
The United States of Japan - kawera
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-united-states-of-japan
======
temp-dude-87844
The author's basic premise stands: Japan has undergone a post-industrial
transition where the sudden prosperity of post-WWII generations was quickly
followed by stagnation of those coming of age later; the shrunken
opportunities afforded to the younger cohort leads them towards idle leisure,
or anxiety-filled corporate drone work. The nature of consumerism has changed:
there's still outward signalling but the goals have coalesced around personal
experiences and fulfillment within an intimate group, as opposed to nebulous
segments of the society at large. This makes for an interesting comparison
with South Korea, where the nature of consumerism has become markedly more
extroverted instead.

The economic and demographic points are fair, but the author tries too hard to
tie elements of Japanese culture in with American trends. Yes, Japanese
animation has mainstream appeal, but not universally. Video games can be
pointed to as the most successful cultural export, but enduring appeal of
Mario, Pokemon, and Link isn't functionally more different than Lego or Barbie
in their respective times. If the world of video games were devoid of the
above, they would be more realistic, more violent, with bleak storytelling and
morally ambiguous characters, as we've seen from typical Western AAA games, so
perhaps ironically, Japan's most influential cultural export is optimist
escapism.

~~~
almostApatriot1
Yes, Japanese culture has filled a gap. If there were more components to
Western Culture outside of America's influence maybe it wouldn't be so
prominent.

But what, culturally, is coming out of Canada, Europe, Australia, South
America, or Asia (outside of Japan)? Not much that is universally appealing.

~~~
jogjayr
Canada's done all right in terms of music exports. I don't even know Western
popular music all that well and I can name Bryan Adams, Shania Twain, Celine
Dion, Justin Bieber, and Drake - I'm sure there's many more.

Hollywood and American TV has a ton of Canadian actors, which reminds me of
the Canadian brain drain article from yesterday - maybe that's not restricted
to tech :-)

"Asia (outside of Japan)" I can only speak to India. I'd say yoga and various
forms of meditation (TM and some others) are pretty big in the West, as is
Indian cuisine. People typecast Bollywood as this exotic industry that churns
out musicals with no kissing scenes (both outdated info) but its exports are
reasonably influential in the Middle East and parts of Africa. But yes
relative to its size, India hasn't had much cultural influence upon the world
in the 20th and 21st centuries.

~~~
jacquesm
Canada: Rush, Alanis Morissette, Nickelback, Saga and 100's of others. Celine
Dion and Justin Bieber are Canadian but having lived in Canada I'd be more
than happy if I never heard them again. And with Bieber I had that feeling
from the first time I heard him, I guess it is to balance the score after
Glenn Gould.

------
khawkins
The economic and demographic points seem to lack perspective in some places
and in others are downright conflicting.

Take the evidence cited about how NEETs make up 10% of young people. However,
the report itself offers one explanation for the numbers. "More than two-
thirds of NEETs, in particular young women, are not actively looking for work.
The NEET gender gap is larger in Japan than in most other OECD countries as
many women in their late 20s withdraw from the labour force to care for
children." People leaving the workforce to pursue homemaking and childrearing
shouldn't be a societal problem if it's done voluntarily.

On the other hand, in the US, unemployment among 16-19 y/o's is around 14% and
among 20-24 y/o's is around 7%. These populations are actively seeking work
and unable to obtain it (and not homemaking), meaning that the number of
"American NEETs" is likely higher than these numbers. The author seems to
suggest that the US is downstream from Japan and that the epidemic of NEET-ism
will only get worse, but if the current numbers are any indication, America's
NEET problem is far worse than Japan's.

But the differences in unemployment between the two countries seem to be
something more systemic. The total unemployment rate in the US has been
roughly double Japan's for the past decade. And of course, it is natural that
younger populations are hit harder by scarcity of jobs because most of them
have little work experience. The author seems to suggest that shifting
cultural trends are causing younger people to increasingly choose a life of
unemployment. But past generations have had this same class of youth, be it
the beatniks of the 60s, hippies of the 70s, or "Jay and Silent Bob"
suburbanites of the 80s and 90s. The primary shift is in how this class is
presenting itself culturally. Many of these people are simply embracing a
lifestyle of joblessness to feel content in the lack of opportunity being
presented.

The author cites a lack of human labor as a source of Japan's societal woes,
but this is a leading contributor to why the country has what the author calls
an "envious" 2.5% unemployment rate. Importing labor en masse from the third
world will inevitably limit opportunities for citizens, especially young
adults who will be competing for entry level jobs. Furthermore, lower class
wages decline, increasing income disparity. The data supports this, Japan has
a significantly lower Gini-coefficient (37.9) than the US (47.0). Indeed,
keeping migration into the country low is not a source of problems, but
instead giving Japan the upper hand on important measures of economic well
being.

