Japan Times
READERS IN COUNCIL
May 24, 2000
Professor Sawa Takamitsu, in his article “Japan drifts without goals” (May 8) writes, “….42 years after the end of World War II, Japan became…the richest nation in the world. The goal of catching up (with advanced Western nations) had been attained.” Where Sawa derives his conclusion from is difficult for me to see. I currently take the JR Tokaido line for an hour each morning to commute to my workplace. The train is as packed as a cattle car during rush hours and sometimes I cannot get on it, even though “pushers” at the train platform valiantly try to get me on (I’m quite skinny, by the way).
I’ve been using these trains for mere than 20 years and don’t see any improvement. Furthermore, I know from experience that the Japanese still must pay prices for most food and for various services that would be considered inordinately high in the West. And affordable housing with a living-space area considered decent by Western standards, and which is within reasonable commuting distance from the workplace, is for the most part still unheard of in the Tokyo area.
I can say for sure, after having lived for many years in the Untied States and in Europe, tht Japan has still not caught up with the West in terms of living standards, as measured by the quality and affordability of housing, purchasing power for staples and services, commuting conditions and living environment. In fact, having also observed firsthand the living standards of people in Singapore, which is a so-called newly industrialized country, I’m afraid that Japan will have more than the West to catch up with now.
KO UNOKI
Fujisawa, Kanagawa
佐和 隆光教授は、「目標なき漂流」（5月8日付）の中で、「戦後42年、日本は世界一豊かな国になった。欧米先進国に追いつくという目標は達成されたのである」 と書いている。沢氏がどこからその結論を導き出したのか、私にはわかりにくい。私は今、職場への通勤に毎朝1時間、JR東海道線に乗っている。ラッシュ時の電車は牛車並みの満員で、ホームにいる「押し屋」が果敢に乗り込もうとしても、乗れないこともある（ちなみに私はかなり痩せている）。
20年以上利用しているが、改善される気配はない。さらに、日本人はいまだにほとんどの食べ物やさまざまなサービスに対して、欧米では異常に高いと思われる価格を支払わなければならないことを私は経験から知っている。また、欧米の基準でまともな居住空間を持ち、職場から適度な通勤距離にある手頃な価格の住宅は、東京周辺ではまだほとんど見かけません。
米国や欧州に長年住んでみて言えるのは、日本は生活水準（住宅の質と価格、生活必需品とサービスの購買力、通勤条件、生活環境など）の面で、まだ欧米に追いついていないということだ。実際、いわゆる新興工業国であるシンガポールの人々の生活水準も目の当たりにして、日本はこれから欧米の他にも追いつかなければならないのではと危惧しています。
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