The bug waiting to be squashed

Japan is often described as a bug on a car windshield, waiting to be quashed by the wipers. The point is that such an ill-fated bug is pressed down by the winds flowing around a fast-moving car, forcing the bug to do exactly what is not in the interest of its own survival, i.e., stay on the windshield, where the wipers will squash it. Japan is forced down on this suicidal windshield by multiple forces. One, its homogeneous culture, the strength of its TQM-oriented companies, can only survive if it remains an insular society. This prevents Japan from assimilating immigrants. Its language and culture are complex and nuanced, making it very difficult for outsiders to integrate into the Japanese society. This is a strength when you want mass obedience, even co-ordinated innovation (explaining Japan's leadership in artificial intelligence and robotics, for example) but is a weakness when you are looking for individual innovation and diversity of thought. The biggest consequence of this has been that an ageing society is unable to shore up its demographics with immigration. Economically, this means that Japan is unable to reduce its rising dependency ratio, the number of non-working adults that are dependent on its working population. Some 35 per cent of Japanese are now above 65 years of age. Japan is weighed down by a bankrupt government that is paying for its past sins. The highways to Hokkaido, where nobody lives any more, have been funded with public debt. So also the huge bank bailouts in the early 90s, leaving behind zombie banks with evergeen debt held by the government in turn financed

This article was originally published on July 08, 2017.