I was assigned to a project as Project Manager with a Japanese Plant. My role was change management. After one particularly frustrating week, the Japanese Plant Manager took me to one side and asked “Richard-san, how many Japanese does it take to change a lightbulb?”. I repled that I didn’t know. He laughed and said “Ah…it’s a trick question, nobody ever changed anything in Japan”.
@@Iluvatar196 Japan is a harmonious Confucianist society. The requirement for consensus is the reason that decision making can be glacial. Japan does great consensus driven small incremental change in the form of kaisen honing, but massive change is a problem for Japan. I
@@jiji1946 On the “big stuff”, I agree. I’ve seen it on Kaizens. The Japanese are masters at honing something to perfection. But it you are looking to make radical change, you have a very big problem. Which probably explains why the Japanese economy flew when the stars were aligned, but when they no longer were…your get decades of lost direction….and a lost generation.
Japan as a country is clean, orderly and safe because Japanese society is ULTRA-RIGID. It is also inflexible, unhappy and broken because it is ULTRA-RIGID. Discipline is a double-edged sword, on a personal as well as social level.
As a teenager, i used to think grown adults who remain frustrated with minimal employment were just not trying hard enough. Then it happened to me. I was stuck in a job I hated, paid no better than Mcdonalds but working or travelling to work most of my life, and wasted my youth.
Your username is an interesting anagram. "wasted my youth" is most of school. For example, I never needed to learn imaginary numbers. What a total waste of time and energy!
This is the point i am trying to make and still a lot of people unfortunately disagree. More often than not, at least in todays society, people not living a good life is the result of circumstances and NOT because they didn't try hard enough or because they are "losers". Thank you for sharing this. I actually believe most hikkikomori are not living that life because they chose to or because they didn't try hard enough but because they are stuck due to circumstances that are mostly out of their control. I think of them as people who refused to spend their lives at a mcdonalds and without any other alternatives (even after trying hard) ended up closed up at home. This doesn't apply to everyone out there but it does for the majority of people based on my experience.
@@kiriup8188 It is easy to say "try harder" but that wont work when the opportunity is not coming forward. I asked many companies for their advice about starting a new career, and how I wanted to save for a better home, but it did me no good when I was told i was not suited for the role, or told to get work experience elsewhere.
Bullying is a big part of why this happens in japan. The rigid social structure makes it extremely difficult to recover and establish a positive social circle.
The Lost Generation's struggles reflect a broken system. It's alarming how millions have slipped through the cracks. This story isn't just Japan's - it's a cautionary tale about the fragility of societal structures.
Agreed. This is worldwide... With the world today, it makes you wonder... '...and the oppressed will inherit the earth...'. Just as it is said here, '...these 30-40y.o.'s typically would be who are "running things" and "making decisions"'...'.
It's called Societal Entropy. As Countries struggle to compete, Economics replace positive Social relations, making them stagnate. A post-modern way of saying "Survival of the Fittest". Everyone sabotages themself in nefarious ways in hopes for success. Some just don't make it. That is why I personally say. Love eachother, help eachother.
And such a shame, as I and all my friends graduated into the economic downturn in the 1990s, when “downsizing” staff was popular in companies and few were hiring (and there were any army of recently laid off workers with references and a couple years experience competing for the few jobs.) It was a hassle, but people went to grad school, or did a few years in the military, etc. and 4 years later….everything was fine. But with their preference for hiring new grads, the Japanese grads who had this happen to them had were permanently disadvantaged… and that did not have to be. It was indeed the system and culture, more than the economic downturn, that hurt them.
Ah, the age-old question: why is Japanese culture deemed "cooler" and more popular in the West than Chinese culture? I mean, it's not like Japanese animation, sushi, and cherry blossom festivals have dominated social media or anything, right? Who wouldn’t love the idea of drawn characters who express emotions with wide eyes and exaggerated gestures? Such depth! Let’s not forget the whole samurai and ninja thing. Because nothing screams sophistication quite like a culture glorifying ancient warriors who wield swords and perform acrobatics. Meanwhile, China is over there with its thousands of years of history, philosophy, and contributions to human civilization-how boring! And then there's the food. Can we talk about how Western palates have fallen head over heels for sushi? It’s like they discovered raw fish and suddenly it was the pinnacle of culinary artistry. Chinese cuisine, which offers a diverse array of flavors and dishes, must be so last year, right? Plus, let’s not overlook Japan's pop culture phenomenon, from “Harajuku girls” to J-Pop idols. Because who doesn’t want to dress like a pastel-colored character from a video game? Meanwhile, traditional Chinese opera might as well be a relic from another planet in comparison. So, in the grand scheme of things, it makes perfect sense why Japanese culture is seen as "cooler." After all, who needs depth and history when you can have neon lights and a quirky persona?
I live in rural Japan, I'm a 33 year old male, of hikkikomori ilk but not hikkikomori because I've always been trying 100percent in whatever jobs I can get. Anyway I started working in a Japanese company this year (2022) and though its only been a few months these are my observations: the management sit upstairs on high salaries and order the workers to work like supermen for a salary that doesn't make ends meet even in rural life, most new workers quit because they physically can't do what's asked of them so the ones that don't quit do daily overtime of at least two hours but more often than not 3 to 4 (with only the first 2 being paid), the company (which im sure is making an absolute mint) is doing so little to A make working conditions easier and B to incentivising people to enter the company to even replace the leavers. Obviously its stupid because its unsustainable and the managements ambition for growth isn't looking possible with such high quitting rate, but I think that herein lies the root of the problem: the management are stupid- they haven't realised that their role in society at large is to benefit the community and country, they only seem interested in protecting what they gained by virtue of luck. I am less inclined to stay myself with each hardworking honest coworker I see get rinsed for all their hardworking until they feel that they can't do it, im only still there as I want to give it at least a year because I've been through hell and back looking for jobs in general. Its sad though, to see people basically mistreated. Its not just Japan either. I expect things would change the the elderly management retire, but old folks these days, the rich ones, they probably will be like 75 before they get out of the road. They'll probably try to take the road with them.
Hoping both of you that you may find happiness and achieve the purpose you have in mind. I'm still below 20, so I'm still figuring it out. Side note :- I don't live in Japan. Hope you two have a good day
The same is true of my job experiences in the US minus the overtime of course, will say that the hogs in the offices are overcompensated for what little they do vs blue collar hell that has people feeling like they are 90 years old by the time they go home.
@@thadtuiol1717 The sad part that post covid there really isn't anywhere to go as the economy is so fucked up and there is a looming wave of layoffs with in the next few weeks to months.
As a Japanese, I found this is incredibly correct. I guess many of you don’t believe the fact that Japanese company doesn’t give you a job description and most employees don’t even know what is it. What does this mean? It means the Japanese labor market has extremely low flexibility. Lacking definite job description says like “You will work for the Company ABC in any department”, and this is what “Lifetime employee” means. Believe or not. It’s true. So basically in this country people work for a company and not for families, nor careers. From management stand point, Japanese workforce is the most “controllable” resource in the world. They never leave company even their pay cut off, relocated by company. In a nutshell, company is where they “live” not “work” so once they lose the chances to join in the community, they’ll be isolated from society for the rest of their lives. Stable employment is essential for stabling society but when it overkilled it’ll waste energy from a country just like Japan….
Why your people don't do anything to change this? Like protest for better work conditions I heard Japonese people are very united in my opinion the better for Japan is to restore the Imperial Power.
@@viniciusmartins8733 This is what California was like. Once a thriving country of it's own back in the 50s/early 70s then the 'druggie' generation wanted more and more free stuff out of tax payers back and just wanted everything wrong and Cali is a cesspool now with huge addiction problems/homeless and they forced all the crazies out of the asylums into the streets back in the 90s,etc.
@@viniciusmartins8733 While you kids were busy either playing Super Mario World or Mortal Kombat busting up chops a lot of politicians were doing crooked things behind closed doors. Some got caught and called out on via Talk Radio hosts but most of it just got swept under the rug. The 'sex' scandal barely even covers it and yes it was an actual scandal. They did NOT do it on their own dime.
The political scandal book 'I Told You So' is very old from that time period but still applies today and is one of many must reads to get a fuller understanding but it's by far from the only source you should look.
@@viniciusmartins8733 I have never had an idea that dictatorship solves Japan’s problem here, but the gov should enforce companies bringing employment flexibility. To be fair, small protests is actually happening to make it but given the number of older people it has less hope imo. Imagine that you are in a community guarantee your life and career and younger people protest against, you wouldn’t support, would you? Japan’s workplace is a big boys club in some scenes.
I'm a Japanese guy in the 40's, who was born during the Ice Age. I believe this video talks about Japan completely right, especially about how the Japanese companies get new hires. Once you miss on the Shushoku Katsudo, you will almost never get accepted. Once you get settled at a company as a regular employee, they find you as if you were a family member and you start to look down on non-regular employees, which gives them a sense of eliteness in a wrong way. The problem is, "No one tries to get out of this malicious circle and start to live in their own ways. Once you do, you know what will happen, right? You will get kicked out of society and will have to settle for low-income life. Japan LOOKS a great country, but what makes it so is the under-wage non-regular employees, who work at cheap Ramen restaurants or elsewhere. Lots of Japanese regular employees cry out saying that their wages do not go up. The reason is clear: because they are there as regular employees.
Hey Rocky, I'm American US in my late 60's and finally retired. I feel your pain bro. It's the same over here too but more like someone stabbing you in the back just to get hirer up in the company for a little pay raise. Always someone trying to eat your lunch. I remember telling off my boss and had to take a lower paying job. But it was the best move I had ever made. I had to take 1 or 2 steps back to get 5 steps forward. I just kept on striving to improve my skills and a position came open for me with this job. After almost 20 years in my field, the company sent me to an advanced school. It opened so many new doors for me. I guess the best way to put it was I kept playing that slot machine until if finally paid off. Also have a few rounds of Sake for me.
And the sad part is being a salaryman is basically pressured indentured servitude. It's "good" compared to "the rest" which is a way for the corporations and government to pressure people into accepting the system. Very little innovation will come out of such a system.
This video is largely true. I am exactly in my 40's and in the middle of the Lost Generation. In high school I studied 3 hours every day outside of school and my academic deviation was 70. Do you know what 70 deviation means? I then went on to a famous private university, this time studying 8 hours every day for 8 years to get my attorney certification. Why? Because I wanted to get a job at Andersen Consulting after graduating from university, but I failed. I forget what the job placement rate was at the time at Andersen Consulting. I only remember that it was an unusual job placement ratio. In any case, I failed to find a job, so I could not get a job in the new graduate slot after university graduation. So I had to study even harder and go through an exam that I wasn't sure if I would pass or fail. I had to obtain a national certification, which is now likely to be eliminated by AI. My parents gave me all the support I needed to pass the exam. I was lucky in that respect. There are many of my classmates who are missing. You will not have much difficulty finding someone with mental illness in Japan today. If you throw a stone, you will hit a mentally ill person. We either survive the excessive competition for survival, or we end up on the streets or shut up at home. We, the Lost Generation, have a very difficult time being ”normal”.
Tried to look up Academic deviation and what it means in the grading system over there but can find nothing about it other than charts showing equivalent grades in the U.S. that seem very inaccurate
I cannot claim to undetstand the deviation value "system", but a value of "70" is something akin to the top 98-99th percentile. It indicates academic performance sufficient to be selected by almost every university in the Japan.
i find the narrative around all this to be very worrying - the lost generation...15% of country's population labelled this way, almost as if their story is done, written and now just meant to be a cold relic. hasn't the government tried initiatives like re hiring older people? return to work programs? funding to subsidise cost of living, tax breaks, direct benefit programs, etc.? I'd love to read up a bit more about it, These people are human beings, they're still alive, their conscience, time and life are precious. they may be hollowed out to another level, but this narrative that its already too late - doesn't sit well with the optimist in me.
I was in Tokyo a few weeks ago and I was shocked by how miserable the people in suits looked. And they were showing clear signs of overworking themselves yet trying to smile. It was sad to witness. Such a beautiful country, with such a beautiful culture and people have been eclipsed by this unfortunate fact.
I totally agree with your opinion. People have no energy in their expressions, they look like zombies. The most shocking thing is that this also applies to women on the subway.
@@btyxvwa6 a zombie is a soulless machine functioning through energy. programmed from childhood, they yearn for nothing, expect nothing but fulfill their duty and do their job.
They are in a terrible dilemma.Under extreme stress to find a full time soul crushing job till retirement,the ones that dont find it are sad and ostracized by society, the ones that do find it realize they barely get to sleep, so all they do is work and sleep, some even die from it, some even commit suicide.I saw an alternative, some young people who decided, screw that we ll create an option 3, got part time jobs, and they lowered their spendings and live 10-20 people all together in big houses sharing the rent.THEY were happy, had free time, did their hobbies, had parties etc etc.
Younger people in Japan will be working extra hard to support the retiring society. It's not too difficult as a family but will be tough as a country. Regular people are always worst off...
There's an Ancient Greek proverb: "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in". The elderly in Japan destroyed their children's futures so quickly that they'll end up get sunburnt along with them.
The Baby Boomers did this to America. The post-war generations were selfish and had no forward thought about civilization as a whole. I blame war, and human frailty. We have to do better in so many ways.
@@CM-xk5ye That whole generation is like that all around the planet. From the stuffiest New England suburb to the stickiest jungle in Papua New Guinea. I think it's because of all that lead they used to mix into fuel in the early 20th century.
This might explain why when I went to Japan, fulfilling a long-time dream, I felt absolutely nothing in Tokyo and Kyoto. There was no buzz of life. I literally felt like I was surrounded by robots. Osaka felt better and people were more relaxed, but overall there wasn't a whole lot of energy on my trip. Hell, just being in the LAX airport changing flights it felt more alive than the whole of Japan which is really sad because the culture has so many beautiful things about it.
You shouldnt base it on how the city feels when you wander in the streets. You should go nightlife if you want to see some joyful people and overall lifeful energy. This goes with almost every country in the world. There are many people who moves in and enjoys Japan. If you move to the Japan and are not the part of Japanese toxic work culture, meaning that you are working for a non-japanese company, or if you are simply a tourist then you are free to enjoy a highly developed country.
@@fadingship935from what I’ve heard things in this video don’t apply to foreigners as much, however being one in Japan comes with its own set of problems.
This should be a warning to governments and corporations around the world. I don't think Japan is unique in these issues. The younger generation in various developed nations around the world are finding it too difficult to get a decent job and start a family. Entry level positions are being eroded due to automation and outsourcing. Those who manage to find jobs are often too overworked and underpaid to start a family. Corporations want to keep more to themselves so they don't want to hire more employees and overwork their existing ones. Rather than investing in employee development like before, corporations now expect society to come up with well qualified people while denying opportunities to those they deem underqualified. Then, they turn around to complain that it's so hard to find enough qualified people. Corporations are too greedy, too stubborn to change for the better, and myopic about the future. The governments are driven mainly by politics and have pretty the same issues. There are almost no policies or measures in place for sustainability of future generations.
If you're talking about greedy corporations, I think the first place to look at would be US. I worked for both Japanese and American companies: no prize for guessing for which I will not work again. Yes, Japanese demand a lot, but... they pay well, the company actually look after its people, and all of them, including cleaners and maintenance stuff, they help with getting new qualifications/skills etc No comparison.
Japan is not alone, could say I'm also a victim of depression. For us who were born in early 80's depression was a really big Problem and I'm from Finland. Just when it begin to look better it is going worse again. Not enough money, no chance for normal life. More and more off the young generation are leaving outside the society. Worst thing is that in our culture even being Hikikomori does not work. I see it so that the generation of my parents betrayed my generation.
What is worse is that they the wealthy classes are still importing millions of migrants every year into these countries further adding pressure for employment never mind the cost of housing.
@@wenyichen5515 How is the world on the downturn? Do you seriously think it used to be better in "good, ol' days" ? If so, you seriously you should consider some history tutoring
As a Japanese who grown up in the American culture, when it was time for me to find a work here, I was weirded out how everyone looked the same in job exhibitions. It seemed as though companies wanted a robot / slave-like worker, rather than an INDIVIDUAL who can bring new branches of growth for the company. Hence, the rigid environment felt that innovation / new thinking / new perspective does not seem to be in the highest priority...
@@aclark903 Acquiring a sense of responsibility and adhering to rules of dress and decorum does not stifle individuality. It provides young people with a sense of discipline, which is something lacking in education in the west. As a father of 5 kids (all unique in their own way) who are either in or have been through the public school system in Japan I couldn't be happier with the genuine care and guidance my kids have received. On top of that, they are all head and shoulders above my friends' kids in Canada academically.
@@gordonbgraham I can't say I really know much about #Canada as I have never been there but as an outsider yes, #woke values seem to influence the West too much, including my beloved #Britain. As for Japanese state schools, just about every Westerner I know here in Japan either uses or recommends international schools, & I think you know why that is. I have worked or trained in Catholic schools & Japanese state schools & I would choose #Catholic schools in a heartbeat, with few exceptions.
@@aclark903 As we live in Japan, we felt it best to have our kids educated in public schools, along with their neighbourhood friends. We couldn't be happier with the results. My eldest daughter is currently on full scholarship at University of Tsukuba where she's majoring in bioengineering. My eldest son decided to forego the academic route to pursue his interest in cars. He went to a trade school to study auto-mechanics. Upon graduation he and his friend took out a loan and rented a lot in Kobe. They buy cars in bulk at auction, do the required maintenance on them and ship them overseas. They've since paid off their loan and are making a decent living without ever having had to go to university. My son now makes more than I, and I'm a full-time salaried teacher (not an ALT). I feel the discipline they've received in their upbringing through the public school system went a long way in laying the foundation for good work habits. I've worked in a private high school for more than 30 years. A lot has changed in those 30 years, including a move away from rote learning. Our school, Tokyo University of Agriculture's Third High School (Higashimatsuyama City, Saitama) encourages creative thinking and task based learning. Our junior high school students came up with a plan to market our fish farming operation which we now do in conjunction with graduates from our school who sell our technology to those wishing to raise fish in land-locked Saitama. Our high school students developed self-rotating and self watering planters, 3 stories in height for growing food in areas that lack arable land. These are just two examples of how education in Japan is not just about obeying but thinking and producing marketable results from those creations. I think people have misconceptions about what actually goes on in the schools in Japan, as most of what is regurgitated online is an echo from the past that simply doesn't resonate anymore.
@@gordonbgraham I'm not saying every Japanese high school is bad, though I would note yours is probably better than average as it is connected to a university. To me, Japan succeeds at science & #math ed, & you could argue internationally it gets great scores in those areas. (#Singapore is top I believe). It undeniably fails at #English, having some of the worst results in Asia. I would argue subjects like #theology #philosophy, & #arts also get short shrift here, & you know yourself the controversial #history texts.
I'm a PhD working professional living in Japan right now. Let's just say they do an incredible job with PR. Living here is not great, in many instances they're backwards (they still use fax machines, for example), and almost every Japanese worker I've spoken with wants to either move out, work for a North American company, or both. Unless you're a delusional weeb or masochist, you'd need a pretty good reason to come here. Btw if you're coming as a tourist, it's nice.
@@missplainjane3905 I don’t mind. Let me know if you have any other questions. I’m a Canadian, so a lot of my responses come from a North American perspective. I provided you an essay below because I should really be working on my thesis, but I’m procrastinating right now. 1) Do you consider Japan as a highly developed and advanced country ? They’re obviously a very developed country, considering they have one of the top economies in the world (at least for now, who knows what will happen in a couple generations). I wouldn’t consider them “advanced” necessarily. Sure, they have an incredible public transit system, but this is more due to lack of this infrastructure in other developed countries. For example, in USA, car companies push a lot against development of said infrastructure, and therefore the train systems suck. USA is also MASSIVE in comparison, so it’s not entirely fair. 2) How would you personally rate Japan (from culture to technology, architecture, food, local products, scenery/landscape, standard of living/quality of life, etc.) on a scale level of 1 to 10 ? I can’t put it on a scale rating. But like I mentioned, if you’re a tourist, especially from the Western world, you will probably fall in love with the country. It’s also so much different than living in the West because Japan has been a pretty isolated nation for much of history (even now, they’re not keen on opening borders to migrants, although this is literally what their economy requires to stay ahead). It is rich in culture, but again, that’s because Canada/USA lack a historical culture. In terms of the technology, it’s just like living in any other developed country. It’s very rare to find, for example, a robot serving you food and other things you may see on the internet. I will say this, the modern architecture is abysmal. The best way to describe some of the residential streets is that you have a bunch of rejected Tetris blocks that were strewn about randomly on the side of the roads. The houses look like ugly boxes. Fruits and vegetables are also extremely expensive. I pay about 2-4 dollars for a watermelon in Canada, whereas I’ll pay close to 20-25 dollars for one here. They heavily rely on imports. 3) How would you overall describe the characteristics of Japanese people ? They’re very well mannered and polite, even to Canadian standards. They also are not an individualistic society, as the West is, so I like the people and attitudes much more here. People will do things “for the greater good”, instead of some Americans you seen taking off their masks and putting everyone at risk for their own selfish “freedom”. Culturally they’re more reserved and won’t say what’s really on their minds. This can stifle innovation sometimes, because people don’t want to question or go against authority, like against they boss or professor. They also all tend to adopt the same exact fashion sense (again, despite what you see on the internet), where all the guys and girls have 90% the same hair and dress style. The businessmen also 99% wear a white shirt, black pants, black tie. There’s not much individuality here, and more “blend with the crowd” mentality. I really respect that 0.01% though, that will go absolute bananas with their image, and these are definitely the ones you see on the internet. Also, if you’re a woman working professional, life will be very difficult for you. They still have a perception that women don’t belong in power or in the workplace. I heard this is slowly changing. 4) If you have 3 words or more to describe Japan, what would it be ? “By the book”. Very rarely do they allow any leeway around their highly structured and rule-based society. To give you an example, a lady suggested I join a free Japanese class that was offered at the school for foreigners. Unfortunately, since I wasn’t technically in the correct department (even though we’re both in the science department), I wasn’t allowed to join nor audit the class. There’s a system for everything. Want to buy a bicycle? You need insurance for that, you need to register the bike at the police station, and you can only park it at designated bike parking spots. Yes, even little kids need bicycle insurance to ride their bikes. This “system”-based rule isn’t all that bad, and I prefer some of it over Canada/USA.
@@denzelnolet Edit: having re read your comments I just realised you acknowledged examples of pros and cons, oh well, here’s a pointless ramble below if you wish to waste time. I think it should also be added that as with any other country there are pros and cons, it’s obvious but it’s important. This video emphasises the dark side (and don’t get me wrong I agree it’s a huge issue) but if you do well in japan you can live very well, the level of convenience is like nothing else (to pick a good example) trains are great. And on the note of convenience here’s a small anecdote: I was halfway up Mt. Misen on Miyajima and there were three mothefucking vending machines. And there are a whole host of other things. Apologies for the ramble, as of writing this it’s like 3 am and it’s the holiday. There are pros and cons to any country and this video is covering by far and away the most pressing con (the next most pressing being a branch off of this issue, population decline). I also think it’s important to acknowledge how lucky people who live in countries like Japan still are compared to other places, the worry isn’t whether terrorists will pick on you next like many west Africans, it’s not whether a Russian missile will hit you next (as with Ukrainians), it’s about a stable job. Japan is in for a rough couple of decades but it’s nothing like how rough the rest of the world is gonna have it. Why I get to make such a boring and logicless ramble: I was born in Tokyo, I am currently in 神楽坂
This is the first time I've heard of the lifelong employment system. While in today's unstable job market it sounds idyllic at first, aside from the problems covered in this video I'm concerned what it means for company culture as well. Every company has some asshole employees, but the knowledge that you're trapped with a boss that hates your guts or worse, actively harasses you and you can't even quit the job and find a new one? Terrifying.
