3 Reasons Why Japan's CHEAPNESS is Harmful to Society | The Horrifying Truth That No One Talks About
Vložit
- čas přidán 5. 06. 2024
- Living in Japan, it’s very difficult to notice that this country is actually very “cheap,” and until I read this book “Cheap Japan: Price indicates Japan’s stagnation,” I didn’t know about it either. I also did not know that Japan being a cheap country causes much more harm to our society than I ever imagined, and that it is a severe social problem that we all need to face in order to preserve Japan for the future.
So today, I would like to first explain the meaning of “Japan is cheap,” as well as the reason why. At the end of the video, I will also explain about the horrifying problems that this situation is causing,
many of which I believe you never knew existed. I hope this video will be a chance for you to look at Japan from a different point of view.
By the way, this book compares Japan with many other countries to express its cheapness so if you live in any of the countries I mention, it would be great if you could let me know in the comments how you feel about the claims.
[Time codes]
0:00 Let's START!
1:50 How CHEAP Japan is
6:18 Why Japan is CHEAP
13:11 How CHEAPNESS is Harmful to the Society
19:42 Today's Conclusion
▼Who is Shogo? What is this channel about?▼
• Shogo’s Self Introduct...
▼Related videos in this channel▼
-CHIKAN: Molestation on Trains is NO JOKE in Japan! How to Deal with/Protect Yourself from Molesters
• Molestation on Trains ...
-3 Shocking Reasons Why 和食 WASHOKU Japanese Food is Unhealthy!? How to Choose What to Eat in Japan
• 3 Shocking Facts about...
-Why BUSHIDO Is The Root of All Social Problems in Japan! The TRUTH of Japan/Samurai Code Revealed
• Why BUSHIDO Is The Roo...
▼MY DREAM▼
• The "TRUE REASON" why ...
“To make every Japan lovers’ dream come true, by making Japan a more secure, comfortable, and safer place for everyone to visit, study, and live in”
I will be using the profit I gain from this channel at restaurants, hotels, and cultural facilities in Kyoto to introduce them. The more you watch the videos on this channel, Kyoto and Japan will become a more exciting place, and you can support your own and others’ dreams in the future even more.
▼Join our Membership▼
/ @letsaskshogo
●Membership benefits
-Limited behind-the-scene videos
• Members-only videos
-Weekly live stream
-Priority reply to comments
Every single yen we earn from this membership, we will be donating to groups of people who are fighting to solve social problems in Japan, the Japanese schools where foreign students can study, or use it to spread the works of people working with traditional culture in Japan to preserve the arts they are doing.
▼[Sub-channel] “Shogo’s Podcast”▼
/ @shogospodcast
Please subscribe!!
The perfect channel to learn about Japanese culture and history in your spare time, during your walk to school or work, and when you are cooking or doing house chores.
Not only will I be covering the topics in this main channel, but also some topics that you will only be able to enjoy in the sub-channel, like answering questions I receive, and my opinions towards some of the comments.
▼[Listen to the real voices of the Japanese] "Voices from Japan series"▼
• [Shogo] Japanese Tradi...
▼[For YOU traveling to Kyoto] "Kyoto Hidden Gems" series▼
• Playlist
▼Instagram▼
/ lets_ask_shogo
*Please ask me questions through the DM here!（⚠️I do not use e-mail）
▼Shogo’s profile▼
Hello everyone, and thank you for watching my videos!
I’m Shogo, a Kyoto born & Hiroshima raised Japanese, that grew up in Michigan USA for 6 years, and studied Mandarin in Beijing university for a year! I live in Kyoto now, as I train in Iaido(katana), Sado(tea ceremony), and Noh theatre(traditional stage art).
In this channel, you can take a closer look at Japanese traditional culture, tips on traveling to Kyoto, and social problems in Japan. So learners and lovers of Japanese language and culture, be sure to subscribe to enjoy more content!
If you enjoyed this video, please hit the LIKE button, and share with your friends and family! My goal is “to achieve 1,000,000 subscribers by January 2023”, so your help would mean a lot!
♪Music♪
おとわび
otowabi.com/category/material...
♪Sound effects♪
効果音ラボ
soundeffect-lab.info/
♪Pictures♪
かわいいフリー素材屋 いらすとや
www.irasutoya.com/
#japancostofliving #traveltojapancost #cheapjapan #socialissuesinjapan #socialproblemsinjapan - Zábava
I firmly believe that a person who truly loves his country is someone who is not afraid to criticize it and talk about its problems.
Thank you Shogo for showing your love to your beautiful country.
Unfortunately the paradox is catch that would count as a personal opinion, so you could be most likely shunned since they won't see you as someone worth saving when natural disasters happen on a yearly basis....according to psychological reasons and backgrounds happening in Japan.
In Japanese, this is actually directly reflected in two words: 愛国 aikoku and 憂国 yūkoku, the first is patriotism through love; the second is patriotism through sorrow - i.e., a sense of loyalty and affection towards your country that reflects a desire to address its problems. (There is also the longer phrase 慨世憂国 or 憂国慨世.)
Agree as well. But if you say anything like that in the us. The first thing they will say is go back to your own country.
@@lewid019 U.S. citizens openly criticize their own government/culture more than literally any other country, you're ungrounded.
Criticising one's country is one thing, doing so to pander to a Western audience for Internet success is another
Cheap and Japan are two things I never expected to see in the same sentence. I always hear that Japan is nigh expensive
japan is expensive if you live and work there as a japanese, specially tokio, for most other developed countries it is relatively cheap
I guess you never had the "pleasure" to meet a Toyota/Lexus disciple....
But when you hear about Japan being expensive, what specifically do you hear about? For me, it's *always* the cost of a place to live that I hear about.
In the 80s into the 90s, perhaps. It always had that glamour of luxury & expensive, quality goods. Now when other Asians go to Japan for holiday, we are constantly surprised as to how affordable everything is, even quality products & fine dining (YAAAAY sushi; teppanyaki; Kaisei LOL)
The whole "everything is expensive in Japan" from tourists' point of view. From I what heard from people who have been living in Japan more than 10 years, average Japanese natives themselves always look for bargains and sales just like everyone else in the world.
"They can't raise the prices; wages do not rise either."
*Cries in American where prices go up and wages stay flat*
Actually I see wages going sky high but can’t find anybody. I’ve seen McDonald hiring between $15 to $20 an hour staring in some places.
@@gj1234567899999 I haven't seen this increase at McDonald's in my area. I have heard of the minimum wage increasing, but the wages of those already earning that minimum or more not increasing with it. So there's this frustration and gap of "You didn't earn those $15."
Inflation and stagnant wages are a symptom of a global problem. The rich are acting like parasites and sucking the world dry.
What part of that sentence locked any boots? You seem to think saying the rich are parasites means people worship the government. The rich ARE parasites and the governments of the world don't seem to care.
@@TheOriginalDarkGlitch well, who makes up the government? It generally isn't the poor or lower-middle class.
Japanese corporations and businessmen are also extremely conservative when it comes to risk. They hoard tens of billions of yen in their assets like its a good thing, but most other businesses would see it as a major opportunity cost to invest in capital and other expenses to grow business. The result is that money doesn't really flow around the economy in Japan unlike elsewhere, and inflation can't take place if the biggest spenders aren't spending.
This is definitely the case. Most Japanese companies don’t even try to market outside of Japan even for things that are popular. The anime industry is a prefect example. Anime viewing outside of Japan as skyrocketed over the last 10-15 years and the industry over there is just beginning to acknowledge that their are people outside of Japan who want to watch anime and buy related products. Sony and Nintendo are one of the few Japanese companies that deal with countries outside of Japan. Sony even moved their headquarters to California because they realized they will make more money by focusing on markets outside of Japan.
@@rdpjr89 That’s not entirely true. The Japanese consumer market stays within its own borders for the most part, but that’s not atypical. Most countries are similar with a few exceptions, notably the U.S. What you didn’t account for is the industrial side of things. There are a LOT of international Japanese companies that deal in things the average consumer is never going to see. Take Mitsubishi for example. Most people know Mitsubishi as a car company, but cars are only a very small part of what that company deals in. Power station equipment, medical supplies and equipment, assembly line parts, etc.. There are a lot of international Japanese companies that fit this niche, and aren’t anything you as a consumer would ever hear about.
Velocity of money
@@friendlyneighborhoodcrackh6059 don't forget motorcycle to.
That's actually all corporations under capitalism
I just wanted to thank you for making videos about Japan that not only show the great part of the country, but the unknown imperfect side. I think no one else on this platforms makes videos about Japan this detailed. Keep it up!
Yeah same! I found Shogo's channel by accident and it was precisely this type of facts and knowledge I wanted to know about Japan. Not just the most popular tourist places and so on but how the society really is over there. Someone poking a hole in the "touristy perfect picture" of japan.
