I want to see Japan grow out of its former self like newborn Cicadas when ALL the older and outdated generations in politics pass away. Good luck, Japan. In doing so, I'm also actually wishing the same thing for the rest of the world.
@@NNVA I agree. Humans must unite under duress because nobody has been able to defeat mother nature, ever. But you can't wait for total devastation to change people and finally let a good person to lead the country... That's a lose-win situation where humans are often only the losers. On the other hand, another world war or pandemic will also change people (for better or worse). Only by letting the old greedy and stubborn people in power die off, the newer generations can start reshaping the world as they need it to be.
I worked in Japan for 5 years, companies are not willing to take risk or try something new. Some companies still dominate some industries ( Sony is Lead in camera technology) Toyota is top in terms of streamline production. Most companies are unwilling to try foreign ideas ( spot on assessment) There is little to almost no startup culture in Japan...without that there will not be much innovation ⚡ Japan missed the boat by not having a similar company like Tsmc or Samsung who are pushing boundaries in nano chip manufacturing
Speaking as someone living in Japan, they are willing to try foreign ideas after they are successful, which ensures they are always at least one development cycle behind.
@@rocketman3770 even more against his point. If you go to rural areas, they probably take yen only and might have old radios at most as far as technology is concerned
@@MuromachiLines Nah. Immigrants are not needed, a paradigm shift is. Your way of thinking is as old as the people you complain about. You think English is the key to success? think again, most people in the world don't speak English, English has nothing to do with success. Only the people who need it speak it, and as long as they do the rest don't need to bother.
@@xmaverickhunterkx look in the us for example most of the tech giants that change the world have an immigrant background generally jewish or now also indian or chinese, the are not your average anglo-saxon american. it is very difficult to find successful people in america, canada,etc. that don't have an immigrant background.
@@xmaverickhunterkx but with their population decline still happening, as their youth don't want to marry. It's becoming impossible to fill industry needs, so paradigm shift is just full of nothing. You know they need overhaul all their economic function look many jp worker is severely overworked to the bone heck many actually dies at work that becoming knowns as karoshi, ah for women goodluck getting accepted to job after have children
I currently live in Japan and coming from "a third world country" I'm so shocked how outdated most of thier software and computers they use are. Yes, they may have far better infrastructure but I realise why most Japanese corporations are now lagging behind is that they don't realise the importance of software. Another big problem are the stagnant salaries and wages making the young and educated yearn to move overseas.
@@nxtphone4696 I had to withdraw cash from an ATM today and deposit money inside the bank in order to pay rent for this month. They said I can only start using EFT after residing in Japan for more than a year.
It is crazy that Japanese programmers earn 1/2 of Chinese peers (am referring to high-tier companies of both sides) and have to tolerate 2.5+ times higher living costs (Chinese have to spend their family life saving on housing, but the rent in China is so much lower) I am not saying Japan is worse than China in any case: in fact, Japan is of the two dominators of digital art and the top-tier tech powerhouse. it treats other professions, especially artists and writers, so much better financially and freely than China. It is just weird that their programmers are relatively badly treated compared with their high standards, considering programmers are the main engineers that make new idea happens.
So many people in comments keeps saying how bad Japanese software is but most of the biggest and best gaming and entertainment franchises are Japanese and that is also a software. I read somewhere how Japanese animation accounts for 60% of worlds entire animation for example. If you look up at best selling games just from this year alone all all Japanese like Elden Ring, Pokemon Legends Arceus, Gran Turismo 7 etc. And idk if any of you ever were in Japanese restaurants or karaoke bars but they have software where you can order food/drinks, select songs etc no need for waitress. I have never seen anything like that in say Europe and I have been to many European countries.
@@experience_point6233 that's in term of the entertainment industry and for daily necessities convenience. But their bureaucracy....... It's thanks to the old boomers in power, and their patriarchal and seniority complex.
I laughed when Shigeru Miyamoto appeared at 17:34 while you said ”close collaboration with the government” because Nintendo is almost the only company that has been completely independent of (or ignored by) the government and has also succeeded worldwide. The whole game industry was looked down on by not only the government but also the major industrial society in Japan until the 2000s. Anyway, I’m Japanese and I agree with the main point of this video.
@@Longlius Yeah, that was the other side of Mono-zukuri (manufacturing) culture in which people were likely to value hardware and undervalue software including games, manga, and anime.
Imagine how much more powerful Japan could have been if the government had supported your cultural exports like what South Korea is doing now. Japanese video games, anime, music, movies are beloved outside of Japan, yet Japan seems to be determined in NOT sharing them to the world.
If you go to Yodobashi Camera, a very large electronics retailer in Japan, you can find electronic products bearing Japanese brands such as Panasonic, National, Sony, and Sharp displayed and sold just like in the past. Samsung products are rarely on display. While Japan companies are satisfied with the domestic market of 130 million people, it is not paying as much attention to the global market as Korean or Chinese companies. Japanese companies focus on products with design, function and price that Japanese customers prefer. The brand image of the past and a suitable domestic market are greatly diminishing the international competitiveness of Japanese companies.
there are Samsung phones sold in japan but they have to be rebranded with a japanese badge such as Softbank in order to appeal to japanese buyers. that is how bad japans nationalism and anti korea nism is.
biggest reason is the rise of china and korea as cometitor and the inability to adjust to the changing situation and arrogance of japanese towards their neighbors
@@nxtphone4696 honestly, I think it's just nationalism and Japanese pride over racism toward Koreans. They have that mentality with EVERY product imaginable.
@@nxtphone4696 Well, I think I'm an average educated Japanese person, but few people around me know that Samsung is a Korean brand. Also, the CEO of Softbank is Korean.Son Masayoshi is korean japanese.That mean's Japan's most richman is korean.
I think it's more of a business-cultural issue; they run businesses so defensively after 1990. Apple figure that out and made effort to gain the trust of other businesses there - and went on to wipe out Japan's domestic counterparts. The others who didn't bother, like Walmart, haven't done well and went on to making excuses.
I experience the issue first hand when I was working for the Fujitsu PC division in the late 90 to early 2000s, they simply refuse to recognise competition from Taiwan and South Korea and think consumers would pay up to 4x more for a "Made in Japan" tag without any innovation.
I remember years ago a friend of mind use to work for a Japanese corporation that deals in computer software. The hours are long, you really have no social life, there are meetings and meetings constantly, and the worst part is that the bosses are so close-minded, they refuse to listen to any new ideas to make the company better. All they want you to do is just obey orders no questions he left after 4 years and went back to the United States
Japanese Yen is now equal to 150Yen per one US dollar - a cratering of 30% of its value since last year. Japan's average wage has actually fallen compared to the average wage in 1990. Japan is no longer the highest income Asian country. It's rapidly falling behind in Asia.
Lowering the Yen is part of their government's strategy to keep their economy up so that's not really a good indicator that Japan's economy is falling. Wages not keeping up with inflation is much more apt in this case.
@@madensmith7014 do you know why they keep printing yen??? To keep interest rate low ,otherwise they will have to pay interest more than now. they are already using 20% of their annual budget for payment of interest of their debt. and 43% of their annual budget made up by debt.
@@madensmith7014 Keeping it a bit lower was a bit of their strategy, sure. But not 150 yen to 1 dollar. That would be a disastrous policy. Why? Because it makes importing energy and food very expensive.
The biggest difference between "Japanese tech boom of 80s" and that of today's is the rate of innovation. We didn't see anything new after iphone in 2008 I guess. It seems like everything is stagnated. But during the 80s, every month was some surprising tech from Japan. Miss those days.
Japan's politicians clearly are living in the past. Yuriko Koike, the Tokyo governor, wrote an article about 5 years ago that Japan was the country that was ahead of everyone else in Asia in the early 1900s (like 1920s - 30s) so it should be the model of new ideas and innovation for the world again. And when she talked about the falling birthrate problem, she mentioned that it was due to young people's having too little "matchmaking" opportunity. It is clear that she had no idea about the dire situations young Japanese are in.
Just mate more Japanese you're intelligent migrate outside and bring back money in Japan. West has a lot of employment opportunities they need more smart young people
WoW, that's shockingly out of touch lol. I mean the sad part is that with an aging population, being out of touch in politics is just increasingly the standard since the voting block they answer to will be largely old.
I've worked in japanese companies for 3 years and I can safely say that it is common to see companies of their culture not willing to try new things and have the 'if it's not broken, why improve it?' kind of mindset. Even working for MNCs, it is often to see Japan's branches really have their way of doing things and additional tasks have to be done for their branch.
Don't you ever stop making videos. I've been a better strategist, investor, and most of all student ever since I started watching your videos. Every time is like benching 315(3 plates on each side) for the first time. I'm a sociologist but I'm getting into CS and hopefully joining VC startup world.😤
There is a story that engineers at RCA laboratories could not interest their managers in their new design for a transistor radio as it would hurt their valve radio market but visitors from Sony were very interested and asked for a copy (from memory this story came from: The Fifth Generation; Artificial Intelligence and Japan's Computer Challenge to the World )
Just the fact that Japan is loyal to investing in Thailand and indifferent to Vietnam is enough to see that this country is extremely conservative in thinking.
Great video into the economics of Japan. Just like Apple, Nike, in it's initial days exported and manufactured shoes mostly in Japan. With time they started diversifying and moving out of Japan into countries like China, Taiwan and European countries.
The Japanese Meiji Restoration was admirable in its thinking, so determined, ambitious and deep in its self-improvement and drive to have the humility to recognise Japan as being outdated and weak, and the need to catch up to the rest of the great powers, unfortunately... this spirit was lost in the late 1980s... After the great bubble burst and now Japan is a land of huge potential but disappointing reality in almost every area. It is now the "sick man of Asia", where it is living on borrowed time, still able to maintain a relatively decent modern life for most people but never more than that. Japan is now the most conservative and backward country in East Asia, do not just look at the surface, with the material abundance, the consumer society is extremely prevalent, but the human mind and spirit, has died. Current Japanese culture is not real Japanese culture, just like the Taliban do no represent true Islam. People say "Oh Japanese people are shy, very mindful to fit in and no stand out" and all this cr@p. But in reality, the only reason why Japan became a powerful nation in the first place is that they learnt the best from others, which was the Meiji restoration. So it's funny and sad at the same time that Japan has betrayed the core mentality and momentum of what made them a name in the world in the first place. No need to talk about the economy, the economy is caused by people, no happy, courageous people, how can there be a good economy. If Japan wants to change, we have to start with education, from the school, but also from the government, a wise government is the root of a country's prosperity, why Singapore can be so good, do your own research and you'll understandm Also, Japanese young people desperately need a bright goal, so joining the military is a must. Countries in the world that have national service, such as Israel and Korea, have people who are strong, brave, civil and invigorated. National service, makes a country more peaceful, because only internally stable and ambitious population can ensure a happy and prosperous country.......
Seiko, a Japanese watch brand, disrupted the entire Swiss Watch industry in the 70's with the introduction of the quartz technology. This had such an impact that majority of the Swiss watch brands either went bankrupt or were bought off. Even today, brands like Grand Seiko makes some of the highest quality watches in the industry.
But too bad few people wear a watch right now because they use their smartphones. Watches are luxury or fashion items these days instead of an essential everyday tool.
The Japanese economy began to decline when computers, and smartphones became more and more popular. A smartphone can replace a number of electronic devices, like calculators, cameras, electronic organizers, televisions, tape/CD music players, analog phones, video camcorder, optical disc players(DVD-ROM), electronic typewriters, radios, voice recorder, scanner, electronic calendar, etc. Japan made a lot of those electronic devices, but with the advent of the smartphone, and computers all of these things became redundant.
I am Japanese. Videos like this from foreigners are very helpful. Japan's economy has been stagnant for about 30 years, but that doesn't mean it's in decline. Therefore, many people are satisfied with the current situation and don't have to go out of their way to grow.What is the need to change when it is so convenient? That's what it feels like. I hate this way of thinking, but many people do. I love this country, and I sincerely hope that it will continue to develop. Thank you for the wonderful video! 🇯🇵
I read in the book The Great Reset, that the growth of GDP per working person in Japan is higher than in other developed countries. So maybe this is a pseudo stagnation. But it is true that they need to get better in Software and stop keeping this zombie corporations alive.
@@gj1234567899999 I see that you don´t understood his point. He wrote about "GDP per working person" and this is a different story. The GDP of Japan stagnates, but on the other Hand the Workingforce declines rapidly. This means that we see an massive increase of the Productivity of every working Japanese.
