Japan's Role in the Global Economy

1 What Will Japan Be For? Introduction In the face of changing economic, environmental and social issues in the global environment, many questions arise on how individual nations will adopt. Many nations came out of the industrial revolution of the 19th century with a lot of negative impacts, especially with regard to environmental deterioration. Admittedly, many nations are keen not to repeat similar mistakes. Japan is among the biggest economies in the world, and will undoubtedly want to remain in that position in the future. However, some of the factors that worked for Japanese remarkable development after the 2nd World War in the 20th century can no longer be relied on to produce the same results in the future. For instance, Japan relied on strong loyalty and determination from its people to rise from the precipice and build Japan into becoming an economic powerhouse. In the face of the present globalization, it is hard to rely on patriotism and sense of loyalty; especially from Japanese businesses, which now have to compete internationally.

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2 It is correct to say that in the lack of a need for national reconstruction, Japanese firms will be keen to stamp their presence in the global market. This may mean outsourcing and setting up facilities in other nations. This paper aims to examine the possible avenues for significant change in the Japanese nation in the coming decades. These changes are observed in the context of three main perspectives: Cultural, social and economic. The importance of these three perspectives is that a more radical look at how the country will be like can be deduced more accurately.

Cultural perspective Without doubt, Japanese culture has heavily been influenced as a result of the progress that the country has made by integrating into the global society (Morris-Suzuki, 1995: 765). With increased globalization, the Japanese way of life will continue to get influenced by foreign cultures. Most of the influence has come about from the injection of western culture into the Japanese society. Among the greatest western influence on Japanese culture is on matters regarding women and their role in society (Mackie, 2003: 25). Ever since the fall of the Japanese Empire in the 1940s, the country’s women have continued to enjoy increasing freedoms and liberties which were previously unprecedented in the nation. As a result of such liberties, the country has progressively undergone gender equality measures that have seen the role of women in government, and other roles of leadership increase tremendously (Mackie, 2003: 98). Women have become more liberated and have more say on their sexuality. Women are currently challenging the traditionally held notions of the concept of beauty, and what exactly constitutes beauty (Miller, 2011: 24). Women are increasingly taking up plastic surgery to enhance their looks based on what they perceive as being beautiful. This trend will continue in the future, as the current trends in the country gender matters indicate that women will most probably acquire more control on matters affecting their lives.

3 Japanese culture has also been branching out internationally over the past few years, and has won admiration across the globe (Denison, 2010: 546). Among the greatest Japanese exports is their cuisine of sushi, which has become a signature dish in virtually all of the world’s top restaurants. This trend will undoubtedly increase as more markets for Japanese cuisine continue to open up in the new markets of Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

Another increasingly major Japanese export is that of the contemporary Japanese art of anime (Denison, 2010: 554). This form of entertainment has taken over the world with its unique animation features that have given the form of art work unique global following. As the art continues to attract more faithful adherents, the Japanese entertainment industry is suddenly becoming a part of the mainstream entertainment exports (Denison, 2010: 556). The popularity of anime has been credited for the increasing persons, worldwide, who are interested in learning Japanese contemporary culture.

The net benefit of the increasing popularity of Japanese entertainment, apart from the obvious economic benefits to the sector, is that it can be used to spread the Japanese culture worldwide to its target audience (Denison, 2010: 560). The derived popularity originating from Japanese themed entertainment such as animes is that the complementary sectors will also end up benefiting. One of the sectors will be that of tourism, which is especially valuable when it comes to propagating the Japanese culture. Thus, in the coming decades, an increase in interest in Japanese entertainment will have a positive bearing on cultural tourism, and consequently the significance of Japanese culture internationally.

Social perspective The current features of Japanese society and the way of life will have a major influence on how the country turns up in the future. Japan, similar to other developed nations, has over the

4 past few years had a sharp decline in birth rates (Hamada & Kato, 2007: 56). The decrease in birthrates is mainly due to the economic features of the country which have dictated when women are willing to start families, and how many children they opt to have (Mackie, 2003: 78).

The booming Japanese economy over the past few decades has presented its citizens with a lot of attractive opportunities to be part of the progress. This in itself is not a bad thing as it represents economic growth; however, the downside is that it has had a negative impact on the country’s fertility levels. In an effort to maximize their gains in the economy, many young Japanese have opted to have few kids, and mostly at an advanced age. The net result of such a move has been that the country is setting itself up for trouble in future (IMF, 2006: 35). The demographic spread of the country is such that the old constitute a larger proportion of the country than the young.

With fertility rates increasingly dropping over the past three decades, the indication is that the trend will continue into the coming years. As a result of this trend, the country will face stiff population pressures (Hamada & Kato, 2007: 69).

Japan, being a developed country, has managed to reduce its mortality figures over the years, thanks largely to the prevention of avoidable deaths. The country’s populace almost never faces the prospect of death by contracting water-borne diseases or famine and starvation (Hamada & Kato, 2007: 95). If anything, the country is well protected against such by the presence of well equipped and accessible medical facilities, unlike in the third world countries.

As a result, the country presently enjoys one of the highest standards of living anywhere in the world, and thus Japan has one of the world’s highest life expectancies (Hamada & Kato, 2007: 105). With increasingly better medical technology, the current high life expectancy will without doubt remain or possibly even rise. Increased life expectancy, coupled with a decreasing birth rate means that the Japanese population demographic layout will continue being dominated by

5 the elderly. This scenario will have the negative social impact of burdening the country in the future with taking care of the old.

