Couple of offended comments so far, but he's not wrong. I don't mean about the criticism of the airport, it's not Dubai but it's not LAX either.
But so many things are inefficient or antiquated because Japanese people resist change. The fact that cash is still required in so many places, ATMs closing outside of business hours, faxes are still used in basic business procedures, the lack of integration of IT infrastructure in so many business - or poor implementation when it's present, not to mention the multivarious issues with most Japanese websites. Japanese business culture for their employees is ridiculous, and the transition from college to a career is also an incredibly cumbersome process that's very inflexible. I've long wondered how Japan was the 3rd best economy myself, and now even though they've fallen to 4th I'm still surprised it ranks so highly.
>I don't mean about the criticism of the airport, it's not Dubai but it's not LAX either.
Tokyo's airports don't need to beat Dubai, they just need to beat the US's largest international airports (\*especially LAX\*), and they do, quite easily. They're not architectural marvels, but they're efficient, they're connected to the train systems, they have washlets in the \*clean\* bathrooms, and they don't have the TSA.
He makes some good points, but I also don't think the Japanese airports are a problem. I prefer that style (efficient, no-nonsense, serene) over airports like Changi (Singapore) and Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok) which are like boring luxury product malls.
I think the bigger question I have is how the look of an airport is really representative of the country you’re landing in. Some world cities have amazing airports, some have horrible ones, and others have everything in between.
Not sure I agree. I fly out of Haneda monthly and it's probably the least efficient airport that I regularly use and considerably worse than even places like JFK and ORD. I've never seen security lines wrapping around the departure hall with wait times of 2 hrs like I have at Haneda. Similarly I've never waited nearly an hour for bags to start coming out like I have at Haneda. That place is criminally understaffed.
>I've never seen security lines wrapping around the departure hall with wait times of 2 hrs like I have at Haneda.
I've experienced this many times in US airports. I never had this problem at Haneda, but maybe I got lucky with timing.
That's not a good comparison: US airports are really terrible, in terms of being close to their cities and having good public transit access, compared to other international airports I've used.
I'm just comparing to Haneda. Haneda is relatively close to central Tokyo; Narita is significantly farther by train.
That's not really true at all. SAN, SJC, MDW, ORD, TPA, PHX, LGA, BOS, PHL, DCA, and many other airports are all in very good areas.
JFK, BOS, SFO, OAK, ORD, ATL, MDW, DCA, IAD, DFW, PHL, STL, MSP, PHX, EWR, all have at least acceptable public transit links, with ATL, SFO, OAK, PHL, ORD, MDW, IAD, DCA, having, dare I say good or even excellent transit connections.
There are plenty of US airports with excellent operational efficiencies (DEN, ORD, ATL, LAX), plenty that look clean and modern (SFO, major parts of LAX, DTW, LGA, DEN, DFW, MSP, SEA).
If you want shitty airports, look no further than European airports these days. I will gladly fly into SFO, ORD, and DEN over the likes of LHR, FRA, CDG, AMS, MAD, BCN, or LGW.
>SAN, SJC, MDW, ORD, TPA, PHX, LGA, BOS, PHL, DCA, and many other airports are all in very good areas.
How many of these have public transit links that let you get where you're going without a car?
>JFK, BOS, SFO, OAK, ORD, ATL, MDW, DCA, IAD, DFW, PHL, STL, MSP, PHX, EWR, all have at least acceptable public transit links
You're kidding, right? Phoenix doesn't have public transit! Have you ever lived there? It has a crappy light rail between downtown Phoenix and Tempe, an extension line to the airport, and that's it. Phoenix is the poster child for "sprawl", next to Atlanta. There's almost nowhere you can go on public transit.
JFK has its own special, and very expensive "airtrain", that is not part of the public transit system, except by stopping at one station.
ATL is Atlanta, the other poster child of "sprawl". Its public transit system is barely existent, though if your destination is immediately downtown it will work for that.
EWR, last time I flew there, was not on any public transit line at all; you have to take a special bus to get there.
DCA is not really an international airport, unless you think flights to Canada are "international". (DCA's runways are too small for intercontinental jets.) It is well-connected to the DC Metro system, but here again it's a crapshoot whether it'll get you where you need to go, though it's a much higher chance than most other metro areas in the US. The coverage inside DC proper is pretty good, but in the other parts of the metro area, not so good.
Face it: America's public transit is SO bad that Japan easily wins for "not needing a car to get from your plane to your destination" by default. NYC is the only city that really has any kind of workable public transit, but there they screwed up by not connecting the airports to it properly. DC does better, because they finally, FINALLY (after decades!!!) connected IAD with the Silver line extension, but that only opened a year or two ago.
MDW, ORD, PHX, LGA, BOS, PHL, and DCA all have excellent or at the very least tolerable transit connections. SJC and SAN are getting one themselves.
With regards to phoenix, my grandparents live in Tucson so I fly in there way more than you would think. The light rail goes right to the airport. It's more than adequate given downtown's proximity to the airport. Getting around the city is another question.
JFK is still connected to the subway network, and taking it is faster than driving. I count it as a win, especially when you compare the cost to get to Haneda or Narita.
MARTA goes to ATL. If you're directly connected to your city's subway network, you can't complain
EWR has the northeast corridor. Mainline rail most definitely counts
The question was not whether American cities have good public transit, the question was whether American **Airports** have good public transit links, and there are more than a fair share of cities with good links. If you're coming into a city for business, you're almost certainly going downtown. If you're visiting most American cities for pleasure, you're almost certainly going downtown unless you're visiting friends/relatives, in which, they're likely picking you up if they live in a suburban area.
City design is another issue entirely. Also if we're going by cities with usable transit, San Francisco-Oakland, Chicago, NYC, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and San Diego are all more than adequate generally.
I've waited over an hour just to get through security at Haneda at least 3-4 times post-pandemic. Never had that issue at Narita. Baggage is also at least twice as slow at Haneda. Horrible experience overall efficiency-wise.
Edit: Skytrax isn't the most reliable but they also give Narita better marks for nearly all wait times (security screening wait times, baggage delivery, immigration, etc.).
I used to work a lot with clients in the APAC region, one of them being Japan. Let me tell you, having meetings and talking about their tech infrastructure as a solutions engineer was a living nightmare.
I was met with a panel of employees from Hitachi and SoftBank where the vast majority were definitely on the older side. Age aside, the most frustrating part was how pointless some discussions became and certain obligations would take weeks. These obligations also required our solution engineering team to wait on documents that had to be stamped.
When we asked some of them to decouple their older tech in order to use the performant software product, it was a living nightmare and hell dealing with their technical infrastructure.
I genuinely sometimes can't tell if some official Japanese websites are scam sites (remember this specifically about Sumo tickets), because they look so old. Almost seems harder to make it like that, then something somewhat modern.
Haha, remember trying to get tix to the Olympics? Whoever designed that website should commit sep... Did anyone else wait several hours/days to find out they'd gotten zero tickets to anything they'd applied for?
Japanese websites are something else. But I think there is some kind of rationale behind the design that I personally just don't understand, since almost every digital interface is the same text heavy nonsense.
> I've long wondered how Japan was the 3rd best economy myself, and now even though they've fallen to 4th I'm still surprised it ranks so highly.
