Indecent Infatuation?

I am simply infatuated with Japan. I visit often and have been there for an exchange program, but every visit, instead of quenching any thirst, merely feeds the frenzy of my infatuation of a culture and society that I feel is both spectacularly progressive yet inherently flawed.

For example, what other country (aside from what China is attempting now) has been able to successfully carry out economic, military and political progression on a scale that Japan had done during the 19th - 21st century. For a very closed off society, they have been displayed a freakishly chameleon-like ability to smoothly adapt and cohere with an everchanging global situation. This, of course, does not discount the fact that they have encountered countless hiccups along the way; but for a country not dictating the rules (unlike the USA), Japan's rapid rise possibly stems from the culture's unique ability to simultaneously (yet logically) reject and accept contradicting values, building a democracy on the base of a traditional and autocratic society.

I guess this blog will deal with everything I love and hate about Japan. Believe me, despite every thing I find fascinating with their culture and society, dislikes are churned out at an equally fast rate. Perhaps that is what is so infatuating about Japan, I can't get enough of its imperfectness.

A little background on me. I am a young graduate of East-Asian descent (not Japanese) and am western educated. I w0uld not say I travel to Japan extensively, but I make it a point to at least visit once or twice a year. I have learnt the Japanese language, but am far from fluent, though I am able to carry out simple conversation and get through daily life. Well, till next time then.