| Abstract: | This paper, part of a larger effort to explicate the natureof American exceptionalism, is based on an assumption recentlyenunciated by Kazuo Ogura: ‘To define the "other" is toknow one's nation’ (Lokker, 1992, p. 2). A person whoknows only one country basically knows no country well. Comparingthe United States or Japan with other nations is the best wayto learn about each. In a previous work, I dealt with Canada,and argued that ‘it is precisely because the two NorthAmerican democracies have so much in common that they permitstudents of each to gain insights into the factors that causevariations’ (Lipset, 1990). Here, I shift to looking atthe two outliers, the two developed nations which are most differentfrom each other. They clearly have distinct organizing principles.And their values, institutions and behaviors fit into sharplydifferent functional wholes. These variations, of course, havebeen written about in myriad comparative scholarly, businessand journalistic works. Given my limited contact with Japan(five visits covering a total of six months over 30 years),I cannot add to them observationally. This article, however,seeks to elaborate and test the validity of the qualitativeanalyses by a comprehensive examination of the comparative dataon opinions, values and behavior, collected by public opinionagencies (Glazer, 1976). As will be evident, there are astonishinglylarge differences between them. |
