Japanese culture
Sir,—The article by the Secretary for Maori Affairs on Japanese culture, reported by Bruce Roscoe in Tokyo, was only another example of the self-image Japan delights in promoting. This altitude actually hinders real understanding of the country. The secretary wrote this for a Japanese newspaper, telling them what they love to hear about themselves (one cannot imagine a French newspaper commissioning a foreigner to reiterate cliches about France). The secretary praises the family system, ignoring the suppression of the individual that the system entails. And the Japanese have no identity crises? Even they might be surprised to read that. More astonishing yet. they are “a people who surpass the intellectual achievements of classical
Greece." If Socrates were Japanese, he would probably be assembling parts in a Honda plant. Let us have realistic accounts of Japan and other countries with which we have increasingly vital links. — Yours, etc., DR J. D. RUCINSKI. March 15, 1982.
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Press, 17 March 1982, Page 26
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156Japanese culture Press, 17 March 1982, Page 26
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