Republished post by Bill Kelly

Bill Kelly knows that understanding the history of the people with whom we are communicating. His book on that subject, A New World Arising: Culture and Political Economy in Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Islamic Civilizations was in 2024. This year his new book, Reinventing Japan: Facing the West and Creating New Selves appeared. In his new book he gives in some detail what we need to know about people with a very different history and culture from ours. Kelly says, “It is for a general audience rather than an academic one, but I think it provides the material from which teaching and training points can be drawn.”  

HOW JAPANESE PEOPLE HAVE REINVENTED THEMSELVES IN MODERN TIMES

Japanese people have viewed themselves very differently at different times during the modern era. These shifts in identity have been responses to living in a Western world. There have been periods in which they identified with the West, followed by efforts to distinguish themselves positively from Western people. Before World War II, many sympathized with ultranationalism. From the 1960s through the 1980s, people sacrificed to create the most powerful economy in the world. In the twenty-first century, Japanese popular culture has been a source of national pride.

The first two trends were reactions to Western dominance. But the most recent identity has come about because a non-Western culture has had a huge impact on the rest of the world for the first time. As Western domination weakens, new identities can arise that are neither for nor against the West. Japanese people have been capitalizing on this opportunity, although it is still a time of transition, as older identities linger.

A knowledge of Japan’s modern history is essential for understanding how Japanese people view themselves today. I will describe Japan’s experience with Western imperialism beginning in 1853 and how it has affected people’s image of themselves and the world. I will also discuss the new beginnings that are possible today, as the modern world experiences various crises and new configurations of power arise.

Patterns of Japanese Identity Creation

Commodore Perry’s black ships arrived in 1853. After more than 200 years of almost complete isolation from the rest of the world, Japan was suddenly forced to join a world where the West made the rules. The leaders felt continual pressure to show that the Japanese were a civilized people; otherwise, they would be colonized. Western eyes were continually upon them, looking for faults.

Modern Japanese identity has largely taken shape in response to this Western intrusion. There have been two cycles; the first lasted from 1868 to 1945, and the second began at the end of World War II, lasting until about 1990. These cycles were remarkably similar.

First, Japan adopts Western values and institutions, while rejecting much of its cultural heritage. As the country gathers strength, a backlash against Western influence arises. The leaders feel motivated to take a new look at the Japanese past. They view Japan’s success as the result of the excellence of Japanese traditional values, not due to skillfully imitating the West. Japanese people expect that their success will be recognized by those whom they used to look up to. When this doesn’t happen, nationalism gains ground.

The First Cycle

Japanese identity underwent radical changes during the transition to a modern state. After the West forced Japan to open its doors to foreign trade, the goal was to protect Japan’s independence. It had to quickly become a wealthy and powerful nation to defend itself. Western ways were idealized during this period of “Civilization and Enlightenment” (1868-1890). Yukichi Fukuzawa was the leading promoter of westernization, advocating liberty, equality, and rationality as the key sources of the West’s power. He opposed Confucianism, blaming it for Japan’s weakness. Although celebrating science and democracy, he was a nationalist who resented Western imperialism.

Around 1890, the pendulum swung back. Confucian values were revived, and a conservative outlook prevailed. The emperor was revered not only as the symbol of a unified Japanese nation but also as the head of state. However, the clock could not be easily turned back, as Western values had already spread. The early twentieth-century novelist Natsume Soseki, in his essay “My Individualism,” rejected a feudal outlook in favor of individualism, yet acknowledged that Western-style individualism can often lead to selfish behavior. He proposed that we accept others’ individuality while taking on the responsibilities and duties that accompany freedom.

New cultural developments also took place, as more people moved to the cities. There was greater openness to Western influences in architecture, literature, the arts, and fashion. The urban middle class shared the energy and enthusiasm of the 1920s, feeling part of the larger (Western) world. Many combined Japanese and Western lifestyles. 

However, the Great Depression intervened, signaling the end of the party. The capitalist West was in decline, unsure of its direction and losing its optimism and confidence. Japanese nationalists wanted to drive the Western colonizers out of Asia so they could build the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Their aggressive foreign policy led to war.

Ultranationalist themes dominated the media, and the Japanese spirit of self-sacrifice and simple living was celebrated. Nationalists claimed that Japanese traditional culture, rooted in spirituality and aesthetics, was the source of Japan’s strength. The West, despite its advanced technology, was no match for the Japanese spirit.

The Quaker Inazo Nitobe, author of Bushido: The Soul of Japan, was Japan’s foremost internationalist of the 1920s and a high official in the League of Nations. However, he supported the Japanese army’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and its subsequent withdrawal from the League. In his view, Japan, a leading nation, had a right to its sphere of influence, similar to Western imperialist powers.

The Second Cycle

Japan became an integral part of global capitalism under the US military umbrella after the defeat in World War II. It was politically subordinate to the US, while concentrating on recovering from the war and developing economically. Early postwar intellectuals promoted the development of individual autonomy and the establishment of democratic institutions, led by the historian Masao Maruyama. Well-known for his analysis of ultranationalism, he was a leader of the 1960 AMPO protests against the renewal of the US-Japan Security Treaty. People had little taste for helping the US to contain communism in Asia if it meant a rapid military buildup.