This is happening in the USA too. I'm 41, not married, no kids, and I don't know if I can ever own a home. I work overnight, and don't feel like doing anything else other than drinking until I pass out on my days off. Millions of middle-aged men are like this in America today
As a woman who’s 39 who married and had kids young I don’t think I’d could date in todays society and like you I don’t own a home and I don’t think I’ll ever own one most people In my city who own homes are immigrants who live with multiple families to pay off the mortgage maybe when my kids are older we could do that Most houses where I live are out of my reach over 350k I also went to college and I don’t see the value in that anymore I feel like the American dream is gone and the more people who come to the USA the worst is gonna get I feel bad for my kids and I worry about their future I pray they have a happy and fulfilling life
@@demaskus2016 They might be fertile to some degree or another, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea for a middle-aged or elderly man to procreate, even with a younger woman. As the quality of their sperm decreases, the risk of numerous disorders and defects in the child increases. Also, I'd be sad if I had fathered a child I wouldn't be able to keep up with or, even worse, wouldn't see the child grow up.
@@MJ-cd3wx I think that the more people immigrate here, the harder things will get for those of us born and raised here. We'll have to compete with them for jobs, food, housing, etc. I'm sure that mass immigration, the liberal push for egalitarianism, inflation, and the mass identity crisis among our youth are interconnected too. We don't even control our own food supply anymore, multinational conglomerates do. Grow/raise your own food if you can. Colleges are more like mental institutions now, with all of those blue/greenhead freakniks in there screaming their heads off, at every "debate."
I’ve been in Tokyo for a month and this is so accurate. When you hear about Japan you never see the mass sleep deprivation everyone seems to have here, the brutal alcohol intoxication they give themselves to get over the stress, the rigid (not always genuine) mannerisms, the people being boxed into capsule rooms and maid cafes, or the fact that the police here still stop and frisk people under the guise of catching Visa overstayers.
alcoholism, insomnia, neurosis and isolation. 60 years of life like this. what you described is a society where everyone is treated like screws and bolts in a machine. only that machine is all the japanese nation. japan died in 1990. postmodernism on steroids. the silence of the cemetery is the "spirit" of japan.
A month? A month is nothing. I’ve been here 30 years although there is some truth to what you say, a lot of it’s bullshit. There’s good and bad everywhere. Right now the problem would be to find the ‘good’ in the US. Very glad Ai expatriated from what has now become a total shithole. The cops here are lazy. In the US they are corrupt. Civil forfeiture? What the fuck is up with that? Medical debt is a top cause of bankruptcy in the US, here in Japan if doesn’t happen. How about safety? I can walk anywhere, and have, with almost zero fear. You know squat.
@@persapientiam3818 I used to call em "ants", and no I am not racist, I got Japanese friends, they were smart and they said no and run as far away as they could,this society was never something to admire, I called em that even when they were rich.Whats the point of being able to support a family when you work all day in a soul crushing job?
The solution might be to break up those massive Japanese monopolies and emphasize small business ownership and incentivize entrepreneurship for many of the people who don't fit anywhere instead of expecting everyone to work as drones for a handful of giant corporations.
The thing is the monopolies aren´t going to let themselves be torn apart, the government is pretty much allied with these bussines so the big majority that have power in the country pretty much ain´t gonna move a finger. It´s sad because it´s a sinking ship but something really radical have to happend to completely change the direction the country is going.
How do u know if a country or city is corrupted? When the secret societies can operate openly and glorified. So, no, nothing will happen and change in Japan till she died and fade away.
I was in Osaka for 9 days. I remembered one of my experiences that distressed me is that one night, while I finished eating at a restaurant, I tried to pay with google pay, they wouldn't accept it because their card machine is broken. I was also uncertain of what to do either because I didn't have any other options of payment. When the manager said that they will involve the police if they cannot proceed with my payment, I was terrified, due to the conviction rate, and the process of arrest and the trial stuff. Thankfully, I had a second physical credit card in my wallet that saved my ass from the terrible fate. The second time is that when I am at Universal Studios, the staff are polite, but because of their several unwritten rules of doing things, like having to buy tickets for Nintendo World, stand on one side while meeting mascots and only being able to get pictures when you actually pay for them, you will be grateful with how the Western Society is much more accepting and more tolerating of differences but yeah, although Japan is modern and peaceful, you do not want to get yourself in hot water with anyone there. You'll have to abide by its strict rules and please please please, get some physical Japanese yen in case if no business accepts international credit cards. Probably just over 10000 yen would be enough to survive.
You did a good job, but the hikikomori part was inaccurate. It's not "men", it's women too. It's not voluntarily either, it's severe social withdrawal. It's often people with extreme anxiety conditions, mental health conditions, autism etc who have become isolated from society and in turn become social outcasts. Yeah they stay inside their homes, but it's not a lifestyle they chose to undertake like you made it out to be. It's very serious what's happening to these people and ultimately a failing of the government when it comes to mental health and disabilities. Calling them volunteers to this state of living is demoralising to their situation, making it sound as if they chose to become isolated rather than forced into it which is what's actually happened. Just to say it's not a Japan only problem, but rather it's more associated with Japan because the phrase was coined there.
@@NocturneJester That's because you have spend even more resources on them to help them, before they can contribute back. Government look at people like investment. And to them, anyone with problems be it health, mental, behaviour or old age doesn't worth as much as a normal capable and young people who can contribute the maximum back to their own society. The risk of getting a return from these people is bigger. There's no humanity in this way of thinking at all. But higher up are often too far out from reality anyway, so no doubt they don't treat lower class people as humans.
Stop blaming all your issues on mental problems choosing to isolate yourself from society is unsustainable and they cannot survive once their parents perish. They are leeches living off their parents' hardwork.
I met a group of engineering professionals. It was really interesting. The American engineers worked for multiple companies over the span of their careers. The Japanese engineers literally worked for the same company they started with after graduating from college. There are definitely pros and cons to both systems.
Have you ever heard about black companies? I think they're one of those where the employers work hard and still gain very little amount of salary. These kinds of companies usually hire younger, fresh graduates who are desperate to find jobs and who are easier to fool because they are uninformed about black companies. They never benefit from their work, and only the companies benefit from it. They'll probably die working for the same company all throughout their lives without gaining anything.
Ah, the fascinating journey of Japan-once a feudal society with samurais and shoguns, now a thriving hub of Western-inspired coolness! It’s as if they were watching a Netflix series on American life, taking notes, and saying, “Yes, we’ll have that on our sushi menu!” Who knew that the land of cherry blossoms and zen gardens would one day embrace the quirky flair of queer culture, casual dating, and men in fabulous dresses? Talk about a plot twist! Meanwhile, over in China, they're just over there being ancient, wise, and decidedly unbothered by the whims of Western liberalism. They’re like that cool grandparent who has seen it all-while Japan is trying out new hairstyles, China is busy serving up centuries of rich culture, fortifying their influence, and reminding us all, “We’ve been thriving longer than you've been hashtagging!” Oh, and let’s not forget the curious affection some Westerners have for Japan. They seem to love it the way one loves a limited-edition toy: shiny, exotic, and just unconventional enough to make Instagram pop. But, let’s be honest, who wouldn’t pick a playful geisha over a corporate mannequin? And let’s give credit where it’s due-Shanghai’s street-smart sex workers could give any anime character a run for their money, proving that when it comes to strategy, those ladies are playing chess while others are stuck on checkers. As for the war crimes? Well, that’s one awkward chapter in the history book that everyone seems to skim. But alas, that’s diplomacy for you-some folks apologize, some just shrug and change the subject to their weekend plans. So, here’s to Japan’s swing from isolation to pop culture sensation, and to China's steadfast roots, holding strong like a kung fu master in a world of flashy karate moves. May the cultural banter continue, while we all remember: no matter how much you embrace Western values, your sushi will never taste as godly as when you savor it at its source!
After watching both your documentaries on Japan and South Korea (The Dark Side) I can honestly resonate with the people you mentioned. I'm currently living in Australia and despite having two degrees (Urban Planning and Tropical Urban Design) I've given up on my career and have pulled away from society. I'm currently working in a very unfulfilling job filling shelfs at a local supermarket where I constantly WORK HARD and yet must PLAY DUMB. Looking intelligent and having multiple degrees plus a raft of other qualifications is considered a bad thing no matter how hard a person works if a person has been out of the business for a few years.
@@LeoSerasinghe Despite my many achievements I've had some bad luck (an abusive narcissistic relationship and was bullied at work) and combined with past childhood issues has left me broken and without confidence. My biggest achievements are just bearing fruit with regards to Town Planning but at 50 I'm afraid to move forward. I did speak to the Dean of my local University about some bridging courses relating to my profession and she seems to think I'd be good at tutoring and lecturing students in their Built Environment Faculty. People see something in me that I don't see unfortunately.
@@LeoSerasinghe As for why I gave up, I had an abusive partner who wanted me to stay home. He was a well known Brisbane stylist and socialite and we were very comfortable financially. He wanted me by his side at all social occasions looking like the perfect couple but behind closed doors he was different. My independence was taken along with my self worth. Eventually I escaped but I'm still scarred by the 3 years I was there.
Happened in the USA following the Great Recession. Not as bad, but those of us that graduated in 2008-2012 lost 5-10 years of our careers because of that major downturn. It happens I guess but it royally sucks. I'm doing okay, have a house, kids, decent job, but it's from bootstrapping and some help from my parents. Being a veteran helps also. Frustrating though to do everything you are told you are supposed to do and then struggle so much.
All true, and there's a statistic out there that found our microgeneration will always be behind the others around us in terms of wealth. Worth looking up if you can find it; government intervention would really help in that regard.
and it’s happening again with students that graduated during the peak pandemic (2020-2022) even with student that graduated during this time, we lost a lot of job/internship opportunities and many of us are even struggling to get part time work because the period we were supposed to be gaining work experience was lost to quarantine.
you could also make the argumnent the US has never really recovered from the 08 recession and we're due for the next one with how bad the housing market is and the ridiculous interest rates rn@@butterfly22432
I am from the generation of Japanese people known as the Lost Generation, but many of my friends started freelance work around the age of 20 or so, instead of working for a company, they got on track early and are enjoying their own lifestyle since then. As I remember there were a lot of kids who graduated from good universities struggled to find a job.
I have a Master degree and the massonoans ruling Europe stole my diploma after making me homeless and now act as if i haven't graduated (had distinction on top!)
@@urkskn8842 It's true that we hire a lot of new graduates at once, but I don't know the detailed percentages. there wasn't a lot of this graduate recruitment at that time,to protect the jobs of for older generation.
What is your opinion on the rampant child abuse and sexualisation in your country? As you are now exporting your p3d0 anime to the rest of the world and normalising it to young people? How do you as a country justify yourselves?
"Hikikomori" is a term I learned watching this video but I must say it is a growing concern in other nations as well. Inflation is out of control and purchasing power has been in decline for decades. The prescribed societal goal is to work hard, own a home and start a family. Due to such a high cost of living and lack of opportunity many young people are realizing it is unlikely they will be able to achieve these goals regardless of worth ethic so they choose to live a lifestyle of retreatism. Less children are being born due to economic strain. The younger generations are becoming less interested in taking on 7 figure to debt to buy a home and grow tired of a 40+ hour work week that will not achieve the prescribed societal goals. I am from Vancouver, Canada and am witnessing a cultural shift in societal goals, values, and attitudes. The current framework is unsustainable. We are living in an age that features upcoming generations having less economic opportunity than the previous ones. Many nations will see tremendous strains on public healthcare and pension supplements. The social safety net is eroding. I am in my 30's. I don't expect to see a government pension. I don't believe in the governments ability to take care of me and those in my age group as we age. The younger generations are intelligent. They know they are being treated as an ATM to pay for the older generations who are much to blame for the lack of economic opportunity. The system will need to change quickly. As of now, the game is rigged and those being ripped off are aware of it and will not break their backs to fix the mess. Some may see this attitude as lazy, others see it as a rational adaptation. Personally I am somewhere in between.
This is a point I wanted to raise as well, that this problem is not unique only to Japan. I am from Canada as well, and I've observed it among my group of friends, the lack of motivation in pursuing traditional life goals such as raising a family and owning a home. I find myself partaking in conversations with my parents about living together because its the only reasonable way ill be able to afford my own place. Although me and my friends attend university, which we are really grateful for, we still don't see much hope in the future that awaits us.
The promotion ladder is broken, as companies will hire for degrees, rather than promote up the ranks. In addition to this, the boomers are working later, thus the ladder itself is stuck, where it isn't non-existent. The difference between in house training/experience and schooling is huge in that schooling produces nothing other than the student, who is then in debt. A person who comes up the ranks is making money all the way. And if you are at a lower or mid- level, there is literally no reward for achievement, as the promotion system is run by HR and their obsession with credentials. This is behind the failure to launch for so many. Easy credit, immigration, and ludicrous development procedures have lead us to housing that is ridiculously expensive, while also amounting to nearly half the non-government economy. And the biggest share of that pie is held by the finance system. (your bank will make more from your house than the builder will..... a LOT more) So we face young men with a dating market where 85% of them are chopped liver, 10% are okay, and 5% take all, where they can lose everything in court and spend many decades paying off another persons debts, why would they try? Traditionally the reward for being a career man was that you could support a family with your income, but women are beginning to out- earn men thanks to the credentialism and affirmative style HR. So why bother there, you're competing not complimenting. Young women have it worse, They hear all through their teens and twenties that they too can be a corporate slave, and that if they aren't, they're being oppressed, or missing out. They hear that sleeping about is a good thing and something they should definitely engage in. So they decide to go to school and have a career. All of this lands them (if they succeed) in debt, 30, just starting to make a lot of money, and wondering if a family is even possible. Since they've had easy access to the (usually temporary) attention of the top 5% of men, they will also have a high bar of expectation for their future partners, while having done almost nothing to make themselves desirable as a partner, and everything to make themselves a desirable lay for that idiot gym bro who has a fresh chick every couple weeks and no need to settle down. They were lied to. Lied to by their teachers, lied to by their parents, lied to by their professors, their banks, and their politicians and now they're 30, they need to work, and the men who could have supported them either can't, don;t want too, or just aren't as good as that guy that railed them in college. Turns out the corporate wage slavery that men used to do was not for their own benefit, but for their families, and being career driven for it's own sake is actually a hollow, empty, sad pursuit for nearly everyone who tries it, especially the women who would have been happier taking a more casual job and finding a husband. Most of us are so screwed - a fellow 30- something british columbian
@@ncrranger2281 Khairul Jamain (his RUclips Channel) He's a backpackers. Plus a lot Japanese people who move out to live in Malaysia & Indonesia said the same things.
@@SasukeUchiha-qr8hp Khairul Jamain (his RUclips Channel) He's a backpackers. Plus a lot Japanese people who move out to live in Malaysia & Indonesia said the same things.
There's the same problem with the 1920' and 1940's "American dream": You can't promote everyone from a generation into management. That's an absurd balance of managers. Most work is actually done at floor level. So this is even sustainable in a single generation, much less so if attempted over several. That means that the majority of people will be regarded as 'failures', as if they somehow failed at the easy success that other had.
Ah, Japan! The land of sushi, sumo, and seemingly endless fascination for the Western world. But let's be real-behind the cherry blossoms and anime, there are a few cracks in the façade that even the most dedicated otaku can't ignore. First off, Japan's been given the "rockstar" treatment for so long that some fans seem to think it's still 1999 and they're headlining the Tokyo Dome. Spoiler alert: The concert ended, and now they're struggling to find a decent venue. With an aging population and a birth rate lower than my patience during a lengthy text conversation, they’re facing a demographic crisis that even a Pokémon evolution can't fix. It's wild how some folks glorify Japan as a utopia of tradition and innovation, while others can barely get past the eight-hour lines for a popular ramen shop. Newsflash: The obsession with “cute culture” can only get you so far when workplaces are hopelessly rigid, and employees are expected to live with the ethos of ‘work hard, sleep later.’ Oh, but sure, let’s just ignore the pressures that push people to the brink of exhaustion-because nothing says “paradise” like a society built on stress and overwork! And while we’re at it, let’s talk about that so-called “cultural charm.” There’s a fine line between appreciating a culture and idealizing its quirks. Sure, quirky cafés and vending machines that dispense everything are fun, but there’s more to a nation than just its quirky sideshow attractions. It seems that some naive celebrators of Japan overlook the fact that it also produces more existential crises than it does anime. Then there’s the fascination with Japan’s approach to technology. Yes, they’ve got robots that can serve you tea, but maybe we should focus on robots that can help with those pesky work-life balance issues. It’s like boasting about the flashy exterior of a luxury car while the engine's sputtering in the background. And let’s not forget the "mystique" that surrounds Japan. The allure of geishas, samurais, and ancient temples often blinds the naive to the challenges of modern-day Japan-like a daydreamer who forgets to check the weather before stepping outside. There's a lot more to the narrative than just cherry blossom festivals and aesthetic Instagram shots! So, while it’s easy to drink the Matcha-flavored Kool-Aid, perhaps it’s worth taking a step back and asking: Is Japan a wonderfully intricate puzzle, or just a game of Tetris with pieces that don’t quite fit anymore? In the end, loving Japan isn’t a shameful thing; just don’t forget that every country has its own unique challenges, and perfection is as mythical as the next Pokémon.
I was interested in Japan for some time since I learnt the language at university. But I never really got at chance to use it in my home country, so I decided to move over there. I lived in Tokyo for 6 years. Ill share my observations from purely a white collar perspective (working in business management). Again these are only my observations and not reflective of the whole country, so please take it into consideration. Generally everyone worked a lot and a lot of emphasis was put on not making a mistake rather than just getting on with things. A lot of over time too. People seem to take pride in it. All round general business skills were fairly low, ie people knew their line of business only and nothing outside of this or had little willingness to learn. Salaries were “ok” but somewhat low compared to what I was earning in my home country previously. The better your Japanese gets the more you question some of the comments from the managers and staff. I heard some really nasty stuff said from coworkers to coworkers or managers to coworkers which I never saw back home previously. Pretty cold stuff. There was next to no investment into training and development into staff and people - that said in my home country I regularly received a wide variety of training. I felt promotion prospects would be slow in Japan and depend purely on the relationship with your boss. Although I know this can happen in any country it’s exacerbated in Japan. Freedom of thought was a foreign concept. If you want something to be done perfectly repeatedly, Japan is a great country, that’s why I guess they have done such a great job with manufacturing. However when it comes to creativity and trying new things I never really felt there was much originality. Mental health in Japan is not a normal subject and not understood well. I saw a lot of people suffering through work or family problems but sadly most would be shunned if they opened up about their problems. Tech was pretty slow and dated although I felt it was picking up a little in my later years- but yep they are very behind. I remember having to do my expenses and gluing the receipts to paper to submit them (just 2 years ago). So finally I started working for a foreign company in Japan, it was moderately better but still not so great so I came back to my home country and I feel it was the right decision. While it was a great experience to travel and see another part of the world I felt didn’t learn much from a professional sense and felt it was holding back my career - I imagine a lot of Japanese feel the same. That said, food is good and seeing the various prefectures was a great experience not to mention some of the great people I met on the way. So in summary for me Japan was a great holiday destination but not so much of a great place to work and live. And the outlook for the economy is not good. I give them another 10 years and the cracks will really start to show. I do feel for the local people, work is definitely a grind there and society isn’t very accepting. But again everyone has their own experiences - this was only mine.
I guess the creativity/originality depends on the industry, art and fashion wise Japanese is actually super ahead. I imagine it’s way more rigid in traditional routes?
@@keima8180 yes absolutely. On average I would say it’s lacking across most industries (some worse than others) but there of course still are rockstar performers.
Very insightful, I lived in Tokyo over 3 decades through this period, the difference between the 'bubble' era, the post-crash late 90's, and the early 2000's is remarkable, but especially stressful for the generations who missed the boom years and suffered the consequences of the failures.
the spirit called tok entered the bay of isa tokugawa (tokyo or edo) in 1620 and left in 1990. now the credit bubble from the rothschild bank is driving the consumerism of ennui nippon. japan died in 1990. postmodernism on steroids. the silence of the cemetery is the "spirit" of japan.
We had the same here in Greece, for different reasons.A boom a bubble and the aftermath.The main difference though is we speak many languages so our young educated people just left the country.Brain drain as they call it.The ones that remained(like me) pay the price of our fathers mistakes.
@@havocgr1976 The Japanese youth are leaving Japan as well. Young Japanese now take their foreign languages studies more seriously and are more prepared to leave for overseas.
If you’re a foreign Man who is an introvert with money. You will LOVE Japan. From the outside, everything seems “perfect”. Everyone polite, things are super clean. So much beauty, ect.. but I’ve been here for 15 years. Even as an Introvert, I’m getting a little tired of Japan. Everything is the “Same” and cookie cutter. You notice how women have it very badly. You notice how people are are not naturally introverts are “forced” into being one. You notice the sadness behind the smiles. Most foreigners have this perfect vision of Japan. Don’t get me wrong. There are happy people in Japan, and I’m sure most of the population is thriving and truly “happy”, but that is human nature. The collective culture is nice IMO. We adapt as humans. But like any society, there are a lot of issues that are hidden from plane site. Lots of head in the sand, not acknowledging the problems. Visiting things seem perfect, but after a while. You notice it’s mostly a facade.
It's very sad to know. As they are very smart intelligent people with quality products over the decades I wish something will happen where they get compensate in the future
Very interesting realization you’ve had. When you look at modern cultures around the world you can see so many unnatural circumstances put on people. souls and spirits have been degraded from humanity for too many decades. Hopefully people can wake up and realize that this is not how we are meant to be
I feel like this is starting to become a trend with most Asian economies, rapid growth followed by economic stagnation. We’ve already seen it in countries like China, South Korea, and Japan. Other countries(especially South and Southeast Asian ones)really need to start taking note to prevent something of the same magnitude happening to them. Great video as always though.
@Partydough Because of their Horrible one dimensional work culture which robs it’s employees of personal time and an over emphasis of hiring only paper smart “elites”. End results, extremely Low birth rates and high suicide rates. All in all a depressive society.
I am also a semi hikikomori. I am refugee who escaped war but couldn't adapt to this "new" life. I am really struggling to keep my head up for next day. I truly understand horrors of being a member of lost generation. To be ignored , looked down on..
My wife was part of the "lost generation" but she went abroad to get experience which made her valuable to her current company. Unfortunately, most Japanese can't think outside the box and just follow the rules handed out by the terrible system in place. Thankfully, we have a huge farm in the country side and that is where we will retire as we watch this country rot away unless it decides to majorly change. In the end, the Japan of today will not exist in 20-30 years from now.
Yes, change but why Japanese are not accepting change? It's because Western media in the 80s & early 90s praising Japanese work ethics and management to the height of Heaven and Japanese willingly believe. But the main reason why Japan fail after the 80s is Plaza Accord! Yet American is your trusted ally. Irony?
So you are married with a japanese Woman then you should know that japanese people are thought all since birth to NEVER think for themself that with the social norm of the nail that sticks out is quickly hammered in means that people dare not think for themselfs or risk becoming social outcasts.
It's very important to adapt and move forward. I've been in a company where basically everything stayed the same. They did very little in diversifying, didn't expand and basically just sat there and complained how everything is getting worse over time while doing the same thing. It was a clear example of "if you're not moving forward, you're moving backwards." It looks like Japan has kinda the same issue.
My uncle's son got a job in an IT company and he did that for 1.5 years but he later quitted his job because of extreme work pressure and there was no one to comfort him there .. he later came back to India and is happily enjoy his job with friendly colleague because he is not feeling like a robot that he used to feel there
My Japanese friend who is now a US citizen. He only had low level part time jobs in Japan, but when he moved to the US in 2004. He got office FT jobs through temp agencies. He has been at his current FT office job for over 10 years. He is 46. He likes working Only 8 hours a day for 5 days. Japan needs to create labor laws for length of job hours and breaks.
A slight correction: Shushoku Katsudo happens during the 3rd year of university. Students have very few courses that year so they focus on job-hunting as their job/studies. Companies hire them, expecting the person to graduate in 1 year in future and then start working April 1st. (So, from about March 1st - end of September 2022 - with job starting date of April 1st 2023) For those not hired during 3rd year, they continue to hunt into their 4th year, a year of uni which again, has only a few seminars courses so students can focus on job-hunting or their pre-employment training required by their new employer. In addition to this hard-core job-hunting and getting hired 6-12 months before graduation, it also means that university students in Japan actually only have university studies for about the equivalent of 2 1/2 years Western university.
