An interesting article…I agree with you strongly concerning the lack of adaptability in Japan…I`d go further in saying that adaptability is now impossible…The Japanese have built a system or a social hierarchy that to dismantle would be unthinkable.. I would like to say that the Japanese elites totally believe that the workers of Japan can work their way out of this mess..Unfortunately the problem is that this `work` is unproductive and misdirected…Most of them are just chasing their tails…The vast majority so clueless about the international business world and so believing the good times just keep rolling if you only buy Japanese.. There is the fact that the Japanese are spending money like water…Money in fact they haven`t got.. They still honestly believe they are going to take over the world…In Tokyo salaries for totally unproductive salarymen are just too high…Over-employment is everywhere.. The real error and shame for Japan is that when they should have been making partnerships… racial prejudice and greed from their elites got in the way… I wouldn`t invest in Japan basically because of their fundamental inability to understand the world due to their racism and secondly the competition is sorry just getting better…

I'm japanese and living in Japan, I deeply agree to the words 'Don't invest in Japan'.
Japanese people, from PM Kan to average one, are misunderstanding Japan's ability and position from the world-wide point of view.
If we can't reform our society completely, The Japan goes down to the Pacific abyss.

This article is totally exaggerating. Yes, Japan has a lot of issues, but these are about the same issues as in many Western countries (ageing society, rising global competition, dependence on exports, slow reaction of politics to real issues). Actually, Japan is better of than many Western economies – one example: Greece was going down because most of it's debt was with foreign parties that started to want their money back, so the system crashed – Japan's debt is to 98% with its own people, inside Japan. Their won't be any crash in Japan when foreign investors start doubting and asking for their investments back. And one more important aspect: Japan doesn't have the highest production cost in the world (that's in Europe; i.e. Germany). But there is no nation in which people work so hard as in Japan (believe, I've been to 40 countries). There is a common saying in Japan that "a Japanese man is married to his company … to support his wife/family" … the Japanese will work well their way out of any crisis. In my opinion actually they work way too hard.