【フランス】ル・モンド社説「日本は奇跡を経て、疑念の時にある」

After the "miracle" Japan full of doubt(Translate by Google)
source : 2012.11.02 Le Monde.fr (ボタンクリックで引用記事が開閉)

Time seems increasingly far where Japan appeared in the eyes of the Old Europe , as a "miracle" of economic development and technological innovation. In the years 1970-1980, the Japanese electronics and automobile industries were unquestionably the world champions in their field. And made ??the country the second largest economy in the world .

That time is long gone. After two decades of so-called "Lost" (1990 and 2000), every week now brings a lot of new gloomy side of Tokyo or Osaka. The jewels of the industry Japanese consumer electronics are not affected by the recent stagnation.

Thus, on November 1, is that Sharp has announced losses worrying for 2012-2013 due to poor sales of its flat-screen TVs, liquid crystal roughly competition from South Korean and Taiwanese. The future group itself seems threatened.

The day before, Panasonic showed expected loss for this abysmal year after such poor results last year. And Sony , if it comes out a little better, limping along retaliation decided by China to its trading partner after the "nationalization" of the uninhabited Senkaku.

Highly dependent leusr sales in China, the leading automotive world, the situation is alarming for manufacturers automobiles: they suffer cruelly diplomatic crisis with Beijing. The anti-Japanese campaign in China has resulted in a sharp drop in sales of Honda, Toyota and Nissan, notably in favor of South Korean Hyundai Motor and German BMW.

The effect of the boycott of the powerful neighbor feels as tourism. Chinese travelers shun this year's show "koyo", this exceptional moment when, throughout the Archipelago, the trees are purple and golden hues. September should be an opportunity to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two major Asian economies. But the festivities were canceled.

Sino-Japanese crisis is a powerful reminder of the fragility of the Archipelago, more than a year after the tsunami struck and disaster nuclear plant in Fukushima.

Indeed, it exposes the trends that undermine the dynamism heavy Japanese. A stagnant economy, an aging population and the erosion of the capacity for technological innovation, coupled with the weakening endless system policy .

Three years after the arrival of the Democrats in power , ending a half-century of domination of the Liberal Democratic Party, the political class Japanese seems increasingly paralyzed face the challenges of the country. With the emergence of China, the archipelago has yet to invent a new model without folding on itself and the temptations of nationalism.