~~~
true_religion
NEET is not synonymous with unemployed. It includes people who aren't in
education or training as well. So comparing with the unemployed group in
America, isn't a proper parallel.

You would need to compare to people who are both unemployed and also _not_ in
school.

Hence the unemployment number of 16-19 year old versus NEETS, would be very
skewed as most of those people on those age in the US are legally required to
be attending school thus can't be NEETs.

~~~
tossaway1
Unemployment numbers in the US don't include students.

~~~
dismantlethesun
The US unemployment rate includes students, so long as they were seeking work
at for at least one season of the year.

If you look at it on a month-to-month basis, it is seasonally adjusted, as
students typically seek work during the summer [1].

If you look at it, the unemployment rate for 16 year old's is incredibly high
---at ~16% [2]. These people like OP said, are nearly universally in schooling
and would not be counted as NEETs.

I can't say though how the NEET score is calculated in Japan. If it is so
strict as to only include people who have never held a job, education, or
training of any kind during the year then it can't be compared to _any_
unemployment statistic as those would typically drop someone if they worked
once or gave up.

Either ways, comparing it is bad---which is what the grand-poster is getting
at, so I think we all agree.

[1]
[https://www.bls.gov/news.release/youth.nr0.htm](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/youth.nr0.htm)

[2]
[https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea10.htm](https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea10.htm)

------
jonathanyc
A lot more profound than I expected from the title. I recommend reading it if
you’ve skipped to the comments :)

I was particularly impressed by the comparison the author drew between aspects
of Japanese youth culture that developed during the Lost Decade and aspects of
“millennial” culture today in the US. I would be interested to see if anyone
has developed that further.

~~~
baxtr
I have traveled the world quite a bit, and lately, my impression is: people
and cultures are becoming and more similar, probably due to things like social
networks that work as amplifier for (mainly western) culture.

What I observe:

\- people dressing/styling similar

\- same food

\- same large retail chains

\- music sounds similar (except for the language)

\- same TV shows

\- everybody looking at their smartphones all the time

~~~
karthikb
Social networks, but also automated manufacturing and cheap shipping around
the world.

------
jmadsen
This isn't really the main point of his article, but he glosses over one very
important point about young people & the work ethic today:

People who get labelled as "freeters" aren't necessarily bouncing from job to
job voluntarily. For decades Japanese corporations were labor-heavy because of
life-time employment. When the bubble burst, they broke that unspoken promise
and shed themselves of thousands of workers.

When things picked up again, instead of returning to that previous promise,
they hired temporary workers. No benefits, no annual pay raises or twice a
year bonuses, etc. (And no loyalty from these workers)

The Japanese corporate system is set up that you are hired after college at a
low salary, but you are guaranteed a steady climb until you can retire
comfortably in the end. The corporations pulled the rug out from under that
system.

So you now have many young people who have been fully employed at MegaCorp for
3 years, but on a contract basis, never knowing when it will end, never
getting a decent raise...

If you read newspaper and magazine articles here you realize there is an
enormous sense of insecurity among the 20 to 30 year age group; and so they
are unwilling to take risks, get married, buy homes, etc. People are
retreating into themselves.

