SuccessfulMan comments

Japan and China are destined to have poor relations by virtue of being competing regional powers in Asia. Sure, they can do business give fake compliments to each other, but ultimately, they are working to undermine the other.

Japan Inc doesn't create any product that other countries want so they need constant government support to undercut superior foreign products. The Yen will continue to plummet in value as the JGov prints to infinity to subsidize their inferior industries.

China is asserting its dominance over Japan. Japan can only bow its head.

So after Trump snubs Japan and essentially telling them "You're an insignificant nation", Japan still finds a way to bow to Trump. Still taking bets on how low Japan's head will bow to the US.

Any guesses on how low Japan will bow its head to Trump?

smithinjapan -

I only read and write in English, so I don't know what those Chinese characters mean.

In most OECD countries, especially the US, political corruption is mostly limited to financial fraud, bribery and insider trading. What is the nexus here? What does some congressman profiting from insider trading have to do with some coal miner taking initiative and attending coding boot camp?

Sure, there's little social safety net in America and not a lot of hand-outs, but there is rarely any overt discrimination in America that stops you from advancing. In reality, people don't actually want a "fair shot". What people want is cradle-to-grave welfare financed by society.

Pukey2 -

Often times, failings come from an individual's own choices or lack of ability, not government policies. People expect too much from the government and believe everything wrong with their lives is the fault of politicians.

When Clinton and Obama told coal miners that their industry wasn't viable for much longer and that they should learn to code, they were met with ridicule and branded leftist elites when all they were offering those miners was the cold, hard truth.

Mr Kipling -

Japan can just print and devalue their currency. They're already poorer than Korea now. Their GDP Per Capita is about to enter the 2-handle.

Unlike most people here, I am rather optimistic about US Tech and, by extension, the US economy.

The US has the ability to attract the brightest people from around the world. It's what keeps our companies competitive in the high-end value chain. Whether Harris won or Trump won is irrelevant in the long-run. The US will continue leading the world economy. All the doomsday predictions about Asia taking over the US will be proven wrong. The future will be decided by whichever country can attract elite human capital, and the US is winning by a long-shot.

Giving subsidies isn't a viable long-term solution. The issue isn't that Japanese workers are "underpaid". Japan is a major oil importer, so the much of its utility bills are out of its control.

Japan needs to focus on improving productivity so that it can better compete in the international market without destroying its currency.

The problem with Japan is that this is no longer the 1960s and other countries (Particularly in Asia) are outcompeting Japan. Japan had a major first-movers advantage with no competition. It's shocking how they're now behind other countries in terms of quality and technology.

Congrats, Beyonce.