When I first arrived in Japan, much ado was made of a young American man being caned in Singapore. I was a law and order man, and wanted to appease my Asian masters. When queried, I replied 'When in Rome...' to justify the violence inflicted on that young man by the Singapore government. Violence, whether performed by the state or others, but particularly by the state, causes more problems than violence solves. Mr. Obama's murder of Mr. Abe might be an example.
I was raised in a culture which strongly enforced the European ethic of right and wrong. Dualistic thinking is often wrong, but that is a dualistic statement. European cultures, and I am a product of a European culture, teach a strong sense of 'right, wrong, and if you ain't the former, I'm gonna kick your ___ until I feel better about occasions I felt I was the latter'.
Sound bites grossly simplify and are often wrong. (More dualism!) They are extraordinarily effective in mob rule, which is what many Americans call democracy. A 'law and order candidate' is difficult to defeat. Every voter likes to pretend xhe is a law abiding citizen. We quickly leap at opportunities to externalise our guilt. One might accuse me of trying to externalise my guilt with this blog post. One would be grossly oversimplifying.
I used to work for an attorney. He was like a father to me. He stood up for me at my wedding. He was a good man. He wanted to be good. Mostly, that is insufficient to be good.
One's father is a powerful authority figure. I, as did Mr. Jobs and many males do, try to legitimise our fealty by substituting our fathers. While working for this attorney, whom I will call Mr. X, I channeled paternal allegience to trust him, my employer. Perhaps he was undeserving of my trust. At least to me, he turned out to not be the man my father was. But then, my father was a pastor. Not exactly the rough and tumble of the legal industry, particularly a nascent Asian imitation of the post Canon Law industry of Europe.
While working for Mr. X in Japan, I was employed on a labour visa. When I visited the ImportantHeights labour bureau to inquire about health insurance, the officials explained that my employer was legally required to pay the employer's share of my health insurance. The officials told me Mr. X was not paying my health insurance, nor was he paying any of his other legally required employer contributions, e.g. pension, unemployment insurance, etc. The officials informed me that Japanese attorneys, as a rule, do not pay legally required employer obligations. A very, very small percentage of Japanese attorney employers pay their legally required share. So few as to say, none. Perhaps less. The Japanese attorney culture thinks, speaks and acts as if it is above the law. Reminds one of America's insistence on policing other's nuclear weapons.
As per Japanese legal regulations, Mr. X would occasionally be required to serve as a court appointed criminal defence attorney. On one occasion, the evidence against his defendant was very strong. I appealed to Mr. X that we try this or that, and he repeatedly dismissed my ideas with the justification that the client was clearly guilty. I am frequently amazed at how many attorneys, Japanese and foreign, have no understanding of their responsibility to defend the client. The attorney's job is not to judge. None of us are here to judge. Albeit, 'violence is wrong' is a judgement.
For many years, one of the most successful patent attorneys in Japan would regularly physically strike his employees. He did so repeatedly, even in video conferences on camera. Any law firm employee in Japan, particulary attorneys, can kiss their legal career goodbye if they take an attorney employer to court. Eventually, about a dozen of this patent attorney's employees filed a law suit against him. The matter was settled out of court. Clients continued to make this patent attorney one of, if not the most successful in Japan because clients valued his violent approach to his employees, his cheap prices or both. If you think that is evidence of the legal system working, please close this window and never read anything I write.
While working for Mr. X, I found another job. When I gave Mr. X my notice, he informed me that I was not free to leave. The job offer from the other law firm suddenly vanished.
I joined a labour union. No help.
After multiple visits to the labour authorities, multiple visits to the labour union, and me repeatedly personally asking Mr. X to pay his share of my health insurance, he repeatedly refused. He physically struck me. I reported the matter to the police, and the police refused to take any action because, I was told, he is an attorney.
Whose law is it? Nature's? The gods? Yours? The man's law is not my law. There is a higher law. Finding that law is a work in progress.
Mr. X: I apologise. I was wrong. If given the same circumstances, I would behave exactly as I did. Nonetheless, that doesn't make me right. Thank you for all your kindnesses and the many things you have given me. My debt will never be fully repaid. My love to you & yours.