You should check out SHUNchann, he is another Japanese youtuber who talks about the the more negative side of Japan.
The one creator I can think of is Nobita. He also explores different topics with a variety of points of view.
@@xanthippus9079 thank you. I'll check out nobita's channel :)
@@DavidCruickshank yeah Chunchan is really good. He doesn't sugarcoat things.
I was taught in sociology that in an ideal society...the more educated the country is, things in reality should deflate not inflate. When quality of life is higher and the community is constantly improving the prices of things theoretically decrease.
Economics has evolved from a propaganda tool in recent decades to an actual field of study. You were taught correctly.
Genuine question.. we were taught that with more citizens joining the workforce causes inflation and that moderate inflation is a healthy indicator. Can you pls elaborate or point me in the right direction?
@@vinoo882010 inflation, to be “healthy” must come with an increase in wages. Most capitalist countries come with the inflation, but not the corresponding wage increases.
That’s not to say that non-capitalist systems are perfect. They all have issues. Capitalism is just the most common one right now and the one destroying itself from the inside by being true to itself.
The perfect system is one that combines other systems and isn’t focused on a single goal like profit. It is also people-focused.
@@bobfg3130 It has always been both
@@tonoolvera Case in point is current US prices ... we are in a period of moderately high inflation but most people are not getting any wage increases. I say its moderately high inflation relative to other countries (but its quite extreme inflation for the US where prices on many items has doubled over the course of a year).
"However, if you live in a country where DAISO does not exist, I'm sure it is hard to imagine." *U.S. Southerns laugh as they think about how many Dollar Generals and Dollar Trees are within a one mile radius of them at any point in time*
I'm from the southern US and I can confirm that getting on the main road from my home if I go either left or right I will within less than 30 miles run into a Dollar General.
Here in Germany it is also common to have 1€ stores
@Steve D poundworld sounds like a strip club 🤣🤣🤣
In Brazil they are called R$ 1.99 stores.
We got such things in France too. Making profit by selling a massive number of unexpensive rubbish sprayed all around the world.
I remember when first graduating engineering school, looking for jobs all over the place. I had read that Japan was accepting foreign workers in certain STEM fields through some new programs at the time, so I decided to look into salaries. I was blown away. The average engineer's salary in Japan, didn't even meet the average entry level engineering salary in America. The Entry Level salary in Japan was about 1/3 what I got as a salary from my first job, which was in a lower cost of living part of the US. I remember thinking that, if even the more highly skilled jobs in Japan were paid in such a way, I could only imagine how low the wages were for normal workers in jobs not requiring years of college.
I don't know how much the income compared in US if we also calculate living cost, transport, bonus, etc
But, in other side of the world that numbers is still tempting for some people
America has one of the best salaries for specialists.
Might be shocked to know that Japan's minimum wage is higher than the US's and waiters make almost as much as English teachers
@@marw9541 Just goes to show how much English teachers and learning english in schools is valued.
@@marw9541 No they don't. The minimum wage in Japan varies. My wife only made around 780 yen per hour without tips, since tips are rude there. So she made about $7.30-7.50 and hour. The content creator is right, it is very cheap there. It also shows in the quality that is put out in a lot of Japanese products made for Japanese.
We have a phenomenon in Italy called "La fuga di cervelli", the escape of brains, basically like Japan wages have been stagnant for the last 20 years (prices haven't), people who study a lot often get the same salary of non specialized people, this makes studying a less preferrable choice or making who is more qualified flee for countries with better salary, usually the states or Germany. It's sad to hear that Japan suffers a very similar fate
this also happens here in Brazil as far as I'm concerned
Brain drain. That would be the equivalent expression in English.
Fuga de cerebros in Spanish. Here in Mexico struggle with the same issue.
Germany is the exact opposite, everyone studies and we don't have enough non specialized people, because they Would not be able to live a decent life with their salary especially if you live in a large City like Frankfurt or Berlin. So instead everyone studies
@@LuizHenrique9406 A lot of Brazilians with high education that I met working in USA, in IT field. I felt happy to meet them but sad that Brazil seems to have lost a lot of brainpower.
What I saw from my experience:
-Companies are too domestic centered.
-They want to compete on price
-They tend to resist change
Japan is a country that I love too much to let it sink.
They resist change.... That's the key of their problem. 😔
Yes, domestic companies prefer not to hire foreign specialists. They can financially change the company for a good side but destroy that old-fashioned and really unnecessary lifetime employment system. People in modern countries change their work twice a year and it's ok. It doesn't mean that the specialist is bad. It means that specialist is looking for the best place to work because he/she knows the true value of their work. The real problem in Japan is the absence of economic knowledge and the culture of avoiding the conflict.
@@dimitrisglynos6808 Some change is good but not all of it.japan should consider their wages but dont change your culture,the u.s has too many voices saying how others should change but does not want to address that it takes time and very polictical right now in a toxic way,also japan do not listen to these super liberals,feminist and such people telling you how to live on the internet do you.
Yeah. This just sounds like I have to spend money in Japan.
Competing on prices is good. Lower prices is never a bad thing for consumers. Under normal circumstances, over time prices go down and quality goes up, because of competition and consumer choices.
The only problem I see here is that wages aren't going up over time. That's not something you'd see in normal circumstances: over time wages tend to go up, merely because companies compete for workers and workers keep seeking better pay checks.
Resisting change is a non-issue really. Change happens either way other over time, and those that don't adapt get a Darwin Award.
I'm not sure what you mean by "domestic-centered". There's plenty of japanese companies all over the world (and they beat many local companies with lower prices and good quality).
I'm an outsider but it looks to me like the main problem with Japan - other than a resistance to change - is the same problem everywhere right now: People are working too much and don't have enough time to enjoy themselves and live their lives.
Personally I'm not that concerned with 'the economy', I care more about quality of life. You can sometimes get better QOL with a middling economy, and sometimes improving the economy does little to create a robust quality of life improvement for the people who need it most.
Or in other words, the gdp doesn't tell you how life is in another country.
As a father of 5 in Japan, the "cheapness" is one of the main reasons we've decided to raise our kids here. We've recently bought a home for $150,000. The same home would have cost us 10 times as much in my native Toronto, Canada! Universal health care is the best on the planet. I pay $300 a month for a family of 7! And that includes dental. In dental costs alone, we've saved more than $10,000! Food is reasonable, affordable clothing stores like Uniqlo are everywhere. Education is cheap or free for those who can't afford it. Used cars in mint condition are cheap. I have no idea what all that means for "the economy", I only know that as a father of 5 in Japan, I couldn't be happier with the quality of life and cost of living.
Yeah, deflation isn't all bad. I think this is a common misconception of economists that become a little obsessed with GDP numbers. Deflation looks really bad from a macro/GDP perspective but for the people actually living there it's not so bad
Out of curiosity, did you move there with a good sack of cash beforehand?
@@AUniqueHandleName444 $800 Canadian
I wish you good luck to send all your children to the high school/university then if you are still in Japan at this time. I am living in Japan (in the middle of Nagoya) too and I do not want more than 2 children as we would not be able to economically support them.
Cheapness is very relative imo... And I am your usual salesman working for a Japanese company ...
@@KaitN9 If you were to move to Canada you would have a better understanding of how cheap Japan is. Yes, cheapness is relative. Certainly, life is cheaper in the Philippines, but it's a matter of whether or not you'd want to live in a 3rd world nation. I'm not saying it would be all bad. There are benefits to living in places like Jamaica or Nicaragua for example, but there is a lot of crime and poverty in those places...far more than there is in Japan where there is very little street crime. Also, Japan has one of the best education systems and health care systems in the world. You'd be rolling the dice in "cheap" countries. So, when you say "relative", I agree...as the cost of living "relates" to many things including the quality of living conditions, public services, health care, infrastructure, education, quality affordable housing and more. All things considered, Japan is the best place for us.
As a someone from developing country, I cannot believe that "Japan" and "Cheap" could be coupled together.
True, going there takes a lot of money for us. Still want to go there someday though when I have the chance.
Learn the truth
If you are from Singapore or Hong Kong, Japan is cheap. If you are from Philippines or Thailand, it is expensive.
I thought the same, although I understand that it might be when compared with other first world countries
it's pretty much on the same level as Spain or Italy, maybe a bit more expensive I'd say (depending on what we're talking about, some things are cheaper, some much more expensive). Salaries are much higher in Japan for qualified jobs tho.
Now I know why in anime, parents work overseas a lot, and leave their teenage kids alone.
They work in a different country, earn more than they would in Japan, and send it back to Japan.
They do this in a lot of third world countries by going to first world countries... called “overseas worker”
To be fair, this has been true for generations, except nowadays it’s overseas work, but in the past it was the father working in some faraway rich Japanese city for most of the year, sending it back home, and visiting his family a little bit before leaving a again. It’s very normalized in Japanese culture.
