Excellent read, and all around agree, but I find the final sentiment a bit odd:
"...reject the notion that it is necessary to appeal to Japanese culture to account for how and why Japanese governments make decisions."
I'm not sure how anyone could look at a country's bureaucratic institutions and government and not appeal to the culture - least of all Japan - of which their culture and identity is so explicitly, deeply hard-wired.
I probably stated that a little too strongly but in general I'm allergic to cultural arguments that are basically warmed over Ruth Benedict. Is it possible to do serious work on political culture? Absolutely, whether survey work like Inglehart or more anthropological work. But when "scholar-practitioners" like Kissinger talk about culture often they're just talking about institutions, which might be durable but are not timeless. Too often I think culture is used to tell just-so stories in lieu of dynamics that may not be uniquely Japanese.
Well said. Thank you.
Excellent piece
Excellent read, and all around agree, but I find the final sentiment a bit odd:
"...reject the notion that it is necessary to appeal to Japanese culture to account for how and why Japanese governments make decisions."
I'm not sure how anyone could look at a country's bureaucratic institutions and government and not appeal to the culture - least of all Japan - of which their culture and identity is so explicitly, deeply hard-wired.
I probably stated that a little too strongly but in general I'm allergic to cultural arguments that are basically warmed over Ruth Benedict. Is it possible to do serious work on political culture? Absolutely, whether survey work like Inglehart or more anthropological work. But when "scholar-practitioners" like Kissinger talk about culture often they're just talking about institutions, which might be durable but are not timeless. Too often I think culture is used to tell just-so stories in lieu of dynamics that may not be uniquely Japanese.
Ah that's an excellent way to frame it - thanks, and yes, despite my initial comment, I entirely agree.