I especially recommend "Japan, A Reconsideration" if you are unaware or unclear about events during the early years of occupation, and/or the current distinction between the "Chrysanthemum Club" and "Revisionist" views (Smith clearly states his adherence to the latter).
I read this book just after "Cartels of the Mind," by Ivan Hall. The timing was good. Smith indirectly explains how many of the institutional barriers focused on by Hall came about. Also, after reading Smith, one realizes that distortion of news and information about Japan takes place within the U.S., as well as in Japan.
As a reporter for the International Herald Tribune, Smith undoubtedly sought interesting material and so likely met a disproportionate amount of "unusual" Japanese. He seems unaware of the possible distortion this may have had on his views. My experience in Japan suggests a larger proportion of Japanese are happy, fulfilled and well-adjusted (and perhaps less "interesting" and newsworthy) than Smith seems to think. It follows that perhaps the cultural changes Japan "needs" are less urgent and radical.
Minor Quibbles: - I was happily surprised that Smith writes about the "backside of Japan" (ura-nihon). While his insights are generally on target, Niigata (where I live) is not "rich" has he casually and incongruously states (unless, perhaps, one compares it to the rest of ura-nihon only). - The book contains several economic errors: i) pg. 122 that pressure to reduce costs was especially high in "a strong economic cycle" - in the late 1980's; ii) pg. 129 that Japan's bureaucratic engineers did not handle the oil shocks of the 1970's well (Japan's temporary monetary expansion in response to these real shocks is taught by economists as a textbook example of appropriate policy); and iii) page 181 Japanese DEBT is compared to annual DEFICITS of other countries.
In light of the fact that, "Japan a Reinterpretation" is not a rigorously documented academic work, it sometimes seems to take itself too seriously (e.g., regarding the Emperor's degree of responsibility during WWII); but I found it a very good book overall.
Early on Smith makes a valuable point, that during the Occupation the United States essentially put the deposed rulers back in power and developed Japan in its own image and for its own purposes. Smith seems to think a lot of this, and it is certainly not orthodox history as they teach it in high schools, but it is never followed up completely, and the middle chapters consist of a wandering, dull, anecdotal criticism of Japanese society with little or no consideration for where the various strands of culture emerged. Smith seems never to have taken an anthropology course in college, since his criticisms are unabashedly Western-oriented. The standards of U.S. culture are implicitly held up as the measuring block for all of Smith's analyses. Put another way, Smith seems a bit culturally myopic, and doesn't have a very good idea of just what his ramblings mean, as interesting as they are to some degree.
Further, while it may be true that the average Japanese has a rough time of it compared to Americans, the usual depiction of the Japanese as oppressed, neurotic, and depressed is not only overstated as usual, but Smith never tries to come to grips with the cultural and political structure that brings about this situation.
On the other hand, I for one was relieved that Smith, like me, is no Japanophile. For orientalists, all aspects of Asian society, even Indian society, are routinely subjected to mystification and worship that defies common sense. To admire Japanese art, music, and so on for its own sake is one thing (and I happen to love Japanese chamber music), but to systematically glorify them is something else altogether. Of course, Smith's indifference sometimes goes to the other extreme, including some statements about Japanese art that are simply a little too subjective to be taken seriously, but at least he doesn't judge Japan based on aesthetic factors, as many people do.
As a popular book, one would not expect extensive footnotes or documentation for _Japan: A Reinterpretation_, and Smith purposely avoids making his book look too "scholarly." There are no raised numbers in the text itself to indicate when to flip to the back of the book, which seems to me pointless and confusing; instead of having the text indicate where the footnotes are, one must continually flip back and forth.
A final note: Smith lived in Japan for 20 years, but seems never to have learned Japanese! I base this on a few comments about people translating things to him (even anecdotes from the 90's) and his ignorance of even simple Japanese grammar. This is a serious blow, in my opinion, to the reliability and value of the dozens of anecdotes sprinkled throughout this book.
For those with a decent grasp of Japan's history, this book makes an interesting supplement. I would not recommend it for the lay reader, however, despite the (ironic) fact that this is intended as a popular book.
