GDP per capita in 1990
US: $23K
Japan: $25K
GDP per capita in 2025:
US: $89K
Japan: $33K
I don't see this changing any time soon. And yes, in Japan a yen is still a yen. I remember my in-laws family would always travel around East Asia in the 90s and 00s. They have a lot of soveniers from that time and speak very fondly about it, and how they want to go again. But none of them have been overseas for at least a decade now. It is things like this that creep up on you. That and the increase in food prices, which we have all noticed. There is also something indignifying about the quality of tourists that Japan attracts nowadays. It is like we are an amusement park. It is hard. I still think it is worth being here, and Japan's QOL is still very high. I love Japan, and I want more than anything for Japan to succeed. But I want my kids and their kids to have a high QOL too.
by Fun_Purpose6972