Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

One of Japan's biggest problems is its refusal to admit its economic system has failed.

Quote of the Day Nov. 01, 2011 - 06:31AM JST ( 13 )

Time magazine columnist Michael Schuman

Order by Time Order by Popularity

13 Comments

0

seesaw1Nov. 01, 2011 - 07:40AM JST

I fully agree .....and yet Japan survives!
4

GG2141Nov. 01, 2011 - 08:12AM JST

Japan may, one day, be hailed as the masters of zero growth stability. Many economists are mired in the idea that no growth = stagnation = something bad. BUT, what if the situation requires a slow easing of the economy simply because growth would be a forced bubble?? The results of which would be the world economy right now.........for example.

Do you hear worries about Japan's debt cancer threatening the stability of the world economy?? NO, you don't.

And let's not forget that Japan has only recently lost it's crown as No#2 economy to China recently. Japan had kept that title with one tenth the population of China and one third that of the USA for 25 years.
3

badmigraineNov. 01, 2011 - 09:24AM JST

And what countries are the big successes these days?
0

SamuraiBlueNov. 01, 2011 - 10:01AM JST

The present day global economy is like a shark that dies if it stops swimming. Japan may had veered off from that evolution process into becoming a stingray like autonomy where it has enough powers within it's lungs to breath without moving. A better analogy would be that Japanese companies have entered the farming society whilst western nations still cling on to a hunter/gather group relying on moving from one nation to the next for the lowest labor cost possible to maintain profit. Japanese manufacturing relies heavily on automated machines and is constantly investing on renewing them to obtain higher productivity lessening the burden of manual labor. With this approach companies have less constraints in manufacturing cost so the main deciding factor for developing a base of manufacturing is not cost of labor giving them a larger multitude in prioritizing their needs.
1

pawatanNov. 01, 2011 - 10:16AM JST

By what measure? The economy has been 'bad' for 20 years yet here we still are, with a high standard of living, health, and education. Other countries go into recession for a few months and there's talk of crime waves...
1

paulinusaNov. 01, 2011 - 10:41AM JST

"By what measure? The economy has been 'bad' for 20 years yet here we still are, with a high standard of living, health, and education. Other countries go into recession for a few months and there's talk of crime waves..."

But Pawatan, the worry is that the combination of an aging population, loss of manufacturing and especially an enormous debt load will eventually bring Japan to the breaking point. Japan has been living on borrowed time (and money). Can the country continue on this course in the years to come?
3

SquidBertNov. 01, 2011 - 10:53AM JST

Perpetual growth is an illusion.
-2

pawatanNov. 01, 2011 - 11:13AM JST

Japan has been living on borrowed time (and money). Can the country continue on this course in the years to come?

Why not? Why is there a breaking point? What borrowed time? There's only a real problem if you assume constant growth is necessary, but Japan's recent history seems to indicate that it's not necessary.
3

ExportExpertNov. 01, 2011 - 11:55AM JST

Not only has the economic sytem failed, so many other things have failed in Japan, look at the politicians, japan needs to remake itself in so many different ways.
-1

some14someNov. 01, 2011 - 01:04PM JST

"By what measure? The economy has been 'bad' for 20 years yet here we still are, with a high standard of living, health, and education. Other countries go into recession for a few months and there's talk of crime waves..."

you forgot to mention 30,000+ suicides every year ( i have been reading for last 12 years) ...mostly related to economic hardships. high standard of living etc.%? very little and that much percentage you will find in any country.
0
pawatanNov. 01, 2011 - 01:52PM JST

you forgot to mention 30,000+ suicides every year ( i have been reading for last 12 years)

Yes.

mostly related to economic hardships.

Sorry, WHAT? That's crazy. Related to untreated depression, much more likely. South Korea - which by any measure has a very robust economy - has a HIGHER suicide rate than Japan.
- ModeratorNov. 01, 2011 - 01:58PM JST
  
  Back on topic please.
-1

oginomeNov. 06, 2011 - 05:52AM JST

loss of manufacturing

Pardon? Japan's manufacturing industry remains alive and well, despite what some 'experts' would have you believe. Japan still runs up huge trade surpluses. The title should read 'One of the West's biggest problems is its refusal to admit its economic system has failed'. Laizzes-faire, dog-eat-dog capitalism can go die, Japan's government-guided capitalism may be idiosyncratic but it's far preferable to the mess that's left countries like the US and the UK the crime-ridden, fragmented hell holes of the developed world.