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"CASTRATION"
THE MAJOR GOAL OF JAPANESE EDUCATION, AND
ITS RELATIONSHIP TO GOVERNMENT DEREGULATION
By Masao Miyamoto M.D.
From the Annals of Anthroculture: http://www.nancho.net/anthcult/castreg.html
[Bracketed notes by WilliamBanzai7]
[WB7: Although the theme of this speech is bureauracy, deregulation and protecting the
status quo through educational indoctrination, Zero Hedge readers will find the speech
useful in interpreting the public statements made by the bureaucrats involved in the
Fukushima disaster. While this speech was made over a decade ago, I am not aware of
any major tectonic shift in the behavior and prominance of the bureaucratic elite in Japan.
Naturally the advent of the internet has brought new pressures to bear on the old order.
But my own observation is that the growing influence of China may have hardened the
defensive mindset. As I have said previously, I believe the events unfolding in Tokyo and
Fukushima could herald a major systemic unraveling.]
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is my first opportunity to speak in
England, and I am very excited about this experience.
I have strong respect for the British for their ability to embrace change yet at
the same time place importance on tradition. Japan also places importance on
tradition, but one of the significant differences between Japan and England is that
the Japanese psychological setting has not changed for at least the last 400 years.
Let me be more concrete. Henry VIII distanced England from the influence of the
Roman Catholic Church, which from a psychological point of view brought change
to individuals. England, as a country, was able to become independent. Later, JohnLocke spread the philosophy of freedom, which had a strong political impact not
only in Britain, but also on the formation of the American and French constitutions.
Individuals such as Henry VIII and John Locke who emphasized the importance of
independence and freedom never appeared in Japan. On the contrary Japanese
society, particularly for the last 400 years appreciated people who valued the status
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magazine published by the Asahi newspaper company, about how difficult it is
to take a vacation if you are inside the system. I never expected that this article
would become a turning point in my life.
The article received a positive response from readers, but the ministry's reactionwas the exact opposite. When I showed a draft copy to my superiors, their
response was, "Resign at once! Ask the newspaper company to stop printing!'
After listening to my superiors' comments, I thought that their demands were a
violation of freedom of expression, so I decided to put their comments together
in an article for the following month's issue. Again I received a positive response
from readers, so I was asked to write a series of articles. 'These were a clinical
analysis of the psychology of the Japanese bureaucracy, and the major theme was
the importance of freedom and individuality I began to receive both domestic and
foreign media attention, including an interview with the independent and the BBC,and the more media attention I received, the greater the ministry's pressure on
me to resign. The bureaucrats feared my thinking would be contagious, and they
quarantined me as Director of Quarantine.
The publication of my first book in Japanese, which was published in English
as 'Straitjacket Society" brought even greater tension with the ministry, because
it revealed the bureaucrats' interpersonal exchange and daily lifestyle to non-
Japanese. 'The modus vivendi of the Japanese bureaucracy is "see not, hear not
and speak not" and I trampled on this taboo. If speaking the truth to the Japanese
public brought shame, revealing these things to a foreign audience brought even
greater shame.
Therefore, it was no surprise that the. Ministry of Health and Welfare was
looking to got rid of me. They finally succeeded this past February after I went
to Washington, D.C. to give a lecture at the National Press Club. I did not get
permission to go abroad, and the ministry used this technicality to fire me.
But if I were to have told my superior, a staunch defender of bureaucratic
tradition, that I was going to Washington to give a speech that was critical of thebureaucracy, permission would not have been granted.
It became apparent that my battle with the ministry, as the French newspaper
liberation put it, is a fight between freedom and conformity. I agree with their
assessment. However, the ministry stated that the reason they dismissed me was
a matter of personality, not of principles, but if it was just a clash of personalities,
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there was no reason for the ministry to continue to pressure me after I was
dismissed.
There are many examples to illustrate my point, but since time is limited I am only
going to describe one incident.
Last November I was asked to be the keynote speaker at a conference sponsored
by the U.S. Library of Congress in April of this year, and I accepted. The Japanese
bureaucracy expressed its concern to the organizers that "maybe Dr. Miyamoto
is not the most appropriate speaker for this conference." They tried to have
me removed as keynote speaker, and because of this pressure the Library of
Congress almost canceled the conference.
