In defense of degrowth communism: A talk with economist Saitō Kōhei

2 comments

1. Gross

2. Degrowth advocacy is basically the opposite of the “Japan is falling behind economically and needs to catch up” narrative often expressed on this subreddit.

   [KaeruTantei](https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/11gogyf/japan_drops_to_104th_in_gender_disparity_rank_in/jargyhk/):
   >Japan is already about 30 years behind all of its peers. Have you ever been on a Japanese website? Have you been to a city hall? What about the low salaries, high cost of living, low birthrate, and obviously the gender gap mentioned in the OP.

   >Tell me what other G7 countries are operating this way ?

   [Reijikageyama](https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/11gogyf/japan_drops_to_104th_in_gender_disparity_rank_in/jarrn8c/)

   >Forget the G7. Just looking around at some of Japan’s immediate neighbors – Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea – the speed of digitalization there, ease of conducting business, the streamlined efficiency, higher average salaries, higher per capita GDP, economic competitiveness, gender equality, attractiveness to foreign talent, innovation and entrepreneurship, etc.

   >Heck even China is far ahead in terms of cashless payment systems and moving towards a digital society.

   >Japan is still mired in endless mountains of paperwork, hanko stamps, fax machines, poor English proficiency, floppy disks to store confidential government data which sometimes get misplaced by drunk salarymen and civil servants.