ESUJ New Year's Lecture (in English)

Whither America, Whither Japan
Lecture by Dr. Yoshihiro Tsurumi
Professor, City University of New York

The ESUJ New Year's lecture took place on January 27 at the Japan National Press Club in Hibiya. The speaker was Professor Yoshihiro Tsurumi. Despite the inclement weather, the hall was filled to capacity for Professor Tsurumi's talk.

Prof. Tsurumi analyzed the ongoing state of confusion in America and Japan's present position from an historical viewpoint, referring liberally to his newly published book, Whither America, Whither Japan, which is based on a conversation between Shiba Ryotaro and himself. Rather than being a democracy, present-day Japan is a "kleptocracy", he said, in which the people find it difficult to discover the truth because they are being manipulated by the ruling group and the mass media. America still has the power to cleanse itself but Japan has lost that ability. As examples of bad political structures, he listed, 1.) graft and corruption, 2.) dictatorship, 3.) ambition, and 4.)folly. Because these dangers always exist, it is necessary to feel our way toward a path based on virtue and reason. Regarding the Iraq problem, he warned that while international law could condone an attack that was clearly preventative, if a pre-emptive attack based on the presumption of suspected wrongdoing were recognized as acceptable, it would lead to an armed clash around the world. Regarding Japan's future prospects, Dr. Tsurumi concluded he was optimistic, while at the same time noting it must be sufficiently recognized that the country at present is facing a severe crisis. During the question and answer session, ESUJ Chairman Hanabusa acted as moderator. There were numerous comments from the floor, including strong criticism of both President Bush (formerly Prof. Tsurumi's pupil) and Prime Minister Koizumi, and responses thereto, as well as opinions on the problems arising from visits to Yasukuni Shrine and the possibility of there being a Jewish president of the United States, etc., resulting in a lively, stimulating atmosphere.

Profile of Dr. Yoshihiro Tsurumi
Dr. Tsurumi holds bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from Keio University and an MBA and DBA from Harvard University. He has taught at Queens University in Canada, the Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, and UCLA. He currently teaches at City University of New York. Dr. Tsurumi always talks straight to the heart of the controversial issues, for which he seems to be unrivalled. He is also considered an eminent scholar on comparative studies of US-Japan corporate and industrial systems, total quality management, and US-Japan trade and investment. Author of many publications. "Whiter America, Whither Japan-From his dialogue with Shiba Ryotaro" has just been published.