Japan as a Developed Country
I went to Japan in February 2023 and could never move on from the country. Japan is such a lovable country with a very safe environment, friendly people, amazing foods, lots of high and cool technology as well as infrastructure. And of course, in terms of development, Japan is one of the largest and most developed countries in the world.
Development is often defined as a sustained increase in the standard of living. When evaluating a country’s level of development, there are many different factors to consider. These aspects include economic growth, happiness, sustainable lifestyles, technology, infrastructure, resources, and so much more.
Japan’s development can be seen using the methods of development, such as GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and HDI (Human Development Index). GDP measures the monetary value of the final goods and services produced. As of 2021, Japan’s GDP is around 4.932 trillion USD, ranking 3rd out of 196 other countries (“Japan GDP — Gross Domestic Product 2021”).
HDI is a statistic that combines data on life expectancy, education, and income per capita indicators. According to worldpopulation.com, Japan’s HDI as of 2021 is 0.925, which is classified as “very high.” This is due to many aspects such as infrastructure, technology, sanitation, health services, etc. For example, Japan has a good transport system as one of its infrastructures. The majority of people travel from one place to another by using the metro, which is cheap and fast. This allows easier mobility for everyone to go to work, go to school, or travel anywhere. Secondly, Japan is a very clean country with possibly 0 trash found elsewhere than the trashcan. Its clean water has also allowed people to stay sanitized and healthy.
So, how developed is Japan? Do I want to live there?
This can totally be up to people’s value of a country’s development. I think that Japan is a developed country that I would like to live in for a few years. Considering the factors of safety, cleanliness, and infrastructure, Japan is a developed country that possibly fulfills a lot of things I need in my daily life.
For example, its public transport infrastructure, such as the metro, will enable quick, secure, and affordable access for everyone to go from one place to another. And not to mention its high technology. An example would be its vending machines that can be found everywhere. Just with a coin or card, everyone can get their drinks or even food in a matter of seconds.
Most importantly, it’s cleanliness. With clean water everywhere and zero trash at random places, everyone is supported to be healthy.
Sounds like a good life, doesn’t it?
Japan’s Developed Economy and How it Impacts the Society
Japan is one of the biggest export markets. In fact, it is the 4th biggest export market worldwide and is a trading partner for the United States (“Japan — Market Overview”). Japan’s major export industries include automobiles, electronics, iron and steel, etc (“Japan”). A lot of our cars are made in Japan. For example, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, etc. Funny how Japan produces a lot of cars yet a lot of people prefer to use public transport or ride a bike (which probably explains why there is no serious air pollution there). Another cool example of electronics produced in Japan is something that a lot of people, especially kids, love to play: the Nintendo Switch!
Anyways, as a country producing many vehicles, electronics, or anything tech-related, it has several impacts on society. One of the impacts is job opportunities. The Japanese labor market is notable for low unemployment and high employment rates. This results in labor market success exceeding the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average.
However, several factors like technological advancement and population aging have slightly shifted the supply and demand for skills. This means that finding a job in Japan will eventually get more and more difficult, as employers look for specific abilities that the job applicants should possess.
Japan’s Globalization
First of all, globalization is often defined as the process of interaction and merging of people, companies, or governments around the world. It has a lot of impacts on a country’s environment, economic growth, culture, etc.
Positive aspects of globalization include the spread of technology and innovation, access to new cultures, access to new markets, higher standards of living worldwide, increasing economic growth, etc. Despite that though, there are some negative aspects too, which include unequal economic growth (richer countries have more benefits than developing countries), lack of local businesses, and increase potential global recession.
In Japan, so far, the globalization of its economy has involved expanding exports, imports, and foreign production (Ryokichi). As a country producing a lot of goods (including high-tech ones), Japan has certainly built connections with other countries through exporting products. A simple example could (again) be the Nintendo Switch. Played by a lot of people, the Nintendo Switch is originally and is imported from Japan to countries in different parts of the world. There are a lot of other examples too, like the automobile industry. Globalization has allowed continuous growth in car production due to expanding markets.
Summing it up, by expanding markets, Japan builds production networks and boosts its economic growth.
To summarize, Japan is a developed country based on the aspects discussed above (economy, society, infrastructure, etc). A beautiful, clean country with developed infrastructure and a lot of high technology, is a place where I would like to spend some years of my young-adult life. I would like to experience the upcoming technological advancements that Japan will have in years to come. It would also be cool if I could be one of the people there to innovate technology or create new advanced things.
One thing I am still wondering about Japan’s development is regarding whether people there (locals) are happy or not. Happiness is one of the aspects of a country’s development. Japan (at least Tokyo) is a pretty busy country, and I’m wondering if the people there enjoy living in a busy country. As of 2022, Japan’s rank in happiness is 54th, which is the lowest compared to other developed countries (Kutty and Tochibayashi). So perhaps, Japan can be more developed in terms of making people happier.
Works cited:
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Human Development Index (HDI) by Country 2023. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/hdi-by-country. Accessed 13 Mar. 2023.
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“Japan GDP — Gross Domestic Product 2021.” Countryeconomy.Com, https://countryeconomy.com/gdp/japan?year=2021. Accessed 13 Mar. 2023.
Kutty, Naoko, and Naoko Tochibayashi. “Why Happiness and Wellbeing Is Key to a Healthy Ageing Society in Japan.” World Economic Forum, 11 Oct. 2022, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/well-being-happiness-healthy-ageing-society-japan/. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.
MasterClass. “How Globalization Works: Pros and Cons of Globalization — 2023.” MasterClass, 12 Oct. 2022, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-globalization-works-pros-and-cons-of-globalization. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.
Ryokichi, Takenaka Heizo and Chida. Domestic Adjustments to Globalization — Japan. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.
“What Is Globalization? Examples, Definition, Benefits and Effects.” Youmatter, 21 Jan. 2019, https://youmatter.world/en/definition/definitions-globalization-definition-benefits-effects-examples/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.
