Tom Plate... why him? Let me challenge your proposition that Mr. Plate is a good source of what is going on over here. 

Why do you find him useful? Personally I have a low opinion of his columns. My own beef with his writing in that he continually tries to fit analysis of Asian events into his own anti-Bush agenda, or anti-US-establishment agenda, or whatever agenda he seems to want to pursue. 

As an example, I took a look at his June 9 Japan column and concluded that he is merely telling a story to a mostly American but also Japanese audience, a story that the audience may want to hear and believe but is misleading. 

For example: Koizumi's reforms? Reality check - Watered down by the opponents greatly.  For example, the PO reform.

Japanese economic recovery (Plate says "resurgent")? Reality check - equity markets having loss significant value this year, while government debt keeps piling up, and finally the talk is beginning on raising the sales tax -which should pretty much stop the anemic growth in retail sales. Sure, some economic indicators may not look anemic compared to the previous years, but that is because the previous years were all recessions!  The employment ads here are plentiful... but full of part time jobs paying $8/hr.

Plate confuses (perhaps on purpose) the tatamae which has been created with the truth as we Westerners understand it, as demonstrated with the "over-achievers" statement. I've met very few people here who I would qualify as over-achievers in the way I would discuss American habits. Rather, every day on the subway I see an army of sleepy minions, mostly unhappy, and very dissatisfied but nevertheless complient to a fault. Don't confuse the annual-report glossed image of a very advanced Toyota production line with the way many Japanese truly work. Japanese are by necessity busy, but also not very productive and definitely lack self initiative. 

Then there is the plummeting baby population... which is affecting the schools and now even the colleges. Very soon it will be affecting the tax coffers.

Enough about Japan, there are good things and bad things here, like everywhere... I'm not really intending to bad mouth Japan, but pointing out that Plate whitewashed the truth about Japan in that article.

Where Plate also pushes his agendas as opposed to good journalism is with the Chinese... what can I say, my girlfriend is Chinese (real Chinese)... for the most part I cherish every meeting I've had with someone from the mainland.   Every Chinese I have met have always seemed truly interested in the US and at the same time very self aware of their own identity as Chinese.  Very self aware.   Plate abhors the hard line approach the Bush administration uses on the PRC, but IMO that is the right approach, probably not just with China but all of east Asia.

Which gets to my final comment: if you really are looking for insight into east Asia look into the way the people here cling to, adhere to, and worship their national identities.   Those of you in western societies with nations created by instituting some rule of law, the modern nation-state via a constitution, are not experiencing the national identity as strongly as those here whose identity is from their blood.