re: #117 Obdicut

I just talked to a Japanese friend of mine, and she said it’s 4 factors:

1. They got their ass kicked by a heavy industrial power in WWII and ever since then have wanted even more to be a heavy industrial power.

2. They have a limited workforce.

3. They have limited land, and so need to maximize efficiency.

4. Samurai ethics have no work ethic; labor is a low-class thing.

Well, as regards No. 4, the peasants continue to work their asses off, now in highrises rather than fields. How influential are Samurai ethics these days?

(Dunno.)