By examining the realities of Chinese officialdom through the concept of “Hara-guro Gaku,” this text exposes systemic corruption in China while questioning the motives behind claims that Japan discriminates against women, especially when such analyses are authored by a female expert.

2016-04-14
The following is a continuation of the previous chapter.
Emptiness—Conduct yourself as if you have neither backbone nor substance.
Handle everything swiftly, but adapt flexibly to your own advantage, always leaving yourself an escape route.
Deference—Behave obsequiously and with exaggerated politeness toward your superiors.
You may do so directly to their faces, or fawn upon their families and friends.
Arrogance—Toward those below you, act high-handed and overbearing.
Even among subordinates, be courteous only to those who are of use to you.
Cruelty—For the sake of your objective, do not concern yourself whether others live or die, whether children are sold, or whether vice is indulged in.
However, wrap all of this in the veneer of benevolence and morality.
Deafness—See nothing, say nothing, hear nothing.
Do not concern yourself with whatever is said to you.
Manipulation—Accept bribes.
The tremendous effort required to become an official, the careful maneuvering after attaining office, and the stress involved—all of the previous eleven characters exist solely for this purpose.
This is precisely the Chinese official.
In China, corruption among officials is reported almost daily.
Stories range from executions for embezzling astronomical sums, to fugitives whose planes were forced to turn back to China after attempting to flee abroad.
These days, the risks are indeed high.
Even without such reports, ordinary people know through lived experience that everyday procedures, business dealings, registrations, fraudulent transactions, real estate bubbles, insider trading—everything is the work of officials.
And yet, everyone still wants to become an official.
As for the reasons—
This essay continues.
Those who have long subscribed to newspapers such as the Asahi Shimbun will likely feel as though scales have fallen from their eyes.
At the same time, they should take note that this analysis was written by a woman.
Even a cursory look at her career should make it abundantly clear that claims portraying Japan as a country that discriminates against women prompt the obvious question: who on earth is making such claims, and for what purpose.