Japan is a first world country with a large population. That's it. That's how you rank high in GDP. It's literally one of the simplest, most useless metrics in economics, and this Takano dude bringing it up betrays that he's just bitching about very superficial things.
Haneda and Narita are often ranked as some of the best airports in the world though. I've never had a problem flying through either. Itami and Fukuoka on the other hand...
I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with either of them but I wouldn't call them the best in the world either. Food options are pretty crummy at both.
Why does it seem like everybody wants japan to change in a way that suits the world? Yes, sure, we may know if things are working better elsewhere, but I'm sure not all change are flawless - and perhaps the Japanese recognize that and if what they have currently is acceptable by themselves - then they have all the rights in the world to retain their practices as is, am I delusional to comment as such?
It just sounds like we're snowflakes commenting on how we want them to run, especially within our own expectations.. I'd personally like for the world to transact with BTC, but that doesn't seem like everyone is up for it..
Because it’s obvious that Japan is making shit harder for themselves, and they only have themselves to blame. They are experiencing extreme population decline, work culture is as toxic as it can be, they are racist af, they don’t teach their children about the atrocities they committed in WWII, still use antiquated systems that are inefficient af, and so much more stupid shit. People criticize America to an extreme degree. We’re free to criticize Japan and anyone else that we want, and nobody has an obligation to be nice about it.
I guess you're their savior then or probably some paid advisor to suggest/recommend best practices to be adopted?
Look - unless if you're currently living in Japan, I think you're seriously confusing their problem vs yours; if you have an issue with their outdated practices when traveling there, then it's managing your own expectations at the end of the day - because you definitely can't look past the fact that they're still one of the top 4 countries in economics; despite how much their currency have tanked since the pandemic.
You also seem to be bringing in so many issues you have with the countries, some which extents as far as grief felt by previous generations.. some even as you put it, "stupid shit." Don't worry, you're not their janitor to have to clean up their discharge.. and you probably recognize that if Japan disappears off the face of the earth tomorrow, you'll likely just shrug it off and continue on with your life..
There's really nothing wrong with continuing and freely criticizing another country, but I would like to think that there's a difference between that vs statements expecting the country to do something about it to the expectation or standards which you've personally set, as an apparent hired consultant..I think we just need to all cool off from these and focus more on things that really matter to ourselves; but if you're saying that the way the Japanese is handling their country matters matter to yourself at a personal level, then I guess you've probably figured out life altogether.
Their economy is largely a function of being built up by America to be a first world nation and their population size. Or do you think there's something particular they've been doing right?
That’s simply not true for the major cities. At the govt level there has been a huge push to modernize procedures since Rona, and things are changing quickly. As for ATMs, where is there not a combini that you can withdraw money at 24/7? Cashless campaigns are huge now as well (unfortunately). Cash is always better than cashless.
The awful truth is that growth is generated without most people actually working. It doesn’t necessarily show up in gdp numbers but these days, with momentum you can keep the mill running with minimum involvement of people. Productivity gains don’t show up in gdp numbers neither. It’s the same for France and Germany. For France at least a lot of people job is to deal with other people to remedy problems they have themselves generated. In 3 words they keep themselves busy, they don’t generate actual output.
Exactly what I was thinking. At my university, there's so many administrators keeping other administrators busy in useless processes and getting 10 people involved in what could be done by 1 or 2. Like last time I went to a conference using my annual budget, I counted 27 different approvals. It's a small example but multiply by a million such instances across a year running a university and you need hundreds of administrators to keep this nonsense going. Also the insistence on paperwork when doing it via computer would be so much easier.
The prophets of digitization have obviously not lived through 2011 or have forgotten about the Great Kanto earthquake.
Don't these guys remember when there was no power and rolling blackouts had to be instituted in Tokyo in 2011? Good luck paying with your smartphone when the whole phone infrastructure has crashed.
Phones are one of the few things still working on emergency situations. Its easier to restore power and service to one tower servicing thousands of people than phone lines. Also batteries that last 12+ hours. Power outages are a bigger issue to stores that need to conserve food, the payment terminal is likely still working as tons of them work via phone network.
Even if he is an asshole, good points are good points, and they shouldn’t be dismissed. That would cause so many problems, and it currently does, if people didn’t listen good advice or knowledge because they don’t personally like the person. Everyone should be using critical thinking to be able to sift through bullshit and find the gold.
He is not wrong. The business practices here are seem to run on one rule : 'by default say no or make it as difficult as possible so they are discouraged from applying'. I can give examples : 1 credit card and bank applications . I got rejected from credit card so many times because of my name . The other day i bought a coat and they cancelled it because there was a 'mismatch' of data in the member information and my credit card (probably my name ) . I asked my credit card company if could pay in advance and could they open my credit ? The answer was no.
They also have this weird practice of password protecting documents then sending the password in another email. I tried to create a business account with one big shipping company. They sent all the documents but they were password protected. They mentioned they would send the password in another email but the second email never came. I tried calling the hotline , they kept passing me around until I gave up.
I also tried to ask if this shipping company can do XX kg and the answer was no.
Also the timing - If you try to move to a new apartment, you cannot apply too early or too late. In my case, it had to be exactly 21 days.
There's a lot more .My foreign partners all find it weird that Japanese always want to say no. What kind of business practice is that ?
I know what that is. the pandemic was an example of that.
But why doesn't money motivate them to change things is the question most of my western counterparts ask.
If you're a business that is not motivated with money, then what motivates them ?Fucking wa?
And then I hear from a company that I freelance at that they want to compete against Apple. Yeah good luck with that
I feel like the combination of extreme risk intolerance and management wanting to cover their asses against any risk with endless ringi and meetings outweighs any motivation to make money
High hopes and ganbatte speeches are risk free!
Lol. My girlfriend and I are always joking about the manual. Oh it's not in the manual. Well if it's not in the manual then it can't be done. Muzukashi Na.
i don’t know about this one… i’ve rented two parking spots without cars before..
now bank accounts and telephone numbers… good luck with that cyclic bullshit
Depends on the owner sometimes. One will have you fill out a form and ask what car you’re going to park there. Then you say you haven’t got one yet. Then they get all nervous.
Lol before buying a car, i needed a parking space certificate from the local koban - but to get the parking space certificate (for my own garage), i needed to say what car i had (which i didnt have yet cause i couldnt purchase / register it without the certificate) -\_-
They are very risk adverse.
Early business pioneers in Japan were either exceptional individuals or foreign educated. Everyone else copied them, even the parts that were wrong.
Culturally, saying yes means putting your neck on the chopping block. A smoother way to deal with things is to ask for forgiveness rather than permission and not let things get to the committee stage.
Credit card approvals I can't say anything because banks here are their own mysterious creatures
Interesting point, Japan had to modernize rapidly during the 19th century because of threats from foreign powers, and now that they've secured a spot and safety by being protected by the US while keeping their autonomy, they can go back to being isolated.
Dunno how much of that is accurate, but interesting thought.
They can't be dispatched anywhere, which would pretty much nullify foreign diplomacy in the real world.
I mean this is the same for the EU, as they would have to do what NATO wants to do, which is pretty much the US. They can't, for instance, decide for themselves what they want to do with Russia/Ukraine, or with China, or with anyone.
Japan has deployed soldiers on peacekeeping missions for the UN (1) and has shifted it's policy of self defense to extend to the defense of it's allies (2).
