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> Certainly it worked better in the 80s. This is such an American/Chinese perspective. Both countries where the growth and promising future gets people excited

> Certainly it worked better in the 80s. This is such an American/Chinese perspective. Both countries where the growth and promising future gets people excited. You are being dazzled by the growth and bubble. Bubble era Japan indeed had that same appeal. In 1980s Japan young families were worried about ever being able to afford homes. Land and houses had been exploding in price since the 1970s. Yes everyone felt they were getting rich, but assets went up in price faster than wages. Japan now is indeed the anti-thesis to the bubble era you are glamourizing yes. Now homes are affordable. Jobs plentiful. Overtime has decreased massively. The 1980s had overtime common which would be illegal now. Train lines are plentiful. The bullet train network built, and paid for. You can get a taxi ride at anytime without the need to bribe drivers. The flash and dazzle of the bubble was fake. The practical affordability and livability of Japan now is real.

ThrowawayR2 4y ago
> "The 1980s had overtime common which would be illegal now." Despite being illegal, it's seemingly still quite common: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_company_(Japanese_term) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_company_(Japanese_term)
- japanesedea 4y ago
  Well, can you ever really solve societal ills like this or just move the needle? It’s not as if our war on drugs has solved the problem.
astrange 4y ago
Japan somehow has an unemployment rate of 2.5% and barely any wage inflation. They do everything right, it's clean and safe, and yet they're time and money poor and earn less than the UK. Also I don't think the Shinkansen is doing that well atm… it's mostly for business trips, since it's pretty expensive to use, and those are down a lot since we all discovered Zoom calls.
- Aeolun 4y ago
  The reason it’s so clean and safe is that everyone is paid so little. So many positions can be filled.

ThrowawayR2 4y ago

> "The 1980s had overtime common which would be illegal now." Despite being illegal, it's seemingly still quite common: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_company_(Japanese_term) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_company_(Japanese_term)

japanesedea 4y ago
Well, can you ever really solve societal ills like this or just move the needle? It’s not as if our war on drugs has solved the problem.

astrange 4y ago

Japan somehow has an unemployment rate of 2.5% and barely any wage inflation. They do everything right, it's clean and safe, and yet they're time and money poor and earn less than the UK. Also I don't think the Shinkansen is doing that well atm… it's mostly for business trips, since it's pretty expensive to use, and those are down a lot since we all discovered Zoom calls.

Aeolun 4y ago
The reason it’s so clean and safe is that everyone is paid so little. So many positions can be filled.