Stephen,
Your comments are most welcome and informative. Thank you.
<<Same reason why the rest of Asia would barely tolerate a strong Japan, and Asia will never tolerate a strong Japan if there were 1.2 billion Japanese......>>
It seems to me that the rest of Asia, have not only tolerated a strong Japan but indeed have emulated it. It also seems to me that a goodly period of the crisis to date, has been spent by leaders in those countries looking to Japan for a way out. That Japan seems intent on resting on an old saw of exporting its way out has only recently been seen as fallacious. And it is only recently that I see evidence of a departure from Japan's model, with Malaysia closing its borders (so to speak) and Thailand embracing IMF recommendations wholly. Neither of these strategies are Japanese in any way.
<<Maybe in the next 2-3 generations for overseas Chinese immersed in different societies and cultures.>>
Maybe. However, in my humble opinion, the off shore Chinese Diaspora experience has only reinforced the need to eschew the civic and embrace the familial. Can you even begin to imagine a Chinese businessman in Indonesia contributing time or money to an Islamic school? (Unless it was somehow a part of a business deal??) This aspect of the Chinese ethos can hardly be criticized IMO. In the greater scope of historical experience, the Chinese, both in China and off shore, have tremendous empirical evidence that anything beyond the family is capricious, dangerous and (thankfully from their view) short lived.
Best,
Stitch
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