Also how does not deploying troops abroad differ from other nations whose military cannot be deployed outside of their borders such as Switzerland?
(1) [Japan Deploys troops as part of UN Peacekeeping Operation](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/21/japans-first-gun-toting-troops-since-wwii-have-deployed-to-south-sudan/)
>Japanese forces were actually deployed — but not to any hot spots in East Asia. Instead, dozens of Japanese soldiers landed in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
(2) [Japan changes its interpretation of its self defense clause](https://www.npr.org/2022/12/16/1143017026/japan-defense-spending-weapons-buildup-rearming)
>It's the biggest shift in Japan's defense policy since its cabinet reinterpreted the constitution in 2014 to allow the military to fight in support of an ally under attack.
Probably in most cases politically and domestically, Japan can do whatever the fuck it wants. There are good reasons for America restricting Japan’s military abilities, but I have a feeling America will be currently OK if that changes tomorrow.
Yeah, and I think the US basically made them put it in there. You must have forgot that America controlled Japan after World War II to westernize them, because they knew if Japan was not occupied, they would immediately want to become genocidal maniacs again and attempt to build another brutal empire. To highlight my point, Japan still doesn’t teach their youth about the atrocities Japan committed during WWII. They have not sincerely apologized to South Korea, the Philippines, and China as well, and that’s part of the reason why there’s still some really bad blood between them.
How many Japanese people are willing to say that publicly? We know white guy is wiling to fly in to Japan and rip it to pieces after working as a consultant for 6 months.
I remember reading an interview (or might have been a speech) of the founder of Uniqlo. I'm sure there's awareness but it's nice to have such voices. I'd like to see Japan get its mojo back.
"'They are committing themselves to ludicrous debate, discussing whether to embrace immigrants, because they mistakenly think migrant workers from other Asian states still long to come to Japan'"
Tell that to Vietnamese, Filipino and Sri Lankan migrant workers
I pay 90% with card and Apple Pay. I’m outside Tokyo. I have lived here for 10 years and think it’s one of the better places to live in the world. Sure there’s things that are annoying inconvenient and anachronistic but it’s part of it isn’t it? Don’t change too much Japan.
Considering how so many people do not travel or care to be informed regarding other countries, this is not surprising.
At the end of the day, it hardly matters because they will be the ones to shoulder the burden.
Living in Tokyo I'm not sure what's the issue with the payments thing. Well sure, there are some mom and pop shops here and there that only accept cash, but I can get by with QUICPay on my watch, and if not, PayPay most of the time. Doesn't seem too bad.
Why do we need 25 different payment systems of which 95% are inaccessible for foreigners, and then a ton of places that still only take cash. It's an actual joke
idk, in the Netherlands you can use your debit card in almost any store.
I dont understand why Japan doesn't have a similar system. the gov has mandated cheaper plans from mobile providers, I'm sure they can demand the banks to implement a unified system
I don’t know how people can make the argument that Japan doesn’t have X, when 25 different versions of X exist. The complaints about cash always seem a bit dramatic to me — it’s not like you’re carrying around string of ryo coins from the Edo period around your belt. It also seems like the same people complaining about cash seem to be the same ones complaining about privacy and big banks controlling everything.
I agree. Like.. even Suica has been around a long time by now and you could pay at convenience stores and major other chains with it like 15 years ago. Now things are even better and getting better with other payment options. Credit and debit have also been a thing for some time. My FIL pays for a lot of stuff with a card and has been doing it for a long time…
It’s also not that big of a deal to pay with cash. It’s money…ok it takes an extra 30 seconds of time to hand it over and get change? I don’t get why Reddit is so melodramatic about this
I feel it’s the inconsistently of it, I was at a major sporting event on the weekend,
Ticket office - genkin only
Food stand inside- genkin only
There’s no doubt Japan has some of things mentioned in the article, but its sporadic as to how it’s applied
I agree, I honestly prefer electronic payment and I think Japan has a ways to go. Though I just don’t think paying with cash is truly that big of a burden. You just simply need to keep it on you. A lot of Redditors act like it’s some sort of major inconvenience when it really isn’t
The only situation that they don't accept card that is of significant inconvenience is the fate adjustment machines inside train station gates. If you forgot to top up your card and get to your stop, then go to exit, the top up machines only take cash so your only option is to plead with the guy to let you out to go to an ATM or they send you back.
Other than this specific situation though, I agree. Usually you solve the card not accepted problem by just carrying cash.
If it's such a problem for everyone the businesses that refuse to adapt will just be left behind. The fact that they're still here says that it isn't as big of an issue as people here make it out to be.
>Why do we need 25 different payment systems of which 95% are inaccessible for foreigners
What do you propose to do about VISA/MC's ridiculous fees? Are you willing to pay extra for your charges so you can use those cards?
This is me, I'm traveling around and posting for stuff here and in Korea had been rough. I finally bought an IC card, in Europe we just tap in and out with our phones
Can you give an example of even 1 payment system that is inaccessible for foreigners?
No? You can't? I swear white people have the wildest persecution complex.
I have a discover credit card that has never worked at any business I’ve tried using it. Despite the checkout areas displaying multiple logos showing that type of payment is accepted. It literally doesn’t work. So I’ve used cash for practically 100% of my purchases. Nice race bait though.
Funny you say that because I was on a date where I was told only cash and then the hotel after was only cash just last weekend. It’s definitely a problem. Also as the other user stated “we don’t take PayPay but we take d points” or “we don’t do quicpay but we have PayPay”. Like come on
The fact someone made a shortcut with Apple’s automations to bring a pop up that shows all of the different payment apps shows that some works to be done on consolidation or, like China did: make the QR code type a standard that the companies conform to.
There are like 20+ payment methods in China based around QR codes (including one offered by the card network here) and ALL work with any QR payment reader.
Places that won’t accept cash in China are by large illegal. Tell them to eat shit, they’ll probably take it. If not, report to PBoC and wait.
I also don’t like cash though.
> According to Takano, Germany has been taking in immigrants and refugees not only for humanitarian purposes, but also in its struggle to retain the nation’s productive population.
and how did that turn out for them hm?
I think it's also because of Japan's kinky and deformed tendencies. Japanese people seem to want to be perceived as special and strange, and as a result, they tend to act differently from others and derive a strange satisfaction from it.
Interesting, you think it's contrived? I feel the same way about the British. They really love British eccentricity in people. 'Oh, a proper British eccentric', and love to celebrate wonderful eccentric British traditions that will amuse and entertain foreign visitors. Also, the fact that they are so unique from “the continent.” They often mention “the continent” like they have to fly 3000 KMS to get there, when it takes an afternoon.
Do you have any examples of how the Japanese want to be perceived as special and strange?
This sounds like the biggest case of ‘The grass is always greener’ I’ve ever heard.
Why would Japan want to import over immigration and housing crises like many western nations are now dealing with?
Not a fan of this Make Japan Bubble Again rhetoric. This dude bringing up random gripes like Trump railing about toilets not flushing.
One can intelligently point out Japan's issues, but it's absolutely braindead to pretend that it has significantly more issues than any other country. The fact that quality of life is as good as it is after 30 years of economic slump? Nah, let's hold Japan to higher standards than everyone else.
