As the Heisei era is set to close in just about two months' time, I would like to focus on how it began and what we have experienced through its 31 years. Its outset coincided with the termination of two eras of historically unprecedented events and consequences.
First, when Japan's new era kicked off, the military and ideological antagonism between the East and the West was in its final stages. The end of the Cold War greatly eased fears of worldwide destruction by nuclear weapons.
In 1989, the first year of the Heisei era (Heisei 1), the world saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, which presaged the astonishingly rapid reunification of East Germany and West Germany a year later and the collapse of the Soviet Union the year after that. The end of the Cold War had profound effects worldwide. Japan was no exception -- the very cause of the postwar decades of left-right political and ideological division in the country faded.
Second, at the time, the afterglow of Japan's unprecedented economic miracle was finally fading. The country had embarked on modernization in the Meiji era (1868-1912) and its efforts to advance industrial development at utmost speed intensified in the postwar years. The efforts culminated in what became known as the high-growth period, which reached its height in the 1960s.
The Heisei era started one year before the beginning of the 1990s, or three decades on from 1960. In retrospect, in the 1970s and 1980s, it was not necessarily easy, unlike in the 1960s, for people to define the times they lived in. For example, compared with the 1960s, often recalled as the "Golden Sixties," the 1970s turned out to be a relatively directionless decade, making it hard for people not only to characterize the time as distinctively as the previous decade but also to determine what mind-set and motivation they should have to get through such a period.
I vividly remember a sensational scene of a company's TV commercial that was broadcast in the 1970s. It showed a predawn landscape with the question: "What's next?" To me, it looked quite suggestive of a society that yearned for a new guide to the future of the nation.
New political climate
It is important to acknowledge that the Heisei era happened to begin in parallel with the end of the Cold War environment and Japan's break with the high-growth model. Superficially, Japanese people seemed to have begun to live in the Heisei era in a passive state of mind. In other words, they apparently chose to shed their Cold War-era ideological wariness and stop being exhorted by rallying cries. As a result, it seemed that they entered the new era without particularly strong stances on a variety of matters. It can be said such a change first became most conspicuous in the political community.
As early as Heisei 5 (1993), the Liberal Democratic Party, which had ruled Japan for 38 straight years as an ironclad party, split. A non-LDP coalition formed a Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, a breakaway LDP lower house member. The following year, the LDP regained power by, surprisingly, joining forces with its longstanding archrival, the former Japan Socialist Party, and even named Tomiichi Murayama, the chairman of its junior coalition partner, as prime minister.
In Heisei 8 (1996), the LDP began dominating the post of prime minister -- until Heisei 21 (2009) when the opposition Democratic Party of Japan routed the LDP in general elections and took over the government. In Heisei 24 (2012), the LDP, with the backing of Komeito, put itself back at the helm of government to begin running a stable administration under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The political dramas of the Heisei era provided quite a few important hints about the country's political realm. First, it became obvious that the prolonged so-called 1955 political setup, involving the LDP as the ruling party and the JSP as the main opposition party, was nothing but a product of the Cold War. It was not a genuinely domestically spawned political rivalry. Second, as long as the LDP adopts sensible redistribution policies, there seems to be no need to worry that rivalry between parties would critically shake the bedrock of the country. Of course, government change will occur in the event of misgovernment. But it has become known that Japan is likely to remain free from the rise of political forces similar to the Green Party of Germany or far-right parties elsewhere in the world and from the threat of a national split similar to that of the United States triggered and fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Increased disaster resilience
In the meantime, the 30-year-plus Heisei era has been a turbulent time with the country coming under a string of "two-handed" attacks, that is to say, natural disasters and economic stagnation. Disasters and economic woes have one thing in common -- they are beyond individual human control. This means that it is necessary for us human beings to change our way of life to adapt to the changing environment and economic realities as well as our new fates.
In this context, Japanese people's response to the natural calamities that have occurred during the Heisei era deserves praise. The Heisei era has witnessed a nationwide increase in citizens' involvement in disaster relief activities to the extent that it has become a sustainable commonplace practice. Countless people volunteered to help those who suffered in the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Heisei 7 (1995), the Great East Japan Earthquake in Heisei 23 (2011), the Kumamoto Earthquake in Heisei 28 (2016), and a series of floods and landslides triggered by torrential rainfall in the Chugoku region in July last year, to name just a few. Numerous nonprofit organizations have also been launched to organize and dispatch to disaster-affected areas individuals willing to take part in relief efforts at their own expense.
It is perhaps safe to say that it is the first time since Japanese society was modernized during the Meiji period that mutual disaster relief assistance other than that among relatives or in close neighborhoods has been integrated into the common norms of Japan's social fabric.
When we look at the past and current state of the Japanese economy, I think it is an honest impression among ordinary people that, despite all the long-lasting negative trends including recession and low gross domestic product growth, our economy has been relatively stable for a long period of time. In fact, the unemployment rate has been low and there has been no sharp spike in bankruptcies. Nor have we heard about any unusual rise in defaults on mortgages or loans for big-ticket items. After all, Japanese society has not been infected with the astronomical levels of income inequality that are seen in the United States and China.
It is obvious that Japanese people had already begun changing their way of life in economic terms shortly before the beginning of the Heisei era. They specifically chose on their own to break with mass production and the efficiency-first principle. Instead, they became more conscious of enjoying information than indulging the consumption of manufactured products. To that end, they became inclined to spend more time on cultural activities, such as travel, sports and hobbies, including interior design work.
Undoubtedly against this background, domestic sales of Japanese manufacturing companies have been mostly flat for many years now. Nonetheless, it can be said that the country's tertiary industries have gained importance instead, increasing job opportunities and thus keeping the country's jobless rate low even in the drawn-out period of lackluster GDP growth.
When we compare Japan's latest GDP figures with those of other countries, especially the United States and China, it is unequivocal that its national power has been on the decline in relative terms. This may disappoint those who regard GDP data as a key measurement of national power and therefore tend to react gladly or sadly to each GDP update. I would like to recommend that they take a different approach to national power comparisons with other countries. In this regard, I cannot help thinking that something we should be proud of as a form of national dignity, which has not been seen in Japan since the end of the Meiji era, is now in the making in the country.
New form of national dignity
To be honest, it is not easy to depict this new form of national dignity in a quickly discernible way. The form can be referred to as the fruit of what Japanese people have been doing or pursuing throughout the Heisei era by changing their way of life. It is the fruit of Japanese people's endeavors to broaden and polish the cultural aspects of their existence while becoming increasingly considerate of other people's feelings and improving the quality of social relationships. To do so, people should have heightened sensibilities whether they were involved in disaster relief assistance or interested in interior design as a hobby. At first glance, there seems to be nothing in common between disaster relief and hobby challenges. In reality, heightened sensibilities are essential for both.
Let me refer to an NHK television program I happened to see on Sept. 24 last year. In it, actress Kyoko Fukada visited several locations in Paris, the host city of Japonismes 2018, an eight-month cultural exposition to commemorate the 160th anniversary of friendship between Japan and France. The program, in essence, let us know that the Heisei era's new national dignity had been quietly introduced to France, already having some impact on Paris.
The NHK program began with a lighthearted scene in which some Parisians said they loved to slurp ramen noodle soup. It then touched on French fishermen's adoption of the "oki-jime" technique, which originated in Japan, of killing fish and draining them of blood aboard fishing boats as a way of keeping them fresh and delicious.
The Japanese audience was supposed to have enjoyed both scenes as they focused on how Japan's dietary culture was accepted by French people. Then, as the program turned to a new scene, I immediately got nervous.
The cityscape of Paris is quite magnificent, but its streets are not clean by any standard. The TV program highlighted a self-motivated campaign by a group of Japanese residents to voluntarily clean up some streets and Parisians' reactions. The French people's reactions were initially negative, with some expressing outright opposition because the Japanese action would result in taking jobs away from road cleaning service workers.
At that point, it appeared that the effort by the Japanese residents, wearing matching aprons prepared for the campaign, could end up offending France's culture. But their humble and honest dedication gradually led the French people to show their understanding about what the Japanese were doing as a contribution to the public. The French finally began to join hands with the Japanese to keep the streets clean. Now, some French people even have their own volunteer campaigns to clean the streets. Cleaning service operators are said to be glad to see a decrease in rubbish to collect.
I was deeply moved by what became clear from this episode. Why? Because the concept of public-spiritedness that was introduced to Japanese society during the Meiji era as part of Western civilization is now making a homecoming in the final stage of the Heisei era. The concept has taken such deep root in Japan that its citizens are ready to contribute to the public even when they are abroad.
Special to The Yomiuri Shimbun
Yamazaki is a playwright and critic. Previously he was a professor at Osaka University and chaired the Central Council on Education. The government has named him a Person of Cultural Merit.
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