Translator: Riaki Poništ Reviewer: Denise RQ
I'm going to depart a bit from my usual subject
and talk a little bit about a very precious subject to me
which is myself.
My mom's Japanese and my dad's American.
And I was raised just north of Boston in a region called New England.
And it was very white at that time.
Not just in the winter, it was a very white community.
I didn't know anyone Japanese besides my mother and her family,
and I certainly didn't know anyone who is half-Japanese
which was my situation, "ha-fu".
So one time when I was actually playing hockey, I played hockey as a kid,
I was sitting on a bench and my mother, who never came to my athletic events,
came in with my father.
And a guy down the bench looked down at me and said,
"Wow, man, I didn't know your mom was Chinese!"
I didn't correct him; I didn't see the point.
Later, someone who knew slightly more about Asia said,
"So if you're Japanese, does that mean you eat fish raw?"
And the picture in my head was, you know,
like holding a salmon, or a bass, or something, from head to tail,
and trying somehow to gnaw on the scales
when it was fresh out of water.
I didn't think I could do it.
But I did eat sushi when I visited Japan with my mother.
And I found at that time, even as a child,
that I thought Japanese culture was very strong,
that it had these fundamentals, characteristics that made it
a very strong and bonded culture.
Later, when I moved to Japan,
- of course, it was many years after the Bubble had burst -
and so everybody was talking about Japan's stagnating economy.
The amazing thing to me, however, having lived here now a number of years,
is that Japan's economy, seems to me,
to be quite sustainable, quite strong culturally.
And so I've put up here the title "Coping with stasis"
how a supposed sick man of Asia might be a model for us all,
and that's what a lot of economists would call Japan,
the "sick man of Asia" as if the country was doddering along.
And what I've decided to do was look at some--
what I really think
are very fundamental strengths of Japanese culture
that separate stasis from sustainability or stagnation from sustainability.
So I've just isolated a few here,
to think about what makes Japanese culture strong,
and maybe for other cultures, especially in the developed world
which are facing similar situations:
declining populations, increasing poverty, and so on,
what makes Japan strong in the face of these circumstances.
The first one many of you would be familiar with
if you live here is "ganbaru".
You hear it all the time, right?
Kind of means like "fight hard", "Do your best in any circumstance,"
"Try your hardest to do well."
And you can see here is a photo of volunteers in Tohoku,
after the disasters, the quake and the tsunami,
"ganbaru" was like a call to action, a call to get together,
and do their best in the face of adversity.
But it can also be applied to a sort of lowly salaryman,
who has to run off to work everyday.
You can see here his family, his neighbours,
they're all cheering him on, "Ganbaru, ganbaru".
And if you've ever spent time with the salaryman,
and tried to keep up with his schedule, you really do have to "ganbaru",
it's hard work; it's a lot of late nights.
Another concept here is "gaman";
basically to endure,
to withstand, to persevere in the face of adversity.
A very similar concept, but as you can see,
it's the idea that you can withstand anything, you can take anything,
and you can do so without whining or complaining.
It can be applied to daily life especially to a city like Tokyo,
where you're stuffed into a train car,
and it's amazing how Japanese people are able to maneuver their bodies
and shift their keitai, and turn their rucksacks and put them on the floor,
and manage to get everyone in the train.
In the States, in New York or in San Francisco,
if a really packed train car comes by, people just don't get on.
They just go "Ugh," they go up and get a taxi.
They just give up.
In Japan, people "gaman", no matter how crowded the train.
"Jishuku": some of you obviously know what it means
the concept roughly of restraint,
or being able to restrain yourself and restrain desires.
I think it's really quite remarkable.
Now, there are massive exceptions in Japan, obviously.
But that notion that you can, for example, turn off the lights,
and just use your computer screen for lighting in order to save electricity,
and that you can restrain desires for the betterment of everyone.
You know, very different concept again, in the United States,
you know, where [they have] "Go for it", "Live for the moment,"
this idea "Get what you want," "Take what you can."
"jishuku" is a very different concept, I think.
(Laughter)
I think these concepts together, and what I admire so much about Japan,
is that they are there to sustain stability and harmony in the society.
And I think it's quite effective.
If you look now,
despite Japan being stagnant, unemployment is at a historic low,
I think 3.4%;
crime is declining;
again, Tokyo was named the safest city in the world, just a few months ago.
These kinds of things could, I believe, improve other cultures abroad
facing the challenges of the future.
I actually authored a book
on the popular culture in Japan and its popularity overseas.
And I still write about popular culture
such as anime, manga, and cosplay, and so on.
And as you know, probably,
the government has a "Cool Japan" campaign underway,
where they're trying to promote the coolness of Japanese culture
through pop culture, images, and graphics.
What I would call upon the government to do,
and those of you who live in Japan to do,
is to promote these characteristics,
to push the real deeper strengths of Japan,
and let people know
how sustainable a culture can be when harmony and stability are prized.
Thank you very much.
(Applause)