As someone who has been living in Japan for so long, I can’t say I always understand recent pop-culture, fads, or current slang in the US, and sometimes the US feels surprisingly foreign to me. Within the span of only a decade in the US, a conspicuous increase in overt machismo, “alpha male” culture, remains largely inscrutable to me. Japan has also changed considerably, and though I am not going to attempt to explain the root cause of recent phenomena, I can say that some of the changes in both nations have coincidentally manifested themselves in very similar ways--though more overtly in the US and more passively in Japan. The “tough guy" imagery, or “tough guise” (coined by Jackson Katz in a 1999 documentary by the same title), is not unique to the US or Japan; in fact, this “tough guise” sub-culture has either become less inhibited, or increased dramatically in a number of wealthy nations. Though easily dismissed as self-expression or harmless posturing, the rise of this sub-culture has been paralleled by a recent upsurge in loud-mouthed, unabashed, vitriolic political extremism.
Tough Guy Trivia
First, regardless of ethnicity, or the region of rural America, or the reality show a person is casted in, or the particular genre of sports entertainment someone is involved in, or the particular type of subculture someone subscribes to, or how long someone has been ingesting steroids, American pop-culture seems to be becoming surprisingly homogenous, with a similar overlapping "tough guy", prison-gang fashion outcome.
Can you correctly identify each photo?
Tough Guy Trivia
First, regardless of ethnicity, or the region of rural America, or the reality show a person is casted in, or the particular genre of sports entertainment someone is involved in, or the particular type of subculture someone subscribes to, or how long someone has been ingesting steroids, American pop-culture seems to be becoming surprisingly homogenous, with a similar overlapping "tough guy", prison-gang fashion outcome.
Can you correctly identify each photo?
Answers (from top left to bottom):
1. The Mexican Mafia: not from Mexico at all, but the leaders of a number of latino street gangs, responsible for shooting countless toddlers on tricycles in drive-by shootings. Don't criticize them too much, these "tough guys" order hits on unsuspecting, unarmed individuals from their highly secure prison cells, and they are certain to use a gang of people to guarantee their success.
2. The stars of US reality show "Orange County Choppers". Remember, steroids can shrivel your testicles, destroy your liver, cardiac muscles, and cause paranoia, irritability and aggression. If you stand with your arms crossed you can puff up your biceps without using illegal steroids.
3. The Aryan Brotherhood. One of the most influential prison gangs in the US. Gangs aren't just comprised of minorities in the US, in fact, depending upon how the word "gang" is defined, white people make up one of the largest percentages of organized crime. James "Whitey" Bulger is a notorious white mobster from Boston who is now on trial for 19 counts of homicide. The Ukranian and Russian Mafia (the world's largest crime syndicate) is making large inroads in the US. Dating back to the Hatfields and the McCoys, organized crime in the Appalachians and Ozarks is now responsible for one of the highest concentrations of meth labs in the US, and these "tough guys" will strongly exercise their 2nd Amendment rights when the "Government" comes to take their military-grade weapons (and bust their meth labs).
4. MMA Star Thiago Silva. Now I won't suggest that this kind of "brawn over brains" entertainment isn't really martial arts, because "Mixed Martial Arts" is a huge money making industry and has a huge cult following in the US. I won't say there is little martial arts involved, beyond kick boxing and wrestling moves either. I will say that the Karate Kid was supposed to teach us that martial arts is something quite different, but the Karate Kid was just a movie, and Mr. Miyagi was just an actor, and MMA is "real". Though they usually require a lot of skill and effort to master, most martial arts can be quite dangerous and it is best that the average person subscribe to the current MMA fad instead.
5. Star of the reality show "Deadliest Catch". Though the star of this show looks like a Ukranian mafia boss, he is actually a crab boat captain in this popular Discovery Channel reality series. Don't criticize him too much, this "tough guy" orders hits on unsuspecting, unarmed crabs from his highly secure boat cabin, and he is assured to use a gang of people to guarantee his success. In reality, not in a reality show, Alaskan crab fishing is still one of the most dangerous occupations in the US with a fatality rate significantly higher than that of most gang members, at 128 out of 100,000, but thanks to increasing safety measures, not bravado, the industry has seen its profits increase and fatalities plummet in the last 10 years. The kind of competitive "fishing derby" tactics used in the reality show, where each undersized boat races to get the largest catch, are a thing of the past.