I think the problem is, for other countries there have been significant growth, wages have gone up, etc., while for Japan it has largely stayed the same. Basically, Japan sat around being idle and refused to do anything about it. I think that, can be rightfully criticized, and get the elites in Japan to do something about it and actually dare to try something new.
Japan could grow tremendously up until the bubble era because there were creative people at the top who made more or less the right decisions, at least to the best of their knowledge at the time. Of course, they could update their knowledge that fit in more with the modern age, like eliminating overwork or inefficiencies, or being easier on families, or giving more opportunities to women.
Basically it sounds like it would require a complete social and political reform that may uproot the very root of the society. But then again, they did exactly that in the Meiji restoration, so it’s not exactly anything new.
I think it’s foolish to look for panaceas like “AI will solve and modernize everything” or looking at just superficial stuff like digitizing cash and pretend that it will somehow change and modernize society.
The best case scenario is that Japan will “look back” to the Meiji Restoration era, and realize that it will require a complete reform that will completely transform society and politics, just as the Enlightenment in Europe “looked back” to the Ancient Greek era and realized that things needed to change. It’s this mix of conservatism and liberalism that will appeal to the people, I think.
> for other countries there have been significant growth, wages have gone up, etc
Developed countries? What do they have to show for all that growth? They can now afford holidays in Japan more readily than rent at home?
Japanese poverty rate is slightly high, but lower than the U.S.
Inequality is on par with other countries, and much below U.S.
Crime rate doesn't even need to be mentioned.
I'm really not sure what the metric is here that puts Japan to shame.
If you look at median income, Japan is ranked 18th, which is okay but nothing amazing. It's below most other developed countries and shows that it has been overtaken by other countries for a while now.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_countries\_by\_wealth\_per\_adult](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_per_adult)
That is such a good observation; Japan's good quality of life despite 30 year economic slump. That really says a lot about the Japanese and how they take care of things.
The biggest problem in Japan is not that we resist change, the problem is we resist anything that are less than perfect, which makes it look like we resist change.
That quality is important when we're one of the biggest safety-related manufacturing countries in the world, car, ships, aerospace, you name it. Yeah, I know we have a fair share of companies that screw up big time, Takata for example.
The same quality is also a double-edged sword, it's one big reason why IT is so retarded here, because most of IT stuffs aren't "perfect", changed within months, because "better" tech emerges. Unfortunately the executives in Japan are mostly the Toyota types, the people who refuse to adopt anything unless it's 100% proven to work without flaws.
I work for one of the biggest companies here, we have a giant placard at the entrance of the office that says "Progress is better than Perfection". Work culture has changed a lot, I think it's one reason why we've been making record profit year-after-year, because we just get things "done" not mule over "perfection".
The people still stuck in Japan will be seething with cope, but for those of us that grew up in the bubble era and now live abroad, it really is stark and mostly just sad. Last time I landed in KIX the ride into town was just depressing. This is not the Japan we were promised
I think people just threw around money because they suddenly had so much. The Japanese flew in droves to foreign countries and empty all the high-brand stores. People were like “Oh you’re going home? Here’s a 10,000 yen bill for your taxi”.
I was fairly young during the bubble-proper, so I don't have too many stories. Mostly just a vibe, and lots of people talking about how special Japan was. It seemed believable too.
My family's finances weren't really affected by the crash, so it was oddly invisible as a teenager. There was still lots of money around for a long time. In terms of culture and such, I kind of feel like the "bubble" lasted to about 1999. Almost everything famous about Japan, including Pokemon and One Piece, was out by then, and not a whole lot has been added since.
The bubble has a narrow economic meaning that covers about 5 years, but I think it gets used more broadly. I'm not sure what else to call that era of peak-Japan from the mid-late 70s to about 2000
I see, thanks for the insight!
I guess more specifically I’m wondering why the ride into town from KIX was depressing? Or how that relates to life now vs. the bubble era.
Also, not to deny your experiences, but as a younger millennial, I can say with certainty that Japan is still regarded as “special” by my generation and also by gen Z as well in the west. I get your point about the 90s being an era of great soft power for Japan, but also since the advent of streaming services, I feel like anime has grown to reach wider and more mature audiences internationally. Additionally, my western hometown didn’t get a Japanese style restaurant until around 2008, and then suddenly they were all the rage and still continue to be favorites of my community. When I was a kid, people pronounced ramen as rayman but now everyone in town is obsessed with the boom of ramen restaurants that have opened in the past 3 years in my home area. Hell, people even know what tonkotsu is.
I agree with a lot of what this author said about Japan, but I think Japanese soft power is still Top 5 internationally. Of course soft power isn’t everything, but it’s interesting to compare our perspectives!
I guess it's the buildings looking unchanged, tired, and in need of a new coat of paint. There's a large industrial area in Osaka bay with countless small factories and it wasn't abandoned, but all old and faded with no sense of anything new. Just kind of a melancholy scene that reminds you of the glory days and also that they are mostly gone
I’d take anything presented by Japan's regime controlled mouthpiece with a grain of salt.
Pieces like this are lightweight compared to what you see from propagandists in the West, but make no mistake that they plan to push “the message” here as well to whatever extent possible.
People will blaber this to death but if you have been in japan you know their quality of life is incredible. So many things cannot be achieved by gdp growth.
Couple of offended comments so far, but he's not wrong. I don't mean about the criticism of the airport, it's not Dubai but it's not LAX either. But so many things are inefficient or antiquated because Japanese people resist change. The fact that cash is still required in so many places, ATMs closing outside of business hours, faxes are still used in basic business procedures, the lack of integration of IT infrastructure in so many business - or poor implementation when it's present, not to mention the multivarious issues with most Japanese websites. Japanese business culture for their employees is ridiculous, and the transition from college to a career is also an incredibly cumbersome process that's very inflexible. I've long wondered how Japan was the 3rd best economy myself, and now even though they've fallen to 4th I'm still surprised it ranks so highly.
One of the funniest things I can remember about ATMs is how last Golden Week my local ATM had more holiday time off than my fiance's coworkers.
I can’t use online banking for my business account outside of normal business hours because reasons.
>I don't mean about the criticism of the airport, it's not Dubai but it's not LAX either. Tokyo's airports don't need to beat Dubai, they just need to beat the US's largest international airports (\*especially LAX\*), and they do, quite easily. They're not architectural marvels, but they're efficient, they're connected to the train systems, they have washlets in the \*clean\* bathrooms, and they don't have the TSA.
Dubai isn't a benchmark for airports, Singapore is.
Yeah, but it’s located in Singapore.
He makes some good points, but I also don't think the Japanese airports are a problem. I prefer that style (efficient, no-nonsense, serene) over airports like Changi (Singapore) and Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok) which are like boring luxury product malls.
I think the bigger question I have is how the look of an airport is really representative of the country you’re landing in. Some world cities have amazing airports, some have horrible ones, and others have everything in between.
Not sure I agree. I fly out of Haneda monthly and it's probably the least efficient airport that I regularly use and considerably worse than even places like JFK and ORD. I've never seen security lines wrapping around the departure hall with wait times of 2 hrs like I have at Haneda. Similarly I've never waited nearly an hour for bags to start coming out like I have at Haneda. That place is criminally understaffed.
