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A review by jameseckman
Dogs and Demons: Tales From the Dark Side of Modern Japan by Alex Kerr
4.0
While this book getting a bit long in tooth, I suspect the main point, bureaucracy is strangling Japan, is still a valid one.
The nightmare of big construction and government is still going on and foreign builders and architects don't play much of a role in Japan. For one older, well written example of this, see [b:The Battle for the Life and Beauty of the Earth: A Struggle Between Two World-Systems|13690365|The Battle for the Life and Beauty of the Earth A Struggle Between Two World-Systems|Christopher W. Alexander|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1352103601s/13690365.jpg|19311070]. Also Japan doesn't have zoning as practiced in most of the US (excepting Texas), when I watch Japanese building/remodeling shows, it's fairly common for the building to be very different from its neighbors and bit out of place. This may not be a bad thing, but it can be if everyone mixes it up too much. Having been to Kyoto, I was disappointed on how much of the old city was torn down, but the US has done this as well.
As for education and access to information, I'm not up on what's current, but I'm sure that there's a some changes from when this book was written. However the economy is still in the dumps and Fukushima was just a horrible continuation of issues covered in this book.
A depressing read, if there are brighter sides to current Japan, I'd like to read about those as well.
The nightmare of big construction and government is still going on and foreign builders and architects don't play much of a role in Japan. For one older, well written example of this, see [b:The Battle for the Life and Beauty of the Earth: A Struggle Between Two World-Systems|13690365|The Battle for the Life and Beauty of the Earth A Struggle Between Two World-Systems|Christopher W. Alexander|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1352103601s/13690365.jpg|19311070]. Also Japan doesn't have zoning as practiced in most of the US (excepting Texas), when I watch Japanese building/remodeling shows, it's fairly common for the building to be very different from its neighbors and bit out of place. This may not be a bad thing, but it can be if everyone mixes it up too much. Having been to Kyoto, I was disappointed on how much of the old city was torn down, but the US has done this as well.
As for education and access to information, I'm not up on what's current, but I'm sure that there's a some changes from when this book was written. However the economy is still in the dumps and Fukushima was just a horrible continuation of issues covered in this book.
A depressing read, if there are brighter sides to current Japan, I'd like to read about those as well.