6. Members of the neo-Nazi skinhead group Hammerskin. These cheery guys have adopted a look once considered intimidating, but their style (a bit subdued in comparison) has now become completely mainstream. Their name sounds like a bizarre skin disease, but they are considered by the Anti-Defamation League to be the most organized neo-Nazi group in the US. Wade Michael Page, a member of the Hammerskins shot six defenseless people at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in 2011.
1. The Mexican Mafia: not from Mexico at all, but the leaders of a number of latino street gangs, responsible for shooting countless toddlers on tricycles in drive-by shootings. Don't criticize them too much, these "tough guys" order hits on unsuspecting, unarmed individuals from their highly secure prison cells, and they are certain to use a gang of people to guarantee their success.
2. The stars of US reality show "Orange County Choppers". Remember, steroids can shrivel your testicles, destroy your liver, cardiac muscles, and cause paranoia, irritability and aggression. If you stand with your arms crossed you can puff up your biceps without using illegal steroids.
3. The Aryan Brotherhood. One of the most influential prison gangs in the US. Gangs aren't just comprised of minorities in the US, in fact, depending upon how the word "gang" is defined, white people make up one of the largest percentages of organized crime. James "Whitey" Bulger is a notorious white mobster from Boston who is now on trial for 19 counts of homicide. The Ukranian and Russian Mafia (the world's largest crime syndicate) is making large inroads in the US. Dating back to the Hatfields and the McCoys, organized crime in the Appalachians and Ozarks is now responsible for one of the highest concentrations of meth labs in the US, and these "tough guys" will strongly exercise their 2nd Amendment rights when the "Government" comes to take their military-grade weapons (and bust their meth labs).
4. MMA Star Thiago Silva. Now I won't suggest that this kind of "brawn over brains" entertainment isn't really martial arts, because "Mixed Martial Arts" is a huge money making industry and has a huge cult following in the US. I won't say there is little martial arts involved, beyond kick boxing and wrestling moves either. I will say that the Karate Kid was supposed to teach us that martial arts is something quite different, but the Karate Kid was just a movie, and Mr. Miyagi was just an actor, and MMA is "real". Though they usually require a lot of skill and effort to master, most martial arts can be quite dangerous and it is best that the average person subscribe to the current MMA fad instead.
5. Star of the reality show "Deadliest Catch". Though the star of this show looks like a Ukranian mafia boss, he is actually a crab boat captain in this popular Discovery Channel reality series. Don't criticize him too much, this "tough guy" orders hits on unsuspecting, unarmed crabs from his highly secure boat cabin, and he is assured to use a gang of people to guarantee his success. In reality, not in a reality show, Alaskan crab fishing is still one of the most dangerous occupations in the US with a fatality rate significantly higher than that of most gang members, at 128 out of 100,000, but thanks to increasing safety measures, not bravado, the industry has seen its profits increase and fatalities plummet in the last 10 years. The kind of competitive "fishing derby" tactics used in the reality show, where each undersized boat races to get the largest catch, are a thing of the past.
6. Members of the neo-Nazi skinhead group Hammerskin. These cheery guys have adopted a look once considered intimidating, but their style (a bit subdued in comparison) has now become completely mainstream. Their name sounds like a bizarre skin disease, but they are considered by the Anti-Defamation League to be the most organized neo-Nazi group in the US. Wade Michael Page, a member of the Hammerskins shot six defenseless people at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in 2011.
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/5/5/12557267/6056521.jpg?455)
Rise of the Tough Guy Cont'd...
Curiously, historians have found that dueling in Europe and the Americas was often less brave and most often a lot of bravado. Dueling was highly arranged and organized, sometimes with so many intricate rules--agreed weeks in advance--that the outcome was highly unlikely to result in injury. Dueling pistols from the time lacked proper rifling and had low muzzle velocities, so prearranged distances that made the duel appear more fair could easily be adjusted to make it far less likely for duelers to actually hit each other. Normally, the duel would end immediately at “first blood”, or when one person was wounded. Rarely was more than one shot fired (more shots were considered barbaric at the time), and rarely was the duel to the death, or "à l'outrance”. Duelers would often formally agree to intentionally miss beforehand, preserving the duelers safety while at the same time, preserving their “honor” in the public’s eyes. But, it wasn’t unknown, as was the case of some famous historical duels, for the one combatant to deliberately kill his opponent despite a prearranged agreement to the contrary. Similarly, despite the depiction that gunslingers were bound by a courageous code of honor in popular culture, historians have found that the familiar "duel at sun down" rarely occurred during America's Wild West. California's Gold Rush town of Angel's Camp (ironically named) had one of the highest homicide rates in the nation in the late 1800s, but by far, most of the homicides were not a result of the "duel at sundown" but were just average homicides: victims were often found shot in the back.
