the dynamic of revitalization that postwar Japan experiencedfor much of the last half of the 2 th century. Global Culture: Nationalism, Globalization and Modernity. J. 1 -1 1). Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia. In the 198 s, for example, Japanese-style corporateorganization and management were the envy of the western world. ReferencesFeatherstone, M. Yet the history of Japanin the first part of the 2 h century reveals that when the collectiveJapanese memory looked outward it resulted in actions that were intenselynationalistic and positively destructive. If the future of development and a high comfort level in any communityis tied to advanced communications, then it is also possible that those whodo not participate in the technological community will be unable to exploitits benefits. In the second (and more "sinister") understanding ofthe term, globalization "refers to a process . Onedoes not have to give an endorsement to economic and corporateglobalization to see that in Japan, there is still a view that Japaneseculture is distinctive. Its economy recovered and flourished. 17)of the "fusion of national sociologies with 'the residues ofuniversalism,'" referring to evidence that in the more imperialistcountries, including Japan, "intellectual products . That fact has had both positive andnegative results. took on strikingcharacteristics of the national culture" (p. Even when the Meiji tookpower in 1868, the idea of the special nature of the Japanese culture (andto some extent race) survived. L. In the first understandingof globalization, the emphasis is on foreign trade and a more or less"single world society" that is constructed by way of "mass communications,commerce, increased ease of travel, the Internet, popular culture, and theincreasingly widespread use of English as an international language"(Progressive, 2 3). However,Featherstone also refers to "the resilience of the ethnie, the ethnic coresof nations the premodern traditions, memories, myths, values and symbolswoven together and sustained in popular consciousness" (p. (2 3). Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia. M. Invention of identity: Race and nation in Japan. The Construction of Racial Identities in China and Japan: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. It is not a dilemma aboutinvading other countries, but it is a dilemma about the survival ofnational identity and the national character of its intellectual product.The intellectual climate in Japan tends toward creating harmony within agroup and orienting individual preferences toward the needs and survival ofthe group. The only loyalty is tocorporate capitalism. It was supported byJapan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War of 19 4-19 5. 182). Japanese colonial occupation went hand in hand with industrializationand exploitation of its colonies' natural resources for that purpose. 1 ). That would help explain why the idea of a global"community" is not easy to identify. Asmembers of that community, Japan's corporate and political leadersundoubtedly realize that participation is not a one-way proposition andthat other countries may have a stake in behaving in a "for-itself" way.Otherwise Japan would not be part of the United Nations or theInternational Olympic Committee, both of which can be cited as examples ofglobalized dynamics. 113-114). which trends toward theundermining of national sovereignty, and therefore citizen's rights, infavor of gigantic transnational corporations" (Progressive, 2 3).Robertson (1992, p. London: Sage Publications. . The advanced technology that has made once aliencultures more globally accessible has also, inevitably, made them morevulnerable to cultural appropriation and cultural critique. J. The international expansion of Japanese automobile andelectronics industries is just one example of that trend. Thequestion of losing Japan's identity seems far less important than the issueof effective financial management and economic policy, even if the sourceof such an effective policy were the US or other countries of the West. It characterizes all foreign rice asinferior to Japan's, which is said to be unique in all the world. . Even today, Japan's agricultural rice cartel exerts importanteconomic influence on the country. . Towards a global culture? Ohnuki-Tierney cites the ability of American fast-food chains tointroduce changes in public etiquette, via the use of chairs and bread, orsimply via the novelty of "Americana," especially among younger people. London: Sage Publications. Watson (Ed.). (1997). The provision of a classificatory grid which located the Japanese within a hierarchy of "race" and offered a scientifically reasoned yet easily accessible explanation for both the complexities of a modern society and national survival found a receptive audience among academics, journalists and politicians alike (Weiner, 1997, p. 161-182.Progressive Living Green Site. Onthe other hand, she cites certain uniquely Japanese misperceptions andoversimplifications of America, which are fed by corporate myth making. The nationalistic idea of "Japaneseness" was further supported becauseJapanese social leaders absorbed the racist examples coming from theEuropean powers that colonized places in Asia and Africa and from the US,which enslaved and then exerted prejudice against blacks and other peopleof non-European ancestry. . (1992). (1997). . 1-14.Ohnuki-Tierney, E. Trade protectionism, which economically powerful countries, includingJapan, have resorted to from time to time, is a nationalistic "response" tosuch trends. London: C. The collective memory (or, so to speak, the popularimagination) of a given culture has the potential to resist being overtakenby "memoryless" corporate imperialism, which thrives on novelty. also refers to cultural and subjective matters. Product and service sales expansion, reinforced by strong mass-mediamessages, are the motivating force of corporate imperialism, which islocated beyond the reach of a particular nation-state (even America,although much corporate and media power is concentrated in the US). However,McDonald's and other US fast-food chains have been embraced into the localJapanese culture, partly because they altered their menus to reflect localtastes. 