@@kubli365 Not jampacked. Imagine a usual 12-16 credit term. No more than that. Add in that most courses pass everyone as long as they meet attendance requirements and turn in all assignments, if the work is 50% or higher score.
I remember my parents who were university students during the bubble economy(1980s) telling me that shushoku katsudo as we know it didn’t exist back then. Students didnt need to “job hunt”, companies went after them to join their business. They even gave “prizes” just for deciding to join their company, such as buying them a brand new car, a house, vacation overseas etc.
The generational gap iN japan's workforce has some other ill effects as well. Most big Japanese companies have a lot of older employees that cannot lay off, even after their lien of work or specialisation is no longer needed. Estimates are that up to 8 million elderly employes sit at home at full pay because they can't be fired and because the sum total payroll needs to be still manageable, new hires earn awful salaries. Another problem is that the lost generation is missing in executive and R&D positions - most decision makers are very old, stifling any innovation and change. The effect of this has actually cost Japan it's place in the world a s high tech country. It is not anymore, by a long shot. One could cynically say: Shiny Neon billboards are an 80's technology.
Large old population/underpopulation is better than large young population(fewer jobs)/overpopulation in my poor country Nigeria. Rich nations long life expectancy(which is good)is why there’re more older people. I wish Japan well♥️ 🇯🇵
Japan is a very collective society, meaning everyone needs to preserve the group before themselves, which is fine, until you begin to notice that this "group" isn't actually a group made of people but a blob of generic "peopleness". Everyone has to look the same, speak the same and give 120% every single time in everything they do. Japan gives out tech and anime to distract everyone from a extremely long working hours, toxic hierarchical distribution, limitation of women's career goals and a society perfectly built so that its citizens feel overwhelmed and see in suicide as the only viable option.
Yup. Japan overworks and underpays the working man and woman, making it nigh impossible to start a family, while breaking people who simply can't take the stress so they for sure won't have kids, while making it actually impossible for 15% of their people to get a long term or good paying job, if any. On top of their sexism problems and blind eye to women and men who have been assaulted, (one thing is that if a woman marries she has to change her last name or it is very, very difficult to keep her original family name depending on region, plus its seen as weak for man to let her keep her name, despite that being the norm in the past, but if she was the inheritor of a family business she cannot legally keep it because it would no longer be under the starter families name. So better off women are not getting married or just losing everything). Everybody gets 1 shot after graduating maybe, and having independant ideas or entrepreneurial tendancies can get you alienated. Then expecting everyone to go back to the classic household, and especially screwing over women in status and pay because they should be at home with the kids no one can afford, putting voting piwer in the hands of the elderly who have to vote selfishly to survive, and refusing to change...Aight then.
It sounds like it's collective to make money for just a few people at the top of the company and not collective to help everyone in this collective. You can see this in every other country but it's easier to point this out in Japan because there, it's too cruel. Every country has rich people that don't care for the future or anyone besides themselves, but not every country demands their workers work for low wages, overtime, for their whole lives.
@@kulturalkontrariankomedy I agree, I've also read somewhere that this is not as recent of a phenomenom as we might think, Japanese society is very based in collectivism due to natural disasters, having a mindset of "save the group, you'll save the individual later" works for disaster scenarios, but can also be easily warped into "save the company, but screw you"
I worked with Japanese engineers for 4 years, they worked as though every day is their last and work is the reason for their existence. Even when they were ‘relaxed’ this state of mind was still owned by the corporation that we worked for.
This feels so relatable. I had full-time employment with a company which I mostly enjoyed working for that promoted from within for a solid eight years, then one day lay-offs happened. Haven't been able to secure a full-time job ever since, and that was seven years ago! Most places only want to hire younger people who are either still in college or whom have recently graduated from college. It's also now been fully seven months since I my most recent part-time job ended, and in that time frame I've only had one job interview. And just like the "hikikomori" in this video, I am regrettably dependent upon living and sponging off of my elderly parents. It's not a great feeling at all.
I'm 40 and have spent 17 years working for the same Japanese company on multiple continents. Despite the rampant nationalism in Japan, because I started young and stayed at the company, I'm considered a higher employee than Japanese who join the company in their 30s etc. I cannot underestimate how important loyalty is in Japanese culture.
Interesting. Company loyalty does seem to be an asset in some sectors. But it worries me how rigid that workforce would get. I had experience in a wide range of different past jobs and the value to my current profession is quite incalculable....
@@syjiang oh, I didn't mean to imply it was a good business practice. Hiring for life means someone who is good at 22 may not be the best fit at 30, 40, 50. I actually see that as a big danger to Japanese businesses. There's no imperative to continue studying your field. Just to study the business instead. It solely benefits the worker in this day and age.
Did the globalists finally succeed in ensuring people who love their nations and want to protect their cultures and borders are considered “bad”? You refer to nationalism as bad. It’s not. It’s the only antidote to the problems globalism is visiting on the world. Most media is in the hands of these psychopaths who want open borders and one grey mass of mixed cultures easily controlled and under constant tense division. This is evil.
@@missplainjane3905 Japan? Plenty of times. Love the country. Best food in the world. Most creative people on the planet. Probably safest place you can ever feel. Waiting for quarantine to end so I can get there again.
@@missplainjane3905 1. Both highly developed and advanced in regards to maintaining a functional society for the country with the most people per capita in the world. (I think it is. Maybe Indonesia is... I know Tokyo is the most dense place on earth). The process of doing that has affects on the psychological I can't even fathom to understand. 2. 9/10 for culture, arts and scenery. 10/10 for convenience and food. 6/10 for quality of life. No work life balance and to much societal pressure. 3. They're all different. Yeah, there's a commonality of the exact opposite of an American stereotype. I've mostly dealt with business men and women, who I can admire to detest. But, overall, far more positives then negatives. 4. The best place on earth... for a holiday. I enjoy too much getting 2-3 hours a day with my kids to ever live there. You can't buy time.
You should make a video on Italy's economic state and compare it to this one. I feel like Italy and Japan have so many things in common and have been through parallel histories since WW2. After losing the war, we've both been helped by the former Allied nations to rebuild and we both had two-three decades of absolute economic miracle (and cultural influence on the rest of the world), followed by an economic crisis in the 90s and a period of complete stagnation ever since (both countries also have been through a period of quantitative easing, in Japan with Abenomics and in Italy with Draghi's EU policies). All this while our populations are among the oldest (in Japan because the Lost Generation didn't make as many children and in Italy because of the brain-drain towards richer nations of the EU) and our national debt is among the highest in the world.
I live in Europe I know many Italians. They all say the same: that there is no opportunity for them in Italy and that's why (for now at least) they stay away.
@@jamessmith1652 i come from the south of Italy, where the situation is worst. Everyone in my family (including me) has left to study/work either abroad or in other parts of Italy.
Italy along with Spain, Portugal and Greece has been enslaved by EU / Germany. If you are Italian you can tell what happened after Euro had been introduced.
There is a book "Machiavelli's Children: Leaders and their legacies in Italy and Japan" by Richard Samuels that does a comparison of the political history of Italy and Japan. They are both eerily similar.
This is what i tell my friends when they bring up their dream to move to japan. I guess they watched to much anime, everything seems happy and fun. The reality is that the work culture is just straight up dystopian
The phenomenon of Hikikomori may have started in Japan but it is rapidly spreading across the globe now. In fact I have been closely observing ever shrining wages and continuously rising inflation in my own country making it extremely difficult to manage decent living standards. Just forget about making properties even affording cost of living is getting quite difficult. Very few in my generation are getting married and having kids and practically everyone is feeling the brunt of modern slavery of IT and MNC culture where people are treated like shit and environment is too much competitive to drain your energy. No body is actually happy anymore and no one wants to have a burden of marriage and kids when they themselves can't afford to lead a happy and stress-free life.
Mass immigration pushes growth which in turn pushes property and land values exponentially thus lowering wages raising prices and makes the rich even richer without any effort.
No one ever said life is "stress free", that's a fantasy. It's also what vacations were created for, to get away from the stress for a little while to regenerate and then go back to it refreshed.
It sounds kind of comparable with the Korean Chaebol situation. It’s quite sad to hear that these once thriving countries with a rich culture came to a staggering halt in social development. I’m planning on visiting Japan this year and these types of videos makes me realize that Japan is not some magical country where things are extraordinary different but just having quirks like any other country.
@@franki1990 i wonder if there will ever come a day where people will understand that capitalism and infinite economic growth is not in any way shape or form a fulfillment of human needs, neither of the physical ones, or the psycholgical ones.
@@Asoftenkamesheenobody cares until it affects them personally, as human beings are selfish. Japan got to this state because the people in power never felt the consequences of their actions. Similarly, late stage capitalism will continue until its uppermost benefactors come toppling down.
@@diazkohen2149 if you think that that's the only solution and alternative to raging late stage capitalism, then you're extremely narrow minded. And why exactly would a combination of socialism + strictly regulated capitalism be bad exactly?
I’ve worked in the Japanese system for a long time and this video is wrong…the truth is, it’s much worse than this video shows. Example, what happens when a company hires an incompetent employee? Whelp, they are there forever. The company has to pay, give raises to, and promote an employee that has a negative impact until they die. I remember seeing a 45 year old employee who sat in front of a blank computer screen 8 hours a day. Couldn’t be fired because being useless is not a valid reason to fire an employee according to labor laws. I don’t remember the stats but there a literally millions of these useless employees in a country that desperately needs productive workers. I could go on and on, but maybe I should just make my own video to supplement this one.
As they say "you become what you think" . Initiative and the want to be productive is within reach of all of us. Success means different things to different people.. No matter what country you live in.
boy they are lucky I wasn't born there. I would 100% be one of those people, might as well since the company I'd be working for likely wouldn't be worth a damn. I'd especially would not give a damn about the fellow employees either, which Is a big reason a lot of workers get overworked. Just sit on my ass and invest in American companies and crypto.
Not to mention the culture of staying longer than your boss and working long hours in general. How are you supposed to be productive, to regenerate or to get new ideas when you're wasting away in an office?!
as a half Japanese person born immediately after the lost generation, i will say that having dual citizenship and getting an english language education has opened up many paths for me. Was a Uni student in the UK before transferring to a school in the US, and I have to say that as many bad points Japan has, I still believe that it’s a much better place to live then the US or UK. Even though I will start my career in the US, eventually I would like to return and live in Japan to raise a family. It’s clean, ridiculously safe, and well organized. only if I’m working for a foreign company though. There is hope in the future though. Japanese youth right now are relaxed, opened minded, and they embrace British/American culture well. Japan will hit rock bottom first, but it also means it’ll be the first to bounce back
I hope Japanese government and society will cope with this problems as they did during meiji restoration and after WW2. The way is radical changings in working culture.
@@daniellxnder If--or I guess when---Japan relaxes immigration policy, it's bound to become as dirty and unsafe as the western countries (US, Europe, etc.). You can pretend like the cleanliness and safety of Japan has absolutely nothing to do with it being a monocultural society where said culture values cleanliness and respect. But it's the reality. So what happens when you make Japan a multicultural society full of other cultures that don't hold those same values? I guess Japan's going to have to find out. With the country quickly speeding towards an inevitable collapse if something doesn't change soon, increased immigration is likely going to be the only option. The extremely clean and safe Japan that draws in the admiration of starry-eyed foreigners from all around the world is quickly coming to an end. No matter how you look at things, Japan's future is not very promising.
I do believe that Japan need foreigners and maybe a hikikomori working alongside to help him back on his/her feet. And push him/her in the right direction.
@@eden0115 oh, please. That's literally me and every high school graduate I've known for the past 20 years living in 'murica. I bet most of them are still in student loan debt and are STILL paying them in their 30s right about now. Most of them have probably given up their future dreams already as we speak. And, now. It's only getting worse. Because now. Even the elderly in retirement here in 'murica are expected to get out retirement and start working AGAIN! Crazy, right? We're done. The world is done. Political wars, economic inflation. And the growing fear of this plandemic, along with crappy working conditions that barely pay the bare minimum wage to keep up with this downward spiral is a guarantee done. This definitely isn't just an isolated issue Japan faces over the past decade.
I think Japan has a particularly high rate of "Hikikomori" due to the rigidity of it's society, but I am seeing this same trend of people around my age and older becoming shut-ins working dead-end low paying jobs in miserable workplaces without opportunity for meaningful relationships, friendships, or careers. Even ones with college degrees and/or certifications, beginning to become more prevalent in the US. I think that the rise of the internet has enabled people to live this lifestyle, and the rise of toxicity and lowering of pay in workplaces, the decline of opportunities for actual irl relationships and friendships, and the rise of factors like social division and the lowering of pay are all adding up to make it way harder to enter society. Many of my friends have no ambition in life, some of them have plans only to live at home, working minimum wage, as they see no point to trying to enter society when it is so hard, and many who do manage to land "good" jobs still end up being overworked and unhappy. I personally am trying to enter society, I will be entering both college and getting a job soon, but I do not know if I will succeed, and if I am honest with myself, I would rather just stay in my room watching anime and playing games all day while doing the bare minimum in terms of work, but I am fighting the urge as I have ambitions for what I want my future to be. I am also lucky in that I have supportive parents, who are pushing me to do at least something with my life, but It would be incredibly easy to simply "fail" to enter society, and it is unfortunate to see that it is only getting easier as inflation and cost-of-living rises, and good job opportunities raise requirements to ridiculous levels, or lower pay dramatically.
@@iconictrash6023 it’s even easier to see how “big and scary” the “real world” is and be a big baby behind a screen. props for at least trying OP! commit to a better life and you’ll be surprised how far you go!
I found that apathy in life it's self is one of the big reasons adulthood sucks. Getting into the grind can be really soul crushing unless you have a good social circle to lean on.
Exact same story when you graduate when you're older and the internship from graduation doesnt offer you a job. Then you suddenly compete against younger people with same amount of skill. And once you exit society for whatever reason its very difficult to get back in for a variety of reasons.
This happened to us in UK in 1980s I am now 59 and have been outside the system my entire adult life. I don't read comic books in the dark on the contrary I have never stopped learning and being interested in the world.
I thought the UK 80s were roaring, golden years? The 70s had high inflation, and the winter of discontent. The 90s had recession. Surely the 80s were better than the 70s and 90s?
@@jamessmith1652 I am 58 and from the UK. The early 1980s were a huge depression and 3 million plus unemployed, mid 1980s was alll about union busting with the miners strike, the late 1980s were only slowly working down those unemployment numbers (helped by a lot of statistical games) and then early 1990s was another huge recession because the UK's attempt to join the European monetary union. Only after that, from the mid 1990s onwards did things really take off.
There's a lot more that went into Japan's lost generation than just corporate hiring practices. Yes, there's honor culture which looks down on people who didn't get it all right the first time, but there's also very stiff competition to get into Japan's universities, and many who just happened to not make it end up like this as well.
As an young American, I've met lots of people praise Japan for its innovation and culture and tourism, but like outsiders looking in, there's no way to tell what's really going on inside or for the citizens.
It's thanks to media portrayals and popular cultures that shape people's mind about Japan. Ask an insider, they would tell you a way different story that what is promoted and propagandized thru the media. I think why many (not all) Japanese media from anime, video games, TV program even as little as design on their product packaging have such cheerful upbringing, and also why kawaii/cuteness culture exists, is to fill their emptiness in their life with something. It's like a trauma healing mechanism to some extent.
There was a time when most of the western countries showed outright hostility against Japan. I remembered living in Australia people would rage against Japan saying we should stop doing business with them unless they apologised for their war crimes. Today, the same thing is repeating, but with China.
That was me 2008. Coming out of college but nobody was hiring took years before I could really start even using my degree. Worked out eventually, but unfortunate how timing can be such a burden for some and blessing for others.
@@MistaTofMaine I graduated in 2007 and my boyfriend at the time was in construction and that bubble burst screwed us over for years. It took about 10 years of working hard to build a life, had a child and then the pandemic happened. I swear it’s one thing after another for our generation.
The fall of the Japanese economy is in the 80's cause by US, since then japan to-date still can not recover. ruclips.net/video/7JJEbwWrv94/видео.html ruclips.net/video/eaWxLCWwNZ0/видео.html
@@FoxBodyFitness I tell this to people: "From my observation it looks like this. The 2010's were similar to the Roaring 20's, with the same loose morals and complaints of deviancy and debauchery. The 2020's is going to be an economic lost cause, similar to the 1930's. I'll leave it to you to figure out what happened next and how that happened'. What it does mean is that Gen Z might end up being The Greatest Generation v2. Interesting, but perhaps not unsurprising since millennials are showing signs of Conservatism and pushback to modern narratives.
The 1990's were good for me in Japan. I made a good salary working for the University system in Yokohama and doing the English Teaching circuits with private companies. The only problem was that my VISA was that of a "Haigusha" or child of a Japanese National~ A special Visa given to Nisei/Japanese Americans who by chance has a parent on the Koseki Tohon in Japan. This special VISA caused me to loose all my saving at the end of the tax year. A cool 1,000,000.00 Yen went to the Japanese government, $10,000 USD. I was pissed. My uncle made me pay it rather than escape to Korea and get my VISA restamped so it would be a working holiday~ I left the country once every 6 months to avoid this tax. Anyway, Japan gave great opportunities for us expats. The lost generation is so sad. I knew people like this from the mid-90's.
Well, to leave things in a more positive note, a lot of the things said in this video are already changing though. It used to be like that for sure, but now companies are getting more and more aware that people from the younger generations don't think much about leaving their job if it sucks. It makes companies to actually try and make the employee stay. I'm not saying every single company's like that, there are those super traditional companies to this day too for sure. I just have friends from Japan and judging from how they've been living, it's been getting more flexible there, which is a pretty nice change - slow, but still a change.
It's horrible to think what so many workers in Japan (and America, and around the world) go through with controlling, abusive bosses. I hope they can get their dignity. Having to work all the time like you're disposable if you want a five minute break is not really a life.
I was born in Germany. It's fine here. Scandinavia, Netherlands, Belgium etc. are also pretty decent. The problem is with countries where the system, including the society, condemns every progress as communist.
The rigid employment structure probably means many talented people are underutilized in the economy. In the western tech industry it is normal to volontarily switch employer every 4-5 years or so. I'd like to think this cross-pollination promotes innovation.
This practice may also cause a lack of innovation from outside sources such as foreign skilled employees and Japanese employees that returned home with skills learned while abroad. Rigidity leads to lack of evolution and in a constant changing world, especially now it cannot be tolerated
@@franticzenster8140 lol you really did not follow the video at all or have any real understanding of the jobmarket in east aisa in general it is hyper competetive to the point that people prep for it from that they are small children forsaking their childhood in order to get the right education for the they want. Also it dose not end when you get the job you want the workplace often pits people against each other in terms of results and work hours. Yes they lack creativity but that is due to the cultur in Japan more than anything else.
On a couple of occasions the author describes the lost gen as being in their 30s and 40s, but if this cohort is really made of people who graduated from university in the 90s (and couldn’t get a company job) this would be only 40s and 50s. It would be akin to Gen X in the US.
I think the US Gex X (which I am one of) is still much more optimistic then in Japan because the Japanese put so much emphasis on education at young age so if can’t get immediately into good college/job they are much more depressed. Americans for better or worse usually gets depressed at middle age.
I graduated in '91, and I'm 52...in the US there was a recession too... Companies weren't hiring new grads...by the time the recession ended, they wanted fresh faced kids, right out of school. Not mid twenties people that never got a chance.
yep, but althought the prospects werent as good for gen x as they were for boomers, I would say that lack of hope is more akin for milenials and somewhat the now incoming gen z
Most migrants in Japan don't really stay there, most of people I know just want to make some money and leave asap. The working culture is toxic and as a long term thing, it's unpractical.
I've seen Japan "from the inside" for 30 years. Moving here from Canada in 1988 was the best move I've ever made. I recently bought a beautiful 3 bedroom home on 1/4 acre lot for the equivalent of $150,000 USD. The same home would have cost me at least 10 times that in my native Canada. Japan has the best health system on the planet which is a comfort for a family like ours with 5 kids. Education is top notch, always ranking within the top 5 in literacy, science and math in international testing among high school students. The streets are safe and clean, the public transit is efficient and safe. The culture and food are amazing, and the people are warm, kind and welcoming. The work culture is overblown by Western media. Sure, in sectors such as finance, marketing and agriculture there are long hours, but the fact is most Japanese work standard 40 hour work weeks. Japan ranks 25th in the world for hours worked per annum. I work from 8:30~5pm, 5 days a week, as most do.
@@gordonbgraham They're obviously not counting all the overtime employees spend drinking with the boss at izakaya's. I walk past them in osaka at night and they're always packed on weeknights
@@gregh7457 Japan Rail's numbers jibe with the OECD numbers. Japan Rail's numbers reveal that their busiest hours are between the hours of 5~6pm, meaning that's when most people are returning home.
This video needs more focus on lost generation from 90s to 00s. Introduction took a lot of time. Lot of details about major bankruptcy, restructuring of companies in 90s and 00s got missed. So much more details are needed. Abandoning of Lost generation has prevented Japan from getting the 3rd baby boom. Japanese government has made major unbelievable mistake in 90s and 00s by not helping these 10-15 million people get better jobs and creating new jobs.
That's great info. Maybe we'll see this guy or someone else do a deeper dive in the future. Imo, the UK and America are suffering from the same fate as Japan, it's just taking longer. The underlying culture which guides modern business and government belongs to the "boomer" age groups which enjoyed pre-90s prosperity. Their ideals are forever shaped by an era of near-universal plenty, and the needs of future generations are easily dismissed. They've implemented ageism by weakening social policies which benefit the young and the poor and by reinforcing protections for their wealth. It's an invisible form of majoritarian oppression, seemingly impossible to oppose. The underpinning ageism and classism are now accepted cultural norms. The immense economic inequality between age groups does not help either. If you want to know more, there's a great presentation on RUclips called "Have the Boomers Pinched Their Children’s Futures?" about the tragic inequality between age groups in the UK.
@@JiF_cos first starting point of your study should be Japanese Wikipedia page for lost 20 years. And also study big big bankruptcies of Japanese banks, security companies, life insurance companies and electronic manufacturers starting from 1997(some bankruptcies started around 1991) Asian financial crisis to continuing to early 10s. Huge employment lost and huge number of Japanese new graduates found no good jobs till early 10s.
@@JiF_cos Big Huge Bankruptcies, 1997 Nissan Mutual Life Insurance, Sanyō Securities, Hokkaidō Takushoku Bank, Yamaichi Securities, Tokuyō City Bank, 1998, Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, Nippon Credit Bank.
The Japanese government has spent trillions doing that. Japan has the highest public debt-to-GDP in the developed world. It failed, because government cannot "get better jobs and create new jobs".
What I learned from these situations is that natural growth should be the way , govt. supporting companies, corruption and laws to get more votes will damage the society and ultimately it will destroy country. Countries from South and South-east Asia should not repeat this.
In most other countries there would be massive emmigration waves under those conditions. But a lot of japanese people don't even leave the country for tourism, so moving outside Japan must be an impossible thing to even imagine for a lot of folk who would do better abroad.
Where will they move to when no where else in the world else is their language spoken and they only speak Japanese. They are stuck, so I think they need to do like some parts of western Europe and let young immigrants in from developing world. But be selective with who they let in because immigration can also be new problems…welp
I am Japanese. Comment with google translate. The true dark side of Japan is that the coalition government of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito is supported by religious cults. Believers in Soka Gakkai, the largest new religious organization in Japan and a supporter of the New Komeito Party, will be an important vote source in the election. The voter turnout among believers was 100%, and this made it easier for politicians in the coalition government, the Liberal Democratic Party, to be elected, and although the party temporarily surrendered power to a rival party, it continued to win elections under this system for nearly 30 years, and its In 30 years, Japan has declined and is called the lost 30 years in Japan. Incompetent politicians and religious cults have been in power for many years. The damage caused by religious cults became clear last year with the shooting of Prime Minister Abe. Over the years, the incident was caused by the families of victims of the Unification Church, a religious cult that supports the LDP. In Japan, the victims of these cult religious groups do not come out publicly. This is because the media is controlled by religious cults. And despite this incident, the government does not regulate religious cults. This is because if restrictions were put in place, religious groups would no longer be able to obtain organizational votes and therefore be unable to win elections. From the 1950s to the present, many Japanese citizens have been victims of antisocial solicitation by religious cults and donations to religious groups. Families, relatives, and acquaintances are divided by cults, and this creates a society in which people no longer interact with each other. Who wouldn't want a neighbor with a cult, right? Japan is full of such anxiety and caution. As long as cults and politics are intertwined, it is impossible to hope for the revival of this country. The past 30 years have proven that.
