While Japan issues public warnings even at relatively low pollution levels, China and India have long tolerated far more severe air pollution. Drawing on Tadao Umesao’s observations, this text argues that environmental neglect reflects deeper civilizational traits.

2017-06-20
This short essay contrasts Japan’s strict public-health responses to air pollution with the long-standing neglect seen in China and India.
It frames environmental degradation not merely as a technical problem, but as a reflection of political priorities and civilizational values.
The argument is grounded in the anthropological insights of Tadao Umesao.

2017-06-20
Even today, warnings have been issued in Japan advising people to refrain from non-essential outings due to the condition of the sky.
Meanwhile, China, whose air pollution levels are more than three times higher, has allowed this situation to persist for over a decade, while pouring enormous sums of money into military expansion and distorted ambitions aimed at global hegemony.
India, too, continues to leave air pollution at levels comparable to China unaddressed.
Based on academic field research conducted while living across almost all provinces of China, Tadao Umesao reached the conclusion that China is a country of “plausible lies” and “bottomless evil.”
It goes without saying that the air pollution of China and India is an expression of this “bottomless evil” and these “plausible lies.”
Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that Tadao Umesao was the world’s foremost anthropologist and ethnologist.