It would make sense that that is linked to minimalism - or at least, a reduced
consumerism - but that would only be my own speculation.

~~~
tokyodude
Let me add that low-salary that rises is still low.

My Japanese teacher 20 years ago bragged that Japanese CEOs don't make
obscenely more money than their employees. I countered that western CEOs may
make more but they also pay their employees far far more and generally don't
making their employees work 10am to 11pm 5+ days a week.

I'm my particular field I halved my salary to come to Japan and tripled it
going back to the USA. Even funnier I was working for a Japanese company in
the USA. I worked for 2 large Japanese companies (one with 4000+ people. The
other with 300,000+ people). Both had limits of ~$60k a year set by the HR
department no matter how much experience. That's less than interns make at
Google USA. A typical engineer out of school makes around $20k a year at a
Japanese company.

Here's some data on average yearly salaries by job type in Japan

[https://doda.jp/guide/heikin/gyousyu/](https://doda.jp/guide/heikin/gyousyu/)

Here's a page from Sony's job info showing starting salary at $2.5k a month or
$30k a year

[https://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/Jobs/careers/info/detail.htm...](https://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/Jobs/careers/info/detail.html)

Random ad for C programmer for device drivers at Panasonic. $52k a year.

[https://persol-
hrpartners.co.jp/tech/SB070200/orderSearch?or...](https://persol-
hrpartners.co.jp/tech/SB070200/orderSearch?orderNo=20347369&banner_id=ade1282)

In fact even more evidence, if you go to Indeed.jp (a job listing site) the
settings for salary top out at $60k a year.

Add to that age discrimination (expected age is often in the job listing)

------
aerophilic
It is an interesting thing to contemplate, how there really are “leading” and
“trailing” cultural activities. I noticed this in Australia how culturally,
they were about a decade behind the US (this is not a snipe, just an
observation on cultural norms). It is interesting to think that the US is
culturally behind Japan. It leads me to wonder if that really will be our
future as well, will we go through two lost decades? I fear we very well may
do so. There at some point needs to be some method for dealing with the
crushing amount of debt the US has collectively accumulated, and with internal
“growth” so low (low birth rates as pointed out by the author). I see there
eventually being no other choice than some sort of devaluing of currency to
relieve the debt situation. The question is, what happens then? Do we go
through a period of economic stagnation? If so, what happens to those “left
behind”?

~~~
panarky
_> will we go through two lost decades?_

Growth rates in US and Japan are remarkably similar.

[https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&...](https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_kd_zg&hl=en&dl=en#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_kd_zg&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=country&idim=country:USA:JPN&ifdim=country&hl=en_US&dl=en&ind=false)

 _> the crushing amount of debt the US has collectively accumulated_

The US has far less debt than Japan.

[https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/government-
debt-t...](https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/government-debt-to-gdp)

[https://tradingeconomics.com/japan/government-debt-to-
gdp](https://tradingeconomics.com/japan/government-debt-to-gdp)

~~~
digi_owl
Wrong debt. The problem for Japan is the amount of household debt that was
accumulated during the 80s (Most of it, as with USA, Australia, and a bunch of
other nations, went into housing). This put a hard clamp on domestic
consumption. Only being a strong export nation has alleviated the problem
until recent years, where SK and China has undercut Japan.

------
kaycebasques
> "A drop in fertility is virtually a defining trait of industrialized
> economies. This isn't a bug; it’s a feature."

Interesting to see programming terminology in a New Yorker article that
doesn't seem particularly targeted towards a tech audience.

------
majos
> [W]e're all otaku now.

Are we? Perhaps this is true for the people that write _New Yorker_ articles,
and a big chunk of those who read them, but from what I can tell most average
Americans use Facebook, play basic app games, watch popular movies, and
occasionally read a best-selling book. I don't see or hear about much
cultivation of deep, obsessive, specific cultural interests.

~~~
wrinkl3
Aren't the American otaku basically just nerds? Their "deep, obsessive,
specific cultural interests" would be things like DnD, MtG, science fiction
and comic books, and their stereotype probably predates the otaku by a few
decades.

~~~
fireattack
The original meaning of Otaku is almost identical to "nerd" IMO.

~~~
rangibaby
Otaku (lit. “home”)

