为什么日本经济很糟糕？

@dcdx8966
I’ve worked in large Japanese and American companies here. Japanese companies enjoy the theatrics of being in an office and the focus on the processes. They don’t work hard, they work LONG. There is little care for the results and instead will just be there 12 hours a day to be in pointless meetings and going out to smoke every 10 minutes.

我在日本和美国的大公司都工作过。日本公司喜欢办公室里的形式主义，注重流程。他们不是努力工作，而是工作时间长。没人太在乎结果，只是每天待12小时，参加没意义的会议，然后每10分钟出去抽根烟而已。

@darkfool2000
Japan had overextended itself and suffered for it, but given its demographic situation, Japan's current existence seems like the best case scenario for countries whose demographics are declining.

日本曾经过度扩张并为此付出了代价，但考虑到它的人口结构，日本现在的状态似乎是人口下降的国家的最佳情况。

@Ningbo574
GDP cannot tell the whole story. As long as ordinary Japanese people have enough food and clothing, prices are stable, and unemployment is low, that is enough. The so-called lost decade is just the perspective of others. Do Japanese people need to care about it?

GDP不能说明全部。只要普通的日本人有足够的衣食，物价稳定，失业率低，那就够了。所谓的“失去的十年”只是外人的看法。日本人需要在意吗？

@urathore12
As an American living in Japan, I don't really care to travel anywhere else. The public service infrastructure is better than anywhere else in the world. Maybe it is the economic metrics that are outdated. Quality of life of the average citizen in Japan is heads and shoulders over the rest of the world. Obesity is not an issue as nutritious food is affordable and healthy habits are not eclipsed by corporate lobbying. Japan has maintained quality in its production and sustained its precious culture by being stingy on immigration. My family loves it here and we wouldn’t change a thing. Maybe I’m missing something...

作为生活在日本的美国人，我不太想去别的地方旅行，因为日本的公共服务基础设施比世界上任何地方都好。或许是经济指标过时了，日本普通公民的生活质量远超其他国家。肥胖不是问题，因为营养食品价格合理，健康的习惯也没有被企业游说所掩盖。日本通过严格控制移民保持了生产质量，延续了宝贵的文化。我的家人在这儿很开心，我们不想改变任何东西。可能我漏了什么……

@mamba5488
I’m Japanese, I think the biggest problem is the declining birthrate and aging population.
Due to the declining birthrate that has continued since the 1970s, the proportion of people aged 65 and over in Japan exceeds 30% now.
This is a historically high percentage, and it will rise to 40% by 2040.
In the process, a lot of wages are forcibly collected as social security costs, making life harder for the people than ever before.

The burden of社会保障成本 on the younger generation is becoming heavier, and as a result, the number of people unable to marry is rapidly increasing.

The aging population is creating a negative feedback loop that leads to a declining birthrate.
The rapid aging trend is particularly noticeable in East Asia, and regions with mature economies will probably face the same problem in a few years.

我是日本人，我觉得最大的问题是出生率下降和人口老龄化。
自1970年代以来日本的出生率持续下降，现在日本65岁及以上人口占比超过30%。
这是史上最高比例，到2040年将升至40%。
在这个过程中，大量工资被强制征收作为社会保障费用，让人们的生活比以往任何时候都更艰难。
年轻一代的社会保障负担越来越重，结果是无法结婚的人数迅速增加。
人口老龄化形成了一个导致出生率下降的负反馈循环。
这种快速老龄化趋势在东亚尤其明显，经济成熟的地区可能几年后也会面临同样的问题。
@佳欢钱

People who say growth doesn’t matter argue that they live well now. But the point is stagnation is not healthy or sustainable. You now live well doesn’t mean your offspring can do so. You are yourself, but the country is about every generation. The effects will only play out decades later...

那些声称"增长无关紧要"的人，总以当下生活富足为据。但关键在于——停滞既不健康也不可持续。你这一代活得滋润，不代表子孙后代也能如此。个人可以安于现状，但国家的发展关乎千秋万代。这些后果，往往要数十年后才会显现……

@stanley408
It’s so refreshing and beneficial to watch a video like this as a Chinese person. Over the past 15 years, the Chinese have been busy with real estate speculation, and young people are forced to bear lifetime loans from banks. This has caused weak domestic demand and dragged the economy into a situation Japan has been facing for years. Humans never took a lesson from history.

