This perfectly manicured boulevard leads to the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo.
I just two days ago returned from Japan. While my sleeping schedule has become a little irregular, the thing that has me really disoriented is the cultural adjustment coming back to the US. Among a myriad of difference, the thing that stood out to me today was the emphasis on respect in Japan.
While there I was struck by the cleanliness of the streets, the kindness with which strangers moved past one another in in the trains, and the shiny cars that filled the roadways. When I asked someone living in Japan about each of these things, he remarked that it all boils down to respect. If you fail to keep your house and your sidewalk clean, you are disrespecting your neighborhood. If you are rude to people in public, you are disrespecting the society. Even if you drive around with a dirty car, you are allowing the image Japan portrays to the world to be dirty and ill-maintained.
Not so here in Chicago. I walked out of my apartment today to the sound of two people yelling at one another, shouting obscenities for some reason or another. I passed probably a dozen pieces of trash just on my block. I paid a visit to my car and remembered that it has not been washed in probably two months (oops!).
I recently came across a Reuters news article on how Japan’s upcoming elections have brought out a number of green initiatives. One such emphasis is on the Kyoto Protocol and the fulfillment of commitments that Japan made in that protocol. Japan has been, in times of economic prosperity, a leader in green initiatives. I wonder how much of this new energy in green policy has to do with this culture of respect–for the environment, for the society, and for those with whom the government has made commitments.
It will be interesting to see how well this emphasis on green policies will stick in Japan, particularly in a tough economic environment. I will definitely be watching in order to compare the US to Japan in the two governments’ respective post-election patterns.
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