I am cognisant that I am 7 months tardy to make this reply, but my god, that was a despondant read. So even if the economy does exit deflation, the government will still have marred Japan in a way that is devoid of any gaiety, hope, or future. I commiserate with you, my friend. Sincerely, from an Irish on the other side of the world🇮🇪❤. 返事をするのが7ヶ月も遅れていることは承知していますが、本当にがっかりしました。経済がデフレから脱却したとしても、政府は日本に明るさや希望、未来をまったく感じさせない形で傷をつけることになるでしょう。友よ、私はあなたに同情します。地球の反対側にいるアイルランド人より、心から🇮🇪❤ 。
i couldn’t agree more with what you said, As you and countless other people mentioned, japan is a very rigid country with an Inflexible and unchanging labor system. You basically devote your life on a companyonce you start working in it. This “dedication” to the company results in power harassments from your higherups which in turn causes a lot of overworking to do. Plus, the rigid nature of japan’s labor market means many people attempt to join the work force and society but fail to do so, causing an abundance in hikikomori people. What makes all of this worse is that, the japanese economy is steadily getting worse. Last year, the worth of yen went down by a significant and overwhelming amount, causing mayhem in the japanese economy. the price of japanese products outside it’s borders skyrocketed. if i remember correctly. when splatoon 3 released, it was like 80 dollars or something like that. Although it did relatively recover from this event, i don’t think it will get better than this. Many people idolize this country as a clean, organized, respectful and cultured country. I disagree. Under the surface, this country is a jumbled mess of work place harassments, extremely high suicide rates, Horrendous cases of bullying, numerous cases of unemployment and hikikomoris and futoukous (people who don’t go to school. Mostly caused by the horrible amount of bullying going on in japanese schools), along with outdated political beliefs and just a lot of xenophobia. I personally would say this country is a great place to visit for vacation of just to have fun, but i think japan is a miserable place to live.
I appreciate your candid view of Japan that is hidden from us. I wish the people/employees can find a way to create a more enjoyable work environment. They can start with flexible work hours. In Tokyo alone 20 million people crowding trains to arrive by 9 am is just rediculous and unnecessary. It should be okay for many to begin work at 10 AM.
Respect to you. I always asked myself why you Japanese don't rebel, protest, do anything to thrown out that slaving system? Or..if you don't feel for that, why don't you abandon Japan. You would find new job easily for example here in Slovakia, having freedom and life.
Been saying this for years and years, but everyone would rather scoff at me and point at the beautiful culture and tech. It's so good to hear you back-up my claims. No country is perfect and Japan is no exception. We're humans; we're all fucked up in the head on this blue rock.
Fun Fact: Tokyo recently dropped the requirement for female students to dye their hair a certain color to conform to school uniform and appearance standards. Couldn't believe it was even a thing. A female student complained that the dye was damaging her scalp and caused pain. After that, the ball started rolling and now different (but natural colors I believe) are authorized as opposed to black hair color only. Edit: Bad spelling
I graduated in the US in the early 90s, when “Leaner is meaner” and “downsizing” was sweeping companies. Companies were laying off left and right, and had no interest in new grads….job fairs were cancelled (or just the military showed up), people started posting their rejection letters outside their dorm doors. Some fled to graduate schools to try to ride out the bad market, but law and med school applications jumped and were even more competitive. But….I and all my friends…did just fine longterm, becoming doctors or lawyers, or other ways to ride out the downturn. It sucks to graduate into a bad economy, but at least in the US, not the end of the world. Harder in Japan, where companies prefer hiring new grads.
I graduated in the early 90's and rode it out by doing 6 years in the military. It was the golden age in the military, the USSR was dead and 9/11 was far away.
"The Japanese graduates of 1990s who missed their shot" is like me, generation of late 2019-2020 whose "freshgraduate" status was taken away by recession because of the sudden COVID19 pandemic. Especially in an overpopulated country like Indonesia. When situation become increasingly normal since late 2021, our generation are not hired because companies which were mostly on hiring freeze during pandemic are now open again but only choose freshgraduates. We are lost generation too. The difference is.. my country never conduct social research like what you do. They simply forget us. Ageism in hiring practice doesn't help either.. after 25 yrs old it's like you are not considered as jobseeker anymore.
I took a job in banking during pandemic because of desperation. It paid well but doesn't have any future prospect (I work but in here teller and administrative assistant are only contracted as internship). I resigned after 1 year of working. Even with that experience, I still get ghosted by recruiters. Now I got a job in FMCG industry but it's a small wage job & I will work for more hours.
@@earlysda There is. If you live in huge populated countries like Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia, or India you will notice the downsides of having uncontrolled population: traffic jams, difficulty in finding housing, crazy job market condition (the competition to get in for *just* a minimum wage job, companies don't want to follow labor laws because there are more job seekers than job vacancy = they could just replace the workers, unpaid overtimes, etc), crimes, etc. Even USA & China are hindered by their huge population.
@@earlysda Japan and Korea itself can be considered overpopulated, their number of population compared to the small size of their country and scarce resources
wow, a very short video but very educational 👌 so many facts and information in one video, plus a clear script that explains a lot in a very short time 👍
I think that something that'll bring at least some change is young people starting Startups. I think that those contribute to a transformed workforce. Companies like Google & Facebook led to a big change in workplace culture in their industry.
I don't think the answer is that simple -- most startups, especially ones that will be at the "unicorn" scale of your Googles and Facebooks, require money (investments), and where will this money come from? Certainly not the big corporations that are enjoying the status quo...
As I’m Japanese, I agree most part of this video. This is real side of Japanese. If you are tourists it’s difficult to see these deep dark aspects of Japan, but you’ll find lots of business man sleeping on the bench at the park or on the commuter train. They have huge pressure from companies, over- working culture and relationships with boss and worker. ( it’s top down culture) Many Japanese recognize these problems but they can’t change working culture because companies loves traditional and old styles and the executive management have huge power in the decision making. It’s great video to know reality of Japanese economy and companies.
Although I don't think the situation is nearly as dire or universal, it reminds me of a lot of people from my generation in the United States who took on a lot of debt to go to college (paying tuition costs that had ballooned due to the availability of government backed loans) only to walk right into a bad recession. I was lucky enough to graduate debt-free, but a lot of people my age were either never able to get back above water or had to delay becoming homeowners and starting families for years and aren't where they should be now.
At least in the US you pay mortgages. So you can live in it while you are paying off mortgages(small amounts of money) instead of the whole cost of the house!
Sometimes critical information is censored. The Americans bullied the Japanese in the Plaza Accords and forced the value of the yen to increase, collapsing the Japanese economy and a generation of Japanese to suffer It was another economic nuclear bomb the US dropped on Japan
@@slslbbn4096 Germany also agreed to increased currency value in the Plaza Accords, and their economy did not collapse. The rising value of the Deutsche mark did not result in a bubble or recession. Plus the yen was no longer pushed up in the late 80's, which was two years after the Accords. And you can save it with your "bullied" talk. Japan was never playing fair to begin with by restricting imports from the US and other countries. And nobody but Japan is to blame for all those zombie companies. Unsustainable system doomed to failure.
@@slslbbn4096 lmao. Or maybe Japan was incompetent, myopic, disgustingly self-centered and jingoistic. You know, like they were in WWII when they tortured and killed MILLIONS of people throughout the Pacific for the Empire of the Hateful Sun.
Now I'm 21y old. Means we are the generation of SHUSYOKU KATSUDO. I left Japan when I was 19y old and it's been almost 2and half years since then. Most of my school mate are sending a looooot of CV to companies and approaching to them. And they are saying "No hope for the company, Japan is almost over" This isn't joke, seriously we don't have any hope for this country especially young ppl around 20y old or so😭
That is so sad, when the youth give up on their home country as a whole; even here in the US, there are some who still have hope for this place, because of the "Right to Complain" still holding on (for dear life, maybe, but it's still there). I can't imagine living in a place where you are expected to hold your tongue, even if you get cheated like "The Lost Generation" has. Dark times are ahead for a lot of nations, it seems.
when the rothschild bank defaults the bubble will burst think about it there is no free market quantitative easing to japanese companies sustains their turnover when the roth bank defaults no more credit to keep the dead economy turning over useless junk when the credit bubble bursts all the other bubbles will burst with it tick tock!
@@ownedmaxer607 how many japanese want to serve the machine? this documentary and all other docs on japan do not propose the idea of alternatives to japanese people. most japanese simply assume that japan is the whole universe and the structure of the japanese machine can never be violated. deep down they feel that japan, not God Alone, is god. an atheist society chose to worship nippon as they shun the Grace of God.
don't cry bro ----------- japan was #1 in the 80's n usa did a hua wei to it japan only bomb hawaii millitary outpost usa nuke deep japan big cities hiroshima nagasaki usa will not allow japan to do reparation to keep japan hated by asia - japan bomb n usa nuke - no more revenge but asia is still - revenge or reparation japan must do some easy things or suffer revenge 1 burn war criminal shrine n build peace leaders' shrine in it's place - why worship war criminals that kill lots of japanese youths? 2 facts in text bks 3 pay 70mil equivalent of the time to victim nations n be free from fear of revenge forever n free from usa protection/bases too 4 don't elect warhawks that war torn japan - elect economy leaders n make japan rich
I'm 41 and am in the lost generation, but after getting out of college, I couldn't get a job, so I started my own company. Now, I have two kids, live in a house, and have two cars. I know that it's not good to say "those who didn't make it didn't work hard enough", but what I can say is that I did work hard and smart both at the same time.
@@gordonbgraham Eh debatable. First is where you are born, second is how wealthy your parents, etc. Often people with privileges don't even realize they are privileges, ascribing it to their "talent" instead.
@@scholaroftheworldalternatehist The topic is Japan which provides high quality education from kindergarten through high school to everyone for free. It’s what one does with that education rather than “luck” that has the greatest influence on a person’s outcome rather than anything else besides unfortunate incidents such as illness or injury. In the case of such unfortunate incidents Japan also provides the world’s best health care for free to those who can’t afford it and cheaply to the rest of us.
I am American. And I would like to commiserate with my Japanese brothers and sisters. This happens in America too. We just do not have a name for it. The Japanese are honest enough to recognize that this dynamic their country is not the fault or caused by the Hikikomori. Here in America, the "hikikomori" are BLAMED for "being a drain on the economy". I would be a Hikikomori if not for the fact that in America it is not looked down upon to get a different job when you are unhappy. We are free to do that. However, we have an entire generation of people in their 30s and 40s who went to university... and now university degrees are meaningless. You go to a job with a master's degree, and you get paid the same as a teenager who works at McDonalds. You may make $15-$17 per hour, but the average rent is perhaps 2000.00. Plus electricity, gas, internet, car insurance, car payment. This will only end in a revolution when the people get tired of spending $100 for 10 items at the supermarket.
My years in Japan in the early 1980's were very unique and unusual. When I recall my numerous encounters people usually don't believe me. But, I had at different times, men growl at me that Japan would take down the U.S. and destroy our economy. They said that is why salary men work such long hours and that destruction of the U.S. was paramount in their company's goals.
Oh I believe you. As a foreigner wanting to live in Japan I get this rude/unwarranted remarks especially from the older generations. It’s funny how out of touch and ignorant they’re but here I am wondering why so much of my hard earned money here is going to welfare. These are the same people I’m giving my money to giving me such a hard time for no reason in what is otherwise a pleasant country to live in. It’s absurd.
Japan is a sick country. No mention of the high rate of Suicide in Japan and almost no care for mental health care. I live in Thailand, and the mental health care is far bete here. I watched a video by an expat who lived and worked in Tokyo, amongst other things he also mention the lack of mental health care. He went to see a dotor who just told him to 'Be Happy'. I have worked with a few Japanese language teachers in Thailand and they are very relaxed and glad to be away from Japan. I have also taught Japanese managers at a Japanese company in Thailand. They loved their lif in Thailand and dreaded the time when they would have to return to Japan.
True about the lack of mental health awareness, but the suicide rate in Japan is actually on the decline for a couple decades now. The u.s. surpassed Japan a couple years ago in terms of suicide rates. Yes, even among teenagers.
Tbh I can’t even imagine how much of a nightmare situation it must be to have no other chances beyond right after graduation. I’m honestly taking my second chance atm with higher education in the U.S., something I know probably isn’t even possible in Japan. It seems a lot like The Empire in “Foundation”, and inability to change or deviate from tradition is literally leading to its own downfall.
It will be interesting to see how long that lasts. My prediction is that there will start to be more immigrants coming into Japan. Like those from South Korea or other parts of the world due to globalization. Change will be forced upon them when this happens. Nothing stays the same forever.
@@skywalker6648 you can't migrate prospective workers to a dead economy. japan's economy is dead. good for the corps that fewer and fewer employees graduate every year, just imagine these same dying corporations having to hire more employees. retirees > graduates. a nice balance for a dying nation.
I'm 50 years old this year. Born in a regional city in Shizuoka, after graduating from a university in western Japan, I returned to my hometown and got a job at a medium-sized IT company. It's a stable company, but most of the employees used to work there from their parents homes. In Japan, there is a large disparity in salaries between large companies and small and medium-sized ones, and it's also difficult to get a new job at a large company once one fails to join such a company as a new graduate. It's because of all kinds of discrimination. And the Ice Age generation was created by large companies not hiring new graduates in order to protect the employment of the elderly people working there under the permanent employment system.
I am Japanese and live in Japan and can confirm this. Fortunately, I work in a progressive IT company but you still can feel the old Japanese mentality at some points and the pay is generally low. Although one good thing about Japan is, even if your poor, the chance of becoming homeless or badly sick is low thanks to the social system. But I think the economy won’t hold long if Japan continues to do the same thing since the economy crashed in the 90s.
Given the love of Japanese culture and anime today in America few people realize that in the 1980s Japan was looked at by many the way China is looked at today, with a mixture of anxiety, envy, and open hostility. Many back then remembered the Japan of the 1930s-1940s and thought it wrong that a nation that never really took responsibility for it's actions in the war should prosper.
There are many forms of warfare. Culturally, Japan has made big progress in capturing the minds of Westerners purely through anime. Now imagine if anime was used to subtly make people believe certain things or to sybtly change perspectives. However, the one ting I have seen out of all this is that Japan capitulated to Westernism and was made a lapdog of the West. They threw away their values and turned wholly to Westernism and became huge proponents of it. Now, they're used as a vehicle for encouraging robotics and transhumanism. It appears that they, along with almost all other countries, has been colonised by the West. Colonialism has not ended. They just don't use guns anymore.
I wanna go back in time and tell the people of the 80s that they’re basically friendly-firing, and that the…. Alternative….. might just be 95 million times worse
thats because after the war japan was pretty much given a slap on the wrist and not only that, the US allowed japan to be on their own after the occupation. thats when the zaibatsu and then economy started rolling which lead to the 80s boom, and then the collapse. they never took responsibility because they were never given one in the first place, even after the atrocities the imperial army did in china.
The difference is the SPEED this has occurred in Japan. I have witnessed during my lifetime the ride from post-war lift-off to red-hot boom to burst bubble to malaise and stagnation to "the entire Japanese race may cease to exist within 50 years". And I am NOT that old.
not really, the speed and longevity of this stagnation is what is different for Japan. Other major economies in Asia like Korea and China have had economic bumps but have not stopped growing. Japan is different, Japan has been stagnant since the 90s unlike Korea and China which have grown exponentially and are still growing until now.
I lived in japan for years, and let me tell ya. JAPANESE society is like a hell for normal people. Their salary is also very low. Imagine you graduate from college and you get paid with only $2000 for monthly salary. Their quality of life is very very far away from other developed countries. Don't be shadowed by animation or whatever. Harsh truth that people don't want to listen to.
As an American I have always admired the Japanese work ethic. I see that it has a dark side and even led to a lot of mental health issues in Japan but I really do admire their loyalty and determination to their companies and their families. On the flip side of that coin I sympathize greatly for the Japanese who have suffered greatly from overwork and this type of culture especially the Hikkimori. I sympathize with them as I can relate in some aspects on a social level. Japan is such a fascinating country with such enormous complexity and beauty. In a 2012 movie I saw called "Emperor" (great movie by the way) General Kajima called Japan "a nation of contradictions". I can see somewhat how this applies today but that's what makes Japan so unique and beautiful. I wish I could see it one day. God bless the people and nation of Japan!
Pretty sure Hikikomori are both men and women - basically anyone who's a "shut-in". And there are also NEETs who fall under the "being taken care of by their parents/family" category. For those who don't know (even though I'm sure most do) NEET stands for Not in Education Employment or Training.
@@chrillsimslovesgretathunbe9771 In a traditionally Japanese society, yes, but even for women, if they're not married (so, not a housewife), not studying or working, they are still considered NEETs or hikikomori by Japanese standards. What they can avoid is the "label", I guess that's what you meant by "hiding", however their lifestyle is not different from male hikikomoris, whether the public aknowledges it or not.
I was assigned to a project as Project Manager with a Japanese Plant. My role was change management. After one particularly frustrating week, the Japanese Plant Manager took me to one side and asked “Richard-san, how many Japanese does it take to change a lightbulb?”. I repled that I didn’t know. He laughed and said “Ah…it’s a trick question, nobody ever changed anything in Japan”.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Bro it's sad as fuck. Its like they know what's wrong but dont want to fix it
@@Iluvatar196 Japan is a harmonious Confucianist society. The requirement for consensus is the reason that decision making can be glacial. Japan does great consensus driven small incremental change in the form of kaisen honing, but massive change is a problem for Japan. I
@@richardhoulton4016 after 30 years in Japan, have yet to encounter any concensus....
@@jiji1946 On the “big stuff”, I agree. I’ve seen it on Kaizens. The Japanese are masters at honing something to perfection. But it you are looking to make radical change, you have a very big problem. Which probably explains why the Japanese economy flew when the stars were aligned, but when they no longer were…your get decades of lost direction….and a lost generation.
Japan as a country is clean, orderly and safe because Japanese society is ULTRA-RIGID. It is also inflexible, unhappy and broken because it is ULTRA-RIGID. Discipline is a double-edged sword, on a personal as well as social level.
@@thadtuiol1717 What country is nicer than Japan? Crime is still low; things are still clean, correct?
@@thadtuiol1717 Every country is more or less the same.
@@venkyratnam Absolute nonsense. Yeah, Somalia is the same as Japan. What a joke.
@@dhd-rsw5844 yeah, because low crime and cleanness is all you need. Genius.
@@dhd-rsw5844 I think Netherland is a good country.
As a teenager, i used to think grown adults who remain frustrated with minimal employment were just not trying hard enough. Then it happened to me. I was stuck in a job I hated, paid no better than Mcdonalds but working or travelling to work most of my life, and wasted my youth.
Your username is an interesting anagram.
"wasted my youth" is most of school. For example, I never needed to learn imaginary numbers. What a total waste of time and energy!
This is the point i am trying to make and still a lot of people unfortunately disagree. More often than not, at least in todays society, people not living a good life is the result of circumstances and NOT because they didn't try hard enough or because they are "losers". Thank you for sharing this.
I actually believe most hikkikomori are not living that life because they chose to or because they didn't try hard enough but because they are stuck due to circumstances that are mostly out of their control. I think of them as people who refused to spend their lives at a mcdonalds and without any other alternatives (even after trying hard) ended up closed up at home. This doesn't apply to everyone out there but it does for the majority of people based on my experience.
@@kiriup8188 It is easy to say "try harder" but that wont work when the opportunity is not coming forward. I asked many companies for their advice about starting a new career, and how I wanted to save for a better home, but it did me no good when I was told i was not suited for the role, or told to get work experience elsewhere.
Bullying is a big part of why this happens in japan. The rigid social structure makes it extremely difficult to recover and establish a positive social circle.
@@scintillam_dei i feel the same about school, im learning more alone than ever learn going everyday to the school.
The Lost Generation's struggles reflect a broken system. It's alarming how millions have slipped through the cracks. This story isn't just Japan's - it's a cautionary tale about the fragility of societal structures.
Agreed. This is worldwide... With the world today, it makes you wonder... '...and the oppressed will inherit the earth...'. Just as it is said here, '...these 30-40y.o.'s typically would be who are "running things" and "making decisions"'...'.
It's called Societal Entropy. As Countries struggle to compete, Economics replace positive Social relations, making them stagnate. A post-modern way of saying "Survival of the Fittest".
Everyone sabotages themself in nefarious ways in hopes for success. Some just don't make it. That is why I personally say. Love eachother, help eachother.
sounds like my life. I hardly leave my room for any reason anymore. My own 6 x 10 self imposed prison cell
And such a shame, as I and all my friends graduated into the economic downturn in the 1990s, when “downsizing” staff was popular in companies and few were hiring (and there were any army of recently laid off workers with references and a couple years experience competing for the few jobs.)
It was a hassle, but people went to grad school, or did a few years in the military, etc. and 4 years later….everything was fine.
But with their preference for hiring new grads, the Japanese grads who had this happen to them had were permanently disadvantaged…
and that did not have to be. It was indeed the system and culture, more than the economic downturn, that hurt them.
Ah, the age-old question: why is Japanese culture deemed "cooler" and more popular in the West than Chinese culture? I mean, it's not like Japanese animation, sushi, and cherry blossom festivals have dominated social media or anything, right? Who wouldn’t love the idea of drawn characters who express emotions with wide eyes and exaggerated gestures? Such depth!
Let’s not forget the whole samurai and ninja thing. Because nothing screams sophistication quite like a culture glorifying ancient warriors who wield swords and perform acrobatics. Meanwhile, China is over there with its thousands of years of history, philosophy, and contributions to human civilization-how boring!
And then there's the food. Can we talk about how Western palates have fallen head over heels for sushi? It’s like they discovered raw fish and suddenly it was the pinnacle of culinary artistry. Chinese cuisine, which offers a diverse array of flavors and dishes, must be so last year, right?
Plus, let’s not overlook Japan's pop culture phenomenon, from “Harajuku girls” to J-Pop idols. Because who doesn’t want to dress like a pastel-colored character from a video game? Meanwhile, traditional Chinese opera might as well be a relic from another planet in comparison.
So, in the grand scheme of things, it makes perfect sense why Japanese culture is seen as "cooler." After all, who needs depth and history when you can have neon lights and a quirky persona?
I live in rural Japan, I'm a 33 year old male, of hikkikomori ilk but not hikkikomori because I've always been trying 100percent in whatever jobs I can get. Anyway I started working in a Japanese company this year (2022) and though its only been a few months these are my observations: the management sit upstairs on high salaries and order the workers to work like supermen for a salary that doesn't make ends meet even in rural life, most new workers quit because they physically can't do what's asked of them so the ones that don't quit do daily overtime of at least two hours but more often than not 3 to 4 (with only the first 2 being paid), the company (which im sure is making an absolute mint) is doing so little to A make working conditions easier and B to incentivising people to enter the company to even replace the leavers. Obviously its stupid because its unsustainable and the managements ambition for growth isn't looking possible with such high quitting rate, but I think that herein lies the root of the problem: the management are stupid- they haven't realised that their role in society at large is to benefit the community and country, they only seem interested in protecting what they gained by virtue of luck. I am less inclined to stay myself with each hardworking honest coworker I see get rinsed for all their hardworking until they feel that they can't do it, im only still there as I want to give it at least a year because I've been through hell and back looking for jobs in general. Its sad though, to see people basically mistreated. Its not just Japan either. I expect things would change the the elderly management retire, but old folks these days, the rich ones, they probably will be like 75 before they get out of the road. They'll probably try to take the road with them.
