The challenges facing Japan are so complicated and varied that it is impossible to leave the country with a simple set of lessons. The determination to maintain social solidarity and to respect promises made to its citizens is admirable. But Japan has also paid a price for emphasising social harmony. Protecting the jobs of the old has restricted opportunities for the young – 38 per cent of whom are now in “precarious” work. A refusal to countenance mass immigration has also made an ageing society much harder to deal with. Social cohesion is all very well, but it seems odd to prefer to be nursed by a robot than an immigrant.
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