Observations on the Japanese Government & what the US looks like from the outside

I haven't really talked to anyone about the structure of Japanese government since I arrived here. I've kinda wanted to get a feel for how it works before I got into knowing any details on how things are performed. Because if we just look at the theory of government, how it should work, and what seems to make sense, it is almost always wrong in application. I like learning new things, especially about the order in places and I find law fascinating, but this is a discision I have made, nonetheless. This post is my reactions to the system as I have seen it at work around Kansai.

First of all, I have spent somewhere around $1300 in startup costs, 2 months rent, phonebill, food and to be 100% medically insured. This is very reasonable for moving to a new place with almost nothing and living here roughly 7 weeks, especially what with having to buy a bicycle and other basic things for living and getting around in the area. Considering that I have invested this much, you would expect that since I am in a country that provides cheap health care (full insurance for me is about $15/month). Total taxation: about $10. No sales tax on anything I have purchased. Only some paperwork fees to the government. That's it.

The roads are worked on every day. No potholes, ever. They patch roads, and even more often replace the entire thing. People are generally healthy, happy-looking, and unfortuately obsessed with being thin (blame the French and US media for that). So other than the fact that conformity is sometimes dangerous here, it is generally for the best. No-smoking laws in public? Nah, public concensus. Now they smoke outside. Cost to the government, $0! How's that for law?

Also, citizens demand more of themselves in making their society better, everything from superfluous stuff like keeping their garden nice to recycling and road-clean up. Unfortunately, by concensus bicycle helmet are not used by non-jr. highers. So they are not sold. Motorcyclists use helmets by concensus, but they all wear them hanging loosely on the back of their heads. They don't actually do anything. But all in all, a very peaceful, low-tax and high-prosperity nation. Like the US, they drive speeds that would never be safe in any automobile in any conditions, so they have a high rate of traffic accidents, but as far as intent goes, no one seems more benign. Whatever the government has been doing, asides from the Ministry of Education, seems to be working just fine. They strive for collectively coming to agreement on everything. And they aren't so stubborn as Americans to never move. Sure it moves slowly when it is a touchy issue, but generally there is agreement on most social rule within any area of Japan.

All-in-all, it's working better than the US! Maybe if we weren't so focused on having a gigantic military, giving children an education to think in a participatory democracy, and having social programs to support those in need instead of just oestracizing them, we might have less problems. More people in Japan are coming around to the idea that parenting shouldn't have to be primarily at the hands of the school either, which is a relief. I'm seeing it in the (English) papers even! It's funny, but in Spokane, there seems to be a big overlap between people who want to do good for others (the Welfare system is the most efficient system for redistributing money in the world of its kind, $ in for $ out) and yet very few of these people donate much of what they make to charity either and those that want to reduce our social programs, unlike almost every last one of our global competitors that are gaining lifespan and economic prosperity somewhat proportionately to the growth of their programs. Low tax, low benefit to those in need, smaller middle-class, basically, almost no government. Not even that to help others, the idea that many think happens naturally when we have less government. Well, we do have less social benefits than Canada, Sweden, Japan, and a host of others who are doing well, but gues what! We also donate less money to those in need in our own country or to other countries than almost any 1st or 2nd world country. So that theory seems to be moot.

It seems strange to me that Protestantism so frequently is accompanied by lack of interest in social benefits to the needy in America. You don't see that kind of thing in Japan. Those that are religiously inclined to help their fellow just go out and do it. And the government does it too. Don't get me wrong: I think that there are alot of Catholics out there that are the same way in the US. But I've seen a little more out of individuals of my own religion than by Protestants too, so I can't say it looks very good for any that preach help and don't give it and try to supress social welfare programs.

I don't see really poor people here. I'm sure there are some. But no one looks like the people living in the streets in Spokane. I've seen 3 people that I have suspected might be homeless since I've gotten here out of tens of thousands. They were together. But they might have been guys just sitting in the park for all I know. They were clean and looked well-fed. They might have just been guys on a lunch break.

So, while I started thinking that it was something the government was doing right here, now I'm not so sure! It seems to be as much a marriage between the people and the government going with the flow. It seems to work. Certainly there are protests when people are being misrepresented, and in the end the politican is forced to retire every time something like this happens, from all that I have read. In America we protect GW Bush from impeachment and try to impeach a man for lying about his sex life, and to those here in Japan and elsewhere, this makes us look all the worse. It is no wonder people are surprised when I exhibit any level of intelligence while I am here. From the outside the US makes me even more ashamed as a society as when I was there. I can't see the many exceptions any more from the outside though, so that is probably part of it.

Still, the US makes no efforts to keep up apperances, besides military ones. Al Queda recently announced they are going after France now since the US seems "difficult to access" and attack now. American $ at work. The borders are no more secure than they have ever been, but the terrorists think so. You can still walk across almost anywhere from Mexico or Canada almost any time, or take a small boat to our coasts. Ironically, one of our biggest UN opponents to the war in Iraq are now being targeted as our allies, since, theoretically, our governments are allied in principle of government (liberty, freedom, etc.) The ammo that soldiers have found in Iraq (I asked the only military journalist for the Iraqi war about it) is primarily, interestingly enough, French, Russian, and American. As you can recall Russia opposed our going to war with Iraq too. So we're selling "the enemy" weapons and ammo, and fighting them with more of our own ammo, while paying soldiers alot so they won't quit wars that have little personal meaning to most. To people abroad, like in Japan, this is just confusing. We always manage to put profits before people.

And that is the biggest difference I've found between Japan and the US governments. People here are always first. The environment is close behind. Then business.