What should I speak first to wrap up my almost five years of stay in Michigan? I came here in May, 1989 when the violent burst of Spring was about to begin. The air was still pretty chilly during my first several days. Within a couple of weeks, however, I was surrounded by beautiful, fresh green . The growth of new green was so fast that it reminded me of Stravinsky's famous music " The Rite of Spring" which depicted the blissful arrival of spring in Russia.Living in outside of Japan, especially in the US had been my long dream since I studied English at College and used it in my following carrier at the company. Before coming to Michigan, I had a chance to visit the U. S. a few times. So I was ready to jump start my new life here.

.

So what was the most impressive experience I had here?  Nature? People? or Work? All of those were  key components of my experience here. In this essay, I will try to talk about basically three aspects of my experience: Language and American Principles; Life in Michigan; and meaning of international experience

The Fun of Communicating in English
What I concentrated most throughout the whole stay was the language. When I came here I had a fairly good skill of listening and speaking in English so I could communicate my thoughts without much frustration. But the language was not really a part of my everyday life. Listnening, for example, particularly needed a lot of concentration of the mind in early days.So during the first several months, I was breathing and absorbing the English along with the fresh summer air of Michigan.  Although my knowledge of English is still pretty much business-oriented, I now feel pretty comfortable to speak, even to teenagers and infants. I learned many American idioms from my collegues, which expanded the joy of conversation. Also we subscribed to the New York Times at home and both my wife and I enjoyed discussing current issues and analysis from the paper. On Sunday we spent most of the morning in reading the paper and its Sunday magazine*.
As often said, Japanese language doesn't have a structure to communicate thoughts logically. I had a lot of occasions to state my thinking in front of many people and this experience taught me to think and make statements more clearly and logically. In America, presentation is as much important as the contents. Style and delivery is so important that President Clinton practiced his State of the Union address too much and almost lost his voice. In Japan, eloquence never took a center stage of communication culture. People talk with implicit words and read between the lines.

American Principles
One of the strongest impressions I developed while living here was that America and its people were driven by principles. It seems to me that the fundamental principles driving this country are: Freedom; Democracy; Leadership; and Family values. These were the words I read and  heard most frequently especially from the leaders of the country. The freedom of speech, for example, is at the core of American principles and values. I was impressed many times how strongly is this right guaranteed. I remember the debate about the act of burning the Stars and Stripes. In Japan, this will be a taboo and simply unexcusable act. Japanese people are trained to abide by the social codes. There is no place for so-called sticking-out nails. In the States, however, people seems to have a right of challenging any protocols and taboos.

In some cases,I felt both up and down sides of freedom of speech. Although the debate by Presidential candidates was mostly energetic and interesting, sometimes it went into the attacks on the personalily and private issues. The way they  bombarded each other so fierecely, and yet  being able to shake hands at the end was difficult to imagine in our culture. Our practice is based on harmony and the will to reach consensus. People avoid confrontation. In the US, sometines it seemed that what matters most was to state one's own position, without giving much regard to other's position and the prospect of reaching consensus. Or did I see too much movies about lawyers?

Gulf War Experience
One memorable example I felt the importance of principles to the American people was the Gulf war in 1991. I can still recall the shivers I felt when President Bush announced the  launch of attack to Iraq in the evening of January 16, 1991. I expected the war soon after the UN deadline of Iraq's withdrawal from Kuait.I knew there was a lot of opposition to the war. But since  I was able to see the process of President's  decision-making, I could at least understand his decision. I witnessed the efforts President had taken to avoid the war.  I saw the agony splitting this leader between the hesitation of endangering American troops and the responsibility as a world superpower to maintain stability and democracy in the world. The war was for Democracy and Human rights and American Leadership.
I think the overwhelming support of the Presiden's decision once the war started was the manifestation of this understanding by the American public. I know that words and principles are prone to become cliches and sometimes undermine the truth.  But  I learned that America and its  people can act on causes and principles.

Space and Mobility
Now let me change the subject to the life in Michigan. As the time of my return to Japan came closer, my American friends often asked, " What do you miss most of America?"  I tried to say something intriguing, but  usually ended up saying, " Maybe space and mobility." The first impression you get when viewing Michigan from the airplane is the vast, rectangular land drawn up by the straight roads. No hills and mountains. In Japan 80 percent of the land are mountains and we see those hills and mountains fairly close to cities. The streets are narrow and buildings are high. The proportion of landscape is vertical, making stark contrast to the horizental landscape of the US where the buildings more than three stories are rare.  For Japanese, hotels are usually multi-story construction. So when we see single or two story motels for the first time, we can't believe that it's a hotel.