Globalization
Sounds like a very good idea to me really.
This is a good thing, this means wealth is entering the nation. Don't take economics lessons from actors please.
I was surprised for a video that want to talk about harmful cheapness of Japan, it never mentioned how companies would rather to fix things than buy a new one. On my +2 years of working experience in factory in Japan, it baffles me how they still recycle and reuse old racks, carts, etc. and other few things because they don't want to be wasteful.
I understand that throwing big stuff to garbage will cost you money, which is why they would rather repair it, but there is time where said old things became working hazard, as the unprofessional repair done with mere glue and ziptie will easily broke again.
I wish to live in the Japan that Shogo-san wants to create: stable, mentally well and aware, and capable of preserving tradition while keeping its eyes tothe future
Shogo the Overlord!
Who wouldn't want to live in any country like that. It is something many people in many countries wish for their own nations.
Japan is truly its own worst enemy. It's constantly standing in its own way, which oftentimes stems from old traditions and mindsets (such as asking for a pay raise being considered arrogant or rude because "you have to respect your seniors!!" etc.)
To stand up for yourself is seen as arrogant? Now that is messed up
Traditions and customs are the backbone of stable societies. Something that the West lacks and is doomed because of it.
western countries have traditions and many customs, they don't usually share the same weight as japanese people give to theirs
And their neglect of international the market and focus on creating products only for Japan. Sure, it is easier for them, but they are losing a very important influx of fresh money into the companies and Japanese economy
In an era of freelance jobs being on the
rise, the very concept of dying behind
some office desk is just pathetic.
And young people have better things
to do than being some servant class
for mammoths and dinosaurs.
And if some old-school boss
wants to go for a drink, he can
do it himself.
For perspective, much of what you say about Japan is true for the USA.
My wife works a government job and her salary has not kept up with inflation. It has not been reduced, as you suggest for Japan.
San Francisco is not the median for the USA. Even California is not median for USA income. Double check you are looking at median or average, as they mean different things.
Thank you!
I think for the particular example at 6:01 he was comparing SF and Tokyo because they are both large metropolitan cities and the Minato ward in particular has a lot of companies based there, including Apple. Makes sense to compare the og silicon valley to its would be equivalent.
@@dangoonigiri3146 not really. SF is well known as a man extreme outlier in terms of real estate and wages. It’s more reasonable to compare it to something like New York, a large metropolis, not SF, a city with less than 1 million people.
@@adorabell4253 not to be a stickler here, but wouldn’t it be odd to compare a ward to the most densely populated city in the US?
@@dangoonigiri3146 Manhattan would be a better comparison, then. SF is just a very bad city to use for comparison because it is so out of the normal.
I think San Francisco is a fair comparison for a Japanese city like Kyoto
Economists call this phenomena the "deflationary spiral." Lower prices lead customers to expect even lower prices in the future, leading to holding back of purchases, leading firms to hold back investment and so on.
As a Estonian this whole thing feels ironic, our minimum wage per hour is 3.87€ (just 5 years ago was 2.8€) and everything has become more expensive, that has resulted in a lot of people buying second-had, which is sustainable. I think that less consumption in the big picture is good for the planet and more of a sustainable approach. Just economy and big companies need to change.
A 3 week vacation in Japan was just a bit cheaper for me then 3 weeks in Finland. Finland is quite close to me AND we had a guide in Japan!
The plane ticket is the higher bar but once inside Japan, I was surprised how cheap everything was.
I think of you’re coming from Europe things may seem cheap. Coming from the US I don’t get that impression. Even living there I didn’t get that impression.
My wife and I had a guided tour of Kyoto back in 2015. Our guide was shocked and disgusted when, on finding out that I was a smoker, I told her how much a pack of 20 cigarettes costs in the UK and just how much of it was tax (80-90%). Same with wines and spirits (about 60%).
@@beardedpanda5086 Finland does not equal Europe. Japan is not cheap for most Europeans.
@@piotrb8434 Eh, for the Balkans even most other European countries look expensive. Dare I say all.
You think like this because you don't live here in Japan. As a tourist you are probably happy eating crappy junk food, you don't have obligations such as paying utility bills like electricity and gas which are really expensive, you do not have to travel using train regularly. So All I can say is what do you know about how cheap or expensive Japan is if yo don't live here. The day you go the the fricking supermarket to buy a watermelon that cost about 60 usd yet it tastes like garbage with a bit of sugar you will understand how expensive this country is.
It sounds like Japanese goods are in balance to the wages so in that way I can understand why families are resistant to cost increases. Wages for workers have been going down in most of the developed world due to corporate power consolidating and becoming more efficient at extracting value from workers without increasing pay. I live in a nice part of the US and most 30-40 year-old people I know still don't own homes because they cannot afford it. On paper the US economy and stock market might look good but the living conditions of the people have declined and now people who were middle class are close to lower class in much of the country. I'm not sure if Japan is suffering from something similar in its own form. Thank you for these interesting videos.
@Space Ray Engine Why do you call the former Eastern Bloc countries "eastern colonies?" Who are they colonies of?
s&p 500 keeps going up, if you invested in it you're going to be fine
@@shun2240 We shouldn't have to rely on chance to buy a home. This comment is very unhelpful.
Its not that they can’t afford its that they aren’t going into debt. Our parents and grandparents would take out house loans and get indebted for years but they could afford the monthly or yearly rates. Our generation isn’t taking out as much loans as the previous one.
@Mr.Beant it seems like the global corporate system leads to people voting for more socialist governments, which in turn discourage small and medium startups, further consolidating power for big corp as they need not worry about competition.
As someone who dipped her toe into the Japanese shuukatsu and had my energy immediately drained, I have to say that also presents a big hurdle to a lot of foreigners who'd still want to work in Japan regardless. Most stuff is done in Japanese and of course, you know the company wants people that can communicate with other workers and read the documents. However, this automatically creates a huge barrier to entry as foreigners seem to be hold to the same standard as Japanese people. In theory, that is most fair, but you are essentially comparing the effort of someone who was born and raised in a society from the beginning, to someone who had to learn all of this in a matter of a couple years if not months. I think the companies that say they want more foreign employees, or actually Japan's society in general, will have to come to terms with the fact they won't get a Japanese person in a foreigner shell and better English ability. If you want foreigners, you will have to expect to train them in ways you wouldn't do for Japanese people.
I love this episode! Economics is a very overlooked field but the stories are so interesting if they are told well. Thank you for introducing this topic as I had no idea about the economic situation in Japan.
The Free Market is a great system to ensure economic growth, but only whenever we recognize that workers are also the consumers. To ensure that the consumers spend their wages and invigorate the economy, giving them the time to do so is paramount.
Long hours and overwork is detrimental to an economy. Couples don’t spend as much leisurely time with each other and don’t have the necessity nor the time to have children. Children are raised without much parental interaction, leaving a neutral to negative impression on parenthood, causing a decline in the population over generations.
Less people, less consumers, less workers, more work. It’s a never-ending cycle.
Japanese businesses need to become more efficient, pay less people more money, and give them much more time off.
Japanese people should create small business upstarts that only require a small amount of employees to run. That’s what I think.
Lmao. Businesses becoming more efficient = loss of jobs.
@@EL-xg4yq LUDDITE
the key Phrase is 'Disposable Income' most ppl in Japan have very little disposable income after basic needs like food rent engery etc which suppress consumer demand for luxury goods. i am no economist but finding some way to incress domestic disposable income would be my main goal if i was trying to kickstart the economy.
@@EL-xg4yq While that may be true, Japan currently does not have a job shortage. They have a labor shortage. This means that there are not enough people in Japan who will take the jobs that are currently available.
This is what results in the horrendous business culture that is going on in Japan. With less people working, there are more responsibilities for those who are working. We need to make it more efficient for their sakes.
There was a similar distortion of money during the Meji restoration. Under the Shogun, the ratio of gold to silver in Japan was about 6 to 1, while in the rest of the world, it was 16 to 1. Traders would bring silver from the rest of the world, and trade it for gold, which would then be shipped out of Japan, draining Japan of gold. Because gold was required for certain purchases (such as land), such purchases became nearly impossible.
Old school currency arbitrage 🤣
I didn't know that.
Where did you Read that? Is there a book about it?
Oh that is a very interesting piece of history that I had never read about. Thanks for sharing it.
@@chantillycat5415 Wait till you find out about the rothschild involvement in getting "meiji" put there and their dealings... ;)
@@zzBaBzz Wow! Really?! Again with the Age old Antisemitism?! I will nevet understand the need of some People of Blaming the Jews for everything! When will that finally end?
