Maintaining the Monoculture

Japan shows the strength of a nation that knows itself

Keizoku wa chikara nari” (継続は力なり) “

Perseverance is strength” - Japanese proverb

Values are what define us.

Having lived in Japan for half of my life as a foreigner, the beauty of its monoculture is borne out almost every day. Ninety-seven percent of the population is Japanese. Everything functions. Crime is next to non-existent and even kids travel between kindergarten and home unescorted — by bus, train or on foot. They are taught to turn around after crossing the road and bow to drivers to show respect. It is the social fabric, felt across every walk of life, and typifies omotenashi (kindness).

Never was this more evident than when the Great East Japan Disaster struck in March 2011. A magnitude 9.0 earthquake caused a devastating tsunami that destroyed 380,000 homes, killed over 19,000 people, and exposed the human error that led to the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The tidal wave reached as far as six kilometres inland and the main island of Honshu shifted eight metres, forcing GPS maps to be recalibrated.

What happened after was truly remarkable. Never have a people pivoted in an instant. Japanese citizens rallied together and walked home for six or eight hours, knowing trains would be stopped for safety reasons. They lined up at convenience stores to buy one bottle of water to ensure their fellow citizens would not miss out. By the next day — contrary to biased media reports — supermarket shelves were full of fresh food, such is the supremacy of Japanese logistics.

Had this happened almost anywhere else, it would have been everyone for themselves. Some would have been hawking bottles of water for ten times the price, never letting a good crisis go to waste. Others would be looting and taking advantage of law enforcers being preoccupied elsewhere.

Not Japan. People stopped going to restaurants or any form of entertainment for 49 days (seven days over seven weeks) in Buddhist tradition, to respect those who had lost their lives.

To cut a long story short, everyone was on a mission to rebuild their country. No quarters given.

Despite the declining population, newly appointed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is pursuing a Japan First agenda and looking at migration as a quality-over-quantity equation. Flooding the country with migrants and risking dilution of its culture is simply not a pathway Japan wishes to go down.

By January 2026, her ministers are expected to produce a comprehensive suite of policies affecting foreigners — from visa categories and naturalisation to property ownership and social security.

PM Takaichi has launched a Ministerial Council on Accepting Foreign Nationals and Realising an Orderly Coexistence Society. It will be led by Minister Kimi Onoda, who has been tasked with coordinating policy on immigration control, foreign land purchases, and over-tourism.

The Japanese word for patience is gaman. The citizens have extremely high tolerance for most things, but this is now being tested beyond design limits.

Most recently, lawmaker Mizuho Umemura of the Sanseito Party — the Japanese One Nation equivalent — rejected the idea of expanding Muslim burial sites, noting that 99.9 percent of locals are cremated, and if those of Islamic faith wished to bury their dead they should return the remains to their country of origin and have them interred there.

Some might call this harsh, but Japan is a country that prides itself on preserving its heritage and sees that there is no quid pro quo on values. They are unapologetic. Unlike Australia, it is a country that believes equal treatment is not a form of discrimination.

Furthermore, Japan is standing its ground about its security situation. When a Chinese diplomat in Osaka threatened to behead PM Takaichi after her comments about Japan’s intention to intervene in any attack on Taiwan, the nation immediately rallied behind her. Sadly, it took the former Japanese Ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, to question whether we could truly be classified as mates, given our politicians said nothing in response.

This is why so much anxiety exists in Tokyo about our empty commitments to underwriting their energy security, which is vital to their national security. The latest Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act will only add to those concerns.

Does our government properly understand the threats in Japan’s regional theatre?

The Japanese Ministry of Defense (JMoD) stated in its 2024 Defense White Paper that scrambles to intercept Chinese military aircraft by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) surged from 96 in 2010 to 464 in 2024. While below the peak of 851 recorded in 2016, Japan’s security environment has dramatically changed.

Russia has also been a significant challenge for Japan. Scrambles by JASDF fighters intercepting Russian military aircraft approaching its airspace increased 36 percent to 237 in 2024. Of greater concern is the commencement of joint surveillance exercises with China since 2019.

All told, since 2010, the JMoD has recorded almost 12,000 scrambles to intercept Russian and Chinese military aircraft approaching its sovereign borders — more than twice a day.

At sea, the statistics are not much better. Announcements regarding Chinese combatant ships and aircraft carriers around Japan’s southwestern islands, as well as the Soya and Tsugaru Straits, jumped from three in 2010 to 52 in 2024. Last year, Chinese Coast Guard vessels were active in the contiguous waters around the Senkaku Islands, with activity reaching 355 days and the total number of vessels reaching 1,351 — both the highest ever. 2025 is already on course to exceed these levels, especially after the decapitation threat.

As a distraction from China’s clear internal malaise, provocations surrounding contested waters in the South China Sea are also being ramped up. China conducting live-fire exercises off our shores without warning are not the actions of a friend. When our government shows no strength in condemning this activity, why should we be surprised when they continue to do as they please?

Some might say Ambassador Yamagami’s remarks were at odds with the culture. On the contrary, we crossed the gaman line, and we should be grateful that good friends like this are still willing to call us out.

Australians must recognise that the weakness displayed by Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong continues to undermine our own geopolitical security and that of our allies. We keep feeding our friends to the dragon in the hope it burns us last.

It is high time we looked to Japan for its devotion to its core beliefs and discovered a renewed sense of purpose before it is too late. Time is ticking.