Per-worker productivity is very high, however, the government and industry have no idea what to do. 1. Japan successfully copied the West and then hit a wall after the bubble popped in the late 1980s. 2. The workforce is getting old and younger workers have to work longer hours to pay the benefits for those retired/retiring. 3. Fundamentally Japan needs to do NEW THINGS, namely path-breaking innovations in biotechnology, energy and Artificial Intelligence. Consumer electronics ain’t gonna cut it anymore. Especially you have competition from BOTH South Korea and China.
A couple facts. I have participated in a couple of recruitment process for software engineer positions in Japan. * Several different recruiters said to me that many foreigners are basically "fleeing" Japan after they start working or do not go further after they receive an offer from Japanese companies. I know why it happens: the conditions are awful, they put mandatory overwork hours in your contract and give you low ball offers. Japan IT companies are a joke. * A large bulk of Japan software engineers are paid a little bit above of a female care taker(one of the bottom pay ranges in Japanese society). A female care taker earns around 310.000 yen, I was offered 380.000 after 4 rounds of technical interviews and 5 years of the experience. Sorry, but I will keep my current job that pays 3 times more. * Visa process are cruel and insane. If wanna go to a Japanese language school with 35 years you have to "prove" to the Japanese government that you really like Japan and do 150 hours of Japanese study and get a certificate. So, you need to study Japanese home in order to be allowed to apply to study Japanese in Japan. * Japan have a low unemployment rate, and a lot of positions per applicant. But the reality is that no one wants to work for what they pay anymore. Now, with the weak yen this process will get worst.
I will always remember when we are learning how to repair CRT TV. The board for Sony is so organized that it is easy to troubleshoot compared to Samsung. I will always respect them with regards to craft. But I think they are still backwards in promotion and other aspect.
A major point not mentioned is the stagnant structure of the Japanese political system, where hereditary makes it more like a feudal system rather than a modern one
to be fair, japans politics is as hereditary as the US, if not a little more versatile. The US establishment is big enough to shut down any independents from ever making a breakthrough, thus no third party. "Japan also has a rather hereditary establishment but the difference is that independents pop up relatively often to obtain seats in parliment. I'd say US has a more hereditary structure than Japan
I blame their system of absolute responsibility which scares leaders off from doing new things and incentivises them to just maintain the status quo. It's a double edged sword.
@@desk-kun2366 The Japanese Meiji Restoration was admirable in its thinking, so determined, ambitious and deep in its self-improvement and drive to have the humility to recognise Japan as being outdated and weak, and the need to catch up to the rest of the great powers, unfortunately... this spirit was lost in the late 1980s... After the great bubble burst and now Japan is a land of huge potential but disappointing reality in almost every area. It is now the "sick man of Asia", where it is living on borrowed time, still able to maintain a relatively decent modern life for most people but never more than that. Japan is now the most conservative and backward country in East Asia, do not just look at the surface, with the material abundance, the consumer society is extremely prevalent, but the human mind and spirit, has died. Current Japanese culture is not real Japanese culture, just like the Taliban do no represent true Islam. People say "Oh Japanese people are shy, very mindful to fit in and no stand out" and all this cr@p. But in reality, the only reason why Japan became a powerful nation in the first place is that they learnt the best from others, which was the Meiji restoration. So it's funny and sad at the same time that Japan has betrayed the core mentality and momentum of what made them a name in the world in the first place. No need to talk about the economy, the economy is caused by people, no happy, courageous people, how can there be a good economy. If Japan wants to change, we have to start with education, from the school, but also from the government, a wise government is the root of a country's prosperity, why Singapore can be so good, do your own research and you'll understandm Also, Japanese young people desperately need a bright goal, so joining the military is a must. Countries in the world that have national service, such as Israel and Korea, have people who are strong, brave, civil and invigorated. National service, makes a country more peaceful, because only internally stable and ambitious population can ensure a happy and prosperous country.
Didn't he miss another major point? correct me if I'm wrong like did he even mention the Plaza Accord? From what I see, this was like 3rd hiroshima nagasaki from the US and the docu probably ignored it to maintain the bias
This was an incisive essay on the rise and decline of post-war Japaneses industry. However, the accompanying newsreel-style footage often displayed images that had little or nothing to do with the topic being discussed.
This is a really well-made documentary piece, it does confirm with what my own research has come to a conclusion to. I've learned a few new points, which made this a very worthwhile video to watch. Thanks
The Japanese Meiji Restoration was admirable in its thinking, so determined, ambitious and deep in its self-improvement and drive to have the humility to recognise Japan as being outdated and weak, and the need to catch up to the rest of the great powers, unfortunately... this spirit was lost in the late 1980s... After the great bubble burst and now Japan is a land of huge potential but disappointing reality in almost every area. It is now the "sick man of Asia", where it is living on borrowed time, still able to maintain a relatively decent modern life for most people but never more than that. Japan is now the most conservative and backward country in East Asia, do not just look at the surface, with the material abundance, the consumer society is extremely prevalent, but the human mind and spirit, has died. Current Japanese culture is not real Japanese culture, just like the Taliban do no represent true Islam. People say "Oh Japanese people are shy, very mindful to fit in and no stand out" and all this cr@p. But in reality, the only reason why Japan became a powerful nation in the first place is that they learnt the best from others, which was the Meiji restoration. So it's funny and sad at the same time that Japan has betrayed the core mentality and momentum of what made them a name in the world in the first place. No need to talk about the economy, the economy is caused by people, no happy, courageous people, how can there be a good economy. If Japan wants to change, we have to start with education, from the school, but also from the government, a wise government is the root of a country's prosperity, why Singapore can be so good, do your own research and you'll understandm Also, Japanese young people desperately need a bright goal, so joining the military is a must. Countries in the world that have national service, such as Israel and Korea, have people who are strong, brave, civil and invigorated. National service, makes a country more peaceful, because only internally stable and ambitious population can ensure a happy and prosperous country.,,,,
The elderly population is an opportunity for Japan in development of robotics. They already have history in robotics development, and the aging population creates a serious need for assistive technologies.
Assistive tech requires a lot of calibration, personalization, and prone to accidents. so mass production isn't viable and expensive. And knowing that the old prefer their pain killing drugs than moving around, this is a very niche clientele. On top of that Japanese politicians want their old people to die due to the heavy taxes on their youth.
I've lived in Japan for over 15 years and I'm a permanent resident. Much of this is true and it's very well done. Japan can snap out of it's doldrums if they decide to do so, but they need two things: the will to change and the removal of the old guard form companies and government (which is happening naturally, if slowly). The old guard doesn't really want change and block the young to maintain their dominance. The young, though relatively few in number are rising and becoming more entrepreneurial. If there is one thing I have seen here from boardrooms to government is that Japan is slow to move, but once it decides to do so it happens with blinding speed.
Young are rising ? Japan has perpetually falling population, decreasing birth rates. Less than 12% of population is under 14 that means less than 10 Million young Japanese. Do you know what it means for Japan in next 40 years ? An absolute collapse.
All happening at mid 90's when "yendaka" coming, suddenly japan's product became too expensive during currency disaster, then japan factories are closing, make economic difficult. Young japanese stop making children when they are unemployed. Meanwhile bangladesh never get economic boom whatsoever, so they keep making children because they never have any high living standard just like japanese does. For bangladesh being poor is no problem anyway
@@chaiam It depends on what do you mean by "obvious" one. It also depends on what's your level of Japanese and work experience. Some examples are: - Marketing (Japanese required) - Head Hunters (No Japanese level needed) - Property Agent - Operations - IT Engineers
The Japanese Meiji Restoration was admirable in its thinking, so determined, ambitious and deep in its self-improvement and drive to have the humility to recognise Japan as being outdated and weak, and the need to catch up to the rest of the great powers, unfortunately... this spirit was lost in the late 1980s... After the great bubble burst and now Japan is a land of huge potential but disappointing reality in almost every area. It is now the "sick man of Asia", where it is living on borrowed time, still able to maintain a relatively decent modern life for most people but never more than that. Japan is now the most conservative and backward country in East Asia, do not just look at the surface, with the material abundance, the consumer society is extremely prevalent, but the human mind and spirit, has died. Current Japanese culture is not real Japanese culture, just like the Taliban do no represent true Islam. People say "Oh Japanese people are shy, very mindful to fit in and no stand out" and all this cr@p. But in reality, the only reason why Japan became a powerful nation in the first place is that they learnt the best from others, which was the Meiji restoration. So it's funny and sad at the same time that Japan has betrayed the core mentality and momentum of what made them a name in the world in the first place. No need to talk about the economy, the economy is caused by people, no happy, courageous people, how can there be a good economy. If Japan wants to change, we have to start with education, from the school, but also from the government, a wise government is the root of a country's prosperity, why Singapore can be so good, do your own research and you'll understandm Also, Japanese young people desperately need a bright goal, so joining the military is a must. Countries in the world that have national service, such as Israel and Korea, have people who are strong, brave, civil and invigorated. National service, makes a country more peaceful, because only internally stable and ambitious population can ensure a happy and prosperous country.....
Very good video. It only forgot to mention one other important factor for the Japanese Stagnation. In the 1980s the U.S forced the Japanese government to sign the Plaza accord which benefited the U.S, Germany and their other partners at the expense of Japan's economy. This accord created a seismic effect on Japan's economy that the Japanese is still struggling to overcome especially since the accords and subsequent agreements with the U.S sort of ties their hands on what they can do.
I think the video is ignoring it because it paints US as the villain behind Japan's decline. The video is blaming the decline by merely going through a laundry list of negatives about Japan.
The Japanese governmemt is also totally responsible for blowing up unsustainable bubbles everywhere that totally burst (real estate and stock markets have still not recovered)
Well said. Japan's inability for good software design, unwillingness to adapt and unfavorable demographics are key factors of the decline. I'd also mention that the rush to industrialize has negatively affected the fabric of society, resulting in a nation of solitary people who have little social life outside the company, such as being part of the local communities and having a family. It's a system that's unsustainable and it will take time to regain the values they once had.
@@dandrelowery3714 Yeah, i think so too! And when they realized that they should've created EV cars, the market will have shifted from EV to more environment friendly car. We all can learn from Sony. They used to create better phone back then, they were one of the best. But now, Sony is beaten by Samsung.
Thank you for a knowledgeable video! I feel this video precisely explains the current Japanese economic problem. Most of the Japanese are also aware of the depressing economic outlook as you pointed out in the video and becoming pessimistic.
One the best informed, well explained video. It doesn't dumb down, talk over one head nor speak in abstract. It's concise , intelligent and well produced. A plus.
No, the Japanese had a demographic dividend and they had a monopoly with trade with the West in Asia along with Taiwan which they used to colonize hardware businesses. Later on when software became more valuable, Japanese demographic dividend reversed along with Japan having fewer population size, and when the West stopped trade sanctions with China they could start outcompeting the Japanese as they improved their expertise.
it's really funny that you must bring stamp with you for withdrawing your deposit from japanese bank. no signature, no digital sign are allowed. only stamp can make it happen. they're living like ppl in 1900s.
First of all, Japanese economy is NOT suffering. If you are talking about 1990s-2000s, then you are right. But per capita wise, Japan recorded the third best growth rate among the G7 countries in the 2010s after the US and Germany. Per capita growth rate between 2010-2018 (source: Our World in Data) Germany 12.33%, US 12.32%, Japan 10.46%, UK 9.51%, Canada 8.88%, France 6.73%, Italy -1.16% It's not like they are doing amazing work but it's not like they are in a terrible situation as people think. Per capita growth rate = Growth rate - population increase/decrease. That's why Japan's situation looks worse than it is. Japan used to be known for its high suicide rate but now Japan has a lower suicide rate than the likes of the US, Sweden, Belgium etc because millions of jobs were created in the 2010s. The unemployment rate is the lowest among OECD countries.
@@skazka3789 I've known for 20 years that Japan's population is declining due to the declining birthrate, but I don't think the economy is in decline. Rather, it seems that Japan is not growing because prices in countries other than Japan are rising due to inflation. You can only use yen to live in Japan. I think the dollar base is wrong to think of when comparing economies. Since Japan has about 10 trillion dollars of assets overseas, if we sell all of them, the value of the currency will rise and per capita income will also increase the exchange rate gain. But it doesn't mean that the real meaning has increased income.
@@山田次郎-e8i The overseas assets is important. But how is it helping the generations of young working Japanese in Japan? The monetary value in those assets needs to 'brought home' so to speak to boost the domestic economy to help the working generation. As it is, I see it as the older generation is sitting on their nest egg without any trickle down effect.
