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The sources of Japanese resilience
A visit to Japan reveals the source of its resilience: a strong democratic society firmly rooted in the rule of law
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Pedestrians walk past a car dealership for Japanese automaker Toyota on May 24, 2024, in Tokyo. (AFP/Yuichi Yamazaki)
I
first visited Japan as a young member of the United Kingdom Parliament in the early 1980s. Yukio Satoh, an ambitious and forward-thinking diplomat who would later serve as Japan’s ambassador to the United Nations, had recently been posted to the country’s London embassy. Recognizing that the political dialogue between the UK and Japan was dominated by an older generation, Satoh sought to foster connections with a younger cohort of British politicians.
To this end, Satoh invited several newly elected MPs, including me, to visit Japan and engage with our Japanese counterparts. Our fortnight-long trip included a weekend in the constituency of a Diet (Japanese parliament) member. My host’s constituency was centered around the spa town of Hanamaki, famous for its noodles.
That visit sparked my longstanding enthusiasm for Japan, which led me to return dozens of times over the years, in various capacities: MP, cabinet minister, last British governor of Hong Kong and European commissioner for external relations.
More recently, I visited Japan as an international adviser to the Praemium Imperiale, a prestigious award commemorating the centennial of the Japan Art Association’s founding. Established under the patronage of the Japanese Imperial family and supported by a generous commercial grant, it has been likened to a Nobel Prize for the arts.
The Praemium Imperiale is an essential component of Japan’s soft power. Over its 35-year history, it has been awarded to celebrated artists and architects from Japan and around the world.
Japan’s contributions to the visual arts, film and architecture have left a lasting impression on me. But for many, the most impressive thing about the country is its extraordinary economic success.
Japan’s postwar boom is often described as an “economic miracle.” While I am skeptical of this term, there is no denying that the country experienced a remarkable transformation between the late 1950s and 1990s. This can be attributed to several key factors: relative political stability, effective policymaking and substantial investments in education, job training and public health, as well as the ability to capitalize on opportunities created by increasingly globalized markets. I witnessed these dynamics firsthand during my tenure as governor of Hong Kong.
