2+ decades with a stagnant economy | the lowest productivity in the G7 | the common denominator in territorial disputes with Russia, China, and Korea | the very definition of what is known as a “Super-Aging Society” | the most indebted country in the world | addicted to a cycle of perpetual corruption scandals in both the public and private sectors | ”friendless” and distrusted in Asia due to its lack of contrition for initiating a brutal war of aggression in 1931 | revisionist to the point of ludicrousness | a nation that whitewashes its historical culpability in its textbooks at all age levels | a pathetic insistence on playing the victim | proudly near the bottom in world rankings for gender equality | comfortably nestled between El Salvador and Lesotho in the World Press Freedom Index | a nation with disturbingly lax child pornography laws [possession banned only since 2014 but allowable for “freedom of expression” purposes as content in comics] | where suicide as the leading cause of death among Japanese aged 10 - 14 | an absolute inferiority complex vis-a-vis the West | an absolute superiority complex vis-a-vis the rest of oriental Asia | incapable of meaningful change | behind most of its neighbours vis-a-vis the adoption of functional, contributive technology | a country that petitions the UN annually to grant its “public toilets” world heritage status, yet sulks when these foolish claims are dismissed | where 99% of the population has less ability in English than the average Vietnamese food-cart vendor | where “I was angry and drunk and don’t remember a thing” is the fallback excuse for everything from public urination to multiple murder | where blatant mistruths and active lying are culturally ingrained as legitimate means to every possible end | etc | etc | etc...