MovieChat Forums > Rising Sun (1993) Discussion > WRONG prediction - the Japanese didn't t...

WRONG prediction - the Japanese didn't take-over America

posted 13 years ago by electrictroy
8 replies | jump to latest

Bak in the late 80s and early 90s everyone was sure the Japanese would buy-up America and take control of the place. (Just listen to the conversation during the first 15 minutes.)

What this movie and most Americans did not predict was that the Japanese would experience a market crash. By the mid-90s nobody was talking about the "japanese takeover" because they were selling, instead of buying. It kinda makes this movie look jingoistic rather than realistic. In my humble opinion.

Otherwise it's a good story and I enjoyed it in 1993 when I rented the VHS, and I'm enjoying it now on the Antenna TV.

[–] maturity 13 years ago

Michael Crichton's book is vastly better than the movie, IMO. The book is about what was going on at the time it was made, like the price dumping and buying up companies. It has a bibliography longer than many scholarly books. It's polemic more than a work of fiction. The Japanese economy is much stronger than USA and their money is not being devalued by a government and federal reserve bank like US dollars. The Chinese and others are taking the USA apart.

[–] drexeltoker 12 years ago

The Japanese economy is not stronger than that of the US. They are showing some resiliency now due to post Fukushima reconstruction. They have been struggling for the better part of two decades -- have you heard of the Japan Effect? BoJ intervenes and eases no differently than the Fed. Be mature in your bogus assertions...

[–] maturity 12 years ago

Measuring the strength of an economy based on a few vague claims makes you look ignorant and silly. The Japanese people are healthier and happier and live much longer than Americans. They have more equality, less homeless and starving poor people, etc. I would take their economy and technological development over what America has achieved. They are different cultures and economies. More than what you can define with a one paragraph self-righteous rant.

[–] drexeltoker 12 years ago

The irony. Talk about vague and self-righteous...

If you want to stake a claim on the Japanese culture I am all for it. I love Japan. But that does not provide substance for the claim of economic strength or growth in JP > US. Simply not true.

And as great as the culture of Japan is, it remains unlikely that they can overcome their negative demographic trends and long term fiscal issues (their debt to GDP 2x of US).

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nutsberryfarm 12 years ago

they love using the fax machine too.

Hey, sprechen sie talk?

[–] psdhart 12 years ago

there is a simple reason for that (re fax machine)]

streets have no names and houses are not numbered in order as in 1 then 2...
Faxes are used to show a visitor how to get to someomes house

[–] psdhart 12 years ago

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/opinion/sunday/the-true-story-of-jap ans-economic-success.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0