Hoping both of you that you may find happiness and achieve the purpose you have in mind. I'm still below 20, so I'm still figuring it out. Side note :- I don't live in Japan. Hope you two have a good day
頑張りましょう！
Thanks for sharing your experience. Here’s to a better life.
The same is true of my job experiences in the US minus the overtime of course, will say that the hogs in the offices are overcompensated for what little they do vs blue collar hell that has people feeling like they are 90 years old by the time they go home.
@@thadtuiol1717 The sad part that post covid there really isn't anywhere to go as the economy is so fucked up and there is a looming wave of layoffs with in the next few weeks to months.
As a Japanese, I found this is incredibly correct.
I guess many of you don’t believe the fact that Japanese company doesn’t give you a job description and most employees don’t even know what is it.
What does this mean?
It means the Japanese labor market has extremely low flexibility. Lacking definite job description says like “You will work for the Company ABC in any department”, and this is what “Lifetime employee” means. Believe or not. It’s true.
So basically in this country people work for a company and not for families, nor careers.
From management stand point, Japanese workforce is the most “controllable” resource in the world. They never leave company even their pay cut off, relocated by company.
In a nutshell, company is where they “live” not “work” so once they lose the chances to join in the community, they’ll be isolated from society for the rest of their lives.
Stable employment is essential for stabling society but when it overkilled it’ll waste energy from a country just like Japan….
Why your people don't do anything to change this? Like protest for better work conditions I heard Japonese people are very united in my opinion the better for Japan is to restore the Imperial Power.
@@viniciusmartins8733 This is what California was like. Once a thriving country of it's own back in the 50s/early 70s then the 'druggie' generation wanted more and more free stuff out of tax payers back and just wanted everything wrong and Cali is a cesspool now with huge addiction problems/homeless and they forced all the crazies out of the asylums into the streets back in the 90s,etc.
@@viniciusmartins8733 While you kids were busy either playing Super Mario World or Mortal Kombat busting up chops a lot of politicians were doing crooked things behind closed doors. Some got caught and called out on via Talk Radio hosts but most of it just got swept under the rug. The 'sex' scandal barely even covers it and yes it was an actual scandal. They did NOT do it on their own dime.
The political scandal book 'I Told You So' is very old from that time period but still applies today and is one of many must reads to get a fuller understanding but it's by far from the only source you should look.
@@viniciusmartins8733 I have never had an idea that dictatorship solves Japan’s problem here, but the gov should enforce companies bringing employment flexibility. To be fair, small protests is actually happening to make it but given the number of older people it has less hope imo.
Imagine that you are in a community guarantee your life and career and younger people protest against, you wouldn’t support, would you? Japan’s workplace is a big boys club in some scenes.
I'm a Japanese guy in the 40's, who was born during the Ice Age.
I believe this video talks about Japan completely right, especially about how the Japanese companies get new hires. Once you miss on the Shushoku Katsudo, you will almost never get accepted. Once you get settled at a company as a regular employee, they find you as if you were a family member and you start to look down on non-regular employees, which gives them a sense of eliteness in a wrong way.
The problem is, "No one tries to get out of this malicious circle and start to live in their own ways. Once you do, you know what will happen, right? You will get kicked out of society and will have to settle for low-income life.
Japan LOOKS a great country, but what makes it so is the under-wage non-regular employees, who work at cheap Ramen restaurants or elsewhere.
Lots of Japanese regular employees cry out saying that their wages do not go up. The reason is clear: because they are there as regular employees.
Japan is a great country, sure it has problems, but nothing like the problems the west has.
Hey Rocky, I'm American US in my late 60's and finally retired. I feel your pain bro. It's the same over here too but more like someone stabbing you in the back just to get hirer up in the company for a little pay raise. Always someone trying to eat your lunch. I remember telling off my boss and had to take a lower paying job. But it was the best move I had ever made. I had to take 1 or 2 steps back to get 5 steps forward. I just kept on striving to improve my skills and a position came open for me with this job. After almost 20 years in my field, the company sent me to an advanced school. It opened so many new doors for me. I guess the best way to put it was I kept playing that slot machine until if finally paid off. Also have a few rounds of Sake for me.
and how did you do with your life? how are you
And the sad part is being a salaryman is basically pressured indentured servitude.
It's "good" compared to "the rest" which is a way for the corporations and government to pressure people into accepting the system.
Very little innovation will come out of such a system.
That's sad, no wonder most men in Japan are depressed. 😢
This video is largely true.
I am exactly in my 40's and in the middle of the Lost Generation.
In high school I studied 3 hours every day outside of school and my academic deviation was 70. Do you know what 70 deviation means?
I then went on to a famous private university, this time studying 8 hours every day for 8 years to get my attorney certification.
Why?
Because I wanted to get a job at Andersen Consulting after graduating from university, but I failed.
I forget what the job placement rate was at the time at Andersen Consulting.
I only remember that it was an unusual job placement ratio.
In any case, I failed to find a job, so I could not get a job in the new graduate slot after university graduation. So I had to study even harder and go through an exam that I wasn't sure if I would pass or fail.
I had to obtain a national certification, which is now likely to be eliminated by AI. My parents gave me all the support I needed to pass the exam. I was lucky in that respect.
There are many of my classmates who are missing.
You will not have much difficulty finding someone with mental illness in Japan today. If you throw a stone, you will hit a mentally ill person.
We either survive the excessive competition for survival, or we end up on the streets or shut up at home.
We, the Lost Generation, have a very difficult time being ”normal”.
Tried to look up Academic deviation and what it means in the grading system over there but can find nothing about it other than charts showing equivalent grades in the U.S. that seem very inaccurate
I cannot claim to undetstand the deviation value "system", but a value of "70" is something akin to the top 98-99th percentile. It indicates academic performance sufficient to be selected by almost every university in the Japan.
I am of the same generation. I hope things will change for the better in Japan. It seems like Japan needs a try something new.
i find the narrative around all this to be very worrying - the lost generation...15% of country's population labelled this way, almost as if their story is done, written and now just meant to be a cold relic. hasn't the government tried initiatives like re hiring older people? return to work programs? funding to subsidise cost of living, tax breaks, direct benefit programs, etc.? I'd love to read up a bit more about it, These people are human beings, they're still alive, their conscience, time and life are precious. they may be hollowed out to another level, but this narrative that its already too late - doesn't sit well with the optimist in me.
sending you love and hugs.
I was in Tokyo a few weeks ago and I was shocked by how miserable the people in suits looked. And they were showing clear signs of overworking themselves yet trying to smile. It was sad to witness. Such a beautiful country, with such a beautiful culture and people have been eclipsed by this unfortunate fact.
That's ironic, there's millions of jobless yet the people who work have too much to do
@@ygts we as humans tend to focus on what we don’t have and not show gratitude for what we have
I totally agree with your opinion. People have no energy in their expressions, they look like zombies. The most shocking thing is that this also applies to women on the subway.
@@btyxvwa6 a zombie is a soulless machine functioning through energy. programmed from childhood, they yearn for nothing, expect nothing but fulfill their duty and do their job.
They are in a terrible dilemma.Under extreme stress to find a full time soul crushing job till retirement,the ones that dont find it are sad and ostracized by society, the ones that do find it realize they barely get to sleep, so all they do is work and sleep, some even die from it, some even commit suicide.I saw an alternative, some young people who decided, screw that we ll create an option 3, got part time jobs, and they lowered their spendings and live 10-20 people all together in big houses sharing the rent.THEY were happy, had free time, did their hobbies, had parties etc etc.
Younger people in Japan will be working extra hard to support the retiring society. It's not too difficult as a family but will be tough as a country. Regular people are always worst off...
You literally don't have a life my guy
You are literally in every video I have ever seen
@@anupamdutta659 I was about to say the same. I see this dude literally in every video I watch 💀
@@anupamdutta659 she's a bot and needs to be reported
Mandatory euthanasia is the only option
There's an Ancient Greek proverb: "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in". The elderly in Japan destroyed their children's futures so quickly that they'll end up get sunburnt along with them.
The Baby Boomers did this to America. The post-war generations were selfish and had no forward thought about civilization as a whole. I blame war, and human frailty. We have to do better in so many ways.
Make sense🤔
lol ever heard of American boomers?
@@CM-xk5ye i think boomers globally were a fkn nightmare. sincerely, broken adult in south africa.
@@CM-xk5ye That whole generation is like that all around the planet. From the stuffiest New England suburb to the stickiest jungle in Papua New Guinea. I think it's because of all that lead they used to mix into fuel in the early 20th century.
This might explain why when I went to Japan, fulfilling a long-time dream, I felt absolutely nothing in Tokyo and Kyoto. There was no buzz of life. I literally felt like I was surrounded by robots. Osaka felt better and people were more relaxed, but overall there wasn't a whole lot of energy on my trip. Hell, just being in the LAX airport changing flights it felt more alive than the whole of Japan which is really sad because the culture has so many beautiful things about it.
You shouldnt base it on how the city feels when you wander in the streets. You should go nightlife if you want to see some joyful people and overall lifeful energy. This goes with almost every country in the world. There are many people who moves in and enjoys Japan. If you move to the Japan and are not the part of Japanese toxic work culture, meaning that you are working for a non-japanese company, or if you are simply a tourist then you are free to enjoy a highly developed country.
@@fadingship935from what I’ve heard things in this video don’t apply to foreigners as much, however being one in Japan comes with its own set of problems.
@@fadingship935 Yeah man just look at the happy stuff and ignore the sad stuff totally proves that the country is good to visit /s
@@meltygear5955 No need to ignore anything. My point was you can enjoy most countries provided you have money.
@@meltygear5955 You're just angry that Japan is a much better country than your. :) ただそこにいてください!
This should be a warning to governments and corporations around the world.
I don't think Japan is unique in these issues. The younger generation in various developed nations around the world are finding it too difficult to get a decent job and start a family. Entry level positions are being eroded due to automation and outsourcing. Those who manage to find jobs are often too overworked and underpaid to start a family. Corporations want to keep more to themselves so they don't want to hire more employees and overwork their existing ones. Rather than investing in employee development like before, corporations now expect society to come up with well qualified people while denying opportunities to those they deem underqualified. Then, they turn around to complain that it's so hard to find enough qualified people.
Corporations are too greedy, too stubborn to change for the better, and myopic about the future. The governments are driven mainly by politics and have pretty the same issues. There are almost no policies or measures in place for sustainability of future generations.
If you're talking about greedy corporations, I think the first place to look at would be US.
I worked for both Japanese and American companies: no prize for guessing for which I will not work again. Yes, Japanese demand a lot, but... they pay well, the company actually look after its people, and all of them, including cleaners and maintenance stuff, they help with getting new qualifications/skills etc No comparison.
This way we can see that the world is on its downturn. Wonder if I would see it rise again in my lifetime.
Japan is not alone, could say I'm also a victim of depression. For us who were born in early 80's depression was a really big Problem and I'm from Finland. Just when it begin to look better it is going worse again. Not enough money, no chance for normal life. More and more off the young generation are leaving outside the society. Worst thing is that in our culture even being Hikikomori does not work. I see it so that the generation of my parents betrayed my generation.
What is worse is that they the wealthy classes are still importing millions of migrants every year into these countries further adding pressure for employment never mind the cost of housing.
@@wenyichen5515 How is the world on the downturn? Do you seriously think it used to be better in "good, ol' days" ?
If so, you seriously you should consider some history tutoring
As a Japanese who grown up in the American culture, when it was time for me to find a work here, I was weirded out how everyone looked the same in job exhibitions.
It seemed as though companies wanted a robot / slave-like worker, rather than an INDIVIDUAL who can bring new branches of growth for the company.
Hence, the rigid environment felt that innovation / new thinking / new perspective does not seem to be in the highest priority...
It is probably an oversimplification, but education here can be about obeying rather than thinking.
@@aclark903 Acquiring a sense of responsibility and adhering to rules of dress and decorum does not stifle individuality. It provides young people with a sense of discipline, which is something lacking in education in the west. As a father of 5 kids (all unique in their own way) who are either in or have been through the public school system in Japan I couldn't be happier with the genuine care and guidance my kids have received. On top of that, they are all head and shoulders above my friends' kids in Canada academically.
@@gordonbgraham I can't say I really know much about #Canada as I have never been there but as an outsider yes, #woke values seem to influence the West too much, including my beloved #Britain. As for Japanese state schools, just about every Westerner I know here in Japan either uses or recommends international schools, & I think you know why that is. I have worked or trained in Catholic schools & Japanese state schools & I would choose #Catholic schools in a heartbeat, with few exceptions.
@@aclark903 As we live in Japan, we felt it best to have our kids educated in public schools, along with their neighbourhood friends. We couldn't be happier with the results. My eldest daughter is currently on full scholarship at University of Tsukuba where she's majoring in bioengineering. My eldest son decided to forego the academic route to pursue his interest in cars. He went to a trade school to study auto-mechanics. Upon graduation he and his friend took out a loan and rented a lot in Kobe. They buy cars in bulk at auction, do the required maintenance on them and ship them overseas. They've since paid off their loan and are making a decent living without ever having had to go to university. My son now makes more than I, and I'm a full-time salaried teacher (not an ALT). I feel the discipline they've received in their upbringing through the public school system went a long way in laying the foundation for good work habits. I've worked in a private high school for more than 30 years. A lot has changed in those 30 years, including a move away from rote learning. Our school, Tokyo University of Agriculture's Third High School (Higashimatsuyama City, Saitama) encourages creative thinking and task based learning. Our junior high school students came up with a plan to market our fish farming operation which we now do in conjunction with graduates from our school who sell our technology to those wishing to raise fish in land-locked Saitama. Our high school students developed self-rotating and self watering planters, 3 stories in height for growing food in areas that lack arable land. These are just two examples of how education in Japan is not just about obeying but thinking and producing marketable results from those creations. I think people have misconceptions about what actually goes on in the schools in Japan, as most of what is regurgitated online is an echo from the past that simply doesn't resonate anymore.
@@gordonbgraham I'm not saying every Japanese high school is bad, though I would note yours is probably better than average as it is connected to a university. To me, Japan succeeds at science & #math ed, & you could argue internationally it gets great scores in those areas. (#Singapore is top I believe). It undeniably fails at #English, having some of the worst results in Asia. I would argue subjects like #theology #philosophy, & #arts also get short shrift here, & you know yourself the controversial #history texts.
I'm a PhD working professional living in Japan right now. Let's just say they do an incredible job with PR. Living here is not great, in many instances they're backwards (they still use fax machines, for example), and almost every Japanese worker I've spoken with wants to either move out, work for a North American company, or both. Unless you're a delusional weeb or masochist, you'd need a pretty good reason to come here. Btw if you're coming as a tourist, it's nice.
Miss plane
This is a job interview..
@@missplainjane3905 wish to
@@missplainjane3905
I don’t mind. Let me know if you have any other questions. I’m a Canadian, so a lot of my responses come from a North American perspective. I provided you an essay below because I should really be working on my thesis, but I’m procrastinating right now.
1) Do you consider Japan as a highly developed and advanced country ?
They’re obviously a very developed country, considering they have one of the top economies in the world (at least for now, who knows what will happen in a couple generations). I wouldn’t consider them “advanced” necessarily. Sure, they have an incredible public transit system, but this is more due to lack of this infrastructure in other developed countries. For example, in USA, car companies push a lot against development of said infrastructure, and therefore the train systems suck. USA is also MASSIVE in comparison, so it’s not entirely fair.
2) How would you personally rate Japan (from culture to technology, architecture, food, local products, scenery/landscape, standard of living/quality of life, etc.) on a scale level of 1 to 10 ?
I can’t put it on a scale rating. But like I mentioned, if you’re a tourist, especially from the Western world, you will probably fall in love with the country. It’s also so much different than living in the West because Japan has been a pretty isolated nation for much of history (even now, they’re not keen on opening borders to migrants, although this is literally what their economy requires to stay ahead). It is rich in culture, but again, that’s because Canada/USA lack a historical culture. In terms of the technology, it’s just like living in any other developed country. It’s very rare to find, for example, a robot serving you food and other things you may see on the internet.
I will say this, the modern architecture is abysmal. The best way to describe some of the residential streets is that you have a bunch of rejected Tetris blocks that were strewn about randomly on the side of the roads. The houses look like ugly boxes.
Fruits and vegetables are also extremely expensive. I pay about 2-4 dollars for a watermelon in Canada, whereas I’ll pay close to 20-25 dollars for one here. They heavily rely on imports.
3) How would you overall describe the characteristics of Japanese people ?
They’re very well mannered and polite, even to Canadian standards. They also are not an individualistic society, as the West is, so I like the people and attitudes much more here. People will do things “for the greater good”, instead of some Americans you seen taking off their masks and putting everyone at risk for their own selfish “freedom”.
Culturally they’re more reserved and won’t say what’s really on their minds. This can stifle innovation sometimes, because people don’t want to question or go against authority, like against they boss or professor.
They also all tend to adopt the same exact fashion sense (again, despite what you see on the internet), where all the guys and girls have 90% the same hair and dress style. The businessmen also 99% wear a white shirt, black pants, black tie. There’s not much individuality here, and more “blend with the crowd” mentality. I really respect that 0.01% though, that will go absolute bananas with their image, and these are definitely the ones you see on the internet.
Also, if you’re a woman working professional, life will be very difficult for you. They still have a perception that women don’t belong in power or in the workplace. I heard this is slowly changing.
4) If you have 3 words or more to describe Japan, what would it be ?
“By the book”. Very rarely do they allow any leeway around their highly structured and rule-based society. To give you an example, a lady suggested I join a free Japanese class that was offered at the school for foreigners. Unfortunately, since I wasn’t technically in the correct department (even though we’re both in the science department), I wasn’t allowed to join nor audit the class. There’s a system for everything. Want to buy a bicycle? You need insurance for that, you need to register the bike at the police station, and you can only park it at designated bike parking spots. Yes, even little kids need bicycle insurance to ride their bikes. This “system”-based rule isn’t all that bad, and I prefer some of it over Canada/USA.
@@denzelnolet 外資系で働きたいって人はたまにみるけど
、話したことある人がほぼ皆移住したいって言うのは誇張じゃない？去年就活したけど大体日本の大企業狙ってる人ばかりだったよ
タグつけんの忘れたからもっかい送るね、ごめん
@@denzelnolet
Edit: having re read your comments I just realised you acknowledged examples of pros and cons, oh well, here’s a pointless ramble below if you wish to waste time.
I think it should also be added that as with any other country there are pros and cons, it’s obvious but it’s important. This video emphasises the dark side (and don’t get me wrong I agree it’s a huge issue) but if you do well in japan you can live very well, the level of convenience is like nothing else (to pick a good example) trains are great. And on the note of convenience here’s a small anecdote: I was halfway up Mt. Misen on Miyajima and there were three mothefucking vending machines. And there are a whole host of other things. Apologies for the ramble, as of writing this it’s like 3 am and it’s the holiday. There are pros and cons to any country and this video is covering by far and away the most pressing con (the next most pressing being a branch off of this issue, population decline).
I also think it’s important to acknowledge how lucky people who live in countries like Japan still are compared to other places, the worry isn’t whether terrorists will pick on you next like many west Africans, it’s not whether a Russian missile will hit you next (as with Ukrainians), it’s about a stable job. Japan is in for a rough couple of decades but it’s nothing like how rough the rest of the world is gonna have it.
Why I get to make such a boring and logicless ramble: I was born in Tokyo, I am currently in 神楽坂
This is the first time I've heard of the lifelong employment system. While in today's unstable job market it sounds idyllic at first, aside from the problems covered in this video I'm concerned what it means for company culture as well. Every company has some asshole employees, but the knowledge that you're trapped with a boss that hates your guts or worse, actively harasses you and you can't even quit the job and find a new one? Terrifying.
This is happening in the USA too. I'm 41, not married, no kids, and I don't know if I can ever own a home. I work overnight, and don't feel like doing anything else other than drinking until I pass out on my days off. Millions of middle-aged men are like this in America today
@RUclips SucksShit. It is what it is. Whether in Japan or here. We can't all be fortunate
As a woman who’s 39 who married and had kids young I don’t think I’d could date in todays society and like you I don’t own a home and I don’t think I’ll ever own one most people In my city who own homes are immigrants who live with multiple families to pay off the mortgage maybe when my kids are older we could do that Most houses where I live are out of my reach over 350k I also went to college and I don’t see the value in that anymore I feel like the American dream is gone and the more people who come to the USA the worst is gonna get I feel bad for my kids and I worry about their future I pray they have a happy and fulfilling life
41 is still young if you're a man who doesn't use drugs n eats well.. men can have children at any age.. find yourself a younger one
@@demaskus2016 They might be fertile to some degree or another, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea for a middle-aged or elderly man to procreate, even with a younger woman. As the quality of their sperm decreases, the risk of numerous disorders and defects in the child increases. Also, I'd be sad if I had fathered a child I wouldn't be able to keep up with or, even worse, wouldn't see the child grow up.
@@MJ-cd3wx I think that the more people immigrate here, the harder things will get for those of us born and raised here. We'll have to compete with them for jobs, food, housing, etc. I'm sure that mass immigration, the liberal push for egalitarianism, inflation, and the mass identity crisis among our youth are interconnected too. We don't even control our own food supply anymore, multinational conglomerates do. Grow/raise your own food if you can. Colleges are more like mental institutions now, with all of those blue/greenhead freakniks in there screaming their heads off, at every "debate."
I’ve been in Tokyo for a month and this is so accurate. When you hear about Japan you never see the mass sleep deprivation everyone seems to have here, the brutal alcohol intoxication they give themselves to get over the stress, the rigid (not always genuine) mannerisms, the people being boxed into capsule rooms and maid cafes, or the fact that the police here still stop and frisk people under the guise of catching Visa overstayers.
alcoholism, insomnia, neurosis and isolation. 60 years of life like this. what you described is a society where everyone is treated like screws and bolts in a machine. only that machine is all the japanese nation. japan died in 1990. postmodernism on steroids. the silence of the cemetery is the "spirit" of japan.
A month? A month is nothing.
I’ve been here 30 years although there is some truth to what you say, a lot of it’s bullshit.
There’s good and bad everywhere. Right now the problem would be to find the ‘good’ in the US.
Very glad Ai expatriated from what has now become a total shithole. The cops here are lazy. In the US they are corrupt. Civil forfeiture? What the fuck is up with that? Medical debt is a top cause of bankruptcy in the US, here in Japan if doesn’t happen. How about safety? I can walk anywhere, and have, with almost zero fear.
You know squat.
@@persapientiam3818 I used to call em "ants", and no I am not racist, I got Japanese friends, they were smart and they said no and run as far away as they could,this society was never something to admire, I called em that even when they were rich.Whats the point of being able to support a family when you work all day in a soul crushing job?
@@havocgr1976 A man chooses, a slave obeys......
なのに、なぜ、日本人は長生きするの？あなたたちはストレスもなくゆっくり寝るから早く死ぬの？
The solution might be to break up those massive Japanese monopolies and emphasize small business ownership and incentivize entrepreneurship for many of the people who don't fit anywhere instead of expecting everyone to work as drones for a handful of giant corporations.
The thing is the monopolies aren´t going to let themselves be torn apart, the government is pretty much allied with these bussines so the big majority that have power in the country pretty much ain´t gonna move a finger. It´s sad because it´s a sinking ship but something really radical have to happend to completely change the direction the country is going.
They already did
ruclips.net/video/5_-Ac68FKG4/видео.html
How do u know if a country or city is corrupted? When the secret societies can operate openly and glorified. So, no, nothing will happen and change in Japan till she died and fade away.
They already did something similar by breaking Zaibatsu and seizing their property after WW2
You rise lost the hold of economy if you break the walls which hold the dam together. Making small outflow paths ? Sure !