In the long term, these lost decades are actually the calm before the storm. If things don't change at least demographically, Japan's economy will implode by 2050. Not stagnating but plummeting.
Facts about the software bit. As a software developer, I've looked into jobs in Japan and after meeting some people in the industry, I found that many STEM careers are underpaid heavily in Japan. There isn't a lot of incentive to pursue such a degree and many Japanese tech companies are forced to employ foreigners as a result. Many job listings sound so desperate, you don't even need to speak an ounce of Japanese. It's sad honestly
Great video. Super-thorough and interesting. As a foreigner living here since 2018 I had the same ideas and impressions about the current issues of Japan, but some of the previous ingredients were unknown to me, like the role of MITI.
When you talk about the Japanese approach to success.. it sounds awfully similar to China's rise. China essentially followed the same successful footsteps as Japan.
They do say history repeats. Anti Japaneseness from technology transfer arrangements, state subsidized companies, cost cutting competitiveness, currency devaluation. This was closely followed by reactionists in Washington and America leading to tariffs and anti Japanese sentiment.
All east Asian and some South East Asian countries followed the Japan model. That's why the region remains the hub for electronics manufacturing to this day.
During WW2, Japan invaded Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Guam, Philippines, and Korea. However, when they lost the war against the United States, they had to withdraw their army and its people back to Japan. During the retreat, Japan took all the gold, jewelry, and valuables from those countries with them. This gave Japan a huge economic boost. They were able to start companies. Car, semiconducter, radio, walkman, Nintendo, and so on, the money gave them an enormous lead compared to the rest of the world. Its just that they had the early start. Now, the rest of the countries are catching up. Thats all
Not to mentioned that in Tokyo of Japan their music programs, performances and music industries are very high standards and very well visible to the world which I love about Japan. Especially, all due respectfully to my musician brotherens. - Bob Hada (Schoolspianist246).
I really don't believe that this video doesn't mention the Plaza Accord in 1985. He even mentions the Yen appreciation, but doesn't even bother to say that it was caused by the US. This is not the first video where people try to explain the Japanese fall with no mention to the Plaza Accord.
The plaza accord didnt cause the huge bubble. It was the catalyst that popped it. If the accord didnt happen, do you think the bubble would have kept growing? What implications would result from that theoretical situation? Idk man. But for me personally, its foolish to blame americans for the lost decades. The fall down to earth might have been even more catastrophic if it didnt happen. However, you are also right. The video shouldve at least mentioned the event.
@@Justme-to6yu I didn't write that the US caused the bubble. The Plaza Accord caused the Yen to double in value within a two years period. All Japanese goods became a lot more expensive. I find it hard to believe that this did nothing to the Japanese economy.I really believe that the bubble happened because a lot of companies became unprofitable and people had no choice other than speculate in the financial markets in order to make some money. 1985 - Plaza Accord 1987 - End of yen appreciation, reaching nearly the double in value 1989 - Bubble popped 1990 - Beginning of the Lost Decades I personally think that the Plaza Accord was worse than the Atomic Bombs for the Japanese economy. But who knows? I might be wrong.
And yet Japan was not the only party to the Plaza Accord. What made economies like France, the UK, and Germany able to stomach a currency valuation but not Japan? Could it perhaps be due to structural weaknesses in the Japanese economy?
@@Justme-to6yu all Asian know and learn the lesson that this Plaza accord damage Japanese economy and never recover, therefore you will not see China does it again and then US creates a devil image for china.
@@Longlius from my knowledge, japan's unimaginable property bubble hit them the hardest. The devaluation of the dollar wasn't that hard hitting for their export market (yes, it hurt, but it wasn't catastrophic). Actually, the japanese economy was doing better right after the plaza deal. What really became the issue was the high amount of speculation in their property sector. At one time, a small plot of land in Tokyo cost more than half of Manhattan lol. When this bubble burst, the central government couldn't control outflows of capital, and all that "dumping" began to come back full circle. industries struggled to find leverage. To cap it off, I don't recall UK, France, and Germany having this issue, so maybe this answered your question? btw I'm not an economist so don't take my word for it :P
This is one of the best videos I've seen on youtube in a very long time, thank you for your efforts, not only I'm enjoying your videos as entertainment but also helps with general culture and knowledge.
Perhaps Japan can increase its scholarship program for students who want to go to the US and Europe. This will expose young Japanese college students to new ideas and innovations.
The US didn't fight Soviet forces in Korea, at least not directly, but they did fight Chinese forces. And the US wasn't the only country involved in the Korean War.
They needed a Steve Jobs pretty much. Very interesting video, now they are also falling behind in car manufacturing, it’s really not going well for their core industries.
Great contents! One key aspect that was not included is the social culture of outcasting the outlier. Adoption of new ideas are often met with harsh backlash for being ‘different’. The bureaucratic government and its agencies reject changes. The politicians are mostly feudal politicians who has such control over the constituents, their position is similar to that of a feudal lord than a democratic politicians. Thus, with lack of political accountability and reluctance to changes, it is impossible to carry out a legal reform to assist the fast changing world. For example, during Covid, regional count of patients and details could only be faxed to the central control centre for daily monitoring. The receiving party has to manually enter the data back into a computer. This is because there is no central data control nor a law that supports digital submission of Public Health Data. The current law stipulates submission by hand or by fax only. Finally, the judiciary system is as corrupt as their politics. The Public Prosecutors enjoy 98% conviction rate by using what they call hostage detainment, where a suspect can be held for an indefinite time without formal charge. Even if they were ordered to be released by a judge on one charge, they would continuously bring up other charges until the suspect confesses to one’s crime. This period can be anything from a few months to a few years. With political favouritism and corruption, the judiciary is just another powerhouse of the system rather than the final pillar of cleaner society. Then the question becomes how would they solve the current situation? Change od social culture out outcasting innovation. Bureaucracy and political corruption. Complete judicial reform. It does not appear it is something that can be solved in years…. it is more likely to take generations.
Also, serious labour market reforms need to happen. Seniority based compensation, promotion, etc. and long unproductive hours need to end. As long as that is the case, Japan will never grow again.
@@thailux6494 true, I am always hearing of the residents and the natives overworking their ass off! When you compare the work culture of America. Japan isn't kind or it doesn't understand the downsides of high work hours and low pay can permanently damage the workforce. Or provoke the masses to revolt!
Sometimes it can take a couple of years, with a good combo. A strong leader, a party with good policies, and reforms to rise a new movement in Japan. Though in the end, on how fast Japan develops depends on the natives mindset.
The Japanese Meiji Restoration was admirable in its thinking, so determined, ambitious and deep in its self-improvement and drive to have the humility to recognise Japan as being outdated and weak, and the need to catch up to the rest of the great powers, unfortunately... this spirit was lost in the late 1980s... After the great bubble burst and now Japan is a land of huge potential but disappointing reality in almost every area. It is now the "sick man of Asia", where it is living on borrowed time, still able to maintain a relatively decent modern life for most people but never more than that. Japan is now the most conservative and backward country in East Asia, do not just look at the surface, with the material abundance, the consumer society is extremely prevalent, but the human mind and spirit, has died. Current Japanese culture is not real Japanese culture, just like the Taliban do no represent true Islam. People say "Oh Japanese people are shy, very mindful to fit in and no stand out" and all this cr@p. But in reality, the only reason why Japan became a powerful nation in the first place is that they learnt the best from others, which was the Meiji restoration. So it's funny and sad at the same time that Japan has betrayed the core mentality and momentum of what made them a name in the world in the first place. No need to talk about the economy, the economy is caused by people, no happy, courageous people, how can there be a good economy. If Japan wants to change, we have to start with education, from the school, but also from the government, a wise government is the root of a country's prosperity, why Singapore can be so good, do your own research and you'll understandm Also, Japanese young people desperately need a bright goal, so joining the military is a must. Countries in the world that have national service, such as Israel and Korea, have people who are strong, brave, civil and invigorated. National service, makes a country more peaceful, because only internally stable and ambitious population can ensure a happy and prosperous country.......
@@mingyuhuang8944 I agree with you on most topics but mandatory military enlistment doesn't work for this country. Sure it may curb the perverted otakus and make them more disciplined and respectable but the majority of the youth are unmotivated because the education system has stifled their individuality and the lack of opportunities and overall low ambition and risk appetite. With the military enlistment, it can make the youth more robotic and carry extreme notion of nationalism. (Also a reason why Japan stagnated) The current model of Japan encourages teamwork and hard-work and discourages entrepreneurship and free-spirit. Japan need to give the youth opportunity, first step to do so is Set up exchange student programs, technical schools in sectors of tech, energy, robotics, AI and finance. Increase trade with it's neighboring countries. Create policy and programs which encourages entrepreneurship for the youth. Set up low business loans for aspiring entrepreneurs. Conference and talk shows on key topics. Improve the immigrant and foriegn worker policies Raise taxes on the purchase of IRR companies and luxury goods. Set restrictions on toxic religious entities (cults) within the country. Force the seniors in manger positions to retire Set internships program for the youth to replace the elderly. Japan also needs a young millionaire/s to represent the youth. There are some of the few things I believe will greatly benefit the gen z and the next gen.
They're also other factors that we avoid mentioning . They're trade war, financial war and semiconductor war. The end of the old semiconductor supply chain created a great opportunity for Taiwan semiconductor industry.
Great video. I have no doubt that Japan achieved an unprecedented success in economy, but somehow they failed to change, and adopt. As you might know the biggest problem of japanese people is that they tend not to change.
The economy crashed because of real estate and devaluing their currency vs the dollar (plaza accord). Real estate and Currency pricing are both handled by the government which was the abettor of subsidizing these companies. The US and everyone else knew this but the yen was and has always been pegged to the dollar and the US was not giving up on that
@@ImLure I totally agree with you on your views, but these are only minor reasons for the economic crash of Japan. Once you get to know them, and their history in depth, you will understand that they barely change, or hardly adopt to new circumstances. That I believe is the biggest reason japanese industries have been lagging behind.
@@nix5001 this is… rather misleading. I feel like Japan can and very regularly does have instances in their history where rapid change occurs (meiji revolution, post war Japan for example). Yes Japan currently from a tech perspective is not but to label Japanese history and culture as a whole as “not willing to change” is pretty overgeneralizing.
The Japanese market was decently big and people made good enough profit. A lot of people choose to hung on vested interests rather than adopting to the changes in the world. They still want to believe their economy is great. That’s probably the cause of strong resistance to changes.
You forgot to mention that it was the US that disbanded Toshiba and other top notch semiconductor companies to give up Japanese leadership in semi conductor. The first 4 bit Intel microprocessor adopted a Sharp electronic engineer's design and a Japanese software engineer's concept. After that, Japan lost all the capabilities in semiconductor engineering and design. That is what the US is trying to do now towards Chinese semiconductor industry by various ridiculous sanctions which are also detrimental to the US semiconductor industry.
It is true that Japan has declined since the bubble economy, but it is still the world's third largest economy. There are more than 190 countries that have lost out to "declining Japan" in terms of economical power.
4th now, its still in the top but as a citizen I think it would be pretty depressing to regress and not progress. I am romanian and our country is idk..50th something? and pretty much x10 its economy since the 2000s, even if it still has a lot of issues seeing growth and development its nice
When I went to Japan a few times, I was taken aback by how advanced yet how outdated the country is. I mean, they still have operating telephone booths last I was there! Which was awesome but surprising to see.
The telephone booth is a symbol of the economic rise of Japan. In the early 90s there was a famous TV series called Tokyo Love Story, quite a lot of scenes were given to those telephone booths.
You know that Japan is a country with many disasters. You can also imagine that in the event of a major disaster, depending on the situation, power outages and mobile phone reception may be lost. Can't you imagine leaving it on purpose so that it can be used in an emergency? Don't write comments in ignorance.
We used to buy SONY products in the 1970s ,1980s & 1990s, because of their Superior Quality & Durability that Designed & were Made In Japan! The last time we buy SONY products was about more than 10 years ago , when SONY headphones can't even last for 3 months before one of it's phone stopped working , and they were Made in China! SONY should go back to be Made in Japan to win back their Royal Customers!
@Toma Hawk most tech products are made in china by Taiwanese companies or made in Taiwan by companies like compal and quanta computer , by that I mean the physical manufacturing of a completed product . The CPU/GPU is made by TSMC or intel usually. The famous brand names such as sony/apple/dell ect usually do the design of the product itself though and don't manufacturer much in Japan or USA. Sony has a semiconductor factory though for imaging sensors for cameras, I don't know about their headphones though , I just buy their cheap earphones which broke after a while lol .
