I thought this was an interesting read and worth writing at least a bit about. The article paints a dreary picture of Japan, particularly the Osaka area. The article is filled with distortions of the reality of things, however. While most of what the columnist describes is the truth, it's hardly the die situation that he makes it out to be.
The other night I was in front of a convenience store in Kobe. A man driving a Porsche had parked his car in front of the convenience store, window open and engine running. The car sat their idling for a good five to ten minutes. This isn't uncommon in Japan, but unthinkable in a country like the United States. Japan is by no means anything less than one of the wealthiest societies in the world, and even with increasing poverty and a declining financial structure, while nothing less than dismal, is still a stark contrast to what the Times columnist describes. Someone reading it with half a mind might even be inclined to ask if Japanese people are living in boxes, in reference to the bit about concrete apartment structures with tiny-sized bedrooms and kitchens. From my experience in Japan none of these things strike me the way certain areas of my hometown Tacoma look, which can resemble third-world countries (a bit dramatic, but in comparison to many areas of Japan this seems all too true in my eyes).
Take this bit from the third page of the article:
"There are vending machines that sell canned drinks for 10 yen, or 12 cents; restaurants with 50-yen beer; apartments with the first month’s rent of just 100 yen, about $1.22. Even marriage ceremonies are on sale, with discount wedding halls offering weddings for $600 — less than a tenth of what ceremonies typically cost here just a decade ago."
First off, the exchange rate is incorrect; I'd be happy as hell if a hundred yen got me more than a dollar. The rate is closer to 85 yen to a dollar- meaning every thousand dollars you exchange in Japan loses 15-20%, or $150 or $200. Second off, I have never seen a ten-yen vending machine in Osaka. 80 yen at the cheapest, and that's for small cans of coffee. I'm sure they might exist somewhere, but this article makes it sound like Japan is operating on the Chinese yuan. 50 yen beers? Let me know where they are, because beer runs at 300 yen plus nearly any place you go. You have to really dig deep to find places as cheap as this columnist suggests they are.
The most offensive bit of the article came with this paragraph on page 2:
"When asked in dozens of interviews about their nation’s decline, Japanese, from policy makers and corporate chieftains to shoppers on the street, repeatedly mention this startling loss of vitality. While Japan suffers from many problems, most prominently the rapid graying of its society, it is this decline of a once wealthy and dynamic nation into a deep social and cultural rut that is perhaps Japan’s most ominous lesson for the world today."
This type of language makes it almost sound like the columnist is writing in revenge rather than objectivity- exaggerating the decline of a once ever-threatening economic power. Japan's culture and society might be taking relative downturns to how it used to be; I have written about these social issues before through a previous contract at Evergreen. But to say that these social downturns are any worse than the polarizing and obnoxious social problems in the United States, or England, or any other country, and even worse, to claim them as an "ominous lesson" for the rest of the world, sounds condescending and misguided. The financial collapse in the United States more resembles an ominous lesson to the world, and in many ways, the world has already learned these lessons even while getting dragged down into it. Japan still maintains an incredible infrastructure and social services in comparison to the United States, and yet the columnist claims the United States still has a greater chance of pulling out of recession than Japan. In my mind, both situations are seemingly helpless, but to put the United States at greater chances than any other struggling nation comes off as ignorant, and by my experience in Japan, this columnist certainly fits that category. While the columnist makes relevant points about Japan, the overall picture he paints of the current state of Japan can be equally countered. Asking Japanese people is often little validation, either. Many will undoubtedly claim Japan's situation as a mess, and while it's important to take them at their word, it is also necessary to understand that Japanese tend to look upon themselves more critically than other nations. Ask an average American if the United States can be pulled out of recession simply through free market ingenuity, and if the response is a resounding "Yes!", you can judge how cultural attitudes can distort the reality of situations. Japan has a chance to get a lot worse, but I also believe there's enough of a chance for a stable recovery of Japan's economy; nonetheless, Japan as it is now barely fits what this columnist describes.
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