I lived in Japan in the 1980s and it was indeed wonderful. Everything was UP, so positive, so hopeful, so happy. Everybody's income was increasing and people would throw away virtually new stuff just to make room for newer stuff. Money flowed and people were generous to each other. It was a very special time and place.
@Mary Jane Universal Basic Income? You mean like Communism? Didn't work for the Soviet Union or China or Vietnam or Cuba or any other that tried it yet.
@Mary Jane OK. I understand. I have experienced the "Asian Miracle" Several times in my lifetime: Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, and now up-and-comer Vietnam. It is always the same thing: When times are good they are extraordinarily good. The atmosphere is so upbeat. Everybody in the country seems happy and hopeful and generosity abounds. There is extra of everything. Family, friends, and neighbors suddenly go from average to very wealthy. Then, invariably the bubble pops, reality sets in, and a more subdued economic maturity sets in and the party is over. However, while the party is on, it is really on.
@Rachel Goldberg I would have to disagree with the comment that the USA "Bullied" Japan into inflating the value of the yen. What really happened is that the USA and the international banking community allowed Japan to hold the yen to unreasonably low values in order to allow the Japanese economy to grow during the menacing cold war until finally in the late 1970's/early 1980s it was simply ridiculous to continue to allow the yen to remain at the artificially low rate (I think it was 360 yen/$) From 1945 until about 1980-something, the USA went to extraordinary lengths to prop up the Japanese post war economy and stave away the communist domino effect in Asia. A more clear argument would be that if it was not for the USA, Japan might never have experienced the "Japanese Economic Miracle". The same goes for China. In an effort to bring China into capitalism, the USA gave great liberties with trade and currency to China. Just like Japan, if it had not been for the USA, there would absolutely never have been the "Chinese Economic Miracle". China has always and continues to manipulate the value of their currency. Until the 1990s, international banks would not exchange RMB to other major currencies because of this manipulation. Today, after all the astounding growth of the Chinese economy, the RMB has decreased in value since 1994! That is the ripest example of currency manipulation you can find. It isn't that the USA is "Disgusting" by pressuring China to allow their currency to increase in value, the USA has been overly patient in allowing China to manipulate their currency and keep it artificially low for so long.
@@explorermike19 My wife is Japanese and she often compares what happened in Japan to what happened in Korea. She was born in 1988 which means she grew in a "hangover Japan" (she missed the party lol) but the Koreans from this generation are living the "Korean Party" (even though less than the 90's I think) and I feel they are too spoiled... maybe what you said explains a lot. Were the Japanese that spoiled too?
@@thiagobraves Today's Korea is NOTHING like the boom years of Japan in the 1980's There is no comparison whatsoever. I have been traveling regularly to Korea, Taiwan, China, and Japan since the early 1980's. Taiwan had something of a boom, but it was very short. Maybe China today is a little bit like Japan in the 1980's, but still not really. In the 1980's, everybody in Japan was getting bonuses and raises several times every year. It was so optimistic, like the party would never end. You hardly heard of businesses failing and never heard of lay-offs. New graduates picked where they wanted to work and they all got jobs immediately out of college. It was a time of extraordinary economic growth. The adults that championed this growth were young teens during the devastation of WWII. The youth of the 1980's were born into Spartan conditions of post-war Japan and watched their lifestyles improve faster than anyone could imagine. At the time, Japan had no global competition. China was communist and still behind the bamboo curtain. Korea was struggling with it's government with martial law imposed. Taiwan's infrastructure was decades behind Japan. Vietnam was still smoldering from their civil war. Japan was the first and biggest Asian economic miracle. I wish you and your wife could have been there to experience it. Japan in the 1980's was fantastic.
@@funkymonk5344 Aww, thanks, brother. I was just joking though. I love it here, but Japan is another world. I went back in 2012, as my mom and dad we're stationed back there in 2004, and haven't come back yet. My mom retired in 2011 after 30yrs in the marines, and my dad retired last year after 20. My younger sister and brother live there, too now. But Shanghai? That's so awesome. It's definitely on our list. My dad, brother and me. Congrats
As a Japanese who lives in Japan over 25 years, I would say Japan hasn't changed so much since 1990s. So I can imagine how 1980s Japan was great. My parents told me during the period was really good time. For example, they tipped 100 dollars when they got in a taxi and they ate fancy wagyu beef almost every week.
Did your parents tell you that it was a good time? Do you believe that tipping 100 dollars is totally awesome?? No, it`s awful. Many Japanese people suffered from affluenza during that time. They were complacent about short-lived economic prosperity which was a result of speculations on real estates. In 1980`s, Japanese became arrogant, despised modesty and industriousness, bought up foreign stocks and real estates. As a result, Japanese antagonized a lot of people overseas and got isolated. Japan looked a wealthy country, but people`s heart was shabby. Young Japanese should never dream of the revival of the bubble economy. Be studious and content with frugal life!
@@francescoakajoker Tip is not a common habit in Japan, but some nouveaux riches often tip in order to show off their wealth in swanky places such as Ginza.
@@MrEjidorie people don’t live in a vacuum, keep in mind economically everything was recently reconstructed. Socially, people were trying to forget about the lost generation. So many parents died during the war. A lot men in particular. A lot of orphans and a country in ruin. Can you really blame them for turning away from modesty as you say. The old ways did leave Japan in ruin. Frugality was upon Japan after the war. So you could say that generation was a little tired of being frugal since most people grew up that way.
I was there as a child when my Dad was in the Japanese tour of Starlight Express, sponsored by Namco and Kirin. The things I saw! There was a working prototype of a flying car at the Toyota Factory. Strangers bought me toys every time I went into a toy shop and once, when I was allowed to stay up for the wrap party, a member of the Yakuza who owned the bar asked if I wanted anything, and I said some Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, and someone returned with a tub of every single flavour. It was 1am!!!
@@elusivejahnell Nice. I first lived in japan in fukuoka from 91 til 95 Did u know that kokura, kita kyushu was supposed to be the 2nd atomic bombing target!?, but due to cloudy weather over kokura the backup target nagasaki was bombed instead !
@Beck W I'm so fucking jealous of you dude. Going to japan is on my bucket list. Let alone during the crazy economic boom. I bet you could write a book on all the stuff you saw
OMG ... so true. I worked in Southeast Asia (Bangkok) during this period and visited Japan more than a dozen times, and it was such a blast. Additionally, I had a good Japanese friend living nearby named Takishi (Tak for short) who worked for a multinational firm. I remember one day while hanging out with Tak at his sheik apartment in the Sukhumvit 55 area for pre-night-out drinks . We were discussing at length where we wanted to go party and Tak, to me, appeared unduly concerned about how much cash we needed for the night. While I was lounging he simply got up and slid open a secret panel on the wall directly across the room from me revealing a proper wall safe. He quickly spun the dial like he had done so a million times before and opened the safe door revealing more stacks of US, foreign and local Thai money (Baht) than I have ever seen. He simply grabbed a stack, split off a 1/3 and shoved it in his jacket pocket. He peered at me and smiled and attempted his best impression of a Brit with a firm "Right". It never ceases to amaze me how, that while something is happening, and we are right in the middle of it, it is rare that we grasp how unusual it is until much later. I honestly cannot compare this period to any period in my life since. And maybe the explanation is, it was simply this crazy time or more tragically, it is now a sorry statement about my subsequent life. Ha!
A game set in Not-Kabukicho in 1988, where different Yakuza gangs set aim for a stretch of land for a renovation project. The three-by-four land that worth one billion yen. Also, your character has a real estate minigame, buying places for ludicrous mounds of money
@@MagronesBR2 and the 10k yen taxi fee is just a homage to it as well. in judge eyes it was like hundred ish lol. plus they did re-mention it on yakuza kiwami as well via the dance club side quest
I remember Japanese rich guy tropes in a lot of 80s comedies - one had a man in a restaurant and the cashier thought he wanted french fries, and he said, "No, FRANCHISE" (what movie was that?)
in the 80s Japanese business men went on a massive spending spree buying properties and businesses in Australia at the time It was a common saying back then that “japan may have lost the war but they sure are going to buy us piece by piece instead”
@@BizzeeB Hey, I've heard that joke before, but I have no idea where it came from! Wonder if it was a movie or series? If you ever do find out Bryan, please let me know!