182) cites the role (1) of "ethno-history," or the collectivememory of myths, symbols, and heroes and (2) of imparting collective memoryto future generations, in "assuring collective dignity." Ironically,advanced communications allow small collectives, such as ethnic minorities,linguistically unique peoples, or smaller nations, to proclaim ethnie in abig way (for example on the Internet). However, Smith also makes the point that commercial and corporateinterests behave imperialistically, that they "are by definition'supranational,' if not universal . Weiner's analysis is important because it puts a historical framearound certain ideas that appear to have survived in Japan's popularimagination, even among officials and intellectuals who, in the 21stcentury, would not necessarily give an endorsement to social Darwinism. . 1 5). That is because, forthe Japan case, it is possible to understand globalization in a third way.Japan's postwar economic miracle--even in the age of economic globalization--has not prevented either Japanese culture or Japanese corporate power fromhaving and maintaining a distinctively nationalist character. 1), since advancedcommunications makes it possible for people around the world to be exposedto (mainly) American culture and the corporations that support it. Insistence on the centrality and uniqueness of Japaneseness does seemto persist at many levels in Japan. This is areality not only for Japan but also for other countries, and it is possiblethat something of the Japanese identity will be lost to that reality.However, another reality is that cultures of all kinds have adapted to newcircumstances, thus creating a new reality. M. However, he also cites the "world of competing cultures,seeking to improve their comparative status" (1991, p. Themind-set of Japanese rulers of that period was that Japanese racial andcultural superiority basically entitled Japan to control, and indeedabsorb, all of Asia and the "secluded Other" (Weiner, 1997, p. Yes, as Featherstone says, it is possible todiscuss "the globalization of culture" (1991, p. During the time ofJapan's corporate expansion in America and Europe, many countries in theWest were undergoing economic crises. However, McDonald's in Japan developed in aparticular way, apparently due to customs and practices that arose in Japanas a rice-based agrarian culture. He argues that advanced telecommunications "makepossible a denser, more intense interaction between members of communitieswho share common cultural characteristics, notably language" (1991, p.175). One does not have to be asocial Darwinist to see that evolutionary biology offers a lesson tocultures: to stagnate and fail to adapt to new reality is to choose death. The most importantpart of such an idea was that a society's development could be attributedto the innately superior qualities of its people. As Weiner pointsout, some commentators on Japanese culture cautioned against imperialistexpansion during that time. 1-38.Weiner, M. F. He also takes note (1992, p. 183) makes the important point that globalization isnot confined to either technological concerns or commercial interests. Watson (Ed.). (1991). There is a view that globalization can bedefined in both "innocuous" and "sinister" ways. All of that is in the background ofRobertson's statement that "the trends towards the unicity of the world are. 15-3 .Robertson, R. (1997). Without the need for continued statistimperialism and militarist attitudes, Japan could make economic developmentits highest priority. Featherstone (Ed.). Globalization is the name given toa collection of policies and programs agreed upon by the nations that makeup the world's largest economies. The "for-itself" character of Japan as a unique community has been part of theJapanese worldview for a long time. However, Japan's academic and politicalcommunities adopted social Darwinism, or the idea of "social evolution"that was comparable to the idea of physical evolution. . Furthermore, evenas Japan has been undergoing recession at home, its corporate entitiesabroad are flourishing from a financial standpoint. Japanesepolitics appeared to stabilize as well, transforming from an imperialist,expansionist fascist police state to a government engaged in economicdevelopment and the conscious practice of representative government. . The dichotomy of globalization presented by those who oppose corporatepower or unending technological development does not present the wholepicture of the phenomenon where Japan is concerned. Forexample, as Watson (1997) points out, Japan, as well as Western Europe andthe US, is considered by China to be a commercial and cultural threat toits traditional culture, including its food culture. supported by a technologicalinfrastructure which is truly 'cosmopolitan'" and thus able to "erodecultural differences" (1991, p. London: Sage Publications. 