Imagine a nation swept up in a frenzy, where families rushed to buy homes, convinced property was the safest bet around. Young couples took on towering mortgages, retirees drained pensions to invest in “sure-thing” real estate, and banks handed out loans as if prosperity were endless. - sounds a lot like Australia today...
Its complex - arguably the Plaza Accord started it - national hubris / pride / delusions of pre-eminance leading to very poor financial decisions (e.g. buying trophy real estate in other countries at way above value during the bubble) - accounting regulations (particularly consolidation accounting) - rolling over bad loans to make them 'good' again - as you point out, civil works that don't justify the cost through their utility - probably worst of all, the social dynamic between entitled old and the apathetic young (esp. the herbivores) who are collectively sewing the seeds of their own misery in old age - extreme bureaucracy for bureaucracy 's sake with built in assumptions that no longer / never did apply - not heeding Kissinger's observation regarding keeping friendly relations with the US rather than acting in one's own best interests - poor adoption of internationally accepted language which hindered the ability to digitise as the next step beyond precision machinery (Walkman etc) - damn hard to do business in Japan (can't easily get an address without a phone which requires an address and bank account, which you can't get in the first 6 months of living there - well not without bending rules) - education system that doesn't encourage critical thinking.
That mentioned, to me Japan is a wonderful place, and people I know are generous and thoughtful to a fault. I have committed to it being my home - the land of contradictions - with no regrets - I'll remain until the end...
Imagine a nation swept up in a frenzy, where families rushed to buy homes, convinced property was the safest bet around. Young couples took on towering mortgages, retirees drained pensions to invest in “sure-thing” real estate, and banks handed out loans as if prosperity were endless. - sounds a lot like Australia today...
Its complex - arguably the Plaza Accord started it - national hubris / pride / delusions of pre-eminance leading to very poor financial decisions (e.g. buying trophy real estate in other countries at way above value during the bubble) - accounting regulations (particularly consolidation accounting) - rolling over bad loans to make them 'good' again - as you point out, civil works that don't justify the cost through their utility - probably worst of all, the social dynamic between entitled old and the apathetic young (esp. the herbivores) who are collectively sewing the seeds of their own misery in old age - extreme bureaucracy for bureaucracy 's sake with built in assumptions that no longer / never did apply - not heeding Kissinger's observation regarding keeping friendly relations with the US rather than acting in one's own best interests - poor adoption of internationally accepted language which hindered the ability to digitise as the next step beyond precision machinery (Walkman etc) - damn hard to do business in Japan (can't easily get an address without a phone which requires an address and bank account, which you can't get in the first 6 months of living there - well not without bending rules) - education system that doesn't encourage critical thinking.
That mentioned, to me Japan is a wonderful place, and people I know are generous and thoughtful to a fault. I have committed to it being my home - the land of contradictions - with no regrets - I'll remain until the end...