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The Outnation: A Search for the Soul of Japan
In Japanese, the word for "foreign country" means literally "outnation". But to many American and Japanese, it is Japan itself that, despite its rising influence in world affairs, is the outsider - "The Outnation". In this rigourous and searching journey through Japan's islands and institutions, Richard Rauch finds that today's Japan is strikingly and often surprisingly familiar. Economically it's similar to America in the days of the great cartels and company towns, with a high-tech update. Politically, it's Mayor Daley's Chicago raised to a national scale and its values, far from being alien to the West are Plato's own.
- GenresJapanNonfiction
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 26, 2020
When I came across Outnation I read it because I wondered what a non-expert on Japan would observe about the country, its society, and its culture.
I came away impressed with three aspects of the book. First, Rauch was quite astute about the essential sociocultural dynamics of the the nation circa the early 1990’s when it was published.
Second, he provided informative comparisons to and contrasts with the USA. This was particularly true in his efforts to demonstrate that the ‘mysteriousness’ of the country to most Westerners is because they fail to recognize the significance of its hierarchical social structure.
Third, the author accomplished all of this quite skillfully. His prose was clear and concise. He peppered his observations with many examples from encounters and conversations he had with Japanese people. Quotations from renowned Western experts on Japan like Donald Richie and George Samson and the famous Japanese political writer Masao Murayama were provided in a timely way. When he introduced a concept, he explained it thoroughly. The same can be said for his use of Japanese terms: he always immediately provided a translation in order to ensure that the reader would be able to follow his train of thought. All of these stylistic qualities meant that Outnation was both quite readable and engaging.
Although he is an economist by training, Rauch himself acknowledged that he had a bias towards emphasizing the value of generating knowledge over economic success. But he still used his own perspective in the final pages of the book where he critiqued what he perceived as Japan’s flaws and offered prescriptions for how it could overcome them. To me that proved just how difficult it is for an observer to completely shed the intellectual and emotional lenses through which he views the world. Ie, he was applying Western values to an Asian culture.
IMHO, there is some modest flaws with Outnation. While he quotes others, he does not provide any footnotes. Neither is there a bibliography or, at least, a list of recommended sources. Ie, this is not a scholarly piece of work. But it is still quite informative and interesting.
Additionally, there is a wealth of photos of the people and places he visited. Unfortunately, there are no captions to explain these. Even for someone like me who is familiar with the country it was difficult to discern what he wanted to communicate with these photos.
As an aside, I should note that Outnation was written when Japan was at the height of its successes. In fact, by the mid 1980's many people in the USA were worried that it was going to overtake the USA as the #1 economy in the world. Little did Rauch, or anyone else in the world, realize that shortly after the book’s publication its economic ‘bubble’ would burst and the country would enter what many called a ‘lost decade’ of economic stagnation. Actually it was more than two decades before it began to climb out of its economic doldrums. It still faces a declining and aging population, women who are still not allowed economic and social equality, and tense relations with its neighbors South Korea and China. It would be fascinating to see what Rauch might say about all of this in a second edition.
I came away impressed with three aspects of the book. First, Rauch was quite astute about the essential sociocultural dynamics of the the nation circa the early 1990’s when it was published.
Second, he provided informative comparisons to and contrasts with the USA. This was particularly true in his efforts to demonstrate that the ‘mysteriousness’ of the country to most Westerners is because they fail to recognize the significance of its hierarchical social structure.
Third, the author accomplished all of this quite skillfully. His prose was clear and concise. He peppered his observations with many examples from encounters and conversations he had with Japanese people. Quotations from renowned Western experts on Japan like Donald Richie and George Samson and the famous Japanese political writer Masao Murayama were provided in a timely way. When he introduced a concept, he explained it thoroughly. The same can be said for his use of Japanese terms: he always immediately provided a translation in order to ensure that the reader would be able to follow his train of thought. All of these stylistic qualities meant that Outnation was both quite readable and engaging.
Although he is an economist by training, Rauch himself acknowledged that he had a bias towards emphasizing the value of generating knowledge over economic success. But he still used his own perspective in the final pages of the book where he critiqued what he perceived as Japan’s flaws and offered prescriptions for how it could overcome them. To me that proved just how difficult it is for an observer to completely shed the intellectual and emotional lenses through which he views the world. Ie, he was applying Western values to an Asian culture.
