Top 10 Reasons Why Japanese Loathe Gaijin (foreigners) …
10. Little Boy
9. Fat Man
8. Missionaries
7. Unfair Trade (!)
6. Cruelty to Women
5. Tobacco
4. Imposed Modernity .
Western Culture and Imposed Modernity
Japan has abysmally failed a major test, again. Wrong-footed by Western-imposed modernity (WIM), she is deemed unable to reclaim her identity. WIM has all but robbed Japan of every vestige of her original character to the extent that she is now incapable of carving herself a cultural niche. Lacking in original narratives, the cultural fate of Japan has been fatally compromised.
Japan’s technological advances associated with her WIM are measured by the weight and engine size of the “septic tank” that farmer Suzuki, who has just sold his farming land for a king’s (emperor’s) ransom, drives to the pachinko parlor (pachinko is a popular Japanese gaming device played with metal balls). Farmer Suzuki’s “machoness,” meanwhile, is reflected by the size of his onboard TV screen that he watches as he steers his 3-ton septic tank with his knees while incessantly blurting on his keitai denwa (mobile phone), often held in the left hand, and dragging long gratifying puffs on a cigarette held in his right hand.
As for other technological advances, the average Japanese house is still built to be about 3 degrees Centigrade (3oC) warmer than the outside temperatures in the summer and by as many as 8 degrees colder in the winter.
Lacking in originality, but ever eager to match their American counterparts, nay spiritual mentors, the Japanese female now wears ugly white sneakers, eats and drinks at the wheel and puts on her make-up while driving [remember the famous bar joke?] But all that imitation isn’t good enough. What’s the point if you can act like but don’t look like the part, the American example? Japanese women spend the equivalent of Taiwan’s annual defense budget everyday on hair dyes and skin bleach. Most everyone disowns her true identity and wouldn’t be seen dead in black hair, or original skin tone. As for the locals, Japanifik women, the fattest not only in Japan but possibly throughout Asia, are now as grossly obese as the American women!
Speaking of keitai denwa, for most everyone in Japan the promise of modernity seems to have transmogrified into a social curse. A few months ago nude photos of a teenage girl from a wealthy family circulated throughout Japanifik. Her friends and family were absolutely devastated to see their nice little girl turning into a prostitute in what must have seemed like an overnight transformation. Later, it transpired that her parents had refused to buy her a cell phone because they thought she was too young to own a phone which might distract her from studying! The lure of modernity proved too strong for her to resist, however, and prostitution provided the financial means to satisfy the strong urge of owning a cell phone.
The pressure to keep up with the frenetic pace of modernity often precipitates into petty crimes like shoplifting, crimes of opportunity or worse, all of which are endemic in Japanifik. A few weeks ago my spouse’s wallet was stolen from her handbag—almost certainly by junior high school students. The police recorded the incident as lost property, not robbery!
A few weeks ago Gacuette fell off his bike and sustained minor injuries when he hit a road construction sign which had protruded and blocked off most of the pavement. Gacuette was very lucky because his three-year-old son who was riding in the back wasn’t seriously hurt, though he was badly shaken and crying unstoppably. Despite the large number of bikers, especially high schoolers who bike to school everyday, the state of the sidewalks used as “bike tracks” in Japanifik are appalling.
Remember the Nagasaki Mayor Iccho shot by a gangster who was reportedly disgruntled over the damage to his car at a public works site? Well, it wouldn’t be surprising one tiny bit if the Japanifik mayor met the same fate. Japanifik’s successive mayors are among the most corrupted public officials in the world. While the mayor’s friends build modern, 21st century style roads that crisscross Japanifik but actually go nowhere and only make the traffic jams worse, most of the city lacks sewerage. Homes still use the 18th century style septic tanks/holes under the toilet to hold fecal waste. The access urine just runs off the top into the open ducts that supply water to the local rice paddies, or pour into sea. And if you are having guests, they better not use the toilet for their number two because the honey truck only comes around once a month!
Such is Japan’s failure in the ultimate test of WIM—the price she can ill afford!
