Thread by @Noahpinion

1/I've been writing a lot of articles and threads that are very positive about Japan.

For instance, here:
bloomberg.com/view/articles/…
bloomberg.com/view/articles/…
bloomberg.com/view/articles/…
bloomberg.com/view/articles/…

and here:

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2/But certain persons have requested that I add some balance by doing a thread about things that are wrong with Japan, and need to change.

So I will oblige them. Here is the Japan Complaint Thread.

3/First, some background.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, as Japan stagnated, it was common for Westerners to lecture Japan about its many problems.

The best example of this is the book "Dogs and Demons: The Fall of Modern Japan", by Alex Kerr: amazon.com/Dogs-Demons-Fa…

4/As the 2000s continued, though, the Iraq War caused many to take a more nuanced view. Japanese pacifism was contrasted favorably with American militarism, but people also recognized that American society was liberalizing more quickly than Japan's (especially on gender issues).

5/Now, the election of Trump feels to many like it has eliminated much of the moral high ground that America had relative to Japan on social issues too, as Americans have started to see their country as a more backwards, regressive place.

6/In any case, the point is that tomorrow there will be more shifts, and the zeitgeist will change, even above and beyond real changes in the two countries.

That said, here are some big problems I see in Japan that need to be addressed...

7/One of Japan's biggest problems continues to be sexism, especially institutional sexism.

For example, married women still aren't even allowed to keep their names after marriage: theguardian.com/world/2015/dec…

8/Sexist attitudes are still very rife in the Japanese workplace, and are far less subject to official sanction and punishment than in the U.S. japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/07/0…

9/People have spoken of a "#MeToo" movement in Japan.

There are a few good developments, but for the most part, the idea is wishful thinking. washingtonpost.com/news/global-op…

10/Exploitation of young women in the Japanese entertainment industry is a way of life. It is institutionalized. bbc.com/news/world-asi…

11/If you read Japanese, you can check out this book about it: amazon.co.jp/AKB48%E3%81%A8…

12/Next, Japan's long, punishing, often unproductive working hours continue to be a huge problem. There is a broad movement to address the issue, but it remains to be seen if that will change anything.

bbc.com/news/business-…

13/The country's suicide rate has fallen by about a third, but remains high compared to other rich countries. newsweek.com/japans-suicide…

14/Anyway, back to Japan's broken corporate culture.

As a result of little movement between companies over the course of people's careers, entry level salaries are low. Much of compensation is still based on age. soranews24.com/2014/04/08/can…

15/Long, unproductive hours in the office.

Difficulty of mid-career moves. People trapped in dead-end jobs.

In many companies, little chance to get ahead by doing well at your job.

It's a broken corporate culture that needs to change.

16/Often, whether you get a "full-time" or "contract" job out of college determines the trajectory of your entire career, with very few second chances. It's a corporate world of haves and have-nots.

jil.go.jp/english/report…

17/Some companies have made progress toward changing this culture. bloomberg.com/view/articles/…

But they're still too few and far between.

The government recognizes the problem, but is having difficulty changing decades of entrenched practice throughout the entire system.

18/Because it doesn't have many super-rich people, Japan's inequality looks substantially lower than America's (but higher than Europe's).

But poverty has risen in Japan, and is a big problem. theguardian.com/world/2017/jan…

19/Meanwhile, between rapid aging and ossified workplace culture, Japan's total factor productivity - a measure of overall economic efficiency - has been stagnant for decades.

20/With all the stress in Japan, you'd think they'd have good treatment for the inevitable depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues that arise.

But nope.

quora.com/How-bad-is-the…

21/Most of Japan's problems - or at least, the problems it could be doing a lot better at addressing - can be located in one of two clusters:

1. A broken corporate culture

2. Institutionalized and deep-rooted sexism

22/The current Japanese leadership recognizes both problems and is trying to fight them, which is commendable...but it's making only slow progress in these two areas, and may soon be replaced by a less progressive leadership in any case.

23/The United States has much to learn from Japan in many ways - more ways than most Americans probably realize.

But in these two big areas, Japan still has a lot to learn from us.

(end)

Oh and also I got food poisoning from a Tsukiji sushi restaurant, so watch out kids