Why Does Japan Still Have an Emperor? - How Money Works
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Japan’s royal family is often forgotten about in the west. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of you watching didn’t know that Japan actually still has an emperor, but indeed… they do… it’s this man, Emperor Naruhito.
Naruhito ascended to the throne in May of 2019 after his father Emperor Akihito abdicated from the throne. These men are the official heads of state of the third most influential economy in the world, and while their powers are almost entirely ceremonial, however their living standards are anything but.
The immediate royal family has over 1,000 staff working for them directly.
This roster includes basic essentials like, you know… gardeners, chefs, plumbers, chauffeurs, secretaries, security personnel not to mention 47 servants PER ROYAL!
But this enormous staff also extends to things like wardrobe managers, royal farmers that farm the family’s food, 4 doctors constantly on standby, a silkworm breeder to make sure the family is always decked out in the finest threads, Shinto advisers, and 30 archaeologists tasks specifically to look after the tombs of the family.
Beyond just the manpower the Japanese Royal family claims some pretty pricey real estate. If you think the white house or Buckingham palace are ritzy, they have nothing on the Japanese Royal Palace in Tokyo.
Sprawled out over 379 acres in the heart of the largest city in the world, this royal residence was once more valuable than all of the real estate in California combined. Nowadays it’s worth about as much as two and a half San Francisco townhouses but that’s a whole other issue.
This estate, along with dozens of other lavish estates dotted around the country and over the planet cost a lot to maintain, and that’s why the government of Japan gives the family 11.83 Billion yen (or around 110 million American dollars) every year to keep everything up to a royal standard.
This is ON TOP of a personal expense account of 324 million yen or 2.9 Million USD’s for every member of the direct royal family as well as a 269 million yen for every member of the extended family.
This is taxpayers money which is all going to fund the ridiculously lavish lifestyle of a huge family that hasn’t actually played an active role in managing the country since world war two, and even back then their job performance wasn’t what I would call stellar.
So it’s time to learn how money works to makes sense of how this family justifies their unbelievable operating expenses in a country that has not seen sustained economic growth in nearly three centuries.
#Japan #Royal #HowMoneyWorks
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Having absolute power -> Being a culture figurehead -> Having absolute power -> Being a culture figurehead... wow, Japanese's emperors went through a full circle
Tbh the only monarch to actually wield power was Emperor Meiji. After he died, the monarchy was sidelined again. Hirohito was weak-willed which allowed for a power vaccum that allowed Tojo to setup his military junta.
Well it will one day awaken again, this meekness is reaching saturation sooner than later.
To be honest, you'd be hard pressed to find a period in which there weren't figures rivalling the Emperor in power. Early emperors had equally rich families from around the country that they had to keep close and keep happy, later on Samurai ruled the country for over half a millennia and even Meiji had his powers kept in check by both bureaucrats and rich businessmen.
@@ByDant3 Exactly. It's also interesting to consider there were multiple Shoguns who were mere figureheads for another person or clan. The political structure of Japan was very fragile and complicated.
HOHO Wait till the next cycle
Wow, with that kind of money the Japanese royal family can soon afford to buy half a San Francisco townhouse. That's impressive!
If they saved up and rented out the spare bedroom I could see it happening.
@@HowMoneyWorks Don't forget the avocados!
Sorry only gold payments accepted
Not anymore bro it's been 11 hours since a video was posted the price just went up by like 30%.
Don't forget they'll also need to pay for a street parking permit for their JDM Toyota Yaris, or else it will be towed.
A family that has ruled for 1600 years? That's ludicrous to think of. I can't even wrap my mind around how long of a period of time that is.
It's really interesting to see how the royal family is kept strictly in check by the larger Japanese government. They're literally living cultural pieces.
No 2600 years. As old as the Roman empire.
It's not interesting. It's a cultural atrocity.
@@seraphimconcordant You're the type of person that dismisses the beauty of European culture because of slavery and colonization 😶
@@khanch.6807 You mean the Roman Kingdom and then Republic. The empire only started in 27 BC technically.
They avoided politics so they put the shogunate in place for them to control
They are a living museum time piece. Governments all over the world fund museums....
Hahahahaha that's a great one.
@@christiandanielcaballero1896 I think he's right on the money, culture is important to civilizations and seeing it alive and kicking so strong can be empowering when your family has been in the culture for several generations, or at the very least reaffirmation of it legitimacy
eek so royal families are like...human zoos :-) they even do tricks like wave their hands and make small talk at dinners :D
@@mm-yt8sf Lol....yes
Yes. But they also have a museum administrative building taking up a plot of land worth billions of dollars right in the middle of one the biggest cities on the planet.
Wait. If the Japanese Royal family was redefined to be only a small group of people after WWII, and Japanese Royals are not allowed to marry commoners (well, technically they can but they'd become a commoner in doing so), isn't the pool of candidates for marriage like preeeetttyy small?
It's a dying family
That is why european royals always all have been family of eachother, they are all related to eachother in all sorts of weird ways.
Loads of inbreeding and family sharing going on.
A lot of european royals where retarded or had all sorts of physical problems because of it.
But yeah, they are mainly used for public relations nowdays. They dont have any real power anymore.
usually the royal just marries the commoner of their choice and chose to lose their title. like the recent princess that gave up her title to marry a regular Japanese citizen, though I think men royals are able to keep their titles even if they marry a commoner
While inbreeding is a thing in European royalty, they do also have sprawling family trees to the point where many, many Europeans do have royal ancestry. It’s not really that special; it’s like being left handed.
