11 ms·

Japan still has great influence on global financial markets

138 points by known 8y ago

ttul 8y ago
tl;dr Japanese investors have been splurging on overseas assets because returns at home are so poor. This has ballooned their influence on prices globally.
jcousins 8y ago
Good ol' Mrs Watanabe![1] [1]https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mrs-watanabe.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mrs-watanabe.asp
joefranklinsrs 8y ago
Just this morning Japan overtook China as the number two stock market in the world. Also, with the US interest rate going up and trade wars, money is flowing out of emerging markets back to stable economies. In this case, the Japanese savings that left Japan 25 years ago can start to come back to Japan. That capital inflow might start to help Japan with some inflationary pressure. Especially if Japan’s plan to allow 500,000 foreign workers this year. Japan has also been importing foreign workers for years now. We talk about Japan as if it’s dying sometimes, but when you visit Japan, it is amazing how high of quality they all live in. Great food of all cuisine, clean streets, easy transportation, high tech buildings, friendly population, and most recently, cheap food and lodgings.
- louthy 8y ago
  > friendly population Is that really the case if you're not from Japan? I have read and heard a number of horror stories over the years [1] [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/31/japan-racism-survey-reveals-one-in-three-foreigners-experience-discrimination https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/31/japan-racism-s...
  - geoalchimista 8y ago
    Racism in Japan is nowhere comparable to racism in China.
    - kuwze 8y ago
      Could you elaborate?
      - geoalchimista 8y ago
        Chinese propaganda today still infuses its citizens with a sense that Han Chinese is superior to other ethnic groups and races. You wouldn't possibly find anything remotely like that in any other Asian countries. If you think I'm exaggerating, here's a piece of NYT news that demonstrates their outright racism toward African people: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/16/world/asia/china-africa-blackface-lunar-new-year.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/16/world/asia/china-africa-b... I'm not saying all of them are. In Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen where there are more young people who either accepted Western influences or got their college education in the West, racism may be less a problem. But those cities only represent less than 5% of China.
        xkcd-sucks 8y ago
        It goes deeper than that-- The physical territory, the ruling government, and the Han ethnic group (including "overseas Chinese") are considered equivalent. Kind of like a giant family where blood relations are mixed up with authority, history etc. So, Han people are a political tool to use in colonization ("Hanification" currently going on in Tibet and Xinjiang) and also an asset to be maintained through what westerners might call eugenics. It's more deliberate than "racism," more like "American exceptionalism." It's interesting idea, but it seems scary to westerners and it feels a little bit oppressive to be an Overseas Chinese
        FruityFarm 8y ago
        This is so hypocritical when the West does the exact same thing.
- sdljfslkjfdsj 8y ago
  All it took was quantitative easing since 2001 resulting in ownership of 40-50% of the entire japanese bond market (which isn't really a market any more because some days 0 transactions take place due to the complete hijacking of the BOJ & a guaranteed 0% yield) & 5-10% ownership of the entire japanese stock market. The BOJ is a top holder of many largest Japanese corporations shares outstanding which is kind of weird because the BOJ doesn't really have any money they just "create" it. Color me bearish if that kind of monetary extremism can't even get the Nikkei 225 near prior all time highs or any meaningful inflation. I guess they could buy every bond in existence both public & private plus take the stock holdings up to 30% of the entire float.. maybe that's what is needed? It kind of seems weird to trust any of the statistics on inflation, rates, economic prospects for the country with such an active price insensitive manipulator in the market place every day.
  - RobertoG 8y ago
    Reading your comment, comes to mind that the case of Japan demonstrate that bond markets are not so essential after all and that "creation" of money doesn't necessarily generate inflation.
  - joefranklinsrs 8y ago
    Well, you could say the same about China, where the Chinese government is a major stakeholder, directly or indirectly of all the state enterprises and some of the biggest individual companies. Alot of the purchases of foreign companies and technologies is done by the Chinese government. Also, China engaged in huge QE from 2008 to today, resulting in massive debt taking. At least the financial numbers coming out of Japan is reliable and transparent. Also, alot of soverign funds around the world considers Japanese Yen and Bonds one of the safest investments.
