Wake up, September is ending.

I've been sleepwalking through life the last few months but my day as a bum is fast ending. Re-engaging to academics and life in general serves as a relief to me as I sat idle, watching friends, ex-classmates and ex-coworkers busy with work or other endeavors. Though we do not want to admit at times, we all implicitly measure ourselves against our peers and our happiness is largely determined by our perception on others' level of happiness. It is therefore, uneasy for me to sit back the past 3.5 months. But life has a way of reminding you big purposes through small things.

Since my parents have closed down their clothing store around the same time I quit my job, we have managed to spend a lot of time together. And it was during then occurred to me that they have aged. I've long noticed that white hair has spout out from my dad's head but the process of aging actually goes less visible. Aging means you are stepping down from the prime of your life, and many tasks that were once easy for you, you now have to depend on the people around you. Little as paying bills online or driving to a new restaurant where yelp has good reviews on, these have gradually become like walking uphill for them. Then of course, what I observed as a sign of their aging might be exaggerated by their limited English and reluctance to adapt new technology. But the slope will only become steeper from here, and it is me and probably me only that they can turn to when they transit into a new stage of their lives.

They are progressing into the Septembers of their lives.

Septembers are times when farmers harvest their matured grains, fruits and vegetables. I am not sure if I have matured the way my parents have hoped or whether I am quite nearly ripe. I am probably still green in a myriad of ways but I am learning through trying - trying to become dependable while being independent.

2/5 Vegetarian

People who have had eaten with me the last year probably noticed my newfound commitment to not eat beef. The decision was met with a lot of inquisitive eyes when it was first told because I don't "look like" a vegetarian. Most vegetarians they come to know are elderly women who don't eat meat for religious reasons. And when I told them my decision to forgone the mouth-watering wagyu (和牛) and its kind was for the sake of the environment because cows fart a lot and therefore produce a lot of CO2 gases, they thought it was a joke.

And lately, I have become fond of eating fully vegetarian, a progressive step of my no-beef diet, though by no means I am committed to be a vegetarian... yet. Maybe I am more health-conscious than before, but it just feels "right" to strip meat (of walking animals, not swimming ones) from my diet as much as possible. As I contemplate becoming a vegetarian, I have also come to aware that there are certain stigmas associated with being a vegetarian. Some that I can think of myself is that vegetarians tend to be more sophisticated, hippie-ish, drive a Prius, care about animals/earth more than living human beings and basically everything a macho American man is not. Hm... I will probably buy a Prius if I need a new car. check. I am cold to a lot of people and yet, people who have known me for long know that I am passionate about bigger causes. check again. Sophisticated? depends on the benchmark. Hippie? not quite. Oh, and I love watching football.. that would qualify as a "macho" trait I suppose. So 2 out of 5 in whole.

I can't help but question if I am falling into the vegetarian mold and whether I will reinforce this prejudice if I decide to become one. But I don't want to be categorized into any groups - in fact, I take pleasure in when people tell me that I am not Asian enough, not Hong Kong enough or not engineer enough... groups that people automatically assume I am part of but nevertheless I myself cast doubts on.

I want my decision to be reduced to the most genuine motive, but most of the times the decision-making process is marred by unnecessary concerns such as the projected public image of the decision.
The truth is I do care about the environment. And I care about my body as much, if not more, than the environment. With all that said, chances are I will become a 2/5 Vegetarian at the most because among the 5 major kinds of meat (Beef, Pork, Chicken, Fish and Others), I can only quit beef and pork.


Reference:
Eating beef more destructive to environment than driving
Vegetarian Stereotype

由A至M

 

正確的譯名應為「中下階層的衝擊」但大前先生所作的解構名詞「M型社會」貼切的形容了當前日本中產階級逐漸消失的形勢，因而成為台灣的流行用語。「M型社會」在Wiki的解義為：

“描述日本社會由原來以中產階級為社會主流，轉變為富裕與貧窮兩個極端。”

不像香港，七八十年代的日本沒有很多錢多得令人乍舌的富豪，亦沒有太多在貧窮線下掙扎的草根階層。因為收入差別不大，日本便曾號稱“一億中流”，意即有超過一億二千萬人口的日本，有一億人自覺屬於中產階級。這是典型胖矮的A型社會，階級流動暢通。但隨著地產泡沫於90年代初爆裂後，日本即陷入長期的經濟不景氣及通縮，至今仍未恢復過來。伴隨這情況的是上班族的人工凍結或下調，「只要一直服務公司，就會慢慢升職加薪」這個大前題無可避免的崩塌。

印象中的日本的經濟雖然經歷了近20年的停滯不前，但人民普遍的生活水準在世界中仍是數一數二，尢其是工資，平均來說仍屬世界的上流階層。 但原來這是誤解。日本的物價之高無出其右，由於市場封閉和盲目相信國產的物品質量較佳的關係，一般食物的價格都高居不下。據書中指，和其他國家的價格比較，米是美國的4倍；麵粉是英國的兩倍；牛肉是澳洲的5倍，新加坡，美國的4．5倍，連橙也是一般國家的兩倍至三倍。這是日本中下階層生活過得如此捉襟見肘的主要原因。

