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Japan's Universities Are Failing

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Re: Japan's Universities Are Failing

#91

Post by flamedoge »

Nadya wrote: post #87
flamedoge wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Accepting more immigrants doesn't have to mean destroying own culture. I don't see why Japan can't promote and preserve its own culture while accepting immigrants. Is coexisting that hard?

>Is coexisting that hard? Yes. Because of culture clashes. New Culture B doesn't like how existing Culture A "does things" and demands a change. While they are some small minority, they often get ignored by the majority (Culture A). Over time, as more and more of Culture B immigrates into Culture A, they become large enough of a group that they can no longer be ignored . If Culture B was totally fine with adopting Cu…

I think we can all agree that there already are vetting processes to screen for immigrants who are least likely to receive and give cultural shocks with existing cultures within the country. These should be given appropriate weight as desired by citizens of the country.

Re: Japan's Universities Are Failing

#92

Post by csa »

gozur88 wrote: post #85
ProfessorLayton wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The collapse of the Japanese population, and with it, its economy, education system, and way of life?

Japan's GDP per capita, which is IMO the only real measure of wealth, ranks the country at 37, above Finland and France. The education system, as the article points out, is underfunded not because they don't have the money, but because they're spending it on other things. And one sure method to destroying your way of life is to let a bunch of people in who are there for the money and aren't particularly interested in…

Hmmmm.... you make a prima facie good argument, but I'm not really convinced.

While Japan may not presently be gutted in terms of GDP, I wonder if we are witnessing the slow rotting from inside right now.

The older generations are demanding to be supported by the younger generation in a number of ways, but they are not giving the younger folks the means to do so via decent-paying jobs and jobs that are stable enough to encourage the start of a family (i.e., future generations).

Right now Japan is printing money hand over fist to try to make something -- anything -- happen economically. I don't see that it's working, and I wonder how long they can keep doing this before they take a hit on the economic side (GDP or otherwise).

If Japan can make it 25-30 years with something like their current GDP, then they will be fine -- their population will have shrunk, and there will be no big bubble on the top of their population by age pyramid. That said, think their economy will take a huge hit a some point in that timeframe.

Do you see much positive hope on the economic side moving forward?

Re: Japan's Universities Are Failing

#93

Post by grillvogel »

astrange wrote: post #88
grillvogel wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

japanese culture predates "the US way" by thousands of years.

Modern Japan was founded in 1868 and then destroyed and rebuilt again in WW2. The people have been there that long, but the country and culture haven't.

i dont even know where to begin with how wrong this is. what culture is something like Todai-Ji a part of? since japan was apparently invented in 1868

Re: Japan's Universities Are Failing

#94

Post by hkmurakami »

csa wrote: post #44
hkmurakami wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard that one of the contributing factors is that the domestic academic publication industry is big and strong enough that careers can be supported while never publishing internationally. Many countries' academics have no choice but to publish internationally. Analogous to how a strong domestic economy has impeded a need for better English education and international business skills.

The domestic Japanese publication industry certainly does carry enough weight to build a career as a professor on. The question is whether is actually should. Many of the journals are essentially pay to play -- join an organization, present at the conference, write a paper for the proceedings that is not completely absurd (slight absurdity is ok), ship $100, and you will get published. There are journals that are mor…

Appreciate the insider insight!

Re: Japan's Universities Are Failing

#95

Post by ng12 »

mkaziz wrote: post #82
pdx wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Immigration of skilled labor is always valuable. Japan, the US, France, Germany, etc should always welcome it, and should have policies that allow people with verified and needed skills to immigrate. However, drowning your citizens in a sea of immigrants is cultural suicide. If your culture is such that it has allowed your ancestors to build a country that immigrants want to flee their own countries to live in, then…

It's not a floodgates vs nothing situation. You can certainly decide on an appropriate rate that you're comfortable with - enough to jumpstart the economy but not enough to completely drown out the host culture.

Hasn't Japan already done that? Secondly, I think it's very Western-centric viewpoint that your country's economy comes before everything else.

