Second Meeting

Thursday, October 12, 2000

Meeting Agenda

1. Matters relating to the Constitution of Japan (A vision for Japan in the 21st century)

After statements were heard from Ms SONO Ayako and Professor KONDO Motohiro concerning the above matters, questions were put to them.

Informants:

  • SONO Ayako, Writer and Chairperson of the Nippon Foundation
  • KONDO Motohiro, Professor, Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Nihon University

Members who put questions to Ms SONO

Members who put questions to Professor KONDO


Main Points of Ms SONO's Statement

1. The Need for Self-Reliance

a. The Meaning of Self-Reliance

* Domestic self-reliance: Securing a balance in areas including food, water and energy, and ensuring the viability of industries

* International self-reliance: Establishment of defence

b. The Means and Process of Establishing Self-Reliance = Facing Reality

* Strength: The existing reality is based not on the ideal of world peace but on the survival of the fittest. This being the nature of the real world, we need both to judge strength correctly and to have a spirit of compassion.

* Electric power: Neither democracy nor material affluence can exist without electric power.

* Poverty: Poverty leads to theft and violence, higher infant mortality, lower average life expectancy, the breakdown of moral values, widespread drug use, and prostitution.

2. The Power of Moral Character

* It originates in basic human relationships, such as those between parents and children or between siblings.

* Human relationships of belonging --> The need for a national flag and national anthem

* Truth, goodness, beauty: There are common conceptions of truth and goodness, but what one perceives and cherishes as beauty is an individual choice.

3. Universal Values

* Love (agape = spiritual love): the foundation of all activities and institutions

* Courage (arete = manliness, excellence, bravery, virtue, service): the motive force of love
 

Main points of questions put to Ms SONO

HORI Kosuke (Liberal Democratic Party)

>> As I see it, the argument for trade liberalization is based on self-interest on the part of its advocates. What are your views on this, considering that you have pointed out the need for self-reliance in such areas as food and water?

>> I believe that the Preamble of the Constitution should be rewritten so that it does not read like a translation, in language that anyone can understand. What are your views on this?

>> What are your views on the form that should be taken by education for human development, in other words, relationships between human beings?


AKAMATSU Masao (New Komeito)

>> What should be expected of politicians in the 21st century?

>> I believe that the important thing in education is contact with fully formed individuals. What are your views on this?


KONDO Motohiko (21st Century Club)

>> Besides making community service activities compulsory, what other means can be considered for building moral character in children?

>> Would you agree that, in the recent debate on education, such areas as the problem of the unsuitability of some teachers for the teaching profession and the improvement of the social environment have not been discussed sufficiently?


MATSUNAMI Kenshiro (New Conservative Party)

>> You have stated that, in Japan, speech is controlled by the mass media. Is it really your view that there is no freedom of speech in this country?

>> There is a need to protect personal information from the activities of the mass media. Which ministry or agency do you think is the appropriate body to have oversight over newspapers, magazines, and other print media?


Main Points of Professor KONDO's Statement

1. The Search for a Self-Portrait of Japan and the Japanese in the Atmosphere of Postwar Public Debate

* Rather than looking at self-portraits per se, I will trace the efforts to find or create a self-portrait.

* The Japanese have been searching for a culture and an identity of their own, but in this search one can see a trend toward seeking justification in universality.

(1) From the Immediate Postwar Period until Establishment of the Peace Treaty

Perception of modernization as a failure and Japan as a backward nation --> Theories taking a negative view of Japan as "different" from other countries, application of Western criteria, and loss of confidence

* Loss of confidence due to defeat in the war

* Repudiation of Japan's traditional culture and arts

* The contrast drawn in Ruth Benedict's 'The Chrysanthemum and the Sword' between Japanese "groupism and the culture of shame" and Western "individualism and the culture of guilt"

(2) The Period of Rapid Economic Growth

Modernization (becoming an economic power) --> Positive theories affirming Japan as different, a return to embracing a Japanese identity, and recovery of confidence

* Recovery of confidence and affirmative views of Japan due to the restoration of independence and rapid economic growth

* Praise for Japanese-style management in Ezra Vogel's 'Japan as Number One'

* A shift to middle-class identification of the entire nation caused by the growth of the "new middle masses"

(3) The Low-Growth Period and the Bubble Economy

Theories taking a negative view of Japanese differences, application of Western criteria, and loss of confidence

* Emergence of theories by non-Japanese that view Japan as essentially different

* Redefinition of Japanese superiority and praise for Japanese-style management during the bubble economy

* Loss of confidence with the collapse of the bubble economy

(4) The Present Era

Continuing prevalence of theories that take a negative view of Japanese differences, application of Western criteria, and loss of confidence

* Decreased vitality of society; increasing number of "parasite singles" (young unmarried people who live with their parents)

* A self-image that wavers between seeing Japan as a major power and as not a major power

2. Recommendations to the Commission:

(1) The Commission should endeavor to learn from the past.

(2) Recognizing that ideas and the tenor of public opinion have certain aspects that are timeless and others that are passing fashions, the Commission should focus on the timeless aspects.

(3) It is desirable for Japan that the Constitution should be a concise formulation of the system of the state.

(4) In deciding the text of the Constitution, its eventual translation into other languages should also be taken into account.

Main points of questions put to Professor KONDO

YANAGISAWA Hakuo (Liberal Democratic Party)

>> Why have many theories attempting to explain the nature of Japan and the Japanese been presented since the war, and how have they contributed to postwar Japan?

>> It is my view that identity is timeless, and that, for the Japanese, it consists of such elements as homogeneity and a belief in the importance of consensus. What are your views on this?

>> How do you assess, for example, the emergence of the argument that Japan should become a "normal nation", and the shift away from Japanese-style management as paradigm shifts?


OTA Akihiro (New Komeito)

>> Since the war, Japan has converted its national goals and ideals from militarism to pacifism, from totalitarianism to individualism, from pursuing solely its own national interest to internationalism, and from State Shinto to the absence of religion. Today, however, I believe there has been an atrophying or degeneration in each of these areas. What are your views on this?

>> I believe that, having achieved the goal of catching up with the economies and standards of living of Western nations, Japan today finds itself unable to set a new goal. What are your views on this?


KONDO Motohiko (21st Century Club)

>> Would it be correct to say that, over the years, the tone of each of the theories about the nature of Japan and the Japanese has been linked to the state of the Japanese economy at the time?

>> Why do you advocate that the text of the Constitution should be written with foreign languages in mind?


MATSUNAMI Kenshiro (New Conservative Party)

>> Do you think that quality magazines are still playing the role that they played in the Japanese opinion leaders during the postwar period?

>> Do you see any connection between Japan's restoration of diplomatic relations with China and the negative tone that appeared at that time in theories about the nature of Japan and the Japanese?