The Populism Survey 2024, conducted by Ipsos, a multinational market research and consulting firm recognized as the world’s largest public opinion research company, revealed that 68% of Japanese citizens perceive their country to be in decline.
The survey included 20,630 participants from 28 countries worldwide, including Japan. The findings were consolidated into a graph, indicating that “alleviation of poverty and social inequality” was identified as the top priority for the Japanese people in terms of how tax money should be utilized.
As depicted in the aforementioned graph, Japanese citizens prioritize “alleviation of poverty and social inequality” as the most crucial area for utilizing tax funds. This preference outweighs categories like “medical care,” “job creation,” “education,” and “infrastructure,” underscoring the Japanese population’s strong inclination toward economic advancement.
The discovery revealed that while 75% of Japanese individuals perceive a disparity between the general public and the elite class engaged in politics and economics, this marks a decrease of 3 points from 2021. Nonetheless, it still ranks as the fifth highest globally.
However the most remarkable figure is that an astounding 68% of Japanese individuals surveyed believe that “Japan is experiencing decline,” placing it as the fifth highest among 28 countries when compared globally.
The remarkable figure has surged by approximately 1.7 times since 2016, while the average for all other countries worldwide has remained nearly unchanged. This has left many Japanese individuals struggling to envision a positive future for their country.
Numerous external factors contribute to why Japanese citizens perceive their country to be in decline. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is among the most disapproved leaders in the country’s history, with his administration currently polling as low as 16.9%.
During Fumio Kishida’s tenure, Japan has undergone significant cultural shifts, including a surge in LGBTQ activism, mirroring global trends. This activism has become increasingly prominent, as demonstrated by Kadokawa’s recent bending the knee for transgender activists regarding the localized publication of Abigail Shrier’s “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.” which was canceled.
I must add that I personally find it highly suspicious that whenever there’s a protest about LGBT rights in Japan, a vast majority of their flags and signs are written in plain English, as if they’re imported to fabricate political activism to push specific ideologies in foreign countries.
Speaking of foreign in Japan, since Kishida assumed office, Japan has experienced a notable increase in immigration, marked by a more lenient approach to border policies.
This doesn’t bode well especially when every single mainstream media outlet the world over continually bastardizes Japan citing their diminishing birth rates, or proclaiming that the country is xenophobic for not accepting more refugees, a coordinated affair to push mass immigration in Japan to stimulate “growth”.
In terms of registered foreign residents, Japan has witnessed a significant surge, with 3.08 million recorded in 2022 which increased to 3.2 million in 2023. This marks the country’s largest influx of immigrants to date.
This has resulted in parasites such as Johnny Somali taking advantage and causing disruption among the typically pessimistic Japanese population, which has historically experienced extremely low rates of crime and violence, fostering a society averse to confrontation and are susceptible to attacks from foreigners.
Japanese citizens are finally starting to take a stand to protect their culture and heritage from foreign invasion, with peaceful “Japan for the Japanese” protests, unlike in Western countries such as America where “protests” usually result in entire cities being burned down by supposed marginalized groups of “victims.”
It’s understandable why Japanese citizens perceive their once beautiful country to be in decline. They have a Prime Minister who is considered the most regressive and despised leader in their history, solely focused on opening the country’s borders, which allows individuals similar to Johnny Somali to freely roam and cause havoc.
Additionally, with global economic challenges worsening, many large Japanese corporations have adopted Western policies and sought cheap capital, including the adoption of ESG policies to acquire hedge fund investment financing, which includes the adoption of affirmative action hires, where employees are evaluated on their sexual orientation and race rather than skill and merit.
Prime Minister, Fumio Kishada even went so far as to practically beg BlackRock to invest in Japan for the nation’s future.
This also explains why several large Japanese corporations amongst the gaming industry have been desperately pushing non-binary and inclusive jargon inside of their products, with the likes of Bandai Namco, Capcom, SEGA, Square Enix and Sony being massive believers in Environment, Social, and Governance.
Interestingly, an equal number of Japanese corporations have withdrawn from the sinking ship of ESG.
Resulting in the defeminization of female characters in Japanese games, the inclusion of non-binary / LGBT orientated characters with neutral designs and of course censorship / localization which aims to remove any problematic elements that might upset sensitive gaijins in America.
Many Japanese individuals likely attribute their nations challenges solely to “toxic” work cultures or excuses such as “inflation,” without considering other sources of the problem, the pervasive influence of the West on their media landscape. Japanese citizens now endure insane work hours, and their stress relief is tainted with Western-influenced content or misguided attempts to appeal to Western audiences.
Major players like Nintendo, Sega, Bandai Namco, Capcom, among others, as well as anime studios and manga publishers, face pressure from Western investors or streaming platforms like Netflix to conform to a globalized standard.
Globalization has always been an invasive cancer, enabling external forces to exert influence and impeding creativity as foreign revenue surpasses domestic profits. Japan, like every other country worldwide, has experienced a decline for decades. However, under the leadership of Fumio Kishida, this deterioration has accelerated at an alarming pace.
Even the general populace acknowledges the threat to Japan’s heritage and society, affirming the nation’s decline.
