＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread globally, with no end in sight.
Amid this, there are signs of a global scramble for masks and moves to restrict food exports. There are also concerns that shipments of textiles, processed foods, industrial products, and industrial parts from Japan’s overseas subcontract factories may be halted.
1. Japan Should Aim to Become a Self-Sufficient Nation and a Manufacturing Nation Against the Overseas Market
This is a criticism of Japan’s continued excessive reliance on foreign countries.
Therefore, in order to respond to unforeseen circumstances such as those described above, I believe that now is the time for Japan to make a major shift toward becoming a self-sufficient nation (autarky nation) and a manufacturing nation against the odds.
Since inbound demand from foreign tourists and other sources cannot be expected for the time being, we need to consider ways to ensure our business is viable by meeting domestic demand rather than relying on external demand.
Furthermore, as we cannot rely on foreign labor for the time being, we need to think about making do with domestic labor.
In the agricultural sector, we need to consider domestic production rather than relying on imports as in the past. In the event of a global food shortage, there is a risk that agricultural products will no longer be imported from overseas, or that even if they can be imported, prices will skyrocket. There are also concerns about food safety, such as pesticide residues in Chinese agricultural products and pesticide contamination in frozen foods.
Regarding the production of industrial products and parts, we also need to make a major shift toward “bringing factories back to Japan.” Even the “Abenomasks” that recently began being distributed to all households were ordered from Japanese manufacturers, but many of them were produced in factories in China and Southeast Asia, resulting in “quality issues” such as a high number of defective products. It’s particularly worrying when such unsanitary, defective products are found in “hygienic products” like masks. I hope for the revival of a “manufacturing nation.”
I believe this is a golden opportunity to turn a crisis into opportunity.
Once the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) is completely eradicated, it will likely be impossible to produce everything “Made in Japan,” but I believe we need to become a nation that is “self-sufficient” in at least essential areas.
We must absolutely avoid a situation in which foreigners hold the lifeline of the Japanese people or foreign countries control Japan’s fate.
2. Achieving a self-sufficient nation requires a strong government call and support.
Leaving it to the private sector alone will lead to blindness toward short-term “cheap labor” and “cheap imports,” resulting in continued production of products and parts at overseas factories and imports of agricultural products.
A strong government call and government support, such as subsidies, are needed for companies that shift to domestic production and for farmers that develop new agricultural products or increase their planting area.
If there were no threat of a pandemic like the one we are currently facing, there would be no need to adopt a policy of “national isolation” or the “Monroe Doctrine” (non-interventionism). However, the possibility of another new pandemic occurring in the future cannot be denied. Preparations for this are necessary.
3. Lessons from the “Period of National Isolation” and “Tsurezuregusa”
(1) The Period of National Isolation
During the Edo period, Japan was isolated. Japanese people were prohibited from traveling abroad, Christianity was forbidden, and foreign relations were limited to official diplomatic relations between the Joseon Dynasty (Korea) and the Ryukyu Kingdom, and trade relations with China (Ming and Qing dynasties) and the Netherlands (Dutch East India Company). All other foreigners were prohibited from traveling to Japan. This isolated state of affairs meant that Japan and its people experienced no particular hardships and achieved a self-sufficient nation.
Although Japan initially relied on imported goods like firearms, it eventually became possible for Japanese people to produce them. Imported foods like castella cakes were also eventually made by the Japanese.
All essential items were sourced domestically. Japan’s unique culture flourished and developed.
(2) Lessons from “Tsurezuregusa”
The 120th chapter of “Tsurezuregusa” contains the following story:
With the exception of medicine, we never lacked anything from China. Books have spread widely in this country, so they can be written and copied. It is extremely foolish for Chinese ships to travel the difficult routes, loading up only useless items and ferrying them in cramped spaces.
The phrase “Do not treasure things that are far away” and “Do not value treasures that are hard to obtain” are also used in writing.
The meaning is as follows:
Apart from medicine, we will not be short of Chinese goods. Books have spread widely in this country, so they can be copied. It is extremely foolish for Chinese ships to travel the difficult routes, loading up their ships with lots of useless items and ferrying them one after another.
It is said that books also say, “Do not treasure things that are far away” and “Do not value treasures that are difficult to obtain.”
“Do not treasure things that are far away” refers to the Book of Document, “If you do not treasure things that are far away, then people from far away will come,” and “Do not value money that is difficult to obtain” refers to Laozi’s, “If you do not value money that is difficult to obtain, the people will not steal.”