作为一个中国人，看到这种视频真让人耳目一新，受益匪浅。过去15年，中国人忙于房地产投机，年轻人被迫背负银行的终身贷款。这导致了内需疲软，把经济拖入了日本多年来面临的困境。人类从来没有从历史中吸取教训。

@saifulizhan
This is actually true. I once worked in a Japanese company in my country. Reluctant to try new ideas, old-fashioned concepts, rigid company policies, red tape etc. My company had always Japanese CEOs since the 80s. At one time an ‘outsider’ Singaporean CEO was elected just before Covid. He had new ideas. Made bold moves that worked. Invest more on brand recognition through bold publicity stunts. However, the Japan HQ didn’t like it. They didn’t renew his contract. He was the reason why the company survived during Covid. Now the company is back to ‘boring’ business ways.

这确实是真的。我曾在我们国家的一家日本公司工作，他们不愿尝试新想法，观念老旧，公司政策僵化，官僚作风严重。从上世纪80年代起，我们公司一直有日本CEO。疫情前有一次选了个“外来”的新加坡CEO，他有新想法，能够采取大胆的举措，通过大胆的宣传噱头投入更多品牌认知，效果很好。他是公司疫情期间存活的原因，但日本总部不喜欢这样，没有续他的合同，现在公司又回到了“无聊”的生意模式。

@huleboermannhule44
While the Japanese economy in GDP terms fell a lot, for most people in Japan this is not so bad. The focus on GDP growth ignores the good parts of Japan as a country. Today there is quite affordable housing in most cities, excellent public transport, and cheap high-quality food. While the Japanese working culture is a bit too much, for many people in Asia, being able to work in Japan is seen as a great opportunity.
With some modifications, I think the Japanese economy is showing how a country can have high standards of living without having a constantly growing GDP.

虽然日本经济在GDP方面下降了很多，但对大多数日本人来说，这没那么糟。过于关注GDP增长忽略了日本作为一个国家的优点。日本现在大多数城市的房价相当合理，公共交通极佳，高品质的食物很便宜。虽然日本的职场文化有点过头，但对亚洲很多人来说，能在日本工作是个大机会。
稍作调整，我觉得日本经济展示了如何在GDP不持续增长的情况下保持高生活标准。

@turrustam
In 2019-2022 I had a chance to work for Rakuten project and then back to my country but I can say that now I really wanna back to Japan, live and raise my kids there... I see many countries that they are so much focused on GDP but real situation is so bad...

2019-2022年我有机会为乐天项目工作，之后回了国，但现在我真的想回日本，在那儿生活、养孩子……我见过很多非常专注于GDP，但实际情况很糟的国家。

@undeux
There are no homeless people in the statistics of the Japanese government. This is because poverty among Japanese people means that even young people will commit suicide if they lose their job. Washington’s sanctions against Japan since 1933 have had no effect on those in power in Japan. This unfortunate pattern of good, ordinary citizens becoming victims continues in the same way during and after the war, and even today.

日本政府的统计里没有无家可归者，这是因为日本的贫困意味着即使年轻人失业也可能自杀。华盛顿自1933年以来对日本的制裁对日本的当权者没有影响，这种善良的普通公民成为受害者的不幸模式在战时、战后还在延续，至今如此。

@herr.schmidt
So in Europe they did the opposite: “Saving” the banks, quantitative easing, and mass immigration. Leading to high inflation, high crime rates, housing crisis, and a collapsing pension system.
Rising taxes and crony capitalism Europe did the same, together with reducing the quality of school education so that everyone can feel good.
The government is the problem, not the solution.

欧洲反其道而行之：他们“救”银行、量化宽松、大规模接收移民，这导致高通胀、高犯罪率、住房危机、养老金体系崩溃。
税收上升和裙带资本主义在欧洲也一样，他们还降低了学校教育的质量，让每个人都“感觉良好”。
欧洲的政府是问题而不是解决方案。

@shosc16
Fortunately there is a new generation of younger Japanese that are challenging the traditional norms - when it comes to work, social, and more. We see a lot of it in the arts, literature, music, and films.
It’s not perfect but they’re somewhat self-aware

幸好有一代年轻的日本人正在挑战传统规范——在工作、社交等方面。我们在艺术、文学、音乐和电影里看到过很多。
虽然并不完美，但他们多少有些自我意识。

@tanweeralam1650
Yes... work culture needs drastic change in Japan. It’s almost 2025. Stop the old and wrong work culture. Also don’t force employees to work overtime.
In certain sectors... introduce 4-day work week, invest advanced R&D, let companies fail who can’t perform, and new companies rise. These are some of the solutions. AI can help Japan a lot.

