Last time we had fun with some unusual Japanese inventions, today let’s talk about something more serious.

The more we see what’s happening in the world and the worse the global economic and social situation becomes, the more we’re convinced that our praised capitalistic system without morals and ethics–which only makes the rich even richer and pushes the poor into an even bigger hole–is but detrimental for human society.

It’s quite possible that just like we think today about the brutal Medieval feudal system from 500 years ago which seemed to those poor peasants like a normal way of life, that’s how 500 years from now they will think about our cruel capitalistic system which seems just normal to us but has in the 20th century help us cause more damage to nature and ourselves than in all human history combined.

But things are changing. Increasingly more newly established companies around the globe are becoming aware of the urgency of changing the direction and it all seems like future textbooks for economics will teach differently than they do today. Since we’re a blog about Japan, let’s focus on one of those companies which I came across in an article for Reuters.

Kamakura Investment Management was established in November 2008 and is headquartered in ancient Kamakura, a popular seaside tourist destination about 50 km from Tokyo. According to the owners, unlike short-term profit oriented companies, their investment strategy works on a principle that offers “long-term harmony with the society”. They plan on investing into about 100 small and medium-sized domestic companies that focus on the environment.

Yasuyuki Kamata, the company president in the interview for Reuters says that they don’t want to think about investments that will conclude in our generation but instead they focus on the next generation.

The firm’s high-tech equipped dealing room with tatami floor overlooks a traditional Japanese garden.

Kamata continues by saying that investors will feel good if they know that money goes to companies that provide good contributions to the society.

Time will tell if they are on the right path. One thing is certain; we are entering an era of some radical economic and social changes where it won’t be easy to crawl out of the abyss into which we fell with our own greed.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B71GY20091208

The famous Amida Buddha Daibutsu statue attracts visitors in Kamakura, Japan, 2008.

Recently, the U.N. Human Development Program issued a report for 2009 that among other many other things, looks at income inequality in countries and regions around the world.

Based on the Gini score in the report, Daily Onigiri ranked among world’s most advanced economies 6 countries with the smallest and 6 countries with the widest gap between rich and poor. Gini score indicates level of income inequality and works like this: 0 means absolute equality and 100 means absolute inequality.

Among countries with the most equality, Japan ranks 2nd right after Denmark, while Hong Kong has the biggest inequality.

Countries with the smallest gap between rich and poor

1. Denmark (Gini score: 24.7)
2. Japan (Gini score: 24.9)
3. Sweden (Gini score: 25.0)
4. Norway (Gini score: 25.8)
5. Czech Republic (Gini score: 25.8)
6. Finland (Gini score: 26.9)

Countries with the biggest gap between rich and poor

1. Hong Kong SAR, China (Gini score: 43.4)
2. Singapore (Gini score: 42.5)
3. United States of America (Gini score: 40.8)
4. Israel (Gini score: 39.2)
5. Portugal (Gini score: 38.5)
6. New Zealand (Gini score: 36.2)

The United Nations Human Development Report 2009 can be downloaded in full as a PDF file on this page.

Japan’s ex-finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa (59) was found dead today in a bedroom of his home in Tokyo’s district of Setagaya-ku. According to the police, the reason for his death is still unknown.

Nakagawa was a frequent target of world media back in February after he appeared drunk at the meeting of world powers G7 in Rome. At a press conference, his speech was slurred and incoherent which caused a lot of embarrassment for the world’s second biggest economy. Upon returning to Japan, he was forced to resign.

Below is a video of Nakagawa, speaking intoxicated at a press conference:

In this time when companies are shutting their doors, when CEOs are drowning in huge amounts of questionably gained money, and when increasingly more people are spending time at home playing computer games because they don’t have a job, let’s take a look at some alternative views on our current social system.

In USA Today I found an interview by Kazuo Inamori, 77 year old founder of Kyocera, who says that the lack of ethics and moral values in capitalism is the reason for the global economic crisis. He also criticizes excessive U.S. CEO compensations.

“Capitalism was able to bring previously unknown levels of prosperity to humankind. We have now fallen into an unprecedented recession brought about by capitalism. With humankind’s unlimited desire to earn more profits and live more affluent lifestyles, financial institutions launched new instruments, such as derivatives, using advanced mathematics and statistics. They created enormous profits by leveraging funds that were 10 times larger than their assets. This human desire caused the economic collapse. While the past prosperity resulted directly from the achievements of capitalism, the present difficulties have resulted from capitalism’s excesses.”

The interview is quite interesting, you can read the full article here.

—

Kazuo Inamori was born in Kagoshima, Japan. At 27 he founded Kyocera which today employs 66,000 people around the world and makes cell phones, components for office equipment, solar energy products, and ceramic components. Inamori is also a Zen buddhist monk under the name Dai-wa (“Great Harmony”), and a honorary citizen of San Diego.