My wife and I took a trip to a hot springs town in Mie called Sakakibara Onsen. The town existed, but the people were nowhere to be seen. We were the second couple at the ryokan we stayed at, which housed no one but us on GOLDEN WEEK (the biggest vacation week of the year).
The reason, however, is that Japan developed so far into the country that when the investment/real estate bubble popped, all of the people related to the investments disappeared. I had an apartment next to a business hotel that housed NO ONE in 2000. It was simply locked and left to stand.
If Japan were to slash taxes and give their freeters (part timers) a reason to invest in businesses, they might pull out of their slump. They need to give people a reason to make money other than just to save or spend it on consumables. It’s too expensive to live there!
Japan needs Jesus.
Sounds like a fun trick and I appreciate the anecdote. My interest was just to see if there were any articles or websites devoted to Japan in the same way you see ones devoted to the degradation in Pittsburgh or Detroit.
I like your solution to Japan’s problems, but I suspect they are deeper and more socially ingrained than tax cuts would be sufficient to rectify.
My understanding is that Asian states suffer from selfish consumerism, hyper-sexualization and strong levels of xenophobia, but I would be happy to learn more. Thanks.