Quite true about the failure in the of software. Today a lot of the products main R&D development is in software, and Japan is very much behind. Today [2022], if you think about major Japanese software firms, you are looking at Line or Yahoo!. These are in fact simply offshoots of software products from foreign companies, Line in South Korea and Yahoo! in the US. Although Japan is fairly far ahead in IT for example for many years it had some of the fastest internet in the world, there seems to be very little innovation from that. I once watched a program about televisions on NHK World, which talked about the problem that now many have become so simplified in manufacture and so software driven to become generic commodities that Japanese companies simply cannot compete. We have seen Japanese companies selling off its television business like Sharp, with Sony being the only major Japanese television manufacturer. We have been told that cars are increasing becoming like televisions and being simplified and software driven, and if Toyota and Honda are not careful, I could see the Chinese with companies like Geely, NIO and SAIC eating their lunch.
It is a well-known fact that Japan is reluctant to try new things, but this fact is more widely recognized. Implementation in the field of IT is slow, but research is progressing. America has implemented the Plaza Accord, semiconductor agreements, and kicked out the Japanese OS called Tron from PCs. Do you think it's easier to understand the decline of Japanese companies by looking back at your own country?
Past 30 years, we have been back and forth like tackling THIS issue, then THAT issue. But, what it is truly important for us is to address "Low birthrate and aging society". No politicians have not seriously touched the issue. It seems like untouchable.
They were not able to integrate the latest developments in software aspects especially now with AI technology ..it's similar to other big companies like in Europe Philips , Nokia etc.
Japan need to decline more for the people to awake. The goverment is protecting old companies and industries literally at all cost, which is in my opinion the fundamental reason of stagnation. You can blame the politicians but the real problem is the majority of people are not complaining.
evetually the image will also change. the generation that grew up with walkman still have the quality image but todays gen z grew up with samsung and apple.
Knew someone who worked on IT in Japan and he resigned like after a year and went back home due to alot of the boss and higher ups being close minded and unwilling to try new ideas and methods
Good presentation, but why is the only advice ever given to Japan is that they need more foreigners? A rapid influx of foreigners creates many new challenges that Europe is demonstrating.
Japanese co. kicked out old engineers so they can replace them with younger pros. This was a mistake cause Koreans swooped in quickly and stole those old japanese engineers and invested in their talents and creativity.
Excellent insight and great vidoe. I have been fascinated with Japan since the early 2000s. I work here and have seen a lot of these changes take place before my eyes especially Japan's struggle with software or their inability to change. However, the pandemic brought on some massive changes that were due. Perhaps you could focus a video on that topic? Still love Japan though...and thanks!
Japanese freaked out when Microsoft ended support for the internet explorer. Their government had to nudge the companies to start training their employees to use Microsoft edge.
This is an inspiration video. Today's consumer products are tended to software driven rather than mechanical driven. That is the reason making craftsmanship skills becomes obsolete... A Sony Walkman needs hundred of mechanical parts, but Apple IPad needs few of mechanical parts...Same as VHS video, Canon cameras. Today one smart phone replaces a radio, a camera, a dictaphone, a compass, a calculator, a watch, a thermometer, a noise meter, a diary and even a torche. The invention of a smartphone force lots of consumers produce becomes obsolete. This is why Toyota still a leading Japanese manufacturer because gasoline car still needs thousands of integrated parts together for a single product. For electric car has around 15000 parts while traditional petrol car has around 30000 parts.
once re-watching this video US tricks used to Japan in 1980s applied to China in 2020s too. 1. US accused dump sales on solar panel, EVs and communication hardware products made by China. The difference > Japan already set-up a model to China how US tricked her trade partner. So China should have better preparation than Japan. For example US lured Japan to enter the Plaza Accord by raising the Yen value. China never fell US's traps by raising the RMB value. In return US accused China as a currency manipulator... China's housing and property industry in 2020s also suffered with similar problem as Japan in 1990s too.
While considered a comedy, Gung Ho (1986) had a great impact on delivering the message of Japan's buisness practices and work ethics compared to America's. One of my favorite moves of all time. As an American I have always admired and respected the Japanese people.
I am not surprised that the video does not mention the Plaza Accord agreement which I think is deliberate. The Plaza Accord is such a huge factor but the video is silent on it. What a joke! I would think that the Plaza Accord was forced onto the Japanese to stem the rise of Japan. Yes, Japan developed by taking the opportunities presented by the US. But when Japan got too strong, it is time to whack it down. And it stayed down in the 80s until now. Japan hid behind the US's shadow to avoid facing China and Korea so this is the price to pay. What went wrong for Japan? One of the main reasons is that Japan is maybe the 51st state of the US (and South Korea the 52nd)? That is what I think went wrong for Japan. It can never be allowed to surpass Big Brother. Maybe Japan is happy to stay under the US's shadow. I can't blame the US for pushing Japan down but it is wrong for America to think that it will stay up if other countries are pushed down. Time to whack South Korea?
Dude, amazing video. I loved the point that you made about the tight coupling between the business sectors and government being the catalyst for the rise and fall of Japan's economy. I feel like that paradigm has been played out in many other countries. Government ran industries always seem to perform better in the short term, but rarely succeed in the long term. Maybe healthy competition is a competitive advantage 🤔
Why was Japan slow with adopting and innovating in PC and Software? Up to the Playstation 3 generation, Japan ruled gaming. But from PS3 onward, literally all the Japanese game developers dropped the ball with keeping up with the latest tech, and PC ports weren't common and those games that did get PC ports, the ports were very badly optimized.
Japanese game software was 1) spurned by the government due to it not being serious and 2) had a lot of problems with scalability. Up until the PS2 era, most JP devs were writing game engines from scratch with every new game and hand-designing assets. By the time we got into the HD era with highly superscalar processors in consoles, this was simply no longer feasible and you begin to see the decline of Japanese game companies. Luckily they're making a come back now and I think they're in a much healthier place overall due to more widespread adoption of modern development methodologies.
Everyone who says Japan needs more immigration is 100% wrong, that would lead to more issues. I am from Germany and we've seen nothing but decline here aswell with that play we did here with immigration, and I am saying that as a 1st Gen immigrant myself.
Agreed. It's fine in countries like the US which was in a way founded on immigration, but not everyone should do it, over improving education and competitiveness.
High skilled immigration would be great. The "problem" with the German scenario was they took in immigrants with low skills, less formal education, and from highly religious, ultraconservative cultures, trying to mesh them with a secular, educated, highly developed economy.
Germany and Japan are extremes (within industrialized nations). They could provide a clear path to immigration for educated, motivated people that lived there for a while and are below the national age average with no downsides.
So you’re telling me not allowing the best and brightest engineers and scientists from around the world immigration to your country, and putting english and foreign languages at the bottom of the educational priority going to decrease your ability to compete in cutting edge technology with other countries? How? That cant be right. Surely reading manga and anime in the local Hiragana dialect is all thats needed to create the new Apple and Google of the next decades. Right?
I'm an American who has lived in Japan for 20 years now. Good video, but he only touched lightly on the systemic racism. Immigration for example, Abe started a program which would allow 200,000 workers to come to Japan to train and do elder care, which no one in Japan wants to do. So far they have yet to come close to filling even half of those visas. And when Japanese were asked about the program, 80% were against it. He mentioned Steve Jobs coming here regularly. I remember on one of his trips he almost was arrested because in his private jet in his private luggage he had some ninja stars he had bought. (As we all know Jobs personality, he became extremely irate and started swearing and making a scene). An American female exec for Toyota was arrested and deported because she had brought prescription meds with her without the prescription. And we all know the Ghosn case. In comparison, several years ago Mitsubishi's truck subsidiary made a truck with a two wall tire that when over inflated exploded. It killed a couple of people. The company instead of admitting a problem tried to cover it up. (FYI, Japan has strict negligent homicide laws. A jet mechanic who didn't do effective repairs to a fighter jet that crashed and killed people was sent to prison for 10 years). All of the Japanese execs were found guilty but given suspended sentences. There seems to be a very clear double standard for foreigners and especially if you're not rich or connected.
What's now America is trying to do with China, they already do that with Japan and you can see the result . So , we India should aware and cautious about it .
As a Japanese, it is interesting to see foreigners who understand Japan's problems better than our politicians
Japan is n0t all0wed t0 gr0w bigger than its master
@@Superpooper-2020 bruh, another bot
I want to see Japan grow out of its former self like newborn Cicadas when ALL the older and outdated generations in politics pass away. Good luck, Japan.
In doing so, I'm also actually wishing the same thing for the rest of the world.
@@MollyHJohns I believe it is not a good leader but a massive natural disaster that will evolve the Japanese people
@@NNVA I agree. Humans must unite under duress because nobody has been able to defeat mother nature, ever. But you can't wait for total devastation to change people and finally let a good person to lead the country... That's a lose-win situation where humans are often only the losers.
On the other hand, another world war or pandemic will also change people (for better or worse). Only by letting the old greedy and stubborn people in power die off, the newer generations can start reshaping the world as they need it to be.
I worked in Japan for 5 years, companies are not willing to take risk or try something new. Some companies still dominate some industries ( Sony is Lead in camera technology) Toyota is top in terms of streamline production. Most companies are unwilling to try foreign ideas ( spot on assessment)
There is little to almost no startup culture in Japan...without that there will not be much innovation ⚡ Japan missed the boat by not having a similar company like Tsmc or Samsung who are pushing boundaries in nano chip manufacturing
Speaking as someone living in Japan, they are willing to try foreign ideas after they are successful, which ensures they are always at least one development cycle behind.
Go to Rural Japan, or look at the small businesses all over the place in Japan, It my not be that flashy, but the spirit is still there
@@linuxman7777 we are talking about technology not new mochi recipes
@@rocketman3770 even more against his point. If you go to rural areas, they probably take yen only and might have old radios at most as far as technology is concerned
@アイルー先輩 From Software cough cough
I've worked with some Japanese companies and their IT capabilities were stuck in the 90's at best.
Yeah do you think that is
@@MuromachiLines Nah. Immigrants are not needed, a paradigm shift is.
Your way of thinking is as old as the people you complain about.
You think English is the key to success? think again, most people in the world don't speak English, English has nothing to do with success. Only the people who need it speak it, and as long as they do the rest don't need to bother.
@@xmaverickhunterkx absolutely agree. English is one of the tools after all.
@@xmaverickhunterkx look in the us for example most of the tech giants that change the world have an immigrant background generally jewish or now also indian or chinese, the are not your average anglo-saxon american. it is very difficult to find successful people in america, canada,etc. that don't have an immigrant background.
@@xmaverickhunterkx but with their population decline still happening, as their youth don't want to marry.
It's becoming impossible to fill industry needs, so paradigm shift is just full of nothing.
You know they need overhaul all their economic function look many jp worker is severely overworked to the bone heck many actually dies at work that becoming knowns as karoshi, ah for women goodluck getting accepted to job after have children
I currently live in Japan and coming from "a third world country" I'm so shocked how outdated most of thier software and computers they use are. Yes, they may have far better infrastructure but I realise why most Japanese corporations are now lagging behind is that they don't realise the importance of software. Another big problem are the stagnant salaries and wages making the young and educated yearn to move overseas.
i was told similar things like it felt early 2000s there. stuff like CDs, fax, cash payment, internet explorer are still common
@@nxtphone4696 I had to withdraw cash from an ATM today and deposit money inside the bank in order to pay rent for this month. They said I can only start using EFT after residing in Japan for more than a year.
It is crazy that Japanese programmers earn 1/2 of Chinese peers (am referring to high-tier companies of both sides) and have to tolerate 2.5+ times higher living costs (Chinese have to spend their family life saving on housing, but the rent in China is so much lower)
I am not saying Japan is worse than China in any case: in fact, Japan is of the two dominators of digital art and the top-tier tech powerhouse. it treats other professions, especially artists and writers, so much better financially and freely than China. It is just weird that their programmers are relatively badly treated compared with their high standards, considering programmers are the main engineers that make new idea happens.
So many people in comments keeps saying how bad Japanese software is but most of the biggest and best gaming and entertainment franchises are Japanese and that is also a software. I read somewhere how Japanese animation accounts for 60% of worlds entire animation for example. If you look up at best selling games just from this year alone all all Japanese like Elden Ring, Pokemon Legends Arceus, Gran Turismo 7 etc. And idk if any of you ever were in Japanese restaurants or karaoke bars but they have software where you can order food/drinks, select songs etc no need for waitress. I have never seen anything like that in say Europe and I have been to many European countries.
