Umano is not stating his case on the gutter level. We can be sure that he is not crackpot, and it would obviously be premature to react to his ideas emotionally, however unpleasant are their implications for our entire civilization. I would not be surprised to find many Americans agreeing with some of the elements analysis if they were presented somewhat less gloatingly. This newsletter has devoted pages to accounts indicating the folly of Americans who refuse to believe in the possibility that Japanese can compete with America in science and technology and are not even interested in making use of Japanese information on these fields. The current hullabaloo about Japanese and technology in the US is merely a belated admission of what has been obvious to us translators for some time.
Pride goes before the fall, and all that.
However, Dr. Umano's analysis of American society contains much that will interest thoughtful Americans. I am even of have half a mind to go along part of the way with Dr. Why should we not consider seriously the possibility that Dr. We translators have evidence indicating that this is at least partially true. Only time will tell, but if this book is any indication, there may be rough going ahead.