@@missshellybeach Japan (Mitsubishi) also bought the Rockefeller Centre in NYC. There's also a joke in the movie Back to the Future: Part 2, where Marty McFly's boss is Japanese and he has to greet him in Japanese.
Lucky for me I managed to get to japan in 1991 to still observe some of the bubble culture. It was still pretty epic, and unforgettable permanently changed me
Nah. Normal people in a cyberpunk story are miserable, 1980's Tokyoers just P A R T Y. Actually millennials today who struggle so much in real life and only find comforting in games and social media (aka cyberspace) and drugs are basically living in a cyberpunk story. A large portion of Japanese young people started living like this (minus the drugs) ever since 1990's (therefore depiction of daily lives in Ghost in the Shell was not that SF-ish at the time).
I lived in Japan during the bubble. As they described, there was coffee and other drinks with gold dust in them. I tried it for the novelty. Yes, the clothes are accurate. I still have one of those suit jackets packed away somewhere. The better dressed you were, the better chance you had to be let into the dance club. From the eyes of a gaijin (foreigner), dress codes were strict and no jeans were ever allowed. I have written a number of stories of this amazing era of great cultural change, advancing tech, and unparalleled economic wealth.
@@foiausavon I don't have them out in public except for what I have written explaining photos of me in1980's Japan on FaceBook. I remember when living there then thinking that this is what the 1920's in the USA must have felt like for my grandparents. I think that the Bubble Era was a time when traditional Japanese culture and outside cultural influences hit the perfect balance or mix and a successful hybrid bubble culture was forged by the incredible wealth. It was like having one foot in the 19th century of Edo Japan and another in the 21st century with all the advance tech. I lived in Shizuoka, Japan and was 22 when I arrived there to go to university. I think this hybrid is well demonstrated in Akina Nakamori's costume of hit "Desire" released in early 1986. I remember watching this as a live broadcast. The newly designed kimono style demonstrated the traditional influenced by the now- along with high heels peppered with 80's gold jewelry. ruclips.net/video/_u_1KJaCe_g/видео.html I found a compilation of her hit songs through the 1980's and you can see year over year the sets and costumes go from simple to over the top. No green screens back then. It is all real: ruclips.net/video/JmnOuDlQAV0/видео.html I just read all of @Explorer Mike experiences below and I concur. Living in Japan then has positively impacted my life. Lots of great memories too.
@@bobbelcher678 Maybe you should read up on Huawei's history of stealing telecom technology. 5G ain't anything special, several companies around the world can provide 5G equipment. AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon are rolling out nationwide 5G next year. The only reason you hear about Chinese Huawei 5G a lot is b/c they are a state sponsored company with dirty business tactics that undercut the competition in pricing to provide 5G.
Well it’s apparent that Americans were putting tons of pressure to make japan not to bounce back after their bubble economy collapsed. Just like what they’re doing to the Chinese right now.
I arrived in Tokyo in 1978. My favorite party spot was a disco called Nepenta in Roppongi. They had a stuffed elephant in the foyer. For an entrance charge of 3000 yen (assuming you could get in, which was pretty difficult unless you were a celebrity, a beautiful fashion model, or a regular known by the staff - I had friends on staff) the bar and buffet had no extra charge. I used to do English classes at companies from about 6:00 to 9:00 PM. then head to Nepenta for the rest of the evening, eating and drinking through the night, until it closed at 5:00 A.M. Then I'd stagger back to my 3000 yen a day cubical to sleep off the fun till late afternoon when I had to get up and prepare for another evening's work and play. Those were the good old days.
Well, it doesnt talk how Japanese politicians like Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Taro Aso said and implemented the politics that Japan is and needs to be a "one race" country. I mean, this mentality kinda still exists to this day, and Japan has a demographic problem, but nobody talks how they refuse and are very strict on imigration despite that. But if it was a "western" European country, cant even imagine the shitstorm about these facts and how many videos VOX would make.
@@gordusmaximus4990Why are you talking as if it were a bad thing? Japan is a geographically isolated country, and has been ethnically uniform for the last 1700 years. Why, then, do you think it is a good idea to let a massive number of immigrants in to change the society built by and streamlined for a single specific race?
@@Sora-ce1zx I hope they do not repeat the immigration/asylum policy of Europe and try to fix their problems with their own population, as everyone should.
I was stationed on the USS Midway back in 82-85, which was based out of Yokosuka, and let me tell you something. Tokyo WAS FREAKING AMAZING! The best place to have been during that time.
Having lived in Tokyo during the last years of the bubble, it was truly a party. Juliana's was an anachronism. It was a party place, but it was owned by Avex Trax, a music corporation. And because of that it closed at 12:00 sharp, because there were laws of no dancing after midnight in Japan.
The role ascribed to interest rates in the rise of the Japan bubble is misplaced. The main driver of the bubble wasn’t interest rates per se, rather it was the higher USD/JPY exchange rate that caused a massive “wealth effect” that, in turn caused, among other things, the acquisition of lots of foreign trophy assets. Ascribing a massive role to interest rates in causing economic bubbles is a very American concept that is not necessarily true in other parts of the world. It is very simple to dismiss the role of low interest rates: Just look at Japan over the past 30 years where the interest rate has been very low and disinflationary, yet there is no bubble. The reason the interest rate does not affect Japan as much is that Japanese, in general, do not like debt and borrowing. Even now, a housing loan interest rate of 0.40% doesn’t get much takers.
To quote Martin Scorsese’s Good Fellas, which ironically came out just as the economic good times for Japan were tragically coming to an end “It was a glorious time...”
I was a bit late to the party having lived in Tokyo during the mid 90s but it was still the best time of my life. Can only imagine how much more fun it would have been if I was a decade earlier.
Brings me back to when I was in 80s Japan. I was a young up and coming Yakuza that got framed for a murder I didnt do by my own bosses and got caught up in a real estate land grab battle. Crazy times, every street punk was after me but I still managed to have fun. Sang a lot of karaoke and got into pocket circuit, hit the disco, ran a cabaret club in my spare time, and made billions off real estate. Those were the days... But of course, none of this actually happened in real life. Yakuza 0 is the best game ever.
My father was running real estate business in that time. Can you believe if I say the most of banks let you borrow any amount of money you want to buy properties just because land prices were rising up massively everyday. You buy a building and sell it a FEW DAYS later for double the price. Also I remember 48 or 49 out of top50 largest companies in the world (largest market capitalization) were all Japanese companies(some of them were even local small banks). There are too many crazy stories to write down here..
@@toyokawashigako1643 The Japanese economy is basically smaller now than then. Back then, people thought japan was going to be the next superpower and was on its way to surpass the US, and then the economy stagnated.
Sadly yes most of us still can't get over it subtly. I tell em, especially boomers to forget it and recreate the world from zero but they don't seem to understand what I say. Oh that's about life in Japan. I live in Japan.
the real crazy part is that prior ti US intervention, pre 85. Japan had its traditional values, modern flair, and immense stability. a slow, functionable life of dedication achieable for nearly everyone that wasn't breakneck overwhelming like today.. happiness and contentedness was easily achievable, stability was assured, and everything moved at a reasonable pace.. amazing how quickly that was all lost. (you may want to say something similar about america, but, the USA has historically been turbulent/wild, unequal, and breakneck/grindy with brief periods/burst of unequivocal success (goes without saying never truly stable))
@ryanscates1011 what? So America just became a superpower on a whim? By accident? We've had our ups and downs but we've done very well. I know your Marxist professors told you otherwise but more people came to live in America than anywhere else in the world in modern history.
