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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best book to understand Japan's serious problems..., 6 Jun 2002
By A Customer
Japan is a country with SERIOUS problems. Most people may be aware that Japan has been in recession for a decade now. What is often missing from commentary in newspapers is that Japan's real problem is not one of economics---rather it is one stemming from core societal values. I myself have long wanted to write a book along the lines of Alex Kerr's "Dogs and Demons", but I think he does it better than I could have. What Kerr highlights most successfully is that Japan is a fundamentally undemocratic society. It is still rigid, authoritarian, bureaucratic, closed, and generally fearful of any change that might disrupt "wa", or social harmony. He lists example after example, mostly annecdotal, but also based on local news reports and the like to support his claims. He starts off decrying the country's politics and the durability of the construction state, which has led to severe environmental destruction, with more and more roads, railways, and bridges to nowhere, merely to boost construction company profits and politicians' electability. Closely linked is the sheer corruption involved, and the inherently secretive and reactionary bureaucracy. 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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A cautionary work on Japan's self-inflicted challenges, 21 May 2006
Dogs and Demons presents a scathing but poignant indictment of many facets of post-Meiji Japanese society, describing with a solemn but not disconsolate tone the two self-reinventions of modern Japan as maladaptations rather than true renaissances.
One of the central themes of the book is the Japanese tendency toward single-mindedness in pursuit of a goal. Though this is a common refrain in any study of Japanese history or culture, Kerr points out that this single-mindedness, inasmuch as an earnest, self-sacrificing populous is often marshaled by the occasional devious politician or bureaucrat, can lead to uncontrolled bureaucratic behemoths existing and acting purely for existence's or action's sake. Central to this argument is the idea of the Construction State, a massive section of the bureaucracy comprising over 10% of the nation's workforce, over 60% of national spending, and unstoppable in its quest for ever-greater civil engineering projects. Many sobering facts (all but three of Japan's rivers have been dammed, more than half its coastline has been overlaid in concrete, entire mountain ranges are being flattened and quarried in the interest of land-fill for artificial islands, etc), all well researched and their supporting documentation clearly cited, are introduced in support of Kerr's arguments.
Aside from meditations on the Construction State, Dogs and Demons takes a different perspective on many facets of modern Japanese life. From his lamentations of the pillaging of Japan's irreplaceable and unique milieus (the beauty of old Kyoto and the natural wonder of Mt. Fuji given as two prime examples) to the window dressing that all too often passes for "progress" in education and internationalization, Kerr offers a solemn warning to those who would embrace the future with little regard for the past.
Though Kerr's sharp-edged critiques are tempered somewhat by recent events both domestically and abroad (to be expected in such a fast-changing world), they nonetheless highlight unfortunate truisms of the modern Japanese bureaucracy and the society as a whole, acting as the bureaucracy's sometimes-unwitting base of support. Impeccably well documented and referenced, this book was certainly a disconcerting wake-up call to the Japanophile within me. The author quotes liberally from native Japanese (Masao Miyamoto, Miki Tanikawa, etc.) as well as long-term ex-pats and Japanologists (Dennis Richie, David Asher, etc). He reflects upon views expressed not only by like-minded thinkers, but by those with whom he disagrees, and expounds upon both as they relate to modern events.
The benefit of 20/20 hindsight allows the reader to take Kerr's indictment of Japan's lack of exploitation of the internet-boom with a grain of salt (the book was published in 2001). Yet it is this same hindsight that nets Kerr his authoritative description of what he views as a sword of Damocles dangling by a thread over the head of Japan's bureaucratic leadership. But rather than acting simply as a doomsayer, Kerr is sure to include with each perceived misstep musings on preventative or corrective measures to counteract the damage that has been done. The author makes certain to point out numerous times that a healthy, maintainable path of development is not yet beyond Japan's reach. He does point out, however, that the momentum carrying the country down its current path will present quite a challenge to those who would see it pursue a less ominous future.
As with any persuasive piece, certainly no one is expected to agree with Kerr's views on each and every point. Indeed, some (most notably those concerning the culture's modern artistic merits) seem entirely misguided. However, Dogs and Demons augments the reader's view of this mysterious island nation with many well-reasoned arguments that are seldom voiced either within or outside of Japan.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a bad read but very, very subjective, 5 Sep 2003
By A Customer
Like the author I've also lived for a fair length of time (not as long as him, but enough to be able to judge what he says about the place) in Japan.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.
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