188). Whether that is true ornot and whether imported rice would threaten Japanese culture or not, thetwo main effects of imported rice would be significant cost savings toJapanese consumers and possibly significant profit losses to Japan's ricefarmers. However, the fact is that Japan hasdeliberately and programmatically entered the globalized community. Both cultural and physiological attributes wereidentified in that regard. Indeed, it expanded. The rebuilding effort may have suited the already highly organizedJapanese society, but it is also obvious that Japan served as a strategicAmerican outpost during the Cold War. Globalization in the 21st century is tied to Japanese identity. (1991). Robertson (1991) notes says thatthe leaders of Japan and Germany instigated World War II in part out of asense of being "relatively deprived" vis-à-vis other nation-states. . . As it turned out, the unfolding ofevents in the aftermath of the Occupation enabled the Japanese to rely onoutsiders for military-defense purposes. A problemwith determination to maintain national identity and a national characterto all intellectual output, even in the face of globalization and unendingnovelty, is that the global machine is not going to wait for a groupdetermined to hold on to its identity to work out its dilemmas. M. 183). Thispaper will discuss the historical context in which globalization has becomeimportant to the experience of Japan and then examine the response thatJapan as a nation has had to the phenomenon--which, despite evidence of thecountry's resistance to it, continues to unfold, to the benefit of manyindustrialized countries and ultimately to Japan's cost. Retrieved from the World Wide Web 2 January 2 3 at http://progressiveliving.org/globalization_defined.htm.Robertson, R. . inexorable" (1992, p. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. This point istaken up by Robertson (1991) when he says that corporate globalization andwhat he calls the "global information system" overlap with politicalconcerns to the extent it is involved in constructing transnational order. Globalization: Social theory and global culture. Featherstone (Ed.). As anoccupied country after World War II, Japan was in theory subject to thewhim of the occupying power. It enabled them to concentrateenergies on economic development. 1 1). Dikotter (Ed.). . But in real terms, Japan appears to havedeveloped economically in part because the American occupation wasspecifically and programmatically intended to help Japan, its former enemy,rebuild and develop its economy and to reshape its society in significantways. Thus it might seemthat Japan should not be concerned that the integrity of its own culture isbeing threatened from external corporate forces. Leaders in Japan's corporate culture were happy to bring it toforeign countries. Weinercontinues: For some . In this current age of globalization, which Robertson calls"compression," of the international corporate and industrial community,Japan appears to be trapped by a dilemma. After World War II, Japan was vanquished, and what had been animperialist economy was transformed into a capitalist system. The marginalisation of subordinate populations, either as colonial subjects or as migrant labour drawn to the metropolitan core, was interpreted almost exclusively within the complementary discourses of "race" and nation (Weiner, 1997, pp. London: Sage Publications.Smith, A.D. Weinercites "the establishment of a colonial order" during the Meiji period (p.112). 176). Such ideas fed Japan's embarkation on colonialexpansion in Asia, for example in Korea and Taiwan, which it controlledfrom 18 9 to 1945, and in China, which it invaded in the 193 s. Theglobalization machine will continue to develop no matter how a particularnation reacts to it and no matter how strongly a nation guards its uniquecultural and/or economic identity. As Ohnuki-Tierney comments in that regard (1997), McDonald's was obliged to make asignificant investment in local agricultural products, including rice, inorder to build business for the rest of its menu. 12). (1991). It does not seem unreasonable to suggest that the failure ofeconomic and government leaders in Japan to reconfigure their theories offinance means that they do not want to adopt effective financial-managementand banking strategies if such strategies originated outside Japan. Smith(1991, p. Smith (1991) develops the argument that cultural resilience ispossible in the modern period, despite the efforts of competing capitalistand socialist superpowers in the Cold War to make all nation-states adhereto one view or the other. Weiner places the modern origins of "development of nationalconsciousness" in Japan as far back as the Tokugawa period, which lastedfrom 16 3 to 1867 (Weiner, 1997, pp. Hecontinues: Globalization . In that respect global consciousness has partly to o with the world as an "imagined community" (Robertson, 1992, p. Featherstone (Ed.). Japan, as a modern, first-rank technological political and economicpower, is in a position to compete on an equal level with the US. 17)--and, incidentally, led toWorld War II. Global Culture: Nationalism, Globalization and Modernity. But there is compelling evidence that over the course of the postwardecades, Japan resisted and continues to resist certain aspects ofeconomic, political, and social transformation. In very simple terms, we are thus talking about issues surrounding the idea of the world being "for-itself." The world is not literally "for- itself" but the problem of being "for-itself" has become increasingly significant, in particular because of the thematization of humankind in a number of respects. However, globalization may be misperceived as a threat as well.Although it is difficult to prove conclusively, taking a nationalisticrather than globalist approach to the economy is one way to explain theeconomic recession in Japan, which started in 199 following the years-longeconomic boom. The distinctiveness of "Japaneseness" entered the popularimagination and remained there into the modern period. This idea had staturebecause of its supposedly scientific origin. 96- 118. Manycorporations, including many in the US, wanted to import Japanese-stylemanagement. Hurst & Co. McDonald's in Japan. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. Mapping the global condition: Globalization as the central concept. But it is important to recognize thatthese crises were resolved in many of those same countries, notably the USand Britain. 171-191.Watson, J.L. Herefers to Meiji Japan's late industrialization and modernization, relativeto the industrial West, as being an aspect of a dilemma "as to which imagesof modernity should guide them and from where, in relation to the importantissue of national identity" (1992, p.

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