The two most important cities in the world are, of course, London and New York. Tokyo's position relative to them is interesting...
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Since Tokyo doesn't have its own (real) army, influential people have no *obligation* to get connected to it.
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Since Tokyo doesn't encourage foreign settlement, influential people have no *means* to get connected to it.
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And Tokyo, for what it's worth, seems pretty happy with this state of affairs. It isn't trying to shape the world in its image.
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But bc of its incredible wealth & population, it's able to shape *itself* in *its own* image. There is no significant Japanese diaspora.
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That is, if you're an ambitious Japanese person, you can simply go to Tokyo--you don't need to move to London or New York
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On the other hand, if you're an ambitious person from rural America, anywhere in Europe, or really anywhere else in the world...
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...you're pretty much obligated to move to London or New York to really make your dreams come true.
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I don't think this is a good thing for the rest of the world, and I'm not sure it's a good thing for NY and London either.
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What other countries need--if they are to reverse brain drain and related problems--is a "Tokyo" of their own.
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I am fixated on independence for New England because--among other reasons--I want Boston to compete at this level.
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It would be tough enough even if Boston were in an independent country--it is impossible for it when it shares a government with NYC.
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Oh, one last note--I said that NY and London are more *important* than Tokyo. But they are not *better* than Tokyo by any means.
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Tokyo remains the best city in the world; the apex of urban life after millennia of development.
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If you're gonna live in a city instead of in the country, there is no better city to live in. Yet.
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