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QUESTION:Does anyone know the origin of driving on the left side of the street in
Japan? I seem to recall hearing from someone a long time ago (it may have
even been my Iaido buddies) that it was actually an established custom long
before automobiles, and that passing on the left had to do with drawing
one's sword (if you were to pass on the right it would be difficult to draw
your sword and strike in the event you are attacked since you draw from left
to right.) A friend, on the other hand, seems to think it was a more recent
development and had to do with an early association between Japan and
British motor car companies. I did a quick Google search and didn't come up
with much.
ANSWER: They could even learn from the British. I've spent a lot of time in both
the London and Tokyo systems, and the London Underground isn't horrible
in terms of layout and function. Wooden escalators take a bit of getting
used to, and the stairs can be a nightmare in some stations. The main
problem their is basic rail system reliability. My experience with the
White City station (on the outskirts of the Underground) was that I
could count on a quarter of the scheduled trains not arriving. It's
better in the more more frequently traveled stations.
The horror story of the tie between British and Japanese automobile
industries happened in the 50s, when BMC donated the basic design of the
Austin series to Japan for free. It was explained that the Japanese were
so bad at building cars that they would never pose a serious threat to
the British motor industry.
You can still see remnants of that donation today: the best engine block
to use in an MGB comes out of a Nissan forklift. Bolts in without
modification, and takes a BMC B-series head. I see many a Morris Minor
with Datsun A-series motors (from the 70's), too ... a little bigger
displacement, a little beefier, but they share most of the parts and
it's very difficult to tell the difference from the outside.
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