80 years of karmic circle - Japanese history repeats itself

POST-WHATEVER with Ken Nishikawa · Aug 13, 2026 · 19m

Every 80 years or so, Japan seems to hit "reset" — and then, with almost suspicious precision, proceeds to repeat itself.

In this episode, I lay out a rather uncomfortable historical pattern: 1868 and 1945, two total reinventions of the nation, each followed by exactly the same 40-years-humble, 40-years-hubris arc — right down to a spectacular economic collapse at the end of both. Meiji Japan modernised itself out of feudalism, then talked itself into Pearl Harbor. Postwar Japan rebuilt itself out of the rubble, then talked itself into believing it could buy California. You can probably see…