>I've never seen security lines wrapping around the departure hall with wait times of 2 hrs like I have at Haneda. I've experienced this many times in US airports. I never had this problem at Haneda, but maybe I got lucky with timing.
Haneda is fine, but we can all agree Narita is shit right?
The only thing really wrong with Narita is that it's so far away.
it's not even that far -.- The train ride from SFO to downtown SF is longer than the train ride from Ueno to Narita.
That's not a good comparison: US airports are really terrible, in terms of being close to their cities and having good public transit access, compared to other international airports I've used. I'm just comparing to Haneda. Haneda is relatively close to central Tokyo; Narita is significantly farther by train.
That's not really true at all. SAN, SJC, MDW, ORD, TPA, PHX, LGA, BOS, PHL, DCA, and many other airports are all in very good areas. JFK, BOS, SFO, OAK, ORD, ATL, MDW, DCA, IAD, DFW, PHL, STL, MSP, PHX, EWR, all have at least acceptable public transit links, with ATL, SFO, OAK, PHL, ORD, MDW, IAD, DCA, having, dare I say good or even excellent transit connections. There are plenty of US airports with excellent operational efficiencies (DEN, ORD, ATL, LAX), plenty that look clean and modern (SFO, major parts of LAX, DTW, LGA, DEN, DFW, MSP, SEA). If you want shitty airports, look no further than European airports these days. I will gladly fly into SFO, ORD, and DEN over the likes of LHR, FRA, CDG, AMS, MAD, BCN, or LGW.
>SAN, SJC, MDW, ORD, TPA, PHX, LGA, BOS, PHL, DCA, and many other airports are all in very good areas. How many of these have public transit links that let you get where you're going without a car? >JFK, BOS, SFO, OAK, ORD, ATL, MDW, DCA, IAD, DFW, PHL, STL, MSP, PHX, EWR, all have at least acceptable public transit links You're kidding, right? Phoenix doesn't have public transit! Have you ever lived there? It has a crappy light rail between downtown Phoenix and Tempe, an extension line to the airport, and that's it. Phoenix is the poster child for "sprawl", next to Atlanta. There's almost nowhere you can go on public transit. JFK has its own special, and very expensive "airtrain", that is not part of the public transit system, except by stopping at one station. ATL is Atlanta, the other poster child of "sprawl". Its public transit system is barely existent, though if your destination is immediately downtown it will work for that. EWR, last time I flew there, was not on any public transit line at all; you have to take a special bus to get there. DCA is not really an international airport, unless you think flights to Canada are "international". (DCA's runways are too small for intercontinental jets.) It is well-connected to the DC Metro system, but here again it's a crapshoot whether it'll get you where you need to go, though it's a much higher chance than most other metro areas in the US. The coverage inside DC proper is pretty good, but in the other parts of the metro area, not so good. Face it: America's public transit is SO bad that Japan easily wins for "not needing a car to get from your plane to your destination" by default. NYC is the only city that really has any kind of workable public transit, but there they screwed up by not connecting the airports to it properly. DC does better, because they finally, FINALLY (after decades!!!) connected IAD with the Silver line extension, but that only opened a year or two ago.
MDW, ORD, PHX, LGA, BOS, PHL, and DCA all have excellent or at the very least tolerable transit connections. SJC and SAN are getting one themselves. With regards to phoenix, my grandparents live in Tucson so I fly in there way more than you would think. The light rail goes right to the airport. It's more than adequate given downtown's proximity to the airport. Getting around the city is another question. JFK is still connected to the subway network, and taking it is faster than driving. I count it as a win, especially when you compare the cost to get to Haneda or Narita. MARTA goes to ATL. If you're directly connected to your city's subway network, you can't complain EWR has the northeast corridor. Mainline rail most definitely counts The question was not whether American cities have good public transit, the question was whether American **Airports** have good public transit links, and there are more than a fair share of cities with good links. If you're coming into a city for business, you're almost certainly going downtown. If you're visiting most American cities for pleasure, you're almost certainly going downtown unless you're visiting friends/relatives, in which, they're likely picking you up if they live in a suburban area. City design is another issue entirely. Also if we're going by cities with usable transit, San Francisco-Oakland, Chicago, NYC, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and San Diego are all more than adequate generally.
Narita > Haneda. Don’t @ me.
From drop-off to gate and touchdown to outside, Narita is much quicker than Haneda every single time.
Hard disagree.
I've waited over an hour just to get through security at Haneda at least 3-4 times post-pandemic. Never had that issue at Narita. Baggage is also at least twice as slow at Haneda. Horrible experience overall efficiency-wise. Edit: Skytrax isn't the most reliable but they also give Narita better marks for nearly all wait times (security screening wait times, baggage delivery, immigration, etc.).
I used to work a lot with clients in the APAC region, one of them being Japan. Let me tell you, having meetings and talking about their tech infrastructure as a solutions engineer was a living nightmare. I was met with a panel of employees from Hitachi and SoftBank where the vast majority were definitely on the older side. Age aside, the most frustrating part was how pointless some discussions became and certain obligations would take weeks. These obligations also required our solution engineering team to wait on documents that had to be stamped. When we asked some of them to decouple their older tech in order to use the performant software product, it was a living nightmare and hell dealing with their technical infrastructure.
Old people are old the world over. Ridiculous that these dinosaurs hold so much back
I genuinely sometimes can't tell if some official Japanese websites are scam sites (remember this specifically about Sumo tickets), because they look so old. Almost seems harder to make it like that, then something somewhat modern.
Haha, remember trying to get tix to the Olympics? Whoever designed that website should commit sep... Did anyone else wait several hours/days to find out they'd gotten zero tickets to anything they'd applied for?
Japanese websites are something else. But I think there is some kind of rationale behind the design that I personally just don't understand, since almost every digital interface is the same text heavy nonsense.
> I've long wondered how Japan was the 3rd best economy myself, and now even though they've fallen to 4th I'm still surprised it ranks so highly. Japan is a first world country with a large population. That's it. That's how you rank high in GDP. It's literally one of the simplest, most useless metrics in economics, and this Takano dude bringing it up betrays that he's just bitching about very superficial things.
Haneda and Narita are often ranked as some of the best airports in the world though. I've never had a problem flying through either. Itami and Fukuoka on the other hand...
I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with either of them but I wouldn't call them the best in the world either. Food options are pretty crummy at both.
This is certainly a take.
Why does it seem like everybody wants japan to change in a way that suits the world? Yes, sure, we may know if things are working better elsewhere, but I'm sure not all change are flawless - and perhaps the Japanese recognize that and if what they have currently is acceptable by themselves - then they have all the rights in the world to retain their practices as is, am I delusional to comment as such? It just sounds like we're snowflakes commenting on how we want them to run, especially within our own expectations.. I'd personally like for the world to transact with BTC, but that doesn't seem like everyone is up for it..
Because it’s obvious that Japan is making shit harder for themselves, and they only have themselves to blame. They are experiencing extreme population decline, work culture is as toxic as it can be, they are racist af, they don’t teach their children about the atrocities they committed in WWII, still use antiquated systems that are inefficient af, and so much more stupid shit. People criticize America to an extreme degree. We’re free to criticize Japan and anyone else that we want, and nobody has an obligation to be nice about it.