I love your channel and the way that you always talk about both the positives and negatives of Japanese culture. Keep up the good work
I have discussed this with others and they seem to have this idea that if prices are so affordable in Japan, then there really is no need to increase wages. While this would be ok in a closed economy, this isn't the case. For example low wages keep many Japanese people in general from being able to afford trips to many other parts of the world unless they are subsidized by their jobs to make the trip, slowly save up, or are planning to travel one way for immigration. You see the same type of issues in Thailand where the government wants everything cheap for tourism.
On the other hand, Japans low cost is a draw for smart lower income tourists that stray from the general tourism spots to local shops and eateries.
I live in California and would ask you not to make comparisons on economic class to anywhere in California. California is in no way even close to the national average when it comes to wages. California has such a horrible high state tax rate, and a centralization of some the wealthiest in the U.S that it isn't a fair comparison. Even compared to the rest of the U.S, California is exorbitant except for small pockets that major developers and the wealthy don't want to live in or build in. California has a huge homeless and housing issue because so many wealthy live there that property and goods are excessively high priced.
I think it's the same issue singapore happens to be facing, we're having costs for housing that averages 250k USD for a small apartment, with no minimal wage. The distribution curve of incomes in Singapore can really show the disparity between the rich and the poor.
I used to teach English as a second language to medical residents and science PhDs. About 6 or 7 years ago, I noticed a large increase in the number of Japanese people in our institution, many of whom became my students. When I asked them, the story was always the same. Even though they were in the professional classes, they either couldn't find jobs in Japan (the scientists), or a decent salary that could support a family (physicians), which really shocked me. Most were planning on remaining in the U.S. permanently, as both jobs and higher salaries were much more plentiful here, even though they were really homesick and missed the country and the families they left behind. This economic migration has been to America's benefit since its founding, but as our economy also has some stubborn problems, and thus we have regressed toward a cycle of xenophobia, seeing a lot of people who resent foreigners "taking our jobs", something that really isn't happening here.
The sad thing, from my point of view, is that even though the cultural aspects of our two countries are very different, we are spiraling down toward the same fate. As capitalism has run amok, and wealth inequality gets worse, the average person in the U.S. is getting poorer, as wages are stagnating, living standards are decreasing, affordable housing more difficult to come by, and healthcare costs are putting basic care out of the reach of many people. The power imbalance between corporate power and that of the average worker has only widened, as our government puts its thumb on the scale in favor of business, heading toward a system that is beginning to resemble neo-feudalism. The only way to change it is recognize that this doesn't serve the majority of our citizens, and reign in the oligarchs, by voting out the people who claim to be working in our best interests, but don't, and becoming organized to demand change from the companies themselves, both of which our system is making increasingly difficult to do. Human nature being what it is, eventually, as climate change, political corruption and oppression, wealth inequality, the desire of those who hold power and wealth to want to keep it at the expense of others, and the anger of those left behind, I fear that nothing short of another revolution will change things. I only hope I won't be around then. It seems we have learned nothing from the past, and we'll end up with something closer to the French Revolution on a global scale. I am sorry to be such a pessimist, but I don't see the people who are currently benefiting from the system as it is willingly giving up their excessive power, privilege, and wealth to save either their fellow citizens or the planet.
@Lark Also friendly reminder the French Revolution resulted in widespread murder and chaos until Napoleon came in, stomped them out, and setup a chain of events that led to him crowning himself Emperor.
@@jebe4563 I am very much aware of French and world history. Napoleon was also originally a revolutionary. he made his name winning battles for the Directorate and in the aftermath. The bloodless coup which set him up as First Consul (and later as Emperor) came about so that he could consolidate his own power to defeat the many powers arrayed against France at that time. He was a brilliant military strategist and tactician; at least until he began believing in his own invincibility. Pride goeth before a fall, as that old proverb goes. He didn't come to power until 1799 - well after the Terror ended in France, and the attacking European powers and their hubris and fear are what set the stage for Napoleon's reign, not the murderous mess created by Robespierre.
I doubt similar circumstances would arise in a modern day revolution. The "kings" who would be facing the mobs are the oligarchs, not necessarily the countries' governments which enabled them - with the possible exception of certain political leaders within those countries. It's not going to be pretty when they discover that they won't be able to buy their way out of the wreckage they've created of what was once a fairly stable political environment. As I said - I hope I won't be here to see it. I fear for my children's and potential grandchildren's futures.
@@larkmacgregor3143 Sadly I agree with your analysis and conclusions, though I have been relating it to the Russian revolution rather than French. I hope not to see the collapse myself either, since I'm not a prepper who's been planning for it. Still, the signs are all there and I feel the whole world is whistling its way to a very messy, uncomfortable time ahead.
I still want to go and work in Japan (Currently waiting for the next JLPT test to get my language certification) and this problem does not discouraged me to go to Japan but rather quite the opposite, it encourages me to do so.
I live in Indonesia and I gotta tell you that the competition in here is harsh not because of the work environment, but rather because of the sheer amount of competitors. The Human Resources in here is stupidly abundant which makes it agonizingly hard to even get a job. So, I was thinking, if what you said was true, that only mean one thing for me! A widely opened door for me to actually earn money instead of fighting a competition where people fight in a race just to get to the Starting Line.
It does not matter how much I get paid! What I need right now is to actually get paid instead of not having any progress at all.
It's not so much the abundance of humans as it is the lack of money. Indonesia has fewer people than the US, but it just doesn't have the raw materials or development yet. But it'll get better, with strong property rights and good governance.
@@AUniqueHandleName444 While it's true that Indonesia have less people than the US but, 275 Million people is a lot compare to Japan's 125 Million
And also the US is an entire vast Region (North America). It's like comparing Indonesia with the entirety of the South East Asia.
If you want a more valid comparison, you need to compare Indonesia with the most populated state in the USA which is California that have only 39 Million people.
@@chargemankent I think that's good logic - working in Japan at the start of your career to build up experience could lead to better job opportunities elsewhere, and not having to have 5 years of work experience for an entry level job certainly makes job hunting easier.
@@chargemankent
*Canadians crying in the corner alone*
Malaysia also the same... Colleges produce lot of graduates every year but the job opportunities are same or even shrinking... So the salary remains the same due to competition...
I’m more concerned about the low paying jobs like 2D animators, and other jobs that may deserve more, why I think it’s harmful directly to aspiring people to get those career just to quit in a couple of years due to not being enough to pay the expensive bills
Foreign countries hiring Japanese animators is actually good for this. it's exportation of labor, and while it doesn't increase the profits of a national company, what it DOES do well is increase national exports and drive up labor demand. Japan's stagnation has a lot to do with how poorly they have done in exports in the past few decades, exports bring money in, imports drive money out, these must be balanced.
@@chaon93 bro for the past 10+ years....i dont remember owning something that has japanese brand on it
Tbh, this is why I am so so so keen for the time Japan opens its doors: It knows that tourism and culture is one huge boost to the economy (while detrimental to pandering to tourists, for sure) and it's our best way to contribute to Japan's economy in the sectors Shogo mentioned that will struggle to retain its authenticity.
I'm a big fan of online pandering, but not so much IRL. Traditional artisans being able to sell their arts at an actually correctly high price (instead of too cheaply) to anywhere in the world, instead of finding fewer and fewer local customers willing to locally pay for what they might even perceive as outdated and (likely to their specific life correctly) irrelevant items and maybe even having to close down... This keeps a lot of worthwhile crafts alive, pulls in money from the outside, and does not result in them having to put up with droves of annoying tourists.
There are even japanese companies now that gather all sorts of local candy, including traditional, to export and showcase, instead of just foreign companies buying whatever cheap enough candy from there and reselling to them.
Japan would no longer be japan
I remember when you were explaining Japanese table manners (including the importance of not leaving your meal), you suggested that the concept of _mottainai_ as far as food is concerned may be fading, having observed people leaving some food in restaurants (although of course, finishing everything is always appreciated). I think the fact that food in Japan is so cheap these days may have something to do with that.
See, here in the states, we're constantly panicking about inflation. Prices keep going up and wages still do not go up. For many people, the Japanese model seems appealing. Growth at all cost is not the end all be all.
Yes, if anything it sounds like the main problem (aside from toxic Japanese work culture which is a somewhat different area of issues) is not really the Japanese economy, it's the REST of the world economy chasing insane, unsustainable growth numbers, a chase that leads straight into the pits of doom. And it is dragging Japan down for not happening to participate so much in this madness.
I remember a quote that said: "if you are aiming for constant and neverending growth, while having a definite amount of resources, either you are stupid or an economist".
If you look from Russia - the "cheapness" of Japan looks, to put it mildly, strange.
However, the mechanism of relative estimation of the value of goods and salaries in this video looks extremely primitive.
Estimates of the debt burden and "money prices", especially looking at how Japanese monetary authorities have grown the consequences of the exchange bubble and how they were forced to be fed under the American Federal Reserve system are simply absent.