是的……日本的职场文化需要彻底的改变。都快2025年了，他们应该停止老旧错误的职场文化，别逼员工加班。
在某些行业……引入4天工作制，投资先进的研发，让表现不佳的公司倒闭，新公司崛起，这些才是解决方案。人工智能能帮日本很多。

@meetit5949
I am a Japanese person currently living in Canada. When carefully observing Japan, there exists an extractive structure similar to countries like China, and many Japanese people don’t even question it.
This sadly supports the arguments made by Acemoglu in ‘Why nations fail.’
That’s why I fled from Japan.

我是一个目前生活在加拿大的日本人。仔细观察日本，你会发现那里存在一种类似中国那样的榨取性结构，很多日本人甚至对此毫不质疑。
这不幸地印证了阿西莫卢在《国家为什么会失败》中的观点。
这就是我逃离日本的原因。

@Matarika
日本人ですが、たとえ日本が衰退していこうとも安全に日々を過ごしていければ、これ以上の幸運はないと考えています。しかし、私も日本の若者の一人として頑張っていかなければいけないのも事実ですね

我是个日本人，但即使日本在衰退，只要能安全地过好每一天，我觉得没有比这更幸运的事了。不过，作为日本的年轻人之一，我也得努力奋斗，这是事实。

@nmoriss
The best documentary on this sorted epoch of Japan’s history is called “Princes of the Yen. Exposes how Japanese demise was engineered from beyond its shores with every apparent mistake being premeditated. Just like the West today

关于日本这段复杂的历史时期的最佳纪录片是《日元的王子》，它揭露了海外是如何精心策划日本的衰落的，每一个看似错误的决定都是预谋好的，就像如今的西方一样。

@dc-wp8oc
Government manipulation of economic markets always ends in disaster.
Japan's first major mistake was listening to the corrupt Federal Reserve cartel and following the road to serfdom, practiced in America today.

政府操控经济市场总是以灾难告终。
日本的第一个重大错误是听信了腐败的联邦储备集团，走上了如今美国正在实践的通往奴役的道路。

@ADDH-zr1kw
Japan is one of the greatest countries in the world. I am from India, and I am a big fan of Japanese culture and Japanese technology. Lots of love and respect to the great country and the intelligent, hardworking people

日本是世界上最伟大的国家之一。我来自印度，我非常喜欢日本的文化和日本的科技，我对这个伟大的国家以及聪明勤奋的人民充满爱与尊重！

@mikolajrozek5938
Calling closed borders a mistake is manipulation. Indeed, economy may not grow, however at least the population is not getting poorer due to influxes of cheap labour unable to assimilate.
We've made this mistake in Western Europe, and now economy was growing but we are poorer than 40 years ago.
Congratulations to Japan for avoiding at least this problem.
For the rest of their economy however, it does need some significant reforms.

把关闭国门称为错误是一种误导。确实，经济可能不会增长，但至少不会因为大量无法融入的廉价劳动力的涌入而让国民变穷。
西欧犯了这个错误，现在我们的经济虽然增长了，但我们比四十年前更穷了。
祝贺日本至少避开了这个问题。
不过，他们的经济其他方面确实需要进行大幅改革。

@RecordToDeathToBoredom
Japan... Has always been really good at one thing; progressing at a skill trade. However, that is all. They aren't very good at leading themselves because Japan doesn't allow for growing true leadership. Youtubers can run for mayor or whatever. Why is it not someone who has actually led a team, for starters? Why is it that the threshold for making it in is "popularity"? Of course, it's a voting system. But given how much Japan values hard work, it just baffles me how they keep making the craziest decisions when it comes to politics. It feels like they're a total joke.
From the video, it seems that they just allocate money and don't necessarily try to do anything productive with it. Then there are companies. Those companies really piss me off. You hear it all the time. No overtime pay, expected to work overtime, shamed if don't, company is your life, and wage is not adequate. I've seen stories on reddit of how foreigners are treated. It's so stupid how these companies can think of such diabolical schemes, yet when it comes to doing any good, brain empty.

日本……一直以来特别擅长一件事：提升技艺水平。然而，仅此而已。他们不擅长自我领导，因为日本不会给真正的领导力以成长空间。YouTuber都能竞选市长什么的，为什么不先找个真正带过团队的人？为啥入选的标准是“人气”？当然，这就是投票制度。但考虑到日本有多重视努力工作，他们在政治上老是做出最离谱的决定实在让我费解，感觉完全是个笑话。
从视频来看，他们似乎只管拨款，却未必想用这些钱做点实事。更可气的是那些公司——简直令人发指！天天都能听到这些：没有加班费却必须加班，不加班还要被羞辱，公司就是你的人生，工资还低得可怜。我在Reddit上看过外国人遭遇的种种，这些公司设计起压榨手段来诡计多端，可一到干正事就脑袋空空如也。

@User-actSpacing
In Japan, talking about money in the family is a taboo. They need to fix that first and foremost!! How can you make economy great when you cannot freely discuss about wages, income and expenditures etc? You can’t! You can’t ignore stuff in private and rely on businesses to fix it.