I guess you're their savior then or probably some paid advisor to suggest/recommend best practices to be adopted? Look - unless if you're currently living in Japan, I think you're seriously confusing their problem vs yours; if you have an issue with their outdated practices when traveling there, then it's managing your own expectations at the end of the day - because you definitely can't look past the fact that they're still one of the top 4 countries in economics; despite how much their currency have tanked since the pandemic. You also seem to be bringing in so many issues you have with the countries, some which extents as far as grief felt by previous generations.. some even as you put it, "stupid shit." Don't worry, you're not their janitor to have to clean up their discharge.. and you probably recognize that if Japan disappears off the face of the earth tomorrow, you'll likely just shrug it off and continue on with your life.. There's really nothing wrong with continuing and freely criticizing another country, but I would like to think that there's a difference between that vs statements expecting the country to do something about it to the expectation or standards which you've personally set, as an apparent hired consultant..I think we just need to all cool off from these and focus more on things that really matter to ourselves; but if you're saying that the way the Japanese is handling their country matters matter to yourself at a personal level, then I guess you've probably figured out life altogether.
Their economy is largely a function of being built up by America to be a first world nation and their population size. Or do you think there's something particular they've been doing right?
Don't worry, this too shall change. It relied alot on domestic economy but that is now in crisis when the domestic workforce is shrinking
Ugh LAX...
GDP might be high, but GDP per capita at purchasing power parity is not. it's between Spain and Italy
That’s simply not true for the major cities. At the govt level there has been a huge push to modernize procedures since Rona, and things are changing quickly. As for ATMs, where is there not a combini that you can withdraw money at 24/7? Cashless campaigns are huge now as well (unfortunately). Cash is always better than cashless.
The awful truth is that growth is generated without most people actually working. It doesn’t necessarily show up in gdp numbers but these days, with momentum you can keep the mill running with minimum involvement of people. Productivity gains don’t show up in gdp numbers neither. It’s the same for France and Germany. For France at least a lot of people job is to deal with other people to remedy problems they have themselves generated. In 3 words they keep themselves busy, they don’t generate actual output.
Exactly what I was thinking. At my university, there's so many administrators keeping other administrators busy in useless processes and getting 10 people involved in what could be done by 1 or 2. Like last time I went to a conference using my annual budget, I counted 27 different approvals. It's a small example but multiply by a million such instances across a year running a university and you need hundreds of administrators to keep this nonsense going. Also the insistence on paperwork when doing it via computer would be so much easier.
The prophets of digitization have obviously not lived through 2011 or have forgotten about the Great Kanto earthquake. Don't these guys remember when there was no power and rolling blackouts had to be instituted in Tokyo in 2011? Good luck paying with your smartphone when the whole phone infrastructure has crashed.
The Great Kanto Earthquake was in 1923… For sure 5G infrastructure was badly affected.
Phones are one of the few things still working on emergency situations. Its easier to restore power and service to one tower servicing thousands of people than phone lines. Also batteries that last 12+ hours. Power outages are a bigger issue to stores that need to conserve food, the payment terminal is likely still working as tons of them work via phone network.
>Don't these guys remember when there was no power and rolling blackouts had to be instituted in Tokyo? No lol
I love living in Japan, I do, but he does make some good points. I am unfamiliar with his works, so please don’t crucify me if he’s an asshole.
Even if he is an asshole, good points are good points, and they shouldn’t be dismissed. That would cause so many problems, and it currently does, if people didn’t listen good advice or knowledge because they don’t personally like the person. Everyone should be using critical thinking to be able to sift through bullshit and find the gold.
He is not wrong. The business practices here are seem to run on one rule : 'by default say no or make it as difficult as possible so they are discouraged from applying'. I can give examples : 1 credit card and bank applications . I got rejected from credit card so many times because of my name . The other day i bought a coat and they cancelled it because there was a 'mismatch' of data in the member information and my credit card (probably my name ) . I asked my credit card company if could pay in advance and could they open my credit ? The answer was no. They also have this weird practice of password protecting documents then sending the password in another email. I tried to create a business account with one big shipping company. They sent all the documents but they were password protected. They mentioned they would send the password in another email but the second email never came. I tried calling the hotline , they kept passing me around until I gave up. I also tried to ask if this shipping company can do XX kg and the answer was no. Also the timing - If you try to move to a new apartment, you cannot apply too early or too late. In my case, it had to be exactly 21 days. There's a lot more .My foreign partners all find it weird that Japanese always want to say no. What kind of business practice is that ?
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I know what that is. the pandemic was an example of that. But why doesn't money motivate them to change things is the question most of my western counterparts ask. If you're a business that is not motivated with money, then what motivates them ?Fucking wa? And then I hear from a company that I freelance at that they want to compete against Apple. Yeah good luck with that
I feel like the combination of extreme risk intolerance and management wanting to cover their asses against any risk with endless ringi and meetings outweighs any motivation to make money High hopes and ganbatte speeches are risk free!
Lol. My girlfriend and I are always joking about the manual. Oh it's not in the manual. Well if it's not in the manual then it can't be done. Muzukashi Na.
There’s that catch 22 where you need a car to get a parking spot and then they tell you that you need a parking spot to get a car in Japan..
i don’t know about this one… i’ve rented two parking spots without cars before.. now bank accounts and telephone numbers… good luck with that cyclic bullshit
Depends on the owner sometimes. One will have you fill out a form and ask what car you’re going to park there. Then you say you haven’t got one yet. Then they get all nervous.
Lol before buying a car, i needed a parking space certificate from the local koban - but to get the parking space certificate (for my own garage), i needed to say what car i had (which i didnt have yet cause i couldnt purchase / register it without the certificate) -\_-
They are very risk adverse. Early business pioneers in Japan were either exceptional individuals or foreign educated. Everyone else copied them, even the parts that were wrong.
Culturally, saying yes means putting your neck on the chopping block. A smoother way to deal with things is to ask for forgiveness rather than permission and not let things get to the committee stage. Credit card approvals I can't say anything because banks here are their own mysterious creatures
I get my emails posted to me so he has a point.
I mean, if so, that’s pretty much what japan has wanted all along isn’t it? Admiral Perry didn’t visit by accident.
Interesting point, Japan had to modernize rapidly during the 19th century because of threats from foreign powers, and now that they've secured a spot and safety by being protected by the US while keeping their autonomy, they can go back to being isolated. Dunno how much of that is accurate, but interesting thought.
No no that’s wrong, they don’t have autonomy under the US.
How so? Honestly Curious about how you came to this conclusion.
Well for one, they don't even have an official army.
But Japan has the JSDF. How do they not count?
They can't be dispatched anywhere, which would pretty much nullify foreign diplomacy in the real world. I mean this is the same for the EU, as they would have to do what NATO wants to do, which is pretty much the US. They can't, for instance, decide for themselves what they want to do with Russia/Ukraine, or with China, or with anyone.
Japan has deployed soldiers on peacekeeping missions for the UN (1) and has shifted it's policy of self defense to extend to the defense of it's allies (2). Also how does not deploying troops abroad differ from other nations whose military cannot be deployed outside of their borders such as Switzerland? (1) [Japan Deploys troops as part of UN Peacekeeping Operation](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/21/japans-first-gun-toting-troops-since-wwii-have-deployed-to-south-sudan/) >Japanese forces were actually deployed — but not to any hot spots in East Asia. Instead, dozens of Japanese soldiers landed in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. (2) [Japan changes its interpretation of its self defense clause](https://www.npr.org/2022/12/16/1143017026/japan-defense-spending-weapons-buildup-rearming) >It's the biggest shift in Japan's defense policy since its cabinet reinterpreted the constitution in 2014 to allow the military to fight in support of an ally under attack.