Similarly, in modern times, gang culture is often about bravado, while often having little to do with bravery. Usually a gang's target is ambushed, unarmed and is usually outnumbered. As part of their initiation, modern gang members are encouraged to shoot an enemy gang member, or sometimes an innocent bystander, unless they otherwise want to face being "beaten in" to the gang (a process that usually involves being beaten by fellow gang members for a predetermined length of time). Usually gang members forego being "beaten in" and choose to fire at an unsuspecting, unarmed victim by means of a moving vehicle, followed by a prompt getaway (a drive-by shooting). The act might appear cowardly, but when individuals are organized according to their own rules with their own affected code of honor, they can be far more intimidating and dangerous to general society. In a sub-culture of rampant bravado, marginalized and fearful people often join gangs for acceptance ("brotherhood, and honor" in their own circles), because there is safety in numbers, and because the powerless can become powerful (gain "respect"). The "loser dog barks the loudest" is an old Japanese expression. At the heart of all of this bravado is often fear and insecurity that drives a vicious cycle of more fear and insecurity. Insecurity is easy to dismiss, but it is often the fearful that the rest of us should fear the most, for it is the fearful and paranoid people who often lash out the most violently against society at vulnerable or unsuspecting moments.
Some of the imagery, is almost universal: tracksuits, pajama pants, tattoos, shaved heads, black cars with windows tinted black, and crude to profane speech, are almost universally associated with “outlaw” cultures in many places like the United Kingdom, Russia, or Japan. But some of the stylized bravado is unique to an area and is not always obvious to outsiders. The renegade, “yanki" sub-culture in Japan has been increasing dramatically in the last 20 years. On the surface, it seems to mix a small amount of modern American street-gang style with rural, outdated American trailer-park fashions to obtain a uniquely Japanese (bleached mullets, pompadours, shaved eyebrows, etc) "chimpira” (thug) style. In the past, 20 to 30 years, bleached, yellow to orange hair in Japan was strongly associated with rebellious, but often criminal youth, such as street gangs, or the once common "bosozoku" (motorcycle gangs) who were known for provocative behavior, violence, intimidation and ultra-nationalist imagery associated with Japan’s military past: kamikaze jackets, military slogans, or the kyokujitsu-ki (rising sun flag) used primarily by Japan’s pre-war military. Though, the word “yanki” looks suspiciously similar to yankee, its origin is unclear. In fact, the actual origins of the yanki subculture and the influence, relationship, and the overlap of street gangs with the hostile uyoku-dantai groups (literally “right wing” groups who are Japan’s equivalent to the Klu Klux Klan or neo-nazis) or “yakuza” (organized crime) in Japan, is known to some extent by investigative journalists, but generally unclear.
Scholars often considered pre-war Japan a mafia-state, for it is understood that organized crime played a large part in the structure of Japan's military government. Unfortunately, the overlap of organized crime, politicians, the military, and the uyoku-dantai groups who intimidated the population and assassinated prominent politicians is known, but again, remains somewhat murky to this day. Japan's dark underbelly was particularly secretive, unpredictable, and unfathonable for the general population, but like Oz's man behind the curtain, was all the more successful at keeping the population quiet and fearful. In pre-war Japan, people kept their views silent, conformed to social norms, and didn't speak out against the regime for fear of being reported by neighbors and arrested by the the "kempei" (Japan's gestapo). After the war, Japan would acquire a new constitution and would be mostly transformed from its military past, but unfortunately, some things would never change: accused war criminals (pardoned by US officials) became politicians, party leaders and prime-ministers. Even those who operated Unit 731, a secretive chemical and biological weapons facility that dissected live subjects in China, moved on to prominent positions in Japan's pharmaceutical industry. In recent years, Japan's leading political party, "Jiminto" would shift more from the center to a nationalistic political right, and after being taken over by the party's ultra-nationalistic faction, Japan's current prime minster is now Shinzo Abe, the grandson of Nobusuke Kishi, an accused Class-A War Criminal. While warmongering with China, Abe has been promoting legislation that would make Japan's constitution amenable by a simple majority vote, effectively reducing it to statutory law, in order to replace it with a new, radically different constitution that would remove many individual rights and freedoms, and transform Japan's defense forces back into an instrument of war. Furthermore, links between yakuza and Japan's ruling party have been well documented since Japan's military dictatorship, and Osaka's current mayor, Toru Hashimoto's father and uncle were both well established yakuza members. Perhaps, ongoing uncertainty, fear of the unknown, is what keeps many people passive and less outspoken in Japan today, but the lesson to be learned from the past is that when the marginalized and powerless organize, without popular opposition, and when the population becomes fearful, these displays of bravado and intimidation can topple a government, and the results are quite difficult to undue. Japan's military coup was mostly orchestrated by a few thousand but the consequences affected millions and still do to this day.