The word comes from otaku spending more time at home on their hobby than
hanging out with their friends, which encompasses things that would be called
enthusiast or freak in English too.

~~~
GolDDranks
That's not true. The word otaku, while it originally means "your home", is
used as a polite second person pronoun; "you". When used by men in their 20s
it can be considered as too polite, to the effect that it sounds something
that a socially awkward people would use. There's some other forms of "otaku
speak": using the honorfic "shi" (氏) instead of the commonplace "san". This,
too, sounds too formal, and thus awkward.

The word "otaku" to refer nerds was coined by the writer Akio Nakamori in his
essays, who used the word to refer to nerdy young males who used awkward
language like that.

------
coldtea
> _Stripped down to its most minimalist outlines (an approach that Kondo would
> surely approve), a life of uncluttered simplicity represents a fantasy._

What part of it "represents a fantasy"?

It's rather the idea of becoming eventually rich while piling on debt
consuming all kinds of crap that's, statistically a fantasy. As in
statistically most don't ever get to that.

------
SlowRobotAhead
Not at all related to the article, but visiting Tokyo, it was immediately
interesting to me just how similar to NYC it was. The feel was very New York,
except stores close much earlier on par with the rest of Asia. And no one has
ever seems to have heard of a suit that isn’t black.

A lot of difference of course, but overall it very much felt like New York to
me.

As to the article, no doubt that the world is getting smaller. Good and bad.

~~~
ksec
>The feel was very New York, except stores close much earlier on par with the
rest of Asia.

Closer much earlier? What time do NY stores closes at?

~~~
hodlbtc
Depends on the store of course, but many just don't close, or else stay open
far later than the rest of the U.S. -- it would be pretty reasonable to go out
at midnight and expect to be able to grab icecream, for instance.

~~~
SlowRobotAhead
Exactly. There are lots of 7-11s in Asia that are 24hr but most stores close
early and don’t open again until 10am typically. Compared to NYC where you
might find a 24hr pet store.

I did however find the best sushi I’ve had in my life at 1am in Tokyo near a
fish market. It’s damn near ruined me on sushi. So the concept of 24hr or open
late isn’t unheard of, but most places are closed by 10pm.

------
torstenvl
I have trouble getting any value from this article, which seems relatively
devoid of pertinent facts.

The author wants to claim "Japanization" of America after the Great Recession
because of a reduced fertility rate and an emphasis on the experience economy.

But, although he notes that fertility declines are a mark of industrialized
nations, he fails to adequately compare the U.S. phenomenon to other
countries, to compare and contrast those relationships with the relationship
between the U.S. and Japan. In brief: the author presents _no_ cogent argument
as to why this is Japanization rather than, say, Frenchification (the French
are notoriously anti-materialistic, preferring travel and cuisine to
accumulating junk).

This New Yorker article appears to be nothing more than a blog post detailing
some personal interpretive lens with no new information or analysis.

~~~
temp-dude-87844
The author doesn't make a compelling case at all, and instead correlates the
general trend of post-industrial transition to elements of Japanese culture
and sensibilities gaining appeal with younger generations in the US. That may
be so, but it's doubtful the US can even undergo the same kind of transition
as Japan.

Inequality in Japan -- although on the rise -- is famously low, and the income
disparity between people with low educational attainment and high educational
attainment is not drastic. Taxes on the rich are high, and inheritance taxes
also, making it difficult to accumulate and retain large amounts of wealth
through multiple generations, which keeps inequality lower. The US has higher
levels of inequality, and incomes correlate with a number of confounding
factors that amount to structural stratification that's difficult to overcome.
Egalitarian stagnation of young generations, kept orderly by generous
government safety nets, a process that could easily take place in Japan, or
Denmark, or a hypothetical post-boom Qatar, could hardly happen in the US.

~~~
torstenvl
Yeah, there are a number of ways that superficially similar phenomena are
radically different between the two.

For one, American life delays are heavily attributable to economic uncertainty
about basic needs like healthcare, whereas Japan has a healthy social safety
net (related to your point about income equality and tax structure).

