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Thanks for all your comments. Judging by the readers of this blog, it seems that the media has been hyping this up a bit.
Mind you, there is no doubt that people (like me!) rushed to buy expensive things like houses, cars, and furniture before the tax went up, so I am sure that things will quieten down in the shops for a while. Hopefully, that will cause retailers to drop their prices in order to attract more customers.
As you all know, the problems with Japan’s economy are mostly structural, caused by a falling population. It seems to me that unless some big changes are made in Japanese society, the situation can only get worse. The government should be focussing on things like reducing the number of working hours, abolishing tenkin that drives families apart, and providing more childcare places. Instead, of course, they are just funnelling more and more money to the construction companies.
As they don’t actually have the money to do this, they are borrowing it, which means that the next generation will be hit even harder than the current one. It’s a very depressing scenario.
Anyway, here is some feedback on your comments.
I haven’t been shopping because I haven’t got any expensive stuffs that I need to afford right now.
I haven’t been shopping because I don’t need to buy any expensive things right now.
I saw some people stocked up some daily items like toilet paper and water when I went to a supermarket
I saw some people stocking up on daily items like …
I am not a big fan of indirect taxation e.g. consumption tax because the tax burden falls disproportionately on the poor,
True, but it could be made fairer by levying a higher tax on luxury goods that most people don’t need to buy.
The topic is what I assumed David would choose.
I guessed that David would choose this topic.
Anyway, it’s not a good idea to leave the current situation that the younger generation hates the older generation
Anyway, it’s not a good idea to have a situation like the current one where the younger generation hates the older generation.
If we can feel secure about our future, I think people would willingly pay the tax.
If we could, …
That’s all for today. Have a great weekend.
Hi David,
Thank you always for your feedback.
> Hopefully, that will cause retailers to drop their prices in order to attract more customers.
Of course, I’d be happy if things got cheaper too, but then our salaries never be raised, so I think prices should be gradually gone up.
> It seems to me that unless some big changes are made in Japanese society
I heard that the government has started considering to accept two hundred thousands of immigrants every year in order to keep the population of a hundred million. If it was realized, it would be a big challange for Japan.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/14/national/japan-may-boost-immigrant-numbers/#.Uz9nZDrNvIU
Have a nice weekend, all!
Hi David and Biwa,
Thank you for your feedback.
>As you all know, the problems with Japan’s economy are mostly structural, caused by a falling population.
>I heard that the government has started considering to accept two hundred thousands of immigrants every year in order to keep the population of a hundred million. (Biwa’s sentence.)
-I read in the newspaper that Japan decided to accept foreigners as workers in nursing care, agriculture and housekeeping fields.
I didn’t know that Japan also accepting immigrants to keep population.
Thinking about those points, there would be more foreign residents in Japan and I hope our society would be the one which we need to speak English more and Japanese people become more global minded.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone!
Hi David,
Thanks always for the feedback.
I read in the paper today that according to a survey, about half of the people rushed to buy things before the tax went up. The average amount of money they used (besides real expensive things like cars and houses) is 89,000 yen, so the money they saved is only 3,000 yen. I was surprised to know that 17% of those people stocked up on daily items like food and toilet paper enough to last for six months! I wish I had an enormous pantry like them!
Hi YU,
Thanks for the link. I guess it’s a good move. It will not only make up for labor shortage but also bring about lots of changes to our lives as Fumie said. It seems that the state examination for nursing is really hard to pass for those who come from other countries because they have language hurdles. Of course, they need to understand Japanese to become a nurse in Japan, but I hope there is a good way to overcome this problem.
Hi YU and Biwa,
Correction: I just realized that the sentence I wrote as Biwa’s was YU’s.
I’m SO SORRY. How careless I am. I hope this not made you feel unpleasant.
YU, Biwa 本当にごめんなさい。私、本当に不注意で。嫌な思いをされてなかったらいいんですが。
I heartily agree with David’s idea of what government should do.
Thanks for correcting my sentence, anyway. Cheers.
Hi Fumie,
No problem. I do it all the time! (^O^)b
By the way, I haven’t seen the sun this weekend. I feel a bit listless, probably because the low air pressure causes low blood pressure. Or maybe it’s just a lazy person’s excuse. lol! Anyway, have a nice Sunday, everyone!
Hi David,
Thank you for your feedback as always.
A friend of mine who met yesterday told me a funny story. She bought various kinds of things like toilet paper and cosmetics before the tax hike, but she realized that she had forgotten to buy what she actually needed.
Hi YU,
Thanks for the link. It’s been a while since this issue was put on the table. There might be various kinds of problems, however, I think it’s a good move.
The government is aiming to grow economics and I hope it works well. However, I’m wondering if happiness can’t be scaled only with wealth,I mean,money. I know it’s a different issue, though.. That’s the thing that came to mind while we are in these last couple of weeks’ crazy situation.
Have a beautiful Sunday,everyone!
Hi Fumie,
It’s no problem at all.
I always make same kinds of mistakes! 🙂
Hi Fumie and Biwa,
As other advanced countries like the US, Britain, or Germany, we would suffer from problems caused by accepting a number of foreign workers too, but this(accepting immigrants) sounds more likely to happen earlier than Japan would break with convention.
Hi David,
It’s very true that we need more childcare places, but I doubt if Japanese mothers really want to work as long hours as paying tax to support Japan’s economy growth only if working conditions are ready as Mr Abe plans.
Frankly speaking, they’re interested in helping their families’ living expenses, but they aren’t as admirable or ambitious as he thinks. Most mothers around me earn some money without paying tax from their salaries at all. I don’t think they would start thinking of returning to ‘work’ unless this income tax deduction for the spouse is abolished.
Hi Biwa and YU,
Thank you for the kind words! The weather has been strange for a couple of days, I saw sunshine and soon it started to rain and it’s warm and then got cold.