For software engineers, the unique culture, environment, and salary in Japan are not the primary considerations. Many software engineers who work in Japan do so simply because they love Japan. Therefore, we won't discuss salary and Japanese corporate culture here. Instead, I will focus on the current concerns about Japanese society.
Economy
1990 was the year of the burst of the economic bubble. The Nikkei average index dropped from over 30,000 points to 15,000 points (in 2000), almost halving in value.
Source: Nikkei
Only in recent years has there been a gradual recovery, slowly catching up to the Nikkei index in 1990. From this perspective, there is concern about whether Japan can maintain its current state. Additionally, after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, Japan spent a significant amount of time and money to rebuild the affected region, but Fukushima's products have become a lifelong stigma.
In the past two years, the economy of Japan has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tokyo Olympics, which could have stimulated the Japanese economy, has now become a heavy burden. All of these issues ultimately fall on the shoulders of the citizens, including foreign workers in Japan.
Pension System
Japan's pension system is divided into the National Pension and the Employee's Pension. As long as you work for a Japanese company, the Employee's Pension will be deducted from your salary. The amount of the Employee's Pension depends on the salary range. The pension in Japan is more expensive than any tax.
However, given the current demographic composition of Japan, it is difficult to have confidence in the current pension system. According to statistics from 2020, the elderly population in Japan has reached 28.7%, which is a significant number.
Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan
As the years go by, Japan's population will gradually decrease, and the proportion of elderly people will continue to increase. According to projections, by 2030, the elderly population in Japan will account for 30% of the total population, and by 2045, it will reach 37%. Of course, the population is also slowly declining.
With the increase in the elderly population, what will happen to the pension system? The sustainability of the current pension system is a major issue. If it cannot be sustained, either the working population will have to pay more in pension contributions, or the pension that our generation receives upon retirement will be reduced.
While this may be an inevitable path for developed countries, it also means that this issue must be considered when working in Japan. For foreigners, we can rely on the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment system to ensure that we receive the pension. However, for those who plan to stay in Japan for more than five years, this may be a question worth pondering.
Culture
Galapagos Syndrome
"Galapagos Syndrome" is a term often used to describe Japanese products that only consider the Japanese market and do not take into account the situations in other countries.
Faced with varieties (products/technologies) from outside (foreign countries) that have high adaptability (versatility) and survivability (low prices), they eventually face the danger of being eliminated.
Wikipedia
For example, in the case of contactless IC applications like SUICA, Japan uses Sony's FeliCa technology (a type of NFC), while most other countries use MIFARE (such as Taiwan's EasyCard). This protocol was specifically designed for Japan's commuting situation. If entering and exiting platforms took an additional half-second like with EasyCard, it would cause significant congestion in Japan.
There is also Japan's unique broadcasting law and television broadcasting system. In Japan, B-CAS is required to watch television. In simple terms, the television signals sent from broadcasting stations to homes are encrypted and can only be decrypted with B-CAS. As far as I know, Japan is one of the few countries that encrypt television signals. Although the law states that households with televisions must pay, there are ways to avoid payment.
As a software engineer, the existence of JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) can be frustrating. When developing products, various standards are usually based on ISO (International Organization for Standardization), but Japan has its unique standard, JIS.
Exclusivity and Language Barrier
From this, we can see that Japan has an inherent sense of exclusivity. Despite the labor shortage, which requires foreign workers to fill the gaps, it does not necessarily mean that Japanese products have become internationalized or diversified. It is also possible that we, as foreigners, have always been seen as outsiders, creating a sense of barrier.
Politics
The indifference of the Japanese people towards politics exceeds my imagination. Apart from foreign colleagues, I rarely see other coworkers discussing politics, even during the Olympics.
I consider this a serious issue. Many reforms and decisions require political parties to drive them, and ensuring that political parties do their job properly and don't act recklessly requires the supervision of the people. However, I always feel that the Japanese people are not very concerned about politics. Most people think it doesn't matter who is in charge, and at most, they complain on Twitter and that's it.
Conclusion
After talking about so many negative aspects, it's not that I want to discourage everyone from coming to Japan. Some may feel that the things written in this article are far from their own reality, so why bother thinking about them? When I first came to Japan, I also thought the same way. However, as time goes by and as I get older, many decisions require more information to make judgments.
Working in Japan certainly has many advantages. As a software engineer, there are many resources related to electronics work here, many enthusiasts who make their own keyboards, convenient and user-friendly Amazon (Japanese version), good public safety (except for the noisy biker gangs), and high-quality living standards. However, perhaps it's also time to think about the next steps.