    - pembrook 8y ago
      It's hard not to see Japanese bonds as safe when they yield pretty much 0%.
    - sdljfslkjfdsj 8y ago
- ng12 8y ago
  > We talk about Japan as if it’s dying sometimes I find this is mostly because the West can't fathom that Japan might have different values -- for example their unwillingness to sacrifice cultural homogeniety on the altar of economic growth.
  - krapp 8y ago
    >or example their unwillingness to sacrifice cultural homogeniety on the altar of economic growth. Every time I hear this argument (and it comes up in just about every thread about Japan's economy or culture) I can't help but hear an alt-right dog whistle. Because, of course, Japan has a long history of incorporating culture from elsewhere - both from their Asian neighbors and the West, but when you talk about "homogeneity" in relation to Japan, people tend to think first about ethnicity and race, since they're ~98% ethnically Japanese. And I'm not entirely certain can I see the link between "cultural homogeneity" and "economic growth" ... until I realize you're talking about immigration. Which is odd because most immigrants to Japan are Asian, and not likely to disturb their "cultural homogeneity" much, and the tiny, tiny fraction from elsewhere are definitely not likely to do so. Maybe that's just me and my cooling fan is acting up, though.
    - ng12 8y ago
      I think you hearing an alt-right dog whistle is exactly the Western-centric attitude I was referring to. > Which is odd because most immigrants to Japan are Asian, and not likely to disturb their "cultural homogeneity" much If you think there's no racial tension between native Japanese and Korean/Chinese immigrants I have some news for you.
      - krapp 8y ago
        > I think you hearing an alt-right dog whistle is exactly the Western-centric attitude I was referring to. That's because the alt-right uses Japan as a proxy for its own anti-immigration and racialist views, particularly in regards to to Muslim and Eastern European immigrants. It seems to me to be a new form of Orientalism. >If you think there's no racial tension between native Japanese and Korean/Chinese immigrants I have some news for you. There definitely is, but that depends on one's definition of "race." But that tension has existed for hundreds if not thousands of years (obvious post-WW2 sentiments notwithstanding) so I don't see that contributing to the disruption of Japanese culture since it's been a constant in Japanese culture for so long.
- lechiffre10 8y ago
  Cheap food and lodging is mainly a sign of a strong US dollar though. I've been to Japan 5 years ago and while it wasn't as expensive as people told me it would be the Canadian dollar was very strong.
- adventured 8y ago
  Speaking of Japan's capital, this made me excited that someone might finally do something toward investing in US infrastructure (the headline was slightly walked back later, saying there were no concrete plans just yet): "Japan weighs sovereign wealth fund for U.S infrastructure investment" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-japan/japan-weighs-sovereign-wealth-fund-for-us-infrastructure-investment-nikkei-idUSKBN1KO0BX https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-japan/japan-wei... If the US were smart about it, it would offer to go an easy route in resolving any trade issues with Japan. Part of the deal would be Japan working with the US to put together a $250 billion fund over time specifically to do high speed rail across the US. The Japanese are arguably the masters at that, their companies would benefit (and they'd earn a return on their deployed capital), and US would get some employment and know-how out of it (and obviously the transport system). Japan can borrow at great scale domestically at among the lowest rates of any nation. A big win all around.
- ekianjo 8y ago
  > high tech buildings You forgot to mention fax machines :) And useless pepper robots in about every shop that tries to look futuristic.
  - discordance 8y ago
    Pepper is indeed pathetic. Aldebaran Robotics must be laughing post acquisition.
- Nadya 8y ago
  That great quality of life comes largely from a monoculture focused on group harmony and letting those who don't jive with the culture falling through the cracks. Maybe a bit controversial, but I don't think mass importing foreigners who won't mix with the culture will be good for the country in the long term. The U.K and Germany are full of internal strife entirely through their unchecked mass importation of foreigners and refugees. It needs to be done in a controlled manner allowing the foreigners to integrate with the culture, bringing amount small changes over time rather than drastic cultural changes quickly. The foreigners and tourists are always the most obnoxious and least friendly people I interact with while in Japan.
tomatotomato37 8y ago
Japan has the third largest GDP in the world, and the first two are continent sized superpowers; I'd be surprised if they didn't have global influence.

