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In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks
11–20 of 34 posts
Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks
#12It seems that we might look back in history and see the rise and fall of Japan in a single generation. Culturally, founder CEOs are given the utmost respect, while hired CEOs are looked at almost as figureheads. By the time Japan really started to decline in the 90s, most of the entrepreneurs who rebuilt industry after the war were gone- leaving their companies rudderless. The political sphere is even worse, corruption and cronyism abound. Japan, the unstoppable juggernaut, is now ruled by old men lining their pockets.
Surely there are lessons to be learned here.
Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks
#13This looks like an amazing opportunity to start a company and hire talented young people.
Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks
#14Deru 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
I loved that movie (it's on Netflix for those who have it). Gave it 5 stars.
Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks
#15This 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.)
I can't claim to be an expert, but I visited Japan last year and found that you can get away with eating very cheaply if you want to. Lawson 100 yen shops, Za Watami and Watamin Chi FTW! We found this awesome Tonkatsu place (it was a chain, I forget the name) in Kyoto where you could get a great feed for an average price.
Plus if you're willing to be a little more adventurous and get off the beaten track, there's always some cool little hole in the wall where you can find interesting food at reasonable prices.
And the service in Japan - pretty much regardless of what price you're paying - is amazing... you have to experience it to believe it. I came home and was in culture shock for a couple of weeks whenever I went into a restaurant or retail store.
Likewise accommodation (at least the kind used by travellers) was also average to cheap if you were willing to do a little research before hand (http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/ was what I used mostly). However if what I was told by people living there is anything to go by, longer term accommodation can get pretty expensive.
But you can also spend as much as you want if you're looking for luxury food, hotels, ryokans, whatever.
This held pretty much true for us all the way from Tokyo to Kagoshima.
Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks
#16The 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 financ…
>Even corporate finance loans are often based on social connections rather than creditworthiness
Here's the thing. EVERYHING. I mean EVERYTHING in Japan is based on social connections. Not just business, but every social interaction you have with any person anywhere will in most probability be based on who you know, and what connections you have.
Which is one reason why I think it is very hard for foreigners and foreign companies to make head-way in Japan.
In my decade here, I have a small smattering of connections, but nothing as wide raging as what your average Japanese person would have. But even my small smattering has helped me secure a great deal on my house loan, get a great deal on 3 cars, get me more high-quality furniture for my house than I could ever imagine, and free food at my favorite high-class restaurant.
None of this is because I am a good, or even out-going person. It's only because I've become indebted to someone, or have someone indebted to me. (お世話になります has never been so true)
Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks
#17This looks like an amazing opportunity to start a company and hire talented young people.
See the comment above by rshigeta and my reply as to why that will be a lot harder than you think.
I wish it wasn't, but a society based entirely on social connections that is resistant to change is a hard place for an outsider to start a company.
Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks
#18It seems that we might look back in history and see the rise and fall of Japan in a single generation. Culturally, founder CEOs are given the utmost respect, while hired CEOs are looked at almost as figureheads. By the time Japan really started to decline in the 90s, most of the entrepreneurs who rebuilt industry after the war were gone- leaving their companies rudderless. The political sphere is even worse, corrupti…
It's probably more extreme in Japan, but you could say a similar thing is happening all over the western world right now, a decade later.
Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks
#19A nation that produced Sony, Toyota and Honda has failed in recent decades to nurture young entrepreneurs
Why did those companies succeed?
Re: In Japan, Young Face Generational Roadblocks
#20I think I understand now why the "otaku" cultural industry is so vibrant. A bright, working-class high schooler knows he can't become a president at Sony or Misubishi, but if he's good enough, he can write the next YuYu Hakusho or Naruto. He can start by publishing an indie doujinshi with a group of friends. That's how some of the best-paid manga writers in Japan began.