Estimates of the purchasing powerfulness of wages taking into account the costs of pension and social insurance, as well as the prices of education and real estate, should also be more comprehensive. The crisis of educational loans in the United States (from which even personal bankruptcy does not save) as an example of not adopted by consideration in the video parameter.
Most of Russia is landlocked though...
About the very first part of the video: comparing the absolute prices and salaries to places like US or Germany is setting the bar really high. In this sense, most of the world is even "cheaper" than Japan. When you say things like "Japanese salaries are half as much as in Germany or US", I, from Poland, think "ours are even lower". Not to mention places like India or many African countries where the salaries are in an entirely different order of magnitude.
That does not make other points of the video invalid. If the Japanese economy has really been declining for 30 years straight, and raising prices or wages is so impossible, that is really a big problem. But I think comparing absolute prices can be misleading, I think prices shall always be discussed in relation to salaries, or considering factors such as purchasing power parity (PPP).
I agree. For example when he was talking about tickets to Disneyland and average entry salaries, in the US, a ticket would be 0.2% of one's salary vs Japn being 0.4%. This means that in Jaapn the price for the ticket is more expensive for Japanse people.
I guess I will not make myself popular here, especially with you, Shogo, but part of the problem is that Japan is not very open to immigration. Immigrants also bring new ideas and more young people willing to take risks - the owner of biontec in Germany, the enterprise that , in cooperation with Pfitzer brought about one of the most effective vaxinations against covid 19 worldwide, is a son of an immigrant here in Germany. So, even if you might not like it, I guess Japan, if it wants to overcome its problems, has to become more open for immigrants.
I´m german and i was in Japan in 2004. I didnt expirienced Japan as a cheap country per see. The exchange course back then was 1€/140 yen and i got the empression back then that the prices where about similar to german prices, with the exeption of food whcih was a little more expensive than german average. The most expensive parts of my travel were the flight tickets.
As someone from the Philippines, I can't even imagine the sense of the cheapness in Japan. I earn for a year only 45% of that 2.5 million yen mentioned, and mind you that my salary is 4 times as much as those which earns the minimum. Everything is really relative to where you are.
There's a reason why the Philippines has a lower standard of living. Low wages can only afford lower quality goods. . .
He might mean for the first world countries.
I bought that book the moment I saw this video. Thanks for the hook up.
I came from the UK to work in the Japanese video game industry but I left the company I worked for because I felt this was true.
Here's 3 points from me I noticed while living and working here
1. Japanese Game companies invest a lot of money in mobile gaming and don't have the resources to compete with companies overseas. This is because localizing, distributing and marketing abroad is expensive, and/or are locked into these never ending gacha games that make a lot of money over a short period but are unsustainable.
2. Japanese Drama's are usually peaceful and require very little finance, plus the quality of action films/movies is sub par
3. Platforms like netflix, disney+, AmazonPrime are more popular in Japan than Japanese ones (because the quality is better).
I fell in love with Japanese game music and that's why I live here but I know many Japanese people in the industry, that struggle to make a living despite being hugely talented.
Shogo I absolutely love the soundtrack you use in your all your videos. I’ve checked some of the songs out and I listen to them regularly now! In your videos about samurai and shinsengumi the songs used specifically when you talk about a prominent event, MORE specifically when it is an emotional moment, you always hit home with me! Keep up the great work and good luck to you, your family, and your team members!
Shogo: "In addition, barber shops that give ¥1000 haircuts are now commonplace which would not be viable in other countries."
Me: *stares nervously at the ~¥600 haircut I just got the other day*
Same here in Uzbekistan. We have $5 haircut mostly.
In other asian countries like mine, cheapest but decent starts at $1 and can go up to a base price of $7 if done within malls.
The last haircut I got was the equivalent of about 2 USD lol. I can't help but think Shogo and whoever wrote that book are lacking a bit of perspective here. San Francisco is a terrible place to compare to anything.
Don't worry, your hair looks nice probably. I don't know you or what you look like, but I assume it's nice.
@@wakizashithecaster My friend lives in Iraq and he gets really cheap haircuts, sometimes for free.
Canadian, and I would never ask for a raise either, I would feel incredibly guilty doing that. Which is why worker unions are so important! So we can talk about this stuff confidentially and leave requesting changes in pay to professionals who are practiced negotiators.
Another potential element here is Japan's conservative government, that is very against supporting worker unions or providing citizens with stimulus funding. They are serving the short term interests of the largest companies and the political right at the expense of everyone (including those people, they just won't feel it as quickly).
Estonians are same, we also don't ask for a raise normally.
Canadian also change job frequentlky to get better salaries. So the compagnies have incentives to give better salaries and the wages go up over time. You don't ask for a raise, you just switch jobs. It brings wages up. That does not seem to be the case here.
all the money from the increased wages and more would then go to the unions because they are parasites that eventually kill it's host
Ask for a raise stop being a coward
TY Shogo! This was very interesting to hear. In the US, we are dealing with inflation, but there are very similar problems. Companies wish to sell more, consumers want cheaper and cheaper products, and workers get less and less. Cheap isn't always best, especially when it robs workers of their dignity.
And as an animator myself, it pains me to hear about the low wages and terrible conditions my fellow animators in Japan suffer. :(
Thank you for making this video. As an expat living in Japan for over a decade, I've found it hard to explain to locals how their country is so different than the rest of the world. I really wish they could wake up, like you have! Perhaps you could help to educate your fellow countrymen about finance by making a Japanese version of this video!
There are so many other factors that could be discussed as well. For example, how home ownership in Japan is unique in that even with a modest income, the average Japanese family can afford to buy a house because home-loan interest rates are extremely low and down payments non existent. However, the catch is homes don't appreciate in value in Japan! They depreciate like a car does even though modern built homes will last 100 years or more. This old school post-war era thinking, combined with Japanese people's naivety about the international economy is the primary obstacle that prohibits Japanese families from building personal wealth, compared to a family of equal means abroad.
If a have to choose between Japan and the USA, I would choose Japan every time.
Perhaps that is the advantage you trade off wealth building for in the case that housing only gets prohibitively expensive because it is treated as a commodity.
There's a lot of the same problems that the US faces but is also 'hidden' from the rest of the world. We have an enormous population of people who side with Japan's "Luck-based-success". There's a lot of horrible inequality in the lower ends of society. So, when I hear about how they're cheaper and struggle, I can only imagine how much worse it is for those that society ignores. From my foreign perspective, Japan seems to hide their low-income households even more than most from the world.
I should add: I would love to live in Japan. But the work conditions seem to be not-favorable. That's what actually shocks me the most about it; the amount of work for such little pay. Which lead me to change my opinion to, I will either only visit or if I do live there, only with a remote job working for an america company.
In some ways, we might have it worse. Price of living has gone up while wages have remained stagnant.
I heard America's Dollar Tree, its equivalent of Daiso, is now selling stuff at more than 1 dollar. It must be the hyperinflation and supply chain stalling I've been hearing a lot about.
If the minimum wage in the US rises above 15 dollars, would US workers consider going back to work (since I heard there are factors other than the unemployment benefits)?
@@IllusionistsBane Most might. If a job earns them more than unemployment, they’ll be willing. Though the ongoing pandemic is still an issue (either people who are unwilling to put themselves at risk or people who don’t like the vaccine and mask mandates more companies are employing).
@@IllusionistsBane It depends on location. It's already minimum $15/hour and up in San Francisco, but $15/h in rural or semi rural areas? If nationwide $15/h wage happens, then I want my minimum wage in San Francisco to be $25 because things are always more expensive in cities like SF and NY.
@@IllusionistsBane I live in florida and at the time it was $7.50 for base minimum wage while California is at or was at $12 I believe? Companies now are raising the wages here, depending on the jobs. Walmart now has cashiers at $12 an hour and the Dollar Trees here now increased to $10 (worked at both). Buuuuuut....prices are definitely increasing at a high rate as I worked in the deli at walmart and our cheapest meat a pound started at $6.57lb and now it is literally $8.97lb which is close to the Prima Della meats and cheeses they sell. They increased pay yes, but the amount of taxes and medical increased to compensate so I got paid around the same amount before the increase. At my store anyways.
This book is a gross mischaracterization.
Most of the issues it details will be replaced immediately by new issues if prices simply rise.
Best example is the resort town mentioned. It’s not substantially different if it’s Japanese driving up the prices. The majority of people won’t be able to live there
Exactly, the cure can be worse than the disease.
Living in Japan as a Danish exchange student with a national student salary of nearly $1000 per month, and a large savings account, was AWESOME.
I did so many things, and bought so much awesome stuff. There is a terrifyingly high price of fruits, some vegetables, and lean meat, but aside from that, it was sooooo cheap.
