What will Japan be like in 10 years' time?
 

Just a question, so tell us what you think japan will be like in ten years.

About the only difference I've seen from 2000 is the now near universality of cell phones. At the tine, cell phones existed, but were weak, expensive, and bricklike. In the next ten years I predict the near universality of smartphones or pad/tablet devices. Perhaps even in school, but that might be a difficult sell to the Boards of Education. Other than that, most cultural components of Japan will remain roughly the same.

I think the OP was talking about in Japan. Cell phones in Japan where quite nice even back in 2000. From your profile/posts on the board it doesn't appear you were in Japan 10 years ago. You could actually get one with a color screen for 1 yen when you signed up for a plan. Color was a luxury back then and it was only DSTN Color displays, not TFT. But the phones were small and well ahead of the bricks still standard in the rest of the world.

To the OP's original post... and its a thoughtful, good post:

I think the government will crack down more on illegal immigrants.

It will become more difficult to enter Japanese borders legally.

Get more tough on smoking like the US fascist movement toward smoking.

Get back into making business and system software that isn't video game related and make a move against Microsoft.

Continue to create state of the art robotics.

Get fatter until the government finalizes laws to keep your waist in check or discovers how to make even the fattiest food non-fat non-calorie.

Begin to surpass the world in medicine as the US would have completely destroyed their health-care system (by passing some government controlled health-care system) and doctors will have fled the US.

The Japanese auto industry may be belly up by then because the US will not need cars anymore because of the national high speed trains President Obama promised the nation (haha).

Moss Burger (under a different name) and Mister Donuts will have come back to America in Japanese service and style fashion and Japan will rule the world from the profits.

Japan will have to and be allowed to defend itself without the assistance of the US - because the US may be broke by then.

The 産経新聞, 読売新聞 and Fox News will have a joint venture and be the only place to get fair and balanced news. CNN and the like would be long gone.

In 10 years? Maybe more lowering of prices, total 24 hour change-overs for more facilities, and more chain businesses. Maybe another hike in sales tax. Otherwise, not all that different from now, just like 10 years ago wasn`t all that much different from now.

With phones, I really don`t see people switching over to smart phones. I hear nothing but complaints about typing in Japanese on those that are around now (and even more about the pain of it on the iPhone). It seems like people change their phones every year so it`s not really in their interest to jump into smart phones.
And yep, 10 years ago my cheapy prepaid cell phone (while much behind in features compared to today) was not that much bigger than my current phone, and it had good coverage. (A silver version of this.)
Even 9 years ago I had a color screen, live weather and news updates, etc. (Don`t feel like digging it out for a pic - but here is the same model.) The oohs and aahs it got on visits to the US were great fun at the time.

I guess it doesn't what the topic is, any place is seemingly a good place to dump on America.

I am actually happy to see fewer teens smoking in Japan, and overall it seems like there are fewer smokers than there were even five years ago.

You talk about America's "facist crackdown" on smoking like smoking is a good thing, clintjm. There is nothing facist about promoting good health and going down a path that hopefully eventually makes cigarettes a thing of the past.

Hmmmm . . .Aisans are smart, imagine Futarama with Humans . . .So the Jetsons . . .Yeah . . .

What are you complaining about? Who is dumping on America?

Crack down on Tobacco in Japan has been happening for a while. I was writing to 10 years from now Japan being to the degree America has taken it.

Yeah we all have our devices... Promoting health is one thing... prohibiting and taxing is another.

People who smoke, drink, or eat junk food know its not good for you, but seriously... I don't need anyone telling me its bad for me, tax, or to prevent it all together. Oh... we've already had that thread.

Too much Internet isn't good for you either you know... you know... they eyes on the screen, carpal tunnel, addiction to whatever have you on the net...

I throw in one more then...
Pot will be legalized in the U.S. and in Japan in 10 years.

At least you didn't complain about the fox news venture; but I'm sure you'll find something else.

All of that in ten years? Fat chance think a bit smaller like just now making hover cars good enough to drive on public streets.

By the time there is convienent high speed rail that everyone can use and benefit from in all of the U.S., like in Japan and Europe, there will already be flying cars like the Jetsons, so we won't need it.

In ten years in Japan it will also be exactly 1 degree Celcius cooler on average.

I don't know about 10 years but according to Vexille in 70 or so it's going to be pure robots. Animation is never wrong.

Speak for yourself.

color displays
 

;) Maybe in Japan of some parallel Universe.....

When a term like "facist crackdown in America" is used to describe the promotion of a smoke-free lifestyle, I call that dumping on America. It happens here way too often, and I call on it whenever I see it.

Unlike the other activities you describe, there is nothing healthy about cigarettes. There is no safe use in moderation. That's all I will say about that.

Even if marijuana is legalized in the US, I would be shocked if it were legalized in Japan in 10 years. There is no organized or respected pro-marijuana movement like there is in the US. The attitudes about marijuana place it in the same catagory as meth or black tar heroin. It's not going to happen here.

