There is a chain of electronic stores in Japan called Bic Camera. Two decades ago, these were the go-to places for consumer tech. Visitors paid pilgrimages to wow at cutting-edge gadgets and games at these multistorey symbols of Japan’s global tech leadership.
Today you see little in the stores that you wouldn’t see in any large electronic store in Ireland. They’re even selling cosmetics and bottles of spirits to tourists. The quiet transformation of stores such as Bic Camera reflects how Japan’s leadership in invention and design, once visible on every shelf, has gradually slipped away.
Japan has lost its innovative edge. And it has been missing for years now.
Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda took to the stage at the Japan Mobility Show to launch the car giant’s new ultra-luxury brand, Century. But his speech was laden with references to the innovative spirit that drove Japan’s revival from the ruins of the second World War. And he lamented the lack of that spirit now.
“The ‘Japan as No 1′ era is behind us, and we are now in what has come to be known as ‘the lost 30 years’,” Toyoda said. “Japan as a nation seems to have lost some of its energy and dynamism, along with our presence in the world.”
Toyoda’s views carry a lot of weight, given that the auto i
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