In short order I learned that Haneda is Asia's busiest airport, which might not seem that special unless you already knew that it largely handles domestic traffic. It also turns out that Japan is no longer the "nation of savers" it once was, with a savings rate of 14% of income in 1990 dropping to 3% in 2008. The last tidbit that caught my eye was that no Tokyo resident lives further than 500 metres from a convenience store. What surprised me is that any Tokyoite lives that far from one. Must reside atop a tower.
Very little information is recycled from previous issues (e.g. a paragraph on the Oishinbo manga), making the only fault of the supplement that it is not a detachable insert that could be slipped into a bag before traveling. Singapore received this treatment last issue, so it would have been nice to see for Tokyo as well. Anyway, pick up your copy before they sell out and you'll be treated to Monocle's welcome mix of articles on international politics, business, culture, and design with a healthy dose of Japan, not to mention the Kitakoga manga series featuring Japan's James Bond, Niels Watanabe. I've never missed an issue myself, so I doubt you'll be disappointed.
I can see the convenience store thing. I live in San Diego and it seems that there is a taco shop every 1/2 mile you go. As for the savings rate, would the rapid aging population have to do something with it? Seniors now have to brake the bank for medical care and nursing.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the savings rate, it seems like a combination of three factors--all with the 1989 bubble burst as the root cause:
ReplyDelete1) The older generation of savers had to tap their savings to maintain their standard of living.
2) Underemployed younger people like freetas had to use most of their incomes to cover basic expenses.
3) The Bank of Japan's ultra low interest rate policy removed all incentive to keep savings in the bank or at the post office.
Not sure what an economist would say about these ideas, but they're probably not far off the mark.
I agree with you on the freetas and know many of them. A lot of them are just making enough to pay the bills. The women I know also blow huge sums of cash on heels and bags. It is unbelieveable! I could not believe how much they would spend.
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