Japan

[Franklin]

Below is something I just wrote for my own site that I think may be of interest here:


I lived in Japan in the 1990s. My wife went back 10 years ago and said that things had decayed. I just visited Japan again with my wife. I think the "decay" is mostly superficial and in fact Japan is remarkably resilient against modern culture. Japan copies styles but remains Japanese underneath. So Japan copying modern western styles doesn't mean much. Japanese behavior is still distinctly Japanese. Japan remains a high-trust ethnocentric culture that resists modern values.

I can speculate on how they managed this. First, they are a high-tech culture with a distinct language. This means that the internet content that they consume is mostly their own. And this protects them from the worst source of cultural infection, namely modern culture on the internet. In addition, they have a collectivist culture which prevents individuals from going in new directions, so this helps to preserve their culture. And they have limited immigration.

I know of 3 groups that effectively resist modern culture: Japan, traditional Anabaptists, and Orthodox Jews. I think Japan and the Anabaptists have a lot in common in their strategies. The Anabaptists avoid internet infection by limiting internet use. The Anabaptists are also collectivist, and have limited immigration (into their groups). Orthodox Jews also limit internet use and have limited immigration, but they are not collectivist. Instead of collectivism, Jews view outsiders (goyim) as subhumans. This seems to work as effectively as collectivism in avoiding outside cultural influence.

For individuals who can't tolerate modern culture, I suggest either moving to Japan or moving to an Anabaptist area.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Below is something I just wrote for my own site that I think may be of interest here:


I lived in Japan in the 1990s. My wife went back 10 years ago and said that things had decayed. I just visited Japan again with my wife. I think the "decay" is mostly superficial and in fact Japan is remarkably resilient against modern culture. Japan copies styles but remains Japanese underneath. So Japan copying modern western styles doesn't mean much. Japanese behavior is still distinctly Japanese. Japan remains a high-trust ethnocentric culture that resists modern values.

I can speculate on how they managed this. First, they are a high-tech culture with a distinct language. This means that the internet content that they consume is mostly their own. And this protects them from the worst source of cultural infection, namely modern culture on the internet. In addition, they have a collectivist culture which prevents individuals from going in new directions, so this helps to preserve their culture. And they have limited immigration.

I know of 3 groups that effectively resist modern culture: Japan, traditional Anabaptists, and Orthodox Jews. I think Japan and the Anabaptists have a lot in common in their strategies. The Anabaptists avoid internet infection by limiting internet use. The Anabaptists are also collectivist, and have limited immigration (into their groups). Orthodox Jews also limit internet use and have limited immigration, but they are not collectivist. Instead of collectivism, Jews view outsiders (goyim) as subhumans. This seems to work as effectively as collectivism in avoiding outside cultural influence.

For individuals who can't tolerate modern culture, I suggest either moving to Japan or moving to an Anabaptist area.

Well, I am actually in Japan right now, visiting a place i long have wanted to visit.

You are right on the commonality between these groups. But postmodern culture is alive in Japan and taking over. The language barrier to the infiltration of the internet is history. Language tools move content across that divide with ease that even shocked me.

What I immediately noticed is that the security of following the cultural dictates leading to an economically and socially secure life are gone. You are on your own. “Temporary “ work seems to have become the norm, without the lifelong commitment of a company. The 30 year downturn seems to have done that.

But, hey, Japan is no longer unaffordable. I just changed dollars at 165. It was 105 a few years ago.

[Szdfan]

Below is something I just wrote for my own site that I think may be of interest here:


I lived in Japan in the 1990s. My wife went back 10 years ago and said that things had decayed. I just visited Japan again with my wife. I think the "decay" is mostly superficial and in fact Japan is remarkably resilient against modern culture. Japan copies styles but remains Japanese underneath. So Japan copying modern western styles doesn't mean much. Japanese behavior is still distinctly Japanese. Japan remains a high-trust ethnocentric culture that resists modern values.

I can speculate on how they managed this. First, they are a high-tech culture with a distinct language. This means that the internet content that they consume is mostly their own. And this protects them from the worst source of cultural infection, namely modern culture on the internet. In addition, they have a collectivist culture which prevents individuals from going in new directions, so this helps to preserve their culture. And they have limited immigration.

I know of 3 groups that effectively resist modern culture: Japan, traditional Anabaptists, and Orthodox Jews. I think Japan and the Anabaptists have a lot in common in their strategies. The Anabaptists avoid internet infection by limiting internet use. The Anabaptists are also collectivist, and have limited immigration (into their groups). Orthodox Jews also limit internet use and have limited immigration, but they are not collectivist. Instead of collectivism, Jews view outsiders (goyim) as subhumans. This seems to work as effectively as collectivism in avoiding outside cultural influence.

For individuals who can't tolerate modern culture, I suggest either moving to Japan or moving to an Anabaptist area.

Well, I am actually in Japan right now, visiting a place i long have wanted to visit.

You are right on the commonality between these groups. But postmodern culture is alive in Japan and taking over. The language barrier to the infiltration of the internet is history. Language tools move content across that divide with ease that even shocked me.

What I immediately noticed is that the security of following the cultural dictates leading to an economically and socially secure life are gone. You are on your own. “Temporary “ work seems to have become the norm, without the lifelong commitment of a company. The 30 year downturn seems to have done that.

But, hey, Japan is no longer unaffordable. I just changed dollars at 165. It was 105 a few years ago.