This incident created an uproar to the extent that a U.S. congressman got involved
and placed counter-pressure on the Library of Congress. The BBC also showedinterest in this matter, and when a representative called the Library of Congress,
the Library of Congress denied any pressure from the Japanese government and
said the conference would be held as scheduled.
But this was a lie because the BBC at that time had a document in hand which
indicated that the conference might be canceled, that the Library of Congress was
under great pressure.
This indicates that the bureaucracy is fearful of having the reality of Japan known
to non-Japanese, and it is a sign that the system's existence is threatened.
'The bureaucracy is synonymous with regulations, therefore, deregulation would
mean downsizing the bureaucracy.
8 years ago when I entered the Ministry of Health and Welfare, I was told by my
superior that the most important thing as a bureaucrat was the maintenance of the
system. Even if the position to which I was assigned was considered unnecessary,
I was told that I should try my best to convince the budget department that my
division was important. In other words you may have to come up with a good story,
and if you can preserve the s stem, as a reward you will be promoted. What thismeans is that if you can come up with a justification for maintaining the system,
even if it is a waste of taxpayers' money, it is okay to waste it.
'The word for deregulation in Japanese is "kisei kanwa". This is not the right
translation. The right translation is "kisei teppai'. When you translate "kisei kanwa'
into English it becomes relaxation of regulations. One might say that this is
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just a matter of translation, but since my profession is psychoanalysis, I place
importance on details, and particularly the nuances of words. The question is
raised why the translation is not deregulation but relaxation. I looked into the
dictionary for the difference between "kanwa' and 'teppai". What became apparent
is that "kanwa" or relaxation will maintain the present condition, whereas 'teppai"or deregulation brings a nuance of confrontation and dispute.
When you observe the communication pattern of Japanese society, you will
recognize the ambiguity of yes and no. In fact you often will not hear "no". The
reason behind this is because there is a belief in Japanese society that one should
try to avoid any kind of dispute or confrontation. Perhaps one might say that this is
the strongest belief of Japanese society.
Many of you are aware that the Japanese place importance on harmony. I myself
respect harmony a great deal, but upon my return to Japan I noticed that whatI think harmony is and what Japanese society perceives as harmony is quite
different.
In my mind the concept of harmony means an acceptance of differences, but when
the Japanese talk about harmony it means a denial of differences and an embrace
of sameness.
Sameness in interpersonal relations means a reflection of the other, the basic
concept of which derives from narcissism. When you want to attain harmony in
Japan, people within the group must behave as if they were Narcissus staring
at his reflection in the water. In the case of Narcissus' reflection a small ripple
can destroy the reflection. For the Japanese, because the reflected image of
sameness functions as a cohesive element for the group, even a small dispute or
confrontation could shatter the narcissistic identification. This is the reason why
Japanese society places such importance on harmony and why the Japanese
do their utmost not to bring out aggression in interpersonal exchange, since
aggression, just like the ripple, will destroy the reflected image.
The Japanese are taught not to complain, to give up their desires and tocommunicate with ambiguity, all as a way to prevent ripples.
I do not want it to be thought that I advocate dispute, but when harmony becomes
the final goal to the point that one has to close their eyes to reality or confrontation
has to be avoided, then I think it is a problem since it means that the group can
only function in a world of illusion. in order for society to change, confrontation
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and challenge are inevitable, which means that each individual must develop the
capacity to deal with aggression.
When you took at the Japanese proclivity to avoid dispute, one could say
that Japan as a system does not want to change. 'The Japanese want to stayin a world of reflected images, where the competitive principle or concept of
freedom, which functions as a ripple, would not enter.
America and Japan have been trying to diminish their trade disputes, and for the
last 20 years negotiations have been taking place, and with each negotiation
statements have been given by both governments.
I had an opportunity to read the statements of President Clinton and former Prime
Minister Hosokawa in both Japanese and English. Theoretically the contents
of the, statements should be the same. But I recognized that in the process oftranslation from English to Japanese nuances started to appear.
When you read the English version of the statement you can feet a significant
change will take place in the Japanese market, but when you read the Japanese
version, substantial change will be left up to the bureaucrats.