I hope Japanese industries unionize more in the future! Unions and social welfare are the reasons why I have the amazing standards of living that I do. And I gladly play 40+% income tax for it
Okay, so as an outsider I'm gonna throw my two-cents in.
Obviously the first thing that needs to change is that the Japanese public as a whole, or people in decision making roles need to understand and appreciate the concept of "Velocity of money"
Roughly stated it's as follows: One firm paying its' employees more will mean that those people now have more disposable income to spend on goods and services, which then increases demand for more workers, which in turn allows for more negotiation in regards to better salaries. Money is useless unless it's actually changing hands and moving so the key is to keep a decent amount of money in the hands of the working and middle classes since that makes up the larges group of people.
Secondly is....Well I wanted to say unionisation but honestly I feel like the problem is more deep rooted than that; it seems like that Japanese people are culturally, if not individually just predisposed to avoiding conflict at all costs and that only benefits the people who cause the problems. Realistically if Japanese people want better pay and conditions then they're going to have to organised and get assertive.
I looked at the minimum wage in Japan and since I'm British I converted it into pounds.....I honestly would have declined to work for those wages ten years ago.
All very true.
A lot of British decline to work for their own minimum wage, despite their lack in qualifications for better jobs.
You already have the answer, it's a deep rooted cultural problem. A union is unpalatable to workers because it inevitably leads to 'conflict with management' which is not something the work culture supports.
@@MrKargoth I mean we could argue economics and politics all day on that point.
A minimum wage is intended to be enough for one working man to not only support himself but also a family, that is literally the purpose of it.
The minimum wage hasn't done that for a very long time and at this point isn't a living wage no matter what the Government call it....At that point I don't consider refusing to work for an income that you can't support yourself on an act of laziness.
The companies are getting what they're willing to pay for: Namely, not enough.
I did the conversation, an entry level graduate job is £12k. That’s barely enough to pay income tax in the UK.
13:49 You forgot to mention one more detail: This kind of cheapness, specially the type that leads to prices never changing, usually leads to companies outsourcing their labour and industries to places the government has no supervision, which can end up financing slave labour and non environmental friendly industries.
Here in Germany there is also a tendency to "cheap out". They have this "immer sparen" mentality, where as cheap as possible is what is sought for. This is also related to the very low salaries. This combined to the ageing population, will put this country at risk of becoming a European version of Japan.
If you really love the more og Anime, like Crayon Shin-chan and Doraemon, you'll find the interesting commonality between the 2 families, that is at the end of the month, their dad's salary needs to be stretched just for the family to get by.
The reality is, this might be the last hurrah of the Japanese economy, one of their most important industry, the car industry is going through an Electric Vehicle revolution, and Japanese car makers are seriously lagging behind Chinese and American competitors.
This means in the next decade, one of the top employing industry in Japan will slide to a 2nd rate status, and the rust belt effect of Detroit might occur.
I dont know, it does not appear that the electrical grid is getting the updates it needs for a high percentage of battery powered cars. California has the highest number of electrical cars and its electrical grid is having brown outs, so there are some issues not being addressed there.
In germany the brutto wages may be better, but taxes and fees take a substantial bite out of it. As a result many people are forced to make every € count. When I was working for a insurance company, we had many customers who were unabel to afford as little as 50€ per month.
As a result most stores have to be extremly cheap, espacially when it comes to things like groceries.
(But hey, thanks to this we were able to drive Walmart away...so, yay,...I guess.)
Walmart kills all local businesses.
I got as a german a japanese salary. :D
Poverty hits really hard in the US too. We just have richer rich people. We used to have a bigger middle class, but now it's more like you have a lot of money when you can pay rent. 😑
@@wareforcoin5780 We have a similar problem in Hong Kong as well. Housing is just so unaffordable that being able to rent, let alone buy, a decent apartment is only for the wealthier.
@@calladus123 Walmart failed in Germany. They tried for a decade and lost money every year. The worst part was that the stores were bought up by a similar German chain and they turned a profit the next year, with every single one of the stores.
Walamart was just too expensive and also just creepy, so nobody shoped there.
I really sympathize with the "lack of flexibility" brought about by the Japanese culture. Not to bash on it or something, Japan's culture has been popularly known for having a "preservationist" nature.
An example of this is the continuous preservation of arts, crafts, work practices, and even literary works - passing these practices from one generation to the next, in order to continue the legacy, to be enjoyed and admired by generations to come. And these become endangered because of this very same preservationist nature. They continue to preserve the original practices and beliefs, but would have strict rules on how they can improve on preserving them.
Take for example learning to master the art of building katanas. Certain clans would normally pass them from one generation to the next. But if you are not a relative, the clans members would have certain doubts, and would decline you outright, even if you ask politely to become an apprentice. More so if you are a gaijin.
Another thing, is the mindset that all aspects and practices should be preserved, and anyone who tries to not obey this would be treated as an outcast. This, in my opinion, is not a best practice.
Certain aspects in economy, politics, and society would have certain parts in them that may need to be improved on, and changed at a certain point in time.
An example of this is the concept of "no overtime" and staying in the office even if you have finished your shift for the day. This practice really has some flaws, and definitely lacks in efficiency.
It is nice to have rules to abide by, and it is beneficial if everyone practices 100% compliance on these rules. Japanese people are popularly known to practice this. But sometimes, these rules become obsolete, and would need to have makeovers. And in a world where change is definitely inevitable, people should learn to adjust, to be able to cope up with the times.
Ganbatte kudasai, Nippon! Thank you Shogo san for the enlightening content.
The best way to preserve a culture is progress... Western countries preserved many ideas from Aristotle & Plato b/c we have technology to reduce work needed that opens up our free time to go to school (school means "free time" in Ancient Greek).
Wow! Thanks for the likes :)
It always amazes me when I hear they WANT to preserve things, because if you go to Japan the culture is dying so quickly. Traditional clothing, even food is being replaced and even their language, 10% is English. But then things that are so inefficient and bad are kept. It reminds me of my own country.
@Verum Similis I was with you untill you said “westernize or be colonized” I can’t tell if you’re just a cynical person or pro colonization .
I've been living in Japan for 3 years and this is probably the most important video I have watched about Japan's economic situation. I sometimes worry about it too since I may be living here for a long time.
I live "near" Chicago and I've always thought of Daiso as a Y100 shop, but we don't have daiso in my region of the US. We have "Hello Tokyo". I always presumed that the $2 price was to account for the novelty and additional supply chain costs associated with importing and stocking items that won't be popular here, even though they seem to sell through items pretty quickly.
I am near the daiso in New Jersey and he is right nothing there is less then 2 dollars. Still cheap but not a dollar cheap
As a consumer Japan’s low prices always feel great and make it seem more liveable which I believe is true to an extent. being able to go to Disneyland for a cheap price is always nice and being able to afford a place in the heart of Tokyo for prices you see in the less favorable areas of US cities also allows for lower income individuals to survive relatively easily and have a home. However, like you said wages are low and on a global scale, Japan is becoming less competitive which I think is most worrying for the sustainability of the economy here.
I guess "cheap" means something else in japan, I was really confused by the title and explanation because of the use of that word.
What Japan is suffering from is hidden inflation. Congrats, you're one of the weird cases where nominal inflation seems to be stable but actually it's not.
What's truly cheap right now in Japan is other currencies.
...Why are foreign currencies cheap when you can buy more locally with yen than you could if you switched to those foreign currencies? That makes no sense.
Japan IS cheap, btw -- far cheaper than major cities in the US or most of Europe. Especially housing / real estate.
@@AUniqueHandleName444 economy is not that simple, "cheap" or "expensive" are relative and subjective terms that are really not appropriate to any discussion of this sort.
Objectively speaking, prices in Japan have been deflationary nominally (value in Yen), but at the same time the average salary has been decreasing at a much faster pace. A Japanese person has to pay the same product with more work hours, therefore prices in Japan are actually increasing in work hour value, hence hidden inflation.
Because the exchange rate of Yen hasn't changed much, the appearance of Japan being "cheap" has become a thing to people from outside Japan, but that's because the Yen valuation is not consistent with the actual state of Japan's economy.
Usually this kind of situations end up in an economic crash and hyperinflation cycle that basically purges and resets everything. That's why I've said other currencies are actually the only thing "cheap" in Japan, cause the Yen is a ticking bomb.
BTW, this is NOT financial advice.
@@warwizard1309 All fiat is a ticking bomb.
I love this type of videos where you read a book that is only available in Japan and explain it to the world
You're creating such a diverse learning tool about Japan, I'm so greatful you explore so much from so many different aspects of Japanese life and culture. I hope you keep making these for a good long while, there is always something I wouldn't have thought about or decide to explore further in your videos and that insight is so valuable to interest and education.