This is why the English Royal Crown will pretty much always find someone even if you Thanos’d Elizabeth’s entire extended family.
@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 Habsburgs achieved the pinnacle of inbreeding.
>All royals outside of the then-emperor's descendants, siblings, and sibling's descendants are downgraded to commoners
>Royals are by law only allowed to marry other nobility
Sweet home Kyoto!
I was thinking the same thing lol. Hopefully for their sakes, the classification of "royal" extends further than this video made it seem
@@aikenumholtz3539 The classification of royal is still within the 11 family branches it discussed in the video in terms of marriage, they are just not allowed to take the title of being royal.
Also men are allowed to marry commoners and still be classified as royal, this rule is just for females, who seem to be choosing to marry commoners; I believe they get a massive payout when they do anyway
@@jamesblackburn6139 Yes, there is a payout, but it comes with obligations. That's why princess Mako refuses to take it (she's the latest member of the royal family about to marry a commoner).
Being downgraded to commoner doesn't stop people from bowing to her, if any those who do gained respect for leaving lavish life to mingle with commoner.
May sound cruel but it's actually not, being commoner doesn't stop your parents to acknowledge that you are their children it just they won't be receiving throne.
They still with all respect a noble.
Well that's the thing, the emperor and his male children can marry any woman and keep their status because any child they have together will be directly linked to the divine lineage of the emperor. But if an emperors daughter married a commoner man then she'd have to give up her royal status and their child wouldn't be eligible to be emperor because the father is a commoner
The Japanese royal family and Hirohito himself had very little power in WW2 and pretty much were forced to agree to whatever the military wanted, the army held all the power and went to war against the emperor's wishes... In his journal in 1941, 4 years after the war in china had started and just before pearl harbour , he wrote that he wanted peace. he stopped visiting Yasukuni which is a massive shrine that honours war dead because it decided to honour Tojo and other war criminals.
Indeed. Japan between 1933 and 1945 was pretty much a military dictatorship.
That is what the emperor wanted people to think after the war but there are some questions about the truth of his assertions.
But they did agree to many horrorble tactics officially
To be honest, the same family is in the royal position for the past 2000+ years, mostly without real political power. It's pretty much a living legend. Emperor is also the force in Japan boosting political stability, especially among conservatives, which, if you don't know, is still the mainstream political force of the country.
110 million dollars a year, that standard of living definitely isn’t ceremonial. I’ll take it.
It also comes with quite a lot of restrictions for what you are allowed to say and do, where you are allowed to live, a complete inability to live anonymously or converse with most people as equals, feel like I could go on.
Also you'd have been born into it, so it'd just be a normal cage at that point.
I actually don't think I'd take that deal myself, if I was destitute or in prison I wouldn't probably hold this opinion, but until that time comes it doesn't seem very appealing...
@@prw56 yeah it's kind of sad in a very expensive over the top way. At least they don't hold political power like the British queen does(even if she doesn't use it)
@@trent6319 I mean she basically has no power, all the power she has would cause riots if she actually used it. Especially since the family has a lot of drama lately Prince Andrew *cough cough*
@@prw56 can you do anything lol, the are paid 4 mill to chill all days sounds pretty good.
It sounds like a lot... but we here in the US directly give Oil Company CEO's 15 billion in subsidies every year to play around with.
Seeing a different viewpoint from my own is always well appreciated! Your videos are well made and easy to understand, and make for a perfect laid back watch. Cya in the next one!
Coming from a country with deep roots, I totally understand money being thrown at keeping traditions and culture symbols alive. Same as keeping palaces, paying for associations of folk dance, archeological insitutes and many other things done with public money that I personally feel are part of what makes me feel proud of belonging to my culture/country. Even better, an emperor/royal family is a piece of living culture, something that might stay relevant and keep being a subject of conversation at the dinner table. As long as its for the people instead of against (as it is for all culture), I'd say it's worth it.
Also it's the longest continuous dynasty in history. About 1700 years of existence.
Es más barata la monarquía de la República en verdad
Not trying to be a weeb or anything, but I love how rich Japan is in culture and heritage. It's so strange seeing the ancient practices being conducted, with the whole nine yards of clothing, respect, rituals, architecture, etc. But then you walk a couple block over and you have some of the highest density urban living in the world, with some of the highest influential developments in modern architecture, science, etc. I have no idea how they have been able to carefully balance that throughout the modern age, but its just astonishing to see.
Yeah, they're very good at integration (culturally and architecturally). They take something from another country and integrate it. They're not afraid of rebuilding something if the new will be better... whereas some places will want to preserve the original stuff as close to original as possible, Japanese culture favors maintaining the spirit of what's built and enhancing or renovating it. The problem with trying to keep something as "original" as possible is that you end up with rotting museum pieces that aren't useful.
It doesn't always work, but when it does, you get some lovely results.
They do this with food as well, not afraid of experimenting with foods from other countries and fusing them into so-called traditional ones.
I feel like having a monarchy available to take government power is a good hedge against democracy collapsing, creating a bloody power vacuum.
That is a very valid point, but usually what it takes to make democracy collapse is so extreme, that I would expect any royals to be lynched shortly afterwards (though if democracy collapses the royals are the first ones on a plane out of the country). So I would not really count on them so much as a hedge.
Modern day monarchies are too feckless to ever do something like step in and take control in times of turmoil. Monarchies just exist to enrich their members, if one of their governments collapsed they would try to keep their heads down and get in the good graces of whoever got power next.
@@krombopulos_michael Agreed. If the new status quo allows them to carry on they'll just remain in place as they were. If not, they'll take the next plane out.
