Hopes for Japan

Day 489, 23:26 • Published in Japan Japan • by Sophia Forrester

It has taken me some time to get my ideas on paper, regarding my candidacy for the Congress of Japan. I seek election to Congress in order to work toward two primary goals: Promoting the culture of eJapan, and making Japan a more hospitable nation for newcomers to eRepublik. While both of these are tasks that Congress cannot accomplish alone, I am hopeful that Congress could play an important role in working toward both these goals, and if elected I hope to help begin that debate.

My hope for Japan's future is for us to become a prosperous nation whose thriving culture attracts interest and dynamism from across the new world. The most crucial part of eRepublik is not war or economics; but rather the vibrancy of its playerbase, and no matter how many JPY one earns, if it is treated as only numbers the game becomes stale. Economic stagnation presents barriers to interest which deter players from staying involved enough to make things interesting to others. Since Congress's most significant influence, other than war, is over the economy, this is an area where I hope to be of assistance. Congress must work to ensure that, where roadblocks to players' involvement exist, those players have the tools they need to dismantle them.

A concrete example is the housing market. While it has improved over the past week, Japan still has many fewer houses for sale than larger nations. While this is understandable given our lack of plentiful wood resources and the investment, in materials and labor, required to make even a single house, it still presents room for improvement. If new players see that there are houses available, even at prices they would not be able to afford for months, they have a goal to work toward. On the other hand, if few or no houses are available (as was the case last week), those same players would have less incentive to stay in Japan. Q3 food also has become much more affordable recently, which will make things easier for players making the transition from Q1 to higher-quality employment. Having a prosperous economy helps attract interest, and maintain the interest of the citizens we have.

But economics, again, is just numbers. If all we did in this game was working and training every day, buying food when needed, the game wouldn't have its appeal. The appeal of this game is culture, and Japan has that in spades. From the variety of articles in our newspapers to the forum discussion surrounding an "Emperor" and a Shinto eReligion, it's a mix of ideas and interests that couldn't quite work in any other nation. And even if many players might look at the economic side first, it's ultimately the culture that will keep players interested.

The role of Congress on the cultural side is not quite as important. There are a few things we could do; a monthly prize for the "best new Organization" or "best news article" comes to mind. But that's something that any wealthy organization or even a single industrialist might do on her or his own. On the whole, I think the best thing Congress can do for Japanese culture is to get out of the way of private initiative, while working to preserve the conditions that allow it to thrive.

That doesn't mean to forget the "little guy." I'd like to work to make the game more hospitable and interesting to new players, from their first day in the New World. There's often a false dichotomy drawn between free-market economics and the welfare of workers, but if our economy is working right then Japanese wrokers will buy Japanese goods, and the prosperity of both will improve in tandem.

I hope to pursure a holistic policy that recognizes how the economy, culture and media all feed back on one another in a virtuous cycle of reinforcement. And for those of you reading from Jeollanam-do, I hope to earn your vote. Thank you and may the best candidate win.