OKYO — Machiavelli warned never to waste the opportunities afforded by a crisis. Japan today is struggling with an epic catastrophe: an anemic economy struck by a once-in-a-millennium disaster that may have killed 24,000 people, left hundreds of thousands homeless and destroyed nuclear reactors that spewed poisonous radiation over an estimated 600 square kilometers. Summoning their traditional spirit of “gaman” — enduring the unendurable — the Japanese have united to persevere and rebuild.
Yet even as Tokyoites trudge into their dimly lit offices to endure a sweltering summer without air-conditioning, elevators or escalators to prevent power shortages, the risk is that they cope without changing, rebuild without renovating. Japan has for the past two decades been in the grip of an economic paralysis inflicted by a sclerotic political and financial system. Beset by deflation, it has not seen GDP growth above 4 percent in a generation. In a country that prides itself on full employment and income equality, it has developed a chronic 5 percent jobless rate.
True, Japan still enjoys a trade surplus with almost every nation, boasts some of the world’s largest companies and has unrivalled engineering prowess. Japan has some of the world’s most prosperous citizens, the longest life expectancies and one of the lowest crime rates. It is a nation of cordiality, where dazzling technology and efficiency meet breathtaking aesthetics and precision.
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