@@krombopulos_michael I kind of agree. I think some monarchies might try to grab power and some would fall over, fail to, or never try.
But I think the Japanese monarchy would have a good chance at taking back power given their Shinto religion and history.
As somene living under one, no, they are useless
Great video about an interesting topic, but I had to nitpick a bit. The stock footage you used in 8:09, 9:38 and 11:42 are not the Imperial Palace in Tokyo and is actually the Gyeongbok Palace in downtown Seoul, South Korea, which once housed a royal family that was dethroned by Imperial Japan. Kinda ironic.
P
Wow! Interesting
@@Jack-fw7wd Too many to name everything, but Back in the USSR, Here, there and everywhere, I saw her standing there to name a few.
@@Jack-fw7wd I would say Helter Skelter and Money(which is a cover) aren't as mainstream as something like Yesterday, Hey Jude, Here comes the Sun and etc.
In 1975, Emperor Hirohito was reported being displeased when he was informed that the Yasukuni Shrine decided to enshrine some class A war criminals. Considering the volatile diplomatic situation in East Asia, the imperial family's decision not to visit the shrine since then may have save the nation from further isolation from its neighbors.
The "golden cage" philosophy or Bismarck's "being servant no. 1 to the state and it's people" has been a routine of highly esteemed public figureheads in some parts of the world.
The titles and privileges are bestowed and made sovereign by the people - in exchange royals serve the people's interests as upper management. The only aspect that has changed is that back in the days the royals used to be CEO of Japan Inc. and basically owned the people - now they merely represent the people and it's interests.
Japan loves their traditions. Can’t imagine Japan without an Emperor. Wish China has a modern monarchy, so there’s no communism in their country.
Lol no... fuck the emperor monarchy is still shit... there's no fucking reason why someone that literally didn't do shit getting paid with our tax money cuz "well i'm the emperor"
As a Norwegian, I think our King does a great job. He is basically the guy we send when the Prime Minister is busy. He also tends to bring special interest groups with him to foreign affairs, affording them an opportunity to strengthen our country's economy, in addition to his own contribution to strengthening relations between our countries.
that French joke got me, bravo sir.
Timestamp?
@@tian4061 13:05
"Should I bring up what they did to OUR royals?"
Inner monologue of the South Korean president
Were guillotines involved?
@@jeffbenton6183 No. But one of the princess literally went crazy. Multiple suicide attempts, and divorce. She may have killed her only daughter, but no one's sure.
@@jeffbenton6183 They basically shipped the Korean royal family off to Japan, forced them to marry Japanese women and to serve in the Japanese army. Those who were kept in Korea, were basically locked inside the royal palace and never allowed to leave. All of them lived under 24/7 surveillance and control by the Japanese army, with all their travel and what they did being tightly controlled. Worst part is that after the war, both north and South Korea banned them from ever returning and they were stripped of citizenship, being basically given all the blame for Korea’s colonisation by Japan (which the Korean royals tired to prevent, but were unable to). Some Korean royals were eventually allowed to return to South Korea however, in the 1980s
I almost didn't watch it, because the topic didn't interest me, but I'm so glad I did. It's very informative with lots of nuances.
Well, everyone needs a hobby. Germany spent 6 billion on one airport, who am I to judge the japanese for their pet royals.
Difference is the airport is an asset.
japan actually spend way more on a now sinking airport
@@neeljavia2965 it could easily be liability
@@yudistiraliem135 Nope.
It was long overdue for a big city like Berlin.
Tempelhof? 🤣
I have to disagree with the part that says the Emperor of Japan played an active role in the war. From the start of the Shogun era to current day Japan, the Emperor has played a ceremonial role in the functioning of the state. Even during the period known as the civil war of Japan (Sengoku Jidai), the emperor is a mere puppet of the military leader to put down in simpler terms.
Although there seems to be an exception during the Meji Restoration Period where the Emperor of Japan played an active role in State Affairs but that is debatable.
In terms of removing the head of state from power will take a lot of legal proceedings and legislative work. So it is better to keep him there.
Other than that it is an excellent video. Good work mate.
Sorry, but you are actually wrong. U are right about the most part of Japanese history. However, from the meiji restoration era, from 1870s to ww2 Imperial Japan 1940s, the emperor had a real power. For instance, when there was a war broke out, 大本營, Dai-hon-ei, the war committee will be organized where the head of committee is emperor himself! Dai-hon-ei was run by military generals and the emperor. NO DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED politicians were not allowed to part of the discussion. I.e. to say, the civillians COULD NOT control the military and the royal family's involvement. This is just one example of Japanese royal having power in 19th to 20th c. There were many more. The reason why the idea of royal family being innocent is prevalent because the US general McArthur wanted to not kill the emperor Hirohito. He knew that Hirohito was the chief priest of Japanese religion Shinto. He had to justify his action by spreading the idea around the world that Hirohito was oblivious to the war and that he was a puppet of the military.
@@zayden4309 I strongly believe that too is a ceremonial role, if you take records from that era the Emperor of Japan did wield political power but he did not exercise it. For more clarification i would recommend Extra History: End of Samurai. In that series they give a good look into role of emperor into the war itself.