I wonder if Franklin is aware of the weirdness of Japanese popular culture and the range of manga and anime.

[Szdfan]

Japan is also experiencing significant demographic decline, and an aging population especially in rural areas like Hokkaido.

[Josh]

Japan is also experiencing significant demographic decline, and an aging population especially in rural areas like Hokkaido.

They are also talking about mass immigration. Needless to say, Japan won’t be very Japanese in the not too distant future.

[Ken]

Japan is also experiencing significant demographic decline, and an aging population especially in rural areas like Hokkaido.

They are also talking about mass immigration. Needless to say, Japan won’t be very Japanese in the not too distant future.

Japan has a population of about 125 million. They could decline by half and still be bigger than Italy or France.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Below is something I just wrote for my own site that I think may be of interest here:


I lived in Japan in the 1990s. My wife went back 10 years ago and said that things had decayed. I just visited Japan again with my wife. I think the "decay" is mostly superficial and in fact Japan is remarkably resilient against modern culture. Japan copies styles but remains Japanese underneath. So Japan copying modern western styles doesn't mean much. Japanese behavior is still distinctly Japanese. Japan remains a high-trust ethnocentric culture that resists modern values.

I can speculate on how they managed this. First, they are a high-tech culture with a distinct language. This means that the internet content that they consume is mostly their own. And this protects them from the worst source of cultural infection, namely modern culture on the internet. In addition, they have a collectivist culture which prevents individuals from going in new directions, so this helps to preserve their culture. And they have limited immigration.

I know of 3 groups that effectively resist modern culture: Japan, traditional Anabaptists, and Orthodox Jews. I think Japan and the Anabaptists have a lot in common in their strategies. The Anabaptists avoid internet infection by limiting internet use. The Anabaptists are also collectivist, and have limited immigration (into their groups). Orthodox Jews also limit internet use and have limited immigration, but they are not collectivist. Instead of collectivism, Jews view outsiders (goyim) as subhumans. This seems to work as effectively as collectivism in avoiding outside cultural influence.

For individuals who can't tolerate modern culture, I suggest either moving to Japan or moving to an Anabaptist area.

Well, I am actually in Japan right now, visiting a place i long have wanted to visit.

You are right on the commonality between these groups. But postmodern culture is alive in Japan and taking over. The language barrier to the infiltration of the internet is history. Language tools move content across that divide with ease that even shocked me.

What I immediately noticed is that the security of following the cultural dictates leading to an economically and socially secure life are gone. You are on your own. “Temporary “ work seems to have become the norm, without the lifelong commitment of a company. The 30 year downturn seems to have done that.

But, hey, Japan is no longer unaffordable. I just changed dollars at 165. It was 105 a few years ago.

I wonder if Franklin is aware of the weirdness of Japanese popular culture and the range of manga and anime.

I am here. We were nearly serving in Japan as missionaries, before the mission board found out what my wife did, and sent us to the Middle East. I have already seen the Victorian goths and the poodle skits. Weird.

[Josh]

It is a place badly in need of the good news.

[Franklin]

You are right on the commonality between these groups. But postmodern culture is alive in Japan and taking over. The language barrier to the infiltration of the internet is history. Language tools move content across that divide with ease that even shocked me.

Yes, AI is great for translation. But the point is that the Japanese internet world still exists as an alternative. I doubt that the average Japanese would even want to deal with the abrasiveness of western social media. So even if AI makes it possible for Japanese speakers to interact with the West, I don't think that they will. What is unique about Japan is that they big enough and technically advanced enough to have created their own internet world. I don't think other countries have done this.

What I immediately noticed is that the security of following the cultural dictates leading to an economically and socially secure life are gone. You are on your own. “Temporary “ work seems to have become the norm, without the lifelong commitment of a company. The 30 year downturn seems to have done that.

This is economics, not culture. My main concern is culture.

I wonder if Franklin is aware of the weirdness of Japanese popular culture and the range of manga and anime.

I am somewhat aware of this. My son is more into this and more aware. I have no problem with this. Of course it isn't like conservative Christian culture, but as long as it is different from modern culture, it is fine.

Japan is also experiencing significant demographic decline, and an aging population especially in rural areas like Hokkaido.

They have a big enough population and low birthrates are naturally self-correcting since those who choose to have children represent the future. What isn't self-correcting is illegitimacy since this is the reproduction of the worst people, but here Japan is doing fine.

They are also talking about mass immigration. Needless to say, Japan won’t be very Japanese in the not too distant future.

So far this hasn't happened. Hopefully it won't. I won't guess the future based on talk.

[Szdfan]

I wonder if Franklin is aware of the weirdness of Japanese popular culture and the range of manga and anime.

I am somewhat aware of this. My son is more into this and more aware. I have no problem with this. Of course it isn't like conservative Christian culture, but as long as it is different from modern culture, it is fine.

Do you really?

Japanese Anime and Manga encompasses a broad range of genres and subgenres. On the one end, there' are the children movies of Hayao Miyazaki, which are excellent and pieces of art. That's fine.

On the other end, however, there's material that's violent and pornographic (i.e. hentai), including a subgenre called "shokushu zeme," which features intercourse between women and tentacled creatures. Considering your frequent rantings against degenerate Western culture, I think this is a weird oversight on your part.

But maybe since the earliest forms of Japanese tentacle erotica dates back to woodblock prints from the 18th Century, this isn't modern culture?

One of the reasons given in the debate over Japan's low birthrate is the availability of pornography.