After returning from a vacation in Japan, I must say that the word "irrelevance" is far too hyperbolic. While it is true that unfortunately Japan is no longer

After returning from a vacation in Japan, I must say that the word "irrelevance" is far too hyperbolic. While it is true that unfortunately Japan is no longer a leader in the development of new technologies, like it has achieved to be in the past, when looking at its public infrastructure, at least in the big cities, and at the applications of modern technologies for solving various problems of the day-to-day life, which actually matter most for the majority of people, Japan is still well ahead of almost all other countries and I have very little hope that I will ever see any country in Europe or America matching Japan in certain aspects of the quality of life. It is true however that Japan is facing some serious economic problems, with declining revenues for many people. However, this appears to have artificial causes, due to mismanagement at high levels that does not result in a meaningful change of the managers.