After all the statement was written by the bureaucrats and Mr. Hosokawa was
merely the person who read . the statement in front of the TV cameras. I can we
why trade negotiations hit a deadlock. In my assessment, for the last 20 years
Japanese bureaucrats have been taking a protectionistic approach so major
structural change, such as Japan becoming a free market, has not taken place.
The bureaucrats function as a breakwater for the competitive principle and the
concept of freedom.
When you analyze the words that Japanese bureaucrats use, there is a
message given that as much as possible they want to keep the Japanese
market closed to foreign competition.
For the past nine years I was a part of the Japanese bureaucracy, andthrough this experience I have recognized how Japanese bureaucrats place
importance on words and their nuances to prevent structural changes from
taking place to keep Japan a state - first, people - second, society.
Let me give you an example to underline my point. When you hear Japanese
bureaucrats saying the word positively, ardently, zealously, it means they
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will not do anything. For example, if a bureaucrat tells you we will seriously
consider and zealously investigate the matter, nothing is going to happen.
In other words the bureaucrats choose words so that they can manipulate
the public, politicians and foreign governments. So let's go back to the wordsrelaxation vs. deregulation. Using the word relaxation means that no
significant change will take place in the Japanese market.
What is interesting about the Japanese bureaucrats is that when it comes
to maintaining the system, their creativity is stimulated. Recently there
was a demand from the public for deregulation, and the bureaucrats said
they would make an effort for flexible enforcement of the regulations.
But there is a trick in these words. Through the flexible enforcement of
these regulations, in Japanese danryoku teki unyo, the regulations will
not be abolished, and regulatory power will be retained in the hands of thebureaucrats.
Right now the Japanese bureaucracy is under pressure to restructure the
organization, so they are trying to give a better image to the public by saying that
they will be happy to be more flexible in the use of regulations.
But suppose criticism subsides, things will revert back to the way they were.
Furthermore, if the bureaucrats are determined to maintain the system they
can come up with a defiant attitude saying that it is a policy not a regulation,
and the public cannot argue since it is the bureaucrats who control Japan
and right now nobody can dismiss them.
In Japan, although politicians are elected by the people, they are not the
policy makers. 'The real policy makers are the bureaucrats. The major
problem with this structure is that when people become unhappy with the
bureaucrat's policy, since the politicians do not have power to dismiss the
bureaucrats, no one can dismiss the bureaucrats.
I have come to recognize that through the analysis of the words relaxation
and deregulation there is a significant difference in philosophy behind
these two words. Deregulation fosters change, particularly fundamental
social change, which will bring freedom to the Japanese people. And
freedom will bring significant change to the system. On the other hand the
philosophy behind relaxation is that bureaucrats can maintain a conformist
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environment.
When you took at the power structure of Japan, the bureaucrats hold more
than 90% of the power. 'Therefore, the real purpose of deregulation is not just
to relax the regulations, but to take away the bureaucrats' power in order to bringJapanese society in line with the democracy stated in the Japanese constitution.
If deregulation takes place, people will live in a new environment that revolves
around free competition. What this means is the downsizing of the bureaucracy.
Furthermore, the concept of competitiveness, to which bureaucrats have an
aversion, will spread throughout Japanese society. The major reason for the
existence of the Japanese bureaucracy has been to protect the system.
However, if the competitive principle is introduced into Japanese society, it will
lead to the abolishment of protectionism, and the current bureaucracy will becomeobsolete. Japanese society will change and priority will be placed on people, not
the system. This is the reason why the words "kisei teppai" or deregulation are not
used.
[WB7: This is also the reason why the act of asking for international assistance is
of particular significance.]
It is important to recognize that the words "kisei kanwa" or relaxation are deceptive
to both the Japanese and foreign businesses that want to enter the Japanese
market. Relaxation will bring little change to society, but even relaxation faces
resistance from the bureaucrats. So what happens if people start to use the
words "kisei teppai,' the real meaning of deregulation? The degree of resistance
will dramatically increase.
When the public demands freedom and uses the words "kisei teppai," the
bureaucrats will no longer be able to hide behind ambiguity, and they will reveal
that the system is more important than the people. The public must realize that
the system can be manipulative and places more importance on itself than
on the people.
The best example of this is observed through the way people were
victimized during W.W.II. Yet even with this devastating experience many
Japanese have not developed the ability to question authority. Why do the
Japanese behave so innocently towards authority? 'The answer is because
the Japanese have been castrated psychologically through education.