@@pramothmayakannannm3997 well, that is sadly not really the case. This is part of the historical revisionism due to pro emperor sentiment in japan and mc Arthur's narrative. Japan at that time had no clear power structure; the civillian pm did not have full control of the nation. Military and the monarch had some grip of the governance. Even between military, navy and army were segregated and had political clout of their own. And even the head of the army couldnt have a full control of the different army factions. Japan at that time was an incredibly disorganized nation and the emperor's role was not purely ceremonial. Since the meji restoration, there has been a power struggle between the demcratically elected government, military factions and the monarch. When the power was taken away by the military and the monarch, japan starts war against china in 1930s. As a part of the high military committee, he clearly had the political power to make changes. He was leaning towards pro-war as well. If Hirohito was actually anti-war, things in China and Pacific could have gone different(even in 1941, some civilian ministers of the cabinet were against war in the pacific) That being said, the people responsible atrocities of Japan were Tojo Hideki's army clan and various navy factions. Besides it was hirohito who ended the ww2 and prevented so many US soldier deaths in imminent, very possible Japan mainland invasion. This is also one of the reasons why Hirohito was not sentenced for war criminal punishment
You should take a look at *Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan* by Herbert P. Bix.
@@kantaikessen3289 Thank you for the recommendation.
"My name is Naruhito Uzumaki and I'm going to be the emperor of Japan. Believe it."
Datebayo
Do royals allowed to use TH-cam
Lol
The way in which all the money they are given can be used to consume and buy whatever they want but anything they buy with that money is not really “theirs” and instead belongs to the government is kind of philosophically poignant.
@@gideonroos1188 we’ll all die so we don’t really own anything it’s just temporary comfort
They're not just royalty, the emperors are also the spiritual heads of Shintoism.
I think the fact the Emperor is basically the Shinto Pope is more than enough justification for their lifestyle.
There was actually a commission for Hirohito during WW2, the American commission couldn't connect Hirohito directly to any warcrimes and based off the evidence they had he had actually tried to end the war earlier...which eventually led to the Japanese coup, which failed, which led to the ending of the war.
It’s always fun hearing someone stretch, “not really a religion.”
Good job. 👍
Lots o Asian people treat religion in a different way from easterns, Japanese do lots of shinto rituals and festivals, but make Buddhist ceremonies for the dead, frequently they marry in eastern christian style.
I love you and your work!!
Thank you! Cheers!
Actually, the British Royal family brings in waaay more money than it spends. You should do a video on that, it’s quite interesting
Wait, really??? How???
@@Darth_Bateman Most directly, the revenues from the Crown Estate are surrendered to the Exchequer in exchange for the Sovereign Grant. In the 2015/2016 financial year, the revenues from the Crown Estate were £304.1 million, whilst the Sovereign Grant was £40 million.
That's still pretty speculative considering how many visitors the palace of Versailles has, and their last monarch lost their heads more than 200 years ago
@@excalubar You mean 160 years ago. With Napoleon III dying peacefully in exile.
Love it Yen you post!
"Her majesty queen Elizabeth II", "this guy is a top dog".
Idk about Japan, but I understand, in England, that government serves at the pleasure of the Queen, and she still has the prerogative to dissolve parliament.
She might have the power on paper, but it would be hard to put it in practice.
@@thomasfplm Typically, in a parliamentary republic, though the President or the monarch has the power to dissolve Parliament, this only ever happens when the factions fail to form a cabinet (including the Prime Minister), and the result is always a "snap election" to elect a new Parliament.
Well, Malaysia's recent political crisis serves an example...
You have to remember that it's the British system. The rules aren't often written down, and definitely aren't updated. So exactly what can be done is mostly am open question, and would in practice depend highly on how the populace reacts.
Would be interesting what you take for Thailand on this topic.
Goodwork btw!
At least the japanese emperor lives in japan and does work for them instead of dicking around in germany most of the year, like the thai king.
He'd be on a blacklist before you can say "like and subscribe".
Super interesting! I knew they still had an Emperor, but I didn't know most of this about the family.
When you said that they were not allowed to marry "commoners", does that mean that they just inbreed in the family, or is there considered another "class" that they can marry?
The males of the family are allowed to marry commoners. Since there’s no longer a noble class, that’s the only way to producer heirs without incest. Women on the other hand aren’t allowed to do so. They could, but as the video said, they get kicked out. And since the nobility is gone, you have no choice but to get kicked out if you want to marry as a woman.
@@Shanaoh Wow, that's crazy. Thanks for the info.
No. That's why there's only one kid left as the heir of Japan. What happens if he dies? Literally no heir left.
@@Kronos0999 - In other words, Japan is basically a heart attack and a single case of bad food poisoning away from abolishing the position of emperor.
@@Shanaoh Yah this happened recently. One of the princesses decided to marry a commoner and she lost her titles and privileges. I'm sure worth it in her eyes.
Preservation for cultural and traditions is what makes a country unique and important for generations. Our American values and our tax dollars to our military and govt institutions are similar as well. So yes.
People are complaining about employee wages and this is the more reasons to start your own business. Even if its something small, make yourself your own ceo...
Nevertheless Investments are easiest means to accumulate money .
Agreed 💎
I'd same mentally! hahaha, but not everyone is bred to build a business.
Hello!!
My name is Teresa. I'm 25 yrs old Portuguese and still living in Portugal. At the moment I'm studying more than investing.
I don't have much money but I'll start investing heavily this month. Thanks dude and I really appreciate 🥰.
I wish to gain financial freedom at least 30....
Most entrepreneurs fail. We only see the success stories in media. For each of them there are 4-5 failures where people got wiped out. You can become wealthy as an entrepreneur or an employee. The risk profile however is very different between the two. For the vast majority of people working a high nd low paying career, investing wisely is the best and quickest path to wealth.
