In this episode, I explore why Japan was able to dominate parts of the global economy in the late 20th century and why those same strengths became limitations in today’s world. I argue that Japan did not succeed despite low productivity, but because the industrial battlefield rewarded stability, quality consistency, and accumulated manufacturing knowledge. Lifetime employment, internal knowledge retention, and a strong domestic supply chain created powerful competitive advantages. However, as the global economy shifted toward speed, platforms, intellectual property, and scalability, the definition of competitiveness changed. This episode examines how economic success is shaped not only by effort or culture, but by whether a country is optimized for the right era.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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