I did not mean to make light of Japan's economic challenges in the past two decades - nor do I mean to imply that Japanese opportunities are equal to that of the US.
What I mean is, Japan is still an industrial power, and far from a decrepit backwater - while opportunities were not what they once were, they are still there for those who seek it.
If anything, a shitty economy and hard times should create people who fight harder and take less bullshit, not the other way around as the poster had indicated.
Japan is still an industrial power, but that does not imply that "opportunities ... are still there for those who seek [them]". It means that there are opportunities. To whom they are available is quite contingent upon social conditions. It is quite common for opportunities to exist, but to still only be available to a tiny group of people.
What I mean is, Japan is still an industrial power, and far from a decrepit backwater - while opportunities were not what they once were, they are still there for those who seek it.
If anything, a shitty economy and hard times should create people who fight harder and take less bullshit, not the other way around as the poster had indicated.