short_essays

Preface

I wrote this essay on the theme how the relationship between the Japanese Tenno system (Imperial system) and the population regulates Japanese society. This relationship is seldom recognized, even by Japanese people, but I believe that it’s a very important issue. Japan is currently facing a political, economic, and cultural crisis. I think that the relationship has a great influence on the crisis. Please understand the theme of this essay and read of it.

The emperor holds no authority in contemporary Japanese society. This is strictly regulated by the constitution. This makes the imperial system (Tenno system) seem like no more than a formality, but the reality is that it exists in the center of Tokyo, the Imperial Palace, protected by two organizations, the Imperial Household Agency that is a government organization and the Imperial Guard. Why is the imperial system, supposedly a formality without actual authority, so firmly guarded? Both the Imperial Household Agency and the Imperial Guard have about 1,000 staff. This appears to suggest that the imperial system figures at the center of Japanese culture. The government is not the only one to protect this system. If the majority of the people were against the imperial system, it would not be possible for it to exist in this way. After all, the expenses are covered by taxes. However, although it can be argued that only a minority disagrees with it, I also don’t think that means that there are so many who agree with it. It is perhaps so the majority of people have never thought deeply about the imperial system, rather thinking of it as a part of Japanese traditional culture since ancient times, neither agreeing or disagreeing but simply vaguely endorsing. It is amid such ambiguity that the imperial system exists in Japanese society. In other words, it is not regarded as a very important issue, but is that really the case?

In fact, I am of the opinion that the imperial system is strongly communicative even in the present day and that it continuously influences the subconscious of Japanese people and their behavior. Banquets for foreign dignitaries and garden parties for Japanese celebrity are carefully managed by the Imperial Household Agency, and although the emperor is shown on television and in other media, his own direct opinions are never heard. This makes us largely unaware of the existence of the emperor most of the time. The constitution stipulates that the emperor is a symbol of Japan, so there might be an aspect that he acts in a way that keeps him out of people’s awareness, but on the other hand I think that there is another aspect to maintain authority by not appearing in public more than necessary. The Tenno system has been secretive since ancient times.

In the era of modern monarchies in Europe, the French king tried to exert strong power and was eventually overthrown by the citizens. The British king and parliament came into conflict early on, having the opposite effect of curbing parliament and leading the country to transition to a constitutional monarchy. As a result, the British royal family has survived to the present day, maintaining a certain degree of power.
The Tenno system is a unique form of monarchy in a global perspective, and excepting its early years, it has never directly controlled a military organization, instead employing samurai and aspiring to be a bureaucratic organization consisting of the emperor and the imperial family. In the end, it was replaced by the samurai and weakened after the transition to the samurai governance. The emperor and the aristocratic organization survived by assigning ranks to the samurai. With the opening of Japan and the start of the Meiji period in 1868, the Meiji Constitution (Constitution of the Empire of Japan) was enacted so as to restore imperial power. Most decision-making powers, including legislative, executive, and judicial powers as well as military command, were gathered in the hands of the emperor, while his position was held as sacred and inviolable, thus shielding him from all liability, but despite specifying these two contradictory items, unthinkable in today’s legal system, the emperor nonetheless did not exercise direct government even in this era. Even during World War II, the Showa Emperor did not make any decisions regarding warfare, despite being the supreme military commander and a god according to State Shinto (Note 1). Yet, the war effectively came to an end with emperor’s surrender broadcast, a radio transmission of a recording of a message in the emperor’s voice meant to conclude the war. This allowed the Showa Emperor not to receive any punishment, and after the war, he was placed in the position of a symbol of Japan by the Constitution of Japan, laying the foundation for today’s imperial system.

This was a long historical review, but we may conclude that the imperial system is an organizational system that has evaded all liability both when in a position of responsibility and when not. It is true the Showa Emperor was able to end the war. This would appear the first time that the emperor, who is in a position of responsibility, fulfilled his responsibility. However, if it is so that he fulfilled his responsibilities in the end, what of the responsibility for inflicting enormous damage on other countries as well as causing enormous damage to the Japanese people by waging and expanding the war? I disagree the arguement that the emperor is not responsible because the war was waged and expanded by the military. If it so that the Meiji Constitution granted the emperor all decision-making powers, but he does not act or the premise is for him not to act, then this would inevitably create a major power and responsibility vacuum, causing the military to run amok. Isn’t the emperor responsible for creating this vacuum? The inaction of a person in a position of responsibility causes this kind of confusing situation. Ultimately, I think that the imperial system rests on the premise that nothing inconvenient would happen and that it is a system built on the assumption that nothing inconvenient will ever happen, that is, that was no anticipation of risk at all.

I think the reasons why the imperial system has survived so far is that Japan has not been invaded by foreign enemies due to its peculiar status as an island country, that there has been no centralization of power, and that samurai rule and national isolation (an isolation policy by which the Edo shogunate prohibited trade and exchange with foreign countries) lasted too long, preventing the citizens from growing up enough before the war. But, the fact that the imperial system has survived to the present day when Japan has become a democratic country also means that it was made to survive by all the people of Japan. In Italy, the monarchy was abolished at the people’s own hands, albeit by a narrow margin in a referendum held after the war. Despite Japan being one of the defeated countries, no steps were taken in that direction.