Re: Japan's Universities Are Failing

#96

Post by krapp »

grillvogel wrote: post #67
flamedoge wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yes, and maybe immigration could actually be a good thing by creating problems to solve... a circular logic, but it may help unravel centuries of mono-culture and its idiosyncrasies such as mistrust and racism.

so all japan needs to do is completely destroy their own culture, its so simple now

Japan has been influenced by the rest of the world for millennia - just recently there was an article posted to HN about ancient Persia having envoys to Imperial Japan[0,1], to say nothing of China, which is probably responsible for just about everything you associate with "Japanese culture," or the Western influences behind the Meiji restoration and postwar government.

All cultures change over time, even the ones that some people, for some reason, hold up as icons of homogeneous purity like Japan. A culture which isn't an expression of the people who currently live in a certain place and time is dead. That immigration would inevitably alter Japanese culture is a sign of health and evolutionary progress, not destruction.

I mean, the Ainu might even consider it karma, since they were already there before the Yamato showed up with their weird foreign ideas.

[0]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13693800

[1]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/10/05/national/history...

Re: Japan's Universities Are Failing

#97

Post by csa »

hx87 wrote: post #69
_rjlt wrote: post #23

I really don't see a way out for Japan that's not immigration. It might lead to social upheaval, but it sounds like that kind of change is sorely needed. A well executed immigration policy could inject fresh blood into that country.

Finishing the gender role revolution (i.e. men also take care of home and the kids, not getting drunk with coworkers every night) and ensuring that income security for the younger generations is at least as good as for the older generations would go a long way even without immigration.

I think most people who do not live in Japan would be very surprised at how far this "revolution" has progressed. The problem is that Japan's older generations, Japan Inc in particular, have given these folks the collective middle finger (e.g., no stable and/or prestigious jobs for these folks).

You're right that income security (and status security, imho) would go a long way towards addressing the problem. That said, that digs much deeper into Japanese social issues -- for example, small business owners (e.g., small restaurant/bar owners, consultants, tech entrepreneurs, etc.) are often perceived as having lower social status than salarymen even though they sometimes make bucket loads more money. Folks in lower prestige careers have a harder time getting married, getting loans, moving into good neighborhoods, etc.

As such, the men who embrace the revolution are ipso facto marginalized in society.

Once Japan can embrace more individualistic careers more favorably, then I think their economy will be able to move forward more aggressively, and the "revolution" folks will have a more prominent and visible role in society.

Re: Japan's Universities Are Failing

#98

Post by DalasNoin »

titanix2 wrote: post #21
yammajr wrote: post #3

Looks like an interesting article after the first couple of paragraphs, but the paywall makes it hard to say really.

This seems to be a copy-paste of the article: https://sanrikufukkou.com/2016/11/08/japan-gets-schooled/

seems to be offline

Re: Japan's Universities Are Failing

#99

Post by ng12 »

ue_ wrote: post #74
grillvogel wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so all japan needs to do is completely destroy their own culture, its so simple now

How does immigration mean that you're "destroying their own culture"? Please stop talking in hyperbole and being sarcastic, it isn't helpful. I can't see why a unique culture ought to be 'preserved' as people say, either. And I can't see why the 'bad' parts cannot be slowly eroded over time. Nor do I see why certain 'races' ought to be kept. This has always been an argument that's been relatively ignored - why exactl…

> It is ultimately the decision of the Japanese citizens

I mean, that's exactly it. Why is it so shocking an idea that the Japanese apparently prefer to retain their homogeneity even if it weakens their economy?

Re: Japan's Universities Are Failing

#100

Post by BoysenberryPi »

ng12 wrote: post #95
mkaziz wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a floodgates vs nothing situation. You can certainly decide on an appropriate rate that you're comfortable with - enough to jumpstart the economy but not enough to completely drown out the host culture.

Hasn't Japan already done that? Secondly, I think it's very Western-centric viewpoint that your country's economy comes before everything else.

I mean without a strong economy everything else around it kinda goes to shit.
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