Concreting the clover: A study of Japan the 'Construction State' and one local government election.

Abstract

The overarching thesis of this study is that the prosperity of post war Japan has rested on unstable foundations, that the price the country and people have paid to be wealthy has exacted too great a toll. All is not rosy in modern Japan and the malaise is most serious in the ecological destruction that has occurred and in the self-serving systems that have been set up to profit from the construction overdevelopment of Japan. The study addresses this phenomenon in the microcosm of Nagano and aims to determine whether the election of a reform governor in this prefecture has a deeper significance for the nation as a whole. Twenty-five Japanese nationals, residing in the New Zealand town of Dunedin were interviewed and provided testimony to the path Japan travelled through its post war history and how this has left the country in its present situation. The study concludes that while significant dissatisfaction exists with the status quo in the Japanese political economy, the forces acting to prevent systemic change are well entrenched, well funded and covert in their operations. Japan's next revolution, if it comes will, not be as bloody as its previous two, nor will the impetus come from foreign entities. This revolution will find its drive in the regional areas so affected by Japan: The Construction State.