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Now let's focus on the Japanese educational system. Driving through the
English countryside you see many sheep grazing on the hillside, which
brings a feeling of peacefulness. This peacefulness is exactly what the
bureaucrats want to obtain in Japanese society. But I want to emphasize thatthey want this peacefulness because their ideal image of the public is one
where people are submissive and subservient.
With such a group people are easy to control, and the system does not have
to change. How do the bureaucrats manage to castrate the Japanese so
effectively? The school system is the place where they conduct this process.
In order to he a castrated individual one has to cultivate masochism, and
this is why the concept of self-sacrifice has penetrated Japanese society to
such depths. Self-sacrifice can be seen in such behavior as not taking a long
vacation, a willingness to participate in unpaid overtime, the absence of apersonal life and death from overwork. What self-sacrifice does to people is
that because people, have a lack of free time, it becomes extremely difficult
for them to accumulate knowledge. As Francis Bacon said, "Knowledge is
power,' but the system prevents people from accumulating knowledge on
their own, the kind of knowledge that has the capacity to lead to change.
This philosophy was clearly observed at a retirement party for one of my superiors.
During his farewell address, he pointed out to the crowd that he had never taken
any vacation days during his entire 25-year career. If he were to take all of his
accumulated vacation days it would amount to two years off. It became very clear
that he was proud of not having taken his vacation days, and most people listening
to his speech admired his self-sacrificing ability.
I myself thought he was crazy. I would like to point out that the philosophy of self-
sacrifice is nothing new. Fifty years ago the same mentality led to the infamous
kamikaze attacks.
When you remove the democratic cover of Japan you start to observe conformity,
mercantilism and a communist-like society. But the Japanese socialistic andcommunist-like approach is a little different from the Soviet model. They try to
communize ability.
Let me explain.
The Japanese educational system discourages creativity and originality. There is
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a famous saying that the nail that sticks out will be hammered down.
[WB7: Remember those words.]
People who are ordinary are given power to pull down those who have moreability than the others. Since this value prevails in Japanese society, it becomes
extremely difficult for people to become creative or challenge the system. Envy is
used as a powerful toot to castrate people who are talented.
Envy is a psychological energy. Beginning in the Edo period the Japanese
government realized that condoning envy would preserve the system. To condone
envy has been very effective since there is a limitation to one's psychological
energy. If people are permitted to bring out their envy, it is very easy to lash out
but at the same time they recognize they have to protect themselves from other
people's envy.
They end up using most of their energy to conform to the group's norms. People
embrace the illusion that once they belong to the group their ability will be the
same. This is where I view envy as a tool to psychologically castrate individuals.
Through condoning envy, what happens is that people hide behind the image of
sameness.
However, to reach the goal of communization of ability is not an easy task because
the fact is that each human being is different. Ibis is where to teach that you look,
think and act the same becomes important. This kind of sameness is clearly an
illusion, so how can people embrace an illusion? Mind control is the answer, and
the educational system plays a major role in this process.
Once you belong to the educational system of Japan teachers reject the principle
of individuality. What is frightening is that teachers are not aware that they are
rejecting individuality. Despite molding students with conformity, they think that
they are encouraging individuality. This means that mind control extends even
to the teachers. Acknowledging individuality would permit the recognition that
even if you are Japanese each individual can be different, and the illusion that thebureaucrats want the Japanese to maintain will be shattered.
Let me illustrate how the Japanese educational system tries to discourage
individuality. One of my friends placed her child in kindergarten and the teacher
instructed the mother that for lunch to bring steamed rice. She was confused with
this instruction and asked the reason why. The teacher's response was, "If children
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bring fried rice or sandwiches some other child may want to have that, and it is
not a good idea for children to feel they want something different. If everyone
brings steamed rice then nobody is going to wish for something they cannot have.'
Even at the age of four, the discouragement of individuality or the mind control of
conformity begins. The message that the kindergarten gives to the child is that "weall eat the same food, take the same action and think the same." The idea of the
communization of ability is drilled into you from early on in your life.
in order to achieve the goal of the communization of ability, in addition to mind
control, to control the individual through regulations is very important. As all of you
are aware, communist countries, such as the former Soviet Union, are countries
of regulations. Although not to the same extent, the same principle applies to
Japan. The Ministry of Education imposes regulations on schoolchildren, and the
regulations increase as age increases. In other words, as the child goes through
elementary school, junior high and senior high, the older they become, the tighterthe school regulations.
