Chapter 12 "National Character" made everyone stop thinking?

Speaking of Japan's bestsellers in recent years, there are "Fool's Wall", "Why the Bamboo Seller Won't Fall", etc., but the most eye-catching one is "National Character". With lines like "You must have self-respect" and "the kind of country Japan should have," the book led a wave of pre-existing "character craze" and sold more than 2 million copies. Next, let's analyze the book "The Character of a Nation". This book writes: "The Japanese who have been pursuing internationalization and have Americanized themselves have forgotten the 'national character' that we should be proud of. Relying on 'theory' and 'rationality'" "Reform" cannot prevent the desertification of society. What Japan needs now are passion, Japanese, and bushido spirit, which are more useful than theory, English, and democracy, and we must regain these "national characters"..."

In short, what he meant was that what Japan needs now is "character." However, this is typical "make people stop thinking" in my opinion. It is easy to abandon theoretical thinking and take "promote national character and stop Americanization" as a manifesto.And this statement is simple and easy to shock.For the Japanese who often feel inferior, such "national character" is no less than an unprecedented bowl of chicken soup for the soul. The author Fujiwara Masahiko wrote in the book: "It is necessary for Japan to draw a clear line with those countries that believe in money supremacy, and we must maintain the inherent character of our country. Even if the economy has been in a downturn for a century, we must remain proud. Compared with Next, the economy is secondary."

Is the economy really secondary? If, after a century of economic downturn, the entire Japanese population is still indifferent to this, then there is nothing to say, but I don't think anyone feels that way.The reason for saying this is that people in this era pay the most attention to lectures like "how to become stronger" and "how to make money" mentioned above. I think there are still some Japanese who are competitive, at least they don't feel that it doesn't matter if the economy continues to decline. I imagine that as long as the economy remains in the doldrums for a few months, the whole country will collectively come up with a revised budget to deal with the crisis.By then, the 2 million people who have read "The Character of the Nation" will collectively oppose this book.

The book "National Character" not only "makes people stop thinking", it is simply advocating the ideas of "small wealth is safe" and "closing the country".It whispers to the competitive Japanese: "Don't think so much, it doesn't matter." Whether you admit it or not, one thing is certain.In this era of globalization, Japan absolutely cannot withstand a 100-year economic recession. Also, in the 21st century, if a country is isolated from the world and closed to itself, then it is impossible for it to survive.Now Japan has also adopted some closed-door practices, and because of this, Japan is slowly declining.If it becomes more complacent on this basis, it will soon die.These I will state in later chapters.

In my opinion, what the book "National Character" advocates is nothing more than the spiritual theory of "meeting the 21st century with the spirit of Bushido".