Japan has (or at least had) several advantages that Europe still lacks. Single language, high and concentrated population, highly technological consumer markets

Japan has (or at least had) several advantages that Europe still lacks. Single language, high and concentrated population, highly technological consumer markets, massive government and corporate investment in semiconductor and software. For a while, Japan's was beating the US in semiconductor advancements. If the Japanese software scene failed, I'm not convinced of how it would have happened the way same Europe's had.