Effective fertility rate in particular is also radically different. As the
author of the OP article points out, Japanese youth are delaying relationships
and sex. In America, however, as in most other industrialized countries, the
declining birthrate is mostly attributable to birth control, not abstinence.

~~~
stuartaxelowen
The social safety net here in Japan is amazing, but the stigma of relying on
it is so high that utilization by those most in need is very low, and that
taking risks that could potentially lead to needing to utilize it are strongly
avoided (among other social reasons for low risk taking).

------
dragontamer
The USA and Japan have a very strange relationship.

As far as Asian countries are concerned, Japan has fewer immigrants to the USA
than Philippines, China, Vietnam, Korea, and India. But Japan sticks out
despite the relatively low migration rate.

* The USA in general does have a sense of "the importance of the foreigner" or outsider. Foreigners invite new thought, new culture, and new experiences.

* Japan seems to make an ideal outsider. They're physically on the other side of the world. Their history is basically isolated from "The West" for hundreds, or even thousands of years.

* Yet, with all of that, modern Japan has integrated very finely into the culture of the West. Japanese brands are well-liked (Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Mazda). And as far as I can tell, Japan also likes a number of USA brands (KFC, Pizza Hut, 7-11, Disney, Levi Jeans, McDonalds, Star Wars).

* The media empire of Japan (not movies necessarily, but Japanese anime and Japanese video games, which are popular in the USA) has a lot of synergistic play / counterplay with USA. For example, the "RPG" genre has been shaped by both cultures heavily. While the USA can claim the big-daddy Dungeons and Dragons, as well as Rogue, Diablo, Bauldur's Gate (Canada, but still "Western"), World of Warcraft, and Skyrim... Japan has the Final Fantasy series, Dragon Quest, Legend of Zelda (including Breath of the Wild). There's a lot of influence and synergy between the "JRPG" and "WRPG" genres.

In short: Japanese culture is both familiar and foreign.

Cowboy Bebop is perhaps the best example of what I'm going for. Its a hardcore
scifi space opera filled with Jazz: the American-influence on the anime cannot
be ignored. But its still an anime with big eyes and the unique "Japanese"
drawing style.

The familiarity allows American audiences a degree of comfort, while the
Japanese tropes entice us with their exoticness. Its both familiar and
different.

And from my understanding: the opposite occurs in Japan. The Jazz and
"Americanisms" in the anime are designed to give a bit of an exotic feel for
Japanese audiences and entice them. While the Anime tropes are there to give
them familiarity.

And that's why its synergy. Familiar to us is exotic for them, and vice versa.

\--------

EDIT: And then there's "Power Rangers", the weirdest thing to ever happen
between the USA and Japan. Its neither fully American nor fully Japanese. Its
clearly "Super Sentai" footage, but the "American Parts" with Johnny /
Kimberly / Jason are still core to the series.

Its not just "Power Rangers" either. Transformers, and Sonic. Sonic is a Sega-
owned video game character... but a lot of the animation was...
American/France. How's that for a change? Outside of the "Sonic X" anime---
Sonic SatAM, The Adventures of Sonic, Sonic Underground, and Sonic Boom are
all primarily animated in the West. With the comics done by Archie.

~~~
IkmoIkmo
All I can say is, welcome to globalisation. As another comment pointed out,
the author hasn't really made the case what's so terribly unique about Japan's
influence on the US and vice versa.

Europe has tons of integration with the US, too. J-Pop has their equivalence
in a whole range of British or French artists, Mazda has their equivalent in
BMW, Sega in Rovio etc. And Europe has similar links with the Japan as the US
does with Japan.

Just looks like ordinary globalisation to me.

~~~
dragontamer
> Europe has tons of integration with the US, too.

But that's easy to see why. Europe and USA's history goes back to the
beginning of the USA's existence. Various European countries (France, Britain,
Spain) were colonizing huge parts of what eventually became USA territory in
the 1800s. And the original 13-states themselves were a set of British
colonies.

That, the language-similarities, the religious similarities (historically
Christian)... its no surprise that USA / Britain / France get along today.
There's so much that's deeply in common that friendship is almost natural.

The Japanese / USA relationship (and Japanese / European relationship) is
unique in that there's no colonial, language or religious relationship between
the countries. Japan was never a colony of a great European Power, Japan never
really converted to Christianity, Japan never adopted the language of
Europeans.

So the very fact that a close relationship could be forged at all should be a
surprise!

