Looking forward to the future
(From The Japan Times March 22 issue)

日本の将来を見据えて

    The foreigners and Japanese referred to in the editorial were, of course, living in this country. But these days, newspapers reach people virtually anywhere in the world through the Internet — and instantly at that.

    Although the circumstances surrounding newspapers have completely changed, our first editorial contained a point that remains valid. It said, "The real Japan has still to be revealed." This concerns not only the question of what kind of information Japan's mass media must send out, but also the question of what kind of image today's Japanese should hold of themselves.

    Postwar Japanese rallied to the call to build an affluent society. As the Japanese economy took off, the people's confidence soared with it. But when the economic bubble of the late 1980s burst, Japanese society's confidence and optimism seemed to vanish as well. The 1990s were a difficult time for business enterprises and workers.

    Having finally emerged from the dark tunnel, the Japanese economy is enjoying its longest postwar expansion. But because it is not growing at a galloping pace and wages are not increasing, most people do not feel that they are sharing the fruit of the expansion. This is one aspect of today's Japan.

    At the same time, in the "soft sphere," Japanese creativity closely related to feelings and imagination has become increasingly appreciated worldwide in the form of anime, manga, game software, characters and so forth. It is said that 60 percent of animation broadcast abroad is made in Japan. The trade and industry ministry has characterized animation production as an advanced frontier industry.

    While Japan should not slacken its efforts to nurture creativity in these sectors and improve the conditions of those working in this industry, it can view its contributions to global contemporary culture with great pride.

    Symbolizing this success was Hayao Miyazaki's animated movie Spirited Away, which won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film in 2003.

    Cultural appreciation is increasingly a two-way street. The Japanese have begun to look beyond the United States and appreciate the pop culture of other countries. Most conspicuous has been the Hanryu (Korean Wave) boom, a heightened interest in South Korean pop culture, especially TV dramas. While the Hanryu boom has died down somewhat, it is reported that the Ilryu (Japan Wave) boom, involving Japanese literary works and South Korean remakes of Japanese TV and film productions, is still going strong in South Korea. Although Korea-bashing books still find buyers in Japan, the Hanryu and Ilryu booms show that the Japanese have the ability to broaden their cultural perspectives. In April 2006, NHK issued 320,000 textbooks for its TV and radio Korean-language teaching programs, twice the corresponding figure 10 years before.

    In the "hard" sphere, Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to overtake General Motors and become the world's No. 1 automaker in 2007, building 9.4 million vehicles worldwide. Its Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid car, has dazzled many people — including celebrities in the U.S. — with its green credentials. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, in 2006 Japan maintained its No. 2 position in the number of applications for international patents for four straight years (26,906 applications, an 8.3 percent increase, following the U.S.'s 49,555). Japan is also home to many smaller firms whose technology in their respective fields is the world's best.

    Although the Japanese economy has its share of problems — a growing gap between the affluent and the poor, and a large percentage of irregularly employed workers, just to mention two — Japan is still the world's second-largest economic power and the wealthiest country in Asia. Most importantly, postwar Japan has not killed anyone anywhere through military action.

    It is time we Japanese cast off any remaining pessimism and embrace confidence, while at the same time retaining our humility. Enhancing our creativity and ingenuity will be paramount to furthering our culture and promoting peace as well as to achieving economic progress.

    For this to happen, it is all the more important that we provide all of our children with a quality education irrespective of their economic background, and ensure freedom of thought — not greater regimentation — for students and teachers.

The Japan Times Weekly: March 31, 2007
(C) All rights reserved

    その後、新聞業界を取り巻く環境は激変したが、「日本の真実を報道しなければならない」という創刊号社説の主張は今も正しい。バブル崩壊後の長期停滞が終わった日本経済は今、戦後最長の成長を持続しているが、成長の速度が緩やかで、賃金が伸び悩んでいるためか、国民の多くは繁栄の成果を享受していると感じていない。

    しかし、日本はソフト面、特にアニメ、マンガなどで大きく世界に進出している。宮崎駿監督の「千と千尋の神隠し」は、03年にアカデミー賞・長編アニメーション賞を獲得した。

    一方、日本人は米国ばかりでなく他国の文化を吸収し、韓流テレビドラマは大きなブームを引き起こした。韓国では文学作品、テレビドラマ、映画を中心とした「日流」ブームも盛んだ。

    ハード面では、トヨタは07年に、全世界で940万台の自動車を生産、GMを抜いて世界1の自動車メーカーになる見込みで、同社のハイブリッドカー、プリウスは米国で大人気である。

    日本経済は、貧富の格差拡大、労働力に占める非正社員の大きな割合などの問題を抱えているが、今も世界第2位の経済大国で、アジアの最富裕国である。日本人は、謙虚さを忘れてはならないが、悲観主義を捨て、自信を持つべきだ。創造性を育成することが、経済的繁栄ばかりでなく、文化を発展させ、平和を推進する原動力になる。

    このために、家庭の経済状態に関係なく、子どもによい教育を行い、生徒と教職員に思想の自由を保証することが重要になる。

    安倍首相と自民党執行部は、企業に対し、好調な業績を賃金に反映させるよう求めたが、企業側は国際競争力を強化するのが先決と主張した。

    賃上げで労組要求を満足できない場合、企業は多額のボーナス支払いをする傾向がある。

    連合は、賃上げばかりでなく、正社員と非正社員、大企業と中小企業の従業員の労働条件の格差是正を求めている。