@@experience_point6233 that's in term of the entertainment industry and for daily necessities convenience. But their bureaucracy....... It's thanks to the old boomers in power, and their patriarchal and seniority complex.
I laughed when Shigeru Miyamoto appeared at 17:34 while you said ”close collaboration with the government” because Nintendo is almost the only company that has been completely independent of (or ignored by) the government and has also succeeded worldwide. The whole game industry was looked down on by not only the government but also the major industrial society in Japan until the 2000s.
Anyway, I’m Japanese and I agree with the main point of this video.
It's incredible how long it took the government to start caring about and promoting Japanese cultural exports.
@@Longlius Yeah, that was the other side of Mono-zukuri (manufacturing) culture in which people were likely to value hardware and undervalue software including games, manga, and anime.
@自由之声 He used past tense in other words, he said in the past they looked down on games and he said japanese goverment not society.
Lies again? Reflection Journal Most Handsome
Imagine how much more powerful Japan could have been if the government had supported your cultural exports like what South Korea is doing now.
Japanese video games, anime, music, movies are beloved outside of Japan, yet Japan seems to be determined in NOT sharing them to the world.
If you go to Yodobashi Camera, a very large electronics retailer in Japan,
you can find electronic products bearing Japanese brands such as Panasonic, National, Sony, and Sharp displayed and sold just like in the past.
Samsung products are rarely on display.
While Japan companies are satisfied with the domestic market of 130 million people,
it is not paying as much attention to the global market as Korean or Chinese companies.
Japanese companies focus on products with design, function and price that Japanese customers prefer.
The brand image of the past and a suitable domestic market are greatly diminishing the international competitiveness of Japanese companies.
there are Samsung phones sold in japan but they have to be rebranded with a japanese badge such as Softbank in order to appeal to japanese buyers. that is how bad japans nationalism and anti korea nism is.
biggest reason is the rise of china and korea as cometitor and the inability to adjust to the changing situation and arrogance of japanese towards their neighbors
@@nxtphone4696 honestly, I think it's just nationalism and Japanese pride over racism toward Koreans. They have that mentality with EVERY product imaginable.
@@nxtphone4696 Well, I think I'm an average educated Japanese person, but few people around me know that Samsung is a Korean brand. Also, the CEO of Softbank is Korean.Son Masayoshi is korean japanese.That mean's Japan's most richman is korean.
I think it's more of a business-cultural issue; they run businesses so defensively after 1990.
Apple figure that out and made effort to gain the trust of other businesses there - and went on to wipe out Japan's domestic counterparts.
The others who didn't bother, like Walmart, haven't done well and went on to making excuses.
I experience the issue first hand when I was working for the Fujitsu PC division in the late 90 to early 2000s, they simply refuse to recognise competition from Taiwan and South Korea and think consumers would pay up to 4x more for a "Made in Japan" tag without any innovation.
I remember years ago a friend of mind use to work for a Japanese corporation that deals in computer software. The hours are long, you really have no social life, there are meetings and meetings constantly, and the worst part is that the bosses are so close-minded, they refuse to listen to any new ideas to make the company better. All they want you to do is just obey orders no questions he left after 4 years and went back to the United States
Japanese Yen is now equal to 150Yen per one US dollar - a cratering of 30% of its value since last year. Japan's average wage has actually fallen compared to the average wage in 1990. Japan is no longer the highest income Asian country. It's rapidly falling behind in Asia.
Lowering the Yen is part of their government's strategy to keep their economy up so that's not really a good indicator that Japan's economy is falling. Wages not keeping up with inflation is much more apt in this case.
@@madensmith7014 do you know why they keep printing yen???
To keep interest rate low ,otherwise they will have to pay interest more than now. they are already using 20% of their annual budget for payment of interest of their debt.
and 43% of their annual budget made up by debt.
@@madensmith7014 but they're not trying to lower the Yen, they're selling their us dollar foreign reserves to prop up their Yen.
Ah yes, Japanese government bonds - the return of the widow maker. It seems to come back periodically.
@@madensmith7014 Keeping it a bit lower was a bit of their strategy, sure. But not 150 yen to 1 dollar. That would be a disastrous policy. Why? Because it makes importing energy and food very expensive.
The biggest difference between "Japanese tech boom of 80s" and that of today's is the rate of innovation. We didn't see anything new after iphone in 2008 I guess. It seems like everything is stagnated. But during the 80s, every month was some surprising tech from Japan. Miss those days.
I think we now have AIs, so we’ll see
Japan's politicians clearly are living in the past. Yuriko Koike, the Tokyo governor, wrote an article about 5 years ago that Japan was the country that was ahead of everyone else in Asia in the early 1900s (like 1920s - 30s) so it should be the model of new ideas and innovation for the world again. And when she talked about the falling birthrate problem, she mentioned that it was due to young people's having too little "matchmaking" opportunity. It is clear that she had no idea about the dire situations young Japanese are in.
Just mate more Japanese you're intelligent migrate outside and bring back money in Japan. West has a lot of employment opportunities they need more smart young people
WoW, that's shockingly out of touch lol. I mean the sad part is that with an aging population, being out of touch in politics is just increasingly the standard since the voting block they answer to will be largely old.
I've worked in japanese companies for 3 years and I can safely say that it is common to see companies of their culture not willing to try new things and have the 'if it's not broken, why improve it?' kind of mindset. Even working for MNCs, it is often to see Japan's branches really have their way of doing things and additional tasks have to be done for their branch.
Don't you ever stop making videos. I've been a better strategist, investor, and most of all student ever since I started watching your videos. Every time is like benching 315(3 plates on each side) for the first time. I'm a sociologist but I'm getting into CS and hopefully joining VC startup world.😤
There is a story that engineers at RCA laboratories could not interest their managers in their new design for a transistor radio as it would hurt their valve radio market but visitors from Sony were very interested and asked for a copy (from memory this story came from: The Fifth Generation; Artificial Intelligence and Japan's Computer Challenge to the World )
The amount of research and effort that John puts into making these videos is astounding. Such high quality content 👍
Funny how he never mentions the US and Japan trade war.
🤖
It's not what he makes.. he hahahaha minions
Just the fact that Japan is loyal to investing in Thailand and indifferent to Vietnam is enough to see that this country is extremely conservative in thinking.
Great video into the economics of Japan. Just like Apple, Nike, in it's initial days exported and manufactured shoes mostly in Japan. With time they started diversifying and moving out of Japan into countries like China, Taiwan and European countries.
Aren't many nikes being made in South Asia now? Cutting cost lol
Yeah manufacturing is more about how low you can drive workers' wages, which is harder to do in developed economies.
The Japanese Meiji Restoration was admirable in its thinking, so determined, ambitious and deep in its self-improvement and drive to have the humility to recognise Japan as being outdated and weak, and the need to catch up to the rest of the great powers, unfortunately... this spirit was lost in the late 1980s... After the great bubble burst and now Japan is a land of huge potential but disappointing reality in almost every area. It is now the "sick man of Asia", where it is living on borrowed time, still able to maintain a relatively decent modern life for most people but never more than that.
Japan is now the most conservative and backward country in East Asia, do not just look at the surface, with the material abundance, the consumer society is extremely prevalent, but the human mind and spirit, has died. Current Japanese culture is not real Japanese culture, just like the Taliban do no represent true Islam. People say "Oh Japanese people are shy, very mindful to fit in and no stand out" and all this cr@p. But in reality, the only reason why Japan became a powerful nation in the first place is that they learnt the best from others, which was the Meiji restoration. So it's funny and sad at the same time that Japan has betrayed the core mentality and momentum of what made them a name in the world in the first place.
No need to talk about the economy, the economy is caused by people, no happy, courageous people, how can there be a good economy.
If Japan wants to change, we have to start with education, from the school, but also from the government, a wise government is the root of a country's prosperity, why Singapore can be so good, do your own research and you'll understandm
Also, Japanese young people desperately need a bright goal, so joining the military is a must. Countries in the world that have national service, such as Israel and Korea, have people who are strong, brave, civil and invigorated. National service, makes a country more peaceful, because only internally stable and ambitious population can ensure a happy and prosperous country.......
Seiko, a Japanese watch brand, disrupted the entire Swiss Watch industry in the 70's with the introduction of the quartz technology. This had such an impact that majority of the Swiss watch brands either went bankrupt or were bought off. Even today, brands like Grand Seiko makes some of the highest quality watches in the industry.
So what, industrial quality is not the issue. Not willing to adopt is
YES ! I was a young teenager back then and so impressed with such watches as the Seiko digital watch.
But too bad few people wear a watch right now because they use their smartphones. Watches are luxury or fashion items these days instead of an essential everyday tool.
Lmfao- wAtcHes
@@jjsamuelgunn1136 watchess... in 2023 i rarely to see people use hand watch 😆😆 u got watch on your smartphones ...😆
The Japanese economy began to decline when computers, and smartphones became more and more popular. A smartphone can replace a number of electronic devices, like calculators, cameras, electronic organizers, televisions, tape/CD music players, analog phones, video camcorder, optical disc players(DVD-ROM), electronic typewriters, radios, voice recorder, scanner, electronic calendar, etc. Japan made a lot of those electronic devices, but with the advent of the smartphone, and computers all of these things became redundant.
I am Japanese. Videos like this from foreigners are very helpful.
Japan's economy has been stagnant for about 30 years, but that doesn't mean it's in decline. Therefore, many people are satisfied with the current situation and don't have to go out of their way to grow.What is the need to change when it is so convenient? That's what it feels like. I hate this way of thinking, but many people do. I love this country, and I sincerely hope that it will continue to develop. Thank you for the wonderful video! 🇯🇵
When your car is not popular as today in 5 to 10 years，that‘s a serious trouble.
Look at your currency
I read in the book The Great Reset, that the growth of GDP per working person in Japan is higher than in other developed countries. So maybe this is a pseudo stagnation. But it is true that they need to get better in Software and stop keeping this zombie corporations alive.
GDP per capita - 2021 according to world bank:
China: $12,000
Japan: $ 39,000
US: $ 69,000
Switzerland: $93,000
@@gj1234567899999 I see that you don´t understood his point.
He wrote about "GDP per working person" and this is a different story. The GDP of Japan stagnates, but on the other Hand the Workingforce declines rapidly. This means that we see an massive increase of the Productivity of every working Japanese.
@@gj1234567899999 you’re making numbers up but nice try.
@@gj1234567899999 These numbers have changed in 2022
Per-worker productivity is very high, however, the government and industry have no idea what to do.
1. Japan successfully copied the West and then hit a wall after the bubble popped in the late 1980s.
2. The workforce is getting old and younger workers have to work longer hours to pay the benefits for those retired/retiring.
3. Fundamentally Japan needs to do NEW THINGS, namely path-breaking innovations in biotechnology, energy and Artificial Intelligence. Consumer electronics ain’t gonna cut it anymore. Especially you have competition from BOTH South Korea and China.
A couple facts. I have participated in a couple of recruitment process for software engineer positions in Japan.
* Several different recruiters said to me that many foreigners are basically "fleeing" Japan after they start working or do not go further after they receive an offer from Japanese companies. I know why it happens: the conditions are awful, they put mandatory overwork hours in your contract and give you low ball offers. Japan IT companies are a joke.
* A large bulk of Japan software engineers are paid a little bit above of a female care taker(one of the bottom pay ranges in Japanese society). A female care taker earns around 310.000 yen, I was offered 380.000 after 4 rounds of technical interviews and 5 years of the experience. Sorry, but I will keep my current job that pays 3 times more.
* Visa process are cruel and insane. If wanna go to a Japanese language school with 35 years you have to "prove" to the Japanese government that you really like Japan and do 150 hours of Japanese study and get a certificate. So, you need to study Japanese home in order to be allowed to apply to study Japanese in Japan.
* Japan have a low unemployment rate, and a lot of positions per applicant. But the reality is that no one wants to work for what they pay anymore. Now, with the weak yen this process will get worst.
I will always remember when we are learning how to repair CRT TV. The board for Sony is so organized that it is easy to troubleshoot compared to Samsung. I will always respect them with regards to craft. But I think they are still backwards in promotion and other aspect.
A major point not mentioned is the stagnant structure of the Japanese political system, where hereditary makes it more like a feudal system rather than a modern one
to be fair, japans politics is as hereditary as the US, if not a little more versatile. The US establishment is big enough to shut down any independents from ever making a breakthrough, thus no third party. "Japan also has a rather hereditary establishment but the difference is that independents pop up relatively often to obtain seats in parliment. I'd say US has a more hereditary structure than Japan
They dislike change. They prefer doing things the way they got used to that's why they are stagnating.
