Reischauer Praises Japan

Japanese democracy has deep roots and shows no signs of instability despite economic pressures, Edwin O. Reischauer, University Professor, said yesterday at the Business School.

Speaking before an audience of about 300, Reischauer said, "The Japanese are overwhelmingly centrist. They don't feel they belong to any class."

The political views of the Japanese have crept gradually from the right towards the center for the last 20 years, Reischauer added.

Ties That Bind

Reischauer said there is a broad consensus among Japanese that they should maintain strong ties with the U.S.

"This has happened for several reasons," Reischauer explained. Perhaps most importantly, he said, China and the Soviet Union have lessened their criticism of Japan's relations with the U.S. because each fears that Japan might form an alliance with the other.

"Now, the Japanese are worried that the U.S. will pull out of Korea," Reischauer said.

He said he favors U.S. withdrawal from South Korea, adding he thinks there is little risk of war because North and South Korea are evenly balanced militarily and neither the U.S. nor the USSR wants a war.

Reischauer attributed Japan's prosperity to the "East Asian work ethic" and to cooperation between business and government. He added Japan has one of the best education systems in the world, and 90 per cent of all Japanese youths complete high school.

Japanese workers derive great satisfaction from their work, Reischauer said--"Japanese companies often don't need quality control because workers take such pride in their work that they provide the best quality control in the world."

Reischauer added that the distribution of wealth in Japan is one of the most even in the industrialized work, and that only Sweden and Australia have more even distributions.

A major problem facing Japan, Reischauer said, is finding ways to avoid flooding the rest of the world with goods during recessions. "We're going to get through in 1978, but what about in 1988? Each time it happens it's a bigger problem."