Kokutai, Hataraku and Atarashi: Reflections on Culture, Innovation and Development in Japan

Abstract

Japan’s spectacular rise to pre-eminence in East Asia by the turn of the twentieth century has been analysed in the popular and scholarly literature. This essay, based on secondary sources and the author’s lived experience, highlights three critical elements ingrained in Japanese culture and society that underpinned Japan’s technological, economic and socio-political development in the aftermath of the Meiji Restoration of 1868. It provides a robust analysis of the many-layered fundamental concept of kokutai in different contexts, and demonstrates how a combination of patriotic devotion to the nation, a culture of hard work (hataraku), and a love for innovation (atarashi) drove the process leading to the country’s political, economic and social development. The paper also highlights the social cost of Japanese development, and lessons for Nigeria and other countries of the Global South.