To be fair...the USA is a young country. We're still sorting out what our collective identity even is...if we survive long enough to achieve that. We're called the "great experiment" for a reason.😅
@@FlutterMouse don't use the word "collective" when describing America. What got us to this point wasn't collectivism. It was certain individual stars whose sole efforts shined so bright they helped set a course that navigated us to our present destiny. Yea you could say manifest destiny.
That ReGain energy drink ad is still haunting some of us in Japan. It was the epitome of our toxic work culture until we started letting ourselves leave the office at 5 pm. Ginza is still upscale up to this day btw.
People still remember that ReGain energy drink ad over in Japan? Wow. And yes, Japan still has a toxic work culture. They even invented a word for "death by overwork," which is "Karoshi."
I know this film only got a 51% on RT, but I really loved it. Especially as I'm about to move to Korea in 2 weeks to work, largely running from family problems, it plucked a chord in me that I really felt.
Trasssshh!! Netflix, you keep coming up with all these really cool concepts. Getting me all excited with these previews. Yet the actual film never reaches its amazing potential
Any titles? I watch a lot of Japanese cinema and that is regarded as a weak era in Japanese cinema history. Strange. Maybe one title that comes to mind is Tokyo Decadence.
@@matangox One I just recently watched was Mosquito on the Tenth Floor (1983). In this movie there is alot about changing society, money, materialism. It makes sense that many people didn't like this period in Japan, not everybody made money in the 80s. Also, it makes sense that the movies of the period are perhaps not considered the best Japanese movie industry has created.
This analyst is applying American thinking to Japanese reality. In reality, most Japanese did not take on loans, so the debt is mostly by corporations.
But a lot of people did take loans due to overall low interest rates combined with strong faith in the economy. The "Japanese" mentality nowadays is very different because of the lessons learned. But back then yuppies, not exclusive to Japan, firmly believed they'd just earn more money and would have no problem paying back.
Yes pretty accurate. I was a fashion model living in Tokyo at Azabu Juban. A quick 5 minutes drive to Roppongi nightclubs and we could relax, have dinner or blow off steam on the dancefloors. Cleo's for after hours, Tokyo and Lexington Queen nightclubs are where most of us models and a lot of celebrities hung out. We were treated very very well. Most of us models worked 6-7 days a week, made huge $ and spent huge $ on fabulous Japanese designer clothes (Junko Shimada, Yumi Katsura, Kenzo). Money flowed and so did champagne. The Japanese people were so kind. It was such an honor to live in Japan for 4 years..
Indeed it was a rare experience to live in such times in such a place. No judgements from me here on the morality, or social ethics, of the late '80s Bubble. Make of it what you will. But what an experience. And consider, that as a westerner - or anyone coming from someplace else - there was no internet; almost no popular culture background to prepare your mind for Japan as it was in the mid-1980s. That's hard to imagine for anyone now - coming into living in this world without the massive exposure we all have now. You simply came in cold and dove into it. I lived not too far from the Juban, myself ... ah, c'etait le bon temps ...
Japan was really crazy rich back then. At one point, the 10 largest banks in the world were ALL JAPANESE. And almost 40 out of the 50 largest companies were japanese. They owned more % wealth than any other country ever owned in the modern era. Not even the US or China can dominate to that level today.
I went to school in Japan in the late 80s and worked in a law firm at the start of the 90s in Tokyo before, during and after the bubble burst. The guy narrating this seems unsure if the stories are true. Yes, it’s all true.
0:20 Bubble party 0:41 Party 0:58 Plaza accord cc 3:20 Japan ad 4:00 extravagance 4:56 body con 5:19 Party crash 5:34 Crime uncovered 6:00 Biggest party 6:27 golf course 6:39 Architecture
Just to add to this. Japan 2021 is so much better!. My Meiji era farmhouse in Fukuoka Pref. bought for just USD7,000, 500m2 plot, we grow rice and cultivate green tea. How much more beautiful is reality!. and living off the land for free.
I think this was the era when Filipinos in Japan witnessed people putting appliances in the garbage even if they were still fairly new and told our people back home how rich the Japanese were.
That's why in Yakuza 0 when you beat people's asses money flies every where. Its a funny joke and satirical take on how much money they were making & wasting.
I love that netflix is producing all these unique period pieces, keep em coming please, can't get enough of these dives into a slice of life from 20-800 years ago, give us moaaarrrrrrrrr! P.s. tyvm for the hard work.
The 80s was also the beginning of the relationship between Japan and rock n roll, which created many bars and nightclubs, some of them are even illegal. And the first opening up of trans national corporations in japan.
I remember hearing about the ski domes. I thought it was crazy. I live in Tahoe, CA at the time. There are like 20 ski resorts within 20-120 mins. I couldn't imagine what an indoor ski slope would be like. That is crazy.
They should make a 1980s, or how about Japan's economy and society post WW2 to the 2000s documentary. The Bubble economy of the 80s, but also the growth of the 60s and 70s would be fun to watch.
What's weird about Japan now is that it contains thousands of buildings and projects that were constructed during the bubble and are still in operation today. However, they were built in the 80's with the intention that Japan would always be growing and thus these buildings would always be used. Today, there is much less demand for things like a Netherlands themed park (Huis Ten Bosch), Jurassic Park themed love hotels or 500 room hotels in small mountain side Onsen towns. Visiting these cavernous hotels (I think about a stay of mine in Arima particularly) feels like you are walking through the abandoned ruins of a recently lost civilization. The Japanese even have a word for these types of buildings and architecture which represent opulence and extravagant thrift: Bubbly (バブリー)
Jurassic Park-themed love hotels? I almost think you're kidding there. And by the way, wasn't Jurassic Park a 1990s media franchise? That would mean it those love hotels would have had to be constructed after the Japanese bubble economy popped.
80s Japan is THE BEST ERA ! if you wanna go to Japan and have 'time machine' then go to 80s Japan, you never be want to 'back to the future' want to stuck there 80s Japan 😎
80s Japan is THE BEST ERA but THE UGLIEST ERA at the same time. As a Japanese national, my face blushes for a shame when I look back Japan in 1980`s. We were complacent about the thriving economy as if we conquered the world. But its economic prosperity was nothing more than a result of speculations on real estates. As a result, we lost diligence and modesty which were our national virtues. I hope Chinese people will learn from our miserable failure.
@@MrEjidorie How exactly was the 1980s the "ugliest era" in Japan? I would think that most people, being only human, would "let the good times roll" for as long as they could. Unfortunately it doesn't look like the Chinese will learn from Japan's "lost decade" any time soon.
@@Mazryonh People will never learn until they have a bitter experience. Particularly, if they are in prosperous circumstances, people tend to be complacent, they just look down on others because others are not competent enough while they are.
Very interesting, I knew of these things about 80s Japan, but you put it all together informatively. And now I'd like to see this film featured in it too.
My neighbor bought his tiny family house in a poor town in japan for half a million dollars during this time. After the bubble burst, it was worth less than 10,000 dollars.
I was a little child at the time, so did not know that I lived in a bubble economy at all. But only the TV commercial of Regain, I still remember as so many times I could see it on TV. Dragon Quest 3 and Bikkuriman also became so popular in those days.
@@Mazryonh Yes, I had Famicom and played Dragon Quest 3 (Some others were into FF3) at the time. They don't sell ReGain in Japan anymore. They stopped manufacturing original one long time ago.
@@JAPANLINK I remember seeing ReGain 24 in the video game called "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots," but that was back in 2008. I did not expect to hear that they would be out of business by now. Famicom was a classic console. Did you get the Super Famicom when it came out too?
@@Mazryonh Oh, it appeared in Metal Gear Solid 4? I didn't know that. I think they sale different types but not original ones now. Yes, I was into Famicom and I bought Super Famicom right after it was released.
@@hulakan Don't mind me asking some questions here. 1) But do you consider Japan as a highly developed and advanced country ? 2) How would you personally rate Japan (from culture to technology, architecture, food, products, scenery/landscape, standard of living/quality of life etc.) on a scale level of 1 to 10 ? 3) If you have 3 or more words to describe Japan, what would it be ? 4) What makes Japan uniquely different from other countries including other asian nations ? 5) Got any tips or advice to share for first time visitors to Japan ?
