https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63830490

The above is a link to a BBC article titles “Japan was the future but it’s stuck in the past.” I posted it to give a comment on it.

     Having lived in Japan for almost 2 decades I have seen a lot of the county’s ups and downs. It hasn`t always been an easy ride. For one thing my salary hasn`t risen in over 15 years but neither has my rent. I am still paying the same price I paid when I first moved to this country and that is so unlike Canada where both would increase year on year. 

    On to the question. Is Japan stuck in the past? I would have to say no and yes. 

    No. Technology has improved year on year in this country and they are on the cusp of developing even further innovations. Advances in food, heating and basic lifestyle technology continues faster than back home. I can go to my local clothing store, buy very warm clothing often called Heat-tech easily and cheaply. My internet speeds rival most of what I hear on the internet and I have an unlimited cap which is very cheap through the local TV company. 

    However all of this is limited to stuff. Politically, culturally, and socially they are still stuck in the past. ‘Nomi communication’ or the art of forming business alliances through beer is largely gone because of Covid 19 but it hasn’t disappeared. In addition as I mentioned my salary hasn’t risen in over 10 years but then neither have the prices. When I first came here one manga was about 420 yen. Today the same manga is about 450 yen. Some have risen, the least popular ones but many still are very cheap. 

     Back home in Canada most families have to be duo-income to afford to survive. Here the dream of the stay at home housewife is still quite strong. There is a patriarchal sense that the husband should make all the money and the wife support him. In fact tax laws usually punish the second income person by forcing people into a higher tax bracket. That is changing but often the wife works a small part time job to get some spending money in the past now to pay for their children’s education. 

     Education is very important in this country but it is only mandatory up until junior high school. After that it is optional. Most families send their kids to some sort of school because if they don’t the social stigma is quite huge. Private schools are out of the range of most low income families but they are the most popular. To get into either public or private schools you have to take a test and upon passing you have to spend your 3 years in an old building with outdated equipment if it’s public, and modern technology if it’s the cream of the private. In addition cram schools to force memorization of facts and numbers are necessary for passing the test not innovation or how well you can argue your position.

     So going back I agree that Japan is stuck in the past and it looks like there is no getting out of it. The current government wants to raise salaries, but so did Abe’s government. It didn’t work then and probably won’t happen now. Cronyism where a government employee retires and moves into a cushy position with the companies he used to oversee is still there and isn’t going away. 

      The future will probably have robots taking care of elderly people in packed retirement homes in the dead and empty communities where nobody else lives. The big cities will become technologically advanced and ultra convenient but the dream of returning to the countryside and spending their retirement in peaceful farming will continue for a while.

     To become competitive in the future Japan will have to build a new way of life. That will be difficult for a country so rooted in the past but it must be done.