I started out by writing that “I am of the opinion that the imperial system is strongly communicative even in the present day and that it continuously influences the subconscious of Japanese people and their behavior.” It is my opinion that the dream-like situation of being in a high position with neither authority nor responsibility communicates a message to the people of Japan under this system as well as that the people = Seken (Note 2) resonates with that. A person being in a high position is naturally accompany by great responsibility. But I think that the imperial system in itself indicates the reverse direction and influences widely on the notion of the responsibility of Japanese people. This situation tend to cause a lack of rigid for responsibility and an ambiguity of whereabouts of it, moreover the weakness of the leadership of organizations in the whole nation.

The imperial system is an idol created by all the people of Japan and Seken was imparted with a dream-like vision, but that situation is changing now.
At present, Japan is a member of the G7 and looks no different from the United States or European countries, but I think Japan’s internal reality is such that Seken and the citizens are impossible to separate (Note 2). However, according to a 2009 survey (Note 3), 8% of respondents answered “Abolish the imperial system.” We’re in 2023 now. The citizens are definitely growing up. At present, Japan has no way to deal with the declining birthrate and aging population, the continuous decline in disposable income, the decrease in value of the yen compared to almost all other currencies, the growing budget deficit, the trade deficit, continuous extremely low interest rate = more and more companies unable to withstand even a slight rise in interest rates = no interest being earned on deposit accounts.

During the post-war period of rapid economic growth, the Japanese worked together as corporate warriors. I feel that the timing of the Showa Emperor’s death and the bursting of the economic bubble immediately afterward appear emblematic of something. I don’t think the Japanese citizenry was deep enough to replace Nazism like it did in Germany. Due to the small number of citizens, many of those who held important positions before the war remained in high positions after the war. I believe that the high economic growth was led by such managers, who were also motivated to challenge again to the United States as a defeated country. No matter how far they get when on the offense, there is nothing they can do once they start losing. In the 1980s, did the head of the central bank act in such a way as to take responsibility for the rapid inflation? Have the corporate leaders fulfilled their responsibilities? Germany is currently developing as a core European country that is also considerate of its neighbors. Japan is heading for evident decline. Are those responsible for Japan’s politics, economy, culture, and so on really fulfilling their responsibilities?

Japan in the 1980s dominated the world in industry, with images of Japanese cars being destroyed and burned in the United States also being shown in Japan. Why were Japanese people, supposedly calm and polite, unable to conduct business abroad in a way that does not seem so threatening? If the leaders of Japanese industry had broad perspectives on the world, and had opted for a business style in which they exercise leadership and win the understanding of other countries, Japan would likely have won the world’s trust and become a leader in Asia, avoiding the current situation of China replacing us in many respects.
With the Seken, they see things up-close, but it is very lacking when it comes to looking at things broadly. In order to see things broadly, we need to have many questions, deepen our thinking, and speak our opinions clearly. Japanese people generally tend to avoid thinking about matters deeply and forming our own opinions and intentions. I think that’s a way of acting meant to cause as few ripples in the Seken as possible. School education also involves debates only rarely.
The emperor does not speak his own words. Moreover, he never acts responsibly. Nonetheless, he keeps standing at the center of Japan. If we accept that Japanese people are not good at having their own opinions or intentions, it is unavoidable that they will tend to depend on something outside of themselves. At present, the emperor is expected to act in a way that sets an example for the people, as a symbol. Before the war, he was expected to be divine and noble. The emperor never speaks his own views, neither in the past nor in the present. This has made him exceedingly convenient for the Seken as it doesn’t want to consider complicated matters and is looking for an example. The Tenno system provides an existence that affects themselves in no way and can be interpreted in any way. This is the reason why the Tenno-Seken structure has persisted in Japan without pause since ancient times, ensuring that the emperor is always at the center of Japan.

The world has now almost fully transitioned to a democratic, market-based economy. The message communicated by the imperial system is “no risk, high return.” Doesn’t Seken conform to this message? The world has only two principles: “low risk, low return” or “high risk, high return.”

I believe that the imperial system should be abolished as soon as possible through a referendum. In this way, I believe that Japanese society must transform itself from Seken to civil society as soon as possible. A true civil society is needed for Japan to improve itself and to welcome immigrants warmly. I think we are running out of time.

*1 : The Tenno has been deeply linked with Shinto since the early days of the family. When, in the Meiji period, the legendary Amaterasu (Sun Goddess) was uniformly determined as the most important deity of Shinto, the government created the State Shinto system, elevating the Tenno, who was considered a direct descendant of Amaterasu, to divine status. After the war, separation of religion and politics took place, but there is still a strong awareness of the Tenno as the central presence in the Shinto religion and this stems from the divinity of the Tenno passed through the unbroken direct male lineage = Bansei-Ikkei. Bansei–Ikkei is the most fundamental idea of the Tenno system.

*2 : In Japan, the differences between Seken and civil society are unclear, but there are differences between the two. The Japanese political system changed rapidly from military rule in the Edo period to a modern state in the Meiji period. For this reason, it can be said that a closed village mentality and the mentality of townspeople who lived in small communities began to be applied to Japanese society as a whole during this period of transition and survived after the Meiji period. Seken signifies a society supported by close human relations between people who share the same identity. Generally speaking, the seken mentality is easily swayed by authority and is averse to being different from others.
I define Seken as above, but this may very well be the basic character of the Japanese society, owing to the special circumstances of Japan being a sizeable island nation, having been more or less ethnically homogeneous throughout history, and never having been invaded by other peoples.
Civil society refers to a collection of citizens who have the spirit of self-government and make their own judgment.

*3 : Based on NHK’s opinion poll conducted in November 2009

Eizo Nishio, December 2023

The Tenno System (Imperial System) and Contemporary Japanese Society