I was in Osaka for 9 days. I remembered one of my experiences that distressed me is that one night, while I finished eating at a restaurant, I tried to pay with google pay, they wouldn't accept it because their card machine is broken. I was also uncertain of what to do either because I didn't have any other options of payment. When the manager said that they will involve the police if they cannot proceed with my payment, I was terrified, due to the conviction rate, and the process of arrest and the trial stuff. Thankfully, I had a second physical credit card in my wallet that saved my ass from the terrible fate. The second time is that when I am at Universal Studios, the staff are polite, but because of their several unwritten rules of doing things, like having to buy tickets for Nintendo World, stand on one side while meeting mascots and only being able to get pictures when you actually pay for them, you will be grateful with how the Western Society is much more accepting and more tolerating of differences but yeah, although Japan is modern and peaceful, you do not want to get yourself in hot water with anyone there. You'll have to abide by its strict rules and please please please, get some physical Japanese yen in case if no business accepts international credit cards. Probably just over 10000 yen would be enough to survive.
You did a good job, but the hikikomori part was inaccurate. It's not "men", it's women too. It's not voluntarily either, it's severe social withdrawal. It's often people with extreme anxiety conditions, mental health conditions, autism etc who have become isolated from society and in turn become social outcasts. Yeah they stay inside their homes, but it's not a lifestyle they chose to undertake like you made it out to be. It's very serious what's happening to these people and ultimately a failing of the government when it comes to mental health and disabilities. Calling them volunteers to this state of living is demoralising to their situation, making it sound as if they chose to become isolated rather than forced into it which is what's actually happened.
Just to say it's not a Japan only problem, but rather it's more associated with Japan because the phrase was coined there.
Governments are run by people. It is people failing people, not institutions.
Thanks for pointing this out
@@techtutorvideos no. he means to say that hikikomori is an affliction, a syndrome, like a disease. not a choice.
@@NocturneJester That's because you have spend even more resources on them to help them, before they can contribute back. Government look at people like investment. And to them, anyone with problems be it health, mental, behaviour or old age doesn't worth as much as a normal capable and young people who can contribute the maximum back to their own society. The risk of getting a return from these people is bigger. There's no humanity in this way of thinking at all. But higher up are often too far out from reality anyway, so no doubt they don't treat lower class people as humans.
Stop blaming all your issues on mental problems choosing to isolate yourself from society is unsustainable and they cannot survive once their parents perish. They are leeches living off their parents' hardwork.
I met a group of engineering professionals. It was really interesting. The American engineers worked for multiple companies over the span of their careers. The Japanese engineers literally worked for the same company they started with after graduating from college. There are definitely pros and cons to both systems.
Have you ever heard about black companies? I think they're one of those where the employers work hard and still gain very little amount of salary. These kinds of companies usually hire younger, fresh graduates who are desperate to find jobs and who are easier to fool because they are uninformed about black companies. They never benefit from their work, and only the companies benefit from it. They'll probably die working for the same company all throughout their lives without gaining anything.
@@rogue8903 every Asian manufacturing companies practices this. They can always hire a new operator if someboy resign or terminated
@@rogue8903All companies are black companies. Because capitalism is based on exploitation of human labour.
That's honestly the one good thing there. The stability. They don't throw you away like trash at the drop of a hat like most Western companies do
Ah, the fascinating journey of Japan-once a feudal society with samurais and shoguns, now a thriving hub of Western-inspired coolness! It’s as if they were watching a Netflix series on American life, taking notes, and saying, “Yes, we’ll have that on our sushi menu!” Who knew that the land of cherry blossoms and zen gardens would one day embrace the quirky flair of queer culture, casual dating, and men in fabulous dresses? Talk about a plot twist!
Meanwhile, over in China, they're just over there being ancient, wise, and decidedly unbothered by the whims of Western liberalism. They’re like that cool grandparent who has seen it all-while Japan is trying out new hairstyles, China is busy serving up centuries of rich culture, fortifying their influence, and reminding us all, “We’ve been thriving longer than you've been hashtagging!”
Oh, and let’s not forget the curious affection some Westerners have for Japan. They seem to love it the way one loves a limited-edition toy: shiny, exotic, and just unconventional enough to make Instagram pop. But, let’s be honest, who wouldn’t pick a playful geisha over a corporate mannequin? And let’s give credit where it’s due-Shanghai’s street-smart sex workers could give any anime character a run for their money, proving that when it comes to strategy, those ladies are playing chess while others are stuck on checkers.
As for the war crimes? Well, that’s one awkward chapter in the history book that everyone seems to skim. But alas, that’s diplomacy for you-some folks apologize, some just shrug and change the subject to their weekend plans.
So, here’s to Japan’s swing from isolation to pop culture sensation, and to China's steadfast roots, holding strong like a kung fu master in a world of flashy karate moves. May the cultural banter continue, while we all remember: no matter how much you embrace Western values, your sushi will never taste as godly as when you savor it at its source!
After watching both your documentaries on Japan and South Korea (The Dark Side) I can honestly resonate with the people you mentioned. I'm currently living in Australia and despite having two degrees (Urban Planning and Tropical Urban Design) I've given up on my career and have pulled away from society. I'm currently working in a very unfulfilling job filling shelfs at a local supermarket where I constantly WORK HARD and yet must PLAY DUMB. Looking intelligent and having multiple degrees plus a raft of other qualifications is considered a bad thing no matter how hard a person works if a person has been out of the business for a few years.
Even Australia have this kind of problems🤐
Why don't you pursue a career related to your degrees? Why did you give up, if I may ask?
is land expensive? sounds like you have the know how to make yourself comfortable...just work towards getting a plot of land and building something
@@LeoSerasinghe Despite my many achievements I've had some bad luck (an abusive narcissistic relationship and was bullied at work) and combined with past childhood issues has left me broken and without confidence. My biggest achievements are just bearing fruit with regards to Town Planning but at 50 I'm afraid to move forward. I did speak to the Dean of my local University about some bridging courses relating to my profession and she seems to think I'd be good at tutoring and lecturing students in their Built Environment Faculty. People see something in me that I don't see unfortunately.
@@LeoSerasinghe As for why I gave up, I had an abusive partner who wanted me to stay home. He was a well known Brisbane stylist and socialite and we were very comfortable financially. He wanted me by his side at all social occasions looking like the perfect couple but behind closed doors he was different. My independence was taken along with my self worth. Eventually I escaped but I'm still scarred by the 3 years I was there.
Happened in the USA following the Great Recession. Not as bad, but those of us that graduated in 2008-2012 lost 5-10 years of our careers because of that major downturn. It happens I guess but it royally sucks. I'm doing okay, have a house, kids, decent job, but it's from bootstrapping and some help from my parents. Being a veteran helps also. Frustrating though to do everything you are told you are supposed to do and then struggle so much.
All true, and there's a statistic out there that found our microgeneration will always be behind the others around us in terms of wealth. Worth looking up if you can find it; government intervention would really help in that regard.
and it’s happening again with students that graduated during the peak pandemic (2020-2022) even with student that graduated during this time, we lost a lot of job/internship opportunities and many of us are even struggling to get part time work because the period we were supposed to be gaining work experience was lost to quarantine.
well ive been a neet for about 2 years now
you could also make the argumnent the US has never really recovered from the 08 recession and we're due for the next one with how bad the housing market is and the ridiculous interest rates rn@@butterfly22432
That was me. I got screwed royally. A lot of us did.
I am from the generation of Japanese people known as the Lost Generation, but many of my friends started freelance work around the age of 20 or so, instead of working for a company, they got on track early and are enjoying their own lifestyle since then.
As I remember there were a lot of kids who graduated from good universities struggled to find a job.
I have a Master degree and the massonoans ruling Europe stole my diploma after making me homeless and now act as if i haven't graduated (had distinction on top!)
Are all companies in Japan has that "only hire new fresh graduates" hiring culture? If it is not, how much percentage?
@@urkskn8842 It's true that we hire a lot of new graduates at once, but I don't know the detailed percentages. there wasn't a lot of this graduate recruitment at that time,to protect the jobs of for older generation.
What is your opinion on the rampant child abuse and sexualisation in your country?
As you are now exporting your p3d0 anime to the rest of the world and normalising it to young people? How do you as a country justify yourselves?
"Hikikomori" is a term I learned watching this video but I must say it is a growing concern in other nations as well. Inflation is out of control and purchasing power has been in decline for decades. The prescribed societal goal is to work hard, own a home and start a family. Due to such a high cost of living and lack of opportunity many young people are realizing it is unlikely they will be able to achieve these goals regardless of worth ethic so they choose to live a lifestyle of retreatism. Less children are being born due to economic strain. The younger generations are becoming less interested in taking on 7 figure to debt to buy a home and grow tired of a 40+ hour work week that will not achieve the prescribed societal goals. I am from Vancouver, Canada and am witnessing a cultural shift in societal goals, values, and attitudes. The current framework is unsustainable. We are living in an age that features upcoming generations having less economic opportunity than the previous ones. Many nations will see tremendous strains on public healthcare and pension supplements. The social safety net is eroding. I am in my 30's. I don't expect to see a government pension. I don't believe in the governments ability to take care of me and those in my age group as we age. The younger generations are intelligent. They know they are being treated as an ATM to pay for the older generations who are much to blame for the lack of economic opportunity. The system will need to change quickly. As of now, the game is rigged and those being ripped off are aware of it and will not break their backs to fix the mess. Some may see this attitude as lazy, others see it as a rational adaptation. Personally I am somewhere in between.
I feel like the pandemic also strengthened these tendencies in me.
This is a point I wanted to raise as well, that this problem is not unique only to Japan. I am from Canada as well, and I've observed it among my group of friends, the lack of motivation in pursuing traditional life goals such as raising a family and owning a home. I find myself partaking in conversations with my parents about living together because its the only reasonable way ill be able to afford my own place.
Although me and my friends attend university, which we are really grateful for, we still don't see much hope in the future that awaits us.
The promotion ladder is broken, as companies will hire for degrees, rather than promote up the ranks. In addition to this, the boomers are working later, thus the ladder itself is stuck, where it isn't non-existent. The difference between in house training/experience and schooling is huge in that schooling produces nothing other than the student, who is then in debt. A person who comes up the ranks is making money all the way. And if you are at a lower or mid- level, there is literally no reward for achievement, as the promotion system is run by HR and their obsession with credentials. This is behind the failure to launch for so many.
Easy credit, immigration, and ludicrous development procedures have lead us to housing that is ridiculously expensive, while also amounting to nearly half the non-government economy. And the biggest share of that pie is held by the finance system. (your bank will make more from your house than the builder will..... a LOT more)
So we face young men with a dating market where 85% of them are chopped liver, 10% are okay, and 5% take all, where they can lose everything in court and spend many decades paying off another persons debts, why would they try? Traditionally the reward for being a career man was that you could support a family with your income, but women are beginning to out- earn men thanks to the credentialism and affirmative style HR. So why bother there, you're competing not complimenting.
Young women have it worse, They hear all through their teens and twenties that they too can be a corporate slave, and that if they aren't, they're being oppressed, or missing out. They hear that sleeping about is a good thing and something they should definitely engage in. So they decide to go to school and have a career. All of this lands them (if they succeed) in debt, 30, just starting to make a lot of money, and wondering if a family is even possible. Since they've had easy access to the (usually temporary) attention of the top 5% of men, they will also have a high bar of expectation for their future partners, while having done almost nothing to make themselves desirable as a partner, and everything to make themselves a desirable lay for that idiot gym bro who has a fresh chick every couple weeks and no need to settle down.
They were lied to. Lied to by their teachers, lied to by their parents, lied to by their professors, their banks, and their politicians and now they're 30, they need to work, and the men who could have supported them either can't, don;t want too, or just aren't as good as that guy that railed them in college.
Turns out the corporate wage slavery that men used to do was not for their own benefit, but for their families, and being career driven for it's own sake is actually a hollow, empty, sad pursuit for nearly everyone who tries it, especially the women who would have been happier taking a more casual job and finding a husband.
Most of us are so screwed
- a fellow 30- something british columbian
@@hosmerhomeboy I'm going to share your comment with my friends cause it's eriously well written and sums up our problems. Thank you!!
Yes, the boomers really had it all and they continue to take from the generations not even born yet.
A wise man once said "Japan is a great country to visit but not to live"
Who was that?
@@ncrranger2281 Alexander the Great
Sun Tsu, probably
@@ncrranger2281 Khairul Jamain (his RUclips Channel) He's a backpackers. Plus a lot Japanese people who move out to live in Malaysia & Indonesia said the same things.
@@SasukeUchiha-qr8hp Khairul Jamain (his RUclips Channel) He's a backpackers. Plus a lot Japanese people who move out to live in Malaysia & Indonesia said the same things.
There's the same problem with the 1920' and 1940's "American dream":
You can't promote everyone from a generation into management. That's an absurd balance of managers. Most work is actually done at floor level. So this is even sustainable in a single generation, much less so if attempted over several.
That means that the majority of people will be regarded as 'failures', as if they somehow failed at the easy success that other had.
Ah, Japan! The land of sushi, sumo, and seemingly endless fascination for the Western world. But let's be real-behind the cherry blossoms and anime, there are a few cracks in the façade that even the most dedicated otaku can't ignore.
First off, Japan's been given the "rockstar" treatment for so long that some fans seem to think it's still 1999 and they're headlining the Tokyo Dome. Spoiler alert: The concert ended, and now they're struggling to find a decent venue. With an aging population and a birth rate lower than my patience during a lengthy text conversation, they’re facing a demographic crisis that even a Pokémon evolution can't fix.
It's wild how some folks glorify Japan as a utopia of tradition and innovation, while others can barely get past the eight-hour lines for a popular ramen shop. Newsflash: The obsession with “cute culture” can only get you so far when workplaces are hopelessly rigid, and employees are expected to live with the ethos of ‘work hard, sleep later.’ Oh, but sure, let’s just ignore the pressures that push people to the brink of exhaustion-because nothing says “paradise” like a society built on stress and overwork!
And while we’re at it, let’s talk about that so-called “cultural charm.” There’s a fine line between appreciating a culture and idealizing its quirks. Sure, quirky cafés and vending machines that dispense everything are fun, but there’s more to a nation than just its quirky sideshow attractions. It seems that some naive celebrators of Japan overlook the fact that it also produces more existential crises than it does anime.
Then there’s the fascination with Japan’s approach to technology. Yes, they’ve got robots that can serve you tea, but maybe we should focus on robots that can help with those pesky work-life balance issues. It’s like boasting about the flashy exterior of a luxury car while the engine's sputtering in the background.
And let’s not forget the "mystique" that surrounds Japan. The allure of geishas, samurais, and ancient temples often blinds the naive to the challenges of modern-day Japan-like a daydreamer who forgets to check the weather before stepping outside. There's a lot more to the narrative than just cherry blossom festivals and aesthetic Instagram shots!
So, while it’s easy to drink the Matcha-flavored Kool-Aid, perhaps it’s worth taking a step back and asking: Is Japan a wonderfully intricate puzzle, or just a game of Tetris with pieces that don’t quite fit anymore? In the end, loving Japan isn’t a shameful thing; just don’t forget that every country has its own unique challenges, and perfection is as mythical as the next Pokémon.
I was interested in Japan for some time since I learnt the language at university. But I never really got at chance to use it in my home country, so I decided to move over there. I lived in Tokyo for 6 years. Ill share my observations from purely a white collar perspective (working in business management). Again these are only my observations and not reflective of the whole country, so please take it into consideration.
Generally everyone worked a lot and a lot of emphasis was put on not making a mistake rather than just getting on with things. A lot of over time too. People seem to take pride in it.
All round general business skills were fairly low, ie people knew their line of business only and nothing outside of this or had little willingness to learn.
Salaries were “ok” but somewhat low compared to what I was earning in my home country previously.
The better your Japanese gets the more you question some of the comments from the managers and staff. I heard some really nasty stuff said from coworkers to coworkers or managers to coworkers which I never saw back home previously. Pretty cold stuff.
There was next to no investment into training and development into staff and people - that said in my home country I regularly received a wide variety of training.
I felt promotion prospects would be slow in Japan and depend purely on the relationship with your boss. Although I know this can happen in any country it’s exacerbated in Japan. Freedom of thought was a foreign concept. If you want something to be done perfectly repeatedly, Japan is a great country, that’s why I guess they have done such a great job with manufacturing. However when it comes to creativity and trying new things I never really felt there was much originality.
Mental health in Japan is not a normal subject and not understood well. I saw a lot of people suffering through work or family problems but sadly most would be shunned if they opened up about their problems.
Tech was pretty slow and dated although I felt it was picking up a little in my later years- but yep they are very behind. I remember having to do my expenses and gluing the receipts to paper to submit them (just 2 years ago).
So finally I started working for a foreign company in Japan, it was moderately better but still not so great so I came back to my home country and I feel it was the right decision. While it was a great experience to travel and see another part of the world I felt didn’t learn much from a professional sense and felt it was holding back my career - I imagine a lot of Japanese feel the same.
That said, food is good and seeing the various prefectures was a great experience not to mention some of the great people I met on the way. So in summary for me Japan was a great holiday destination but not so much of a great place to work and live. And the outlook for the economy is not good. I give them another 10 years and the cracks will really start to show.
I do feel for the local people, work is definitely a grind there and society isn’t very accepting. But again everyone has their own experiences - this was only mine.
Thanks for the insight!
Anything else sir
You should of just went on vacation to Japan 🇯🇵
Don’t move there
I guess the creativity/originality depends on the industry, art and fashion wise Japanese is actually super ahead. I imagine it’s way more rigid in traditional routes?
@@keima8180 yes absolutely. On average I would say it’s lacking across most industries (some worse than others) but there of course still are rockstar performers.
Very insightful, I lived in Tokyo over 3 decades through this period, the difference between the 'bubble' era, the post-crash late 90's, and the early 2000's is remarkable, but especially stressful for the generations who missed the boom years and suffered the consequences of the failures.
the spirit called tok entered the bay of isa tokugawa (tokyo or edo) in 1620 and left in 1990. now the credit bubble from the rothschild bank is driving the consumerism of ennui nippon. japan died in 1990. postmodernism on steroids. the silence of the cemetery is the "spirit" of japan.
We had the same here in Greece, for different reasons.A boom a bubble and the aftermath.The main difference though is we speak many languages so our young educated people just left the country.Brain drain as they call it.The ones that remained(like me) pay the price of our fathers mistakes.
@@havocgr1976 The Japanese youth are leaving Japan as well. Young Japanese now take their foreign languages studies more seriously and are more prepared to leave for overseas.
Did you ever met a “lost generation” person? What did they do with their lives? I would assume some of them moved to different countries?
No mention of Plaza accord. Strange
If you’re a foreign Man who is an introvert with money. You will LOVE Japan. From the outside, everything seems “perfect”. Everyone polite, things are super clean. So much beauty, ect.. but I’ve been here for 15 years. Even as an Introvert, I’m getting a little tired of Japan. Everything is the “Same” and cookie cutter. You notice how women have it very badly. You notice how people are are not naturally introverts are “forced” into being one. You notice the sadness behind the smiles. Most foreigners have this perfect vision of Japan.
Don’t get me wrong. There are happy people in Japan, and I’m sure most of the population is thriving and truly “happy”, but that is human nature. The collective culture is nice IMO. We adapt as humans. But like any society, there are a lot of issues that are hidden from plane site. Lots of head in the sand, not acknowledging the problems. Visiting things seem perfect, but after a while. You notice it’s mostly a facade.
Ryan Boundless did DREAMCRUSHER videos about how overrated Japan is. Weeaboos hate him.
It's very sad to know. As they are very smart intelligent people with quality products over the decades I wish something will happen where they get compensate in the future
Elaborate on why women have it badly?, What makes it so?
@@nevilleabbott2330 ruclips.net/video/pJb7HrijLV0/видео.html
Very interesting realization you’ve had. When you look at modern cultures around the world you can see so many unnatural circumstances put on people. souls and spirits have been degraded from humanity for too many decades. Hopefully people can wake up and realize that this is not how we are meant to be
Greatly made video. I was intrigued from start to finish.
I feel like this is starting to become a trend with most Asian economies, rapid growth followed by economic stagnation. We’ve already seen it in countries like China, South Korea, and Japan. Other countries(especially South and Southeast Asian ones)really need to start taking note to prevent something of the same magnitude happening to them. Great video as always though.
@@ugly3887 china is stagnating. but not due to economic model but due the covid lockdowns and massive floods right now.
@@ugly3887 not stagnating but slowing down. It was predicted to do so by their government anyhow.
@@ugly3887 prob cuz they have population nb advantage unlike japan and Korea?
@Partydough
Because of their Horrible one dimensional work culture which robs it’s employees of personal time and an over emphasis of hiring only paper smart “elites”.
End results, extremely Low birth rates and high suicide rates. All in all a depressive society.
@@ugly3887 chinese real estate and infrastructure bubble has not burst yet. But it will burst eventually.
I am also a semi hikikomori. I am refugee who escaped war but couldn't adapt to this "new" life. I am really struggling to keep my head up for next day. I truly understand horrors of being a member of lost generation. To be ignored , looked down on..
Stop watching anime and go outside?
you are syrian
I believe you have things to give to the society where you stay now. Especially your culture.
Try to learn about biochemistry of your brain.
It will really help you to understand and overcome your stress roots.
Try it. Wish you the best
@@eve_______ Looooooooool
My wife was part of the "lost generation" but she went abroad to get experience which made her valuable to her current company. Unfortunately, most Japanese can't think outside the box and just follow the rules handed out by the terrible system in place. Thankfully, we have a huge farm in the country side and that is where we will retire as we watch this country rot away unless it decides to majorly change. In the end, the Japan of today will not exist in 20-30 years from now.
Well it wouldn't be thinking "outside the box" if everyone did it.
Yes, change but why Japanese are not accepting change? It's because Western media in the 80s & early 90s praising Japanese work ethics and management to the height of Heaven and Japanese willingly believe. But the main reason why Japan fail after the 80s is Plaza Accord! Yet American is your trusted ally. Irony?
So you are married with a japanese Woman then you should know that japanese people are thought all since birth to NEVER think for themself that with the social norm of the nail that sticks out is quickly hammered in means that people dare not think for themselfs or risk becoming social outcasts.
Is it expensive to live in a farm in the countryside?
@@localmilfchaser6938 in Japan, nope. There's so many empty land in there be because the lack of population
It's very important to adapt and move forward. I've been in a company where basically everything stayed the same. They did very little in diversifying, didn't expand and basically just sat there and complained how everything is getting worse over time while doing the same thing.
It was a clear example of "if you're not moving forward, you're moving backwards."
It looks like Japan has kinda the same issue.
My uncle's son got a job in an IT company and he did that for 1.5 years but he later quitted his job because of extreme work pressure and there was no one to comfort him there .. he later came back to India and is happily enjoy his job with friendly colleague because he is not feeling like a robot that he used to feel there
Your uncle's son would be your cousin, no?
Why you complaining
@@rexj3517 hes not hes stating what happens in japan
Your uncle’s son experienced the real dark side of Japanese dark side of company.
@@aproy5256 most of the Japanese companies are like that, extreme working hours and micro management by seniors
My Japanese friend who is now a US citizen. He only had low level part time jobs in Japan, but when he moved to the US in 2004. He got office FT jobs through temp agencies. He has been at his current FT office job for over 10 years. He is 46. He likes working Only 8 hours a day for 5 days. Japan needs to create labor laws for length of job hours and breaks.
Unions would do that but the government makes them illegal due to organized crime I am told.
@@johnhix484 oh wow that's messed up.
A slight correction: Shushoku Katsudo happens during the 3rd year of university. Students have very few courses that year so they focus on job-hunting as their job/studies. Companies hire them, expecting the person to graduate in 1 year in future and then start working April 1st. (So, from about March 1st - end of September 2022 - with job starting date of April 1st 2023) For those not hired during 3rd year, they continue to hunt into their 4th year, a year of uni which again, has only a few seminars courses so students can focus on job-hunting or their pre-employment training required by their new employer. In addition to this hard-core job-hunting and getting hired 6-12 months before graduation, it also means that university students in Japan actually only have university studies for about the equivalent of 2 1/2 years Western university.
I graduated 2 years ago and all institutions abandoned me, no job since then
@@chrillsimslovesgretathunbe9771 I feel you brother - what country?
are those two and a half years jampacked with units or do they just not study as many things?