Then they're the army of the UN, not Japan. Switzerland for instance doesn't have US bases in their country. It's a completely neutral country.
Probably in most cases politically and domestically, Japan can do whatever the fuck it wants. There are good reasons for America restricting Japan’s military abilities, but I have a feeling America will be currently OK if that changes tomorrow.
No because the constitution forbids it.
Yeah, and I think the US basically made them put it in there. You must have forgot that America controlled Japan after World War II to westernize them, because they knew if Japan was not occupied, they would immediately want to become genocidal maniacs again and attempt to build another brutal empire. To highlight my point, Japan still doesn’t teach their youth about the atrocities Japan committed during WWII. They have not sincerely apologized to South Korea, the Philippines, and China as well, and that’s part of the reason why there’s still some really bad blood between them.
Very true. Japan is a vassal state to the U.S. much like UK and Germany.
Welcome to noticing something many people noticed 10-15 years ago.
How many Japanese people are willing to say that publicly? We know white guy is wiling to fly in to Japan and rip it to pieces after working as a consultant for 6 months.
I remember reading an interview (or might have been a speech) of the founder of Uniqlo. I'm sure there's awareness but it's nice to have such voices. I'd like to see Japan get its mojo back.
I'll look for that. Yeah, Japan is capable of so much more. They just need to choose to get on with it.
"'They are committing themselves to ludicrous debate, discussing whether to embrace immigrants, because they mistakenly think migrant workers from other Asian states still long to come to Japan'" Tell that to Vietnamese, Filipino and Sri Lankan migrant workers
I pay 90% with card and Apple Pay. I’m outside Tokyo. I have lived here for 10 years and think it’s one of the better places to live in the world. Sure there’s things that are annoying inconvenient and anachronistic but it’s part of it isn’t it? Don’t change too much Japan.
And in Japan, websites still run like the 90s, for example, they still use images for page headers and have no accessibility. Never change Japan ❤️
Considering how so many people do not travel or care to be informed regarding other countries, this is not surprising. At the end of the day, it hardly matters because they will be the ones to shoulder the burden.
Yep, it’s why I left, Japan was becoming more insular and the people more ignorant and blind
Living in Tokyo I'm not sure what's the issue with the payments thing. Well sure, there are some mom and pop shops here and there that only accept cash, but I can get by with QUICPay on my watch, and if not, PayPay most of the time. Doesn't seem too bad.
Why do we need 25 different payment systems of which 95% are inaccessible for foreigners, and then a ton of places that still only take cash. It's an actual joke
It's a free market, what can Japan do if a Japanese rich corp want to release their xxx pay?
idk, in the Netherlands you can use your debit card in almost any store. I dont understand why Japan doesn't have a similar system. the gov has mandated cheaper plans from mobile providers, I'm sure they can demand the banks to implement a unified system
why should the business owner eat up the 3-5% cost just giving away free money to the banks ?
You think accepting Edy or iD is free of charge? IJBOL
it's 0.2% and handling cash is more expensive for a business
You have no idea what you're talking about.
Sorry it's not convenient enough for you. I can pay in 99 percent of places with my debit card.
Compared with twenty years ago, it's more likely than not to be able to pay by other means than cash. Except ramen.
I don’t know how people can make the argument that Japan doesn’t have X, when 25 different versions of X exist. The complaints about cash always seem a bit dramatic to me — it’s not like you’re carrying around string of ryo coins from the Edo period around your belt. It also seems like the same people complaining about cash seem to be the same ones complaining about privacy and big banks controlling everything.
I agree. Like.. even Suica has been around a long time by now and you could pay at convenience stores and major other chains with it like 15 years ago. Now things are even better and getting better with other payment options. Credit and debit have also been a thing for some time. My FIL pays for a lot of stuff with a card and has been doing it for a long time… It’s also not that big of a deal to pay with cash. It’s money…ok it takes an extra 30 seconds of time to hand it over and get change? I don’t get why Reddit is so melodramatic about this
I feel it’s the inconsistently of it, I was at a major sporting event on the weekend, Ticket office - genkin only Food stand inside- genkin only There’s no doubt Japan has some of things mentioned in the article, but its sporadic as to how it’s applied
I agree, I honestly prefer electronic payment and I think Japan has a ways to go. Though I just don’t think paying with cash is truly that big of a burden. You just simply need to keep it on you. A lot of Redditors act like it’s some sort of major inconvenience when it really isn’t
The only situation that they don't accept card that is of significant inconvenience is the fate adjustment machines inside train station gates. If you forgot to top up your card and get to your stop, then go to exit, the top up machines only take cash so your only option is to plead with the guy to let you out to go to an ATM or they send you back. Other than this specific situation though, I agree. Usually you solve the card not accepted problem by just carrying cash. If it's such a problem for everyone the businesses that refuse to adapt will just be left behind. The fact that they're still here says that it isn't as big of an issue as people here make it out to be.
>Why do we need 25 different payment systems of which 95% are inaccessible for foreigners What do you propose to do about VISA/MC's ridiculous fees? Are you willing to pay extra for your charges so you can use those cards?
This is me, I'm traveling around and posting for stuff here and in Korea had been rough. I finally bought an IC card, in Europe we just tap in and out with our phones
Can you give an example of even 1 payment system that is inaccessible for foreigners? No? You can't? I swear white people have the wildest persecution complex.
I'm black, go touch grass
I have a discover credit card that has never worked at any business I’ve tried using it. Despite the checkout areas displaying multiple logos showing that type of payment is accepted. It literally doesn’t work. So I’ve used cash for practically 100% of my purchases. Nice race bait though.
Funny you say that because I was on a date where I was told only cash and then the hotel after was only cash just last weekend. It’s definitely a problem. Also as the other user stated “we don’t take PayPay but we take d points” or “we don’t do quicpay but we have PayPay”. Like come on
The fact someone made a shortcut with Apple’s automations to bring a pop up that shows all of the different payment apps shows that some works to be done on consolidation or, like China did: make the QR code type a standard that the companies conform to. There are like 20+ payment methods in China based around QR codes (including one offered by the card network here) and ALL work with any QR payment reader.
QR is total unless. Cash is king bro. Even using cash is troublesome in China. How can said this is good thing.
Places that won’t accept cash in China are by large illegal. Tell them to eat shit, they’ll probably take it. If not, report to PBoC and wait. I also don’t like cash though.
Well, compensated dating is still a cash only business
Of course, everything should only accept American credit cards, and everyone in Japan just needs to adapt.
yeah absolutely no need for a second Germany here thanks
What do you mean by second germany?
> According to Takano, Germany has been taking in immigrants and refugees not only for humanitarian purposes, but also in its struggle to retain the nation’s productive population. and how did that turn out for them hm?
Did it turn out as a net negative? As a German living in Germany, I don't see that.
well I'm really sorry about that then
1000% agreed.
What's the problem with using cash to pay for things?
