• Rupert Wingfield-Hayes’ farewell essay paints a picture of Japan as a stagnant and static society, but this is inaccurate.
• Japan has changed in important and highly visible ways, such as its built environment, fertility rate, immigration policy, and role of women in the workforce.
• Gerontocracy is a major problem in Japan, both politically and corporately, and low-productivity menial jobs are a big reason why Japanese people earn such low and stagnant wages.
• Japan’s depreciating real estate is actually a strength, as it allows for dense development and frees up household cash to be put into stocks and bonds.
• Japan has done better in terms of housing policy, construction, landscaping and urbanism than just about any country in the West, and its fertility rate is higher than any other developed East Asian country.
• Immigration policy has changed substantially in the past decade, and the number of foreign-born workers in Japan has doubled.
• The percentage of women in corporate management has increased from 11% to 15%, and Japan’s female employment rate now exceeds America’s.
• Westerners should not essentialize Japan, as this will prevent them from offering the country outside perspectives that could help it solve its very real problems.
Published January 24, 2023
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