Economic perspective In the coming years, the outlay of the Japanese economy will be shaped by ongoing trends in international commerce and the country’s social issues (Buruma, 2011: 57). One of the most important sectors that will be driving the country’s economy heading into the next century will be the technology sector. Japan has long been one of the global technological hubs and a leader in the creation of technology and workable ideas (Iwabuchi, 2008: 545). Some of the most significant technological ideas currently in use globally trace their origins in Japan or Japanese companies. Among these technologies are the technologies used in mobile phone design, information technology design, television and electronics design, and hybrid engine designs, to name just but a few. The heavy investments by Japanese corporations in research and development are a clear indication that the country’s firms recognize the importance of technology. This trend in investment will over the next years tremendously increase, if recent trends in Japanese firms such as Sony and Toyota are anything to go by. Therefore, in the future, Japan’s position as a global supplier of technology will more probably than not increase significantly with the economic benefits of technology consequently increasing.

Japanese multinationals are among the biggest players in the various economic sectors in which they operate in (Buruma, 2011: 64). Take the motor vehicle and electronics sectors, for instance, in which Toyota and Sony are among the world’s best known brands and control considerable market share in key markets. Toyota is one of the biggest brands that are used in places like Africa and South East Asia. The company has opened up assembly plants in such locales to take advantage of the emerging market, and the presence of relatively cheaper labor.

6 With the projected economic growth of these two regions in the next twenty to fifty years, the Japanese firm will undoubtedly be in a prime position to increase its stake in these markets. Sony has also had remarkable success in marketing its products in places such as North America and Europe where their products are consumer favorites. The Japanese firm has managed to take up sizeable market share in these places, despite strong competition from local firms. A good example is the success of Sony’s Play Station gaming products which are strongly competing with the American owned Xbox 360, and seemingly winning. It is such successful branching by Japanese firms into the global market and their lack of sole dependence on the domestic market that indicates that global demand will continue to boost the Japanese economy in the future (Graves, 2011: 405).

The demographic spread of the Japanese citizenry represents the greatest liability to the Japanese economy going to the future, especially as regards the domestic market. Among the sectors to be most affected are those of domestic consumption, labor and the new emergent economic sectors. The result of this will be a significant paradigm shift in the economic policies that subsequent government will be forced to adopt so as to adjust to the new realities facing the nation. For instance, the shrinking population will mean that the domestic labor in the country will not be adequate to cater for the economy (Iwabuchi, 2008: 554). In order to maintain the competitive advantage of Japanese firms operating from the country, the government will be forced to adapt new economic policies that will attract migrant labor. These new economic policies will have to be attractive enough for the migrant workforce, in terms of compensation and tax rates. Such a move is absolutely necessary if a nation intends to continue on its economic path (Iwabuchi, 2008: 555).

7 Japanese industries will be forced to adjust their products rapidly to cater for the expected shift in tastes and preferences that will result from an increasingly older populace (Buruma, 2011: 56). This not only represents an opportunity for companies to customize their production for the domestic market, but also represents a significant economic challenge. The challenge will result from those companies whose commodities are presently meant for specific ages, particularly the young, who will be forced to take drastic economic actions in the face of diminished demand. The opposite will be true for those firms producing for an older demographic whose businesses will inevitably benefit from the increased demand. With regard to new economic sectors, the business of health provision and care for the elderly will inevitably be big business in the future (Hamada & Kato, 2007: 200). Those involved in such businesses will have significant economic benefits due to an increase in demand for their services. The major downside of this demographic shape is that in the future, the Japanese society will be forced to pay more in order to cater for the elderly (Hamada & Kato, 2007: 203).

Conclusion The Japanese society is without doubt a very resilient culture, having successfully recovered from the adverse effects of the 2nd World War into becoming an economic powerhouse. However, in order to successfully navigate into the next century, the country faces a myriad of challenges that if not adequately addressed may end up affecting the country in the future. The current trends in the country’s culture, social fabric and economic status inevitably have a bearing on the country’s future outlay. Increasing Western influence will have positive benefits on the role of women in Japanese society. The increasing popularity of Japanese cuisine and entertainment will also have significant impacts on spreading Japanese culture globally.

With regard to social outlay, the country’s demographic outlook will definitely affect how the

8 country will look in the future. The population will have an effect on the economy in terms of labor and demand trends. Therefore, the future population outlook is without doubt one of the most important determinants on what direction the country will take in the future.

9 List of References Buruma, I 2011, ‘Rethinking Japan's past- and future: Japan's next transformation’ in, Chanler, C, Chhor, H & Salsberg, B (eds.), Reimagining Japan: The quest for a future that works, VIZ Media, LLC, San Francisco, CA Denison, R 2010, ‘Anime tourism: Discursive construction and reception of the Studio Ghibli Art Museum’, Japan Forum, vol. 22, no. 3-4, pp. 545-563.

Graves, C 2011, ‘Reinvigorating society: Cool is not enough’ in, Chanler, C. Chhor, H & Salsberg, B (eds.), Reimagining Japan: The quest for a future that works, VIZ Media, LLC, San Francisco, CA. Hamada, K & Kato, H 2007, Ageing and the labor market in Japan: Problems and policies, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, Northampton: International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2006, Staff Country Reports: Japan: Selected issues, IMF Publication Services, Washington, D.C. Iwabuchi, K 2008, ‘Lost in TransNation: Tokyo and the urban imaginary in the era of globalization’, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, vol. 9, no.4, pp. 543-556.

Mackie, V 2003, Feminism in modern Japan: Citizenship, embodiment and sexuality, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Miller, L 2011, ‘Cute masquerade and the pimping of Japan’, International Journal of Japanese Sociology, vol. 20, pp. 18-29 Morris-Suzuki, T 1995, ‘The invention and reinvention of "Japanese culture"’, The Journal of Asian Studies vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 759-780 Sugimoto, Y 2009, The Cambridge companion to Modern Japanese culture, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY