Photo/Illutration A screen shows a live broadcast of President-elect Joe Biden speaking on Nov. 8 in the Shinjuku district in Tokyo. (AP Photo)

During the Edo Period (1603-1867), Japan was learning gradually about America’s unique way of doing politics.

A book offers stories about the United States told by John Manjiro (1827-1898), or Manjiro Nakahama, who became the first Japanese known to have lived in the United States after his boat went adrift in a storm and was rescued by an American whaling ship.

The American people “elect their president by choosing a man who they think is the right man for the job from among many people of wisdom and learning,” Manjiro is quoted as saying in the book.

While the term for the president is four years, “if the man excels in virtue and has outstanding political skills, he can continue in the job by serving more terms,” according to Manjiro as quoted in “Hyoson Kiryaku” (translated from a modern translation by Taimu Tanimura).

Men of talent came to the capital from far and wide to compete to be elected to the office, Manjiro reported.

The story must have been a surprise to the Japanese of that time, who lived in a rigid class society.

The United States has long been respected as the world’s oldest democracy and its people have been proud of their democratic system. But the presidential election in the country has been thrown into serious confusion.

Near vote-counting centers, voters supporting President Donald Trump staged protests calling for a halt to the process and engaged in shouting matches with Joe Biden supporters.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, two men with handguns were arrested near the convention center where the vote counting was going on. Chillingly, they are suspected to have planned an attack on the center.

It is none other than Trump himself who is instigating this disturbance. Trump has claimed fraud in the vote counting without citing evidence.

The perception that the other party is not a rival to compete with but an enemy to defeat appears to have taken root in the country during the four years of the Trump administration.

“Counting every vote is at the heart of democracy,” one Republican senator reportedly tweeted.

The fact that such a truism attracts attention indicates the current state of politics in the United States.

The question is how the country will be able to rebuild its democracy after the election. It appears that a rocky road lies ahead for the United States.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 8

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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