Wow. Excellent advertising idea. I didn’t know about this show and now I’m totally gonna watch it. Much more effective for me than a trailer, especially for a documentary style show.
Things were just f ing awesome. The Japanese were exporting items like crazy. Land prices were going up. People had money to burn and it was awesome. People really thought the Japanese would surpass the US. In 1990 the US had around 5.9 trillion in GDP while the Japanese had 3.1 trillion. Everyone thought it was just a matter of time. Then 1990 hit and the bubble bursts. Land prices fell, the Nikkei (Japanese stock exchange) plummeted. This is where we get the lost decade for Japan. In 2023, the US had 27.36 trillion while Japan has 4.2 trillion. That is just terrible for Japan. NOW Japan has the 4th largest economy as Germany overtook them in 2024. The bubble bursts really f'd up everything in Japan.
I think that’s where the myth that Americans believe everything is so expensive in Japan comes from. When I moved to Japan in 2013 everyone told me that I’d never be able to afford it, but once I got here, I learned the opposite. A 2 bedroom apartment in Tokyo is half the price of a one bedroom apartment in the actual woods in New Jersey! I make about half of what I used to make in America but I can afford more than double of the good here in Japan. In America making about 60k a year,I was border line poverty level, but here in Japan making 30k, I’m living like a king in Tokyo.
30k like a king in Tokyo is probably an overstatement but yeah relatively comfortable I suppose. 60k depends on where you live in America, in some states 60k is a pretty good income but in SF and NYC yes, 60k is poverty.
@@lettuce1305 I lived in NJ. 60k is below poverty level. I could barely pay my monthly bills and have any money left for food with that. I pretty much moved to Japan because I couldn’t afford to live in America anymore.
@@parkb5320 the big difference I noticed is that rent is affordable in Tokyo, and that's because there are very few barriers to construction, like zoning restrictions on building height, in Tokyo relative to North American cities. Another factor, though smaller, I think is that more people work, meaning the cost of wages, which translates to the cost of services, is lower. In the West, more people live off of government welfare programs, like disability insurance, and don't contribute to the economy by working, so wages, and with it the cost of every day goods/services like dining out, are higher.
@@parkb5320 depends where in NJ. South Jersey 60K is okay. Central or North NJ, yeah that's a struggle, can only rent. Not buy or at least takes several years of saving
Anybody here remember the 1980 short lived TV series Pink Lady and Jeff at all? And, anybody else remember Yellow Magic Orchestra and Sigue Sigue Sputnik?
1980`s was at the peak of the Japanese economy and arrogance which provoked strong antipathies from the United States and other countries. But pride comes before a fall. The bubble economy of Japan was burst. In many senses, there are a lot of similarities between Japan in 1980`s and today`s China. Now we can see many ominous signs in the Chinese economy.
I lived in Japan in the 1980s and it was indeed wonderful. Everything was UP, so positive, so hopeful, so happy. Everybody's income was increasing and people would throw away virtually new stuff just to make room for newer stuff. Money flowed and people were generous to each other. It was a very special time and place.
@Mary Jane Universal Basic Income? You mean like Communism? Didn't work for the Soviet Union or China or Vietnam or Cuba or any other that tried it yet.
@Mary Jane OK. I understand. I have experienced the "Asian Miracle" Several times in my lifetime: Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, and now up-and-comer Vietnam. It is always the same thing: When times are good they are extraordinarily good. The atmosphere is so upbeat. Everybody in the country seems happy and hopeful and generosity abounds. There is extra of everything. Family, friends, and neighbors suddenly go from average to very wealthy. Then, invariably the bubble pops, reality sets in, and a more subdued economic maturity sets in and the party is over. However, while the party is on, it is really on.
@Rachel Goldberg I would have to disagree with the comment that the USA "Bullied" Japan into inflating the value of the yen. What really happened is that the USA and the international banking community allowed Japan to hold the yen to unreasonably low values in order to allow the Japanese economy to grow during the menacing cold war until finally in the late 1970's/early 1980s it was simply ridiculous to continue to allow the yen to remain at the artificially low rate (I think it was 360 yen/$) From 1945 until about 1980-something, the USA went to extraordinary lengths to prop up the Japanese post war economy and stave away the communist domino effect in Asia. A more clear argument would be that if it was not for the USA, Japan might never have experienced the "Japanese Economic Miracle". The same goes for China. In an effort to bring China into capitalism, the USA gave great liberties with trade and currency to China. Just like Japan, if it had not been for the USA, there would absolutely never have been the "Chinese Economic Miracle". China has always and continues to manipulate the value of their currency. Until the 1990s, international banks would not exchange RMB to other major currencies because of this manipulation. Today, after all the astounding growth of the Chinese economy, the RMB has decreased in value since 1994! That is the ripest example of currency manipulation you can find. It isn't that the USA is "Disgusting" by pressuring China to allow their currency to increase in value, the USA has been overly patient in allowing China to manipulate their currency and keep it artificially low for so long.
@@explorermike19 My wife is Japanese and she often compares what happened in Japan to what happened in Korea. She was born in 1988 which means she grew in a "hangover Japan" (she missed the party lol) but the Koreans from this generation are living the "Korean Party" (even though less than the 90's I think) and I feel they are too spoiled... maybe what you said explains a lot. Were the Japanese that spoiled too?
@@thiagobraves Today's Korea is NOTHING like the boom years of Japan in the 1980's There is no comparison whatsoever. I have been traveling regularly to Korea, Taiwan, China, and Japan since the early 1980's. Taiwan had something of a boom, but it was very short. Maybe China today is a little bit like Japan in the 1980's, but still not really. In the 1980's, everybody in Japan was getting bonuses and raises several times every year. It was so optimistic, like the party would never end. You hardly heard of businesses failing and never heard of lay-offs. New graduates picked where they wanted to work and they all got jobs immediately out of college. It was a time of extraordinary economic growth. The adults that championed this growth were young teens during the devastation of WWII. The youth of the 1980's were born into Spartan conditions of post-war Japan and watched their lifestyles improve faster than anyone could imagine. At the time, Japan had no global competition. China was communist and still behind the bamboo curtain. Korea was struggling with it's government with martial law imposed. Taiwan's infrastructure was decades behind Japan. Vietnam was still smoldering from their civil war. Japan was the first and biggest Asian economic miracle. I wish you and your wife could have been there to experience it. Japan in the 1980's was fantastic.
yeahh this is why city pop and 80s anime feels so nostalgic. they capture their era before the bubble crushed
i thought about Plastic Love first, but it came from the late 1970s. So i guess Dance in the Memories (1988) was perfect for the vibes instead.
True. City Hunter did that wonderfully !
@@plasticage2085 Plastic Love is a song not an anime, and was released in 1984.
@@markhenley3097 They mentioned city pop lol.
@@missmokkori5558 City Hunter is like a magical little capsule to that time period. The songs are so good!
I moved to Japan in 1988, and lived there until halfway through the following decade. Some of the absolute best time anyone can ever live on Earth.
so why you left?
@@funkymonk5344 My parents got stationed here in Southern California, and I've been suicidal ever since.
@@cloudsleyfalconbridge I see, cheer up! You can always go back to Japan. I live nearby, in Shanghai.
@@funkymonk5344 Aww, thanks, brother. I was just joking though. I love it here, but Japan is another world. I went back in 2012, as my mom and dad we're stationed back there in 2004, and haven't come back yet. My mom retired in 2011 after 30yrs in the marines, and my dad retired last year after 20. My younger sister and brother live there, too now. But Shanghai? That's so awesome. It's definitely on our list. My dad, brother and me. Congrats
what an interesting life
I actually want to watch a full documentary about 1980s Japan now because this all was very interesting
On netflix there's also 'The Naked Director' which takes place in the same time period
@@beatingstuff88 That's about the early days of the porn industry in Japan. We need a documentary about Japanese economy like this.
Somehow, The Naked Director help me with this exact task.