在日本，在家里谈钱是个禁忌。他们得先把这点改了！如果不能自由地讨论工资、收入和开支之类的事，怎么能让经济好起来？不可能！你不能私下忽视这些，而靠企业来解决。

@101noz101
Japanese government needs to incentivize their local population to have kids through reduce taxation and stimulus. Else you will have continue to have a very small working force propping up the increasing larger retired population.

日本政府亟需通过减税和刺激政策鼓励国民生育，否则劳动力持续萎缩的局面将难以支撑日益庞大的退休人群。

@pantsgaming759
The best part is when you warn Canada and Australia this will happen to them. Australia has the worse economy thanks to useless oversize government. We have a housing ponzi scheme and mining as a side hustle. Difference is we have record breaking population growth because the government decided that the housing ponzi scheme must continue.

最精彩的是你警告加拿大和澳大利亚，他们也会遇到这种事。澳大利亚经济烂透了，全怪臃肿无能的政府。我们有房地产庞氏骗局，矿业只是副业。不同的是我们的人口增长破了纪录，因为政府决定房地产骗局必须继续维持下去。

@albertflorian9491
I don't agree with the point that investments in the rural infrastructure are false. I have been to japan a few years ago after not being there for twenty years. My family is from Shizuoka province. The difference was enormous and very sad to observe. All the shops and malls I knew from my childhood were closed, the little towns very practically dead. the young all have left for the big cities. You have to address the urban-rural gap as a government, that's not mere clientele politics.

我不同意“投资农村基础设施是个错误”的观点。几年前我回了日本，我已经二十年没有回去。我家来自静冈县，我发现那里变化巨大，看了很伤心。小时候熟悉的商店和商场都关了，小镇几乎死气沉沉，轻人都跑去大城市了。政府得解决城乡差距，这不是单纯的拉拢选民。

@samhodson6470
My first time to Japan was summer 1989. Because my trip was a college graduation gift from my parents, I had no clue about the economic problems. I stayed with host families...it was a two month visit...I volunteered in Sendai at a high school. I went back one other time to visit friends that I made but I never knew about any financial struggles. This video is very good and informative.

我第一次去日本是1989年的夏天，因为那是父母给我的大学毕业的礼物，我完全不知道经济问题。我住在寄宿家庭……待了两个月……在仙台的一所高中做志愿者。后来又回去了一次，看望认识的朋友，但从没察觉到什么经济困难。这个视频很棒，信息量很大。

@ninersnation3298
Imagine Japan is a real country. They would be a prosperous country. Unfortunately, after WW2, Japan cannot get out of the strict country of USA.

想象日本是个真正的国家，他们会很繁荣。可惜二战后，日本摆脱不了美国的严格控制。

@pwgearedturbofan2348
Japan's immigration policy is not a mistake. Protecting their society, and culture, is more important than making a number get bigger. The last thing Japan needs is more social strife, and minority grievance politics, like the West has. They also don't need a big increase in terrorist attacks, shootings, stabbings, sexual assault, bombings, and gangs, again, like the West has.

日本的移民政策不是错误，因为保护他们的社会和文化比让数字变大更重要。日本最不需要的是像西方那样的社会冲突和少数族群的怨气政治，他们也不需要恐怖袭击、枪击、刺伤、性侵、爆炸和激增的帮派，而这些西方都有。

@morisoba2550
Japanese here. I think there are only a few other developed countries that are doing much better than Japan. And as far as working hours are concerned, they are no different from those in the US, Government debt is not really a problem in Japan because of its huge external assets. Such lists go on and on ...

我是日本人，我觉得只有少数发达国家比日本做得好得多。就工作时间来说，日本和美国没啥区别。日本的政府债务不是大问题，因为它有巨额海外资产。诸如此类的例子还有很多……

@PwningGerZ
Such a wrong take in many points! It was like watching a neoliberal capitalist wet dream about how neoliberalism is superior to any economic system. Just another dime-a-dozen Japan video.

