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There's a perfectly rational reason for shaken (車検), though most HNers won't like it. It's designed to help a few parts of the auto industry value chain, from
by patio11 13y ago
There's a perfectly rational reason for shaken (車検), though most HNers won't like it. It's designed to help a few parts of the auto industry value chain, from manufacturers (who get a domestic market which is, basically, forced into a 6-year upgrade cycle) to smaller-scale exporters (who get a constant stream of perfectly usable cars for essentially scrap value, then resell them to emerging markets for significant fractions of their off-the-lot value, because "everyone knows" that Japanese cars last forever).
- kevin_p 13y agoInteresting - I think the same logic could probably explain the house price depreciation discussed in the article too. The accounting / mortgage rules Kohsuke mentioned above would definitely have a very positive effect on the construction industry, and the Japanese government has a history of expensive net-negative schemes to help this industry (see also: concrete rivers).
- prawn 13y agoI think many of those cars are then moved on to places like the Solomon Islands?
- hudibras 13y agoHere's one website that specializes in these: http://www.tradecarview.com/ http://www.tradecarview.com/ Don't get too excited at some of the crazy prices. They don't include shipping costs and none of the cheap cars will be street-legal in Europe or North America.
- harisenbon 13y agoMoved all over, actually. Australia is a big importer, all of SE Asia, etc.
- Pitarou 13y agoYup. The cynicism of Japanese consumer law can be breathtaking. Have you followed the sorry debacle of Abe's third arrow? Any policy initiative that threatens a vested interest eventually gets overturned.