I would like to see more of this crew. Loved this video.
Watch the Yamaguchi Gumi documentary, you can get a glimpse into yakuza and Japan extravagancies in the 80's
As a Japanese who lives in Japan over 25 years, I would say Japan hasn't changed so much since 1990s.
So I can imagine how 1980s Japan was great. My parents told me during the period was really good time. For example, they tipped 100 dollars when they got in a taxi and they ate fancy wagyu beef almost every week.
Did your parents tell you that it was a good time? Do you believe that tipping 100 dollars is totally awesome?? No, it`s awful. Many Japanese people suffered from affluenza during that time. They were complacent about short-lived economic prosperity which was a result of speculations on real estates. In 1980`s, Japanese became arrogant, despised modesty and industriousness, bought up foreign stocks and real estates. As a result, Japanese antagonized a lot of people overseas and got isolated. Japan looked a wealthy country, but people`s heart was shabby. Young Japanese should never dream of the revival of the bubble economy. Be studious and content with frugal life!
Tip?? 嘘でしょう？日本にはチップの文化あるわけないんでしょう。
@@francescoakajoker Tip is not a common habit in Japan, but some nouveaux riches often tip in order to show off their wealth in swanky places such as Ginza.
@@MrEjidorie Debbie downer
@@MrEjidorie people don’t live in a vacuum, keep in mind economically everything was recently reconstructed. Socially, people were trying to forget about the lost generation. So many parents died during the war. A lot men in particular. A lot of orphans and a country in ruin. Can you really blame them for turning away from modesty as you say. The old ways did leave Japan in ruin. Frugality was upon Japan after the war. So you could say that generation was a little tired of being frugal since most people grew up that way.
I was there as a child when my Dad was in the Japanese tour of Starlight Express, sponsored by Namco and Kirin. The things I saw! There was a working prototype of a flying car at the Toyota Factory. Strangers bought me toys every time I went into a toy shop and once, when I was allowed to stay up for the wrap party, a member of the Yakuza who owned the bar asked if I wanted anything, and I said some Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, and someone returned with a tub of every single flavour. It was 1am!!!
@I am Bloor, dictator of Uranus Some of them are genuinely nice. Not all. Some.
Great story, how long were u there and what parts?
I lived in fukuoka in the early 90s
@@elusivejahnell
Nice. I first lived in japan in fukuoka from 91 til 95
Did u know that kokura, kita kyushu was supposed to be the 2nd atomic bombing target!?, but due to cloudy weather over kokura the backup target nagasaki was bombed instead !
Godammit i love iapan 80s.
@Beck W I'm so fucking jealous of you dude. Going to japan is on my bucket list. Let alone during the crazy economic boom. I bet you could write a book on all the stuff you saw
OMG ... so true. I worked in Southeast Asia (Bangkok) during this period and visited Japan more than a dozen times, and it was such a blast. Additionally, I had a good Japanese friend living nearby named Takishi (Tak for short) who worked for a multinational firm. I remember one day while hanging out with Tak at his sheik apartment in the Sukhumvit 55 area for pre-night-out drinks . We were discussing at length where we wanted to go party and Tak, to me, appeared unduly concerned about how much cash we needed for the night. While I was lounging he simply got up and slid open a secret panel on the wall directly across the room from me revealing a proper wall safe. He quickly spun the dial like he had done so a million times before and opened the safe door revealing more stacks of US, foreign and local Thai money (Baht) than I have ever seen. He simply grabbed a stack, split off a 1/3 and shoved it in his jacket pocket. He peered at me and smiled and attempted his best impression of a Brit with a firm "Right". It never ceases to amaze me how, that while something is happening, and we are right in the middle of it, it is rare that we grasp how unusual it is until much later. I honestly cannot compare this period to any period in my life since. And maybe the explanation is, it was simply this crazy time or more tragically, it is now a sorry statement about my subsequent life. Ha!
zegulous What about the 1970s
I feel your story. Having seen craziness like that it's a reminder of just how much stranger life is than fiction ^_^
@John Smith How's the pollution? BKK is getting pretty nasty sometimes last I heard.
Yakuza 0 is also a great example of showing how insane the 80's were in japan
First thing that came to mind when I read the title of this video was "basically yakuza 0"
A game set in Not-Kabukicho in 1988, where different Yakuza gangs set aim for a stretch of land for a renovation project. The three-by-four land that worth one billion yen. Also, your character has a real estate minigame, buying places for ludicrous mounds of money
@@MagronesBR2 and the 10k yen taxi fee is just a homage to it as well. in judge eyes it was like hundred ish lol. plus they did re-mention it on yakuza kiwami as well via the dance club side quest
At first I thought you were referring to Junko Furuta.
fr i had to look this up cuz i couldnt believe the amount of people practically burning cash on booze, hostesses, and dancing every damn night
Even now Tokyo is still breathtaking. I visited it for the first time last month and had the best time of my life.
"Do the Japanese celebrate Christmas? No, but I heard they're buying it." - Joke told in the late 80s
I remember Japanese rich guy tropes in a lot of 80s comedies - one had a man in a restaurant and the cashier thought he wanted french fries, and he said, "No, FRANCHISE" (what movie was that?)
@Faustinus Karyadi Woosh
in the 80s Japanese business men went on a massive spending spree buying properties and businesses in Australia at the time It was a common saying back then that “japan may have lost the war but they sure are going to buy us piece by piece instead”
@@BizzeeB Hey, I've heard that joke before, but I have no idea where it came from! Wonder if it was a movie or series? If you ever do find out Bryan, please let me know!
@@missshellybeach Japan (Mitsubishi) also bought the Rockefeller Centre in NYC. There's also a joke in the movie Back to the Future: Part 2, where Marty McFly's boss is Japanese and he has to greet him in Japanese.
Netflix should create a documentary about 1980s Japan.
I think they did and you just watched the promo for it.
@@_sparrowhawk it's not, dumbass
@netflix
Just play Yakuza 0
No
Lucky for me I managed to get to japan in 1991 to still observe some of the bubble culture. It was still pretty epic, and unforgettable permanently changed me
I like to imagine Japanese people who were teens and young adults in late 80’s Japan had the greatest times of their lives.
1980's Japan is basically a Cyberpunk Plot.
Nah. Normal people in a cyberpunk story are miserable, 1980's Tokyoers just P A R T Y. Actually millennials today who struggle so much in real life and only find comforting in games and social media (aka cyberspace) and drugs are basically living in a cyberpunk story. A large portion of Japanese young people started living like this (minus the drugs) ever since 1990's (therefore depiction of daily lives in Ghost in the Shell was not that SF-ish at the time).
America post 2008 is also pretty much a Cyberpunk plot
Its Yakuza 0 normies
doubt you know what cyberpunk means
@@Elozero250 fr
Im sold. Solid way to plug a movie, Netflix.
This really should be a documentary, right, Netflix?
I lived in Japan during the bubble. As they described, there was coffee and other drinks with gold dust in them. I tried it for the novelty. Yes, the clothes are accurate. I still have one of those suit jackets packed away somewhere. The better dressed you were, the better chance you had to be let into the dance club. From the eyes of a gaijin (foreigner), dress codes were strict and no jeans were ever allowed. I have written a number of stories of this amazing era of great cultural change, advancing tech, and unparalleled economic wealth.
I am Japanese, is the dance club Juliana Tokyo? Or is it Shibaura gold?
The club I went to in the 80's バブル景気 was called マハラジャMaharaja. Thanks for asking. @@chihi_melody123
@@edwardquinn4914 oh! maharaja. thank you
@EdwardQuinn Where can we read your recounts of the era?