IMHO, there is some modest flaws with Outnation. While he quotes others, he does not provide any footnotes. Neither is there a bibliography or, at least, a list of recommended sources. Ie, this is not a scholarly piece of work. But it is still quite informative and interesting.
Additionally, there is a wealth of photos of the people and places he visited. Unfortunately, there are no captions to explain these. Even for someone like me who is familiar with the country it was difficult to discern what he wanted to communicate with these photos.
As an aside, I should note that Outnation was written when Japan was at the height of its successes. In fact, by the mid 1980's many people in the USA were worried that it was going to overtake the USA as the #1 economy in the world. Little did Rauch, or anyone else in the world, realize that shortly after the book’s publication its economic ‘bubble’ would burst and the country would enter what many called a ‘lost decade’ of economic stagnation. Actually it was more than two decades before it began to climb out of its economic doldrums. It still faces a declining and aging population, women who are still not allowed economic and social equality, and tense relations with its neighbors South Korea and China. It would be fascinating to see what Rauch might say about all of this in a second edition.
January 9, 2022
The reason "The Outnation" deserved to be reprinted after 30 years – and the reason I was eager to read it – is not the main subject matter but the author. I have no particular interest in Japan, but am a long-time fan of Jonathan Rauch. What was his first book like? Was he from the outset intent on showing the relevance of Enlightenment liberalism in today's world? Did he always write in that engaging way that makes you want to shake the author's hand? I was curious.
"The Outnation" is enlightening on all counts. When it was written, Japan was widely regarded in American as exceptional and exceptionally dangerous. Rauch's affectionate but critical account shows it is nothing of the sort. The nation's great energy, he argues, is being held back by restrictive traditions and institutions.
A cozy nexus of bureaucrats and corporate insiders is stifling competition at home, leading the Japanese to rely on foreigners to maintain the trial-and-error systems of open markets and impersonal rules on which their creativity and success depends. This analysis foreshadows Rauch's 1995 essay on the stultifying power of special interests, "Demosclerosis".
"The Outnation" also stresses the importance of open debate as central to both the scientific revolution and the rise of democracy in the West, and contrasts these with Japan's culture of conflict avoidance which he says prevents the emergence of truth. These passages read like a preview of "Kindly Inquisitors" (1993) and Rauch's most recent book, "The Constitution of Knowledge", which turn the spotlight on worrying developments in his native America.
But what is most striking about "The Outnation" is the personal voice. The first thing most journalists do when they set out to write about a country is go through everything experts have said about it. Second, they make it clear that they've done their homework. Through numerous quotes, they tell readers: "Just because I'm a reporter doesn't mean I'm talking off the top of my head."
Rauch does nothing of that. Remarkably for a young writer (he can't have been much more than 30 when he wrote the book), he does not hide behind any authority. Had he shown less trust in his own intuition, he would have lapsed into sociology. He does venture sweeping conclusions, but they are based on observation. Every page is infused with life. The reader does want to shake his hand.
"The Outnation" is enlightening on all counts. When it was written, Japan was widely regarded in American as exceptional and exceptionally dangerous. Rauch's affectionate but critical account shows it is nothing of the sort. The nation's great energy, he argues, is being held back by restrictive traditions and institutions.
A cozy nexus of bureaucrats and corporate insiders is stifling competition at home, leading the Japanese to rely on foreigners to maintain the trial-and-error systems of open markets and impersonal rules on which their creativity and success depends. This analysis foreshadows Rauch's 1995 essay on the stultifying power of special interests, "Demosclerosis".
"The Outnation" also stresses the importance of open debate as central to both the scientific revolution and the rise of democracy in the West, and contrasts these with Japan's culture of conflict avoidance which he says prevents the emergence of truth. These passages read like a preview of "Kindly Inquisitors" (1993) and Rauch's most recent book, "The Constitution of Knowledge", which turn the spotlight on worrying developments in his native America.
