It is summer in Japan. All the leaves are bright green, offering comfortable shade on a hot day. In Kyoto, an ancient capital of Japan and where I have been residing since late March last year, tourists are flooding the city. Kyoto has the second largest number of world heritage sites after Rome. Hundred of temples hide themselves deep in the tranquil mountains. Others line busy streets cheek by jowl with state-of-the-art buildings and shopping centres.

This is an image of Kyoto, or even Japan, that sits well in the consciousness. On the surface, Japan is undoubtedly one of the world’s most stunning tourist destinations. It has a long history, is well refined and has an intriguing culture. In another context, the fact that Japan rose from its defeat in the Second World War to become an economic superpower once made many of its neighbours envious. 

While this image of a perfect Japan has been entrenched, the real Japan might be considered a totally different story. Japan is encapsulated within its own illusion which only concentrates on yesteryear’s success rather than the reality of today’s world.

Indeed, resource poor, Japan has been an “ailing nation” for a while now. Its vulnerabilities have been exposed as Japan has failed to rescue its shrinking economy, to stabilise its domestic politics and to manage its relations with immediate neighbours, particularly with former enemies like China and South Korea.

Long in the doldrums after its 1980s bubble economy disintegrated, Japan has been eclipsed by China as the world’s second-biggest economy. Many of its consumer technology companies have been overtaken by South Korean competitors and are now racking up huge losses. Japan has simply been losing its competitive edge against these up-and-coming powerhouses.

Japan is floundering, only looking inward and squandering advantages such as its well-educated workforce, low crime rate and a rich history of technological prowess. But even while acknowledging big challenges that include its swollen national debt and rapidly greying population, some Japanese companies are, to a certain extent, struggling to rekindle the sparks of ingenuity that allowed them to outshine competitors in the past.

Some have argued that the economic pitfalls of Japan compounded when the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami occurred. The extent of the devastation became clear: the earthquake and tsunami were the most expensive natural disaster in modern human history. The tsunami swept up to 6 miles inland, destroying virtually everything in its way. Countless thousands were killed and entire communities were totally wiped out. So how does a nation that is already drowning in debt replace dozens of cities and towns that have suddenly been destroyed? This question has remained unanswered. 

And then there is the uneasy fear about nuclear energy that has grown after the nuclear disaster at Fukushima two years ago.

In politics, in the past four years, Japan has witnessed more prime ministers than any country in the region. Back then, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was ousted from power after a half-century of conservative rule. The departure of the LDP may have sent optimistic signal to the Japanese that finally they were to be set free from the same old politics as they embraced a new political order. As it turned out, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) proved that it was unable to solve many problems facing the country. Finally, the LDP has come back, with Shinzo Abe becoming the prime minister for the second time.

With Japan’s two mainstream parties engaging in a political tug of war, no credible force seems to exist to fight for liberal causes, which in Japan include an end to over-wieldy bureaucracy, better social welfare, and policies that favour risk-taking and innovation. That is why so many housewives have recently taken to the streets, since no one is left to represent them.

In international relations, Japan’s ties with China have been rocky. Japan has found itself fighting from a weaker position. The Sino-Japanese territorial dispute in the East China Sea over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Island has not only affected bilateral relations, but also regional peace. Historical wounds have prevented the two nations from dealing with their common problems easily. It does not help that China is today a much stronger nation than Japan in many ways.

In 1993, the American writer, Alex Kerr, wrote a brilliant book titled “Lost Japan”. He argued that Japan, with its impressive image, had lost its direction. The book tells the story of Japan’s cultural destruction, emphasising that there is a kind of romantic idea of Japan that keeps people here--the Zen and the temples, the red torii gates, the yukata and the festivals.

Lost Japan, by Alex Kerr

But then, there are fundamental forces in Japan that resist change. And this is how the Japanese traditional mind fails to reconcile with modern realities.

More than twenty years on, “Lost Japan” has never seemed to date. While in Kyoto, I continue to be thrilled by so many new adventures Japan has to offer. Hopefully, Japan will eventually come to terms with a new world order in which it must open itself up to face with more challenging economies and cultures.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun is associate professor at Kyoto University’s Centre for Southeast Asian Studies.