The rains of summer have come all at once – a few inches of rain today dumped over my corner of Tokyo. This year is my fifth in Japan, and I’ve lived here through a number of precarious years. COVID-19, a struggling economy, and the yen’s dovetail into currency worthlessness. But the sailing hasn’t been exactly smooth in my home country of the U.S. these last five years either – COVID-19 was even more devastating in America, not to mention the up-and-down economy and the political unrest brought on by the Israel-Hamas war and Trump’s bid for reelection.
There’s a lot more I still need to learn about Japanese society and politics. But I feel like I’ve settled on a reasonable understanding of what it means to live here – as a foreigner, for one – but also in terms of Japan as a home. That’s why I decided to write out my five most important concerns about Japan as a nation, and the U.S. as a nation.
Recently I’ve listened a little to Sam Harris’s podcast, where he urges for moral clarity among the confusion of radical ideologies – Trumpism, neo-Nazism, Islamism, and extreme leftism – and makes an impassioned defense of ‘western, liberal, democratic’ values. While I view many aspects of his argument with skepticism, he is no doubt speaking at the right time, in the sense that there has been a strange moral confusion that has unfolded with the rise of Trump; a confusion that I agree has become further compounded by October 7, 2023 and its aftermath.
Japan’s largest concerns, on the surface, are very different. The demographic decline is a real existential threat, and in spite of the nation’s stellar infrastructure, the risks to the economy are felt much more acutely here than in the U.S., where market capitalism reigns freely, abetted by healthy immigration.
With all that being said, there is an overlap between the two countries that may surprise you. So, I present to you my top 10 concerns for the two countries in which I’ve spent my life thus far. I’d love to hear where you agree and disagree, so please drop a comment down below.
Top 5 worries about Japan
#1) Demographic decline
This just has to be the biggest one. A plunging population could have disastrous effects – but it also presents an incredible opportunity. New policy to support young families and bring in intelligent immigrants could secure Japan’s future for years to come. In a way, I’m excited to see how the Japanese government responds – the problem is that it hasn’t been nearly aggressive enough to address this issue.
#2) Corporate plutocracy
Japan’s government and business worlds are closely intertwined, and this results in laws and policies that heavily favor the corporate elite. I particularly worry about development in urban centers skewing towards luxury housing and boring malls, striking away culture, and the lack of attention towards preserving Japan’s incredible arts and traditions.
#3) Ideological apathy
This concern might be hard to imagine from the perspective of the U.S.A. But young people simply aren’t that politically active – nor do they hold many strong ideals one way or another. This is concerning, especially in tandem with #2. Japan has incredible culture that mass-market globalization has eroded, especially beautiful countryside havens. I worry that young people simply don’t care enough about issues like maintaining economy equality and Japan’s strong middle class, preserving Japanese culture, or defeating gender inequality, as they are swayed away from the light by simple self-preservation in the chaotic 21st century.
#4) Climate change
Climate change is going to hit Japan exceptionally hard, and Japan has many areas to be concerned about: both summer heat and summer rain. Japan also has very poor climate policy at the moment.
#5) Overtourism
I’m going to shut up about this one because I’ve got a big article coming out soon – stay tuned to hear more about this. While tourism can help prop up Japan’s economy, it has a lot of downsides, especially when it’s completely out of control like it is right now.
Top 5 worries about America
#1) Corporate plutocracy
Look familiar? This one is even worse and more existential in the U.S., however. Lack of protection for consumers and the middle class has made both housing and education completely unaffordable, and that’s an unforgiveable disaster for Americans. A just society needs high-quality and accessible housing and education, and the big capitalist money-grab has the nation going very much in the wrong direction.
#2) Violence and safety
This one largely goes without saying. Gun safety laws, anyone?
#3) Ideological extremism
Witnessing the rise of the Tea Party and Trump was like watching a replay of a nightmare in slow-motion. Unfortunately, the aftermath of October 7 has also given “credence” to the voice of Islamic extremists, with support from the far left. There are three levels of concern here, which I will list in order of importance. #1, first and foremost, the way the extreme right relentless tries to tear down racial and gender equality, civic institutions, and economic equity. This must be stopped, somehow, anyhow, at all costs. Secondly, there is the toxicity of a society in which people can’t and won’t communicate with people who have different opinions from themselves, and the prevalence of “cancel culture” on both sides of the aisle as a result. And third, the far left’s willingness to empower Jihadist ideologies and all its accompanying anti-Semitism and potential terrorism.
#4) Public infrastructure
Again, not much needs to be safe. How about some affordable healthcare and bridges that aren’t falling apart?
#5) Climate change
This is the second overlap between the U.S. and Japan. It lands lower among my concerns for America simply because the U.S. is a much bigger country. While heat waves, wildfires, hurricanes, and more all threaten the nation, it also has a lot of resources and space to balance itself out – plus the U.S. has made more progress transitioning to a renewable energy economy than Japan.
Bonus concern: Technological isolation
In both countries, the rise of smartphones and the Internet has completely changed our brains. Both at home and abroad (no matter which is home and which is abroad), I’m deeply concerned about how the internet age has isolated us from each other and destroyed strong communities that we could rely on for socializing and physical and mental support.
So, what do you think? Did I miss anything? Overexaggerate anything? Underestimate anything? Either way, thanks for reading!
over the offing 