As the Japanese economy became the world’s strongest in the 1980s, the United States stopped being Japan’s model. It was even said that Europe would become Japan’s boutique and the US would grow its food. Japan’s relations with the West in the 1980s recall the 1920s, when Japan was not treated with respect, despite its economic development. In the 1980s, Japan was criticized as an unfair trader and for failing to practice capitalism like the US. As in the 1920s, there were racial overtones. Many people supported economic nationalism and celebrated the uniqueness of Japanese culture.

During this high-flying era, Japan’s economic success was said to stem from traditional values such as diligence, racial homogeneity, and an emphasis on relationships. These traits were contrasted with American self-indulgence, racial diversity, and individualism. “Internationalization” became the buzzword, since it was necessary to communicate with the rest of the world that was buying its cars and consumer electronics. Isolation was no longer an option.

Akio Morita and Shintaro Ishihara, co-authors of The Japan That Can Say No, were two high-profile figures of this era. Despite sharing a nationalist outlook, they had quite different approaches. Morita, the founder of Sony, argued that Japanese business practices were superior and that US criticisms of Japan were not valid; however, Japan should also make greater efforts to contribute to world governance. Ishihara’s tone was far harsher and belligerent. He emphasized US racism, in particular, the atomic bombings. He asserted that Japan ought to acquire nuclear weapons and replace the US as the leading power. The gloves were off.

The “Lost Decades”

Since the collapse of the “bubble economy” at the end of the 1980s, economic growth has been sluggish, especially when compared with the three previous decades. This period has been termed the “lost decades.”  Yet, much has been gained. Popular culture has become a source of pride in the twenty-first century. Japan is known abroad for its comics, animation, video games, toys, fashion, and food, and applauded for its “national cool.” Haruki Murakami, the writer, and Hayao Miyazaki, the creator of animated films, are recognizable faces of Japan, helping to close the gap between Japanese and international tastes.

Japan’s reluctance to permit immigration is a holdover from the past. Such resistance continues despite the clear need for foreign labor due to a shrinking population. Japan is often viewed as insular; yet, foreign visitors praise the country’s safety, efficiency, courtesy, and service. These positive qualities are the product of a weakening but attractive emphasis on the group rather than the individual. Group-oriented societies tend to be less open to the outside; individualistic societies usually have a more inclusive outlook, but expect others to be like them.

New Beginnings

As the West loses its power and influence, Japanese identity is no longer threatened. Japanese people don’t need to see themselves as unique, which only means different from the West. The worldwide acceptance of Japanese popular culture means Japan contributes to the ways others think and feel; it does not just supply the products they consume.

There is little reason for Japan to distinguish itself from the West by maintaining a collective orientation and relatively homogeneous society. We are living at a time when people can be individuals while highly valuing relationships with their communities. Japanese people can be cosmopolitan without losing their Japaneseness. Two contemporary examples of such a Japanese identity are Naomi Kawase and the Seikatsu Club Consumers’ Cooperative.

The film director Naomi Kawase identifies both with Nara, where she grew up, and the world. She founded the Nara International Film Festival in 2010, staffed by volunteers and residents. Her goal is to help renew local communities and attract foreign people to Nara.

The Seikatsu Club Consumers’ Cooperative was started by housewives in Tokyo in 1965 to provide safe food at affordable prices. By 2018, its membership had reached 400,000 nationwide, and it aims to build self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable communities. Although focusing on families and communities, it also faces outward, organizing trips to foreign countries to observe cooperatives, holding international symposiums, and exchanging ideas with like-minded groups abroad.

Full Circle

We have come full circle. In the 1880s, Yukichi Fukuzawa recommended that Japan “leave Asia.” Not long afterward, Taiwan and Korea were colonized, and, in the 1930s, China was invaded. Prejudice against Chinese and Korean people, not to mention other Asians, has long existed. Yet, there are signs of change as Korean dramas and popular music are loved by many. The old hierarchy with the West at the top, Japan in the middle, and Asia at the bottom is breaking down. Greater economic equality between many parts of Asia and Japan and the West has encouraged Japanese people to return to Asia.

A look at Japan’s modern history shows that Japanese people share a fractured identity with all non-Western people, the result of Western imperialism and domination. Japan modernized far more quickly than other Asian nations, but its people also paid a high price. As Natsume Soseki pointed out, experiencing in several decades what the West experienced over centuries led to nervous exhaustion. Then, after the war, the burning desire to catch up with and surpass the West left little time for rest and relaxation, family life, contemplation, closeness to nature, and the pursuit of beauty.

Now, Japan is no longer competing for either military or economic superiority. Unlike China, it is not mobilized to surpass the United States. It is building an identity based more on culture rather than military or economic power. Japan has greatly increased its military spending due to aggressive Chinese actions in the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands’ conflict and North Korean threats, but this is a largely defensive move.

Japan may have chosen the road of soft power out of necessity, but there is much to be said for walking this road. An identity that is more open to the world is now within reach. People also have a great opportunity to appreciate nature, beauty, spirituality, and simple living more than previous generations. They can live a healthier and less work-centered life. The Japanese past offers much wisdom that can be put to good use today.

Bill Kelly, 2025

(Reprinted from Bill Kelly's substack with permission)