LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- A central argument of many observers of Japan, myself included, is that there has been very little change and no leadership. The two are interwoven: leadership is required to generate and manage change. The Japanese system that was quite appropriate, dynamic and robust in the 1960s and '70s, then stood still. The result is that while the world has changed a good deal, Japan has not changed.
In writing the concluding articles of this series, I have already noted the rigidities of the educational system, especially the universities and their inability to produce young people able to assume leadership and bring an end to the rule of the gerontocracy.
Japan's social, economic and political decay marginalize the country from the global arena. Being an actor in the global arena requires not just the appropriate institutions, but also a "global mindset." And the very first step toward achieving a global mindset is to discard primitive, visceral and atavistic racism.