Dr. Mori Without Borders

JAPAN101

1. Japan has NO Head of State
• The Emperor is the Symbol of the State, thus no longer the Head of State after WWII through the occupation by the US. 
• The Prime Minister is merely the head of Administration (Cabinet), thus PM is not the Head of the State either.
• There is no definition about this in our constitution at all.
2. Japan has NO fully functional Armed Forces
• We have Japan Self-Defense Force "Jiei-Tai" or SDF.
• SDF are divided into Ground SDF, Maritime SDF, Air SDF, each of which can be equivalent to Army, Navy & Air Force, but completely different in operation.
• No single officer can fire a gun unless he or she receives the order from his/her boss even when he or she is facing the enemy.
• So much regulation by Law binds the activity of SDF, thus it is impossible for the SDF to take preemptive action against other nations.
• In the notrious item 9th in the Constitution of Japan bans the possession of Armed Forces as the solution of International disputes & conflicts, which contradicts the existence of SDF.
• In addition, the SDF does not possess long-range weapons & logistic system that allows them to deploy beyond the Japanese territory for attack.
• When Japanese living or travelling outside of Japan get into trouble, SDF can not be deployed for the protection of its citizens. (Ambassadors & staff members of the Japanese Embassy in Peru were kidnapped but the Japanese government asked local police task force to deal with it.)
3. Patriotism is considered wrong-doing in Japan
   • After WWII, the GHQ (General Head Quarter of the United Nations) occupied Japan & implanted the idea that Patriotism was the seed of evil in Japan during the WWII era.
   • If you contend the love of your own nation, Japan, you'd be immediately labeled as Ultra-conservative, Militaristic Fascist by other lay men.
   • Politics of Japan including domestic issues is usually influenced by the voice of Washington D.C. or Beijing simply because Patriotism is bad, but the "cooperation" with neighbor countries are regarded as a good thing.
4. We don't have National Heroes.
   • No Generals, No Admirals, No former Soldiers are national heroes any longer.
   • Some of our former national heroes are now worshipped or admired by other countries such as the case of Admiral Heihachiro Togo in Turkey since he won the Japan-Russo war.
   • Even a Nobel Laureate cannot be called a "National Hero". Having a hero is considered as idolizing nowadays, simply because the former emperor His Majesty the Emperor Showa was worshipped by all the Japanese people prior to, during & even after the WWII to some point.
5. Security Guard has NO guns in Japan
   • No security guard has a gun in Japan.
   • He or she only has a stick & flashlight.
   • Most of security in Japan are Senior Citizens.
   • A citizen can not own a gun unless you pass so many layers of regulations & registration, virtually impossible.
6. You seldom see car drivers honking
   • Most of drivers are patient
   • They will definitely yield the road for you
   • You may not see "road rage" in there.
7. His Majesty the Emperor is one of the busiest persons in Japan
   • H.M. has to go through every document that passes the Diet (Parliament) to stamp on it for the certification.
   • H.M. has minute-to-minute hectic schedule, not sitting on the chair all day long.
   • H.M. has so many appointments to meet people from all over the world.
   • H.M. puts his highest priority & emphasis in ceremonial activities as a Shinto priest. However, the budget is funded by Their Majesties' pocket money since the separation of Church & State principle.
8. Japan has been independent country for more than 2600 years.
   • Japan has never been a part of China.
   • Japanese language is completely different from Chinese, Korean though we all share the Chinese character.
   • Some of Chinese characters used in Japan are also used in Taiwan; modern Chinese characters are simplified thus most of Japanese cannot read them at all.
9. Japan has NEVER experienced "Republic".
• Japan has always been a Monarchy country.
• Japanese Imperial Household is the Oldest dynasty on the planet.
• Only 1 Dynasty, 1 lineage of bloodline exists in Japan.
• The Imperial family has faced crisis, however has never been abolished.
• The Imperial family has seldom gained political power; rather it has been mere the authoritative entity.
10. It is quite recently that we have the official Japanese National Flag after WWII.
• Whatever nationalistic is always related to WWII.
• The tangible symbol of the nation, the national flag has been no exception at all.
• Our national flag has been considered the symbol of the invasion to other Asian countries.
• Thus, we have NOT had the National Flag untill the bill passed in the Diet to legalize the usage of the flag (white background, red sun centrally) as our official national flag of Japan.
• Even after the legislation, some citizens got offended to use the flag though it was first used almost like 11th centuries or so as far as we can recognize.