Universities are the only exceptions. There one is freed from regulations. However,
by the time he reaches age 18, the Japanese child has become a perfect sheep.
As sheep on the meadow are not concerned with freedom, to most university
students in Japan, freedom as a concept is not important. One could say that
Japanese universities are a place to finalize the goal of castration, and the proof
of this is that critical thinking is not encouraged. Students are submissive and it
is unusual for students to challenge their professors. When you took at this from
the perspective of group psychology, which is based on narcissistic identification,
since critical thinking will create a ripple it is understandable that professors do not
encourage it. Japanese universities are a kind of oasis where few demands are
made on the students.
There are many schools in Japan where the school regulations demand that
boys have closely cropped hair. This regulation has a very strong psychological
implication. One place I know where closely cropped hair is demanded is jail.
Closely cropped hair is a sign of castration. Jail is obviously a place to be
psychologically castrated. The Japanese educational system is obviously not a jail,however if one goes through this process, students will be behind invisible bars.
So what happens to the girls in terms of castration? As much as Japan as a
system maintains the dogma that man is superior over woman, when it comes
to psychological castration women receive equal treatment. For girls in junior or
senior high the regulations range from hair length, skirt length, the number of
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pleats in their skirt, to the point that the color of their underwear is checked. Of
course manicures or pierced ears are banned.
Psychologically speaking hair symbolizes power, and at the same time it is an
expression of one's thoughts, emotions and conflicts. So there is a good reason forthe Japanese school system to place importance on hair. For example, if a child,
regardless of sex, has light colored or curly hair, he or she either has to dye their
hair black or to have a straight perm, or to present a certificate from their parents
that the condition of their hair is natural. Therefore, imposing regulations on hair
has a significant implication for the process of psychological castration. As you
may recognize, through hair, the educational system demands that students share
the illusion that all Japanese are the same.
As I mentioned earlier, the goal of education is to castrate individuals and to make
them obedient, yet this is a difficult goal to achieve. Therefore regulations extendbeyond the school setting. The majority of Japanese junior and senior high schools
have a regulation that students must wear uniforms. Some schools demand that
students must ' wear their uniforms when they go out in public after school or on
weekends. In addition, there is a regulation that even if students are thirsty on their
way home from school, they cannot buy drinks from vending machines. They have
to persevere with their thirst until they go back home. Many public and private
schools in Japan observe a seasonal change in clothing, which has been set for
June 1, for winter clothes to summer clothes, and October 1, for summer clothes
to winter clothes. If either before or after these dates there is some significant
temperature differences, if one feels either hot or cold, you cannot respond flexibly
and wear the appropriate clothes. As you may recognize, uniforms are used as
a way to teach perseverance and how to endure masochism, and to persevere
together will unite the group. In Japan the uniform has been utilized as a tool for
conformity.
[WB7: Notice all those disaster uniforms you are seeing in the news?]
These are just a few examples, but you can find hundreds more school regulations
to control students so that they do not have a chance to breathe the air of freedom.
The goal of castration is overseen by the Ministry of Education and their
justification for this is that acknowledging individual differences will hurt the
feelings of those students who do not have ability. 'The ministry thinks that it
is preferable to avoid this kind of situation, and to place importance on being
empathic with those children who are below average.
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The children with ability should persevere. I find this way of thinking to be
strange since if you place importance on empathy, it is equally important to
be empathic to those children who have ability. However, since castration
is the goal, children who exhibit ability must suppress their talent. In fact,Japan is the only industrialized nation where people with ability or creativity
become victims.
The problem with this kind of highly regulated educational environment is that
students will not develop independence. 'The feeling of dependency will be
perpetuated so that they will not move away from childlike grandiosity and
students' pride will be inflated to an unrealistic level. So what happens is that
students who receive a Japanese education place the most importance on
not getting hurt. Self-protection becomes the major goal in their life. What
fragile pride does to individuals is to prevent them from taking an action.From the bureaucrats' perspective, for Japan to be filled with this kind of
individual is a plus because the bureaucratic goal of maintaining the status
quo will be achieved.