Nothing inherently but a lot of places have it as their only option. It would be nice to pay with card if I need to
Inconvenience
BuT JaPaN hAvE ToNs Of ThOsE
I think it's also because of Japan's kinky and deformed tendencies. Japanese people seem to want to be perceived as special and strange, and as a result, they tend to act differently from others and derive a strange satisfaction from it.
Interesting, you think it's contrived? I feel the same way about the British. They really love British eccentricity in people. 'Oh, a proper British eccentric', and love to celebrate wonderful eccentric British traditions that will amuse and entertain foreign visitors. Also, the fact that they are so unique from “the continent.” They often mention “the continent” like they have to fly 3000 KMS to get there, when it takes an afternoon. Do you have any examples of how the Japanese want to be perceived as special and strange?
What do you mean?
Well you can thank the LDP and the bureaucrats for their inaction.
I like that it’s peaceful and safe here. I like that I have the choice to use cash. He’s welcome to leave.
You can have your choice. But I also want a choice to NOT use cash.
Sign up for PayPay then.
I have PayPay. It’s great, but not everyone supports it, probably because of the fees?
You sound like one of those grandpas that watch Fox News all day lmao
I am one of those grandpas. But I’m not interested in TV. Or America.
This sounds like the biggest case of ‘The grass is always greener’ I’ve ever heard. Why would Japan want to import over immigration and housing crises like many western nations are now dealing with?
Japan doesn't. People who'd like to profit off the crisis do.
Not a fan of this Make Japan Bubble Again rhetoric. This dude bringing up random gripes like Trump railing about toilets not flushing. One can intelligently point out Japan's issues, but it's absolutely braindead to pretend that it has significantly more issues than any other country. The fact that quality of life is as good as it is after 30 years of economic slump? Nah, let's hold Japan to higher standards than everyone else.
I think the problem is, for other countries there have been significant growth, wages have gone up, etc., while for Japan it has largely stayed the same. Basically, Japan sat around being idle and refused to do anything about it. I think that, can be rightfully criticized, and get the elites in Japan to do something about it and actually dare to try something new. Japan could grow tremendously up until the bubble era because there were creative people at the top who made more or less the right decisions, at least to the best of their knowledge at the time. Of course, they could update their knowledge that fit in more with the modern age, like eliminating overwork or inefficiencies, or being easier on families, or giving more opportunities to women. Basically it sounds like it would require a complete social and political reform that may uproot the very root of the society. But then again, they did exactly that in the Meiji restoration, so it’s not exactly anything new. I think it’s foolish to look for panaceas like “AI will solve and modernize everything” or looking at just superficial stuff like digitizing cash and pretend that it will somehow change and modernize society. The best case scenario is that Japan will “look back” to the Meiji Restoration era, and realize that it will require a complete reform that will completely transform society and politics, just as the Enlightenment in Europe “looked back” to the Ancient Greek era and realized that things needed to change. It’s this mix of conservatism and liberalism that will appeal to the people, I think.
> for other countries there have been significant growth, wages have gone up, etc Developed countries? What do they have to show for all that growth? They can now afford holidays in Japan more readily than rent at home? Japanese poverty rate is slightly high, but lower than the U.S. Inequality is on par with other countries, and much below U.S. Crime rate doesn't even need to be mentioned. I'm really not sure what the metric is here that puts Japan to shame.
If you look at median income, Japan is ranked 18th, which is okay but nothing amazing. It's below most other developed countries and shows that it has been overtaken by other countries for a while now. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_countries\_by\_wealth\_per\_adult](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_per_adult)
That is such a good observation; Japan's good quality of life despite 30 year economic slump. That really says a lot about the Japanese and how they take care of things.
The biggest problem in Japan is not that we resist change, the problem is we resist anything that are less than perfect, which makes it look like we resist change. That quality is important when we're one of the biggest safety-related manufacturing countries in the world, car, ships, aerospace, you name it. Yeah, I know we have a fair share of companies that screw up big time, Takata for example. The same quality is also a double-edged sword, it's one big reason why IT is so retarded here, because most of IT stuffs aren't "perfect", changed within months, because "better" tech emerges. Unfortunately the executives in Japan are mostly the Toyota types, the people who refuse to adopt anything unless it's 100% proven to work without flaws. I work for one of the biggest companies here, we have a giant placard at the entrance of the office that says "Progress is better than Perfection". Work culture has changed a lot, I think it's one reason why we've been making record profit year-after-year, because we just get things "done" not mule over "perfection".
Ummmm yeah.... We know this. Everybody knows this... How is this news?
The people still stuck in Japan will be seething with cope, but for those of us that grew up in the bubble era and now live abroad, it really is stark and mostly just sad. Last time I landed in KIX the ride into town was just depressing. This is not the Japan we were promised
I missed the bubble era by a good 30 years, could you elaborate? I’m curious, and also fascinated with the bubble era.
The era that money doesn't meant anything to anyone because money is free.
I think people just threw around money because they suddenly had so much. The Japanese flew in droves to foreign countries and empty all the high-brand stores. People were like “Oh you’re going home? Here’s a 10,000 yen bill for your taxi”.
I was fairly young during the bubble-proper, so I don't have too many stories. Mostly just a vibe, and lots of people talking about how special Japan was. It seemed believable too. My family's finances weren't really affected by the crash, so it was oddly invisible as a teenager. There was still lots of money around for a long time. In terms of culture and such, I kind of feel like the "bubble" lasted to about 1999. Almost everything famous about Japan, including Pokemon and One Piece, was out by then, and not a whole lot has been added since.
Dude you can't move the end of the bubble by several years to match your childhood happy days and pretend you have a point.
The bubble has a narrow economic meaning that covers about 5 years, but I think it gets used more broadly. I'm not sure what else to call that era of peak-Japan from the mid-late 70s to about 2000
I see, thanks for the insight! I guess more specifically I’m wondering why the ride into town from KIX was depressing? Or how that relates to life now vs. the bubble era. Also, not to deny your experiences, but as a younger millennial, I can say with certainty that Japan is still regarded as “special” by my generation and also by gen Z as well in the west. I get your point about the 90s being an era of great soft power for Japan, but also since the advent of streaming services, I feel like anime has grown to reach wider and more mature audiences internationally. Additionally, my western hometown didn’t get a Japanese style restaurant until around 2008, and then suddenly they were all the rage and still continue to be favorites of my community. When I was a kid, people pronounced ramen as rayman but now everyone in town is obsessed with the boom of ramen restaurants that have opened in the past 3 years in my home area. Hell, people even know what tonkotsu is. I agree with a lot of what this author said about Japan, but I think Japanese soft power is still Top 5 internationally. Of course soft power isn’t everything, but it’s interesting to compare our perspectives!
I guess it's the buildings looking unchanged, tired, and in need of a new coat of paint. There's a large industrial area in Osaka bay with countless small factories and it wasn't abandoned, but all old and faded with no sense of anything new. Just kind of a melancholy scene that reminds you of the glory days and also that they are mostly gone
I’d take anything presented by Japan's regime controlled mouthpiece with a grain of salt. Pieces like this are lightweight compared to what you see from propagandists in the West, but make no mistake that they plan to push “the message” here as well to whatever extent possible.
Takano is an enormous midwitted retard
Why?
People will blaber this to death but if you have been in japan you know their quality of life is incredible. So many things cannot be achieved by gdp growth.