Japan was the second biggest economy in the world in 1990. What happened?
Three things killed Japan’s dominance in the 1990s:
Real estate and stock bubble.
Bad management of the resulting inflation by the Reserve Bank.
Anti immigration killed growth.
They slowed innovation in many areas, for multiple reasons
- Cutting R&D.
- Lack of investment capital.
- An aging monoculture.
- …
Property values are falling, and record numbers of homes are abandoned. The country is not really advancing much, and GDP is fairly static. We should all learn from them.
Cherry wrote the following reflection in Vietnamese on her Facebook:
Returning to Japan after many years, I still see the trains arriving exactly on time to the second, and sanitation workers bowing respectfully to passing garbage trucks — like a quiet ritual of respect. Groups of neatly dressed elementary school students file across the streets in perfect order — no laughter, no pushing.
In the Asakusa district, everything seems unchanged. The tiny food stalls remain, each only big enough to seat a few people. On the counter, tiny plates are arranged: a piece of grilled fish, a few slices of pickled radish, a perfectly cut square of sweet omelet. The entire meal is arranged like a minimalist painting — small, sufficient, and exquisitely refined.
I told my photographer: it’s not just the culinary culture — the whole country seems to be trying to preserve an old formula, a version that once achieved great success.
Japan once amazed the world with its miraculous rise after World War II. It was once the world’s second-largest economy. But from the peak in the late 1980s until now, Japan has remained almost stagnant.
It’s not due to a lack of technology — Japan is still the land of robots and bullet trains. Nor is it because of a lack of wealth — many of its corporations still feature on the Fortune Global list. But the more I interact with businesses here, the more I realize: what Japan lacks is openness and flexibility.
I’ve met highly capable engineering companies, but they dare not try new approaches. The young employees are intelligent, but hesitant to voice different opinions to their superiors. Departments sit next to each other but rarely share information. Important decisions often pass through multiple layers of bureaucracy, causing significant delays. Fear of trying, fear of being wrong, fear of failure — I see this pattern in many organizations.
Without openness, there’s no flexibility. Without flexibility, there’s no adaptability. And without adaptability, standing still is effectively falling behind.
I still love Japan — its culture, its cuisine, and its unique refinement that few places can match. But precisely because of this affection, I hope they can open up more to move forward.
To survive and grow, one must dare to change — whether in Japan or anywhere else, whether as an organization or as an individual. Don’t you think?