Alive and Well, Sort Of

Peace in the East

Two weeks ago I attended a leadership conference in Tokyo made up of students from MIT, Harvard, and the University of Tokyo. More correctly, I was swallowed by one of the world's craziest cities and excreted 10 days later with dehydration, blood shot eyes, and a new vocabulary of less-than-wholesome Japanese words. That place is ridiculous.

The organization is STeLA (Science and Technology Leadership Association), an international collaboration of students, professors, and concerned citizens who are pissed off that Harvard Business School is at the forefront of leadership development when it is shouldered by the blood sweat and tears of lab types. Basically, we believe that world problems such as climate change, energy security, and globilization are complex and daunting, requiring a sophisticated network of scientists, policy makers, politicians, and academics to solve them, utilizing cutting edge science and technology.

But back to Tokyo. If you have never been there, life can simply be summed up by the phrase "vending machine". I truly believe it is the symbolic key to understanding the Tokyo way. I submit to you several case studies to underscore this belief, and leave the verdict to you. How democratic.

Case #1: The question of Space. Tokyo doesn't have the luxury of elbow room. Walmarts and Safeways are out of the question. To solve this problem, space-saving technology is applied, affordable only because the crush of high-density makes it so. Enter the high tech vending machine. You could have a corner store, a flower shop, or a soup stand, or you could have a 2x3 ft box to administer the public. Problem solved.

I want to expand a bit on the affordability aspect. In the States, we have huge refrigerators, huge SUVs and huge houses by which to store food. Have you seen Over The Hedge? Tokyo apartments are on the tiny scale. Space is in fact a huge cost. American style consumerism is not physically possible. This cost of space also makes things like flat-screen tvs and brainy toilets affordable, and supplies the innovation behind Sony's crazy new miniscule gadgets. I believe this question of space also shows itself in Japanese automakers and their new dominance over American counterparts. The question of size was never a financial burden to the US, until the recent petroleum cost crunch. Tiny is not cute and expensive. Tiny is cost-saving and neccesary.

Case #2: The question of Public Health. There are a lot of people in Tokyo. If I understood my Japanese friend correctly though his poor english, burial is illegal in Tokyo and cremation is mandatory, not for the space but for the elimination of disease outbreak. Water fountains or non-existant, for instance. If Shibuya had a water fountain, I wouldn't use it, not when it is exposed to several hundred thousand people a day. Bottled water, and clean sanitation, are solved with the sterile, plastic goodness delivered with a vending machine.

Case #3: The question of Convenience. Tokyo is in a rush. Everyone is a slave to work and train schedules, so time is of the essence. Like a lot of cities, most jobs are in Tokyo, but few actually live there, but only on a much larger scale than say Boston. Vending machines fill in this time crunch. Work hard, travel hard, refresh hard from one of many many choices in food and drink.

Case #4: The question of Social Acceptance. Vending machines can only be ubiquitous, located in every remote and lonely corner only because society allows them to be. Vandalism, for instance, is not a problem as it is in the States. If I put a Coke machine in Harvard Square, I guarantee you that it would last maybe half a day before being covered in graphitti or drug down the road with chains. I propose this says something about the social structure of Tokyo: respectful and collective, as opposed to violent and fiercely independent.

And there you have it. Four questions that when thought through, reveal a lot about life in one of the most ridiculous, fun, and safe cities in the world.