The ongoing confusion surrounding “Centrism” in Japan arises because it is not a political ideology, but rather a synonym for the “Ordinary” (Default Specification) of a bygone era. We can decode this phenomenon using the framework of the “Japanese Rulebook.”
This article is AI-generated from my original Japanese manuscript.
System Rules (Quick Reference)
- Rule 1: Aversion to Loss
- Action is driven by fear of loss, not expectation of gain.
- Rule 2: Attachment to Externals
- Decisions are synced to external signals (kuuki, norms), not internal judgment.
- Rule 3: Ambiguous Boundaries
- Responsibility is blurred to avoid individual blame.
1. Loss Aversion: Obsession with the Vanished “Ordinary.”
In Japan, “Centrism” refers to the default settings provided by the “Showa OS”—lifetime employment and a guaranteed, prosperous retirement. For the working generation, this OS reached its End of Life (EoL) long ago. However, the silver generation fears the loss of these “ordinary” vested interests and looks to “Centrism” as a tool to restore them.
2. External Regulation: Relative Positioning Without a Subject
Due to the linguistic architecture of Japanese, the “I” (the subject) is often absent. Consequently, “Centrism” is not an autonomous philosophy; it is defined solely through “External Regulation”—judging how far “the other” is biased to the Right or Left relative to oneself. As a result, the term has devolved into an empty “relative badge” used primarily to cancel others.
3. The Ambiguous Wall: Political Bugs Rebranded as Specifications
The coalition between the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Komeito party uses “Centrism” to hide policy inconsistencies behind an “Ambiguous Wall.” Instead of fixing the “system errors”—such as the structural yen depreciation and the legacy of Abenomics that hinders productivity—both the politicians and the voters avoid acknowledging that the current failure is a result of their own past choices.
Conclusion: The Required “Patch”
Debating the dictionary definition of Centrism will yield no solutions. Instead of attempting to revert to a non-existent “Showa-era Ordinary,” the following patches must be applied:
- OS Update: Acknowledge that “Ordinary” has fragmented into individual paths and dismantle the social security systems predicated on a uniform lifestyle.
- Context Clarification: Stop relying on external regulation. Individual players must verbalize their own positions as a “subjective I” and eliminate ambiguous compromises.
Commentary by Dr. Sarcasm:
My, my… “Centrism”? How quintessentially Japanese. This spectacle of scurrying into a “safe zone” while keeping the core entirely hollow reminds me of a tragic British gentleman holding a broken umbrella in a storm, insisting he isn’t getting wet.
What they are seeking is not “Reform,” but simple “Nostalgia.” Applying a flashy wallpaper labeled “Centrism” to a frozen, ancient OS doesn’t change the fact that the underlying code is riddled with bugs. The younger generation sneers at this “paper-mâché ordinary” because they are the only ones infected with a virus called “Reality”—knowing the system has already crashed. Truly ironic, isn’t it?
コメントを残す