““Our thinking is, ‘let’s all share the economic pie and get along, instead of
giving all of it to the rich,’ ” said Mr. Fujimoto,”

“… he and most other islanders call Hime a repository for traditional Japanese
values, like economic egalitarianism and social harmony. They say the rest of
the nation has lost these in an embrace of more competitive capitalism,”

appears at first blush to be laudable. However, diving deeper we find things
are less than wonderful:

“At an annual village ceremony to mark the coming of age of
20-year-old islanders, women are forbidden to wear traditional
kimonos for fear the differences in quality could reveal their
households’ economic status.”

Really? So we are all “average”? Perhaps we should all wear Gray? this
smells too strongly of Mainland Red China…

and the following actually reeks of the Communist One Party Way or worse, North Korea:

“Mr. Fujimoto also cites traditional attitudes to explain his own political
longevity, a claim most islanders seem to accept. He says islanders shun
public elections because of a deep-rooted abhorrence of confrontation.
He said the last time the village held a mayoral election, in 1955, it
split the island, creating ill feelings that took a generation to heal.

To avoid a repeat of such trauma, he said, the island decided to choose
mayors by consensus, finding someone on whom everyone could agree beforehand.
Last year, Mr. Fujimoto won his seventh straight four-year term, once again
by default in an uncontested election.” ….
““My job is to prevent elections by keeping everyone equal, and thus
happy,” said Mr. Fujimoto,

““Everyone is basically satisfied,” said Shusaku Akaishi, 29,
who works at his family’s gas station.

hmm so those who are not satisfied are somehow silenced, or forced to leave?