Make Way for Japan | Hacker News Reader

Make Way for Japan

american.com

18 pointspg10 comments

"the Bank of Japan had lowered interest rates to zero . . ."

The article goes on to say . . .

"The list goes on. Bank lending is on the rise;"

I should think so.

How is this a good thing? To have the second largest economy on the globe giving away currency that is, for all intents and purposes, free? If China were engaging in this same behavior I can assure you the calls for retaliation coming from the financial centers of the US would be quite deafening.

It would take a great deal of time for me to explain this so if you will indulge me, and simply 'take my word for it', I will affirm to you that this state of affairs is sub-optimal for you and I. Assuming, of course, that my audience is composed primarily of non-Japanese consumers. The 0% interest rate is simply one, in a long litany, of less than ideal policies and financial machinations that the article points out.

I will concede that it is possible that the rules of Economics have changed. That, perhaps, this 'New Economy' everyone seems enamored of is real, and works. The article's author will forgive me, however, if my own estimation of the current Japanese situation differs from his unabashedly positive one.

So is there any country around that is still giving away free currency? I should get in on that.

bilbo0s,

I don't think you read the article. The interest rate was 0% in 2001. When Japan suffered a financial crisis brought on by a lack of liquidity. The article talks about how Japan has reformed itself since then.

Kashif,

I think you ONLY read the article.

Here are todays prime rates . . . Enjoy . . .

Prime Rates in Worlds Largest Economies

Germany 4.00% US 8.25% Hong Kong (China Stand-In) 8.00%

And Your Favorite Apparently...

Japan 1.88%

Now . . . Which of these nations do you think is playing unfairly?

...

Take your time . . .

Well, You are right, I didn't read the rates, but clearly 1.88% is not zero - also consider Japanese inflation levels and add to bring it all in context re-read the pieces on the Japanese recession. 1.8% will seem just fine then.

Cheers.

PS: You don't need me to tell you this but you can't sensibly compare interest rates across currencies.

Summary:

Japan is back. ~ A brief guide to Modern Japanese History ~ Japan is back.

And right in the beginning I couldn't help wonder about this: "Sony and Canon, Honda and Panasonic, Fujitsu and Hitachi: throughout the world, Japanese brands are respected and profitable. By contrast, despite the best efforts of personal-computer giant Lenovo and white-goods producer Haier, China has yet to build a single brand that most Americans could name. Japan is back."

Sony and Canon, Honda and Panasonic, Fujitsu and Hitachi were all founded before 1950, while Lenovo is only 23 years old and bought out a chunk of IBM. Scratched my head through the rest of the article. Ok, after the history lesson, I'll take your word that Japan is back. But it seems more like China just got started. And the problems run much, much deeper than just the birth rate.

I was hoping to see something about Japanese startup clusters, haha.

Submissions about startups or technology? What do you think this is? Startup News?

Well, the economies of faraway countries have indirect effects on the economies here, especially in this day and age where the wallets of countries are all tied to each other.

But for something more concrete, the Japanese mobile sector and robotics sector have more acceptance and dare-I-say-enthusiasm than American(or European--with the exception of the Nordic countries for mobile) ones. That's nothing new, and any scan through the headlines in the last 10 years will tell you that.

But of these two I mentioned, mobile phones would have the better potential of infiltrating US markets--especially those catering to pop culture. For anyone looking to do mobile phones, the Japanese have been pretty innovative with their mobile phone use. Currently, phones and phone networks are somewhat walled inside a country. But if those ever come down, Japan's mobile services are something to watch out for.

Threats most dangerous are the ones you're not paying attention to, and the article is merely mentioning that in a long winded way focused mostly on economics and politics.

When I say Threats, I mean threats to you as a startup, not threats to the country.

Haha, well, more startup relevant than, say, a history lesson by a guy who flaunts vocabulary like salaryman while glossing over modern history and comparing big Japanese corporations of zaibatsu background to China, who is still a new player but already plenty strong.

Yeah, the article is about Japan's comeback and not China, but if you want to talk about Japan's comeback it didn't just start with interest rates. There are a slew of other things people have been talking about and claiming to be the signal of Japan's comeback. Interest rates were discussed on magazines around half a year ago. And how in the world can you miss Toyota in that list? They're in the forefront of the comeback.

So I thought "make way for Japan" was about something other than the Japanese excelling in "traditional industries." Everybody knows what the Japanese are good at. Nothing surprises. The title led me to think Japan has grown startup clusters. That would be a big, big deal.

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