@@cbarnes5108 that percent is because people start a business and put no effort into it, no time into, not much money into it or it generally being a pretty uncompetitive ideas like selling iphone cases. If you put the time, money, commitment and with the right mentor/broker, then you're not playing odds, you're just taking risk, it's not like the lottery where its a predictable percentage of odds.. its based on 100 factors.
I watch a lot of vloggers in Japan, so I was well aware that there is still an emperor.
I would work hard so my emperor and his family can have a luxurious life
That's like asking why the US has a president... the position of Emperor is a symbol of unity of Japanese people, a non-partisan Head of State and a traditional bond to the Japanese culture and history.
"...was abdicated" ? Nobody can abdicate a monarch, that is something a monarch does himself. Emperor Akihito abdicated, he wasn't abdicated, that's not even a thing.
Sometimes Japan seems like somewhere from a different planet. Great food and great people though!
Because of culture. Unlike some other cultures
It's 2021 and they still let the the emperor dress like an emperor
You got a lot of things wrong regarding Japanese Royal power.
A lot of times Japanese Royal Family is just a puppet for actual country leader, for example in WW2, Hirohito was just a "puppet" for Hideki Tojo who is the one that control the country just like before Meiji Restoration which up to Emperor Komei and his son Emperor Meiji overthrow the Bakufu/Shogunate, Japanese royal family was just King without power which held by Tokugawa clan for 200 years after Battle of Sekigahara
Exactly, emperor had no power regarding politics then just like now.
I believe the difference between pre-war and post-war is how constitution describes the emperor.
Pre-war constitution describes the emperor as the ruler of Japan. This is because when Meiji Restoration happened, newly formed government needed authority.
Edo Shogunate failed to deal with foreign powers and signed unequal treaty. Some clan weren't sure Edo Shogunate could run Japan and protect its land and people. Then Opium War happened in China and Britain destroys China. Those clan that weren't sure about Edo Shogunate decides to overthrow the Shogunate, but in order to appeal Japanese people its legitimacy, they needed to do it in the name of emperor. Those clan formed Meiji government. So they had to describe the emperor as the ruler of Japan, even though the emperor was just a "puppet" and they rule the country.
Pre-war government act as behalf of the emperor. Otherwise they denies the legitimacy themselves.
This "behalf of emperor" system had a loop hole. Constitutionally speaking, the emperor has all the power and each ministries do their job behalf of the emperor. And parliament had no power regarding military blanch. When Meiji government was formed, elder statesman took care both politics and military thing so there weren't any problem. But by the time of WW2, those elder statesman were long gone and parliament couldn't control military. Army used this loop hole and do whatever they want.
So post-war constitution describes the emperor as the symbol of Japan in order to eliminate any confusion and loop hole. Elected officials run the country, not the emperor.
Now the emperor is constitutionally a "puppet".
Yes, poor innocent Hirohito and all his family members, who did nothing wrong during WWII and weren't in any position of power during it. For example in commanding positions during certain events...
@@TheArklyte I don't think they were sympathizing with Hirohito.
@@TheArklyte Hirohito wasn't the one who was the main planner and instigator of all...
Give me 1% of that money and I'll never have to work again
Best comparison would be cost divided by GDP. Japan is estimated to make $4.4 trillion in 2023, and The U.K. is estimated to make $3.15 trillion. So UK spends about 0.003% of its GDP on their royal family, and Japan spends about 0.004% of its GDP on their royal family.
Aren't the Emperor of Japan actually more like Popes than actual ruling sovereigns?
Well during the Shogunate they were. European chroniclers described him as a "pope" and the Shogun as a king.
Yes. They have great religious significance and are closer to a Pope than a King. Hence why they had the shogunate etc. - anyone can run a government, but only the Emperor could be the 'high priest of Shinto'.
It’s also why they last for so long. Throughout history not many single line of family can rule for a couple of centuries
@@sentryion3106 The House of Osman would like to disagree
Well, the pope Francis is the actual big deal, during his papacy he alredy use his primacy more than once to decide church police and doctrine.
I would say he is absolute monarch for the vatican and moderate power for the church ( like britsh monarchs before the civil war or brazilian emperors )
One exemple is the problem with amazonian priests, he made a proposal that was reject, so he is not absolute, but made a deal with China even if most bishops din't like.
“A family that hasn’t actually played an active role in managing the country since WW2, and even back then their job performance wasn’t what I would call stellar.”
_planes flying in the background_
Well the emperor was not involved in daily politic and the story of the Japanese ww 2 government is just something else where he as head of state just watched things go to crap. Politicians got murdered by right wing extremist for not being insanely patriotic while the army did not even bother to ask them about a declaration of war and just started to invade China. Thing is when i got this right he had acutely just no role in anything almost like the meme whit the dog in the burning house drinking coffee.
How do you get your voice quality so good? I'm starting a youtube channel and despite getting a Blue Yeti and messing with some sound editing, I can't quite get the "clarity" that you have. Any tips?
Didn't the Australian government sell their embassy in Japan to pay off their national debt back in the 80's?
I like your argument that a monarchy is essentially just another part of a nations diplomatic strategy. With that said I have no problems with them, then again I live in the US so monarchies aren’t really a problem here lol.
Well, not yet, at least. We'll talk again in a hundred years.
@@lonestarr1490 It would never
@@lonestarr1490 Monarchies? Eh, depends on the state I suppose. Already got Oligarchies though, between all the politicians and corporations, so maybe we're not all that far off.
It's similar in the UK. Outside the debate on the legal ownership of the royal lands (a nice black hole if you're bored) There isn't that much they're payed to do that wouldn't need doing anyway, so the actual cost of having them vs an elected president + enlarged diplomatic staff isn't as big as you might expect. Through in people who have been raised from birth to be the perfect diplomat and have decades of experience and it's totally understandable why they're their.
