I think this is a stupid topic - but hey - not like I havn't posted on stupid toipcs before so here goes.
I just can't figure out why people don't understand the answer to the question posed - what's the difference? This discussion comes up on talk radio and other web sites too.
Japan is a capitalist country - with rules up the ying yang.
But Japan is also one of the most cohesive cultures on earth. Citizens are brought up from early childhood- to work together as a team. This type of cultural system has been in place there for thousands of years.
That's the reason. Simple.
It also tends to work against the individual - because in Japanese corporations - it pays to keep your mouth shut and go with the flow. Individualism is discouraged as a sacrifice for the group effort. Strong leadership playes a more important role in their system because if the leadership fails - the whole flock goes down with the ship.
As a result - the culture is really great at a given task - like making a radio smaller or building cars in mass - or generally improving a design, but those same traits tend to supress new ideas and innovation.
If you asked Japanese engineers to develop a new technology- it would take them longer than American engineers - it's that risk taking and "thinking outside the box" type stuff that their culture has trained them against.
My family had a few forign exchange students from Japan live with us for a few years - and us kids learned quite a bit about Japanese culture. They come back and visit and my parents have been out to visit their families in Japan.
The Japanese economy has been stagnant now for 15 years - they have had a rough time. Their culture and education system keeps new innovation and individualism from bringing new ideas to their economy. Corruption in government has also hurt the economy.
It should have been a lesson learned - but we are doing the same thing. Dummy down the population and get everyone on the government welfare system.