與普遍的觀點不同的是，大前先生認為經濟停滯不前與週期性的景氣不佳無關。「通縮」亦只不過是價格「正常化」的表現，而不是甚麼經濟危機而需要加以阻上。所以用印銀紙，零利率這些傳統的辦法根本不會奏效。歸根究底，這是經濟全球化的影響。日本是個出口國，產品無可避免地要和其他國家競爭，面對經濟「無國界」化，壓抑成本最簡單的方法便是壓抑工資或將生產地外移至成本較低的地方。但與此同時，日本抗拒外來的便宜物品，應為它們粗製濫造不及國產的精美，消費者根本連選擇的權利也沒有。政府一如已往的選擇去維護生產者的利益﹣一群為數較少卻很吵鬧的單位，卻疏忽了生活者應有的權利。這個日本結構性的問題。

「M型社會」發行於2006年。至今過了四年但日本除了換了5位首相外，政治上似乎還是乏善可陳，在改革的道路上還是沒有方向感。寫此文之時正值日本民主黨的黨魁選舉，代表求變的菅直人在選舉戰上戰勝了代表保守勢力的小澤，但菅直人有沒有改革的領導能力和選民有沒有耐性將成為日本未來發展的要點。

寫在下次回來之前

在香港的假期已進入倒數階段。下次回來大概又是另一番光景。

過去數年搬家次數很密，我亦一直是以過客的心態去搬往另一個城市生活，工作。追求的是金錢量度不了的所謂生活經驗，失去的亦是金錢量度不了人與人之間那交心的交往。每次認識了新朋友或談不上朋友的泛泛之交，我也抱著「不會在此地久留，所以不用深交」那種近乎冷淡的態度對待人，生怕付出的時間會白費。別人大概也看出我的不在意，就算有心接近也被我那種狀似客氣其實拒人於千里以外的態度而討了個沒趣。久而久之我覺得自己好像已經不能靠近別人或讓別人靠近，潛移默化地將關係都量化成時間單位去測度。

未來兩年我仍會是以一個過客的身份在東京生活，但心態上我想作出一些調整。始終兩年不是一個短的時間，就算生活或學業沒有過得像預期般，我也會盡量以包容的態度學習欣賞不盡如人意的地方，不是老想著快要離開而省卻深入認識別人和這城市的時間。東京不會只是我人生的新一章，它還會是一個轉捩點，鋪平為我之後該走的路，但我不想只是向前走而忘記注意身邊人與事的美好。

香港對我來說永遠都有特殊意義。 這裡有很多曾經和我的生命線平衡而走的人，一些雖然疏遠了但曾經帶給我震撼的人，一些年多才見但永遠沒有隔閡的人。過去一直在尋找那個屬於我包容得下我的地方，但突然發現原來那個地方根本不存在這地球上的任何一角。那個地方其實在心靈的平靜之處。

What's wrong about being smaller: the case for Japan

Last week, China whizzed by Japan to become the world's second largest economy. The announcement naturally provoked some uneasy sentiments in Japan. With the population expected to shrink 50 million by 2050, Japan's future is bleak, some worried. However, some think that for Japan, being smaller is a more sustainable way to live in coexistence with the environment. This piece of writing merely presents view from both sides and by no means means attempt to suggest which is a better way. After all, it is an issue that the Japanese citizens should decide for themselves.

Among the advocates of a smaller japan is Professor Norihiro Kato of Waseda University. He argues that we have come to see the limit of our resources and a slowdown in production provides a smooth landing for downsizing.

"Japan doesn’t need to be No. 2 in the world, or No. 5 or 15. It’s time to look to more important things, to think more about the environment and about people less lucky than ourselves. To learn about organic farming. Or not. Maybe you’re busy enough just living your life. That, the new maturity says, is still cooler than right shoulder up. "

We have long believed that the fruits of economic success can be shared by the population as growth continues. However, we have also turned a blind eye to the other side of the equation - an environment cost that has to be borne by the population as well. There may exist a perfect equilibrium between economic growth, environment and the population and our environment, as a natural constraint, simply cannot support a perpetual and limitless growth.

Sakanaka Hidenori,  a former direcotr of the Tokyo Immigration Bureau, also discusses the "Small Option" in his analysis of Japan's immigration policy. He makes no point in hiding that a shrinking population means that the younger generation has to pay higher taxes, entitles less pension benefits to support the current social welfare for the retired.  However, with tight control, Japan can become a more compact society "with a moderate-sized population living a comfortable, relaxed lifestyle in a rich natural and social environment". In short, one that resembles New Zealand or the Scandinavian countries.

For most people, however, growth is the magic word. Striving to be number 1 should be the only goal for the country. This view is most strongly upheld by traditional politicians who promise to lead the lackluster economy out from the 20 year stagnation to appeal to their constituents.

Ohmae Kenichi (大前研一), a former business and corporate strategist at McKinsey, does not explicitly side with either option but in his book "So long America...until you come back to youserlf", he proposes that Japan can issue more visa to obtain semi-skilled workers from Southeast Asia to fill the open positions in the fast-growing elderly health care business. The decreasing number of young people has left many industries short of staff and alike.

It will take a lot of soul-searching in Japan to decide which way to go from here. But whatever way it pursues, changes are bound to happen.