As usual, thanks for providing clarity backed up by facts and figures. Will the long-term trajectory of demographic trends help or hinder (assuming no material changes to policy)?
I really appreciate the clarity of this analysis. Would you agree with these suggested changes to policy settings. 1. Reduce reliance on consumption taxes. 2. Rely more on income tax. 3. Make the income tax regime more progressive. 4. Introduce a capital gains tax. 5. Introduce or increase death duties. 6. Increase interest rates. 7. Nationalize the financial system and allocate profits to general revenue. 8. increase interest rates to the point where purchase of US Govt bonds is minimized. If not these then what?
One element both you and Richard leave out is why do Japanese companies pay so poorly? While tech in general, but especially foreign tech pays well relative to the market in Japan. However, Internationally the pay is uncompetitive , making it harder to attract top talent.
What steps should Japanese companies be taking to pay employees more and what part does (or does not) the government have in encouraging or assisting this?
Read the article with interest. It seems that, at least in the craft world, the Japanese have a long history of esteeming the skill of the master and demanding long apprenticeships for the acolytes.
The dedication to mastering the art in the automobile manufacturing world has given us the rugged reliability of Toyota and the performance and reliability of Honda. I own Iseki tractors that rust away before the drive train has a problem.
The income inequality problem as it manifests within country drives a weakness in consumption. It was a feature of the 1920s in the USA and is now at a new extreme. In the long term an economy in isolation must be driven by domestic consumption.
An economy that is interacting with other economies can be skewed to be driven by other things. Much depends on who is printing the money or providing the capital flows and the methodology. And of course, where the entrepreneurial drive is coming from. And the cultural settings imposed by the elites in government. Not a simple problem.
Thanks for the article. It is not clear. Company execs say that they remain remain shell-shocked by the debt crisis of a couple decades ago and want to hoard cash. When Covid hit, they claimed this cash hoard had made them safe and justified their approach.
As a Korean, I envy that there are foreigners who give sincere advice on the Japanese economy. In Korea, there is none (or maybe I don't know)
I believe there are some. Check out google scholar for articles.
As usual, thanks for providing clarity backed up by facts and figures. Will the long-term trajectory of demographic trends help or hinder (assuming no material changes to policy)?
The demographic changes worsen the economic challenges but, as a result could also create more political pressure to change policies.
I really appreciate the clarity of this analysis. Would you agree with these suggested changes to policy settings. 1. Reduce reliance on consumption taxes. 2. Rely more on income tax. 3. Make the income tax regime more progressive. 4. Introduce a capital gains tax. 5. Introduce or increase death duties. 6. Increase interest rates. 7. Nationalize the financial system and allocate profits to general revenue. 8. increase interest rates to the point where purchase of US Govt bonds is minimized. If not these then what?
I agree with 1, 2, and 3. There already is a capital gains tax. Land taxes need reform. I disagree with 7 and 8
One element both you and Richard leave out is why do Japanese companies pay so poorly? While tech in general, but especially foreign tech pays well relative to the market in Japan. However, Internationally the pay is uncompetitive , making it harder to attract top talent.
e.g.
https://hapasjapan.com/it
What steps should Japanese companies be taking to pay employees more and what part does (or does not) the government have in encouraging or assisting this?
Read the article with interest. It seems that, at least in the craft world, the Japanese have a long history of esteeming the skill of the master and demanding long apprenticeships for the acolytes.
The dedication to mastering the art in the automobile manufacturing world has given us the rugged reliability of Toyota and the performance and reliability of Honda. I own Iseki tractors that rust away before the drive train has a problem.
The income inequality problem as it manifests within country drives a weakness in consumption. It was a feature of the 1920s in the USA and is now at a new extreme. In the long term an economy in isolation must be driven by domestic consumption.
An economy that is interacting with other economies can be skewed to be driven by other things. Much depends on who is printing the money or providing the capital flows and the methodology. And of course, where the entrepreneurial drive is coming from. And the cultural settings imposed by the elites in government. Not a simple problem.
Thanks for the article. It is not clear. Company execs say that they remain remain shell-shocked by the debt crisis of a couple decades ago and want to hoard cash. When Covid hit, they claimed this cash hoard had made them safe and justified their approach.