Japan is rich because Japanese are poor.
That, in essence, is the paradoxical hypothesis conceived by French sociologist Jean Baudrillard. He wondered whether Japan operated under a different model from "Western-style idealism," which he said requires individual citizens to become rich before their nation can become so.
Baudrillard said it appeared as though Japanese society was based on feudalism, with people acting like cells of an organism and avoiding open dissent.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.