No Self-Motivation in Japan

Letter to Japan Times

Maiko Nonaka suggests [“Self Motivation, a tough course” letter p.16, 28Sept05] highlights an important difference between Western & Japanese values, as well as education systems. He asserts “Japanese students seem to go to university to play” and “people should not forget studying is their duty”. Obligation is a very weak motivator because its based on fear. Where is the ‘self’ (motivation) in those aspirations? Japanese are not so ambitious or goal-orientated. Neither are a lot of westerners by default, since it’s a virtue that stems from egoist values, rather than the servitude that depresses Japanese souls or the low self-esteem that undermines western ambition. If Japan is to retain the pressure (or discipline) inherent in the collectivist model, it will have to carry the cost burden of misguided and unmotivated youth. Exposure to western culture creates a new set of expectations, but sadly no methodology for achieving goals. Japanese students “end up wondering what they are studying for” at 18-25yo because they didn’t develop a sense of purpose when they were 10yo. A healthy ego is a pre-requisite. The ‘kawaii’ values instilled by the 1970s parents are only undermining their children’s intellectual development. It will no easy transition for Japan.

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/ric.htm
Published: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?rc20051009a1.htm

Korean youth express ignorance over Macarthur statue

The attitudes of young South Koreans and their unions [Japan Times, 19th Sept05] to the statue of General Douglas Macarthur in Inchon are deplorable, but also symptomatic of the anti-intellectual thinking in former American Asian ‘colonies’ such as South Korea, the Philippines and Japan. They are hardly ‘symbols of occupation and oppression’ as asserted. This conflict of values is evidence that parents have a poor understanding of the political values involved, or have failed to communicate them to their children. In as much as the (South) Korean Teachers & Education Workers Union supported the anti-Macarthur demonstrations, clearly they are collectivists better re-united with their North Korean comrades. Would they prefer one statue of Macarthur or thousands of the North Korean President. They have the good fortune of having a choice.

They correctly assert that “the US participation was ‘not altruistic’ and lead to the ‘division of the Korean peninsula’, but what values would they be asserting if indeed the US was altruistic. The day that the US acts with altruistic motives is the day that the communist ideal of self-sacrifice have won. That is precisely why religious zealots like George Bush are so threatening as Presidents, because there is no greater threat to world peace than indifference and (US) hypocrisy. Global prosperity achieved under expanding free markets will only be sustained with enlightened leaders (symbols) of self-interest.

Postscript:
The 5m bronze statue of General Douglas Macarthur was constructed in 1967 to celebrate the landing of US troops at Inchon in Sept 17th of 1950, because the landing was considered to have turned the fortunes of the war by cutting off the North Korean supply lines. The protest was supported by a coalition of student & labour groups, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions & the Korean Teachers & Education Workers Union, all of which are politically active.