I also spent some time in Japan. I want to push back on this:
- my wife found her job opportunities and career growth severely limited by the heavily patriarchal culture, beyond anything I have ever seen in the West
- there is vast discrimination against foreigners in housing and many other aspects, more so than in most Western countries
- like the author mentioned, students in Japan (I taught at a university) were less worldly and less knowledgeable about things going on outside Japan, extending into even their direct professional activities
- there is an abnormal amount of nepotism. It is incredibly difficult to start your own business without connections (there is basically no startup economy) and it is equally hard to advance in a large company without being related to someone important
- my wife found her job opportunities and career growth severely limited by the heavily patriarchal culture, beyond anything I have ever seen in the West
- there is vast discrimination against foreigners in housing and many other aspects, more so than in most Western countries
- like the author mentioned, students in Japan (I taught at a university) were less worldly and less knowledgeable about things going on outside Japan, extending into even their direct professional activities
- there is an abnormal amount of nepotism. It is incredibly difficult to start your own business without connections (there is basically no startup economy) and it is equally hard to advance in a large company without being related to someone important