Izanami: It has been said that the make-up of Japan was created by Prince Shotoku, who appeared many times in the portraits of the bills. Izanagi: Prince Shotoku established the Seventeen Article Constitution in the year 604. The first article contains the sentence “Harmony is of the utmost...” Izanami: Since ancient times, the Japanese have taught the importance of “harmony.” Izanagi: The concept of the Constitution at that time, unlike today, was an admonition to aristocrats and bureaucrats. Its intent was that there should be much debate to avoid conflict. Izanami: This “spirit of harmony” was carried over into the modern era. Izanagi: In 1868, with the return of the monarchy from a samurai regime, a spirit of a new government became basic policy, expressed in the form of an oath by the Emperor to the gods of heaven and earth. Izanami: The so-called “Five Charter Oaths.” Izanagi: It is not much different from the 1,000-year-old “Seventeen Article Constitution” in that it demonstrates the importance of human harmony and debate. Izanami: Nevertheless, the military subsequently rose to power, leading to several wars. Izanagi: Although it may have been possible to say that Japan was caught up in the colonial struggle or battles along with those of the Western powers, this is a stain of the times that Japan has not been able to erase. Izanami: After World War II, Japan followed the path of a peaceful nation based on its regrets of the war. Izanagi: The new Constitution clearly stated the “renunciation of war” and later adopted the three non-nuclear principles of “not possessing, not producing, and not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons” as a national policy. Izanami: This earned former Prime Minister SATO Eisaku the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974. Izanagi: After steering its policies from a military to an economic focus, Japan quickly became an economic powerhouse. Izanami: Its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has ranked second in the world after the United States for more than 40 years, still holding third place. Izanagi: The driving force behind this growth was believed to be the company’s management policy based on the spirit of harmony. This is the so-called “sense of shared destiny” amongst labor and management. Izanami: Employees could work for the company for the rest of their lives as long as they did not cause any problems, while receiving raises based on age, not much commensurate to ability. Izanagi: Even the president of a major company was only paid about eight times as much as the salary of a new employee, therefore an income gap not of a substantive dierence. Izanami: Furthermore, the higher the income, the higher the taxes, with a maximum tax rate of 93%. As a result, more than 90% of the population had a middle-class consciousness. Izanagi: In recent years, however, economic globalization has greatly affected Japan. The question is whether the spirit of harmony can once again become the driving force behind Japan's recovery. Note: Salary raise was also greatly considered by the length of working years. ( From August issue, 2022 / 2022年8月号より）