~~~
IkmoIkmo
You're partly missing the point. It's not just about US vis a vis Japan and US
vis a vis the EU... it's that the US/Japan relationship isn't radically
different from the EU/Japan relationship, or in fact any two highly developed
globalised countries.

~~~
mistermann
The US serves as Japan's military, which is not an unimportant difference.

------
jmadsen
Off Topic - I do wish magazines that exist for long form articles would build
the page so you could use the space bar to advance without covering the top
lines with their navbar.

I don't sit and relax with long form story on a Sunday morning on my phone

------
sureaboutthis
As one who lives on the internet for work, I have never heard of any of the
things mentioned at the beginning of the article which makes me suspicious of
its foundation. Years ago, we heard of Japan taking over all of technology due
to their innovation and we see how well that went.

It is the USA with the biggest influence on the world, not the other way
around, especially short-term fads like those mentioned in this article.

------
bobthechef
I've heard one interesting hypothesis concerning the paradox that the poor
tend to have more children than the rich. You would typically expect the
reverse. The poor, unable to provide for more children, should have fewer.
And, according to this hypothesis, that's what is typically the case
historically. The major cause for the reversal is the consumerist ethos. Those
with more money choose to spend it on things rather than children because when
"keeping up with the Jones'" consumerist values are in play, having a child is
a relative loss. You are much better off buying more stuff.

------
jkcorrea
> "[...] there is little in the way of the internecine strife rending
> America’s public discourse at the moment. What keeps Japan from flying
> apart, in the face of ongoing political, economic, and demographic
> uncertainty? A standardized national curriculum that insures a shared level
> of basic educational experience? An egalitarian pay ethic, with far less
> income disparity than there is in the U.S.? A refreshing lack of a 24/7 news
> cycle or televised punditry?"

The author is trying way too hard here to push their American political
agenda. Are they implying that e.g. if we suddenly had an equitable education
system our nation would suddenly be at peace?

What keeps Japan from flying apart in the face of uncertainty? I doubt the
author would ever admit it as it's not very politically correct (and doesn't
fit their agenda), but, before all the superficial options the author
proposes, the homogeneous society in Japan is the number one thing keeping
their societal fabric strong. Conversely, the heterogeneity of America is a
big factor making our situation so tumultuous.

I'm an American currently working in Japan. Japan is awesome, and each day I
witness cultural customs or processes that just wouldn't work in the US - and
I think in large part it's due to nearly everyone being Japanese and raised
with the same values. That's not to say I think America would be better off as
a homogeneous society either; America is great in many other ways because of
its incredible diversity, though it means we have challenges no other nation
has had to face before.

But to ignore the role of diversity (or lack thereof) in the strength of bonds
in a society is dishonest and misleading.

Side note: as an expat in Tokyo, I often feel bad for simply existing there. I
try to conform to all the cultural norms here, but sometimes its hard to, and
I know there are many expats who simply don't care to try at all, and I feel
like this is slowly leading to the demise of an awesome aspect of Japanese
culture. Indeed the neighborhood I live in, which is the expat neighborhood
Roppongi, already seems to have lost some of the Japanese charm - with dirtier
streets, rude people, expats being loud on the subway. Most people lock their
bikes in this neighborhood now and a friend couldn't find their phone after
dropping it at a bar the other day here (almost never happens in Japan - your
lost stuff is either where you left it or taped to a nearby wall so you can
easily find it). Purely anecdotal but, as I said above, I think the more
heterogeneous Japan becomes the more of this culture we take for granted will
be eroded.

~~~
Daido_M
I think this is one of the most significant reasons why Japan is the way it
is, but one of the most ignored. It's difficult, in today's political climate,
to accept that maybe immigration and diversity aren't always good things.

I hope Japan stays the way it is for a long time more.

------
jbrambleDC
Maybe I am wrong, but I have always perceived that the influence of Japanese
culture on America is no longer as strong as it was in the 90s and early 00s.
That could be my childhood bias though.

~~~
krapp
Japanese pop culture (specifically, anime and video games) seems to have
become more mainstream in the US across various demographics, likely due to
the web and streaming services like Crunchyroll and obviously video games, but
also because the generation that held it as a cultural niche has grown up and
become the standard bearers for current American culture.

Mainstream pop and rap artists are making anime references in their music now,
and plenty of modern animation and movies making nods to it, even adopting the
anime aesthetic (like Avatar, Teen Titans and RWBY.)

------
MattyRad
An interesting opinion. If true, the future holds interesting problems, and I
liked that it noted that there are worse things for a society than calmly
growing old together.

And as an aside, I find myself very willing to click on any HN submissions
linking to the New Yorker. It's website is usually clean, minimal, and seems
genuinely intent on conveying an intelligent message to the reader, which is a
breathe of fresh air as clickbait and sensationalism seems to only be growing.

------
Arkaad
>A suicide rate that is one of the highest among industrialized nations.

Please stop saying that. Japan's suicide rate is on the decline and not that
high.

------
ucontrol
>We don’t buy into Kondo’s life-changing magic just because we think Japan is
cool; we also buy because our country is, in many ways, increasingly like
Japan.

On point.

------
profalseidol
Hey, is this related to Code Geass?

------
dogruck
This article is written from the viewpoint of the US urban dweller.

------
sillysaurus3
(All hail Lelouch.)

------
knuththetruth
This is what happens when you write an article about Japan without having any
particular understanding of history.

The future of America won’t look anything like Japan because America is not a
far flung outpost of an empire in decline. It’s the center of that declining
empire. The circumstances of globalized Capitalism do create superficial
“cultural” similarities, but if you want to understand the fate of America,
you’re better off looking at the current state of countries that were the
former the rulers of the Ottoman, British, or Soviet empires. Great Britain
became more Indian in the wake of losing its empire as well, but it wasn’t
anything like this article describes.

