Japan isn't the US, though. The effects of Japan's stagnation and economic woes are very real on the ground, and in terms of quality of life. I'm not praising

Japan isn't the US, though. The effects of Japan's stagnation and economic woes are very real on the ground, and in terms of quality of life. I'm not praising Japan as being somehow superior in that regard, but Japanese culture _does_ have traits that allows the Japanese to bear hardship with a measure of grace and calmness. I can't imagine the US being in the situation that Japan is in without far more severe political consequences.