They got overtaken by Germany a country with 50% lower population and the gap is widening. Their gdp per capita is below some Eastern European countries and way below other developed countries that used to have similar gdp per capita. Yen’s devaluation is getting faster so in the future I don’t think Japan can even be called a first world country anymore. What exactly caused this? I know Japan has been in recession since the early 90s but this last few years seem to be extra harsh on Japan
In: Economics
Something important to bear in mind:
Numbers don’t tell you everything. If you actually visit Japan, you’ll find it to be very affluent, functional with very low levels of poverty. On paper Japan might seem poorer then the USA, but guess which country has good public toilets?
Personally, I think the root cause of most of Japan’s problems is population aging. Aging means less of the population works. Aging means most companies are dominated by conservative hide-bound geriatrics. Japan is not an inherently conservative place, and historically was a place that embraced change (just look at how much Japan changed between 1870 and 1970). The problem is that over time Japan’s leadership lost it’s forward thinking outlook and instead became conservative. It can happen anywhere, and we can see it happening in western countries as well as our population ages.
In 1950 the median age in Japan was 22 years old. Today it’s 48. Should it surprise you that old people are conservative and resistant to change, and a country where half of the population is middle aged or older is set in it’s ways?
In the USA, in 1950 the median age was ~30 and today it’s 38. The USA has a younger population, is it surprising that there’s more new ideas?
Latest Answers