Bipolar, bi-coastal view of Japan

[Taro Toporific]

I don't agree with the following Straits Times' thought-piece, but it is interesting...

The riddle that is Japan and the two Americas
NOV 29, 2002 / LOS ANGELES - Sometimes the only explanation for it is that there are two Americas.
The East Coast America, with its dark cynicism and worldly seen-it-all sangfroid, sees Asia as mostly a problem and a threat. But West Coast America, soaking up its proximity to Asia and revelling in local Asian ethnicities, sees Asia mostly as an opportunity and an ally...

[The canaqu]

<sigh> once again some sushi-eating UCLA professor thinks he's smart enough to pigeon-hole all of America into our favorite hippie/stockbroker dualism. Not that I blame him for writing off the midwest. I grew up in St. Louis (hence me fleeing the entire country after I got bored of smoking weed in San Francisco... ), but does he really think there are more people in California who can even find Japan on a map, let alone speak positively about it's economic outlook in the new world economy? Shit most people I knew in SF wouldn't know Koizumi if he walked up and asked for change for the bus.
Truth is, those people who wrote that report aren't from either coast. They're the new breed of businessmen (the kind I happily endorse) who actually go to a country and learn about what's really happening, as opposed to the writer of the article who thinks just because they fit his little pattern they qualify as the shining viewpoint of everyone from San Diego to Vancouver.

Look to the probability that Japan will liberate women and offer them workforce equality,

umm... did anyone else choke on their beer when they read this?


Oh, Taro, the link didn't seem to get me there, so I'm re-posting it here

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/commentary/story/0,4386,157758,00.html?

[Taro Toporific]

<sigh> once again some sushi-eating UCLA professor thinks he's smart enough to pigeon-hole all of America into our favorite hippie/stockbroker dualism.

Hey, if ya liked that one how 'bout another navel gazer from Bloomberg...

Oh Yeah, Japan -- Almost Forgot About It
By William Pesek Jr. / 11/28 20:54

New York, Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Here, in what many consider the center of the capitalized world, it's not what people in business are talking about that's interesting, but what they're not.

There's plenty of chatter about troubles in the U.S. economy, Europe's stock slide and Latin America's financial woes. China's rise often comes up, and so does Indonesia's ongoing implosion. Asia's attempt to stay out of recession also gets attention. What doesn't come up much is Japan, the world's second-biggest economy....
...Japan's status has been shrinking steadily, a side effect of the country's 12-year slump and the paralysis in Tokyo over how to fix things. The trend is likely to continue in the years ahead. Japan's government can't even agree it has a banking crisis on its hands, never mind fix it. Tokyo remains in denial. ...

http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?ptitle=Latest%20Columns&touch=1&s1=blk&tp=ad_topright_bbco&T=markets_fgcgi_content99.ht&s2=ad_right1_bbco&bt=ad_bottom_bbco&s=APebI0hNyT2ggWWVh

Japan the Land that Time Forgot...