Hi Joel, dragging you into controversy! :0)
1. Japan is a demographically doomed nation. Their mistreated women folks do not care to make babies with their overworked, alcohol poisoned, and spiritually polluted men folks. There will be more than 50% less Japanese in the world in many of our life times;
2. Halve the population, halve the domestic market demands, quarter the active work force, and decimate the savings, free up the land, pulverize the real estate value, break the banking system (but, I am counting on them to try and not to unload their platinum hoard in a disorderly fashion);
3. At that time, 60 some million Japanese will be living on a resource deprived island amidst of some fairly friendly and relatively large neighbors with a long memory … the two Koreas will have been united, revitalized, and ready to go, China, well, will still be China, and Russia, will, of course still be Russia, and Taiwan, with then have a population of say 40 million and a possibly stronger industrial base, will be, oops, China, and there appears to be some unfinished business from many years ago;
4. Japan’s industry, what is left of it in Japan, as opposed to relocated to China, none with magic or sustainable advantages, will still be 50% concentrated in the greater Tokyo area, at the center, or rather, epicenter, of a quake zone; and
5. No, it is all looking beautifully precarious, and not very good at all, and they know it. Sincere apologies and a profound sense of regret will be the order of some day in our life times, no doubt.
6. Japan can save itself in some more drastic fashion, of course, like by allowing freer immigration. I do not know very many folks wanting to move there, other than from Korea and China, in which case, again, Japan is finished. Its savings ought to be used to buy some neighborhood insurance protection.
Yes, I think the speed at which Japan will duplicate Britain’s fall into irrelevancy will surprise the world. But, yes, I have Japanese relatives, in Trinidad, love Japanese food, some girls, many of Korean origin, all of the gadgets, and some of the movies. No need to learn the language, just as there is little need to study Carthage’s vocabularies :0)
Chugs, Jay |