I think you have it even worse in the US with political dynasties like the Kennedys the Clintons the Bushes and the McCains. A monarch is held directly responsible to the people and can die at their hands but these career politicians will delegate responsibility through a labyrinth of committees and court orders while the next guy takes the blame and continues the vicious cycle.
"Akahito" means a baby.
The man's name is Akihito.
Please, just at least reference your materials.
Baby Emperor ... do do do dodo do do
Or "red person", depends on kanji
@@Narutorz A baby is a red person whrn the first come out.
akanbo/akachan is baby
you can't force anyone in your language.
language is such a hard thing, be easy on others please.
Oooh, do Malaysian Monarchy next! They seem super interesting because they don't have one monarch but a number of them. They also have power as well.
Money can easily be gained but history can be lost forever, and the royal family is a living history.
Even Canada still have a Queen and still pay tax dollars to these so called Royal Family even though they are already independent from the British. Nothing wrong with Japan having an emperor.
Can you make a video on "Why Does Canada still have a Queen" or "Why does UK still have a Queen"
In Canada, though we are independent from Britain we are still part of the Commonwealth. As well we don’t pay her anything from our taxes. The only time when we do is when she comes to Canada to perform her duties as sovereign and only she can draw upon those funds, not any other person of the royal family can do so.
The British royal family isn’t funded by the taxpayer (a common misconception), it is funded by a rebate on the profits of its investment portfolio (The Crown Estate) provided by the Treasury.
There are things that need to be straightened out. Their wealth is divided into 2 things: private property and state/ceremonial property which is usually used for official events. They are free to use their personal wealth/personal property because it is considered their salary, but state property which is for the state is usually in the form of dresses, necklaces, residences, etc. and this belongs to the state and must be accounted for for its use, so please note.
The Japanese Royal family has far more power than is described in this video, essentially the word of the emperor has a massive influence over laws, election and society... He can give one speech to change the way the country is
That’s very true especially with the country essentially being a one party state with the LDP who fervently support and believe in the emperor/imperial family in charge, also they are supported by Nippon Kaigi who pretty much all LDP members are apart of & is a revisionist organization that believes Japan did nothing wrong in WW2 and wants the emperor restored to full power, and don’t think that it can’t happen they have MASSIVE influence over policies in the country like i said most LDP members are in this group and believe these things unquestioned. So yeah the emperor has a lot of power now and in the future could very well be fully in charge again with an absolute monarchy/empire of Japan restored.
I mean the fact that a massive sinkhole in Japan is fixed in 2 days, paying million of yen to the ceremonial head of state doesn't really matter much.
"they are not wealthy", just 100+ personal staff. not sure you know what wealthy means
On a completely different topic, I'd love it if you did a video of "where are they now" for:
1. Lottery winners who went broke
2. "Financial gurus" who advertise the latest scams on TH-cam
This channel is so awesome! Great work! I listen to your videos every morning on my way to work!
Yoko Ono was formerly a royal. That's largely why she lived in the USA where she met John Lennon.
She wasn’t a royal. She would be the equivalent of a noble/aristocrat in Europe maybe. She was born into wealth and may have come into contact with the Japanese royal family growing up
@@t4squared Yeah my bad. I kinda meant royal in the same way aristocratic nobility is considered adjacent to royalty. I don't know her exact lineage but I remember reading about her family being outcast from Japan after WW2.
Each royal family member gets a 300 million yen allowance, yet that's only 2.7 million USD, they don't get much for royalty.
Is that a month?
@@Sirciel In the video they said annually so I'm pretty sure it's annually.
@@Welkon1 oo yeah that does not seem that much then (even though thats like a lot if im the one that get it)
Now imagine 324 Million Yen going into getting Japanese students off TBRLs and/or promoting entrepreneurship.
that wouldn't do shit. They are old now, most of that income would go into maintaining pensions anyway, that's why japanese economy isn't growing. This is actually better since it creates employment. If japan wanted extra 324 mil, they would just print it. They have the capacity to do that and nothing would go wrong.
@@harshjain3122 well if you print that much and put it into the economy without having pre-decided channels, you risk hyperinflation
@@arnavm.9529 considering the japanese government is literally printing excess money in order to prevent deflation, I dont think 324 mil yen matters much in the grand scheme of things.
Problem with Modern Economics is that it doesn't take power dynamics into account .
Royalty doesn't cost that much money to maintain but society pays heavy price in terms of values ,hierarchy and belief systems
India has thousands of Royals who were kicked out because they wielded there traditional power over the common people including caste system etc.
Now everyone is equal by law and only privilege or title people can have is what they have earned themselves and acknowledged by Government .
Japan has similar problem which people tend to ignore for some reason superior race ideology is still a real thing in Japan with pure blooded Japanese as superior beings .
In a real case ,half blood Japanese were disqualified from representing japan on international stage due to them being not pure blood .
Cases of Racism against British royal family are also not uncommon .
My parents believe that japan will collapse with out the emperor, but many of us young people want them gone.
and replace it with what? career politicians? do you want a political divisiveness every 4 or 5 years? Japan and other modern constitutional Monarchy are tend to be stable than presidential government countries. Nobody cares about Suga resignation because the Emperor is still there to take care of the country in an emergency event.
@@saltymonke3682 they are just a symbol
It's already run by career politicians. How do you think France is run?
@@12kenbutsuri no, He has a veto power to those politicians. He can dissolve the parliament during a crisis without being accused of a political motive. You can't say the same with French or Italian.
