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Vol.17
Risk Management Part2. |
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-Why was Japan a safe society?-
The vast majority of the
Japanese population was once
farmers, and the village
communities centered on rice
cultivation. The biggest
challenge in growing rice lies
in securing and managing water,
and it is said that there were
many bloodshed incidents over
water. This led to the
establishment of water
consumption systems that
prevent conflict, and further
along the line a safe society
in which people shared the same
destiny and helped each other
when in need. The philosophy
that human beings are
inherently good that lies at
the heart of the Japanese
people was indeed a culture in
which people could trust and
work with one another.
-What about the Western culture
and their characteristics?-
On the one hand, Japan
managed to create a stable
society by producing rice and
consuming it throughout the
year in a scheduled manner. On
the other hand, Western
countries have a long history
as hunters, and meat has been
largely consumed. To put it
crudely, they could not but to
live “from hand to mouth” each
day due to their method of
securing food. This, I believe,
moulded the self-centered way
of thinking and life style.
I thus came to think that
food issues were behind the
reason that the philosophy that
people are inherently bad
spread in the Western
countries. Even in the present
age, travelling to Western
countries makes me realize that
“to trust people is to say that
one cannot protect oneself”.
Local police also apparently
say that “those who are
beguiled are at fault.”
-What is happening in Japan
now?-
The philosophy of
humans being inherently good in
Japan and the philosophy of
humans being inherently bad in
Western culture are fiercely
clashing in present Japan, and
it is causing confusion. One of
the examples is the
unimaginable kinds of crimes
committed by foreigners, but
the problem is that Japanese
society is rapidly transforming
within itself, that Japanese
people are beginning to believe
in the “inherently bad”
philosophy, and that they are
committing numerous atrocious
crimes. Consequently, elements
of instability that make it
impossible to believe in the
“inherently good” philosophy,
such as layoffs by companies,
rise of individualism due to
the trend towards nuclear
families and the resulting lack
of sentiment education for
children, lack of solidarity
among the neighbors especially
in big cities, and consumer
finance related crimes are
increasing.
The problem
is that the genes and the
lifestyle habits (such as going
to bed without locking the
door) of Japanese people who
have been living in a safe
society cannot adapt to the
rapidly changing insecure
society.
It is
necessary to make and effort to
regain a safe society, but I am
assuming that the trend towards
an insecure society is
unstoppable. It is therefore
required of all the Japanese
people to shift from the
“inherently good” to the
“inherently bad” philosophy,
and of organizations to
implement protective measures.
That is how rapidly time is
changing.
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