Japan - A Model Society

This is a non-political note based on my visit to Japan. Generally, I don’t talk about my travels on social media. But, I am so overwhelmed by my visit to Japan that I cannot but write about it. Two trips had left more impact than many other overseas visits. First was Switzerland for its beauty and tourist-friendly infrastructure, second was China for the sheer scale of development, and velocity at which infrastructure was created in a focused rush to be the top economy. Japan is the third nation that has left an inspiring impact not for its infrastructure which is excellent no doubt, but for its profound civilisational continuity with modernity.

Imagine a country that has no speed breakers on roads. Yes, not one speedbreaker! I have traveled well enough across the globe and it was a pleasant shock for me to observe that Japan has no speed breakers. This means that its people observe self-restraint, and do not need law or other preventive steps to observe discipline and follow civic rules.

The level of cleanliness is beyond what you can imagine even after visiting many countries. You will find it hard to locate a dustbin, but still, you will see stunning cleanliness, from cities to towns and villages to any by-lane. I was returning from Renko ji temple which has a memorial to honour Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. I saw an elderly lady gently removing dry leaves in the lane outside her home! In Japan, people carry garbage in their pockets till they reach home or find a bin. You will not see anyone walking casually on the road drinking from a can or munching from a food packet, forget throwing its waste casually. I saw an open rainwater drain in Osaka that was so clean that it was embarrassing for people like us! You can’t distinguish a garbage van because that is also shining. Every car, truck, bus, and cycle is sparkling clean. I saw only one car with a scratch on a mudguard. On a lighter note, in today’s woke psychology one could say, that Japanese society suffers from OCD complex.

Japan must have a maximum number of toilets per Sq Km as compared to any other country in the world - that too free. Wherever you are, you are sure you will find a clean - very clean - toilet near you. If you can’t find one and enter a private office or restaurant, the person there will politely guide you to the toilet with a smile. In a very crowded world-famous Meiji shrine thronged by lakhs of visitors every day, I saw, non-smelly, clean toilets with not a piece of toilet paper on the floor. Nearly all public toilets are lower versions of the famous overvalued toilets that Arvind Kejriwal has installed in his Sheesh Mahal.

Japanese society is so polite and patient that you find yourself at the loss of words. You stop on footpath as a typical tourist group, and the person behind you whether on cycle or feet, will stop patiently till you realise your folly and quickly make way. No one will push you will keep a respectful distance. Though no one violates traffic signals, in case, you do, no one will honk, nobody will shout, forget curse you. I didn’t see one car or truck screeching to a halt at a signal. I heard one horn in nine days when our Pakistani driver did a sharp lane change. They simply glide slowly to stop, anticipating the signal.

Though language is a serious problem for outsiders, Japanese will go out of their way to help you, if he or she can, with a smile. No one is supposed to tip, nor will anyone solicit a tip. It is taken as an insult. The only ones I saw accepting tips were private cab drivers. We all know, the country runs with clockwork precision, so I won’t talk about it.

The charming aspect of preserving natural beauty can be seen in designing the planting of trees on public as well as private properties and their upkeep. You can’t see one unkempt building, road or park. Their symmetrical planting and artistic cutting is a feast for the eyes. Nature has blessed Japan with beautiful varieties of trees and its citizens have harnessed this beauty with exquisite taste. You see cleanly designed buildings, with not one corner or paint or tile out of place. Obsession for perfection is ingrained in their mind.

Most interestingly, no retailer - high end to low end - was selling “torn jeans” nor did I see any youth wearing casual torn jeans or shorts or casual slippers. Sorry, you will see people on the road wearing sober office wear or very elegant, fashionable clothes. Even, apparently not well-to-do people try to dress well. Broad footpaths (without any hawkers) cater to cyclists and pedestrians, walking briskly and purposefully. The cycle is used as a utility vehicle, not as a fashion statement, with mothers bringing home their kids on well-designed cycles with safe rear seats. Even delivery boys have specially designed neat two or three-wheelers, not carrying enormous cloth bags behind, cutting lanes and risking accidents.

I saw young kids from Class 1 to 10, visiting temples, or public places in groups in a disciplined manner, laughing, and smiling in low voice. There can be thousands of people in a place, but all you hear is a humming voice, no throaty loud calls to friends or family. Everyone, without exception, told me that all these qualities of social behaviour and hygiene are taught to them in schools.

This is the biggest takeaway. If you want good citizens, you need to groom them with good habits and social behaviour right from pre-nursery. Children in play groups are taught about cleanliness, trained in the cleaning of classrooms and from the age of three years, cleaning even toilets. No parents are dropping off or picking up their children from school in flashy cars. I am sure, no parents would be demanding 5-star treatment for their pampered kids like in our cities, who are not allowed to face any tough issues in life. The focus is on creating good responsible citizens, not on scoring the highest marks, according to a local Indian parent who has been there for the last twenty years. No doubt Japan is among the top Olympic medal-winning countries and technologically and scientifically at the top.

There are minor irritants for visitors, like their preference for written documents even now, multiple documents for a simple railway ticket. Rules slowly unravel, not explained easily. Remember, they are world leaders in technology and AI etc!

Japan had a very different character before the end of World War 2. However, society has turned its back on the qualities that had brought misery to its people; it has focused its energies on other pursuits with spectacular results without shedding its civilisational characteristics. I would suggest that we Indians should visit Japan to get inspired. You realise that one can enjoy the good life without creating chaos on the streets or breaking laws to show off your “connections” or “bravery. It is a society living and breathing Karma Yoga daily, following the Zen philosophy of doing every task perfectly.

Our ministers of culture and education should go to Japan to understand how to preserve monuments, how to educate and nurture responsible young citizens with a focused mind, and how to achieve excellence in every aspect of national life. The education minister could begin by immediately implementing training in social behaviour, individual behaviour, and the inculcation of traditional values.

Japan is a society, a civilisation that is at peace with itself. And, this peace is reflected in its behaviour – at social and individual levels. I am sure, they too have problems, but they find solutions from their own native wisdom. Something we can also do, surely.