Curiously, historians have found that dueling in Europe and the Americas was often less brave and most often a lot of bravado. Dueling was highly arranged and organized, sometimes with so many intricate rules--agreed weeks in advance--that the outcome was highly unlikely to result in injury. Dueling pistols from the time lacked proper rifling and had low muzzle velocities, so prearranged distances that made the duel appear more fair could easily be adjusted to make it far less likely for duelers to actually hit each other. Normally, the duel would end immediately at “first blood”, or when one person was wounded. Rarely was more than one shot fired (more shots were considered barbaric at the time), and rarely was the duel to the death, or "à l'outrance”. Duelers would often formally agree to intentionally miss beforehand, preserving the duelers safety while at the same time, preserving their “honor” in the public’s eyes. But, it wasn’t unknown, as was the case of some famous historical duels, for the one combatant to deliberately kill his opponent despite a prearranged agreement to the contrary. Similarly, despite the depiction that gunslingers were bound by a courageous code of honor in popular culture, historians have found that the familiar "duel at sun down" rarely occurred during America's Wild West. California's Gold Rush town of Angel's Camp (ironically named) had one of the highest homicide rates in the nation in the late 1800s, but by far, most of the homicides were not a result of the "duel at sundown" but were just average homicides: victims were often found shot in the back.
Similarly, in modern times, gang culture is often about bravado, while often having little to do with bravery. Usually a gang's target is ambushed, unarmed and is usually outnumbered. As part of their initiation, modern gang members are encouraged to shoot an enemy gang member, or sometimes an innocent bystander, unless they otherwise want to face being "beaten in" to the gang (a process that usually involves being beaten by fellow gang members for a predetermined length of time). Usually gang members forego being "beaten in" and choose to fire at an unsuspecting, unarmed victim by means of a moving vehicle, followed by a prompt getaway (a drive-by shooting). The act might appear cowardly, but when individuals are organized according to their own rules with their own affected code of honor, they can be far more intimidating and dangerous to general society. In a sub-culture of rampant bravado, marginalized and fearful people often join gangs for acceptance ("brotherhood, and honor" in their own circles), because there is safety in numbers, and because the powerless can become powerful (gain "respect"). The "loser dog barks the loudest" is an old Japanese expression. At the heart of all of this bravado is often fear and insecurity that drives a vicious cycle of more fear and insecurity. Insecurity is easy to dismiss, but it is often the fearful that the rest of us should fear the most, for it is the fearful and paranoid people who often lash out the most violently against society at vulnerable or unsuspecting moments.
Some of the imagery, is almost universal: tracksuits, pajama pants, tattoos, shaved heads, black cars with windows tinted black, and crude to profane speech, are almost universally associated with “outlaw” cultures in many places like the United Kingdom, Russia, or Japan. But some of the stylized bravado is unique to an area and is not always obvious to outsiders. The renegade, “yanki" sub-culture in Japan has been increasing dramatically in the last 20 years. On the surface, it seems to mix a small amount of modern American street-gang style with rural, outdated American trailer-park fashions to obtain a uniquely Japanese (bleached mullets, pompadours, shaved eyebrows, etc) "chimpira” (thug) style. In the past, 20 to 30 years, bleached, yellow to orange hair in Japan was strongly associated with rebellious, but often criminal youth, such as street gangs, or the once common "bosozoku" (motorcycle gangs) who were known for provocative behavior, violence, intimidation and ultra-nationalist imagery associated with Japan’s military past: kamikaze jackets, military slogans, or the kyokujitsu-ki (rising sun flag) used primarily by Japan’s pre-war military. Though, the word “yanki” looks suspiciously similar to yankee, its origin is unclear. In fact, the actual origins of the yanki subculture and the influence, relationship, and the overlap of street gangs with the hostile uyoku-dantai groups (literally “right wing” groups who are Japan’s equivalent to the Klu Klux Klan or neo-nazis) or “yakuza” (organized crime) in Japan, is known to some extent by investigative journalists, but generally unclear.