France is so unstable politically and in reality. Not to mention their degradation in quality of life due to massive political promises for years without consequences to gain populism by the state apparatus. There are more government employees than private taxpayers in several towns. No politicians can fix it because they don't want to lose the election. Different with British and other European Monarch where the monarch can make a strategic long run decision programs whoever the PM is.
Different head of state with the head of the government doesn't always mean stable government from political divisiveness. Head of state by election will be filled by politicians, not merely a statesman.
France have gone through several kinds of government forms due to tendency of its politicians to accumulate personal power and become a dictator through coup. same with Italy and Turkey. Even you can see the Presidential experiment in Arab states. The countries with the working monarch is far more stable and even have better economic freedom index among the Arabs.
@@12kenbutsuri France couldn't even pay its pension funds sustainably. Tax is so high and government jobs are massive. Quality of life? lower among EU and OECD countries with similar tax rate.
Monarchy in general is costlier than a Presidential Republic. US presidential budget? $3Billion a year without counting the former presidents. British monarch? They contribute more to the tax because theyvare self reliant with the Crown Estate funds. French and Italian Presidents? £103 million and £193 million respectively and not counting former presidents and their pensions. Belgian and Dutch just paid around £10 million and £31 million. But most of them also have sovereign wealth fund for their monarch, same as British and Japan to some extend.
You want higher taxation by hiring another career politicians and expect them not to be corrupt? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@12kenbutsuri do you want to compare it with Healthcare systems in presidential countries like US? 😂😂😂 Or China?
30% has to be paid by the patient and 70% by the government.e ven if they can't pay there's a government healthcare programs for elders and poor people in general. although It's sometimes hard to be obtained due to vetting process. French looks promising but actually they are the most overly medicated people on earth. Yes, they have consumed more pills per person per year and it's hurting their healthcare system. You have to pay some amounts of out of pocket money in France too for several treatment, around 30% have to be paid by the patient, similar to Japan but some diseases are 100% covered by the government through their taxation.
America? Healthcare is monopolized by AMA for years and no one can change that because their political lobbyist are all over DC and State capitals.
Who can lobby a Monarch for a monopoly to create a far more expensive system? 😂
Unlike all the other royal families in the world. Those are absolutely essential.
I think monarchies should have a place in world governments so long as they’re managed properly. They should be able to amass personal wealth, so long as they fulfill their duties to the state and are under airtight regulation financially.
So a Constitutional Monarchy then? That's what Europe used to have where monarchs ruled alongside a Parliament in an executive capacity. Though now in the modern day monarchies have been largely relegated to a ceremonial function with their powers usurped by Parliament. So basically the correct term for this modern political arrangement is a "Crowned Republic."
What about Republics then?
Republics can also go the same track. Like Most of the communists presidents. And Nazi Germany.
Right.
Having a fiscally accountable monarchy is to what I was referring.
The more political construct that envelopes it, whether democratic, republic, or both was a lesser concern.
@@JFCotman yes.
Politicians get elected on what they say instead of what they do.
th-cam.com/video/ZckwjLTW6lA/w-d-xo.html
Royals are "managed properly" with guillotines
Wait, until you see how Thai royal family spend their budget.
Only at 3:35 but I'd just like to mention:
The UK royal family brings in a lot of revenue for the country, especially in terms of tourism. The exact amount however is hard to specify as it's not a direct value like how much it cost the police to keep them safe etc. It's a very complicated topic, anyone who's interested should look into it more, there's plenty of info on the web. Just wanted to add this. TLDR: British monarchy money is more complicated then a money sink
The uk monarchy makes enough money that it’s a net positive for the uk government
It's a cultural and national prestige. Japanese still admires their royal family. Imagine UK with the Queen.
13:04
One of the best piece of humour, in an educational video.
Rewatching this vid years later and with subtitles on.... and the subtitles say 3 centuries instead of 3 decades. That's a pretty huge difference for economic growth.
This is so fascinating, thank you! I knew about Japan still having an emperor. I liked the contrast between their overall feelings about their emperor vs. the British & their monarchy!
I think monarchies & royal families are important to keep because they remind us of our history & where we've come from, & keep a sense of stability in an ever changing world.
Er, not that my words mean much, since my country never had one!
The British Royal family costs the tax payer $0. Their money comes from the crown estate, a portfolio of assets that the Royals own such as museums and the like. The extra money is given to the tax payer.
The fact is we probably would never have had much of a land war against Japan. The Soviets were moving rapidly and likely would have invaded by themselves since it would have taken far too long for the US to stage an invasion. This is the real reason we felt we had to drop the bomb.
The Soviet Union Navy was laughable compared the Japanese or US. They would have to pull troops from Eastern Europe and teach them a whole new way of fighting. Whereas the US had become the world expert in navy warfare. We had surrounded the Japanese, controlled Okinawa. If Japan had not surrender, we would have keep dropping more Nukes until they did or there wasn't anything left.
@@mattrR678 If you are going to argue with me, you have to start with us not dropping a nuke at all. Once you start talking nukes, you are again basically arguing that we dropped them to stop the Soviets, not end the war with Japan, because we were months away from being able to invade even Kyushu and we were at least seven months away from launching against the main island of Honshu. You basically are proving my point that we dropped the bomb for one reason and one reason only - so the Soviets would not get off a land invasion of at least Hokkaido and possibly Honshu as well. Remember, the Soviets took the whole of Sakhalin Island through an amphibious assault as well as the Kuril Islands in a matter of weeks. They could have easily steamrolled across all of Korea by then as well. They were only about 25 miles away from being able to launch an attack on Hokkaido Island while we were 575 miles away from being able to launch Operation Olympic on the southern island of Kyushu. Once the Soviets took Hokkaido and Korea, Honshu was guaranteed to fall to the Red Army. Get real - we dropped the bomb when we did to stop the Soviets from taking a lot more land in East Asia, not to save American lives in an invasion of Japan.