@@kubli365 Not jampacked. Imagine a usual 12-16 credit term. No more than that. Add in that most courses pass everyone as long as they meet attendance requirements and turn in all assignments, if the work is 50% or higher score.
I remember my parents who were university students during the bubble economy(1980s) telling me that shushoku katsudo as we know it didn’t exist back then. Students didnt need to “job hunt”, companies went after them to join their business. They even gave “prizes” just for deciding to join their company, such as buying them a brand new car, a house, vacation overseas etc.
Awesome report ❤
The generational gap iN japan's workforce has some other ill effects as well. Most big Japanese companies have a lot of older employees that cannot lay off, even after their lien of work or specialisation is no longer needed. Estimates are that up to 8 million elderly employes sit at home at full pay because they can't be fired and because the sum total payroll needs to be still manageable, new hires earn awful salaries.
Another problem is that the lost generation is missing in executive and R&D positions - most decision makers are very old, stifling any innovation and change. The effect of this has actually cost Japan it's place in the world a s high tech country. It is not anymore, by a long shot.
One could cynically say: Shiny Neon billboards are an 80's technology.
damn
ah.. that's pretty reasonable
Large old population/underpopulation is better than large young population(fewer jobs)/overpopulation in my poor country Nigeria. Rich nations long life expectancy(which is good)is why there’re more older people. I wish Japan well♥️ 🇯🇵
@@moyndebs6759 you are right. That is worse. I think though, both extremes are bad. They are both unsustainable.
From someone who lives in Japan this is 100% correct.
Japan is a time machine but not to the future, more rather to the past.
Japan is a very collective society, meaning everyone needs to preserve the group before themselves, which is fine, until you begin to notice that this "group" isn't actually a group made of people but a blob of generic "peopleness". Everyone has to look the same, speak the same and give 120% every single time in everything they do.
Japan gives out tech and anime to distract everyone from a extremely long working hours, toxic hierarchical distribution, limitation of women's career goals and a society perfectly built so that its citizens feel overwhelmed and see in suicide as the only viable option.
Yup. Japan overworks and underpays the working man and woman, making it nigh impossible to start a family, while breaking people who simply can't take the stress so they for sure won't have kids, while making it actually impossible for 15% of their people to get a long term or good paying job, if any. On top of their sexism problems and blind eye to women and men who have been assaulted, (one thing is that if a woman marries she has to change her last name or it is very, very difficult to keep her original family name depending on region, plus its seen as weak for man to let her keep her name, despite that being the norm in the past, but if she was the inheritor of a family business she cannot legally keep it because it would no longer be under the starter families name. So better off women are not getting married or just losing everything). Everybody gets 1 shot after graduating maybe, and having independant ideas or entrepreneurial tendancies can get you alienated. Then expecting everyone to go back to the classic household, and especially screwing over women in status and pay because they should be at home with the kids no one can afford, putting voting piwer in the hands of the elderly who have to vote selfishly to survive, and refusing to change...Aight then.
Hit the nail on the head.
It sounds like it's collective to make money for just a few people at the top of the company and not collective to help everyone in this collective. You can see this in every other country but it's easier to point this out in Japan because there, it's too cruel. Every country has rich people that don't care for the future or anyone besides themselves, but not every country demands their workers work for low wages, overtime, for their whole lives.
@@kulturalkontrariankomedy I agree, I've also read somewhere that this is not as recent of a phenomenom as we might think, Japanese society is very based in collectivism due to natural disasters, having a mindset of "save the group, you'll save the individual later" works for disaster scenarios, but can also be easily warped into "save the company, but screw you"
@@Kamila-ey5vi Cruel people will go to any lengths to win and they will use anything to do so. It is not surprising they guilt trip people.
I worked with Japanese engineers for 4 years, they worked as though every day is their last and work is the reason for their existence. Even when they were ‘relaxed’ this state of mind was still owned by the corporation that we worked for.
They look like a giant ant colony. All of them look same, they spend their lives for the colony. An ant never rests. They always find a work to do.
Corporate Slavery to keep the masses in check
@@notgrubu2179
"All of them look the same"
That's a bad thing? They're all racially pure. Their blood is untainted.
@@WakaWaka2468 I guess Not Grubu was referring to the clothes and hair
@@WakaWaka2468 "They're all racially pure. Their blood is untainted." holy shit you managed to make it infinitly more racist
This was a really NEET video...
This feels so relatable. I had full-time employment with a company which I mostly enjoyed working for that promoted from within for a solid eight years, then one day lay-offs happened. Haven't been able to secure a full-time job ever since, and that was seven years ago! Most places only want to hire younger people who are either still in college or whom have recently graduated from college. It's also now been fully seven months since I my most recent part-time job ended, and in that time frame I've only had one job interview. And just like the "hikikomori" in this video, I am regrettably dependent upon living and sponging off of my elderly parents. It's not a great feeling at all.
Have you thought about going to work abroad?
Why the fucj dont u migrate to another country. It’s the only choice you are left with.
Have you thought of starting your on kind of enterprise in a field you are interested in?
Stay strong brother
I would encourage you to pray…it works. 🙇🏻♀️🙏🏽
I'm 40 and have spent 17 years working for the same Japanese company on multiple continents. Despite the rampant nationalism in Japan, because I started young and stayed at the company, I'm considered a higher employee than Japanese who join the company in their 30s etc. I cannot underestimate how important loyalty is in Japanese culture.
Interesting. Company loyalty does seem to be an asset in some sectors. But it worries me how rigid that workforce would get. I had experience in a wide range of different past jobs and the value to my current profession is quite incalculable....
@@syjiang oh, I didn't mean to imply it was a good business practice. Hiring for life means someone who is good at 22 may not be the best fit at 30, 40, 50. I actually see that as a big danger to Japanese businesses. There's no imperative to continue studying your field. Just to study the business instead. It solely benefits the worker in this day and age.
Did the globalists finally succeed in ensuring people who love their nations and want to protect their cultures and borders are considered “bad”? You refer to nationalism as bad. It’s not. It’s the only antidote to the problems globalism is visiting on the world. Most media is in the hands of these psychopaths who want open borders and one grey mass of mixed cultures easily controlled and under constant tense division. This is evil.
@@missplainjane3905 Japan? Plenty of times. Love the country. Best food in the world. Most creative people on the planet. Probably safest place you can ever feel. Waiting for quarantine to end so I can get there again.
@@missplainjane3905 1. Both highly developed and advanced in regards to maintaining a functional society for the country with the most people per capita in the world. (I think it is. Maybe Indonesia is... I know Tokyo is the most dense place on earth). The process of doing that has affects on the psychological I can't even fathom to understand.
2. 9/10 for culture, arts and scenery.
10/10 for convenience and food.
6/10 for quality of life. No work life balance and to much societal pressure.
3. They're all different. Yeah, there's a commonality of the exact opposite of an American stereotype. I've mostly dealt with business men and women, who I can admire to detest. But, overall, far more positives then negatives.
4. The best place on earth... for a holiday.
I enjoy too much getting 2-3 hours a day with my kids to ever live there. You can't buy time.
You should make a video on Italy's economic state and compare it to this one. I feel like Italy and Japan have so many things in common and have been through parallel histories since WW2. After losing the war, we've both been helped by the former Allied nations to rebuild and we both had two-three decades of absolute economic miracle (and cultural influence on the rest of the world), followed by an economic crisis in the 90s and a period of complete stagnation ever since (both countries also have been through a period of quantitative easing, in Japan with Abenomics and in Italy with Draghi's EU policies). All this while our populations are among the oldest (in Japan because the Lost Generation didn't make as many children and in Italy because of the brain-drain towards richer nations of the EU) and our national debt is among the highest in the world.
I live in Europe I know many Italians. They all say the same: that there is no opportunity for them in Italy and that's why (for now at least) they stay away.
@@jamessmith1652 i come from the south of Italy, where the situation is worst. Everyone in my family (including me) has left to study/work either abroad or in other parts of Italy.
Italy along with Spain, Portugal and Greece has been enslaved by EU / Germany. If you are Italian you can tell what happened after Euro had been introduced.
There is a book "Machiavelli's Children: Leaders and their legacies in Italy and Japan" by Richard Samuels that does a comparison of the political history of Italy and Japan. They are both eerily similar.
@@peteryoung8541 thank you for the recommendation! I've been looking forever for something that compared the two nations
This is what i tell my friends when they bring up their dream to move to japan. I guess they watched to much anime, everything seems happy and fun. The reality is that the work culture is just straight up dystopian
The phenomenon of Hikikomori may have started in Japan but it is rapidly spreading across the globe now. In fact I have been closely observing ever shrining wages and continuously rising inflation in my own country making it extremely difficult to manage decent living standards.
Just forget about making properties even affording cost of living is getting quite difficult. Very few in my generation are getting married and having kids and practically everyone is feeling the brunt of modern slavery of IT and MNC culture where people are treated like shit and environment is too much competitive to drain your energy. No body is actually happy anymore and no one wants to have a burden of marriage and kids when they themselves can't afford to lead a happy and stress-free life.
Mass immigration pushes growth which in turn pushes property and land values exponentially thus lowering wages raising prices and makes the rich even richer without any effort.
Its definitely happening in America.
@@noneofyourbusiness1114 sounds like 3rd world country
Wait until automation and A.I start replacing jobs.
No one ever said life is "stress free", that's a fantasy. It's also what vacations were created for, to get away from the stress for a little while to regenerate and then go back to it refreshed.
It sounds kind of comparable with the Korean Chaebol situation. It’s quite sad to hear that these once thriving countries with a rich culture came to a staggering halt in social development. I’m planning on visiting Japan this year and these types of videos makes me realize that Japan is not some magical country where things are extraordinary different but just having quirks like any other country.
The wonders of late capitalism.
@@franki1990 i wonder if there will ever come a day where people will understand that capitalism and infinite economic growth is not in any way shape or form a fulfillment of human needs, neither of the physical ones, or the psycholgical ones.
@@Asoftenkamesheenobody cares until it affects them personally, as human beings are selfish. Japan got to this state because the people in power never felt the consequences of their actions. Similarly, late stage capitalism will continue until its uppermost benefactors come toppling down.
@@AsoftenkamesheeSo, replace it with Socialism?
@@diazkohen2149 if you think that that's the only solution and alternative to raging late stage capitalism, then you're extremely narrow minded. And why exactly would a combination of socialism + strictly regulated capitalism be bad exactly?
I’ve worked in the Japanese system for a long time and this video is wrong…the truth is, it’s much worse than this video shows. Example, what happens when a company hires an incompetent employee? Whelp, they are there forever. The company has to pay, give raises to, and promote an employee that has a negative impact until they die. I remember seeing a 45 year old employee who sat in front of a blank computer screen 8 hours a day. Couldn’t be fired because being useless is not a valid reason to fire an employee according to labor laws. I don’t remember the stats but there a literally millions of these useless employees in a country that desperately needs productive workers.
I could go on and on, but maybe I should just make my own video to supplement this one.
As they say "you become what you think" . Initiative and the want to be productive is within reach of all of us. Success means different things to different people.. No matter what country you live in.
boy they are lucky I wasn't born there. I would 100% be one of those people, might as well since the company I'd be working for likely wouldn't be worth a damn. I'd especially would not give a damn about the fellow employees either, which Is a big reason a lot of workers get overworked. Just sit on my ass and invest in American companies and crypto.
Not to mention the culture of staying longer than your boss and working long hours in general. How are you supposed to be productive, to regenerate or to get new ideas when you're wasting away in an office?!
are there alot of "bullshit jobs" in japan too?
Incredible!
as a half Japanese person born immediately after the lost generation, i will say that having dual citizenship and getting an english language education has opened up many paths for me. Was a Uni student in the UK before transferring to a school in the US, and I have to say that as many bad points Japan has, I still believe that it’s a much better place to live then the US or UK. Even though I will start my career in the US, eventually I would like to return and live in Japan to raise a family. It’s clean, ridiculously safe, and well organized. only if I’m working for a foreign company though. There is hope in the future though. Japanese youth right now are relaxed, opened minded, and they embrace British/American culture well. Japan will hit rock bottom first, but it also means it’ll be the first to bounce back
I hope Japanese government and society will cope with this problems as they did during meiji restoration and after WW2. The way is radical changings in working culture.
If Japan relaxed their working culture and also immigration policies, I'd maybe consider going there 🤔
@Cass Cass
You visited
@@daniellxnder If--or I guess when---Japan relaxes immigration policy, it's bound to become as dirty and unsafe as the western countries (US, Europe, etc.). You can pretend like the cleanliness and safety of Japan has absolutely nothing to do with it being a monocultural society where said culture values cleanliness and respect. But it's the reality. So what happens when you make Japan a multicultural society full of other cultures that don't hold those same values?
I guess Japan's going to have to find out. With the country quickly speeding towards an inevitable collapse if something doesn't change soon, increased immigration is likely going to be the only option. The extremely clean and safe Japan that draws in the admiration of starry-eyed foreigners from all around the world is quickly coming to an end. No matter how you look at things, Japan's future is not very promising.
I consider myself part of this "lost generation". Been working in Japan for more than 11 years now, and I am still insecure about many things...
I live in the US, and this frankly describes my situation perfectly as well. It's not a problem isolated to Japan sadly.
@@greyfox78569 So sad to hear that, mate. Yeah, I can imagine that. But I still have hope; let's not give up! peace~
I live and work in America and I can relate to the lost generation.
I do believe that Japan need foreigners and maybe a hikikomori working alongside to help him back on his/her feet.
And push him/her in the right direction.
@@eden0115 oh, please. That's literally me and every high school graduate I've known for the past 20 years living in 'murica. I bet most of them are still in student loan debt and are STILL paying them in their 30s right about now. Most of them have probably given up their future dreams already as we speak. And, now. It's only getting worse. Because now. Even the elderly in retirement here in 'murica are expected to get out retirement and start working AGAIN! Crazy, right? We're done. The world is done. Political wars, economic inflation. And the growing fear of this plandemic, along with crappy working conditions that barely pay the bare minimum wage to keep up with this downward spiral is a guarantee done. This definitely isn't just an isolated issue Japan faces over the past decade.
I think Japan has a particularly high rate of "Hikikomori" due to the rigidity of it's society, but I am seeing this same trend of people around my age and older becoming shut-ins working dead-end low paying jobs in miserable workplaces without opportunity for meaningful relationships, friendships, or careers. Even ones with college degrees and/or certifications, beginning to become more prevalent in the US. I think that the rise of the internet has enabled people to live this lifestyle, and the rise of toxicity and lowering of pay in workplaces, the decline of opportunities for actual irl relationships and friendships, and the rise of factors like social division and the lowering of pay are all adding up to make it way harder to enter society. Many of my friends have no ambition in life, some of them have plans only to live at home, working minimum wage, as they see no point to trying to enter society when it is so hard, and many who do manage to land "good" jobs still end up being overworked and unhappy. I personally am trying to enter society, I will be entering both college and getting a job soon, but I do not know if I will succeed, and if I am honest with myself, I would rather just stay in my room watching anime and playing games all day while doing the bare minimum in terms of work, but I am fighting the urge as I have ambitions for what I want my future to be. I am also lucky in that I have supportive parents, who are pushing me to do at least something with my life, but It would be incredibly easy to simply "fail" to enter society, and it is unfortunate to see that it is only getting easier as inflation and cost-of-living rises, and good job opportunities raise requirements to ridiculous levels, or lower pay dramatically.
@@iconictrash6023 it’s even easier to see how “big and scary” the “real world” is and be a big baby behind a screen. props for at least trying OP! commit to a better life and you’ll be surprised how far you go!
I found that apathy in life it's self is one of the big reasons adulthood sucks. Getting into the grind can be really soul crushing unless you have a good social circle to lean on.
@@Mightyhero777 life doesn't always go as planned
Get out there and see what you can make of it! Life is hard, but it has its wonderful moments, and I wish you the best!
Sounds suspiciously similar to the millions who just stopped looking for jobs recently in the US.
Exact same story when you graduate when you're older and the internship from graduation doesnt offer you a job. Then you suddenly compete against younger people with same amount of skill. And once you exit society for whatever reason its very difficult to get back in for a variety of reasons.
This happened to us in UK in 1980s I am now 59 and have been outside the system my entire adult life. I don't read comic books in the dark on the contrary I have never stopped learning and being interested in the world.
I thought the UK 80s were roaring, golden years? The 70s had high inflation, and the winter of discontent. The 90s had recession. Surely the 80s were better than the 70s and 90s?
There is nothing wrong with reading comics, so long is that is the only thing you do.
in short you're married both unhappy bc she got spare D w/o you knowing it and you feel miserable with 8-5 job in order to send kids to decent school.
@@jamessmith1652 I am 58 and from the UK. The early 1980s were a huge depression and 3 million plus unemployed, mid 1980s was alll about union busting with the miners strike, the late 1980s were only slowly working down those unemployment numbers (helped by a lot of statistical games) and then early 1990s was another huge recession because the UK's attempt to join the European monetary union. Only after that, from the mid 1990s onwards did things really take off.
@@jamessmith1652 No they were not. Only for a tiny percentile.
There's a lot more that went into Japan's lost generation than just corporate hiring practices. Yes, there's honor culture which looks down on people who didn't get it all right the first time, but there's also very stiff competition to get into Japan's universities, and many who just happened to not make it end up like this as well.
As an young American, I've met lots of people praise Japan for its innovation and culture and tourism, but like outsiders looking in, there's no way to tell what's really going on inside or for the citizens.
It's thanks to media portrayals and popular cultures that shape people's mind about Japan. Ask an insider, they would tell you a way different story that what is promoted and propagandized thru the media.
I think why many (not all) Japanese media from anime, video games, TV program even as little as design on their product packaging have such cheerful upbringing, and also why kawaii/cuteness culture exists, is to fill their emptiness in their life with something. It's like a trauma healing mechanism to some extent.
What makes u assume that
all Japanese people is living a miserable life?
Damn assumptions
cope
very informative video
There was a time when most of the western countries showed outright hostility against Japan. I remembered living in Australia people would rage against Japan saying we should stop doing business with them unless they apologised for their war crimes.
Today, the same thing is repeating, but with China.
You often hear about how the 2008 financial crisis messed things up for millennials in the US. This piece reminded me of that plight
That was me 2008. Coming out of college but nobody was hiring took years before I could really start even using my degree. Worked out eventually, but unfortunate how timing can be such a burden for some and blessing for others.
@@MistaTofMaine I graduated in 2007 and my boyfriend at the time was in construction and that bubble burst screwed us over for years. It took about 10 years of working hard to build a life, had a child and then the pandemic happened. I swear it’s one thing after another for our generation.
The fall of the Japanese economy is in the 80's cause by US, since then japan to-date still can not recover.
ruclips.net/video/7JJEbwWrv94/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/eaWxLCWwNZ0/видео.html
@@FoxBodyFitness I tell this to people: "From my observation it looks like this. The 2010's were similar to the Roaring 20's, with the same loose morals and complaints of deviancy and debauchery. The 2020's is going to be an economic lost cause, similar to the 1930's. I'll leave it to you to figure out what happened next and how that happened'.
What it does mean is that Gen Z might end up being The Greatest Generation v2. Interesting, but perhaps not unsurprising since millennials are showing signs of Conservatism and pushback to modern narratives.
2008 crisis is westernized exaggerated nonsense.
The 1990's were good for me in Japan. I made a good salary working for the University system in Yokohama and doing the English Teaching circuits with private companies. The only problem was that my VISA was that of a "Haigusha" or child of a Japanese National~ A special Visa given to Nisei/Japanese Americans who by chance has a parent on the Koseki Tohon in Japan. This special VISA caused me to loose all my saving at the end of the tax year. A cool 1,000,000.00 Yen went to the Japanese government, $10,000 USD. I was pissed. My uncle made me pay it rather than escape to Korea and get my VISA restamped so it would be a working holiday~ I left the country once every 6 months to avoid this tax. Anyway, Japan gave great opportunities for us expats. The lost generation is so sad. I knew people like this from the mid-90's.
You were in both places
Your videos are incredible. Every single one.
Well, to leave things in a more positive note, a lot of the things said in this video are already changing though. It used to be like that for sure, but now companies are getting more and more aware that people from the younger generations don't think much about leaving their job if it sucks. It makes companies to actually try and make the employee stay. I'm not saying every single company's like that, there are those super traditional companies to this day too for sure. I just have friends from Japan and judging from how they've been living, it's been getting more flexible there, which is a pretty nice change - slow, but still a change.
It's horrible to think what so many workers in Japan (and America, and around the world) go through with controlling, abusive bosses. I hope they can get their dignity. Having to work all the time like you're disposable if you want a five minute break is not really a life.
Workers must seize the means of production.
I was born in Germany. It's fine here. Scandinavia, Netherlands, Belgium etc. are also pretty decent. The problem is with countries where the system, including the society, condemns every progress as communist.
The rigid employment structure probably means many talented people are underutilized in the economy. In the western tech industry it is normal to volontarily switch employer every 4-5 years or so. I'd like to think this cross-pollination promotes innovation.
And labor competition and healthy inflation.
It's not voluntary. The job are outsourced to India so Americans are laid off.
This practice may also cause a lack of innovation from outside sources such as foreign skilled employees and Japanese employees that returned home with skills learned while abroad. Rigidity leads to lack of evolution and in a constant changing world, especially now it cannot be tolerated
@@franticzenster8140 lol you really did not follow the video at all or have any real understanding of the jobmarket in east aisa in general it is hyper competetive to the point that people prep for it from that they are small children forsaking their childhood in order to get the right education for the they want. Also it dose not end when you get the job you want the workplace often pits people against each other in terms of results and work hours. Yes they lack creativity but that is due to the cultur in Japan more than anything else.
@@ZeelofTheMarty You don't understand economics.
Informative thanks👍😊
On a couple of occasions the author describes the lost gen as being in their 30s and 40s, but if this cohort is really made of people who graduated from university in the 90s (and couldn’t get a company job) this would be only 40s and 50s. It would be akin to Gen X in the US.
I think the US Gex X (which I am one of) is still much more optimistic then in Japan because the Japanese put so much emphasis on education at young age so if can’t get immediately into good college/job they are much more depressed. Americans for better or worse usually gets depressed at middle age.
I graduated in '91, and I'm 52...in the US there was a recession too... Companies weren't hiring new grads...by the time the recession ended, they wanted fresh faced kids, right out of school. Not mid twenties people that never got a chance.
yep, but althought the prospects werent as good for gen x as they were for boomers, I would say that lack of hope is more akin for milenials and somewhat the now incoming gen z
Really love those old footage or pictures that you put in the video
Most migrants in Japan don't really stay there, most of people I know just want to make some money and leave asap. The working culture is toxic and as a long term thing, it's unpractical.
yea but the customer service here is #1 in the world still. That aspect of japan i love
I've seen Japan "from the inside" for 30 years. Moving here from Canada in 1988 was the best move I've ever made. I recently bought a beautiful 3 bedroom home on 1/4 acre lot for the equivalent of $150,000 USD. The same home would have cost me at least 10 times that in my native Canada. Japan has the best health system on the planet which is a comfort for a family like ours with 5 kids. Education is top notch, always ranking within the top 5 in literacy, science and math in international testing among high school students. The streets are safe and clean, the public transit is efficient and safe. The culture and food are amazing, and the people are warm, kind and welcoming. The work culture is overblown by Western media. Sure, in sectors such as finance, marketing and agriculture there are long hours, but the fact is most Japanese work standard 40 hour work weeks. Japan ranks 25th in the world for hours worked per annum. I work from 8:30~5pm, 5 days a week, as most do.
@@gordonbgraham They're obviously not counting all the overtime employees spend drinking with the boss at izakaya's. I walk past them in osaka at night and they're always packed on weeknights
@@gregh7457 Japan Rail's numbers jibe with the OECD numbers. Japan Rail's numbers reveal that their busiest hours are between the hours of 5~6pm, meaning that's when most people are returning home.
@@gordonbgraham you’ve literally said that like multiple times in comments,So I can’t even take u srsly
Thanks for the video.