But what is most striking about "The Outnation" is the personal voice. The first thing most journalists do when they set out to write about a country is go through everything experts have said about it. Second, they make it clear that they've done their homework. Through numerous quotes, they tell readers: "Just because I'm a reporter doesn't mean I'm talking off the top of my head."
Rauch does nothing of that. Remarkably for a young writer (he can't have been much more than 30 when he wrote the book), he does not hide behind any authority. Had he shown less trust in his own intuition, he would have lapsed into sociology. He does venture sweeping conclusions, but they are based on observation. Every page is infused with life. The reader does want to shake his hand.
January 17, 2026
Part One of this book is one of the most helpful examinations I've found so far of Japanese social institutions and structures. Living in Japan can be disorienting and I wonder if having read this beforehand would have helped. Myths of homogeneity and uniqueness are propagated within and without Japan. Rauch breaks these down by describing Japan's overarching social structures along with their exceptions and contradictions. In Japan, just as in America, there are people who wish to be part of something larger and those who wish to be independent; people content with the status quo and people frustrated with it. Additionally, Rauch holds Japan as a mirror up to America—that which we criticize in the former is also present in the latter, though we kid ourselves with a veneer of individual expression. In that way, this book is as much about America as it is about Japan.
Japan is, of course, different, “but not especially different.” What, I think, most Americans find difficult is that great importance is placed on social connections and potentially damaging "conflict" is avoided. But more falls under that label in Japan, including public disagreement, criticism and differences. Decisions are made by intuited consensus, and rather than giving feedback, unpopular ideas or uncomfortable differences are ignored (silence means no... hell, sometimes "yes" followed by inaction means no). It has been my experience that many foreigners go to Japan expecting an ecstatic reception of their new ideas, but they’re setting themselves up for disappointment.
There are a couple issues with this book, the first being its age: it was written when Americans were anxious about an up-and-coming economic rival and much of Part Two is spent answering the now irrelevant question, "should Americans fear Japan?" Unless you're interested in it as a historical document, feel free to skip around.
The second issue is the questionable Japanese language ability of its author. Rauch admits he can't read it and it's unclear how many of his conversations take place in English or through an interpreter. Commentary on a society tends to be suspect when the commentator cannot fully participate, blocked, for example by a language barrier. I was, however, still impressed with many of his observations.
Japan is, of course, different, “but not especially different.” What, I think, most Americans find difficult is that great importance is placed on social connections and potentially damaging "conflict" is avoided. But more falls under that label in Japan, including public disagreement, criticism and differences. Decisions are made by intuited consensus, and rather than giving feedback, unpopular ideas or uncomfortable differences are ignored (silence means no... hell, sometimes "yes" followed by inaction means no). It has been my experience that many foreigners go to Japan expecting an ecstatic reception of their new ideas, but they’re setting themselves up for disappointment.
There are a couple issues with this book, the first being its age: it was written when Americans were anxious about an up-and-coming economic rival and much of Part Two is spent answering the now irrelevant question, "should Americans fear Japan?" Unless you're interested in it as a historical document, feel free to skip around.
The second issue is the questionable Japanese language ability of its author. Rauch admits he can't read it and it's unclear how many of his conversations take place in English or through an interpreter. Commentary on a society tends to be suspect when the commentator cannot fully participate, blocked, for example by a language barrier. I was, however, still impressed with many of his observations.
August 15, 2016
A travelogue and a portait of the Japan at the peak of its power, containing a number of peculiar and true observations about the Japanese professional, polical and research discourse - either extremely detailed and punctillious or impassioned and appealing to the most extreme emotions, the early warning signs of the US behaving as a bully and a cheater in the world trade, the issues of the Middle East from the Japanese point of view, the ease of actually living and being accepted in Japan as a forgeigner and the simultaneous difficulty of getting your point of view being taken seriously, as yet again a foreigner.
July 30, 2011
19 years really ages a book on America-Japan political-economic views. 'A Search for the Soul of Japan' this book is not. However, Rauch does make some interesting observations on Japanese politics circa 1985-1991, including an interesting take on Japans behaviour during the Kuwaiti oil embargo.
May 2, 2015
Really enjoyable. Great writing and some interesting points.
December 3, 2014
In depth look at the Japanese society and economy. The school section was particularly interesting.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews