In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks

This is largely directionally accurate. (Especially for young ladies -- curious that the NYT missed that angle, one would have assumed they would be all over it.)

On the plus side, persistent market inefficiencies are a gift from God if you're prepared to exploit them. (Where else can you find Californian purchasing power at engineering wages which would be skimpy in small town Iowa?)

Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks

#4

Post by harisenbon » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 4:08 AM UTC

The part about Horie was kind of interesting.

He was really seen as someone to rock the boat, and as someone who could really turn around the stodgering top-down society that is Japan. It's probably safe to say that most of the youth of the country were rooting for him, and the new economic growth that he would most likely bring to Japan.

Then he f-ed up, and got caught up in stock fraud. I know that he's still appealing the decision, but the evidence against him was pretty huge, and the backlash was rather dire.

Up until that point, all the proponents of Horie were saying "Look! This young guy is brilliant, making tons of money, and can change the way Japan operates!" When he got arrested, that changed to "Look! This young guy broke the law, was making tons of money, and pretty much guaranteed that the youth of Japan will forever be trapped beneath their senile overlords." (Ok, that last part might just be me)

sorry, it seems I'm still a little peeved about the whole thing.

Yesterday I was talking with the (rather young) CEO of a automotive-electronics startup and he was saying that Japan's industry is slowly dying because of a lack of desire to innovate. He said "In order to succeed in the Japanese market, you can't introduce something new because it'll get shot down. You need to go abroad, do your research, make demos, make it work, then bring it back to Japan and say 'Look what we're doing abroad!' ".

I hope this country does great things (because I don't have anywhere else to go), but I really worry about the future of a country that doesn't value its youth to such a degree that they lose all motivation.

Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks

#5

Post by gojomo » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 4:23 AM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #3

This is largely directionally accurate. (Especially for young ladies -- curious that the NYT missed that angle, one would have assumed they would be all over it.) On the plus side, persistent market inefficiencies are a gift from God if you're prepared to exploit them. (Where else can you find Californian purchasing power at engineering wages which would be skimpy in small town Iowa?)

Can you clarify that last sentence a bit? (I think you mean, things are enough cheaper in Japan that a skimpy salary still has great purchasing-power-parity... but I thought as a highly-urbanized country, Japan had relatively high prices for everything from real estate to food. I could easily be mistaken, and would love to hear examples of what is cheaper there, and where.)

Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks

#6

Post by jimminy » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 4:36 AM UTC

I feel the US is in roughly the same boat.We have more freedoms, but our whole system puts pressure on promoting higher education, while simultaneously providing no promise that there will be a way to recoup the debt load. Our mentalities, of protecting a gentrifying population, are stifling future generations access to the same privilege that prior generations had.

My personal view on the situation, is that we need to step back and look at what this system of higher education has done. And then start focusing on vocational training, in HS, apprenticeships, and on the job skill training.

Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks

#7

Post by patio11 » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 4:43 AM UTC

gojomo wrote: post #5

patio11 wrote: post #3

This is largely directionally accurate. (Especially for young ladies -- curious that the NYT missed that angle, one would have assumed they would be all over it.) On the plus side, persistent market inefficiencies are a gift from God if you're prepared to exploit them. (Where else can you find Californian purchasing power at engineering wages which would be skimpy in small town Iowa?)

Can you clarify that last sentence a bit? (I think you mean, things are enough cheaper in Japan that a skimpy salary still has great purchasing-power-parity... but I thought as a highly-urbanized country, Japan had relatively high prices for everything from real estate to food. I could easily be mistaken, and would love to hear examples of what is cheaper there, and where.)

Japan is a rich nation, by any measure you want. Japanese twenty-something engineers are not rich people. You can take their labor and use it to sell to other Japanese people, like their parents or the beneficiaries of Californian-public-employee-esque sweet retirement deals.

(See also: Demand Media, which does the same equation except it substitutes "stay-at-home moms" for 20-something Japanese engineers.)

Most persistent market mispricings of labor should be profitably exploitable.

Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks

#8

Post by rshigeta » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 4:46 AM UTC

wallflower wrote: post #2

Deru kugi wa utareru Cross-reference with "An Innovator Leaving Japan" http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1325704 http://synaptify.com/?p=613728 OT: Ikiru "To Life" (a 1952 film about one man and Japan's human crushing bureaucracy) is one of Kurosawa's best http://www.acepilots.com/discussions/ikiru.html

Loved that movie - it didn't make me ever want to visit japan despite our family roots there.

Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks

#9

Post by rshigeta » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 4:51 AM UTC

harisenbon wrote: post #4

The part about Horie was kind of interesting. He was really seen as someone to rock the boat, and as someone who could really turn around the stodgering top-down society that is Japan. It's probably safe to say that most of the youth of the country were rooting for him, and the new economic growth that he would most likely bring to Japan. Then he f-ed up, and got caught up in stock fraud. I know that he's still appea…

Japan seems like a different place. Its a country that loves systems of harmony so much that the police are only now trying to break away from their collaboration with the gangs, and sometimes failing. Established newspapers have a system of collaboration with news sources (like government officials) that they are tasked report upon. Among all these harmony systems is the seniority = age system. Even corporate finance loans are often based on social connections rather than creditworthiness. Its not hard for me to see why people would question Horie's arrest as a system turned against the young in that context.

Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks

#10

Post by donw » Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 5:40 AM UTC

harisenbon wrote: post #4

The part about Horie was kind of interesting. He was really seen as someone to rock the boat, and as someone who could really turn around the stodgering top-down society that is Japan. It's probably safe to say that most of the youth of the country were rooting for him, and the new economic growth that he would most likely bring to Japan. Then he f-ed up, and got caught up in stock fraud. I know that he's still appea…

This reflects my experience in Japan; overall, people here are terrified of change. Even within most companies, the tiniest of changes need to be communicated and agreed upon by every separate group, before anything can actually happen.