[WSJで英語学習!]日本の経済成長はなぜ停滞しているのか? [6分動画]

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この動画は、日本の伝統と現代技術の間にある矛盾が経済成長を妨げている理由を探ります。

STEP
動画視聴
STEP
理解度チェッククイズ

動画の理解度を確認するクイズを3問出題します。

1 / 3

Why is Japan’s economy falling behind?

2 / 3

What is a “hanko” used for in Japan?

3 / 3

What has been a significant cultural challenge in Japanese workplaces?

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STEP
重要英単語チェック

単語:
Innovation
意味:
革新
例文:
Japan is known for its innovation in robotics.
(日本はロボティクスの革新で知られています。)

STEP
要約文(英語/日本語)

Japan is often seen as a land of innovation, known for its bullet trains and pioneering robotics. However, beneath the surface, the country is also fiercely traditional, which in some ways is holding back its economy. Japan, once the third-largest economy in the world, has been grappling with slow economic growth and productivity, partly due to its reliance on older technology like hanko (stamp) used in place of signatures.
This tradition, along with a rigid work culture, has resulted in low productivity compared to the US and Germany. Despite government efforts to modernize, such as moving away from obsolete technologies like fax machines and floppy disks, change is slow.
Younger generations are more willing to adopt new technologies and work more efficiently, but Japan’s focus on process over efficiency remains a significant barrier to economic growth.

STEP
振り返り (動画再視聴)
字幕全文:842 words
[Peter] Japan. A country often seen as a land of innovation.
From bullet trains. To pioneering robotics.

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[Peter] It's little wonder the country is seen by many as being at the frontiers of modern technology.

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But underneath the surface lies a Japan that is also fiercely traditional. And, in some, places that's holding back the economy.

Here's why Japan is falling behind.

Japan used to be the third largest economy in the world, but last year it lost that title to Germany.

For decades, the country has grappled with slow economic growth and productivity.

Part of that reason is their dependence on older technology.

Hideki Arami started working for his father at this hanko, or stamp shop in 1992 and took over the business 14 years later.

This is a hanko. And it's often used in Japan in place of a signature, for example, on contracts or invoices or other official documents.

For centuries, the stamps have been required to prove one's identity.

Even today, they're often used in everyday situations like receiving a parcel or opening a bank account.

(Hideki speaks Japanese)

(Hideki speaks Japanese)

However, these types of practices can make businesses less productive.
Japan's productivity is only about two thirds of the U.S. level, about three quarters of the level in Germany.

So it's quite low, and has stayed that way for many years.

There's always a difficulty striking that balance between the most efficient, the most productive way of doing things, and the traditional and widely loved way of doing things.

The result? A country rich in culture but resistant to change.

There's this old joke. How do you know that somebody is working for a Japanese company?
Well, when you look at the name card, it still has the fax number.

Jesper Koll, an economist who has lived a Japan since 1986, says it's more than just the technology that's weighing Japan down.

The Japanese have become so pedantic, have become such sticklers for precision, that if the hanko, if the seal touches the line where it's on, then it's invalid, and you have to redo the entire form all over again.

And that's ultimately what's so beautiful and so infuriating about the way Japan works. Because it is so process-oriented.

In the years since the pandemic, the government has made it easier, in some cases, to go without hanko, perhaps a written signature or no signature at all.
But still unofficial documents that we sign, for example, here at The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Japan's office, we still use hanko quite frequently.

And hanko is not the only old technology still used in Japan.

In some offices, people still use the fax machine, instead of emails, to send important documents.

Japan was very, very good at being an early adopter. Because if you look at the 1970s, if you look at the early 1980s, obviously, you came up with the Walkman, which completely revolutionized the way mankind experiences music.
But sort of from the analog to the digital, that transition never really happened.

[Peter] In some ways, Japan has not changed much since the 1990s.
Many employees still work for one company for most of their careers.

Wages across Japan have stayed more or less the same for 30 years, although they are beginning to rise this year.

Many Japanese work long hours, especially in certain workplaces such as elite government ministries. Yet productivity is low.

Japan is incredibly labor-intensive. Do yourself a favor and go into a Japanese Starbucks. And where in the United States there is two people taking the order and doing the cafe latte with the extra shot, here in Japan, there's at least five people.
This is one of the simplest concepts in the world. Because you just take output divided by the number of input. And so, obviously, fewer people is better.

[Peter] Japan's rigid work culture still often prioritizes conformity over efficiency.
But that may be about to change, spearheaded by Japan's Digital Minister. He wants the country to move on from obsolete technologies.

For some government procedures today, you're still required to submit application in floppy disk. Floppy disk, yeah. So I had to declare war on floppy disk in Japan.

[Peter] Younger Japanese are more willing to rewrite the rules, work reasonable hours, and take risks. They're also more willing to adopt new technologies.

So there is a big generational element, but even with the digital alternatives, it's the pedantism of the form over content.

That's why Japan has great difficulty in being an early adopter or in adopting modern technology, digital technology in a fast and speedy way.

[Peter] Japan has always marched to the beat of its own drum, embracing modern technology but retaining its own culture and charms.
But for Japan to lift its economy, it may need to chisel away some parts of its history to keep growing in the future.
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