Dogs and Demons: The Fall of Modern Japan [Paperback]

I actually agree with many of his criticisms of Japan and its officials. (Some I don't agree with, and some things also I think he has portrayed in a ridiculously overly negative light to pad out his book.) Readers with no or little experience of Japan need to bear in mind that this book is basically just one long angry rant of ONLY gripes and nothing else; certainly some of them are justified, in my opinion, but virtually no attempt was made to show the other side of his criticisms. There is no balance in the argument here, nor perhaps was there intended to be.

As I said, I did actually agree with a lot of what he wrote, but would have appreciated the book much more had he refrained from constantly judging Japan against what he seemed to see as the "Gold Standard" of the US. A tediously large number of paragraphs are punctuated with words along the lines of "but this doesn't happen in the US, so there!...." This is a real shame because it's unnecessary. Many of the aspects of Japan he complained about could be perfectly well illustrated without these references to other countries he implies are better. And he really shoots himself in the foot by doing this, as many good points though he does have to make, he sadly sets himself up to be very easily dismissed as just another bitter westerner in Japan who couldn't handle the fact that Japan is sometimes not what he wants it to be. No doubt this style will delight the "I told you so's" in the white western world, particularly right wing economists, who just love to hear stories of the Japanese or other Asian upsarts falling flat on their faces - indeed the prominent credits on the paperback cover come from the Wall St. Journal and the Financial Times.

In short, it's not a totally bad book at all, but anyone with little idea of Japan & wanting a balanced picture of it should not rely solely on this book.

Also, the book is fairly repetitive. There are several points which seem to appear chapter after chapter, which becomes a little wearing.

This was forgivable in 'Lost Japan', another book by Alex Kerr, as this was, as I recall, a collection of articles, some of which had been expanded upon, but is less so here.

Nevertheless, the underlying message rings true.

But the best part of the book is the second half, where he talks about Japan's rigid educational system which stifles individual creativity and new ideas, in the name of social harmony. No country on earth may be more prone to totalitarianism, he warns us; an exaggeration, perhaps, but it is clear to me that Japan's leaders are reluctant to undertake the changes the country so badly needs because it is fearful of disrupting harmony. For example, they need to do away with the latent sexism, groupism, and fear of foreign people, if not foreign ideas (my opinion, not Kerr's). Kerr fears, as I do, that Japan's ageing population will make it increasingly harder to change, because older people tend to be less open to such change. He is too pessimistic at times; Japan has made tremendous sudden changes in its history, and I think it probably still can. Some readers may be disappointed that Kerr deliberately offers no advice on how Japan could improve itself, after all his criticisms. On the contrary, he is correct to do so; he, like me, feels that it is up to the Japanese people to sort it out for themselves.

I do have some criticisms of this book: several of the things he has gripes about are in no way unique to Japan, for example, environmental pollution, bureaucracy, and corruption. Also, his comments about Japanese arhictecture and design are a matter of taste---I happen to like much of Japan's streetscapes. He could also have made more of the gender issue, and sexism. Still, this is an excellent summary of what ails contemporary Japan. It is the best book on the subject since Ichiro Kawasaki's 1969 book, "Japan Unmasked", much of which remains true to this day.

Despite Kerr's pessimism, I think Japan probably will change, whatever that means. It will be slow, and we won't notice it, but I think Japan can become a better, freer, and more diverse place. Nevertheless, every Japanese politician and Japan watcher should read this book.