> Japan has great productivity and has automated moreso than any other country --it's had to due to a retiring population. They need a younger population with disposable income who are willing to spend their disposable income.
I'm sorry but the myth about Japan productivity has to stop :) I work in Japan and there are the most ineffective and honestly useless jobs out there. People guarding plastic cones on the road. People waiting at the car park exits everywhere to ensure no accident occurs. People at the front of numerous stores and train stations paid to salute everyone passing by. I understand it's all a part of customer service but this is just bringing actual productivity down. And I'm just citing obvious examples here, inside corporations there are tons of underemployed or useless jobs as well and since companies cannot fire people in Japan they carry on the deadweight for decades.
There's so much fat in every Japanese organization out there they have enough to skim out for 20 years and still be in shape.
Retirees working redundant jobs are not the issue. People staying in the office (twiddling thumbs) till the boss leaves is more of an issue.
Granted, construction is a big waste of money -but a lot of that is done by itinerant workers and pouring concrete over riverbeds and seashore is hardly useful endeavor, except to line the pockets of connected (all) politicians.
I'm sorry but the myth about Japan productivity has to stop :) I work in Japan and there are the most ineffective and honestly useless jobs out there. People guarding plastic cones on the road. People waiting at the car park exits everywhere to ensure no accident occurs. People at the front of numerous stores and train stations paid to salute everyone passing by. I understand it's all a part of customer service but this is just bringing actual productivity down. And I'm just citing obvious examples here, inside corporations there are tons of underemployed or useless jobs as well and since companies cannot fire people in Japan they carry on the deadweight for decades.
There's so much fat in every Japanese organization out there they have enough to skim out for 20 years and still be in shape.