Once again, this is just note gathering for further analysis, taken from Wikipedia, the CIA World Factbook and Nationmaster. Japan is 10th in the world in population, with 127 million people, 6th in the world in military spending, with $48 million per year, and either second or third in GDP, depending on how you measure it, with $4.84 trillion.
Well, after the lost decade of the 90s, Japan had a brief interlude of mediocre economic performance, to be followed by what looks to be another lost decade. What they've lost is their people. Japan is by some measures one of the richest countries in the world. Their population peaked in 2005 and declined by about 200,000 last year. That decline is set to continue. Their population is also getting older--their median age is 44, compared to 28 for Brazi, and 22% of their population is 65 or older.
Japan has developed a two-tier workforce, with the salaryman in protected jobs with established companies, and temporary workers everywhere else. This second category, almost 30% of the workforce, is getting massacred with the recession going on now.
Their politics is entangled--they've had the same ruling party for 55 years, although that looks set to change, and that's just too long. There is corruption within government, business and even the Yakuza is getting old, fat and lazy--but still powerful. Their signature corporations, the Sonys, Canons and Mitsubishis, got fat and lazy too. Toyota is still getting it done, but doesn't have enough company.
The Japanese live forever, it seems. Their life expectancy is 81 and climbing, and they have 36,000 centenarians 32,000 of them female). With an aging population that is insular and conservative, their attitude towards much-needed immigration is skeptical at best.
The Kyoto Protocol was signed in er, Kyoto, and Japan takes global warming seriously. They lead the world in developing patents for alternative energy generation, and have paid a lot of attention to pollution since Minamata's mercury tragedy.
It wasn't supposed to be like this for Japan.
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