Hi Shogo, this time around I can't totally agree with the possition of "japan is cheap". After what you exposed, my conclusion would be "the yen has devalueted". The internal prices as you exposed seemed right to me, and it's not like you aren't allowing free market. In any case, if foreign sources are buying land on Japan and seems cheap for them, then add taxes for external sources to buy competitive prices. It is important that people inside a country is able to pay their livings with the money they have.
The extra money from taxes to external buyers could be used, for example, in making the yen more powerful and make the money japanese people has more valuable abroad.
And the final key note is that making companies recieve more earning wont make them raise salaries. Such is the example of modernization, where machines highly improved performance and earnings, but that didn't result on employees salaries to improve, but for the owners to make more money.
It's pretty dangerous when locals can't afford to buy local land and housing because parasite companies outside or inside the country are buying up all the things they need. External is worse thanks to the money getting drained to outside instead of drained to some inside hoarders.
The problem with making yen stronger, is that Japan is very much an export economy and that would do more harm then good. I have to agree that I can't agree with Shogo this time, it shows that he is not an economist.
@@oniichanmk7346 Well, but making the Yen stronger would be driven by the incomes from their sales. If they are selling cheap to other countries, make it a more expensive to other countries with taxes, strengthen the Yen by using those taxes, and each time the yen grows, reduce the taxes evenly. It would still be a slow process since the margin between selling so cheap that it brings troubles and selling cheap enough to be attractive isn't large enough.
On another note, japanese products here are top expensive, so either they don't really sell cheap or buyers are making nice profits from japanese products.
I do like the fact that you point out companies making more money doesn't automatically equal higher wages in most cases. although I think it is still a prerequisite for a company to be able to pay higher salaries regardless; if the pay of the worker goes up, so does the end product. Of course, we still have to consider inefficient allocation of funds, such as a top layer of employees getting disproportional wage increases while the rest stagnates.
@@Sara-sn5gd Companies are naturally money optimizers. They hire when more personnel is needed to satisfy a existing demand, and they raise salaries when they have specialized employees with acquired experience that could resign their jobs because of better options in the market. If these conditions aren't met, they would consider raising salaries a waste that could be used on other things that generate more money, like automations.
The mentioned "Black Companies" Shogo has mentioned before, for example, require well formed personnel but not necessarily experienced personnel. So they try to catch university students for example. Since Japan has a high level of university graduates, there is enough offer on the work market to satisfy their employees demand.
I have been living in Japan for about 3 weeks, my wife is apart of the JET program.
Something I have noticed about America from coming here, and the difficult process of immigration is that things are significantly cheaper here.
I do not know the reason for this and I will not speculate on why it is.
In the United States everything is price gouged and inflated. Wages have not kept up with the inflation caused by The Federal Reserve since atleast the 1970's.
Basically the only way to make it in the U.S is to have family members who own wealth, or luck your way into connections that will help you financially. I feel like these numbers do not speak for the average American, and the wages are awful for how insanely expensive everything is.
Health care is unaffordable, basic necessities are hard to come by, if you have no credit or poor credit from past mistakes, it makes it impossible to ever own a home or a car. If you cannot afford a car you can not work because depending on where you live, you could need to commute up to an hour away
I have lived in Northern Michigan for my entire life and finding a job was always extremely difficult, the commute was long and the wages are stagnate and worthless.
Public transportation is not a thing unless you live in a large city.
People turn to doing illegal things to make money, but the problem is the poor people receive huge punishments for commiting illegal crimes and the wealthy people get away with commiting illegal crimes.
Wealth plays a huge factor in how your out come will be in the justice system of the United States.
These giant corporations move their work to other countries because they can pay people even less than they do in The United States.
I think from the outside it looks nice there, but in reality the economy is driven by about 10% of the population, as it is the same with the stock market. It is owned by mostly wealthy people, they control a majority of stocks making it impossible for common people to invest into the stock market.
I know alot of people who have turned to cryptocurrency because there isn't other means of making it.
At this point I am ready for a new way of life and I have had a huge interest in Japan, from the culture to the history to the fact I love cooking food and would love to learn everything I can.
It is sad to hear the people of Japan are suffering from capitalism as well.
But I would like to join the work force here and cook, nothing will change my mind about that.
Excellent video! Thank you for educating us!
Great job! Making the educational series on your channel is very interesting. I am a big fan of your channel.
Thank you for the video!
I'm from a country where prices raised so high that we're usually priced out of travelling within its borders, and the only thing that didn't raise are salaries :D So I would probably focus on "why are salaries in Japan so low", and would be careful with demanding higher prices, they do NOT come automatically with higher salaries :D good luck in improving your country :)
The silver lining of a declining economy and consumerism is the decline in pollution and ecological damage. There are also some economic experts that advocate for the great economic reset since endless progressive economies are unsustainable and eventually fizzle out regardless of best policies put foreward.
The great reset is a huge scam by super wealthy elites to turn 90% of humanity into serfs.
@@insaneweasel1 not if you kill them first.
@@insaneweasel1 If that's all they want well they already have it.
i think the issue is much more complicated that cheap stores. We have insanely cheap discounter stores all over Germany, still wages are higher and living costs are lower than in Japan.
Well, 1000 yen (7,5 euros) haircuts are also commonplace in Greece and 100 yen (about a euro) shops are also common. Salaries also keep droping here (for about 20 years now) and the average salary is less than 1.000.000 yen (7000 euros) per year (much lower than Japan's). What we also have in common is that Japan's Debt-to-GDP ratio is 257% (Ranked 1st in the World) and Greece's is about 215% (Ranked 3rd in the World)
Also, Japan isn't the only one that doesn't do financial education. The US does not teach it either. In the US this is used to manipulate people.
Yeah. It’s only really taught in colleges. Having a course or two required for high school would do wonders.
it is hardly educated.. anywhere, same in most European countries
It's not educated in south america too, wich lead a lot of people supporting socialism and communism
@@animeotaku307 Do people who have studied economics actually remember that knowledge? Let alone use it to improve their lives in some way? I haven't looked closely at this, but I've heard from some people who have, and the answer seems to be "no" on both counts.
When quizzed a few years out, students can barely be expected to remember basic supply and demand.
Even people who know and remember the material very well often don't apply it to their own lives. There are famous professors of economics who have investment portfolios which the research says are stupid portfolios ("I don't recommend that anyone invest the way I do, but it's what I want" or "I'm sure I could do better, but I don't want to think about it" or the suchlike) and who fail to apply even the most basic lessons about sunk costs ("I'm not walking out on that movie just because I'm not enjoying myself; I already paid for the ticket.")
Interesting topic, indeed! Although I don't know much about economics, I would say about, that cheapness is something that is valid globally. Especially after the 2008 crisis, many economies went down. Only rich people benefit from this situation and corporations. Globally. We live in the Era of globalism or elitocracy. The middle class tends to be annihilated, which was the only that is able to struggle for better living standards. And this is the problem. Rich people and corporations get away with tax evasion and off shores. We read this very often. If the elites are not tamed and put under state control and be obliged to pay their fair share in taxes, no economy will recover. I'm talking about big corporations, big pharma, big tech, and elite politicians. This is an issue that should be tackled in international level and not national one.
America Central bank is accomplice to the global problem. Huge money printing last year when right thing to do was to let the economy reset itself. I wish globalisation will die off and countries become separate entities again.
I love your channel. By watching your videos, I can understand more about Japanese culture. Hope that your channel will get more viewers !!! Keep up the good work, man!
This Channel is great! You're so informitive!
Daiso stores sounds exactly like a dollar tree store.
Daiso has stores in the US and they're amazing- most things are $1.50. We call it the Japanese dollar store.
@@yuppers1 I bet the quality of the products are better than dollar tree. Then again, it's been a long time I've been in a dollar tree so I won't be a good judge of Quality
Because it is one. They come by another name: 100 yen stores...
Daiso are more creative than Dollar stores and carry a wider variety of goods categories. I 💗Daiso in Japan. I also shopped Daiso in LA, Phoenix (called Cutie Store), HCMC, Bangkok, and Shanghai. Daiso is best in Japan!
I don't know much about Japan but I imagine trade unions are either unexisting or completely powerless. A population with such a high degree of conformism and eagerness to fit in and not make waves is perfect for capitalist exploitation, the shareholders don't even need to threaten with firings when they can just guilt trip the employees into working unpaid overtime and have them turn on eachother and blame eachother for the overwork if any of them dares _not_ to work unpaid overtime.
The japanese people need to learn a lesson that has been learned in the West in the 19th century, company owners are not your friends, they don't care about you, your health, or your family, all they care about is extracting as much value from your work as possible, if you get sick or die they will simply replace you with someone else. Trade unions are the only protection the working class has against rampant exploitation.
