I love Japan, really I do, but there are times when I have to shake my head at the lack of competence of the Japanese government. Currently they're preparing to distribute money to consumers to help them deal with the rough economy here, but the stimulus package is turning into an embarrassment for Prime Minister Aso's government as the news reports on the $600 million or so that it will cost in bank transfer fees to send around $130 to each household. Japan is faced with the prospect of an unprecedented decline in the population in the coming decades, yet there's precious little in the way of a plan to deal with the situation and help maintain Japan's economic standing in the world. Japan is a nation addicted to construction, and this time of year you can't go anywhere without running into delays as work crews tear up streets then lay the asphalt surface down again. Instead of building roads that are already pretty much okay, it seems plain to me that money could be better spent to bolster Japan's hospitals, which already suffer from a lack of important staff. (And don't get me started on the road near J-List they started to build, then stopped in the middle of construction, leaving a gravel road that's no one can use and a lot of wasted money.) The lack of support for Mr. Aso's government and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party means a real possibility that the opposition Democratic Party of Japan might win a majority of seats in the next election, which would be disruptive and potentially dangerous for Japan, as the party has only been around in its current form for a decade.
Kirin will be changing the recipe for their flagship beer; Enjoy some "reverse chocolate" from Morinaga
9 comments:
I really don't want to write too long on the things Japan does wrong. It gets to be depressing. (Remember that Japan managed to go from a massive surplus to having a bigger national debt than America in like a decade.)
As depressing as it may get, its good to be informed about what the country is doing wrong.
It can get really annoying if your trying to find information about a country and all your told is about its acheivements, it gives a false impression.
Yes, when everyone was angry about the "bailout" of banks, I was happy. Because what Japan did wrong, which caused it to have the "lost decade," is take like 7-8 years to have the government take over some of the bad debt. America did it in 2-3 months instead, having had the Japan's example to show us what not to do.
Awww please! I would love to hear your opinion on what Japan could have done better. Your writing is sincere and non-judgmental (which is what I love so much about this blog), I'm sure you can pull it off without offending people...pwease?
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Seems to be working, Peter. Keep up the good work!
And you're right about Japan's ridiculously high national debt - now even worse than America's (though I'm confident Obama's spending plans will give Japan a run for the money). What's even sadder is how few Japanese are even aware of the government's debt -- something to do with their conventional wisdom that only foreigners get "loans" and go massively into debt, I think. Thus lacking citizen activists on the issue, the career bureaucrats feel unrestrained and spend at will.
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