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Prime Minister Abe should announce new tax incentives for startups, especially in the renewable energy sector -- batteries, solar, wind and geothermal power. The government should also create a series

7 Comments

Bloomberg columnist William Pesek

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But the Japanese don't have a startup culture. People prefer to work from within established conglomerates and large corporations. Policies like these may be effective in the West, but they aren't likely to be compatible with Japanese culture.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Hey genius, if there's a bunch of safety nets, then they'll be no risk.

Then you'll have wanna-be entrepreneurs making silly inventions, like Bras that change color or the Silent Karaoke mouthpiece.

All paid by the soon to be extinct Japanese taxpayer.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The Abe will have to change the education system, which is designed to create risk-averse automatons for the large companies. During primary school, students are taught to conform, and are not taught crirical thought or debate. In university they are not taught any marketable skill (they are scarcely taught anything at all), making their future completely dependent on getting hired by a large company, and learning a professional skill there.

Next, Japan's culture, and it's very laws discourage and punish failure to the point that most people would rather not bother to start a business. Persons who have gone bankrupt in Japan are stripped of their right to vote, and are considered untouchable by companies if they try to find a job. Banks will never lend money to any person who has had a bankruptcy or other financial troubles.

Lastly, the Japanese market for things like renewable energy is owned entirely by the large comglomerates, who, due to their political connections, will always get any subsidy the government creates. All of the money raised by Abe's current "entrpreneurship" program has ended up being used to bail out floundering Japanese companies, and fund projects headed by existing companies.

You would think William Pesek would know all of this, and not have wasted his time penning such an absurd piece.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Why you be an entrepreneur and then pay 55% tax if you succeed? If you have a good idea, get on a plane to HK, Singapore or Taipei.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Why you be an entrepreneur and then pay 55 per cent tax if you succeed?"

Um... Maybe because you care a little bit about your community and you want your wealth to benefit other people?

But nah.... That would be socialist. Buy another Ferrari and go out and run over some poor folk.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Why you be an entrepreneur and then pay 55% tax if you succeed? If you have a good idea, get on a plane to HK, Singapore or Taipei.

That depends on two things:

1) Does the business have to be in Japan? (if so, no moving to other countries)

2) Does the person want to live in Japan more than those countries?

It's not so cut and dry.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@lucabrasi

Right, because there's no middle ground between 55% taxation and being liberal boogeyman capitalist.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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