Quote

Another dynamic of this last year was our increased penetration into the Japanese market.

When a population saves a lot, the funds are invested outside the country as well as inside. If the Japanese invest in the United States, it pushes their exchange rate down and makes their manufacturing more competitive.

In Japan, sometimes it's hard to know what you are looking at.

The Japanese people are usually very prudent, even when they are convinced change is necessary.

One of the great tragedies is that there is so much less open land available in Japan today. Many Japanese come to New Zealand because of its beauty.

The aging and decreasing population is a serious problem in many developed countries today. In Japan's case, these demographic changes are taking place at a more rapid pace than any other country has ever experienced.

So, Japan as a country has lost its vigor; it feels very much closed in for various reasons.

Japan actually is an aging population, and so as the population has aged, they have had a lot more problems with health.

Compared with U.S. cities, Japanese cities bend over backward to help foreigners. The countryside is another matter.

Sometimes when you're in different countries, everything has become so homogenised and there's a Starbucks and McDonald's everywhere, and you could feel like you're in Florida. But in Japan, you know you're there.