I blame their system of absolute responsibility which scares leaders off from doing new things and incentivises them to just maintain the status quo. It's a double edged sword.
@@desk-kun2366 The Japanese Meiji Restoration was admirable in its thinking, so determined, ambitious and deep in its self-improvement and drive to have the humility to recognise Japan as being outdated and weak, and the need to catch up to the rest of the great powers, unfortunately... this spirit was lost in the late 1980s... After the great bubble burst and now Japan is a land of huge potential but disappointing reality in almost every area. It is now the "sick man of Asia", where it is living on borrowed time, still able to maintain a relatively decent modern life for most people but never more than that.
Japan is now the most conservative and backward country in East Asia, do not just look at the surface, with the material abundance, the consumer society is extremely prevalent, but the human mind and spirit, has died. Current Japanese culture is not real Japanese culture, just like the Taliban do no represent true Islam. People say "Oh Japanese people are shy, very mindful to fit in and no stand out" and all this cr@p. But in reality, the only reason why Japan became a powerful nation in the first place is that they learnt the best from others, which was the Meiji restoration. So it's funny and sad at the same time that Japan has betrayed the core mentality and momentum of what made them a name in the world in the first place.
No need to talk about the economy, the economy is caused by people, no happy, courageous people, how can there be a good economy.
If Japan wants to change, we have to start with education, from the school, but also from the government, a wise government is the root of a country's prosperity, why Singapore can be so good, do your own research and you'll understandm
Also, Japanese young people desperately need a bright goal, so joining the military is a must. Countries in the world that have national service, such as Israel and Korea, have people who are strong, brave, civil and invigorated. National service, makes a country more peaceful, because only internally stable and ambitious population can ensure a happy and prosperous country.
Didn't he miss another major point? correct me if I'm wrong like did he even mention the Plaza Accord? From what I see, this was like 3rd hiroshima nagasaki from the US and the docu probably ignored it to maintain the bias
This was an incisive essay on the rise and decline of post-war Japaneses industry. However, the accompanying newsreel-style footage often displayed images that had little or nothing to do with the topic being discussed.
This is a really well-made documentary piece, it does confirm with what my own research has come to a conclusion to.
I've learned a few new points, which made this a very worthwhile video to watch. Thanks
The Japanese Meiji Restoration was admirable in its thinking, so determined, ambitious and deep in its self-improvement and drive to have the humility to recognise Japan as being outdated and weak, and the need to catch up to the rest of the great powers, unfortunately... this spirit was lost in the late 1980s... After the great bubble burst and now Japan is a land of huge potential but disappointing reality in almost every area. It is now the "sick man of Asia", where it is living on borrowed time, still able to maintain a relatively decent modern life for most people but never more than that.
Japan is now the most conservative and backward country in East Asia, do not just look at the surface, with the material abundance, the consumer society is extremely prevalent, but the human mind and spirit, has died. Current Japanese culture is not real Japanese culture, just like the Taliban do no represent true Islam. People say "Oh Japanese people are shy, very mindful to fit in and no stand out" and all this cr@p. But in reality, the only reason why Japan became a powerful nation in the first place is that they learnt the best from others, which was the Meiji restoration. So it's funny and sad at the same time that Japan has betrayed the core mentality and momentum of what made them a name in the world in the first place.
No need to talk about the economy, the economy is caused by people, no happy, courageous people, how can there be a good economy.
If Japan wants to change, we have to start with education, from the school, but also from the government, a wise government is the root of a country's prosperity, why Singapore can be so good, do your own research and you'll understandm
Also, Japanese young people desperately need a bright goal, so joining the military is a must. Countries in the world that have national service, such as Israel and Korea, have people who are strong, brave, civil and invigorated. National service, makes a country more peaceful, because only internally stable and ambitious population can ensure a happy and prosperous country.,,,,
The elderly population is an opportunity for Japan in development of robotics. They already have history in robotics development, and the aging population creates a serious need for assistive technologies.
Assistive tech requires a lot of calibration, personalization, and prone to accidents. so mass production isn't viable and expensive. And knowing that the old prefer their pain killing drugs than moving around, this is a very niche clientele. On top of that Japanese politicians want their old people to die due to the heavy taxes on their youth.
ROUJIN Z! Katsuhiro Otomo
ok but whos going to Pay for it
China's robot industry will surpass Japan's industry in 5 years...
@@jworld463 Japanese Liberal nationalist party
I've lived in Japan for over 15 years and I'm a permanent resident. Much of this is true and it's very well done. Japan can snap out of it's doldrums if they decide to do so, but they need two things: the will to change and the removal of the old guard form companies and government (which is happening naturally, if slowly). The old guard doesn't really want change and block the young to maintain their dominance. The young, though relatively few in number are rising and becoming more entrepreneurial. If there is one thing I have seen here from boardrooms to government is that Japan is slow to move, but once it decides to do so it happens with blinding speed.
Young are rising ? Japan has perpetually falling population, decreasing birth rates. Less than 12% of population is under 14 that means less than 10 Million young Japanese. Do you know what it means for Japan in next 40 years ? An absolute collapse.
All happening at mid 90's when "yendaka" coming, suddenly japan's product became too expensive during currency disaster, then japan factories are closing, make economic difficult. Young japanese stop making children when they are unemployed. Meanwhile bangladesh never get economic boom whatsoever, so they keep making children because they never have any high living standard just like japanese does. For bangladesh being poor is no problem anyway
@@siddharthgoyal4008 the mean age of CEOs of Japanese startups has decreased by 10 years compared to a decade ago.
This long format videos are perfect.
I Hope you continue with them and I really look forward to all your videos♥️
Woah, this is really good. I have been working in Japan for 4 years, this is very detailed and easy to understand how Japan's economy is driven.
What’s the best jobs in Japan for people from Britain - except the obvious one
@@chaiam It depends on what do you mean by "obvious" one. It also depends on what's your level of Japanese and work experience.
Some examples are:
- Marketing (Japanese required)
- Head Hunters (No Japanese level needed)
- Property Agent
- Operations
- IT Engineers
@@chaiam you don’t wanna be here bro trust me
@@Daz912 fr
The Japanese Meiji Restoration was admirable in its thinking, so determined, ambitious and deep in its self-improvement and drive to have the humility to recognise Japan as being outdated and weak, and the need to catch up to the rest of the great powers, unfortunately... this spirit was lost in the late 1980s... After the great bubble burst and now Japan is a land of huge potential but disappointing reality in almost every area. It is now the "sick man of Asia", where it is living on borrowed time, still able to maintain a relatively decent modern life for most people but never more than that.
Japan is now the most conservative and backward country in East Asia, do not just look at the surface, with the material abundance, the consumer society is extremely prevalent, but the human mind and spirit, has died. Current Japanese culture is not real Japanese culture, just like the Taliban do no represent true Islam. People say "Oh Japanese people are shy, very mindful to fit in and no stand out" and all this cr@p. But in reality, the only reason why Japan became a powerful nation in the first place is that they learnt the best from others, which was the Meiji restoration. So it's funny and sad at the same time that Japan has betrayed the core mentality and momentum of what made them a name in the world in the first place.
No need to talk about the economy, the economy is caused by people, no happy, courageous people, how can there be a good economy.
If Japan wants to change, we have to start with education, from the school, but also from the government, a wise government is the root of a country's prosperity, why Singapore can be so good, do your own research and you'll understandm
Also, Japanese young people desperately need a bright goal, so joining the military is a must. Countries in the world that have national service, such as Israel and Korea, have people who are strong, brave, civil and invigorated. National service, makes a country more peaceful, because only internally stable and ambitious population can ensure a happy and prosperous country.....
Very good video. It only forgot to mention one other important factor for the Japanese Stagnation. In the 1980s the U.S forced the Japanese government to sign the Plaza accord which benefited the U.S, Germany and their other partners at the expense of Japan's economy. This accord created a seismic effect on Japan's economy that the Japanese is still struggling to overcome especially since the accords and subsequent agreements with the U.S sort of ties their hands on what they can do.
I think the video is ignoring it because it paints US as the villain behind Japan's decline. The video is blaming the decline by merely going through a laundry list of negatives about Japan.
So thats why Japan is creating the stupefying anime industry of recent times? To attack the US? Thats believable.
The Japanese governmemt is also totally responsible for blowing up unsustainable bubbles everywhere that totally burst (real estate and stock markets have still not recovered)
Plaza accord played a huge role in it. But of course it is conveniently forgotten in the U.S lead world lol... In the end, the victors record history.
Imagine leaving Plaza Accord out of any discussion of Japan's collapse.
biggest reason is the rise of its neighbors as serious competitors and the inflexibility to adjust to it due to arrogance and underestimation.
Made in Japan still stands for high quality, and with the current exchange rate everything made in japan is on sale.
This is the most impressive, professional, informative and precise piece of reporting I’ve see on TH-cam maybe ever. I’m full of admiration.
Well said. Japan's inability for good software design, unwillingness to adapt and unfavorable demographics are key factors of the decline. I'd also mention that the rush to industrialize has negatively affected the fabric of society, resulting in a nation of solitary people who have little social life outside the company, such as being part of the local communities and having a family. It's a system that's unsustainable and it will take time to regain the values they once had.
US policies, that's what happened...same thing happening to China now!
The Major reason is plaza Accord
@@stra9761 it's demographics.
No wonder Toyota is struggling to transition into the EV space quickly, thanks for this informative history and future of Japan.
u have a lexus profile picture. lets hope that they bring back japanese innovation again.
@@basedondennis yes I am huge Lexus fan and owner wanted my first EV to be a Lexus.
Toyota doesn't *want to*.
Not just the want but the will. Toyota seems more against EVs and more interested in Hydrogen. It will take forever for them to be convinced
@@dandrelowery3714 Yeah, i think so too! And when they realized that they should've created EV cars, the market will have shifted from EV to more environment friendly car.
We all can learn from Sony. They used to create better phone back then, they were one of the best. But now, Sony is beaten by Samsung.
Thank you for a knowledgeable video! I feel this video precisely explains the current Japanese economic problem.
Most of the Japanese are also aware of the depressing economic outlook as you pointed out in the video and becoming pessimistic.
Pressimistic people never wins anything. Change yourself before blaming society or government.
One the best informed, well explained video. It doesn't dumb down, talk over one head nor speak in abstract. It's concise , intelligent and well produced. A plus.
Japan didn’t adequately focus on software, instead focusing on hardware, and they missed the digitization transformation
No, the Japanese had a demographic dividend and they had a monopoly with trade with the West in Asia along with Taiwan which they used to colonize hardware businesses. Later on when software became more valuable, Japanese demographic dividend reversed along with Japan having fewer population size, and when the West stopped trade sanctions with China they could start outcompeting the Japanese as they improved their expertise.
it's really funny that you must bring stamp with you for withdrawing your deposit from japanese bank. no signature, no digital sign are allowed. only stamp can make it happen. they're living like ppl in 1900s.
Especially Sony Corporation
@@RobertK1993 exactly, and to this day, Sony is great in hardware and are bad in the software side
First of all, Japanese economy is NOT suffering. If you are talking about 1990s-2000s, then you are right. But per capita wise, Japan recorded the third best growth rate among the G7 countries in the 2010s after the US and Germany.
Per capita growth rate between 2010-2018 (source: Our World in Data)
Germany 12.33%, US 12.32%, Japan 10.46%, UK 9.51%, Canada 8.88%, France 6.73%, Italy -1.16%
It's not like they are doing amazing work but it's not like they are in a terrible situation as people think.
Per capita growth rate = Growth rate - population increase/decrease. That's why Japan's situation looks worse than it is. Japan used to be known for its high suicide rate but now Japan has a lower suicide rate than the likes of the US, Sweden, Belgium etc because millions of jobs were created in the 2010s. The unemployment rate is the lowest among OECD countries.
This year their per capita will decline to $35000 from $40000, wiping out all that growth. The yen has lost 30% of its value. Situation is very dire.
@@skazka3789 I've known for 20 years that Japan's population is declining due to the declining birthrate, but I don't think the economy is in decline.
Rather, it seems that Japan is not growing because prices in countries other than Japan are rising due to inflation.
You can only use yen to live in Japan.
I think the dollar base is wrong to think of when comparing economies.
Since Japan has about 10 trillion dollars of assets overseas, if we sell all of them, the value of the currency will rise and per capita income will also increase the exchange rate gain.
But it doesn't mean that the real meaning has increased income.