~~~
jonathanyc
What empire in decline is Japan (or the US) a far flung outpost of, exactly?
Japan has about the same population as Britain and France combined, and
America has twice that.

I’m also not sure how Britain is relevant here. I think you have might have an
interesting point but I can’t see it right now.

~~~
knuththetruth
Japan is a far flung outpost of the American empire and has been so for its
entire post-War history. The occupation forces arrived at a tacit agreement
with the former imperial rulers that they could remain in power, so long as
they served American interests in the region. This is why Japan received
favored status politically and economically over Korea (who were indeed even
forced to purchase goods and services from their former colonial oppressors to
prop up Japan’s economy).

Something like de-Nazification never happened in Japan. This is who comprised
Japan’s Conservative party when the post-War democracy was founded and still
comprises it today. Abe Shinzo is the grandson of the former prime minister
Nobusuke Kishi, who was nicknamed “America’s Favorite War Criminal.”

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi)

~~~
literallycancer
I don't really know that guy or care about him, but the page doesn't look very
well written. There are grammar mistakes and opinions presented as a fact in
more than a few places.

~~~
knuththetruth
>I don't really know that guy or care about him

Then why bother commenting?

Here’s the same info from a non-Wikipedia source, hopefully meeting your
grammatical standards:

[http://www.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp11.html](http://www.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp11.html)

------
pishpash
This article has a bit of truth and a provocative thesis but with a few
notable exceptions it becomes more and more contrived as it winds on. Most
egregiously it tries too hard to tie unique Japanese cultural phenomena which
can be explained in other ways to universals that don't exist.

------
almostApatriot1
>Another societal struggle that Japan was one of the first developed countries
to encounter can be seen on the opposite end of the age spectrum, in its large
population of unemployed young men and women. A report from 2017 revealed
that, in 2015, there are some 1.7 million of them, a full ten per cent of
those between the ages of fifteen and twenty-nine—a shocking number, given
that Japan’s unemployment rate is an enviable 2.5 per cent. Officially, Japan
calls these people NEETs (“not in education, employment, or training”) and
“freeters” (temps who drift among various short-term jobs). The press has
other, less generous terms for them, including “parasite singles” and
“herbivore men.” In the early aughts, journalists spilled a great deal of ink
on the herbivores’ seemingly unique lack of interest in moving out, getting
married, or finding a girlfriend.

It's telling that the author starts out his hitjob on NEETS as stating they're
both officially men and women, and finishing with the implication that they're
actually all men.

I'd expect better editing from The New Yorker!

------
Nadya
>Tellingly, the Japanese have a slang term for people like this: otaku.
Literally meaning “one’s home,” the word emerged in the early eighties as
slang for young adults who eschewed normal relationships in favor of the
virtual worlds of manga, anime, and early video games.

It's hard taking an article seriously when it's wrong on such a basic fact
like this. It comes off as someone who has no idea what they're talking about
trying to make connections between things to sound informed and enlightening
on a subject. Especially when all you need to do is read the wiki article [0].
The word is closer to "geek". How would 銃オタク (gun otaku) fit under the media
umbrella of manga, anime, or video games?

[0]
[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8A%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8F](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8A%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8F)

~~~
yborg
The author of the article is a professional translator that has lived in Japan
for 15 years. It's hard taking this criticism seriously when your authority
here is Wikipedia as opposed to living in-country for a decade and a half.

His statement was in reference to the origin of the term, whose meaning has
evolved over the years. Wiki isn't wrong, but neither is the author.