这个观点简直漏洞百出！整段论述活脱脱就是新自由主义者的意淫——鼓吹新自由主义经济体系如何优越。不过又是千篇一律的日本题材烂视频罢了。

@trobertday1390
I'd be interested to know if the Japanese blame the Plaza Accords for the economic disaster or the government's misguided policies in response to the Accord's effects.

我想知道日本人是怪《广场协议》导致经济灾难，还是怪政府应对协议影响的错误政策。

@dwyanewade528
Great video man! especally i like last phrases, it's really true that if some stragegy work in past, this doesn't mean that it will work in present or in future.In my country many people think about Japan as a example of perfect economy, but when i ask some persons - can you tell me one Japanese company, which was founded in last 30 years and became world famous, people say something like Toyota, Sony or Honda...

视频很棒！尤其喜欢最后几句话，过去有效的策略不代表现在或未来也行，真的是这样。我国有很多人觉得日本是完美经济的榜样，但我问他们：你能说出过去三十年创立且全球知名的日本公司吗？他们就说丰田、索尼或本田之类……

@cassandraharada3331
economic growth isn't everything. Japanese people know a lot about living and being human. I'm super tired of people giving so much weight to economic growth. Also, we really don't want immigrants to come in and make the country "Multicultural" as we've seen how that worked in europe!

经济增长不是一切。日本人很懂得如何生活和做人，我真的受够了人们把经济增长看得那么重。还有，我们真的不希望移民进来让国家变成“多元文化”，欧洲的例子已经够清楚了！

@marthas9255
Growth isn't always something good. You can't see the stability and relatively equal quality of life they have? You don't have abandoned neighbourhoods or rotting slums in Japan like there is in neoliberalist USA. Their economy has challenges but it is far from awful. Managing those problems is far better than finding use in keeping high numbers of your population in painful poverty. Model of infinite growth isn't sustainable, even worse when it is fast and consistent growth - extract every tiny bit of value to the bone and the faster you extract the sooner you get to the breaking point. Last time this was done was how capitalists found themselves in the gallows at the hands of fascists and communists. Correct criticisms but the emotions are too american-centric.

增长不总是好事。你看不到日本的稳定和相对平等的生活质量吗？日本没有像新自由主义的美国那样的废弃社区或腐烂的贫民窟。虽然他们的经济面临挑战，但远谈不上糟糕。管理这些问题比让大量人口陷于痛苦的贫困强多了。无限增长的模式不可持续，尤其是快速且持续的增长——把每一点价值榨干，越快榨干越早崩溃。上次这么干的时候，资本家都被法西斯和共产主义者送上了绞刑架。虽然你的批评有道理，但情绪太以美国为中心了。

@DiLiNiTi
Yes yes, the economy isn’t innovative. But Japan is an incredible place to live. Too much innovation destroys culture, and economy isn’t everything.
If the people are truly at wits end about how things are, let them speak for themselves.

是的，日本的经济不够创新，但日本是个绝佳的居住地。过度创新会破坏文化，经济不是一切。
如果民众真的对现状束手无策，那让他们自己来说吧。

@davidmmm
This perspective on Japan’s economy feels like a classic Western—particularly Anglo-American—analysis, obsessed with GDP增长和“stagnation” while ignoring broader societal outcomes. Yes, Japan has faced economic challenges since the 1990s, but calling it a “disaster” is overly simplistic. Japan remains one of the safest, cleanest, and most stable nations globally, with low poverty, excellent healthcare, and high life expectancy. Meanwhile, countries like the U.S., often held as economic models, grapple with deep inequality, high poverty, and systemic insecurity. Perhaps it’s time to move beyond growth-centric metrics and recognize that quality of life isn’t just about money or endless economic expansion

这种对日本经济的解读，俨然是典型的西方——尤其是英美视角——的思维定式，执着于GDP增长与"停滞"的叙事，却忽视了更广泛的社会发展成果。诚然，日本自1990年代以来确实面临经济挑战，但简单将其定性为"灾难"实在有失偏颇。如今的日本依然是全球最安全、最洁净、最稳定的国家之一：那里贫困率低、医疗体系完善、人均寿命领先。而被奉为经济楷模的美国等国家，却深陷贫富分化、贫困率高企、系统性社会危机等困境。或许我们早该超越"增长至上"的评判标准，认识到生活质量绝非仅由金钱或无止境的经济扩张所定义。

@ayanverma5746
Japan doesn't need to be humiliated by usa. They should never signed that 1985 accord also they need to keep strong army to counter bullies like us

日本不用被美国羞辱，他们绝不该签1985年的协议，他们还得保持强大的军队来对抗像美国这样的霸凌者。