A part of me feels like I’ve been a bit hard on Japan.
I take back nothing, honestly. There is a darkness that runs through their society, and it is a little jarring when contrasted with the beauty of their culture. I am not comfortable with that, honestly.
But then I thought about how my country must appear. There are some places in most major cities in which it is not safe to be out at night. There are fewer but far too many places where it is not safe to be seen during the daytime. Cities like Memphis or Philadelphia have a well-deserved reputation as places that are not safe to visit. I went to Oakland once, and hailed a cab outside of a tall office building. That night, someone was murdered not fifty feet from where I was standing. Thankfully, I had already flown back home.
Japan is a homogenous society where probably 90 percent or more of the country are racially Japanese. American is about the exact opposite of a homogenous society, where people of every conceivable ancestry try to live together peacefully – and it doesn’t always work. One wishes it did, of course, but it doesn’t. We are also a people who are the opposite of Japan in another way – the Japanese value harmony so greatly that they’re pretty eager to pound down the nail that sticks out – but we in America say “oh, that is a unique nail sticking out” and celebrate it. Of course, sometimes that leads to snagging one’s clothing on said nail – or worse, stepping on it. Sometimes, it’s better to pound down the nail. Of course, sometimes it’s not.
My point is that there are things in America that the Japanese might consider dark as well… and many of those things they’d be well justified in doing so. I would still love for them to visit my country. For as dark as it can be, we have many things worth seeing, things such as the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Lakes, etc. And the people are also mostly friendly – there are a few bad apples, but for the most part, we’re a good people who just want to live our lives in peace.
And, I imagine, so are the Japanese.
I live in a suburban city in Texas where you can still approach the police with questions, where people are friendly, and while major crime does happen, one can feel relatively safe walking or driving through town. Even the major city that I live near (Austin), while it has many problems due to mismanagement and an incompetent city council, is relatively crime free and known for its live music scene and status as a major technology hub. But to the Japanese, perhaps our free-wheeling, libertarian, “I’m not bothering you so leave me alone” ways might seem intimidating, or worse. But it’s just how we are. You learn the rules. And you thrive.
Japan has problems. Big problems. Some of these problems threaten their very existence as a country and a people. But perhaps it’s no more fair of me to define them by their troubles than it is for them to define America by the high-crime neighborhoods in its major cities.
All that said, I still feel very uncomfortable with the thought of visiting.