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For some people, the existence of a parallel system with significant differences that works very well for the people who live in it is the source of fascination.



Don't think much evidence is provided that it's working very well for them. Certainly it worked better in the 80s. Having to work with low pay to support a giant population of elderly people is not a great economic position.


> Certainly it worked better in the 80s.

This is such an American/Chinese perspective. Both countries where the growth and promising future gets people excited. You are being dazzled by the growth and bubble. Bubble era Japan indeed had that same appeal.

In 1980s Japan young families were worried about ever being able to afford homes. Land and houses had been exploding in price since the 1970s. Yes everyone felt they were getting rich, but assets went up in price faster than wages.

Japan now is indeed the anti-thesis to the bubble era you are glamourizing yes. Now homes are affordable. Jobs plentiful. Overtime has decreased massively. The 1980s had overtime common which would be illegal now. Train lines are plentiful. The bullet train network built, and paid for. You can get a taxi ride at anytime without the need to bribe drivers.

The flash and dazzle of the bubble was fake. The practical affordability and livability of Japan now is real.


Japan somehow has an unemployment rate of 2.5% and barely any wage inflation. They do everything right, it's clean and safe, and yet they're time and money poor and earn less than the UK.

Also I don't think the Shinkansen is doing that well atm… it's mostly for business trips, since it's pretty expensive to use, and those are down a lot since we all discovered Zoom calls.


The reason it’s so clean and safe is that everyone is paid so little. So many positions can be filled.


> "The 1980s had overtime common which would be illegal now."

Despite being illegal, it's seemingly still quite common: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_company_(Japanese_term)


Well, can you ever really solve societal ills like this or just move the needle?

It’s not as if our war on drugs has solved the problem.




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