Also, in the 1970's when it looked as if Japanese companies were set to expand manufacturing operations into Britain, you couldn't stop the snarky jokes about British workers being expected to work for sixteen hours a day on half a cup of mouldy rice, with sadistic Jap camp guards prepared to beat them with rifle butts if they slacked off. In a country with strong memories of the death camps in the Far East and places like the Burma Railway in mind, this was only partly in jest. Japanese businesses, once they realised the depth of feeling and lingering bitterness after WW2 had a lot of PR to do. It was frequently noted that the Japs had neither apologised not paid compensation to survivors of their death camps, nor had there been anything even remotely approaching the Nuremburg trials for Japan's war criminals. Any attempt by Japan to take over the world (as Fourteenth Army veterans might say, for the second time) would sooner or later run into this sort of resentment and anger.
Male, early sixties, Cranky old fart, at least two decades behind. So you have been warned. Functionally illiterate in several languages.
Removed:
- The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and Japan's aggression against China and the rest of southeast Asia before and during World War II. A case of Truth in Television, though Japans ambitions at the time did not expend farther than the Pacific Rim and Southeast Asia. Well, Japan did not 'hold' its territories for a long period of time, as the US military pushed out the Japanese from the Pacific holdings and the rest of the allies were fighting conventional/guerrilla/etc wars. There was also the slogan of "Hakkō ichiu
" (figuratively meaning "all the world under one roof").
- Subverting this trope even more is the fact that Japan currently has no place on the United Nations Security Council. On the other hand, Japan is currently tied with Brazil for holding a seat on the Security Council the most number of years (20) in its history outside of the five permanent members (the major Allied powers of World War II and their successors). Most of this, though, is with the assistance of the United States.
- During the 1970s and 1980s, American motorists switched to small Japanese economy cars in the wake of the 1970s oil crises. Detroit's Big Three car makers, used to the "bigger is better" mantra, were caught off guard and lost significant market share to Japanese car makers. This led to massive job cuts at the Big Three and the phenomenon known as "Japan-bashing" which lasted until the Japanese bubble burst of the early 1990s. Additionally, Japanese car makers later invested in numerous factories in America to produce vehicles tailored to local tastes.
- Look around you. There's a strong chance that more than half of the appliances around you have Japanese names. Furthermore, if you're a member of Generation X or Generation Y, you've been exposed to (if not an outright fan of) something with Japanese roots (Power Rangers, Sailor Moon, Pokémon, any other anime and many video game series). The highest-grossing media franchise in the world is Pokémon, and many of the franchises on this list are Japanese. Japan may have never had an actual empire like the British or Spanish, but should Japan just come to a screeching halt, most other countries would feel it.
- As of 2014, it is still the third or fourth biggest economy in the worldnote , and the yen was considered a major currency as late as 2008 when it went strong compared to the US dollar and the Euro during the Global Financial Crisis. Of course, just how long this will last is entirely another matter, though, given Japan's low birthrate and resulting rapidly aging population in decline.
- The rise of the Hodo-Hodo Zoku (So-So Folks) phenomenon where young Japanese workers refuse promotions and put less effort into their jobs also contribute to the discrediting of this trope.
- For a while motherboard and power supply manufacturers were touting their boards were fitted with "Japanese capacitors". It wasn't that Japanese capacitors were somehow superior in every way shape and form, but computer hardware manufacturer's original suppliers allegedly stole a formula for capacitor electrolyte and made a faulty version of it. More about it can be read at this forum post.
- Capacitors from Japanese manufacturers appear to still dominate the hi-fi market, with the opinion that if it doesn't have something from Nippon Chemicon or Elpida, forget about it.
None of these are examples of the trope being used in real life. It's mostly an assortment of observations on how powerful Japan is or how likely the trope will come about. Real-life examples would be incidents of, for example, a political campaign run on the claim that Japan is about to take over the world.
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Maybe some of the above examples could be moved to the Made in Country X page.
In 2018, Japan will look to the West and say - in keigo - "If you've finished with your temper tantrum now, we invite you to tour the already-completed facilities for our 2020 Olympics. We'll even design cute mascots for all of your teams."
And the rest of the countries will sort of shuffle themselves together and go.
I made this Idolized Julius Kingsley icon back when Akito first came out, and now that the crossover is actually happening, I don't care. Hide / Show Replies
... what.
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
China has passed America as the number one economy.
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By which metric?
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
There should be an explanation and/or link for "the Japanese Economic Crash" (which I'm guessing means the Asian financial crisis that began in 1997). I can't find any good sources.
MagBas
- Although this is arguable, the insanely ridiculous amount of influence the Japanese game corporations have in Megatokyo seems to follow this trope.
- Video game companies may have private military divisions, but Godzillas can also be rented. So, par for the course.
Why isn't Gunbuster and Angel Cop examples? There is a difference between Creator Provincialism, and making your country the most powerful country in the world.
"Japan never had an empire . . . "?
There are some VERY pissed-off people in China, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and New Guinea who might beg to differ.
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