I mean if the Japanese royal family ever got cut off they could probably just mortgage the royal palace, invest and come out richer than before
00:18 It's "Emperor Akihito" and not "Akahito". :)
That being said, the general public sentiment in Japan about the emperor is that the royal family is extremely loved and revered. Also, symbolically the emperor has been at the top of Japan since the ancient times, and Japanese people love their traditions. So a financial analysis is well, moot point imho. Just like, as many of the comments point out, asking the question if museum exhibits are worth their preservation and maintenance cost.
Source: expat living in Japan.
Lol, macrons inner monologue had my head "rolling" in laughter
Who knew Naruto was the emperor of Japan in real life
Really cool video. Thanks for putting it together! 👍
I wouldn't mind living in a gilded cage when I get beautiful maidens tending to my literally every desire.
I mean, come on.
The fact that they can trace their lineage that far back is impressive
Make “how culture works” please
Thanks for subtitles
Please please please please, Do Thai's royal.
I heard their king is battling in court to have complete control over his fortunes, so no government help. Understandable lol
Awesome video!
Thanks for this. I agree with your 'gilded cage' comment. I used to hate the monarchy of the UK and Japan when I was younger, but I did not understand the concept of soft power. I think perhaps we can learn a bit more from history here for in Canada and the United States... but that may be an unpopular opinion. ;)
You're a little short on the history lesson which is very important as to WHY Japan still has an Emperor. Japanese people viewed the Emperor as Divinity. They were willing to die for him, not only that but it was considered an honor. We Occupied Japan right after WW2 and essentially shut down their government. There was a particular Navy official (I forget his name) that was charged with handling the occupation and essentially installing a new government. But he was very smart and actually quite fair as a man, and asked them to come up with a proposal that satisfied everyone, I imagine largely because he knew it would be very important that the Japanese people actually agreed with the arrangement because it is a society deeply based on personal honor. After they kept proposing a monarchy and didn't come close enough to something that was satisfactory, he proposed that they have a constitution that closely mimicked our own but still let them come up with the specifics to a certain degree. He also agreed that they could keep an Emperor because it was extremely significant to them, BUT he could have no real power and he could absolutely not present himself as a deity to his constituents, in fact if I remember correctly, he had to announce that to the people of Japan himself. The Navy Officer and US officials knew that if the people stopped viewing him as a God, they would not follow his word so closely. That was a very important outcome of the arrangement to the US government. This is also when it was absolutely outlined in stone that Japan could not have a military force of any kind, only a police force. Other than that they were free to outline the laws in their system. Eventually they agreed on the Constitution of Japan and we agreed that we would leave a Marine base on Okinawa, as well as defend Japan in case of attack in leu of having a military. So the reason the Japanese people don't mind paying for the royal family is because they really preferred it that way, they insisted that the Emperor had to still be part of their government in some way, even if largely ceremonial. It's deeply culturally rooted so you can't answer the question as to WHY without examining that. It has no real roots in finance at all
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Warren buffett once said, if you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.
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The Imperial House recognizes 126 monarchs, beginning with the legendary Emperor Jimmu (traditionally dated to 11 February 660 BC), and continuing up to the current emperor, Naruhito
>Ruled the now 3rd biggest economy for over 1600 years
>Can’t afford to purchase a San Francisco townhouse
For the love of god Californians please stop moving to Texas lmao
Japan's economy wasn't that big until very recently
I think that having an emperor or monarch is a very good idea, it gives the prideful politicians someone they have to lift their head to see.
God bless the Japanese imperial family
Shinzo Abe is Hokage of the Leaf Village Emperor Naruhito is Feudal Lord of The Land of Fire
I can’t agree with what most was said in this video.
Speaking honestly, we could see how this video was made from a western perspective.
There were also some mistakes such as that the emperor is the head of state of Japan, that’s ain’t entirely true. The constitution imposed by the Americans clearly states that the emperor must acts as the symbol of the unity of the people. Nowhere it’s said that he is head of state, even though that the emperor is treated in the same regards as one by everyone.
The title of emperor is not as the same as in the west. My point can be proven by the fact that the ‘emperor’ was referred to as some kind of Pope by the European explorers rather than an actual western ‘emperor’ ragging battles and making political decisions.
It was during the meiji era that the emperor was westernised to become more like his European counterparts.
After ww2, the ‘Emperor’ was restored as in the old days before the Meiji era, as a ceremonial and spiritual leader. Like a Pope.
@How Money Works 3:29 captions say "in nearly three centuries." instead of "in nearly three decades."
I don't know who needs to hear this but stop saving all your money. Invest some of it if you want financial freedom.
Invest in Bitcoin, gold, silver, buy stock, forex market. Anything! Just invest and save yourself.
Good talk! I tell that to my friends everyday. Saving is good investing is much better, I used to think saving money would save me but NO, saving is just keeping it to spend later.
I mean, I see your point. Some people have the money and are willing to invest but the problem is where to
@@martinphillip297 .Sir this is 2021
People who aren't even traders makes money from the stock, crypto and forex markets.
These are platform where you can invest and they trade your money. Then pay you profit either weekly or monthly. That's investing
Japan still has an emperor because it works for them.