There are two countries in the world that
are often held up as examples of what not to do. Two countries that for a long time seemed
able to conquer the world but which have been undergoing chronic crisis for decades. Crises
from which they cannot escape. Do you know which countries I'm talking about? One is Argentina, that’s easy. The other
is 18,000 km away, and is none other than Japan. Of course this doesn’t mean that these two
countries are the same, not at all. The fact is that whenever a developed country
has problems, Japan always appears as an example of what not to do. Europe’s Remedies for Japanization. Weak
growth and slowing inflation could have Europeans afraid of repeating Japan’s mistakes. WSJ) Perhaps, folks, the person who experienced
the most negative aspects of Japan’s decline in recent decades was Emperor Akihito, who
abdicated the throne on April 30th, 2019. Allow me to explain. Japan’s emperor has
no real power, and Akihito’s reign was a particularly unlucky one. When he came to the throne in 1989, Japan
seemed to be ready to take on the world. That same year, Japanese company, Sony, got
a major foothold in Hollywood by buying Columbia Pictures; Mitsubishi’s real estate division got the
Rockefeller Center itself, Japanese companies were investing everywhere and all forecasts
indicated that the Japanese economy would surpass even the US’s economy within a few
years. However, in just three years everything fell
apart. The Japanese bubble exploded, the Tokyo stock
market collapsed and the crisis spread throughout the Japanese financial system. The years of
strong economic growth had ended forever. Since 1991, the average economic growth has
been only 0.9% per year, public debt has increased from 50 to 236%
of the GDP; It was China that snatched second place in
the largest economies in the world, Japanese companies lost ground and Japan was
left out of the top positions in the great internet revolution The cost of this decline? Strenuous working
hours of 12 hours or more are still common, Japanese workers barely enjoy ten days of
vacation a year and wages are even lower than three decades ago in real terms. And that’s not all. The last three decades
haven’t only been bad from an economic point of view, they have also been very rocky in
political terms. Japan has had 17 prime ministers from five different political parties in the
last thirty years. That’s insane! And as if this weren’t enough, during Akihito’s
years the birthrate has been low resulting in an aging population and the country has
faced disasters such as the tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear accident of 2011. Not to
mention the North Korean threat... Now you understand why we say that Emperor
Akihito had bad luck? But hold on a second.
When we think of Japan it’s not just this crisis that we think about. There’s manga,
sushi, car brands like Toyota so: Are things really so bad in Japan? What if I told you that things haven’t been
as negative as they seem? What if Japan were somehow starting to shine again? In this video we decided to look at Japan’s
best features. And also, at a social revolution that is stealthily
taking place and that could set a benchmark or at least provide an experiment for the
rest of the world. Listen up. THE BEST SIDE Japan has been having a bad time for three
decades, it’s been stuck in a kind of stagnation that it cannot overcome. Yet despite this, their numbers are still
pretty good. Obviously, it won’t surprise you when I
say that Japan is still a very wealthy country, we all know that. But, the question is, how rich or, rather,
how prosperous is the country of the rising sun? Well, folks, we could say that Japan is still
one of the top 20 countries in the world where households have the most income after taxes. With $ 28,641 USD, Japan is at the level of
countries such as Denmark, Finland or the Netherlands and is above the United Kingdom,
New Zealand or Ireland. And it’s also one of the five or six countries
where, on average, families have the most financial assets once their debts have been
deducted. It also has one the highest life expectancies,
is one of the safest countries and has one of the best educational levels. In the PISA
index Japan is just behind Singapore. In R & D, research and development, more than
$150 billion USD are invested each year, ranking them third highest country in levels of spending
and the fifth highest when you compare the amount spent to their GDP. Japan comes in
just below South Korea, Israel, Sweden and Taiwan. And, folks, even though they have the highest
public debt in the world, no less than 237% of the GDP, it really isn’t as serious as
it seems. The Japanese government has several debts,
yes, but it also has a lot of financial assets, and if you take these in to account, its net
debt is decreased to approximately 150%. You shouldn’t only count what you owe but
also what you have. And that's not all. The government’s main
creditor is the Central Bank... which in a way means that the entire debt has already
been shared among the Japanese for the last three decades: For example, with a lower financial return,
with a good part of the capital going into public hands due to Central Bank purchases
of assets and with less real wages. In any case, the entire debt is in the hands
of the Japanese so to speak. Japan has no external debt, it isn’t a debtor, but quite
the opposite. Japan, China and Germany world's top creditors.
