The only reason I am afraid that Japan can hardly improve (1)

From an objective point of view, I think Japan is an excellent nation. First of all, Japanese foods are very delicious and healthy. In addition, I can have almost every local cuisine in Tokyo. Safety is also one of the advantages of living in Japan. Violent crimes seldom occur. If I dropped a wallet in a station, I have a considerable chance to regain it. Japan has no duty to engage in an army. Public transportation is precise on time. It is nothing to say that Japan has strong power on the world economy. Most of all, Japanese citizens are generally kind and polite.

There are lots of merits for me to be a Japanese. Of course I love Japan. Even considering some faults in the past, I am proud of being a Japanese.

However, there is an extreme trap in Japan. It is covering Japan with an unpleasant veil. And it will be a strong barrier to Japan making a change positively.

It is that, the Japanese tend to ignore a rule.

It does not mean that Japanese tend to act rude. Rather, the Japanese are highly conscious to adhere to the regulations.

The point is that the regulation we obey is not a written one, but only a custom. Japanese society has a lot of customs most of which are not clarified with a document. These customs help our society to keep safe and effective. However, as a result of such a long lasting traditional habit, the Japanese lost the motivation to change the written rules. Every rule can get older, and one day it becomes no more fit to the reality. At the time, we should change the rule based on a proper process after adequate discussion. Instead, the Japanese tend to ignore the rule, to make a new custom.

For example, Japanese constitution has not been rewritten since it was established. During 60 years, we keep the original one after the WW II. This fact is great I think, and it made us avoid from any international wars.

However, Japanese constitution prohibits any national army. It means that self defense force violates the law. It is quite problematic for the government. In this occasion, we would change the constitution to apply it to the current situation. But the Japanese constitution has extremely strict regulation to change it. Thus, it is almost impossible to rewrite the constitution. Noticed the fact, the cabinet in the other days abandoned changing the constitution. Instead, the politicians made a decision to change the interpretation of the constitution. This is called as a theory of changing interpretation.

Nowadays, the existence of self defense force is yet under discussion. Some politicians claim it is illegal even now. But most Japanese accept current strange situation.

(To be continued)