@@foiausavon I don't have them out in public except for what I have written explaining photos of me in1980's Japan on FaceBook. I remember when living there then thinking that this is what the 1920's in the USA must have felt like for my grandparents. I think that the Bubble Era was a time when traditional Japanese culture and outside cultural influences hit the perfect balance or mix and a successful hybrid bubble culture was forged by the incredible wealth. It was like having one foot in the 19th century of Edo Japan and another in the 21st century with all the advance tech. I lived in Shizuoka, Japan and was 22 when I arrived there to go to university. I think this hybrid is well demonstrated in Akina Nakamori's costume of hit "Desire" released in early 1986. I remember watching this as a live broadcast. The newly designed kimono style demonstrated the traditional influenced by the now- along with high heels peppered with 80's gold jewelry. ruclips.net/video/_u_1KJaCe_g/видео.html I found a compilation of her hit songs through the 1980's and you can see year over year the sets and costumes go from simple to over the top. No green screens back then. It is all real: ruclips.net/video/JmnOuDlQAV0/видео.html I just read all of @Explorer Mike experiences below and I concur. Living in Japan then has positively impacted my life. Lots of great memories too.
If a modern country ever had a true "golden age", it would be 1980s Japan.
Love your display pic
Japan is way better now
@@toyokawashigako1643 not really, the suicide rate is higher than ever and the number of births keeps dropping lower and lower.
1950s were a golden age for the US economically, culturally and militarily
@@bgill7475 countryside, Tokyo, or all of Japan?
“America didn’t like that....” lol
@@bobbelcher678 Self made lol, by stealing intellectual property sure
@@bobbelcher678 Maybe you should read up on Huawei's history of stealing telecom technology. 5G ain't anything special, several companies around the world can provide 5G equipment. AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon are rolling out nationwide 5G next year.
The only reason you hear about Chinese Huawei 5G a lot is b/c they are a state sponsored company with dirty business tactics that undercut the competition in pricing to provide 5G.
@@Bellissima2k That's China, when did Japan steal intellectual property back in the 80s?
@@yl3766 The person I was replying to deleted their comment saying China was self made and America is now doing the same thing to them.
Well it’s apparent that Americans were putting tons of pressure to make japan not to bounce back after their bubble economy collapsed. Just like what they’re doing to the Chinese right now.
I arrived in Tokyo in 1978. My favorite party spot was a disco called Nepenta in Roppongi. They had a stuffed elephant in the foyer. For an entrance charge of 3000 yen (assuming you could get in, which was pretty difficult unless you were a celebrity, a beautiful fashion model, or a regular known by the staff - I had friends on staff) the bar and buffet had no extra charge. I used to do English classes at companies from about 6:00 to 9:00 PM. then head to Nepenta for the rest of the evening, eating and drinking through the night, until it closed at 5:00 A.M. Then I'd stagger back to my 3000 yen a day cubical to sleep off the fun till late afternoon when I had to get up and prepare for another evening's work and play. Those were the good old days.
At least managed to get a wealthy maiden ?
What a great way to advertise a movie. Well done, Netflix.
Well, it doesnt talk how Japanese politicians like Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Taro Aso said and implemented the politics that Japan is and needs to be a "one race" country. I mean, this mentality kinda still exists to this day, and Japan has a demographic problem, but nobody talks how they refuse and are very strict on imigration despite that. But if it was a "western" European country, cant even imagine the shitstorm about these facts and how many videos VOX would make.
@@gordusmaximus4990Why are you talking as if it were a bad thing? Japan is a geographically isolated country, and has been ethnically uniform for the last 1700 years. Why, then, do you think it is a good idea to let a massive number of immigrants in to change the society built by and streamlined for a single specific race?
@@Sora-ce1zx I hope they do not repeat the immigration/asylum policy of Europe and try to fix their problems with their own population, as everyone should.
I was stationed on the USS Midway back in 82-85, which was based out of Yokosuka, and let me tell you something. Tokyo WAS FREAKING AMAZING! The best place to have been during that time.
Having lived in Tokyo during the last years of the bubble, it was truly a party. Juliana's was an anachronism. It was a party place, but it was owned by Avex Trax, a music corporation. And because of that it closed at 12:00 sharp, because there were laws of no dancing after midnight in Japan.
"No dancing after midnight"? What kind of law was that? Something imposed by MacArthur after WWII?
This make me miss a time I was never born in and a place I have never been to.
That's how i feel about the roman republic
me too, wish I could've seen this peek of japan in all its glory more than anything in the world!!!
There’s no official word for it, but people have coined the term pseudo-nostalgia
@@Thedarkknight2244 hiraeth is the name
@@bonitabromeliadsme with Carthage Rome was overrated
The role ascribed to interest rates in the rise of the Japan bubble is misplaced. The main driver of the bubble wasn’t interest rates per se, rather it was the higher USD/JPY exchange rate that caused a massive “wealth effect” that, in turn caused, among other things, the acquisition of lots of foreign trophy assets.
Ascribing a massive role to interest rates in causing economic bubbles is a very American concept that is not necessarily true in other parts of the world. It is very simple to dismiss the role of low interest rates: Just look at Japan over the past 30 years where the interest rate has been very low and disinflationary, yet there is no bubble. The reason the interest rate does not affect Japan as much is that Japanese, in general, do not like debt and borrowing. Even now, a housing loan interest rate of 0.40% doesn’t get much takers.
Between Tokyo and Miami in the 80's it sounded like a lit decade overall
Imagine a person who could live in both and afford to do whatever they wanted that would have been heaven 😮
This is truly the best in modern advertising. I saw the trailer and I had no interest in watching the movie. I'm definitely interseted now
Play Yakuza 0 and you shall discover true madness and awesomeness that was 80s Japan.
Going disco,karaoke, become real estate agent, cabarat club manager,80's in Japan is wild!!!
To quote Martin Scorsese’s Good Fellas, which ironically came out just as the economic good times for Japan were tragically coming to an end
“It was a glorious time...”
I was a bit late to the party having lived in Tokyo during the mid 90s but it was still the best time of my life. Can only imagine how much more fun it would have been if I was a decade earlier.
Please share your experience.
1980s japan sounds like a wonderland makes me sad that i will never get to see such a place as it is long in the past now
Brings me back to when I was in 80s Japan. I was a young up and coming Yakuza that got framed for a murder I didnt do by my own bosses and got caught up in a real estate land grab battle. Crazy times, every street punk was after me but I still managed to have fun. Sang a lot of karaoke and got into pocket circuit, hit the disco, ran a cabaret club in my spare time, and made billions off real estate. Those were the days...
But of course, none of this actually happened in real life. Yakuza 0 is the best game ever.
and then you woke up.
My father was running real estate business in that time. Can you believe if I say the most of banks let you borrow any amount of money you want to buy properties just because land prices were rising up massively everyday. You buy a building and sell it a FEW DAYS later for double the price.
Also I remember 48 or 49 out of top50 largest companies in the world (largest market capitalization) were all Japanese companies(some of them were even local small banks).
There are too many crazy stories to write down here..
For real ?
japan is still hung over from the 80s,
The whole world is
bs Japan is way better now
You just temind me of Yumi's skit about Japan being stuck in that decade.
@@toyokawashigako1643 The Japanese economy is basically smaller now than then. Back then, people thought japan was going to be the next superpower and was on its way to surpass the US, and then the economy stagnated.
Sadly yes most of us still can't get over it subtly. I tell em, especially boomers to forget it and recreate the world from zero but they don't seem to understand what I say. Oh that's about life in Japan. I live in Japan.
the real crazy part is that prior ti US intervention, pre 85. Japan had its traditional values, modern flair, and immense stability. a slow, functionable life of dedication achieable for nearly everyone that wasn't breakneck overwhelming like today.. happiness and contentedness was easily achievable, stability was assured, and everything moved at a reasonable pace.. amazing how quickly that was all lost.
(you may want to say something similar about america, but, the USA has historically been turbulent/wild, unequal, and breakneck/grindy with brief periods/burst of unequivocal success (goes without saying never truly stable))
Because amerimutts wanted hegemony so they destroyed japans economy and tried to do the same to china
Here we go with another indoctrinated mojon trying to tell people about how America is so evil in the national and global sense. How old are you kid?
@ryanscates1011 what? So America just became a superpower on a whim? By accident? We've had our ups and downs but we've done very well. I know your Marxist professors told you otherwise but more people came to live in America than anywhere else in the world in modern history.
