WTF? Is anyone out there actually thinking that Japan will go away? I'm not. As an outsider (fat-American here) making blanket statements, they seem like one of the most industrious and resourceful groups of people on the planet.
I admire Japanese culture, it's a shame that with their extremely low birth rate they might eventually disappear. This is not an exaggeration, the current rate just has to continue as it is for a few more decades and there is no reason to believe it will change.
The birth rate is below replacement level, in fact it's almost nearly 1 which means that the population halves every generation. At least you are lucky and your politicians don't flood your country with immigrants making sure that your culture and gene pool stay intact.
I heard they settle quite densely on their island, though. Perhaps the carrying capacity of the island has pretty much maxed out? It seems they eat through the oceans of the whole world to feed everybody, too.
Just saying - who knows, maybe the birthrate would change if there was more space/less people. For example it could mean food and space for living would become cheaper, so having children would become cheaper, too.
God, I wish people would post a reply explaining why they downvoted something. I don't even know what my crime is here.
EDIT: It was nice of someone to upvote me back, but I still don't understand what caused the downvote in the first place. I certainly wasn't trying to be controversial.
I don't think the answer to why Japan is handling this so well is "culture", it's preparation and organization. I recommend everyone read Patrick's blog on Japan (http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/03/13/some-perspective-on-the-...). I think that gives some real perspective on exactly why Japan will prevail.
No, I think the author's point is that the Japanese culture is the reason that there isn't panicked looting and rioting in the streets. Civil disorder is not uncommon after a natural disaster, especially when basic necessities are on the line. I think Japan as a country has done as well as it has because it is a culture of acting in the best interests of the whole, not of oneself (mostly as a result of its dense population, I would wager).
The preparation and organization played a large part in ensuring a minimum number of casualties, but there's no doubt that it was a culture of doing one's duty/service to society that ensured that all the preparation and organization actually came into play when disaster struck.
> Civil disorder is not uncommon after a natural disaster
Is that really the historical case anywhere in the industrialized world? Seems less a matter of "individualism" in your culture than not having many of the sort of people who loot and riot.
