Opportunity for “Departure from Europeanism and Return to Japaneseization”
In the Meiji period, the slogan “Leave Asia and enter Europe” was popular in Japan. Even in recent years, when people think of "advanced countries", they think of the United States and European countries.
People tend to think that "leaving Asia into Europe" is the idea of Yukichi Fukuzawa, but it seems that it is not correct. Yukichi Fukuzawa is believed to be the author of Datsu-A Ron, written in the Meiji period. In ``Datsu-A Ron,'' he argued that the influx of Western civilization was like an epidemic, and rather than trying to prevent it, it should be spread to the public as soon as possible, and old traditions and customs that are incompatible with it should be changed. It advocates a new government reform and a psychological escape from the "bad friend of the East Asia" to avoid being overthrown. ``Leaving Asia'' does not necessarily mean ``entering Europe''. I didn't mean to say that it would be fine to simply imitate Europe and the United States. It seems that Yukichi Fukuzawa thought that Japan should build a country with its own ideas, independent of Western ideas.
However, before we knew it, the slogan “leaving Asia into Europe” spread, and it came to be seen as Yukichi Fukuzawa’s thought, and people thought he said that it was right to follow the West.
Now, looking at the world in turmoil caused by the new coronavirus, it seems that such "leaving Asia and entering Europe" has finally come to an end.
It seems that Europe and the United States can no longer be said to be advanced countries that have made a big difference to Asia. It is not a model that our country should follow. Of course, we need to absorb and learn their good points. But it seems that the days of simply imitating them are over.
Western civilization is still something of an "epidemic" and if you do what they do, you will suffer the same disease as they do.
From now on, it is time to break free from the curse of Western thought, rediscover and redevelop Japan's original good civilization and culture. The time has come for us to think for ourselves about what the "spirit of harmony" that Japan has cultivated since ancient times, how we can make the world a better place, and how we can make people happier, and walk our own paths. We must reexamine the root causes of the diseases that society is suffering from, and think about the development and happiness of this country.
Perhaps it can be said that the spread of the new coronavirus was the trigger to start this movement of "departure from Europe and return to Japan."
△*Return to Future of Business