Japan kept its position as the world’s largest creditor nation for the 22nd straight year
last year. South China Post Morning) And unlike other countries, their companies
aren’t linked to the debt either. Look no further than the Tokyo Stock Market,
the 4th largest stock market in the world, where 60% of the companies have no net debt. Seen this way, in spite of all of the country’s
problems – because they do have them – things don’t look so bad, do they? And what’s more, in recent years, between
2007 and 2017, a curious development has taken place. See, the Japanese economy is barely growing,
that’s a fact, but as its population is shrinking and its economy has no inflation,
the real growth per capita, which ultimately determines the level of well-being, has risen
to equal the growth rate of the US and is ranked above countries such as France or the
United Kingdom. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. This has been largely
driven by the Asian continent’s economic explosion. After all, Japan has neighbors such as China,
Vietnam and India, where, for example, Suzuki, a Japanese car company, accounts for just
over 50% of the entire Indian car market. We’re talking about billions of potential
consumers. Want another example? Look at what has happened
with tourism. You see, traditionally Japan has had very
few tourists. Mainly because of its distance from other developed countries. However in recent years, it’s become quite
the theme park. Japan has the largest growing tourist arrival
rate in the world. Within a short time, and largely thanks to
Chinese visitors, the number of foreign tourists has gone from just over six million in 2011
to over 31 million in 2018. And forecasts say that this figure could exceed 60, 60 million
by 2030. Obviously all this means a lot of new jobs.
But its population is the oldest in the world and is, in fact, reduced every year. So, how
can they fill all these new positions? Folks, that’s where the social revolution
promoted by the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, comes into play. Listen up, because Japan is becoming an experiment
on how to deal with demographic aging. And I think their solution will surprise you (THE SOCIAL REVOLUTION) Okay, something is very clear for Japan; in
such an old country where the population is expected to decrease significantly during
the upcoming decades, only productivity and investment in technology and robots can save
them. But, friends, this takes time... and of course
to be able to invest as much as they need, they have to become a prosperous economy,
so the question is: How can a stagnating economy recover and keep
public finances under control while the population ages at full speed – especially when an
aging population means in terms of pensions and health spending? Well, the prime minister, Shinzo Abe believes
that it’s essential to increase labor participation in the short term, raise the percentage of
people who work, which is precisely what is happening in Japan: But... Have you noticed? How are they managing
to increase the number of workers in a country if the population is both shrinking and aging
at a rapid pace? What the hell is Japan doing? Well, folks, the answer is that Shinzo Abe
is leading a social revolution in Japan. Obviously with less demanding jobs and shorter
shifts. This has led more than half of all Japanese
men aged between 65 and 70 to go back to work. More than double the average in the OECD countries,
which includes almost all of the most developed countries. Have you seen the movie “The Intern” with
Robert de Niro? Well... something like that. On the other hand, the government is also
promoting a historic increase in female labor participation, which in Japan has not traditionally
been very high. Japan is experiencing a huge transformation.
The number of women working and occupying leadership positions is growing. This change has been driven by what has become
known as the "Womenomics", a policy that for example has increased day care services, incentivized
part-time contracts or encouraged companies to adjust their schedules to the needs of
women with children. That is how Japan has become one of the countries
with the greatest percentage of working women today. However, the truth is that despite all these
measures, the Japanese economy still needs many more workers. In fact, there are so many
vacancies that there are currently more than 150 jobs for every 100 candidates. Yes, you heard that right. There are more
jobs available than candidates. Many more. That’s why, in recent years, Shinzo Abe
has been demolishing what has so far been a taboo for Japanese society. (THE ARRIVAL OF NEW BLOOD) Since time immemorial Japan has been one of
the countries most closed to immigration in the world. We already talked about this a
while ago on VisualPolitik. In Japan, the immigrant population accounts
for only 1.8% of the total. One of the lowest percentages, if not the lowest, in the entire
developed world. However, that is changing. Japan to Asia: Give us your young, your skilled,
your eager workers”. Nikkei Asian Review) Since Shinzo Abe came to power in 2012 the
number of foreigners has doubled. And that won’t be the end of it. In December
of 2018, Japan approved new laws to boost the arrival of immigrants. We need to break free of the conventional
thinking. I will create a Japan that can attract great talent from around the world". Shinzo
Abe.) Folks, the new regulations make allowances
for two new status for the foreign population. On the one hand, a very appealing status to
attract the most qualified workers, who can settle in Japan, practically indefinitely,
with their families. On the other hand, a new status designed so
industries can bring less qualified workers. Here the conditions are more limited, but
even so the new regulation seeks to eliminate all the problems and the bad conditions that
these foreign workers have typically suffered, something that we already talked about in
this other video. In any case, folks, Japan has many, many problems,
we have talked about them a lot of times and we will do so again in the future. But there
are also reasons it can remain one of the richest countries in the world. So I really hope you enjoyed this video, please
hit like if you did, and don’t forget to subscribe for brand new videos. Don’t forget
to check out our friends at the Reconsider Media Podcast - they provided the voiceover
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