In 1985, as a supercharged Japanese economy awed and unnerved Western business executives, Tadanobu Tsunoda published a book called The Japanese Brain. An audiologist at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tsunoda used experiments with alternating and delayed sounds to analyze brain activity and concluded that the Japanese rely more on their left cerebral hemisphere to interpret language compared with foreigners. He also believed this finding explained the unique characteristics of the Japanese language -- and even the emotions and thinking patterns of the Japanese people. Japan of course is scarcely the only society to have fallen prey to epic hubris or unbridled xenophobia. Yet Japan's brand of cultural bigheadedness is proving an obstacle to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's three-pronged policy to revitalize the country with a mix of radical monetary easing, fiscal stimulus, and pro-growth measures. Foreign nationals account for only 1.6% of the nation's population, the third-lowest proportion after Poland and Slovakia among 26 members of the OECD that provide such data.