Placing importance on the status quo can be observed through Japanese
education where challenge is not valued. What is emphasized is memorization.
When people go through the process of castration, their feelings become
anesthetized, and although they may be able to recognize problems, they are
unable to complain. So even if people are frustrated they cannot take any action.
Furthermore, it becomes extremely difficult to encourage creativity or enrich one's
individual potential.
One of the significant differences between Japan and the West is that art is not
a part of everyday life for the Japanese. Some of you may argue that there is
art in Japan, but it is not art that has the potential to change one's thinking
or challenge the established order. Noh, kabuki and the tea ceremony
are all art, but art that supports the current system, and it is only such art
that can be a part of Japanese daily life. This indicates that there is a strong
psychological castration within Japanese society. From a psychoanalytic pointof view, what castration in education does to people is that their identity
integration cannot mature, which makes it very difficult for people to control
their impulses such as aggression. It is a well known fact that there is an
ambiguity in Japanese yes and no, and this is connected to the fact that the
Japanese have not developed a mature capacity to control their impulses.
If people are confronted with no, it is inevitable that they will have a wish to
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fight back or to protect their opinion. In order to do this intelligently, one has
to develop a capacity to debate issues in a logical manner. But in order to
have this ability one has to have a capacity to regulate one's impulses.
When castration continues to be the goal of education, if people face competition,their dependency will be stimulated and they will develop anxiety. When people
face competitiveness they try to remove themselves from the competitive
environment and look for someone who can protect them. Therefore, the
educational goal of castration further reinforces the bureaucracy. The system is
astonishing in having successfully manipulated the psychology of people to control
them, thereby preserving the system.
To be castrated is to be enslaved, and so far the Japanese have been enslaved
under the system of Japan. I do not believe in what Plato talks about in his
book "The Republic" where value is placed on totalitarianism. But I do thinkthat the parable of the cave resembles the issue of freedom and regulation in
Japanese society. Prisoners chained inside a cave are only permitted to see the
shadows of objects on a wall. They inhabit a world of illusion. They are not allowed
to turn their heads and see the source of light, or reality.
What happens if all of a sudden the prisoners are given freedom, and they can
finally see the light? It will bring shock and distress. Reality will be too painful and
they will wish to return to the cave.
Freedom demands responsibility. As Erich Fromm described in his book "Escape
from Freedom," deep inside people's hearts there exists a tendency to escape
from freedom and become blindly obedient to power. 'The Japanese bureaucracy
has successfully manipulated this element through education, and does not allow
the Japanese to develop the capacity to stand on their own two feet, which is
why they are obedient and submissive to the bureaucracy. There is irony in the
Japanese bureaucracy in that the system so effectively traps people in the cave,
but at the same time enslaves the bureaucrats. In fact one could say that the
bureaucrats are the biggest victims of all.
It is about time for the bureaucracy to accept the brightness of the light.
Introducing perfunctory deregulation means going back into the cave. But this
is not the answer. The answer is, as painful as it may be, the bureaucracy must
accept the need for restructuring the system of Japan. There is only one way to
restructure and that is deregulation, "kisei teppai," not 'kisei kanwa".
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What will be demanded of Japanese society is for the Japanese people to liberate
themselves from the psychological castration imposed by the bureaucracy.
Therefore, instead of the bureaucrats controlling people, the people will develop a
capacity to control themselves. After all the bureaucracy is there to enrich the lives
of the people. The people do not exist to maintain the bureaucracy.
Thank you very much.
[WB7: There is a danger in blindly applying the lessons learned in one culture
to the problems faced by another. However, there are clearly certain universals
that serve as an excellent platform for analytical extrapolation. This is why I love
reading Dr Miyamotos speeches. They provide a unique lense for viewing the
current crisis. Not the only lense, but a damn good one to keep in your camera
bag. The same lense provides useful depth when focused on the systemic crisis of
the United States.
I have not been thinking about the cozy relationships enjoyed by the nuclear power
industry in the US (although this is the time to consider it), I have been thinking
about the cozy relationship between Dr Bernankes Federal Reserve Bank, Mr.
Geithners Treasury Department, the SEC and Wall Street. I am imagining what
Dr Miyamoto would tell us.]
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