Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why Japan Is Doomed

oftwominds.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 94 posts

Re: Why Japan Is Doomed

#31

Post by rntz »

potatolicious wrote: post #27
masklinn wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and I was very surprised by their lack of work ethic/prospect from my first time in Japan Why would you be surprised by their "lack of work ethics"? They got fucked hard, so it's understandable that they aren't going to care much for "the man" anymore: they were told their contract was to work like mad in their studies, get to a good university and end up landing a good job in a multinational where they'd work thei…

Oh bullshit - I'm surprised you got as many upvotes given that this is supposed to be the entrepreneurial bunch (and our previous mega-thread involving Scott the useless college grad). Boo hoo, so the economic sucks and you were lied to your whole life about how your employment situation was going to work. So? This does not excuse laziness and a crappy work ethic. Perhaps their chronic unemployment stems from the fac…

It doesn't excuse, but it does explain -- hence, it shouldn't be surprising. Deplorable, perhaps, but not surprising.

Re: Why Japan Is Doomed

#32

Post by minouye »

potatolicious wrote: post #27
masklinn wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and I was very surprised by their lack of work ethic/prospect from my first time in Japan Why would you be surprised by their "lack of work ethics"? They got fucked hard, so it's understandable that they aren't going to care much for "the man" anymore: they were told their contract was to work like mad in their studies, get to a good university and end up landing a good job in a multinational where they'd work thei…

Oh bullshit - I'm surprised you got as many upvotes given that this is supposed to be the entrepreneurial bunch (and our previous mega-thread involving Scott the useless college grad). Boo hoo, so the economic sucks and you were lied to your whole life about how your employment situation was going to work. So? This does not excuse laziness and a crappy work ethic. Perhaps their chronic unemployment stems from the fac…

If you are implying that the opportunities in Japan are equal to those available in the US, then I wholeheartedly disagree. Both in terms of startup culture or slogging through a corporate job, Japan is vastly different from the US.

Opportunities exist everywhere, and a poor economy is certainly no excuse for apathy. However, discounting the challenges the economy posed to the rising generation of Japanese is pretty unfair IMO. The 90's really really sucked.

Re: Why Japan Is Doomed

#34

Post by eru »

sp332 wrote: post #16
nathanb wrote: post #9

What does it look like when a nation becomes insolvient? How does it affect its citizens? Its public services?

People might start bartering, i.e., doing business without involving government-backed currency.

That might happen in a severe deflation. In a (hyper-)inflation I'd expect people to use foreign currencies.

Re: Why Japan Is Doomed

#36

Post by api »

startuprules wrote: post #22
umjames wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So how are new companies created in Japan? Doesn't someone have to stick their neck out and be an entrepreneur? You would think that if some of these young Japanese people started companies and hired some of their contemporaries, you could get around that societal disapproval. I don't think any society would mind having companies that brought them wealth and employment.

For Japan, it's all about 'tradition'. So society/entranched interests resist changes heavily. For example, the entrepreneur who started 1000-yen haircut chain in Japan (severely undercutting the barbershops) used to get death threats on his life, and had to fight tooth and nail to get spaces in shopping centers. You should see the blank stare I get, when they ask me about how to be successful in life (I'm a bit olde…

"Tradition is the enemy of progress."

Re: Why Japan Is Doomed

#37

Post by noodle »

startuprules wrote: post #22
umjames wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So how are new companies created in Japan? Doesn't someone have to stick their neck out and be an entrepreneur? You would think that if some of these young Japanese people started companies and hired some of their contemporaries, you could get around that societal disapproval. I don't think any society would mind having companies that brought them wealth and employment.

For Japan, it's all about 'tradition'. So society/entranched interests resist changes heavily. For example, the entrepreneur who started 1000-yen haircut chain in Japan (severely undercutting the barbershops) used to get death threats on his life, and had to fight tooth and nail to get spaces in shopping centers. You should see the blank stare I get, when they ask me about how to be successful in life (I'm a bit olde…

seems like this would be an awesome opportunity for someone willing to start a business and dispel some of the apathy by hiring the kids in the trouble situations. a focal point to induce some change. especially if the laws are generally favorable, and its just society that views new businesses unfavorably.

Re: Why Japan Is Doomed

#38

Post by MikeMacMan »

startuprules wrote: post #4

"Millions of Japanese aged 25 to 34 toil as temps or contract employees-- up from 1.5 million 10 years ago, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. These workers tend to earn about one-third the typical "salaryman" wages that their fathers earned" I lived in Tokyo last year in a cheap apartment with alot of young Japanese people, and I was very surprised by their lack of work ethic/prospect from my first time…

I think the temp and contract work has increased because the contracting and temp staffing industry has exploded in Japan in the last 15 years. There's also more fluidity in the labor market now, meaning that people can more easily move from job to job without being stigmatized.

For someone in their 20s who can't or doesn't want to depend on their parents for a place to live, then the prospect of making 2500yen/hr as a temp, instead of a paltry 200,000/month (and being overworked) as a salaried employee, is appealing.

Re: Why Japan Is Doomed

#39

Post by dRother »

If the US, EU, and Japan are doomed, who isn't? I don't think the answer is China and India. China's plan seems to be to lurch full steam ahead (no pun intended) into our style of entirely non-sustainable petroleum and coal fueled over-consumption.

Re: Why Japan Is Doomed

#40

Post by masklinn »

potatolicious wrote: post #27
masklinn wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and I was very surprised by their lack of work ethic/prospect from my first time in Japan Why would you be surprised by their "lack of work ethics"? They got fucked hard, so it's understandable that they aren't going to care much for "the man" anymore: they were told their contract was to work like mad in their studies, get to a good university and end up landing a good job in a multinational where they'd work thei…

Oh bullshit - I'm surprised you got as many upvotes given that this is supposed to be the entrepreneurial bunch (and our previous mega-thread involving Scott the useless college grad). Boo hoo, so the economic sucks and you were lied to your whole life about how your employment situation was going to work. So? This does not excuse laziness and a crappy work ethic. Perhaps their chronic unemployment stems from the fac…

Japan does not have a culture of innovation (that kind of innovation anyway) and nothing in their life or education ever gave them the tools for this. Not to mention being an entrepreneur is a sure way to socially kill oneself in japan, this idea is still widely shunned and looked down upon.

You're looking at people who grew without arms and are asking how comes they can't tie their shoelace.

And it seems other people understood it.

Post reply on HN