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The Low-Desire Society
In *The Low-Desire Society*, renowned strategist Kenichi Ohmae dissects Japan’s decades-long economic stagnation, pinpointing a pervasive culture of diminished ambition as its root cause. He challenges Thomas Piketty’s progressive tax proposals, arguing they’ve crushed Japanese work ethic—high-income earners avoid extra labor, while trillions in personal and corporate savings remain locked in unproductive accounts instead of fueling growth. Ohmae dismantles Abenomics, criticizing its "three arrows" as superficial fixes that failed to address core issues: a shrinking, aging population, plummeting birth rates, and a risk-averse youth cohort that shuns homeownership, marriage, and career advancement. Beyond diagnosis, he lays out actionable solutions: a flat tax system to unlock dormant capital, a phased immigration plan to replenish the workforce, local devolution to replace stifling centralization, agricultural reform modeled on the Netherlands’ high-value exports, and an education overhaul to foster innovative talent. Drawing parallels to Sweden’s past stagnation and Estonia’s digital governance success, Ohmae warns that Japan’s crisis offers a cautionary tale for other aging, developed nations grappling with similar demographic and economic headwinds.
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