Once you start driving a car, you quickly recognize the benefits of its mobility which expand your territory drastically. I commuted from Ann Arbor to Flat Rock everyday. I cruised 70-75 miles without traffic problems except on some winter days. So I could cover the 37 miles  one way in less than 45 minutes. My wife went to a graduate school at Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti with her own car. Probably it was she who most appreciated easy access to school, shopping mall and friends' houses. In Japan, we rely heavily on public transportation and waiting time can be frustrating.

We drove a total of four different vehicles in Michigan. Here cars are indispensable tool for daily life like shoes.. The reliabilty of these machines is crucial for your safety.  We accumulated over 140,000 miles on those four vehicles, which is equivalent of going back and forth between Michigan and Japan 10 times.

Driving into the Deep South
One of our memorable trips by car was a trip to New Orleans in the winter of 1992. We drove down through Ohio, Kentucy,Tennessee and Mississippi before entering Luisiana. The mansion we stayed in Natchez, Mississippi was a historical one where the first Confederate President Jefferson Davis married. But what impressed me more was a spectacular view of the mighty Mississippi river.
I was amazed when the woman of the mansion told me with a heavy southern accent that the river was more than 100 feet deep. We don't have such deep rivers in Japan. Even the big ones are usually not more than 10 feet deep. Unfortunately, the mightiness of the Mississippi river caused a disaster in many  Midwest states last summer. Anyway, the language and culture of the South was pretty different from those of North. And when we saw the confederate flag hanged at the State Capital in Montgomery, Alabama, we could better understand the civil war and racial issues which had split the South and North for almost 100 years until 1960s.

In talking about the nature, I can't afford not mentioning the beauty of northern Michigan. I attended the University of Michigan's seminar up in Traverse city every summer. We also visited Mackinac island and went to the upper peninsula a few times. The beautiful green and the blue Lake Michigan are uncomparable in its scale and abunduance. In the fall, the view from the top of the Chrystal mountain, south of Traverse city was just fabulous. The diversity of colors ranging from deep red to orange and to yellow can't  be easily seen in Japan. The colors were all over in any direction we turned. The only place we wanted to visit in Michigan but unable to do so was Copper Harbour, which is a narrow peninsula sticking out into Lake Superior. We had an ambition of visiting there on a cold winter day. But it's almost 600 miles from here and it was wise not trying that especially after the winter we had this year!
This country has an enormous nature and well-organized national parks. Unfortunately, we visited only a couple -  Yosemite and Great Smokie Mountains. But we want to visit other places someday.

Detroit and Its Community
When Mazda, a Japanse automaker decided to build a plant in suburbs of Detroit and started sending people here, many thought that it would not be safe and had a gloomy image of life. But in reality, almost everybody  enjoyed the life here very much. That is not just because we can play a lot of golf. But because of the overall conditions of life such as confortable housings, inexpensive prices, richness of nature and  friendly people. Of course most people lived outskirts of Detroit and it is true there are poverty and crimes in the city of Detroit.
It is unfortunate that Detroit lost half of  its population since its peak in mid- 60s. However, there are some exciting entertainment and sports events in the city.  Many of us visited the Tiger stadium and appreciated its beauty and Cecil Fielder who played in Japanese professional team several years ago.
The Detroit Institute of Arts(DIA) and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra(DSO) are one of the best in the country. The Fox and Fisher theatres provide a good entertainment throughout the year.

I was involved in several community and philanthropic activites such as Detroit Free Press /Mazda International Marathon and sponsorship of DIA and DSO. The marathon, which we have been co-sponsoring since 1990, was one of the most exciting event. Both American and Japanese employees and their families volunteered to host aid stations and helped runners. I always envied the runners at the start line because they was so triumphant and jubilant. Marathon is usually only for top athletes in Japan. This type of grass roots-oriented, citizen's race was new to me. Both runners and volunteers could share the feeling of participation. This race showed us the spirit of people who believed that Detroit was up and running.