Scholars often considered pre-war Japan a mafia-state, for it is understood that organized crime played a large part in the structure of Japan's military government. Unfortunately, the overlap of organized crime, politicians, the military, and the uyoku-dantai groups who intimidated the population and assassinated prominent politicians is known, but again, remains somewhat murky to this day. Japan's dark underbelly was particularly secretive, unpredictable, and unfathonable for the general population, but like Oz's man behind the curtain, was all the more successful at keeping the population quiet and fearful. In pre-war Japan, people kept their views silent, conformed to social norms, and didn't speak out against the regime for fear of being reported by neighbors and arrested by the the "kempei" (Japan's gestapo). After the war, Japan would acquire a new constitution and would be mostly transformed from its military past, but unfortunately, some things would never change: accused war criminals (pardoned by US officials) became politicians, party leaders and prime-ministers. Even those who operated Unit 731, a secretive chemical and biological weapons facility that dissected live subjects in China, moved on to prominent positions in Japan's pharmaceutical industry. In recent years, Japan's leading political party, "Jiminto" would shift more from the center to a nationalistic political right, and after being taken over by the party's ultra-nationalistic faction, Japan's current prime minster is now Shinzo Abe, the grandson of Nobusuke Kishi, an accused Class-A War Criminal. While warmongering with China, Abe has been promoting legislation that would make Japan's constitution amenable by a simple majority vote, effectively reducing it to statutory law, in order to replace it with a new, radically different constitution that would remove many individual rights and freedoms, and transform Japan's defense forces back into an instrument of war. Furthermore, links between yakuza and Japan's ruling party have been well documented since Japan's military dictatorship, and Osaka's current mayor, Toru Hashimoto's father and uncle were both well established yakuza members. Perhaps, ongoing uncertainty, fear of the unknown, is what keeps many people passive and less outspoken in Japan today, but the lesson to be learned from the past is that when the marginalized and powerless organize, without popular opposition, and when the population becomes fearful, these displays of bravado and intimidation can topple a government, and the results are quite difficult to undue. Japan's military coup was mostly orchestrated by a few thousand but the consequences affected millions and still do to this day.
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/5/5/12557267/5215451.jpg?471)
What is equally similar in the US and Japan, is that the difference between the renegade outlaw and the rest of the population is now more blurred and unpredictable than before: suburban Japanese housewives are frequently seen grocery shopping with bleached hair and tracksuit pants that would have appeared intimidating to the general population in the past. But what is the intent behind such intimidating symbology, if not just free expression? For the participants their actions can be dismised as normal bravado, or an individual fashion preference, but for the authors of these social movements, something else might be going on.
At the core of this sub-culture is a growing anti-intellectualism, intolerance, victimization and often misguided anti-elitism. So strong is anti-intellectualism in Japan amongst this growing subculture, that graduates from top universities in Japan often feel compelled to hide their university degrees, or their foreign language capabilities, when encountering strangers for fear of being ridiculed as a "show-off". Japan already has much lower international language abilities than surrounding nations, but in some places, Japanese people speaking English in public can trigger disparaging looks from bystanders. In the late 1990s, right-wing manga author, Yoshinori Kobayashi, published a popular manga entitled "Goman-ism Sengen" (literally "Arrogance Manifesto"), which openly advocated intolerance toward neighboring countries or people who disagreed with his nationalist views. Amongst this growing subculture is a growing "goman-ism" that is expressed as hostile resentment towards general society, perceived leftists and outsiders. Like the growing "redneck pride" or "white-trash pride" movement in the US, this "yanki" subculture claims to be marginalized and ostracized by general society and the hostile resentment towards other members of society is thought to be well deserved. While the behavior is intimidating, self-contrived victimization is used to justify their behavior, and a vicious cycle begins. Curiously an increasing number of people are adopting the superficial aspects of the culture for fear of further intimidation. Though this is just a lot of imagery and posturing on the surface, something more profound seems to be at work in Japan's socio-political environment.
