Westernization as Public Interest in Non-Western Cultures.

This article will focus on characteristics of modernization processes in some Asian societies and consequently on tensions and conflicts between the private interests of people shaped by indigenous cultural values and Western economic, legal and political institutions adopted from advanced Western models, institutions understood by authorities in many developing countries as an indispensable tool for modernization. The cultural element is considered particularly significant in the case of rapidly developing societies in Asia. While westernization is still much more evident in the economic sector than elsewhere, social transformation, associated with economic growth based on market orientated economic systems, is occurring and social structures and relations are changing with a fairly rapid tempo, despite the specific cultural backgrounds. Therefore, the question of whether any specific Asian model for modernization is feasible or not may arise. In the case of Japan, this began at the end of the 19th century by intensive learning from precedent cases such as Russia, Germany, France and Great Britain. In the case of South Korea and Taiwan, this process was started later, in 1945, just after independence had been regained from the half-century occupation by Japan.