138 points by known 8y ago

ttul 8y ago

tl;dr Japanese investors have been splurging on overseas assets because returns at home are so poor. This has ballooned their influence on prices globally.

jcousins 8y ago

Good ol' Mrs Watanabe![1] [1]https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mrs-watanabe.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mrs-watanabe.asp

joefranklinsrs 8y ago

Just this morning Japan overtook China as the number two stock market in the world. Also, with the US interest rate going up and trade wars, money is flowing out of emerging markets back to stable economies. In this case, the Japanese savings that left Japan 25 years ago can start to come back to Japan. That capital inflow might start to help Japan with some inflationary pressure. Especially if Japan’s plan to allow 500,000 foreign workers this year. Japan has also been importing foreign workers for years now. We talk about Japan as if it’s dying sometimes, but when you visit Japan, it is amazing how high of quality they all live in. Great food of all cuisine, clean streets, easy transportation, high tech buildings, friendly population, and most recently, cheap food and lodgings.

louthy 8y ago
> friendly population Is that really the case if you're not from Japan? I have read and heard a number of horror stories over the years [1] [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/31/japan-racism-survey-reveals-one-in-three-foreigners-experience-discrimination https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/31/japan-racism-s...
- geoalchimista 8y ago
  Racism in Japan is nowhere comparable to racism in China.
  - kuwze 8y ago
    Could you elaborate?
    - geoalchimista 8y ago
      Chinese propaganda today still infuses its citizens with a sense that Han Chinese is superior to other ethnic groups and races. You wouldn't possibly find anything remotely like that in any other Asian countries. If you think I'm exaggerating, here's a piece of NYT news that demonstrates their outright racism toward African people: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/16/world/asia/china-africa-blackface-lunar-new-year.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/16/world/asia/china-africa-b... I'm not saying all of them are. In Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen where there are more young people who either accepted Western influences or got their college education in the West, racism may be less a problem. But those cities only represent less than 5% of China.
      - xkcd-sucks 8y ago
        It goes deeper than that-- The physical territory, the ruling government, and the Han ethnic group (including "overseas Chinese") are considered equivalent. Kind of like a giant family where blood relations are mixed up with authority, history etc. So, Han people are a political tool to use in colonization ("Hanification" currently going on in Tibet and Xinjiang) and also an asset to be maintained through what westerners might call eugenics. It's more deliberate than "racism," more like "American exceptionalism." It's interesting idea, but it seems scary to westerners and it feels a little bit oppressive to be an Overseas Chinese
      - FruityFarm 8y ago
        This is so hypocritical when the West does the exact same thing.
sdljfslkjfdsj 8y ago
All it took was quantitative easing since 2001 resulting in ownership of 40-50% of the entire japanese bond market (which isn't really a market any more because some days 0 transactions take place due to the complete hijacking of the BOJ & a guaranteed 0% yield) & 5-10% ownership of the entire japanese stock market. The BOJ is a top holder of many largest Japanese corporations shares outstanding which is kind of weird because the BOJ doesn't really have any money they just "create" it. Color me bearish if that kind of monetary extremism can't even get the Nikkei 225 near prior all time highs or any meaningful inflation. I guess they could buy every bond in existence both public & private plus take the stock holdings up to 30% of the entire float.. maybe that's what is needed? It kind of seems weird to trust any of the statistics on inflation, rates, economic prospects for the country with such an active price insensitive manipulator in the market place every day.
- RobertoG 8y ago
  Reading your comment, comes to mind that the case of Japan demonstrate that bond markets are not so essential after all and that "creation" of money doesn't necessarily generate inflation.
- joefranklinsrs 8y ago
  Well, you could say the same about China, where the Chinese government is a major stakeholder, directly or indirectly of all the state enterprises and some of the biggest individual companies. Alot of the purchases of foreign companies and technologies is done by the Chinese government. Also, China engaged in huge QE from 2008 to today, resulting in massive debt taking. At least the financial numbers coming out of Japan is reliable and transparent. Also, alot of soverign funds around the world considers Japanese Yen and Bonds one of the safest investments.
