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True anywhere, and particularly Japan, since they are very concerned with their image.
For me this story puts the spotlight on emerging ugliness in developed countries as people in the economic orders below the 1% feel the bite of deleveraging.
I can only imagine how much worse it is going to get. Think about what the mood in Japan will become as the fiscal situation worsens, as it must, and pressure on the yen drives it way down.
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
I believe there is an 'ugliness component' in most developed countries: a certain portion (usually small) of the population are xenophobic, and believe that anyone foreign potentially looking to settle in their country represent a threat.
This attitude normally stems from ignorance. Probably from not having travelled or lived abroad, as well as from the inability to appreciate that humanity has always been a melting pot whether people like it or not. Think about the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago, and all the other invasions that pre-date and followed that.
Japan may be a bit of an exception to this rule. To be honest I see Japan as an exception to many rules (from a positive stance), but then again I have a Western point of view.
I have also noticed that most xenophobes appear to be close descendants of immigrant people. It is not unusual that children of immigrants tend to be the most nationalistic. Talk about irony...
I don't follow Japan's economic situation closely. Maybe I should. I only know that they implemented QQE and that's it. By the sound of what you say things aren't looking too rosy though.
It's all about the economy. Those at the top are doing great, Abenomics has been great for people who drive luxury imports.
But the vast majority of workers are crowded out of the prosperity, do not have job security, pressure on wages and forced overtime for no pay.
Seniors are seeing pensions and benefits cut and their investments and savings get almost no return.
The college educated young are working part time minimum wage jobs.
There are a ton of small business owners like me, and we are under a hell of a lot of pressure from customers to cut rates. It's a race to the bottom.
To top it all off there is a gloomy overhang of fear over the debt burden and demographics. The fiscal situation, most people are unaware of, but basically half the government budget has to be borrowed, and half of tax income has to go to pay interest on the debt. So, it's a scary situation full of dread.
Yes, and the Japanese may be leading the way in this.
One of the most disturbing aspect of this is that the entire system is structured on the assumption of expanding demographics. But that assumption has been invalid for more than 20 years and there has been little or no readjustment of the system or expectations. Even more entitlements have been ratcheted into place.
Meanwhile, the demographic death spiral is now on the verge of getting much worse than predicted. This is because there millenials who are outside of the top economic tier cannot afford to marry and set up households. I was talking with a barista girl the other day, 28 years old, living in the parents' home with her two elder sisters who are in their 30's. These 3 girls are all attractive, accomplished, chaste and well brought up -- and they cannot find suitors.
Those young people that do go ahead and venture to marry do not have the confidence economically to have kids, because salaries are suppressed.
The Japanese are quite insular. Racism isn't unusual there but the younger generations are going to change the country because many have little interest in being 'robots' like some of the older generations.
They are free thinkers and they haven't brought into the "Japanese superiority" story.
I was on holiday for a week. I say that because being able to distance myself from the thread gave me time to consider this: to me Japan is a very special place. I love going back there every time.
If (and I'm stressing if) there is a tendency for some or even the large majority of Japanese people to be insular, isn't perhaps part of what makes Japan what it is today?
I realise me saying that may sound like I am endorsing nationalism and suggesting people should not migrate from one place to another. Not the case at all.
Having said that, I want to stress I have only been to Japan as a tourist, so my view of it may be idyllic.