Japan offers a better economic model for developing nations to face the challenges of globalisation because these societies cannot endure the high degree of social cost which comes with the American model.

According to internationally renowned economist Prof Yoshihara Kunio, most developing countries are not ready to face the wide socio-economic gap and high levels of social ills produced by the American economic model.

"Despite the Japanese economic stagnation, Japan has strong social stability as opposed to the US," he added.

Kunio was speaking at a public conference entitled 'Globalisation and National Identity: The Japanese Alternative to the American Model', which was jointly organised by the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan) and The Star at the Intan campus in Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur today.

Kunio, who stressed that he was not a "Japanese nationalist", explained that although the American model is dynamic and helps drive entrepreneurial spirit, it nevertheless comes with a high social cost.

He contended that the Japanese model strikes a balance between economic growth and social development.

High crime rate

According to him, statistics showed that the homeless population in the US stands at 500,000 whereas Japan only has 15,000. The poverty rate in the US is also higher at 13.7 percent while Japan only has 0.7 percent.

The crime rate in the US is also high with about 2 million people currently behind bars, he said.

Kunio defined globalisation as a process of integration at a global scale, not unlike the process of nationalisation at the domestic level.

"Integrations can take place in the various forms such as in the goods and capital market, money, labour market, language, culture, education and legal system," he said.

However, he elaborated that unlike the process of nationalisation, there is no central government to promote integration in the advent of globalisation and each country is responsible for its own affairs while their economy is being globalised.

"The United Nations is not a central government," he lamented.

Kunio, thus, identified two major problems that may bring about negative consequences.

According to him, the first problem will be "intensified competition" which produces unequal income distribution and inevitably lead to various social ills such as higher crime rates, drug abuse and spread of diseases.

Secondly, the role of nation states as a "national community" will be weakened.

Cultural division

Kunio also gave the example of the "one directional influence" of the US upon Malaysia which led to the increasing influence of US businesses and the English language.

As a consequence, there will be a "cultural split" among Malaysians in which there exists an English-educated minority who will benefit from the fruits of globalisation as opposed to "an oppressed" Malay-educated group.

"The Hawaiians (in the US) are culturally and economically oppressed because their language is not in the mainstream and their culture has became a sub-culture," he reasoned.

Kunio added that in order for developing countries such as Malaysia to avoid the same fate as the Hawaiians in the age of globalisation, these countries should prescribed four strategies which were implemented by Japan:

- Provide mass education to enable the population to learn and teach about social morality

- Government intervention in the economy to soften the impact of competition

- Strengthen the national language as a medium of communication

- Strengthen the national culture to enhance the national identity and sense of pride among the population.

"Developing countries can choose to follow either the US way or the Japanese way," he said, adding that either direction is nevertheless difficult in the era of globalisation.

No regional response

Later, during the question-and-answer session, Dr Giovanni Capannelli from the Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya, said that while the majority of Malaysians would agree on the negative aspects of the American model, he questioned why Kunio did not choose an Asian model instead of using the Japanese model as a comparison to the US one.

Capannelli also commented that apart from the "social ills" and "social inequities" pointed out by Kunio, Japan actually has its own social problems such as the high suicide rate in Japan.

Kunio conceded that he was fascinated by the Japanese-versus-US debate ever since he was studying in United States.

Capannelli also asked why there should be a national response, vis-a-vis the Japanese model, and not a regional response towards globalisation.

Kunio explained that unlike Europe, a "regional response" to globalisation is not practical in Asia.

"Europe is way advanced in regionalisation. They have the European Parliament. They have the EU Commission. Asia is very, very far from that," he said.

Look East policy

Meanwhile, National Economic Action Council executive director Mustapha Mohamed, who chaired the public lecture said that Malaysia will continue to look upon the Japanese model for development as espoused in the 'Look East policy', implemented by the government since the early 1980s.

He said the government would continue to strengthen the national language and culture as a preparation to face the challenges of globalisation.

Mustapha later launched Kunio's new book which also carries the same title as the lecture.

Kunio has written numerous books on Asia's political economy. In 1999, he was barred from Indonesia on orders of General Wiranto, who was then the minister of defense and security, for "security reasons".

The translation of one of his earlier books, 'The Rise of Ersatz Capitalism in Southeast Asia', was banned by the then president Suharto in 1991 for undermining the former dictator's credibility.