This video needs more focus on lost generation from 90s to 00s. Introduction took a lot of time. Lot of details about major bankruptcy, restructuring of companies in 90s and 00s got missed. So much more details are needed. Abandoning of Lost generation has prevented Japan from getting the 3rd baby boom. Japanese government has made major unbelievable mistake in 90s and 00s by not helping these 10-15 million people get better jobs and creating new jobs.
That's great info. Maybe we'll see this guy or someone else do a deeper dive in the future.
Imo, the UK and America are suffering from the same fate as Japan, it's just taking longer. The underlying culture which guides modern business and government belongs to the "boomer" age groups which enjoyed pre-90s prosperity. Their ideals are forever shaped by an era of near-universal plenty, and the needs of future generations are easily dismissed. They've implemented ageism by weakening social policies which benefit the young and the poor and by reinforcing protections for their wealth. It's an invisible form of majoritarian oppression, seemingly impossible to oppose. The underpinning ageism and classism are now accepted cultural norms. The immense economic inequality between age groups does not help either.
If you want to know more, there's a great presentation on RUclips called "Have the Boomers Pinched Their Children’s Futures?" about the tragic inequality between age groups in the UK.
@@JiF_cos first starting point of your study should be Japanese Wikipedia page for lost 20 years. And also study big big bankruptcies of Japanese banks, security companies, life insurance companies and electronic manufacturers starting from 1997(some bankruptcies started around 1991) Asian financial crisis to continuing to early 10s. Huge employment lost and huge number of Japanese new graduates found no good jobs till early 10s.
@@JiF_cos Big Huge Bankruptcies, 1997 Nissan Mutual Life Insurance, Sanyō Securities, Hokkaidō Takushoku Bank, Yamaichi Securities, Tokuyō City Bank, 1998, Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, Nippon Credit Bank.
The Japanese government has spent trillions doing that. Japan has the highest public debt-to-GDP in the developed world. It failed, because government cannot "get better jobs and create new jobs".
What I learned from these situations is that natural growth should be the way , govt. supporting companies, corruption and laws to get more votes will damage the society and ultimately it will destroy country. Countries from South and South-east Asia should not repeat this.
Nope, it is a cultural issue. Rich men cannot have multiple wives.
DARK SIDE OF MARCOS DYNASTY BURYING PEOPLE ALIVE TO ;PLEASE HOLLYWOOD ruclips.net/video/7-Tl9RLcdPA/видео.html
it is not possible to have shortage of people in india, bangladesh and pakistan 🤣🤣🤣
Too late, many already fell that way
@@ordinarydude2237 Dude is right.
In most other countries there would be massive emmigration waves under those conditions. But a lot of japanese people don't even leave the country for tourism, so moving outside Japan must be an impossible thing to even imagine for a lot of folk who would do better abroad.
Where will they move to when no where else in the world else is their language spoken and they only speak Japanese. They are stuck, so I think they need to do like some parts of western Europe and let young immigrants in from developing world. But be selective with who they let in because immigration can also be new problems…welp
@@thandisilec835 Japanese culture is too unique and too homogeneous to allow immigrants in.
@@thandisilec835 cela a peut-être quelque chose à voir avec le fait que le japon est une île!
I am Japanese. Comment with google translate. The true dark side of Japan is that the coalition government of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito is supported by religious cults.
Believers in Soka Gakkai, the largest new religious organization in Japan and a supporter of the New Komeito Party, will be an important vote source in the election. The voter turnout among believers was 100%, and this made it easier for politicians in the coalition government, the Liberal Democratic Party, to be elected, and although the party temporarily surrendered power to a rival party, it continued to win elections under this system for nearly 30 years, and its In 30 years, Japan has declined and is called the lost 30 years in Japan.
Incompetent politicians and religious cults have been in power for many years.
The damage caused by religious cults became clear last year with the shooting of Prime Minister Abe. Over the years, the incident was caused by the families of victims of the Unification Church, a religious cult that supports the LDP.
In Japan, the victims of these cult religious groups do not come out publicly. This is because the media is controlled by religious cults.
And despite this incident, the government does not regulate religious cults. This is because if restrictions were put in place, religious groups would no longer be able to obtain organizational votes and therefore be unable to win elections.
From the 1950s to the present, many Japanese citizens have been victims of antisocial solicitation by religious cults and donations to religious groups. Families, relatives, and acquaintances are divided by cults, and this creates a society in which people no longer interact with each other. Who wouldn't want a neighbor with a cult, right? Japan is full of such anxiety and caution.
As long as cults and politics are intertwined, it is impossible to hope for the revival of this country. The past 30 years have proven that.
I am cognisant that I am 7 months tardy to make this reply, but my god, that was a despondant read. So even if the economy does exit deflation, the government will still have marred Japan in a way that is devoid of any gaiety, hope, or future. I commiserate with you, my friend. Sincerely, from an Irish on the other side of the world🇮🇪❤.
返事をするのが7ヶ月も遅れていることは承知していますが、本当にがっかりしました。経済がデフレから脱却したとしても、政府は日本に明るさや希望、未来をまったく感じさせない形で傷をつけることになるでしょう。友よ、私はあなたに同情します。地球の反対側にいるアイルランド人より、心から🇮🇪❤ 。
i couldn’t agree more with what you said, As you and countless other people mentioned, japan is a very rigid country with an Inflexible and unchanging labor system. You basically devote your life on a companyonce you start working in it. This “dedication” to the company results in power harassments from your higherups which in turn causes a lot of overworking to do. Plus, the rigid nature of japan’s labor market means many people attempt to join the work force and society but fail to do so, causing an abundance in hikikomori people. What makes all of this worse is that, the japanese economy is steadily getting worse. Last year, the worth of yen went down by a significant and overwhelming amount, causing mayhem in the japanese economy. the price of japanese products outside it’s borders skyrocketed. if i remember correctly. when splatoon 3 released, it was like 80 dollars or something like that. Although it did relatively recover from this event, i don’t think it will get better than this.
Many people idolize this country as a clean, organized, respectful and cultured country. I disagree. Under the surface, this country is a jumbled mess of work place harassments, extremely high suicide rates, Horrendous cases of bullying, numerous cases of unemployment and hikikomoris and futoukous (people who don’t go to school. Mostly caused by the horrible amount of bullying going on in japanese schools), along with outdated political beliefs and just a lot of xenophobia. I personally would say this country is a great place to visit for vacation of just to have fun, but i think japan is a miserable place to live.
韓国やイタリアも日本と同じくらいの割合いで引きこもりがいます。世界には学校はおろか日々の食べ物に困るような子どももいます。
引きこもりどころではなく、ホームレスになる子ども達もいます。
学校に銃が持ち込まれ命が危険に晒されることも日本ではありません。イジメの無い国なんてありませんし。どこの国でもネガティブな部分はありますが、私は日本が世界に比べて劣っているとは思わないです。
yes there is a Japanese who has lived 10 years in my country and he said as you said
I appreciate your candid view of Japan that is hidden from us. I wish the people/employees can find a way to create a more enjoyable work environment. They can start with flexible work hours. In Tokyo alone 20 million people crowding trains to arrive by 9 am is just rediculous and unnecessary. It should be okay for many to begin work at 10 AM.
Respect to you. I always asked myself why you Japanese don't rebel, protest, do anything to thrown out that slaving system?
Or..if you don't feel for that, why don't you abandon Japan. You would find new job easily for example here in Slovakia, having freedom and life.
Been saying this for years and years, but everyone would rather scoff at me and point at the beautiful culture and tech. It's so good to hear you back-up my claims. No country is perfect and Japan is no exception. We're humans; we're all fucked up in the head on this blue rock.
Fun Fact: Tokyo recently dropped the requirement for female students to dye their hair a certain color to conform to school uniform and appearance standards. Couldn't believe it was even a thing. A female student complained that the dye was damaging her scalp and caused pain. After that, the ball started rolling and now different (but natural colors I believe) are authorized as opposed to black hair color only.
Edit: Bad spelling
What colour!??!?!
how stupid and totalitarian.. just like in north korean men and women are expected to have certain sizes and styles of hair 🤢
Black I guess? ( kuro kami 😮 )
But, whyyy on Earth they have these silly requirements in the first place my god
Beyond interesting! Excellent work! Thanks for sharing!👌👍
I graduated in the US in the early 90s, when “Leaner is meaner” and “downsizing” was sweeping companies. Companies were laying off left and right, and had no interest in new grads….job fairs were cancelled (or just the military showed up), people started posting their rejection letters outside their dorm doors. Some fled to graduate schools to try to ride out the bad market, but law and med school applications jumped and were even more competitive.
But….I and all my friends…did just fine longterm, becoming doctors or lawyers, or other ways to ride out the downturn.
It sucks to graduate into a bad economy, but at least in the US, not the end of the world. Harder in Japan, where companies prefer hiring new grads.
I graduated in the early 90's and rode it out by doing 6 years in the military. It was the golden age in the military, the USSR was dead and 9/11 was far away.
"The Japanese graduates of 1990s who missed their shot" is like me, generation of late 2019-2020 whose "freshgraduate" status was taken away by recession because of the sudden COVID19 pandemic. Especially in an overpopulated country like Indonesia. When situation become increasingly normal since late 2021, our generation are not hired because companies which were mostly on hiring freeze during pandemic are now open again but only choose freshgraduates.
We are lost generation too. The difference is.. my country never conduct social research like what you do. They simply forget us. Ageism in hiring practice doesn't help either.. after 25 yrs old it's like you are not considered as jobseeker anymore.
I took a job in banking during pandemic because of desperation. It paid well but doesn't have any future prospect (I work but in here teller and administrative assistant are only contracted as internship). I resigned after 1 year of working. Even with that experience, I still get ghosted by recruiters. Now I got a job in FMCG industry but it's a small wage job & I will work for more hours.
Ismet, there is no "overpopulated" country. Japan proves that overpopulation myth to be just that - a myth.
@@earlysda There is. If you live in huge populated countries like Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia, or India you will notice the downsides of having uncontrolled population: traffic jams, difficulty in finding housing, crazy job market condition (the competition to get in for *just* a minimum wage job, companies don't want to follow labor laws because there are more job seekers than job vacancy = they could just replace the workers, unpaid overtimes, etc), crimes, etc.
Even USA & China are hindered by their huge population.
@@earlysda Japan and Korea itself can be considered overpopulated, their number of population compared to the small size of their country and scarce resources
@@earlysda Bullshit. The entire earth is severely overpopulated. Read the fucking news.
wow, a very short video but very educational 👌 so many facts and information in one video, plus a clear script that explains a lot in a very short time 👍
I think that something that'll bring at least some change is young people starting Startups.
I think that those contribute to a transformed workforce. Companies like Google & Facebook led to a big change in workplace culture in their industry.
Intel has also become a monster cooperation and established an exploitative, toxic working culture.
I don't think the answer is that simple -- most startups, especially ones that will be at the "unicorn" scale of your Googles and Facebooks, require money (investments), and where will this money come from? Certainly not the big corporations that are enjoying the status quo...
There are cultural barriers to striking out on your own. In that area China is ahead.
@@zinjanthropus322 I haven't understood
@@filbao8113 Starting a company is almost a taboo in Japan.
As I’m Japanese, I agree most part of this video. This is real side of Japanese. If you are tourists it’s difficult to see these deep dark aspects of Japan, but you’ll find lots of business man sleeping on the bench at the park or on the commuter train. They have huge pressure from companies, over- working culture and relationships with boss and worker. ( it’s top down culture) Many Japanese recognize these problems but they can’t change working culture because companies loves traditional and old styles and the executive management have huge power in the decision making.
It’s great video to know reality of Japanese economy and companies.
Although I don't think the situation is nearly as dire or universal, it reminds me of a lot of people from my generation in the United States who took on a lot of debt to go to college (paying tuition costs that had ballooned due to the availability of government backed loans) only to walk right into a bad recession. I was lucky enough to graduate debt-free, but a lot of people my age were either never able to get back above water or had to delay becoming homeowners and starting families for years and aren't where they should be now.
At least in the US you pay mortgages. So you can live in it while you are paying off mortgages(small amounts of money) instead of the whole cost of the house!
Sometimes critical information is censored. The Americans bullied the Japanese in the Plaza Accords and forced the value of the yen to increase, collapsing the Japanese economy and a generation of Japanese to suffer
It was another economic nuclear bomb the US dropped on Japan
@@slslbbn4096 Germany also agreed to increased currency value in the Plaza Accords, and their economy did not collapse. The rising value of the Deutsche mark did not result in a bubble or recession. Plus the yen was no longer pushed up in the late 80's, which was two years after the Accords. And you can save it with your "bullied" talk. Japan was never playing fair to begin with by restricting imports from the US and other countries. And nobody but Japan is to blame for all those zombie companies. Unsustainable system doomed to failure.
@@automnejoy5308 to American racists: Germany was white enough, Japan was not.
@@slslbbn4096 lmao. Or maybe Japan was incompetent, myopic, disgustingly self-centered and jingoistic. You know, like they were in WWII when they tortured and killed MILLIONS of people throughout the Pacific for the Empire of the Hateful Sun.
Now I'm 21y old.
Means we are the generation of SHUSYOKU KATSUDO.
I left Japan when I was 19y old and it's been almost 2and half years since then.
Most of my school mate are sending a looooot of CV to companies and approaching to them.
And they are saying "No hope for the company, Japan is almost over"
This isn't joke, seriously we don't have any hope for this country especially young ppl around 20y old or so😭
That is so sad, when the youth give up on their home country as a whole; even here in the US, there are some who still have hope for this place, because of the "Right to Complain" still holding on (for dear life, maybe, but it's still there). I can't imagine living in a place where you are expected to hold your tongue, even if you get cheated like "The Lost Generation" has.
Dark times are ahead for a lot of nations, it seems.
when the rothschild bank defaults the bubble will burst think about it there is no free market quantitative easing to japanese companies sustains their turnover when the roth bank defaults no more credit to keep the dead economy turning over useless junk when the credit bubble bursts all the other bubbles will burst with it tick tock!
@@ownedmaxer607 how many japanese want to serve the machine? this documentary and all other docs on japan do not propose the idea of alternatives to japanese people. most japanese simply assume that japan is the whole universe and the structure of the japanese machine can never be violated. deep down they feel that japan, not God Alone, is god. an atheist society chose to worship nippon as they shun the Grace of God.
don't cry bro
-----------
japan was #1 in the 80's n usa did a hua wei to it
japan only bomb hawaii millitary outpost
usa nuke deep japan big cities hiroshima nagasaki
usa will not allow japan to do reparation to keep japan hated by asia - japan bomb n usa nuke - no more revenge but asia is still - revenge or reparation
japan must do some easy things or suffer revenge
1 burn war criminal shrine n build peace leaders' shrine in it's place - why worship
war criminals that kill lots of japanese youths?
2 facts in text bks
3 pay 70mil equivalent of the time to victim nations n be free from fear of revenge forever n free from usa protection/bases too
4 don't elect warhawks that war torn japan - elect economy leaders n make japan rich
I'm 41 and am in the lost generation, but after getting out of college, I couldn't get a job, so I started my own company. Now, I have two kids, live in a house, and have two cars. I know that it's not good to say "those who didn't make it didn't work hard enough", but what I can say is that I did work hard and smart both at the same time.
That's great.
It is not good but you said it anyway. Luck and situations also play major roles.
@@vinamrasinghai2339 effort and focus has more to do with success than luck
@@gordonbgraham Eh debatable. First is where you are born, second is how wealthy your parents, etc. Often people with privileges don't even realize they are privileges, ascribing it to their "talent" instead.
@@scholaroftheworldalternatehist The topic is Japan which provides high quality education from kindergarten through high school to everyone for free. It’s what one does with that education rather than “luck” that has the greatest influence on a person’s outcome rather than anything else besides unfortunate incidents such as illness or injury. In the case of such unfortunate incidents Japan also provides the world’s best health care for free to those who can’t afford it and cheaply to the rest of us.
I am American. And I would like to commiserate with my Japanese brothers and sisters.
This happens in America too. We just do not have a name for it. The Japanese are honest enough to recognize that this dynamic their country is not the fault or caused by the Hikikomori. Here in America, the "hikikomori" are BLAMED for "being a drain on the economy".
I would be a Hikikomori if not for the fact that in America it is not looked down upon to get a different job when you are unhappy. We are free to do that. However, we have an entire generation of people in their 30s and 40s who went to university... and now university degrees are meaningless. You go to a job with a master's degree, and you get paid the same as a teenager who works at McDonalds. You may make $15-$17 per hour, but the average rent is perhaps 2000.00. Plus electricity, gas, internet, car insurance, car payment.
This will only end in a revolution when the people get tired of spending $100 for 10 items at the supermarket.
My years in Japan in the early 1980's were very unique and unusual. When I recall my numerous encounters people usually don't believe me. But, I had at different times, men growl at me that Japan would take down the U.S. and destroy our economy. They said that is why salary men work such long hours and that destruction of the U.S. was paramount in their company's goals.
DARJ SUDE IF MARCOS DYNASTY BURYNG PEOPLE ALIVE TO PLEASE HOLLYWOOD ruclips.net/video/7-Tl9RLcdPA/видео.html
True,but this usually applied to those in power.
@@Felix-z2r It filtered down to the workers.
Lol, That's how China feels now.
Oh I believe you. As a foreigner wanting to live in Japan I get this rude/unwarranted remarks especially from the older generations. It’s funny how out of touch and ignorant they’re but here I am wondering why so much of my hard earned money here is going to welfare. These are the same people I’m giving my money to giving me such a hard time for no reason in what is otherwise a pleasant country to live in. It’s absurd.
Japan is a sick country. No mention of the high rate of Suicide in Japan and almost no care for mental health care. I live in Thailand, and the mental health care is far bete here. I watched a video by an expat who lived and worked in Tokyo, amongst other things he also mention the lack of mental health care. He went to see a dotor who just told him to 'Be Happy'. I have worked with a few Japanese language teachers in Thailand and they are very relaxed and glad to be away from Japan. I have also taught Japanese managers at a Japanese company in Thailand. They loved their lif in Thailand and dreaded the time when they would have to return to Japan.
Very true
Poor, poor Japan!! This heartbreaking news. : (
True about the lack of mental health awareness, but the suicide rate in Japan is actually on the decline for a couple decades now. The u.s. surpassed Japan a couple years ago in terms of suicide rates. Yes, even among teenagers.
@@kn2549 Thank yiou for the update.
@@kn2549 All that were about to go went already maybe?
Tbh I can’t even imagine how much of a nightmare situation it must be to have no other chances beyond right after graduation. I’m honestly taking my second chance atm with higher education in the U.S., something I know probably isn’t even possible in Japan. It seems a lot like The Empire in “Foundation”, and inability to change or deviate from tradition is literally leading to its own downfall.
Wow...finally met someone who reads Aussimov.
It will be interesting to see how long that lasts. My prediction is that there will start to be more immigrants coming into Japan. Like those from South Korea or other parts of the world due to globalization. Change will be forced upon them when this happens. Nothing stays the same forever.
They can start their own business and have as many chances as they want. Why is everyone acting like being a simple minded slave is the only option?
@@skywalker6648 you can't migrate prospective workers to a dead economy. japan's economy is dead. good for the corps that fewer and fewer employees graduate every year, just imagine these same dying corporations having to hire more employees. retirees > graduates. a nice balance for a dying nation.
@@alterego157 many japanese own their own businesses. don't know about red tape or lot space
I'm 50 years old this year. Born in a regional city in Shizuoka, after graduating from a university in western Japan, I returned to my hometown and got a job at a medium-sized IT company. It's a stable company, but most of the employees used to work there from their parents homes. In Japan, there is a large disparity in salaries between large companies and small and medium-sized ones, and it's also difficult to get a new job at a large company once one fails to join such a company as a new graduate. It's because of all kinds of discrimination. And the Ice Age generation was created by large companies not hiring new graduates in order to protect the employment of the elderly people working there under the permanent employment system.
I lived in Japan as a student for almost 8 years. I heard about the bubble but I never really understood it until I watched this video. Thanks a lot!
I am Japanese and live in Japan and can confirm this. Fortunately, I work in a progressive IT company but you still can feel the old Japanese mentality at some points and the pay is generally low.
Although one good thing about Japan is, even if your poor, the chance of becoming homeless or badly sick is low thanks to the social system.
But I think the economy won’t hold long if Japan continues to do the same thing since the economy crashed in the 90s.
Its scary how more and more parts of the world are becoming like this.
Given the love of Japanese culture and anime today in America few people realize that in the 1980s Japan was looked at by many the way China is looked at today, with a mixture of anxiety, envy, and open hostility. Many back then remembered the Japan of the 1930s-1940s and thought it wrong that a nation that never really took responsibility for it's actions in the war should prosper.
yeah no sh!t sherlock. Dudes that aren't white and not on the same side as the US have always been looked by that way
There are many forms of warfare. Culturally, Japan has made big progress in capturing the minds of Westerners purely through anime. Now imagine if anime was used to subtly make people believe certain things or to sybtly change perspectives. However, the one ting I have seen out of all this is that Japan capitulated to Westernism and was made a lapdog of the West. They threw away their values and turned wholly to Westernism and became huge proponents of it. Now, they're used as a vehicle for encouraging robotics and transhumanism. It appears that they, along with almost all other countries, has been colonised by the West. Colonialism has not ended. They just don't use guns anymore.
I wanna go back in time and tell the people of the 80s that they’re basically friendly-firing, and that the…. Alternative….. might just be 95 million times worse
Agreed. Japan bashing was all the rage in the 80s and 90s
thats because after the war japan was pretty much given a slap on the wrist and not only that, the US allowed japan to be on their own after the occupation. thats when the zaibatsu and then economy started rolling which lead to the 80s boom, and then the collapse.
they never took responsibility because they were never given one in the first place, even after the atrocities the imperial army did in china.
The same thing is happening all over the world, Japan is just a little ahead of the curve.
The difference is the SPEED this has occurred in Japan. I have witnessed during my lifetime the ride from post-war lift-off to red-hot boom to burst bubble to malaise and stagnation to "the entire Japanese race may cease to exist within 50 years". And I am NOT that old.
not really, the speed and longevity of this stagnation is what is different for Japan. Other major economies in Asia like Korea and China have had economic bumps but have not stopped growing. Japan is different, Japan has been stagnant since the 90s unlike Korea and China which have grown exponentially and are still growing until now.
@@SeoWoojin55
You visited
@@hc1897 Japan started quantitative easing in the 2000's way before anyone ever heard of it
I lived in japan for years, and let me tell ya. JAPANESE society is like a hell for normal people. Their salary is also very low. Imagine you graduate from college and you get paid with only $2000 for monthly salary. Their quality of life is very very far away from other developed countries. Don't be shadowed by animation or whatever. Harsh truth that people don't want to listen to.
As an American I have always admired the Japanese work ethic. I see that it has a dark side and even led to a lot of mental health issues in Japan but I really do admire their loyalty and determination to their companies and their families. On the flip side of that coin I sympathize greatly for the Japanese who have suffered greatly from overwork and this type of culture especially the Hikkimori. I sympathize with them as I can relate in some aspects on a social level. Japan is such a fascinating country with such enormous complexity and beauty. In a 2012 movie I saw called "Emperor" (great movie by the way) General Kajima called Japan "a nation of contradictions". I can see somewhat how this applies today but that's what makes Japan so unique and beautiful. I wish I could see it one day. God bless the people and nation of Japan!
Pretty sure Hikikomori are both men and women - basically anyone who's a "shut-in". And there are also NEETs who fall under the "being taken care of by their parents/family" category.
For those who don't know (even though I'm sure most do) NEET stands for
Not in
Education
Employment or
Training.
but mostly men, women can easily hide because ideally women stays at home often
@@chrillsimslovesgretathunbe9771 emotional damage xdd
@@chrillsimslovesgretathunbe9771 In a traditionally Japanese society, yes, but even for women, if they're not married (so, not a housewife), not studying or working, they are still considered NEETs or hikikomori by Japanese standards. What they can avoid is the "label", I guess that's what you meant by "hiding", however their lifestyle is not different from male hikikomoris, whether the public aknowledges it or not.