You are reaching.
None the less thanks for your public service announcement.

Who said they are healthy for goodness sake.
But we all do things that are not healthy. Living in a smog filled city isn't healthy either, but some people don't like the country.

Guess it depends on the groups you hang out with and where you live.
The idea that Japanese might have about Marijuana you paint here is probably right in most areas. That is just from lack of knowledge on the plant. The same ideas Jpaanese have that caffine, tobacco and alcohol, taking in moderation is also very acceptable on the same hand.

I think if the US legalizes it in some fashion I think Japan would soon follow. I get back to you about it in 10 years.

indeed.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Well i saw some news article a few months ago saying that most countries citizens live longer then American people, and japan was one of those countries with longer living citizens. Just saying, not trying to get involved in this.

And the Japanese smoke like stacks in comparison to America. The air pollution in many urban cities in Japan is not very nice at all. I think those reports mainly are focused on Okinawa, but I think surely life style and diet has some affect in Japan in general.

It will be interested to see if the Kyoto Protocol has any real affect in 10 years in regards to air pollution in Japan.

There will be no movement in Japan to legalize marijuana. Japan is not America, where marijuana is cheap and easy to find, and where punishment for using it is slight. The number of people in Japan who use marijuana is negligibly small.

Japan is an island, and importing illegal drugs here is difficult. An arrest for marijuana in Japan is a life-ruining event, which will land you in jail for a long time, and may prevent you from ever getting any kind of decent job. The families of those who are arrested for drug use are often so ashamed that they move to a new area.

Japan has a national health care system, and with the large numbers of people becoming elderly, health related issues due to cigarette smoking may become to costly to bear. Smoking is now banned in many public places, and there are officers who patrol the alleyways in Shinjuku and other areas and cite people for smoking outside designated areas. Newer restaurants now often prohibit smoking, and the government is looking for new ways to prevent people from picking up the habit.

I don't see Japan being noticeably different in 10 years.

I am saying cigarettes have ZERO benefits. You can't say that about the other things. That's why I say smoking is different from "Internet" or "living in city". There are other benefits to those things, despite possible health issues. Cigarettes don't have other benefits.

America legalizing mariijuana will have as much affect on Japanese feelings about dope as America legalizing handguns does. Sure there will be a handful of people that will develop and interest, but that is very different from the national government reversing what is probably one of the most popular laws in Japan.

Alcohol has zero benefits too then I guess.

Maybe the playstation 4 will be out.
Maybe.

I'm sure that will be all around the world earlier then ten years.

LOL

"negligibly small" would be whatever is lower than what any enforcement can actually stop. They slump for a time, lower the standards, bam, "neglibibly small".

It's "negligibly small" in the US and all other countries, also. Because I said so.

They grow their own. It grows anywhere.

Playstation 2 is still sold and it came out in 2000.
And is still a very popular console in 2010.
Playstation 3 2008 and its yet to even use its true potential.
Playstion 4.. I 'm thining 2018 at the earliest.

Actually in moderation certain alcoholic drinks have been researched to have health benefits. I am sure you heard them, so I won't waste anyone's time list them here.

There is a "safe level" of drinking that doctors generally agree to for most people. There is no "safe level" of cigarette use.

The rate of marijuana usage in Japan is far lower than the US or Canada. As Nyororin, punishments are severe and especially when famous people are busted it is a career ending event. Paul McCartney even spent 10 days in a Japnese jail for posessing weed.

It is not only the punishement that keeps people away, but social attitudes toward the drug, which are very negative.

From the Wall Street Journal:
While hard numbers are difficult to come by, marijuana use in Japan appears to be low compared with other countries. In a survey of 85,000 households from 17 countries published last year by the Public Library of Science, a nonprofit group based in San Francisco and Cambridge, U.K., only 1.5% of Japanese respondents said they have used cannabis, compared with 42% in the U.S. and 18% in Germany.

I think in 10 years, Japan will open up it's borders (i.e. it'll welcome foreigners like America did/does(?)). Walking down a street in any city will seem like you're walking down any big city in Europe or America; there will be a great mix of ethnicities and culture which will just increase the phasing out of Japanese Culture until their new culture resembles that of the west more and more!

As far as I know, it's actually been proven that the negatives out-way the positives of Alcohol, even in moderation (even with wine! The typical example is the Mediterranean and their diet including a glass or two of wine having a positive effect).

With cigarettes, there are SOME short term benefits, but again, the negatives greatly out-way the positives.

So actually, both cigarettes and alcohol are equally bad for you as both of far more negatives than positives, but the problem is, with Cigarettes (tobacco), everything is exaggerated, and alcohol, things are underplayed. Most people don't know that as long as you don't actually get cancerous cells, all the harm tobacco does can be reversed in time, and sometimes, this reversal actually makes your lungs better than before.