To be fair...the USA is a young country. We're still sorting out what our collective identity even is...if we survive long enough to achieve that. We're called the "great experiment" for a reason.😅
@@FlutterMouse don't use the word "collective" when describing America. What got us to this point wasn't collectivism. It was certain individual stars whose sole efforts shined so bright they helped set a course that navigated us to our present destiny. Yea you could say manifest destiny.
That ReGain energy drink ad is still haunting some of us in Japan. It was the epitome of our toxic work culture until we started letting ourselves leave the office at 5 pm.
Ginza is still upscale up to this day btw.
People still remember that ReGain energy drink ad over in Japan? Wow.
And yes, Japan still has a toxic work culture. They even invented a word for "death by overwork," which is "Karoshi."
The 80's was a party in LOTS of places.
Not so much the UK, ours was 60s and 90s
Not UK 90s much better
Late 80s was definitely party time in the U.K…because of ecstasy
the greatest thing japan did in the 80s was give us city pop
Good ol' Bubblegum Crisis.
and gorgeous hand drawn big budget Mecha and Cyberpunk Anime
and anime and videogames and electronics and music and toys and much other things
I know this film only got a 51% on RT, but I really loved it. Especially as I'm about to move to Korea in 2 weeks to work, largely running from family problems, it plucked a chord in me that I really felt.
As a korean, im gonna tell u that japan is very different in terms of living style compared to korea altho we are neighbors
@@AirKangLocker how so?
@@ns645 Its like comparing USA with brazil haha. Not to mention complete different cultures
Trasssshh!! Netflix, you keep coming up with all these really cool concepts. Getting me all excited with these previews. Yet the actual film never reaches its amazing potential
If you can, watch Japanese movies, made during the bubble period. These could give you some insight into the bubble society.
Any titles? I watch a lot of Japanese cinema and that is regarded as a weak era in Japanese cinema history. Strange. Maybe one title that comes to mind is Tokyo Decadence.
@@matangox One I just recently watched was Mosquito on the Tenth Floor (1983). In this movie there is alot about changing society, money, materialism. It makes sense that many people didn't like this period in Japan, not everybody made money in the 80s. Also, it makes sense that the movies of the period are perhaps not considered the best Japanese movie industry has created.
This analyst is applying American thinking to Japanese reality.
In reality, most Japanese did not take on loans, so the debt is mostly by corporations.
But a lot of people did take loans due to overall low interest rates combined with strong faith in the economy. The "Japanese" mentality nowadays is very different because of the lessons learned. But back then yuppies, not exclusive to Japan, firmly believed they'd just earn more money and would have no problem paying back.
@@BeerHombre
Been to Japan yet ?
@@BeerHombreno amerimutts sanctioned Japan and taxes Japanese exports at 80% and then plaza accord
Yes pretty accurate. I was a fashion model living in Tokyo at Azabu Juban. A quick 5 minutes drive to Roppongi nightclubs and we could relax, have dinner or blow off steam on the dancefloors. Cleo's for after hours, Tokyo and Lexington Queen nightclubs are where most of us models and a lot of celebrities hung out. We were treated very very well. Most of us models worked 6-7 days a week, made huge $ and spent huge $ on fabulous Japanese designer clothes (Junko Shimada, Yumi Katsura, Kenzo). Money flowed and so did champagne. The Japanese people were so kind. It was such an honor to live in Japan for 4 years..
In 80s or recent times?
@@Snp2024 It was in the 80s
@@helenabythelake3893 oh
Indeed it was a rare experience to live in such times in such a place. No judgements from me here on the morality, or social ethics, of the late '80s Bubble. Make of it what you will. But what an experience. And consider, that as a westerner - or anyone coming from someplace else - there was no internet; almost no popular culture background to prepare your mind for Japan as it was in the mid-1980s. That's hard to imagine for anyone now - coming into living in this world without the massive exposure we all have now. You simply came in cold and dove into it. I lived not too far from the Juban, myself ... ah, c'etait le bon temps ...
the main character in this movie was so beautiful. i couldn't take my eyes off her when i watched this.
Japan was really crazy rich back then. At one point, the 10 largest banks in the world were ALL JAPANESE. And almost 40 out of the 50 largest companies were japanese. They owned more % wealth than any other country ever owned in the modern era. Not even the US or China can dominate to that level today.
This is by far the best commercial for a thing I have ever seen. More of these please.
I went to school in Japan in the late 80s and worked in a law firm at the start of the 90s in Tokyo before, during and after the bubble burst. The guy narrating this seems unsure if the stories are true.
Yes, it’s all true.
Got any stories of your own to share about bubble-era and post-bubble era Japan?
The 80s in Tokyo was great. Me and my pal nishiki would go bowling and dancing pretty much everyday.
Sounds great. U still hang with him?
@@andreaswill615 Sadly no. He died in 2005 after sacrificing himself to a destroy a bomb strapped to 10 billion yen. I miss him everyday.
0:20 Bubble party
0:41 Party
0:58 Plaza accord cc
3:20 Japan ad
4:00 extravagance
4:56 body con
5:19 Party crash
5:34 Crime uncovered
6:00 Biggest party
6:27 golf course
6:39 Architecture
Just to add to this. Japan 2021 is so much better!. My Meiji era farmhouse in Fukuoka Pref. bought for just USD7,000, 500m2 plot, we grow rice and cultivate green tea. How much more beautiful is reality!. and living off the land for free.
I think this was the era when Filipinos in Japan witnessed people putting appliances in the garbage even if they were still fairly new and told our people back home how rich the Japanese were.
Brazilians the same
just another reason to add on my list of things that make me admire japan so much
If there was any point in history I would time travel, then it’d have to be 1980s Japan no question. It sounded like a time to be alive!
That's why in Yakuza 0 when you beat people's asses money flies every where. Its a funny joke and satirical take on how much money they were making & wasting.
I’d take Japanese or German goods over American products though, least they’ll last
I love that netflix is producing all these unique period pieces, keep em coming please, can't get enough of these dives into a slice of life from 20-800 years ago, give us moaaarrrrrrrrr! P.s. tyvm for the hard work.
The 80s was also the beginning of the relationship between Japan and rock n roll, which created many bars and nightclubs, some of them are even illegal. And the first opening up of trans national corporations in japan.
Hip hop too
Holy shit, 80s japan was the place to be. If the time machine gets ever invented, i know where i want to go.
Commercials are a window into middle class' soul
I remember hearing about the ski domes. I thought it was crazy. I live in Tahoe, CA at the time. There are like 20 ski resorts within 20-120 mins. I couldn't imagine what an indoor ski slope would be like. That is crazy.
They should make a 1980s, or how about Japan's economy and society post WW2 to the 2000s documentary. The Bubble economy of the 80s, but also the growth of the 60s and 70s would be fun to watch.
What's weird about Japan now is that it contains thousands of buildings and projects that were constructed during the bubble and are still in operation today. However, they were built in the 80's with the intention that Japan would always be growing and thus these buildings would always be used. Today, there is much less demand for things like a Netherlands themed park (Huis Ten Bosch), Jurassic Park themed love hotels or 500 room hotels in small mountain side Onsen towns. Visiting these cavernous hotels (I think about a stay of mine in Arima particularly) feels like you are walking through the abandoned ruins of a recently lost civilization. The Japanese even have a word for these types of buildings and architecture which represent opulence and extravagant thrift: Bubbly (バブリー)
Jurassic Park-themed love hotels? I almost think you're kidding there. And by the way, wasn't Jurassic Park a 1990s media franchise? That would mean it those love hotels would have had to be constructed after the Japanese bubble economy popped.
I didn't know this was set in the 80's that's why it gave me Yakuza vibes throughout the movie
Living as a normal citizen in Japan's bubble era is best described as a little place between pain and joy!
These Netflix mini documentaries are really good.
Yup. I was there. Still am here. Saw the bubble and the burst. Was 23 when I arrived and had too much fun. It was crazy then.