@@山田次郎-e8i The overseas assets is important. But how is it helping the generations of young working Japanese in Japan? The monetary value in those assets needs to 'brought home' so to speak to boost the domestic economy to help the working generation. As it is, I see it as the older generation is sitting on their nest egg without any trickle down effect.
In the long term, these lost decades are actually the calm before the storm. If things don't change at least demographically, Japan's economy will implode by 2050. Not stagnating but plummeting.
Facts about the software bit. As a software developer, I've looked into jobs in Japan and after meeting some people in the industry, I found that many STEM careers are underpaid heavily in Japan. There isn't a lot of incentive to pursue such a degree and many Japanese tech companies are forced to employ foreigners as a result. Many job listings sound so desperate, you don't even need to speak an ounce of Japanese. It's sad honestly
So if they are that desperate why do they pay so low? I am. Interested in becoming a software dev
Can we talk off I have lots of questions
Great video. Super-thorough and interesting. As a foreigner living here since 2018 I had the same ideas and impressions about the current issues of Japan, but some of the previous ingredients were unknown to me, like the role of MITI.
When you talk about the Japanese approach to success.. it sounds awfully similar to China's rise. China essentially followed the same successful footsteps as Japan.
They do say history repeats. Anti Japaneseness from technology transfer arrangements, state subsidized companies, cost cutting competitiveness, currency devaluation. This was closely followed by reactionists in Washington and America leading to tariffs and anti Japanese sentiment.
And Korea's ^^ though Korea understands the need for innovation
And China Will fall in the same way
China modeled their entry into capitalism after Japanese GDP rise economic rise. They seem to be facing the same problems.
All east Asian and some South East Asian countries followed the Japan model. That's why the region remains the hub for electronics manufacturing to this day.
You should compare the US-Japan trade war to the US-China trade war. Both are quite similar.
The scale of China can't be compared to Japan.
Y'all shoukd at least give this man a like.... he deserves more than that🙏
Done.👍😉
Dude, such great content and great production. Well done, lad!
During WW2, Japan invaded Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Guam, Philippines, and Korea. However, when they lost the war against the United States, they had to withdraw their army and its people back to Japan. During the retreat, Japan took all the gold, jewelry, and valuables from those countries with them. This gave Japan a huge economic boost. They were able to start companies. Car, semiconducter, radio, walkman, Nintendo, and so on, the money gave them an enormous lead compared to the rest of the world. Its just that they had the early start. Now, the rest of the countries are catching up. Thats all
Not to mentioned that in Tokyo of Japan their music programs, performances and music industries are very high standards and very well visible to the world which I love about Japan. Especially, all due respectfully to my musician brotherens. - Bob Hada (Schoolspianist246).
high standard. no. high japanese standard at most
I really don't believe that this video doesn't mention the Plaza Accord in 1985. He even mentions the Yen appreciation, but doesn't even bother to say that it was caused by the US. This is not the first video where people try to explain the Japanese fall with no mention to the Plaza Accord.
The plaza accord didnt cause the huge bubble. It was the catalyst that popped it. If the accord didnt happen, do you think the bubble would have kept growing? What implications would result from that theoretical situation? Idk man. But for me personally, its foolish to blame americans for the lost decades. The fall down to earth might have been even more catastrophic if it didnt happen. However, you are also right. The video shouldve at least mentioned the event.
@@Justme-to6yu I didn't write that the US caused the bubble. The Plaza Accord caused the Yen to double in value within a two years period. All Japanese goods became a lot more expensive. I find it hard to believe that this did nothing to the Japanese economy.I really believe that the bubble happened because a lot of companies became unprofitable and people had no choice other than speculate in the financial markets in order to make some money.
1985 - Plaza Accord
1987 - End of yen appreciation, reaching nearly the double in value
1989 - Bubble popped
1990 - Beginning of the Lost Decades
I personally think that the Plaza Accord was worse than the Atomic Bombs for the Japanese economy. But who knows? I might be wrong.
And yet Japan was not the only party to the Plaza Accord. What made economies like France, the UK, and Germany able to stomach a currency valuation but not Japan? Could it perhaps be due to structural weaknesses in the Japanese economy?
@@Justme-to6yu all Asian know and learn the lesson that this Plaza accord damage Japanese economy and never recover, therefore you will not see China does it again and then US creates a devil image for china.
@@Longlius from my knowledge, japan's unimaginable property bubble hit them the hardest. The devaluation of the dollar wasn't that hard hitting for their export market (yes, it hurt, but it wasn't catastrophic). Actually, the japanese economy was doing better right after the plaza deal. What really became the issue was the high amount of speculation in their property sector. At one time, a small plot of land in Tokyo cost more than half of Manhattan lol. When this bubble burst, the central government couldn't control outflows of capital, and all that "dumping" began to come back full circle. industries struggled to find leverage. To cap it off, I don't recall UK, France, and Germany having this issue, so maybe this answered your question?
btw I'm not an economist so don't take my word for it :P
This is one of the best videos I've seen on youtube in a very long time, thank you for your efforts, not only I'm enjoying your videos as entertainment but also helps with general culture and knowledge.
Funny how it alwasy comes down to the government investing in research. Like US's raise with Bell Labs.
Your videos are always on the point,
capturing the essence of each thema !
Facts: 10 out of 10
Storytelling: 10 out of 10
Videos in use: 10 out of 10
Music relative to video: 10 out of 10
Japanese economy: -10 out of 10
Perhaps Japan can increase its scholarship program for students who want to go to the US and Europe. This will expose young Japanese college students to new ideas and innovations.
The US didn't fight Soviet forces in Korea, at least not directly, but they did fight Chinese forces. And the US wasn't the only country involved in the Korean War.
It made up like 80% of the fighting force in the Korean war
They needed a Steve Jobs pretty much. Very interesting video, now they are also falling behind in car manufacturing, it’s really not going well for their core industries.
Steve was no innovator. Just good at marketing.
They need a Steve Jobs for the marketing. They need a Gordon Moore for the innovation.
Considering the whole ordeal with apple. people like Steve Jobs wouldn't survive a month is japan's corporate environment.
Great contents!
One key aspect that was not included is the social culture of outcasting the outlier. Adoption of new ideas are often met with harsh backlash for being ‘different’.
The bureaucratic government and its agencies reject changes. The politicians are mostly feudal politicians who has such control over the constituents, their position is similar to that of a feudal lord than a democratic politicians. Thus, with lack of political accountability and reluctance to changes, it is impossible to carry out a legal reform to assist the fast changing world. For example, during Covid, regional count of patients and details could only be faxed to the central control centre for daily monitoring. The receiving party has to manually enter the data back into a computer. This is because there is no central data control nor a law that supports digital submission of Public Health Data. The current law stipulates submission by hand or by fax only.
Finally, the judiciary system is as corrupt as their politics. The Public Prosecutors enjoy 98% conviction rate by using what they call hostage detainment, where a suspect can be held for an indefinite time without formal charge. Even if they were ordered to be released by a judge on one charge, they would continuously bring up other charges until the suspect confesses to one’s crime. This period can be anything from a few months to a few years. With political favouritism and corruption, the judiciary is just another powerhouse of the system rather than the final pillar of cleaner society.
Then the question becomes how would they solve the current situation?
Change od social culture out outcasting innovation.
Bureaucracy and political corruption.
Complete judicial reform.
It does not appear it is something that can be solved in years…. it is more likely to take generations.
Also, serious labour market reforms need to happen. Seniority based compensation, promotion, etc. and long unproductive hours need to end. As long as that is the case, Japan will never grow again.
@@thailux6494 true, I am always hearing of the residents and the natives overworking their ass off!
When you compare the work culture of America. Japan isn't kind or it doesn't understand the downsides of high work hours and low pay can permanently damage the workforce.
Or provoke the masses to revolt!
Sometimes it can take a couple of years, with a good combo.
A strong leader, a party with good policies, and reforms to rise a new movement in Japan.
Though in the end, on how fast Japan develops depends on the natives mindset.
The Japanese Meiji Restoration was admirable in its thinking, so determined, ambitious and deep in its self-improvement and drive to have the humility to recognise Japan as being outdated and weak, and the need to catch up to the rest of the great powers, unfortunately... this spirit was lost in the late 1980s... After the great bubble burst and now Japan is a land of huge potential but disappointing reality in almost every area. It is now the "sick man of Asia", where it is living on borrowed time, still able to maintain a relatively decent modern life for most people but never more than that.
Japan is now the most conservative and backward country in East Asia, do not just look at the surface, with the material abundance, the consumer society is extremely prevalent, but the human mind and spirit, has died. Current Japanese culture is not real Japanese culture, just like the Taliban do no represent true Islam. People say "Oh Japanese people are shy, very mindful to fit in and no stand out" and all this cr@p. But in reality, the only reason why Japan became a powerful nation in the first place is that they learnt the best from others, which was the Meiji restoration. So it's funny and sad at the same time that Japan has betrayed the core mentality and momentum of what made them a name in the world in the first place.
No need to talk about the economy, the economy is caused by people, no happy, courageous people, how can there be a good economy.
If Japan wants to change, we have to start with education, from the school, but also from the government, a wise government is the root of a country's prosperity, why Singapore can be so good, do your own research and you'll understandm
Also, Japanese young people desperately need a bright goal, so joining the military is a must. Countries in the world that have national service, such as Israel and Korea, have people who are strong, brave, civil and invigorated. National service, makes a country more peaceful, because only internally stable and ambitious population can ensure a happy and prosperous country.......
@@mingyuhuang8944 I agree with you on most topics but mandatory military enlistment doesn't work for this country.
Sure it may curb the perverted otakus and make them more disciplined and respectable but the majority of the youth are unmotivated because the education system has stifled their individuality and the lack of opportunities and overall low ambition and risk appetite.
With the military enlistment, it can make the youth more robotic and carry extreme notion of nationalism.
(Also a reason why Japan stagnated)
The current model of Japan encourages teamwork and hard-work and discourages entrepreneurship and free-spirit.
Japan need to give the youth opportunity, first step to do so is
Set up exchange student programs, technical schools in sectors of tech, energy, robotics, AI and finance.
Increase trade with it's neighboring countries.
Create policy and programs which encourages entrepreneurship for the youth.
Set up low business loans for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Conference and talk shows on key topics.
Improve the immigrant and foriegn worker policies
Raise taxes on the purchase of IRR companies and luxury goods.
Set restrictions on toxic religious entities (cults) within the country.
Force the seniors in manger positions to retire
Set internships program for the youth to replace the elderly.
Japan also needs a young millionaire/s to represent the youth.
There are some of the few things I believe will greatly benefit the gen z and the next gen.
They're also other factors that we avoid mentioning . They're trade war, financial war and semiconductor war.
The end of the old semiconductor supply chain created a great opportunity for Taiwan semiconductor industry.
also because of Apple the rise of apple co insides with TSMC.
TSMC exclusive deals with Apple. Made them rich.
How does this channel not have millions of subscribers already? I just added today.
You are welcome
Hay, Since the latter half of the 1990s, Japan has been plagued by a recession, but in recent years, Japan is gaining momentum again.
Great video. I have no doubt that Japan achieved an unprecedented success in economy, but somehow they failed to change, and adopt. As you might know the biggest problem of japanese people is that they tend not to change.
The economy crashed because of real estate and devaluing their currency vs the dollar (plaza accord). Real estate and Currency pricing are both handled by the government which was the abettor of subsidizing these companies. The US and everyone else knew this but the yen was and has always been pegged to the dollar and the US was not giving up on that
@@ImLure I totally agree with you on your views, but these are only minor reasons for the economic crash of Japan. Once you get to know them, and their history in depth, you will understand that they barely change, or hardly adopt to new circumstances. That I believe is the biggest reason japanese industries have been lagging behind.
@@nix5001 this is… rather misleading. I feel like Japan can and very regularly does have instances in their history where rapid change occurs (meiji revolution, post war Japan for example). Yes Japan currently from a tech perspective is not but to label Japanese history and culture as a whole as “not willing to change” is pretty overgeneralizing.
@@nix5001 Japan is always changing, my dude. You don't know what you are talking about. Otherwise there would be nothing to have a meeting about.
The Japanese market was decently big and people made good enough profit. A lot of people choose to hung on vested interests rather than adopting to the changes in the world. They still want to believe their economy is great. That’s probably the cause of strong resistance to changes.
You forgot to mention that it was the US that disbanded Toshiba and other top notch semiconductor companies to give up Japanese leadership in semi conductor. The first 4 bit Intel microprocessor adopted a Sharp electronic engineer's design and a Japanese software engineer's concept. After that, Japan lost all the capabilities in semiconductor engineering and design. That is what the US is trying to do now towards Chinese semiconductor industry by various ridiculous sanctions which are also detrimental to the US semiconductor industry.
