
Make Way for Japan - pg
http://www.american.com/archive/2007/july-august-magazine-contents/make-way-for-japan
======
bilbo0s
"the Bank of Japan had lowered interest rates to zero . . ."

The article goes on to say . . .

"The list goes on. Bank lending is on the rise;"

I should think so.

How is this a good thing? To have the second largest economy on the globe
giving away currency that is, for all intents and purposes, free? If China
were engaging in this same behavior I can assure you the calls for retaliation
coming from the financial centers of the US would be quite deafening.

It would take a great deal of time for me to explain this so if you will
indulge me, and simply 'take my word for it', I will affirm to you that this
state of affairs is sub-optimal for you and I. Assuming, of course, that my
audience is composed primarily of non-Japanese consumers. The 0% interest rate
is simply one, in a long litany, of less than ideal policies and financial
machinations that the article points out.

I will concede that it is possible that the rules of Economics have changed.
That, perhaps, this 'New Economy' everyone seems enamored of is real, and
works. The article's author will forgive me, however, if my own estimation of
the current Japanese situation differs from his unabashedly positive one.

~~~
kashif
bilbo0s,

I don't think you read the article. The interest rate was 0% in 2001. When
Japan suffered a financial crisis brought on by a lack of liquidity. The
article talks about how Japan has reformed itself since then.

~~~
bilbo0s
Kashif,

I think you ONLY read the article.

Here are todays prime rates . . . Enjoy . . .

Prime Rates in Worlds Largest Economies

Germany 4.00% US 8.25% Hong Kong (China Stand-In) 8.00%

And Your Favorite Apparently...

Japan 1.88%

Now . . . Which of these nations do you think is playing unfairly?

...

Take your time . . .

~~~
kashif
Well, You are right, I didn't read the rates, but clearly 1.88% is not zero -
also consider Japanese inflation levels and add to bring it all in context re-
read the pieces on the Japanese recession. 1.8% will seem just fine then.

Cheers.

PS: You don't need me to tell you this but you can't sensibly compare interest
rates across currencies.

------
whacked_new
Summary:

Japan is back. ~ A brief guide to Modern Japanese History ~ Japan is back.

And right in the beginning I couldn't help wonder about this: "Sony and Canon,
Honda and Panasonic, Fujitsu and Hitachi: throughout the world, Japanese
brands are respected and profitable. By contrast, despite the best efforts of
personal-computer giant Lenovo and white-goods producer Haier, China has yet
to build a single brand that most Americans could name. Japan is back."

Sony and Canon, Honda and Panasonic, Fujitsu and Hitachi were all founded
before 1950, while Lenovo is only 23 years old and bought out a chunk of IBM.
Scratched my head through the rest of the article. Ok, after the history
lesson, I'll take your word that Japan is back. But it seems more like China
just got started. And the problems run much, much deeper than just the birth
rate.

I was hoping to see something about Japanese startup clusters, haha.

~~~
extantproject
Submissions about startups or technology? What do you think this is? Startup
News?

~~~
iamwil
Well, the economies of faraway countries have indirect effects on the
economies here, especially in this day and age where the wallets of countries
are all tied to each other.

But for something more concrete, the Japanese mobile sector and robotics
sector have more acceptance and dare-I-say-enthusiasm than American(or
European--with the exception of the Nordic countries for mobile) ones. That's
nothing new, and any scan through the headlines in the last 10 years will tell
you that.

But of these two I mentioned, mobile phones would have the better potential of
infiltrating US markets--especially those catering to pop culture. For anyone
looking to do mobile phones, the Japanese have been pretty innovative with
their mobile phone use. Currently, phones and phone networks are somewhat
walled inside a country. But if those ever come down, Japan's mobile services
are something to watch out for.

Threats most dangerous are the ones you're not paying attention to, and the
article is merely mentioning that in a long winded way focused mostly on
economics and politics.

~~~
iamwil
When I say Threats, I mean threats to you as a startup, not threats to the
country.