80s Japan is THE BEST ERA ! if you wanna go to Japan and have 'time machine' then go to 80s Japan, you never be want to 'back to the future' want to stuck there 80s Japan 😎
80s Japan is THE BEST ERA but THE UGLIEST ERA at the same time. As a Japanese national, my face blushes for a shame when I look back Japan in 1980`s. We were complacent about the thriving economy as if we conquered the world. But its economic prosperity was nothing more than a result of speculations on real estates. As a result, we lost diligence and modesty which were our national virtues. I hope Chinese people will learn from our miserable failure.
@@MrEjidorie How exactly was the 1980s the "ugliest era" in Japan? I would think that most people, being only human, would "let the good times roll" for as long as they could. Unfortunately it doesn't look like the Chinese will learn from Japan's "lost decade" any time soon.
@@Mazryonh People will never learn until they have a bitter experience. Particularly, if they are in prosperous circumstances, people tend to be complacent, they just look down on others because others are not competent enough while they are.
this suddenly appeared in my recommendations lol
Yakuza 0 taught me everything I need to know about Japan in the 1980s
2:58. Let’s not forget the nakatomi plaza. 😂
and then they put Fallingwater, the frank lloyd wright home, inside the towers lol. i dont even think people realize what Die Hard is about.
this guy's voice is eerily familiar, similar to thenerdwriter but not quite it
bootleg_skywalker it’s the guy from cinefix!!
Just a basic white guy probably
Very interesting, I knew of these things about 80s Japan, but you put it all together informatively. And now I'd like to see this film featured in it too.
I was born in the 80s in Japan but was too young to party
Never in a million years would I have expected my lesson on the Japanese bubble economy come from Netflix. Thanks Netflix.
I lived it, suffered through it, but enjoyed it.
This video is 10x better than the actual movie lmao
yo...I know that voice, that's nerdwriter1. I love that guy!
0:52 Oh, my god, I didnt know Crystal Kay had a cameo in this! I gotta see it now!
My favourite part is just like any time America didn't like a country flourishing.
My neighbor bought his tiny family house in a poor town in japan for half a million dollars during this time. After the bubble burst, it was worth less than 10,000 dollars.
Plastic Love
Hell yeah
SuperTrollNightmare
That was EARLY 80s. Not late 80s.
YES
I was a little child at the time, so did not know that I lived in a bubble economy at all. But only the TV commercial of Regain, I still remember as so many times I could see it on TV. Dragon Quest 3 and Bikkuriman also became so popular in those days.
Dragon Quest 3? You had a Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom) to play that back then?
They're still selling ReGain in Japan today, right?
@@Mazryonh Yes, I had Famicom and played Dragon Quest 3 (Some others were into FF3) at the time. They don't sell ReGain in Japan anymore. They stopped manufacturing original one long time ago.
@@JAPANLINK I remember seeing ReGain 24 in the video game called "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots," but that was back in 2008. I did not expect to hear that they would be out of business by now.
Famicom was a classic console. Did you get the Super Famicom when it came out too?
@@Mazryonh Oh, it appeared in Metal Gear Solid 4? I didn't know that. I think they sale different types but not original ones now.
Yes, I was into Famicom and I bought Super Famicom right after it was released.
I really liked Earthquake bird. It is one of the very few western films set in Japan that was actually authentic and not fawning or pretentious.
Have you visited Japan ?
@@missplainjane3905 I have lived in Tokyo for over 40 years.
@@hulakan
Wow, are you native japanese or a foreign resident ?
@@missplainjane3905 I am a foreign resident, married to a Japanese.
@@hulakan
Don't mind me asking some questions here.
1) But do you consider Japan as a highly developed and advanced country ?
2) How would you personally rate Japan (from culture to technology, architecture, food, products, scenery/landscape, standard of living/quality of life etc.) on a scale level of 1 to 10 ?
3) If you have 3 or more words to describe Japan, what would it be ?
4) What makes Japan uniquely different from other countries including other asian nations ?
5) Got any tips or advice to share for first time visitors to Japan ?
Wow. Excellent advertising idea. I didn’t know about this show and now I’m totally gonna watch it. Much more effective for me than a trailer, especially for a documentary style show.
I love quirkinesses of Japan been to Tokyo best city on earth a true model for futuristic society
You know me, occasionally, I'll be quirky.
Things were just f ing awesome. The Japanese were exporting items like crazy. Land prices were going up. People had money to burn and it was awesome. People really thought the Japanese would surpass the US. In 1990 the US had around 5.9 trillion in GDP while the Japanese had 3.1 trillion. Everyone thought it was just a matter of time. Then 1990 hit and the bubble bursts. Land prices fell, the Nikkei (Japanese stock exchange) plummeted. This is where we get the lost decade for Japan. In 2023, the US had 27.36 trillion while Japan has 4.2 trillion. That is just terrible for Japan. NOW Japan has the 4th largest economy as Germany overtook them in 2024. The bubble bursts really f'd up everything in Japan.
This film is good! Not for everyone but I enjoyed it. Alicia Vikander’s performance is amazing😉
I finished the movie. It was amazing
Hi can you explain me why did he kill July ?
I'm definitely going to watch this!
05:45 Murder over real estate? Lol, reminds me of the plot of Yakuza0
There's a reason why the real Yakuza basically approved the game lol, and the complain are only about how Kiryu is too chivalrous
I think that’s where the myth that Americans believe everything is so expensive in Japan comes from. When I moved to Japan in 2013 everyone told me that I’d never be able to afford it, but once I got here, I learned the opposite. A 2 bedroom apartment in Tokyo is half the price of a one bedroom apartment in the actual woods in New Jersey! I make about half of what I used to make in America but I can afford more than double of the good here in Japan. In America making about 60k a year,I was border line poverty level, but here in Japan making 30k, I’m living like a king in Tokyo.
30k like a king in Tokyo is probably an overstatement but yeah relatively comfortable I suppose. 60k depends on where you live in America, in some states 60k is a pretty good income but in SF and NYC yes, 60k is poverty.
@@lettuce1305 I lived in NJ. 60k is below poverty level. I could barely pay my monthly bills and have any money left for food with that. I pretty much moved to Japan because I couldn’t afford to live in America anymore.
@@parkb5320 the big difference I noticed is that rent is affordable in Tokyo, and that's because there are very few barriers to construction, like zoning restrictions on building height, in Tokyo relative to North American cities.
Another factor, though smaller, I think is that more people work, meaning the cost of wages, which translates to the cost of services, is lower.
In the West, more people live off of government welfare programs, like disability insurance, and don't contribute to the economy by working, so wages, and with it the cost of every day goods/services like dining out, are higher.
@@parkb5320 depends where in NJ. South Jersey 60K is okay. Central or North NJ, yeah that's a struggle, can only rent. Not buy or at least takes several years of saving
Watching this during covid hits different because of the people not social distancing
Anybody here remember the 1980 short lived TV series Pink Lady and Jeff at all? And, anybody else remember Yellow Magic Orchestra and Sigue Sigue Sputnik?
I listen to some music of those groups/ artist songs.
Japan in the 1980s sounds awesome !
Majority of the top 20 stocks worldwide are from Japan during the 80s. And now they are nowhere near the top in terms of global market cap.
I lived there during that time. It was insane.
1980`s was at the peak of the Japanese economy and arrogance which provoked strong antipathies from the United States and other countries. But pride comes before a fall. The bubble economy of Japan was burst. In many senses, there are a lot of similarities between Japan in 1980`s and today`s China. Now we can see many ominous signs in the Chinese economy.
If the director just filmed Crystal Kay singing Walking on Thin Ice and made a Netflix video out of it, I would've been cool. I like the beat.
I'd like to know why Netflix tries tu push down my throat stupid cheap holidays theme movies when they could suggest me this !
IKR?
It’s not a holiday movie. It’s actually a psychological thriller. It’s pretty good.
I wish I had come of age during a bubble!! It seems like it was so much fun! Being a Millennial sucks just an entire downer era -.-