  - pembrook 8y ago
    It's hard not to see Japanese bonds as safe when they yield pretty much 0%.
  - sdljfslkjfdsj 8y ago
ng12 8y ago
> We talk about Japan as if it’s dying sometimes I find this is mostly because the West can't fathom that Japan might have different values -- for example their unwillingness to sacrifice cultural homogeniety on the altar of economic growth.
- krapp 8y ago
  >or example their unwillingness to sacrifice cultural homogeniety on the altar of economic growth. Every time I hear this argument (and it comes up in just about every thread about Japan's economy or culture) I can't help but hear an alt-right dog whistle. Because, of course, Japan has a long history of incorporating culture from elsewhere - both from their Asian neighbors and the West, but when you talk about "homogeneity" in relation to Japan, people tend to think first about ethnicity and race, since they're ~98% ethnically Japanese. And I'm not entirely certain can I see the link between "cultural homogeneity" and "economic growth" ... until I realize you're talking about immigration. Which is odd because most immigrants to Japan are Asian, and not likely to disturb their "cultural homogeneity" much, and the tiny, tiny fraction from elsewhere are definitely not likely to do so. Maybe that's just me and my cooling fan is acting up, though.
  - ng12 8y ago
    I think you hearing an alt-right dog whistle is exactly the Western-centric attitude I was referring to. > Which is odd because most immigrants to Japan are Asian, and not likely to disturb their "cultural homogeneity" much If you think there's no racial tension between native Japanese and Korean/Chinese immigrants I have some news for you.
    - krapp 8y ago
      > I think you hearing an alt-right dog whistle is exactly the Western-centric attitude I was referring to. That's because the alt-right uses Japan as a proxy for its own anti-immigration and racialist views, particularly in regards to to Muslim and Eastern European immigrants. It seems to me to be a new form of Orientalism. >If you think there's no racial tension between native Japanese and Korean/Chinese immigrants I have some news for you. There definitely is, but that depends on one's definition of "race." But that tension has existed for hundreds if not thousands of years (obvious post-WW2 sentiments notwithstanding) so I don't see that contributing to the disruption of Japanese culture since it's been a constant in Japanese culture for so long.
lechiffre10 8y ago
Cheap food and lodging is mainly a sign of a strong US dollar though. I've been to Japan 5 years ago and while it wasn't as expensive as people told me it would be the Canadian dollar was very strong.
adventured 8y ago
Speaking of Japan's capital, this made me excited that someone might finally do something toward investing in US infrastructure (the headline was slightly walked back later, saying there were no concrete plans just yet): "Japan weighs sovereign wealth fund for U.S infrastructure investment" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-japan/japan-weighs-sovereign-wealth-fund-for-us-infrastructure-investment-nikkei-idUSKBN1KO0BX https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-japan/japan-wei... If the US were smart about it, it would offer to go an easy route in resolving any trade issues with Japan. Part of the deal would be Japan working with the US to put together a $250 billion fund over time specifically to do high speed rail across the US. The Japanese are arguably the masters at that, their companies would benefit (and they'd earn a return on their deployed capital), and US would get some employment and know-how out of it (and obviously the transport system). Japan can borrow at great scale domestically at among the lowest rates of any nation. A big win all around.
ekianjo 8y ago
> high tech buildings You forgot to mention fax machines :) And useless pepper robots in about every shop that tries to look futuristic.
- discordance 8y ago
  Pepper is indeed pathetic. Aldebaran Robotics must be laughing post acquisition.
Nadya 8y ago
That great quality of life comes largely from a monoculture focused on group harmony and letting those who don't jive with the culture falling through the cracks. Maybe a bit controversial, but I don't think mass importing foreigners who won't mix with the culture will be good for the country in the long term. The U.K and Germany are full of internal strife entirely through their unchecked mass importation of foreigners and refugees. It needs to be done in a controlled manner allowing the foreigners to integrate with the culture, bringing amount small changes over time rather than drastic cultural changes quickly. The foreigners and tourists are always the most obnoxious and least friendly people I interact with while in Japan.

tomatotomato37 8y ago

Japan has the third largest GDP in the world, and the first two are continent sized superpowers; I'd be surprised if they didn't have global influence.