At the core of this sub-culture is a growing anti-intellectualism, intolerance, victimization and often misguided anti-elitism. So strong is anti-intellectualism in Japan amongst this growing subculture, that graduates from top universities in Japan often feel compelled to hide their university degrees, or their foreign language capabilities, when encountering strangers for fear of being ridiculed as a "show-off". Japan already has much lower international language abilities than surrounding nations, but in some places, Japanese people speaking English in public can trigger disparaging looks from bystanders. In the late 1990s, right-wing manga author, Yoshinori Kobayashi, published a popular manga entitled "Goman-ism Sengen" (literally "Arrogance Manifesto"), which openly advocated intolerance toward neighboring countries or people who disagreed with his nationalist views. Amongst this growing subculture is a growing "goman-ism" that is expressed as hostile resentment towards general society, perceived leftists and outsiders. Like the growing "redneck pride" or "white-trash pride" movement in the US, this "yanki" subculture claims to be marginalized and ostracized by general society and the hostile resentment towards other members of society is thought to be well deserved. While the behavior is intimidating, self-contrived victimization is used to justify their behavior, and a vicious cycle begins. Curiously an increasing number of people are adopting the superficial aspects of the culture for fear of further intimidation. Though this is just a lot of imagery and posturing on the surface, something more profound seems to be at work in Japan's socio-political environment.
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/5/5/12557267/3080045.jpg?439)
An old Japanese expression says that "the cornered mouse will bite the cat". What is worrisome about all of this "tough guy" imagery is that incompetent, fearful and insecure people are often less capable of playing fairly and often lash out at the easiest targets and at the most unsuspecting moments. Irregardless of the socio-political ramifications of organized bravado, over 90 percent of violent crimes are committed by males, and it is worth considering if their any worthwhile merit to "tough guy" culture at all. Passing trends and avant-garde subcultures have come and gone with a certain degree of curiosity and sometimes controversy, for they were often intended to provoke, rebel, or make a statement about established norms or identity, but rarely did they use so many elements of intimidating imagery, and rarely to the point where it was almost mainstream. People in Japan feel that it is the uncertain political and economic times that is prompting all of this stylized bravado, this “tough guise” which has even made inroads into politics.
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/5/5/12557267/5579264.jpg?333)
If at the heart of all of this bravado is basic fear and insecurity, then insecurity increased worldwide after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001; yet, to make matters worse this incident would be followed by even more insecurity, fueled by one of the world’s largest recessions since the Great Depression. Political discontent, record low voter turnouts, etc. would lead to something more sinister: extreme right and ultra-nationalist political parties, headed by equally controversial, tough-talking, loud-mouthed, populist politicians, made huge inroads during recent elections in a number of wealthy nations: the Tea party in the US, Wilder’s openly racist Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, Le Pen’s National Front Party in France, or the Golden Dawn Party in Greece, or Toru Hashimoto’s National Restoration Party in Japan. Regardless of whatever delusive, internalized, personal rewards there are to "tough guy culture" at an individual level, at the macroscopic level it marginalizes the participants from their families or society, it keeps the particpiants under-educated, under-employed or unemployable, it creates conflict, derision and division. But, when the "tough guy" enters the political arena, we have to look no further than history to see the disastrous consequences: the rise of fascism before Word War 2. The good news is that so far, the rise of tough-talking populist politicians, and the current level of bravado and public intimidation by white supremacists, or paramilitary neo-nazis or "militias" is hardly as serious as it was in many parts of the world during the Great Depression: the rise of the para-military "blackshirts" (Camicie Nere) followed by the Fascist Party in Italy, or the "brownshirts" (Sturmabteilung or SA) followed by the Nazi Party in Germany, or the para-military Kempetei in Japan. Many people in Japan see many similarities in pre-war Japan and the political climate today, yet even though the future of Japan still remains murky, the good news is that the socio-political climate is already making a turnaround in much of Europe and the US. Does history repeat itself? Perhaps some of us learned a little from history already, but perhaps not enough.