So what? US should be baby sitting every country and blame the US for the decline of their economy? 😂
It is true that Japan has declined since the bubble economy, but it is still the world's third largest economy.
There are more than 190 countries that have lost out to "declining Japan" in terms of economical power.
We are talking about trend here, Japan is declining != Japan is poor at this moment. But following the trend, Japan will be poor
India will over take... After 2027... So yes... Japan have serious problems
4th now, its still in the top but as a citizen I think it would be pretty depressing to regress and not progress.
I am romanian and our country is idk..50th something? and pretty much x10 its economy since the 2000s, even if it still has a lot of issues seeing growth and development its nice
When I went to Japan a few times, I was taken aback by how advanced yet how outdated the country is. I mean, they still have operating telephone booths last I was there! Which was awesome but surprising to see.
The telephone booth is a symbol of the economic rise of Japan. In the early 90s there was a famous TV series called Tokyo Love Story, quite a lot of scenes were given to those telephone booths.
@@hwf090909 Nice to know! Thanks for this info.
You know that Japan is a country with many disasters. You can also imagine that in the event of a major disaster, depending on the situation, power outages and mobile phone reception may be lost.
Can't you imagine leaving it on purpose so that it can be used in an emergency? Don't write comments in ignorance.
災害時に携帯電話が使えなくなる事を想定して電話ボックスを設置しているのです。
We used to buy SONY products in the 1970s ,1980s & 1990s, because of their Superior Quality & Durability that Designed & were Made In Japan! The last time we buy SONY products was about more than 10 years ago , when SONY headphones can't even last for 3 months before one of it's phone stopped working , and they were Made in China! SONY should go back to be Made in Japan to win back their Royal Customers!
sony, panasonic, sharp they all are crushed by samsung and lg.
@Toma Hawk most tech products are made in china by Taiwanese companies or made in Taiwan by companies like compal and quanta computer , by that I mean the physical manufacturing of a completed product . The CPU/GPU is made by TSMC or intel usually. The famous brand names such as sony/apple/dell ect usually do the design of the product itself though and don't manufacturer much in Japan or USA. Sony has a semiconductor factory though for imaging sensors for cameras, I don't know about their headphones though , I just buy their cheap earphones which broke after a while lol .
@@mav7079 Sharp is sold to the Taiwanese company, Foxconn
@@futo it was sold after it was already defeated by samsung.
@@mav7079 oh yes, their revenue have been going downhill, why else would they sell
20:16 iPhone's camera is made in Sony though. So basically we are still using Japanese camera.
Quite true about the failure in the of software. Today a lot of the products main R&D development is in software, and Japan is very much behind. Today [2022], if you think about major Japanese software firms, you are looking at Line or Yahoo!. These are in fact simply offshoots of software products from foreign companies, Line in South Korea and Yahoo! in the US. Although Japan is fairly far ahead in IT for example for many years it had some of the fastest internet in the world, there seems to be very little innovation from that.
I once watched a program about televisions on NHK World, which talked about the problem that now many have become so simplified in manufacture and so software driven to become generic commodities that Japanese companies simply cannot compete. We have seen Japanese companies selling off its television business like Sharp, with Sony being the only major Japanese television manufacturer. We have been told that cars are increasing becoming like televisions and being simplified and software driven, and if Toyota and Honda are not careful, I could see the Chinese with companies like Geely, NIO and SAIC eating their lunch.
The U.S. also subsidizes its farmers , which enables them to sell at artificially low prices in foreign markets
It is a well-known fact that Japan is reluctant to try new things, but this fact is more widely recognized. Implementation in the field of IT is slow, but research is progressing. America has implemented the Plaza Accord, semiconductor agreements, and kicked out the Japanese OS called Tron from PCs. Do you think it's easier to understand the decline of Japanese companies by looking back at your own country?
Past 30 years, we have been back and forth like tackling THIS issue, then THAT issue.
But, what it is truly important for us is to address "Low birthrate and aging society".
No politicians have not seriously touched the issue.
It seems like untouchable.
They were not able to integrate the latest developments in software aspects especially now with AI technology ..it's similar to other big companies like in Europe Philips , Nokia etc.
Amazing work, mark my word, my man is going places.
I want to see Japan come back again, they're an awesome country
What about the plaza accord? How Japan was forced to raise its currency value? Thats supposed to be a critical event?
Japan need to decline more for the people to awake. The goverment is protecting old companies and industries literally at all cost, which is in my opinion the fundamental reason of stagnation. You can blame the politicians but the real problem is the majority of people are not complaining.
Japan will always be known for quality aside from their economy being behind compared to some Asian countries.
are you kidding me? Have you ever used japanese products of sony ,national and toshiba , which is literally shxx..
evetually the image will also change. the generation that grew up with walkman still have the quality image but todays gen z grew up with samsung and apple.
that's just a stereotype form the 90s. gen z doesnt think that way anymore
For more “old school” stuff, especially pre-2010? Sure. After the 2010s? Not so much like they used to.
@@missplainjane3905 In the anime/manga realm? Sure. Outside of it? Not really unless they’re adjacent to anime/manga.
Knew someone who worked on IT in Japan and he resigned like after a year and went back home due to alot of the boss and higher ups being close minded and unwilling to try new ideas and methods
5 hour gang wooh. But seriously great video dude you’re so underrated.
thanks a lot! really appreciate the support!
Good presentation, but why is the only advice ever given to Japan is that they need more foreigners? A rapid influx of foreigners creates many new challenges that Europe is demonstrating.
Japanese co. kicked out old engineers so they can replace them with younger pros. This was a mistake cause Koreans swooped in quickly and stole those old japanese engineers and invested in their talents and creativity.
Excellent insight and great vidoe. I have been fascinated with Japan since the early 2000s. I work here and have seen a lot of these changes take place before my eyes especially Japan's struggle with software or their inability to change. However, the pandemic brought on some massive changes that were due. Perhaps you could focus a video on that topic? Still love Japan though...and thanks!
Japanese freaked out when Microsoft ended support for the internet explorer. Their government had to nudge the companies to start training their employees to use Microsoft edge.
Plaza Accord 1985. A milestone in Japan's decline is missing from the video.
this was a fantastic documentary. good length, good tone, good information. Thank you for making this!
This is an inspiration video.
Today's consumer products are tended to software driven rather than mechanical driven.
That is the reason making craftsmanship skills becomes obsolete...
A Sony Walkman needs hundred of mechanical parts, but Apple IPad needs few of mechanical parts...Same as VHS video, Canon cameras. Today one smart phone replaces a radio, a camera, a dictaphone, a compass, a calculator, a watch, a thermometer, a noise meter, a diary and even a torche.
The invention of a smartphone force lots of consumers produce becomes obsolete.
This is why Toyota still a leading Japanese manufacturer because gasoline car still needs thousands of integrated parts together for a single product. For electric car has around 15000 parts while traditional petrol car has around 30000 parts.
once re-watching this video
US tricks used to Japan in 1980s applied to China in 2020s too.
1. US accused dump sales on solar panel, EVs and communication hardware products made by China.
The difference > Japan already
set-up a model to China how US tricked her trade partner. So China should have better preparation than Japan.
For example US lured Japan to enter the Plaza Accord by raising the Yen value.
China never fell US's traps by raising the RMB value.
In return US accused China as a currency manipulator...
China's housing and property industry in 2020s also suffered with similar problem as Japan in 1990s too.
While considered a comedy, Gung Ho (1986) had a great impact on delivering the message of Japan's buisness practices and work ethics compared to America's. One of my favorite moves of all time. As an American I have always admired and respected the Japanese people.
"Close collaboration with the government" *shows Shigeru Miyamoto*
I am not surprised that the video does not mention the Plaza Accord agreement which I think is deliberate. The Plaza Accord is such a huge factor but the video is silent on it. What a joke! I would think that the Plaza Accord was forced onto the Japanese to stem the rise of Japan. Yes, Japan developed by taking the opportunities presented by the US. But when Japan got too strong, it is time to whack it down. And it stayed down in the 80s until now. Japan hid behind the US's shadow to avoid facing China and Korea so this is the price to pay. What went wrong for Japan? One of the main reasons is that Japan is maybe the 51st state of the US (and South Korea the 52nd)? That is what I think went wrong for Japan. It can never be allowed to surpass Big Brother. Maybe Japan is happy to stay under the US's shadow. I can't blame the US for pushing Japan down but it is wrong for America to think that it will stay up if other countries are pushed down. Time to whack South Korea?
Dude, amazing video. I loved the point that you made about the tight coupling between the business sectors and government being the catalyst for the rise and fall of Japan's economy. I feel like that paradigm has been played out in many other countries. Government ran industries always seem to perform better in the short term, but rarely succeed in the long term. Maybe healthy competition is a competitive advantage 🤔
S.Korea, Taiwan and China all copied that tight coupling model.
@@somethingelse9535 So true - all three economies emerged in the last several decades. So it'll be interesting to if they follow the same trajectory.
A very interesting report. Comprehensive and informative. Thank you so much.
Why was Japan slow with adopting and innovating in PC and Software?
Up to the Playstation 3 generation, Japan ruled gaming. But from PS3 onward, literally all the Japanese game developers dropped the ball with keeping up with the latest tech, and PC ports weren't common and those games that did get PC ports, the ports were very badly optimized.
Japanese game software was 1) spurned by the government due to it not being serious and 2) had a lot of problems with scalability. Up until the PS2 era, most JP devs were writing game engines from scratch with every new game and hand-designing assets. By the time we got into the HD era with highly superscalar processors in consoles, this was simply no longer feasible and you begin to see the decline of Japanese game companies. Luckily they're making a come back now and I think they're in a much healthier place overall due to more widespread adoption of modern development methodologies.
Everyone who says Japan needs more immigration is 100% wrong, that would lead to more issues. I am from Germany and we've seen nothing but decline here aswell with that play we did here with immigration, and I am saying that as a 1st Gen immigrant myself.
Agreed. It's fine in countries like the US which was in a way founded on immigration, but not everyone should do it, over improving education and competitiveness.
High skilled immigration would be great. The "problem" with the German scenario was they took in immigrants with low skills, less formal education, and from highly religious, ultraconservative cultures, trying to mesh them with a secular, educated, highly developed economy.
Germany and Japan are extremes (within industrialized nations). They could provide a clear path to immigration for educated, motivated people that lived there for a while and are below the national age average with no downsides.
Sony, Nintendo, and Panasonic is probably gonna be the only japanese electronics companies that are gonna be around.
Most GenZ probably don't know what's Panasonic
Sony? They're nothing but a gaming company now, and what does Panasonic sell now that they are the best at?
So you’re telling me not allowing the best and brightest engineers and scientists from around the world immigration to your country, and putting english and foreign languages at the bottom of the educational priority going to decrease your ability to compete in cutting edge technology with other countries?
How? That cant be right. Surely reading manga and anime in the local Hiragana dialect is all thats needed to create the new Apple and Google of the next decades. Right?
Awesome Video. I'm going to have to watch it a few times to get everything because it's so comprehensive.👍
I'm an American who has lived in Japan for 20 years now. Good video, but he only touched lightly on the systemic racism. Immigration for example, Abe started a program which would allow 200,000 workers to come to Japan to train and do elder care, which no one in Japan wants to do. So far they have yet to come close to filling even half of those visas. And when Japanese were asked about the program, 80% were against it.
He mentioned Steve Jobs coming here regularly. I remember on one of his trips he almost was arrested because in his private jet in his private luggage he had some ninja stars he had bought. (As we all know Jobs personality, he became extremely irate and started swearing and making a scene). An American female exec for Toyota was arrested and deported because she had brought prescription meds with her without the prescription. And we all know the Ghosn case. In comparison, several years ago Mitsubishi's truck subsidiary made a truck with a two wall tire that when over inflated exploded. It killed a couple of people. The company instead of admitting a problem tried to cover it up. (FYI, Japan has strict negligent homicide laws. A jet mechanic who didn't do effective repairs to a fighter jet that crashed and killed people was sent to prison for 10 years). All of the Japanese execs were found guilty but given suspended sentences. There seems to be a very clear double standard for foreigners and especially if you're not rich or connected.
really amzing videos! love tham all thank you very much for your great efforts john! :)
I want to hear SoftBank’s owner’s take on Japanese economy.
Proabbly wouldn’t want to take his advice. He bought WeWork after all
What's now America is trying to do with China, they already do that with Japan and you can see the result . So , we India should aware and cautious about it .