Aiming for an Artful Society

While Prime Minister Koizumi's reform progresses with some twists and turns, the "pain" he talked about with emphasis is gradually taking a shape in the forms of rising unemployment and growing burden of medical expenses. Our anxieties mount higher, however, as we find no clear answers to the questions, such as whether there is any vision for a future society beyond today's, and how such a society emerges in what form.

Looking at today's Japanese society, we find it full of stagnancy with many people having anxieties over their own future because of depressive economic growth continuing since the collapse of bubble economy. What I believe now is that an "artful society," i.e. a high quality society where arts thrive continuously, will be the most fitting vision for Japanese society.
"Arts," a word derived from "Arts" in Latin, originally has had two meanings of "artistic expression" and ",skills" and this fact may have led to the expressions such as "artistic," and "artificial."

In the 20th Century, people's values were dominated by "nations" and "politics," but the 21st Century will certainly find the increasing values of "industries" and "culture." This is because the IT revolution will lead to the emergence of a network society that inter-links each entity, while letting people share their values on market economy and humanity. The global order will be maintained and operated not only by governments but also with the participation of corporations and civil societies. Moreover, corporations and people will work for the creation of values beyond national borders.

The "industries" and "culture" can be expressed also as "technologies" and "arts." Industries and culture, or technologies and arts, may heighten the possibilities of mutual development.

Technological innovation initiated in the fields of information and communication has brought us the product design functions more appealing to human feelings. Computer graphics have been used to design smart buildings, and to stage new effects on an opera, ballet, or musical show. Electronic music has added more variety to musical expressions, and lasers have multiplied the possibilities of luminous presentation.

CDs (compact disks) and DVDs (digital versatile disks) have sophisticated the art presentation, while internet can contribute not only to improve efficiency in business activities but also to promote the advancement in culture and academics.

What I would like to stress here is the fact that the development and progress of industries and technologies would deepen and further expand the possibilities of cultural and art presentations. In addition, the improvement in culture and art aspects of a society would promote greater advancement in industries and technologies, bringing them on an ever-upward spiral.

In the 21st Century, the frontier expands from life sciences, precision processing, new materials, and system technologies, in addition to information and communication technologies. Japan is expected to boldly challenge in these fields, and thereby contributing more to the advancement of a human society. In cultural fields also, the more active exchanges people pursue, the more extensive the potentials of fusion and creation of cultures become. Such an artful society can be the only one most suitable for us to aim for.

Looking back, we find that the Japanese society have had greater potentials in bringing a dynamism.

The reasons, I believe, can be summarized to the following four features of the Japanese society: first, to create new values by integrating wisdom and knowledge; second, to value people-to-people relationship by respecting the values of other people; third, to maintain the self-improvement temperament by constantly elevating selves; and lastly, to sustain a harmony with the nature.

Beautiful literatures and buildings of Nara and Heian era that fused the cultures of Japanese own with other cultures such as those of China; more modern manufacturing and civil cultures developed in the Tokugawa era by integrating in the modern cultures of Netherlands and Portugal; the development of a modern nation by assimilating Western systems since the Meiji Restoration; and the growth of a democratic nation and populace culture by sublimating the modern cultures of the US after the World War Second. These are the illustrations thoroughly exhibiting such characteristics of the Japanese society. Under the shadow of high economic growth after the World War Second, Japan seems almost to drop such characteristics. Now is the time we must regain such characteristics and to succeed in realizing Mr. Koizumi's reform. Moreover, we must create an artful society that will appeal to the people all over the world. For this, we need to nurture human resources and to invest more capitals in order to gain the power of further developing "industries and cultures," and "technologies and arts."

An artful society. That is the only society Japan must aim for in the 21st Century.

Shinji Fukukawa Senior Advisor