The point of my post was to question the putatively quantitative comparison in Muller’s argument with Masugi. Since then, Eric, Alan and I have had a lovely discussion of culture, immigration and context. You’re fixating on something that was “thinking out loud” rather than some kind of authoritative dictate.

There are meaningful cultural and social and structural differences between societies, and the “multi-volume research” you “eagerly await” isn’t ever going to appear if we don’t start asking these questions. I admit that “distinguished” is a fuzzy term, but then so is the concept of protest and civil society. Precise definitions are sometimes useful and sometimes they are a way of shutting off debate just when it gets interesting.

As noted above about the Edo period peseant uprising, which in total was more than 3000, was done with no weapons and with awareness that several of them would be killed. Even then would they protest, not with words but with action.
Yes America stood up against the British empire, with the help of France, if I am not mistaken. They were prepared for war and had the possibility to conduct war, which Edo pesants did not.

To the end it seems that I failed yet another time to explain the true purpose. What I detest is the comparison between different countries of which is the biggest. There are several uprisings in european countries at several times, even before the USA were created. Further the “freedom of speech” was an addition to the contitution on the revision of jefferson, thus not something from the begining and the freedom is not unheard of in Sweden or other european countries.
Further, the Americans may complain more than the japanese, but does that make them “better”. The French are “known” revolutionaries but when was the last time they made a revolution?

To make a compaitative statement of which tradition is the most “distinguished” you have to, for it to be academically accepted, add every nations history and make clear definition of “speaking out against authority”.
I eagerly await the multi-volume research.

In Japan, on the other hand, people are often eithr too busy to complain very much or are too much of the mind to let themselves be governed even if they disagree with the way that it is done.