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Comment by smitty1e | Hacker News Reader

There is a conscious "capitalist Socialism" afoot in Japan.

Rather than have a large, explicit, government-run social safety net, the society instead embraces inefficiency in the name of keeping unemployment low.

When I was stationed there in the military in the '90s we marveled at seeing people in company livery out directing traffic in the parking lot at the grocery store.

There were inefficient layers of distribution for prodcuts, and cute little trucks running around making deliveries, so that everyone has a job.

Their "bridge to nowhere" infrastructure projects are legendary.

They also have a gazillion little bars where you buy your own bottle and return to the same place to chill out every night with the colleagues.

Cassette tapes and faxes? Sounds par for their sort of quirky, introverted course. I kinda miss it.

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> There is a conscious "capitalist Socialism" afoot in Japan

Maybe, but it may also be good old fashioned nostalgia.

I was fortunate enough to visit the US Sony headquarters around 2012 in NYC a year before it was sold and renovated. When I was there it was already aging, but still beautiful. Everything was built with minimalist white marble, that somehow felt warm. The guy giving us a tour showed us Michael Jacksons personal seat, and original Audubon plates adorned the walls (our tour guide said each one was worth millions).

There was no products or self promotion anywhere, yet the place screamed “Sony Walkman”, as if Sony was still at their peak. There was serious pride in what they did, from our low level tour guide up to the big bosses we were there to meet.

Japan has made great things, yet there is currently a sad sense of an inevitable slide away from global relevance. It’s heartbreaking and deeply human.

Even these days, daily and business life in Japan is something that will make an eco- or time-conscious Westerner cry. Routine documents are printed out with many copies instead of being consumed electronically, many forms and documents are handwritten, cash is still used for most purchase transactions, despite NFC readers/phones/cards being ubiquitous, and regular people take a morning trip to the ATM to get daily cash.

Eco-conscious westerners would do well if they took some lessons from Japanese daily life - the per capita carbon footprint in Japan is about half that of the US, despite all the extra documents they print at work.

The gripe I have against some "government socialism" countries is that even though taxes drive up the cost of doing business, the burden of providing stable jobs is still pushed on the employers. Firing people can range from expensive to nigh-on-impossible, and then there are payroll taxes and maternity/paternity funds which most employees dont even realise drive up the cost of hiring them.

There is a need for public goods and services, but if the deal is to tax economic activity then at least take the burden off those doing the activities.

Along similar lines some of the best services and products I have experience in Japan have been from organizations and companies that declare themselves as communist. One example, the best child daycare in my Japanese city (in my opinion) was a communist one that emphasized nature, community, and healthy child development. Also, the best food delivery service (in terms of food quality and the difference is quite noticeable) in my city is one that called themselves communist as well.

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