Philanthropic activities was another area I could learn the difference. In Japan corporate philanthropy is still in its infancy. Non-profit organizations are still largely funded by governments and taxes.There is a undercurrent feeling in Japanese people that receiveing donations and gifts are somewhat shameful. In Western culture, it may be Nobless Oblige and natural to help the unfortunate.In Japan, 90 percent people regard themselves belonging to a middle class. In this country, there is a  deep division between the rich and the poor. In a sense, contribution is a mechanism to level the distribution of  fortune throughout the whole spectrum of society. Many millionaires who succeeded in their life and made a fortune became very active in the philanthropic causes. But even the ordinary people can have a sense of resposibility and participation in their society by donating small amount of their fortune.

President J.F. Kennedy said in his inauguration speech :" Ask not what the country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."  For me this is a vigorous representation of the democratic causes that is alive in the people of this country.

In the Heart of American Automotive Industry
During the last 5 years there was a enormous change in the business we are in. Southeast Michigan is the heartland of the American automotive industry and being in the midest of it in itself was an interesting experience.During this period the American automotive industry suffered long and recently came back very strongly. There was a Japan-bashing and then unprecedented tie-ups were made among Big Three and the US government. The pressure is still on the Japanese which is now suffering from the severe recession at home. I am not going to start discussion  about the political side of our business. But I believe, like many Americans, that  the American auto industry's competitivenes was regained through tough competition with the world's automakers, especially with the Japanese.

We know that America always oscillated between free trade and managed trade. But in my opinion, it was the freedom of competition that drove the indivisuals and companies into success and prosperity. With that competitive mind this country has kept its never-ceasing energy and creativity. Hardworkers may have a chance to succeed with a help of a little luck. In that sense American Dream may be still alive. And that's why people still immigrate into this country. There is a decent chance of success, especially for an educated people, in today's American society.

America's Challenges, Japan's Changes
Of course the competition theory also yeilds dropouts. In addition, there is a growing concern for the level of education and loss of intellectual jobs right now. America is trying to address those issues. Japan, on the other hand, is too homogenious and its system undermines the differences. This system started to cause problems as our society became more mature and showed symptoms of advanced liberal capitalistic society. Japan needs to change to allow more indivisuality and competition.  This may  inevitably destruct the illusion of 90 peercent middle-class society.

So probably our two countries are closing the gap from opposite directions.  But I don't think Japan should hope that the traditional Japanese customs and behaviors will be fully understood someday by the US and the West.  Rather, Japan needs to fully master their language and principles to communicate more effectively and become a real partner of these countries. This will not be easy since the difference between Japan and the West is deeply rooted in their own histories and cultures.

But when we look at the business world, our countries are closely interliked and cooperation is expanding at a tremendous pace. The traffic and exchange of people between East and West are ever increasing. Only second to Germany, Japan is the most popular destination of  US high school  exchange students under Youth for Understanding Exchange Program.

After Returning to Japan...
Having been outside of Japan, I tended to be more critical to Japan's downsides and upheld the positive sides of the US. That's a normal tendency for a person sent by an international company and lived under protected environment. For example, I did't have to worry about getting laid-off or health care costs. Probably after returning to Japan I will  glorify the experience here as we live in a tiny apartment and severe economic slump of Japan. Or will I reverse my position and criticize US for not trying to understand our society and culture and for pushing framework talks? I might. But since I now somehow understand US 's tactics and how the politics works inside the beltway, I don't think I will overreact or become Ken-bei(dislike America). I want to keep the flexibility to digest the complexities of  issues and be patient with the situation without making easy labeling or name-calling.

I see Japan stands at a turningpoint in terms of political system, economy, corporate structures and is shifting to more consumer-oriented society. The changes may be gradual, but will be significant. Basically I am a strong advocate of these changes.

After getting so used to the life here, can I adjust to the Japanese system easily? Probably no major problems. I would speak Japanese most of the time and bow to people instead of shaking hands. Although I forgot some complicated Kanjis (Chinese characters),  I should be able to speak Keigo (honorifics) without making big mistakes.I will miss the opportunity to hear and speak English, so I will probably buy  a satellite broadcast system to watch CNN. I will communicate with my freiends through Compu Serv. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

In leaving the U.S.A., I want to thank America and the people I was associated with for a lot of fund memories and valuable experience. I was lucky to come at rather young age and learned things which I could have never did just living in Japan. The experience is part of myself and will be my asset for life. Thank you again and I wish you the best of health and happiness.
(February, 1994)