ABSTRACT
By 2000, the discussion of Japan’s economic superiority vanished and the country and the entire region remained mired in economic depression. This chapter suggests that Japan’s problems have a socio-cultural basis rather than a socio-economic one. It explores why Japan’s cultural construction prevents it from actualizing economic and political leadership in a globalized world. Japan’s strategy relied on shielding itself from a hostile Cold War environment by taking advantage of the US nuclear umbrella. With a foreign policy dependent on the US, Japan national security policy meant a concerted focus on economic growth. Japan developed its economy and modernized over the past 100 years based on insular notions embodied on the principles of Gemeinschaft. The chapter concludes by suggesting that the synergistic effects of Japan’s cultural construction with its impact on domestic politics and economics coupled with the integrative nature of globalization create conditions antithetical to Japan’s future success.
