Prophetic

This is taken from a 1952 article by Tadakzu Uwoki in the "Japan Christian Quaterly" and has striking relevance for today's context, particularly in relation to America's foreign policy:

"Politically speaking, the Japanese dared to make a great leap after the war. Democracy is taken for granted in these days. The trouble is that people are not well trained in the democratic principles. On the contrary, some are making use of them for undemocratic purposes. In any sudden change of a social or political order, it is quite natural that superficial gestures are taken to be genuine action. A similar phenomenon occurred some eighty years ago, just after the Meiji Resotration. The character of a nation accustomed to feudal ideas for hundreds of years, would not very easily be made over. There were Chrsitna leaders who warend the people that the change in the form of government would not alter the national characteristics at one stroke. Constitutionally-minded people must be produced through a longer preocess of education. The most urgent necessity was the cultivation of a new spirit and character in the nation. This warning was well-founded. The feudalistic character of the people remained alive far into the constitutional era."