130: 80 Years Later, Japan’s Big Problem (9)

【Solutions】
Over the past eight posts, we’ve examined the major challenges Japan currently faces. Now, we turn to possible solutions.
 
First, let’s briefly recap the core issues:

• In both urban and rural areas, there’s been a marked shift toward conservatism. This includes growing xenophobia/nationalism, denying established historical facts about Japan’s wartime aggression, and increasing support for reversing Japan back into a country with war capacity. As the lived misery of war fades, many people’s thoughts, attitudes, and values are gradually reverting to prewar patterns that disregard fundamental human rights.  [See #122]

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• The education system remains centered around memorization-heavy college admission exams, often failing to cultivate individuals who can think independently and act based on fact/evidence. [See #125]

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• 1) Weak pathways to employment & long-term residency and 2) low wages attract fewer people from around the world, making it difficult to build an inclusive society, which in turn limits the development of human rights awareness and openness to diversity. [See #127]

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• The consequences are circular: Limited appeal leads to fewer students from abroad→Harder to build inclusive education/environments→Productivity/wages decline further→Becomes even less appealing. At the end of this vicious spiral lies persistent decline. [See #128]

 
Japan has been here before.
 
Leading up to World War II, Japan fell into a similar downward spiral, and remaining within its borders was no longer enough to sustain people’s livelihoods. As a result, Japan colonized it’s Asian neighbors including China/Korea and exploited them through violence. Under the slogan “Defend Japan from the West,” the government justified invasion as “self-defense” and promoted it a “holy war” through education designed so that people learn as the government wishes to teach--including the idea that “the Emperor is divine.”
 
Today, we sometimes hear seemingly modest, non-aggressive views like:
“Rather than accepting immigrants, it’d be better for Japan to quietly decline and disappear.”
 
But consider what might happen when current trends continue: wages keep falling, social security cut back further due to massive national debt, and the population continues to age and shrink.
 
Imagine this:

• GDP per capita falls from 35th in the world to 40th, then 50th. [See #128]

• Real wages decline from 5 million yen to 4 million, then 3 million.
• Patients’ share of medical costs rises from 30% to 40%, or even 50%.

 
Under such conditions, it’s not difficult to imagine the reemergence of aggression seen before the war.
 
In fact, many conservative political parties are already rallying around slogans like “Defend Japan from China,” and, under the banner of self-defense, are pushing to dismantle the pacifist constitution in order to reverse Japan back into a country with war capacity [See #64]. Given their continued strong public support [See #129], there are signs that harrowing history could repeat itself.
 
Taken together, these challenges point toward a clear solution: Inclusive education--an education that fosters human rights awareness. [See #124]
 
To achieve this, two major reforms are essential:
 
[Reform 1] Embrace Immigration
Unlike the US and many European nations that are often referred to as developed nations, Japan accepts very few immigrants [See #109]. This is because the government still refuses to adopt an official immigration policy.
 
By adopting an immigration policy that accepts people of different cultures/customs, welcomes diversity with a big heart, and shares the same place we live with people from various backgrounds, we foster inclusive communities. It would also make Japanese universities more attractive to students from around the world.
 
[Reform 2] Commit to Inclusive Education
The more an education system values inclusivity, the more intentionally it cultivates a broad range of intellectual, emotional, social, and creative abilities. As a result, students tend to develop strong human rights awareness, openness to diversity, social engagement, and independent thinking grounded in factual/evidence-based reasoning, as well as putting it into action. [See #125]
 
With these qualities, people are less likely to be drawn toward xenophobia, nationalism, militarism, or fascism. Instead, they’re more likely to support pacifism, nonviolence, equality, and honest peace education.
 
Moreover, this can help Japan aim for the kind of prosperity seen in overwhelmingly liberal urban centers of the US where inclusive education is embraced--such as in Silicon Valley, Wall Street, cutting-edge medical research, and the entertainment industry. At the same time, it can help avoid the decline seen in overwhelmingly conservative rural areas where inclusive education is often shunned--such as in agriculture, forestry, mining, and oil industries. [See #128], [#125]
 
In the next post, we’ll explore these major reforms in greater depth.

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