Failure to compete in high-tech areas (when was the last time you got a mobile phone made in Japan)
Which is funny because Japan was very strong in the modern days of computing and videogames. What happened? My guess is that software got more complex and their vertical way of working is not productive for the complexity expected today
Japan has SERIOUS issues with NIH syndrome. They were on the cutting edge of technology when they led it. Not so much when it would require adoption from American and Chinese suppliers and service exporters.
There's a significant U.S.-Japan language gap as well, which tends to work to the disadvantage of whichever side is not currently ahead technologically. Very few American engineers read Japanese-language journals or trade press, and very few (though somewhat rising) Japanese engineers read English-language journals or trade press.
Most domestic companies are shielded from competition, and can employ many more people than they should. These companies are backed by the central bank (BoJ), which has been printing money left and right, and now owns more than half of the nation’s market for exchange-traded stock funds[1].
Failure to compete in high-tech areas (when was the last time you got a mobile phone made in Japan)
Which is funny because Japan was very strong in the modern days of computing and videogames. What happened? My guess is that software got more complex and their vertical way of working is not productive for the complexity expected today