Japanese cars, whiskey, diapers, and immigrants

Episode 6 of In the Field with Michael Muthukrishna

Hi Lab,

How did Japan create successful car companies and award winning whiskeys and what does that have to do with multiculturalism and immigration? In this 6th episode of In the Field with Michael Muthukrishna, shot in Japan, we answer these questions.

Multiculturalism and immigration are of course hot topics. In Britain, Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s speech earlier this month on what she saw as the failures of multiculturalism prompted both cheering and criticism. Japan’s openness to immigration, particularly since the new immigration act in 2019 reveals why immigrants are a necessary lifeblood for many countries. Especially for Japan, because of its long life expectance and low birth rates - in 2011 Japanese newspapers reported that adult diapers had for the first time begun outselling baby diapers.

👉 You can pre-order my book here: http://atheoryofeveryone.com

Transcript:

In the mid-twentieth century, Japanese brands were synonymous with poor quality. The car industry is a good example. Early Japanese cars were actually poor quality knockoffs of European and American models. Some were hybrids of different designs that Japanese car manufacturers could get their hands on. But eventually, copying turned to recombination and the kind of incremental improvement that the Japanese are now famous for: Kaizen, the Toyota Way, and other ways of continuously incrementally improving led Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, and other Japanese car companies to become the reliable brands that they are today.

Whiskey is another example, but it wasn't just technology or alcohol. Japan is also an economically successful integration of Western-style non-family corporations and liberal democratic institutions tailored to their history and culture. Countries that are high on collectivism and the importance of family tend to suffer from corruption, particularly nepotism. But Japan, despite holding Confucian ideals of filial piety and hierarchy, doesn't. It has low levels of corruption, around the same as Canada or Australia, like South Korea, Hong Kong, or Singapore.

Japan is a new cultural recombination and proof that there are paths out of suboptimal, corrupt, poor equilibrium that still retain cultural diversity. Multiculturalism is a word that means different things to different people. Some good, some bad. It can be a divisive topic for those brave enough to talk about it at a dinner party. In my book, I talk about different ideal models of multiculturalism: The “No hyphen” full integrationist model typified by France, non-integrationist mosaic or salad bowl models typified by Canada, and the melting pot model that creates a new blended culture associated with America. I also introduce the Umbrella Model that combines the best of these to resolve the paradox of diversity, grabbing the bull by both its horns, so to speak, reaping diversity’s benefits while minimizing its costs.

Japan, where I am now, right now, will soon have to resolve this paradox. The challenge that Japan faces is a portend of things to come in many developed countries. Japan has one of the longest life expectancies and lowest birthrates, well below replacement. Around 2011, Japanese newspapers reported that adult diapers had for the first time begun outselling baby diapers. The country was running out of people to do the work, to keep society running, and to keep the space of the possible large enough for everyone. Some suggested robots as a solution, but the technology didn't advance fast enough for this to be a viable solution. Japan had no choice but to use a solution that it had long avoided - immigration.

Japan is a highly homogeneous country, with a general sentiment to keep it that way if they could. But by 2019, the writing was on the wall. In April 2019, the new Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act came into effect. The Conservative government, led by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, sold it as a necessary step o meet the demands of business owners, Japan has leaned into selective skilled migration. Immigrant numbers have quickly hit record highs as a result. Although immigrants still represent just two and a half percent of the population, this percentage is expected to continue rising.

New laws are currently being developed to further this expansion. For example, there's a focus on streamlining the path for high-skilled immigrants to join Japanese society. However, Japan hasn't yet figured out what model of multiculturalism it wants to adopt.

As I explain in my book, the future of Japanese society will depend on the policy choices it makes today.

Best wishes,

Michael