This can’t be said often enough. We humans expect paternalism. Seems to be hard-wired in all of us, and some cultures, such as Japan, make it more pronounced. However capitalism provides no incentives for paternalism and actually encourages the opposite by treating labor as a mere factor of production, one of many components to be sourced as cheaply as possible. Therefore, for labor the playing field is not level because the expectation that your “superior” will look out for you cannot be satisfied. Labor needs collective bargaining and you need unions to do that.
Great video, thank you for making it. I have some Japanese neighbors who are here in the USA in a work assignment. When I talk to them, it sounds like they are either going to return to the USA after the work assignment or stay here permanently. On another topic, most people in the USA who are in their 40s and 30s can't afford homes due to high housing prices and stagnant wages. Many corporations make a lot of money but the benefits don't get passed down the the workers, the execs at the top keep the money for themselves..
I love the content and structure of your videos. They’re very informative, and having a recap in the conclusion helps me remember what was discussed.
This video just broke my heart. If this situation continues, what are we going to do in a world without Japan?
There's always South Korea!
It’s been going on for something like 30 years. As a very large chunk of the Japanese economy is domestic it doesn’t affect Japan the way economists models say it should because wages and prices are fine in relation to each other.
Unless something drastic happens Japan will be fine.
@@PaleHorseShabuShabu hell no!
This is very interesting, considering Japan has a much higher union density. But also I remember they have higher amounts of corporate unions which tend to favor the boss rather than the workers, as opposed to what we understand unions are in the Americas (unless you travel to Mexico then you'll understand the difference between the corporate and individual union type). Good video!
Great video, great know how and production, suscribed!
I always learn so much from your videos. Thank you!
I'm surprised that your presentation is shockingly similar to what we are experiencing in the Philippines, especially #3 about financial education. Though population growth is the opposite of Japan, too much too many will render resources short as demand increases, - to companies who are in it for the profit, more people = more consumers = more money. But that will NEVER be true in the long run, especially as increasing destruction of the environment usually is the end result which acts as the lone leg that supports everything above it. If it breaks (and it will)... I don't have to tell you the consequences that will ensue.
Philippines is a newly industrialized country every industrialized country experience that process japan is no exception. Japan has a different problem
Where they’re population is the oldest in the world. Philippines will not have that problem because it is a young country with a booming population with an economy growing with an average of 6% last decade
...Japan's situation is absolutely nothing like the Phillippines' situation...
@@AUniqueHandleName444 yeah true. Deflation cycle doesnt exist in the philippines
I am from Mexico, and I remember that when I went to Japan, it was very expensive. For the example of daiso, here that kind of products have a price of around 10-15 MXN (Less than one dolar)
This video was very informative. Thank you!
Your discussion about the shop how its equivalent to a dollar, here in the US there is a chain called Dollar Tree, it like that shop is supposed to be a dollar however starting next year will increase to 1.50 now as someone who lives on a budget I was shocked to hear of this, but I digress my point is that what was once a dollar always has increased just as overseas that store is 2 dollars.
All societies have ills. Unfortunately some ills are kept low keyed and hidden from foreign nationals who are unaware of these. The entire world seems to want to get to ‘know’ Japan better and you are certainly assisting us in doing so. 🙏🏾
According to travel channels (with all calculations explained), low budger trip to Japan for 1-2 weeks costs about 2 months worth of average salary in Russia.
I think that working for two months straight, while living on the streets and eating grass and raindrops only to save every single penny to afford low class bnb and few museums is not cheap at all.
I think he meant relative to Europe and USA
"Eating grass and raindrops" That is an awesome description! Made me smile. 😊
And even when their salaries increase, they are usually minimal. The problem is that in interviews, you are required to provide proof of current employment - that is, you are required to provide either a pay stub or your previous year's tax statement (or sometimes even both) - before an offer is made. So companies are stacking the deck against people changing roles. The notion of what value employees bring to the company or what the market rates are for certain skills seems completely foreign.
It also is oblivious to the concept that a business relationship can be mutually beneficial. It really becomes about exploiting the 'weaker' party. It is possible, though, that this approach may blow up in the companies' faces, especially as they rely more on immigrant workers: if you have a foreign passport you do have a bit of a bargaining chip - you can always move away - something that I am seeing happen when countries such as Vietnam are increasing their living standards so Vietnamese engineers are tempted to head back home.
Personal Finance classes are also not taught in US schools. There are some exceptions but they are typically at private schools where most of the students have wealthy parents. The vast majority of High School and College graduates don't know how to create a budget, balance a bank account, or how credit works. Many people don't learn about these things until they are already buried under a mountain of debt and only learn when they are trying to get out rather than learning how to not get buried in the first place. It's considered normal to have hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans, $10,000 in credit card debt, and one or two car payments. I'm 39yo with zero debt and my friends all think it's crazy I don't have a single credit card to my name.
La filosofía de los ricos y los pobres es esta: "los ricos invierten su dinero y gastan lo que se levanta. Los pobres gastan su dinero e invierten lo que queda".
Elon Musk es el hombre más rico, no sé quién necesita escuchar esto, tienes que dejar de ahorrar dinero, invertir alguna parte de él, si quieres libertad financiera.
Tengo alrededor del 10% de mi postolio en acciones de uranio cualquier consejo sobre cualquier otra acción que pueda aumentar mi capital de $ 500k a un millón de dólares
Debe comprar y mantener la inversión criptográfica en acciones tecnológicas
Gracias es totalmente cierto, pero ¿qué tan bien dosifica un asesor financiero para mejorar sus ganancias? ¿Cómo es la experiencia de usar un asesor?
Gracias es totalmente cierto, pero ¿qué tan bien dosifica un asesor financiero para mejorar sus ganancias? ¿Cómo es la experiencia de usar un asesor?
woah, that actually explains a lot about this japanese fashion brand i've been following for the last few years. i always wondered about their current business choices but this video gives me all the context i needed to understand the situation.
it's really a shame, japan has so much to offer in terms of culture and technology. i really hope the people with the power to do so find a way to change this mindset japanese people have.
You spelled it out so simply ,honestly, and unhesitatingly.
I'm in Kobe ,Japan since 1975 sho era and lived through what you explained so eloquently.....Kudos.......Bravo !
Hi Shogo, first of all, thank you for all your very informative and nicely made videos, the selection of topics you discuss about in you videos, not only in this one, are also very good. I lived in Japan up to 2003 and at that time, the income and standard of living was much better than my home country, now I'd say that we have the same standards of that time (more than 20 years later). Getting to know the Japan's economy was decreasing from that time on, was kind of an eye opener for me and made me feel like getting more information about it. I returned to Japan, this time in Shinagawa, for a 2 weeks job assignment in 2018 and I was shocked to see the level of the foreigner's workforce there. Now I understand that they probably were receiving a low wage and that probably is the reason for the low skill level of the foreigners I met there. It seems to me that Japan is going through a self-imploding spiral, I hope the government there sees this coming and act on it.
Thank you for this important message
we have to save Japan! 🙏
one thing i can think of is for foreign business owners to invest in Japanese talent, providing work for the Japanese within their own country, can be anime, manufacturing, etc, and selling the products to overseas. The operation itself will be run in Japanese methods, but not the financial management of the business, including salary.
I never thought about Japan this way. It's like seeing an entirely different country
That’s what people thought about the USA after Trump
In my home state the state of Missouri (USA) a law was passed 5 years ago saying that all highschools had to provide at least a semester of personal finance to teach young people how to do their taxes, my school also provided accounting as a class
Great video I never knew this!
After my first trip to Japan in April 2018, I was pleasantly surprised and horribly disturbed by what I had observed while exploring the country. It caused me to return home and was putting together a plan on how to combat certain economic issues and cultural/environmental needs. Just as I was about to take the first steps to try, the pandemic hit and the world shut down soon after. I do have ideas since there was a lot of time to ponder on them, but explaining them here would take a long time. Also, the ideas I have need some refining and support for such a venture. If you have the time, I'd like to discuss them, as you are in the midst of the culture that is being effected. Coming from a culture that have been completely commercialized and my people becoming extinct, I believe there is a way to maneuver around these possible calamities. Thank you.
What do you mean "your people?"
@@tw_judy My people, as in the "Hawaiian" people
@@lewmills8560 Thanks for the clarification
Shogo, I want to work and live in Japan in the future but the cheapness crisis is worrisome. Could you make a video on solutions for this problem??
A big one would be increasing wages for workers (the more they have, the more they will spend). This might be a bigger issue due to cultural beliefs, though. Economic basics should also be required for high school (bundle it into Social Studies?) so there’s better understanding.
I see that you have surpassed your subscriber goal extremely early!! Congratulations 🎊
Thank you for your very interesting content and this video in particular! As an avid Japan aficionado, union activist and political scientist, I can't say I'm surprised, though 😔