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It is a paradoxical term, because on the one hand it seems to have a pejorative connotation, but on the other, Japanese themselves often say that they are incapable of significant change unless someone from the outside pushes them to it. My take is that politically it is a convenient way to rationalize unpopular or uncomfortable policies with the people, when in fact vested interests often (though not always) have their own agendas for advancing these policies. "What can we do? The Americans/Europeans tell us we need to do it. We don't want to be the odd country out/behind the times/backwards, do we?" (Another characteristic trait of the Japanese is that they feel very uncomfortable being untrendy or sticking out from the rest.)
In any case, I think this Mr. Kawakami is exploiting Japanese susceptibility to gaiatsu/foreign pressure in all likelihood to further his own agenda and that of the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers to extend their legal right to make money by renting out the use of cultural property that has been created by others without any obligation to add creative or cultural value themselves. Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.
Doing asian languages from transliteration is risky business, especially when you don't know the language, but...
1. Is the gai in gaiatsu the same root as in gaijin?
Exactly.
2. atsu means pressure? Is that (厚)? If so, this is interesting to me: when you're playing go, it is a good thing to develop atsumi (厚味), which is a quality of a local position which radiates influence and can be used to attack nearby isolated enemy stones.
I am not that familiar with go, nor the term 厚味, which actually doesn't even come up on one popular translation site I use --
http://www.alc.co.jp/
--
although it does come up on this other site:
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C
(This indicates to me that the term may be somewhat archaic, but I'm not sure.)
You may know that Japanese has TONS of homophones, which makes it very easy for confusion to arise -- and to pun -- in Japanese.
For example, on this page --
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1B
-- try typing in "atsu" in the text box and hit "Select Kanji", and you'll see eighteen different characters come up... although for some reason 厚 is not coming up... f(^_^;) Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.
I know Japanese has lots of homophones, that's why I said it was risky to do this exercise from a transliteration. Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
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