Exactly. And is there even a resource squandering equivalent of the DEA in Japan or is it just general police enforcement? I can say one thing. Illegal or not, in the US the drug business is big business for more than dealers.

LEAP - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition - Cops Say Legalize Drugs

Drinking Alcohol And Benefits

Alcohol use: Why moderation is key - MayoClinic.com

Alcohol And Health

Risks and benefits of alcohol

I am not so sure you can simply say it has been proven that the negatives of alcohol outweigh the positives on an individual basis.

I don't think this idea that there are benefits is as true when it comes to smoking cigarettes.

Health Benefits of Smoking Cigarettes: Could Tobacco Be Good for You? - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

To say that schizophrenics have a higher rate of smoking is somehow a form of self-medication seems to be a leap in logic to me. By that same vein we could also conclude that smoking causes schizophrenia.

Smoking cigarettes has short-term health benefits - Sci-Tech

Saying the damage done by smoking is reversable is very different than proving health benefits. We can recover from broken bones, too, but that doesn't mean breaking a bones has any health benefit.

Regardless, even if Alcohol has no health benefits and Tobacco does, that is not the general perception, and that is what influences the decisions of lawmakers.

I am not sure that you can conclude that Alcohol and Tobacco are equally bad for you...I have seen nothing to make me come to that conclusion, but again, that isn't the perception, and it is the perception that matters.

In my dream future Japan they will have achieved the unachievable...




...brought out a worthy successor to Sonic The Hedgehog 3...

Before I say anything, I just want to let you know that I don't smoke or drink. I've never drank in my life and I have maybe 2 or 3 cigarettes a year when I'm very stressed. It has a kind of placebo effect on me.

This statement doesn't really make much sense, unless I've misunderstood it... I'm not talking about an individual basis, because everyone is different; You always hear the remarkable stories of a man smoking his whole life and not getting lung cancer whilst his room mate or partner or whatever that has never smoked a cigarette in their life gets lung cancer from second hand smoke!

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean with that second sentence.

That's just out of the blue for me. I don't think I've seen the word schizophrenia before today, so I definitely wasn't talking about this when I was talking about "benefits of tobacco".


I agree with that... I'm not saying that reversal=benefit. I mentioned that to illustrate my point of the severity of tobacco being exaggerated! Nothing else!

I'm not against the lawmakers. The only reason I debate FOR smokers is because I see them as being mistreated! I don't have to be a smoker to debate on their side!

For me, the dangers of alcohol are more than it causing liver disease etc. I also take into consideration the effects it has on people's behaviours, morals and self control. Even if having a glass or two of wine doesn't make someone drunk, it makes a lot of people addicted (I don't know if that's the right word here). And for me, any kind of addiction is negative!

I think Humanoid robots will be seen in service roles. There will be cars with no wheels, and everything is through auto-pilot.

Fashion wise, the SCI-FI movie's latex outfit probably won't make it, but similar cutting will be seen.

I clarified it. My point was it is much easier to find case studies on the benefits of alcohol over the benefits of tobacco.

Even if someone smokes 100 years and never gets lung cancer, that still doesn't prove a benefit to smoking, or account for the dangers of the second hand smoke from those around him.

That was what the link above it talked about. Reading it, it seemed pretty dubious, but if you want to post more reliable links about the health benefits of smoking, please do...though we are both a little off topic here.

Which goes back to my original point. Of all the vices we listed earlier, smoking cigarettes has no health benefits. No doctor is going to tell you there is a safe level of smoking you can do.

How are smokers being mistreated?

Cultures change, and the first world is slowly but surely moving away from smoking as an acceptable social practice. This is social evolution in effect, and as a result what was a normal activity becomes a progressively unaccepted activity. Smokers are not the the first nor the last social group that will find their numbers dwindling.

Certainly people can become addicted to alcohol (as they can to cigarettes) but it doesn't mean that everyone, or even a mojoritiy, who drinks alcohol is addicted or has their morals or behavior threatened when they drink.

:) You're right, we're way off topic. I'm sure there is a thread for this somewhere. But I think we'll just leave it to us having different views on the subject. Especially since you say people "can" become addicted to alcohol, while I say people "usually do".

I am not sure where you come up with the conclusion that alcohol use "usually" leads to addiction. I have never heard anything to support that, but feel free to post evidence to the contrary if it is out there...and then we can end this OT discussion.

It's not to do with "evidence" or anything scientific and I don't see why it has to be to be honest :cool: . It's to do with what I see! I'd say with confidence that 95% of my friends are alcoholics without them realising!

I think in 10 years Japan is going to have A LOT of senior citizens and the birthrate would have declined even further. However i think we see a slightly higher multicultural aspect in Japan.

Yep, exactly what I said! But, in different terms, lol

honestly, I cant believe how far their birthrates have fallen. Everyone thought it was getting better last year turns out it fell again. I guess the gov is going to try to introduce new plans to get people to have kids. People arent going to have kids when cost of living is too high.

Japan will be a place with me living in it. :D