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> the culture is just too different from that of Silicon Valley If there's one defining attribute of Japanese culture, it is its willingness to absorb and sync

> the culture is just too different from that of Silicon Valley If there's one defining attribute of Japanese culture, it is its willingness to absorb and syncretize outside influences. The most recent examples are the Meiji Restoration and the post-WW2 transformation. So I don't think you can write off Japan just yet.

DamnYuppie 14y ago
While those where impressive changes that doesn't mean the culture and societal structure they have today is similar to those times. Simply stated they have the lowest birth rate of any first world nation, we don't have to write them off, they are doing quite fine fading into the sunset on their own.
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  > While those where impressive changes that doesn't mean the culture and societal structure they have today is similar to those times. The point is that they can change their culture and society at a particularly rapid clip, so that is moot. > Simply stated they have the lowest birth rate of any first world nation, we don't have to write them off, they are doing quite fine fading into the sunset on their own. I don't understand why having a decreasing population is inherently seen as a bad thing. For comparison, Japan has 1/3rd the arable land of Germany[0], yet it has 1.5x the population[1]. Japan is overpopulated - now it's just going to an equilibrium population size. 0: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=arable+land+%7C+japan+vs+germany http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=arable+land+%7C+japan+v... 1: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=population+%7C+japan+vs+germany http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=population+%7C+japan+vs...
  - obviouslygreen 14y ago
    Declining population in this case is part an actual problem, which is an aging population. That's not necessarily a problem either, but in this case it definitely is -- as it also is in the US -- because the elderly are still retiring and still depending on social security programs.

DamnYuppie 14y ago

While those where impressive changes that doesn't mean the culture and societal structure they have today is similar to those times. Simply stated they have the lowest birth rate of any first world nation, we don't have to write them off, they are doing quite fine fading into the sunset on their own.

w1ntermute 14y ago
> While those where impressive changes that doesn't mean the culture and societal structure they have today is similar to those times. The point is that they can change their culture and society at a particularly rapid clip, so that is moot. > Simply stated they have the lowest birth rate of any first world nation, we don't have to write them off, they are doing quite fine fading into the sunset on their own. I don't understand why having a decreasing population is inherently seen as a bad thing. For comparison, Japan has 1/3rd the arable land of Germany[0], yet it has 1.5x the population[1]. Japan is overpopulated - now it's just going to an equilibrium population size. 0: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=arable+land+%7C+japan+vs+germany http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=arable+land+%7C+japan+v... 1: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=population+%7C+japan+vs+germany http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=population+%7C+japan+vs...
- obviouslygreen 14y ago
  Declining population in this case is part an actual problem, which is an aging population. That's not necessarily a problem either, but in this case it definitely is -- as it also is in the US -- because the elderly are still retiring and still depending on social security programs.