Japan has no vigor for life. They are still basically a person who's locked himself in his room following a defeat, except he has to accept American rape once in a while while in there. So to this depressed person, what's a few points on GDP anyway? Their economy is in long term recession/stagnation, demographics on the decline, losing industries to Chinese competition, still militarily occupied with American military members bullying Japanese in Japan. There are literally lots of places that once hosted life and hope that are now abandoned with empty houses selling for but a few thousand dollars and no willing buyers. Their whole country is slowing sinking into the ocean. In this life, what's there to work for? There's no mission, no visible path to victory. So threaten to take his lunch money laid out on his desk; he doesn't really care, won't even get up out of bed for it. Just wants you to take it an leave him alone. And yet, he must provoke you when his American master orders him to.
You guys ever notice how Japan is basically hostile to foreigners while China is inviting and yet, these foreigners typically have a significantly more positive image of Japan than China? It's because interactions are all about power dynamic. Everybody enjoys interaction from a favorable power dynamic and draws back from unfavorable ones. Japan truly does not like foreigners because they have nothing to show off and are deep down, still ashamed of their defeats. Foreigners like Japanese because they feel superior when in Japan. "What a cute little place with polite culture and clean streets," says the American, subconsiously proud that his nation's bombers and aircraft carriers conquered this territory. On the other hand, travelling to China is often a humbling experience for foreigners, genuinely terrified that if they were to collide with this world, theirs would be destroyed by its technology and power. That's why China's so proud to show it off and welcome foreigners while the most anti-China foreigners are scared to go, often under the excuse that there's no freedom, but deep down, they know that they will be made to feel insignificant. And then there's the economic aspect of it. China takes the money we earn from tourism and invests it into building our technology, military and society so that we grow even stronger. What does Japan do with tourism money? Nothing of importance. Japan has no national goal or projects towards that goal that would be well-served by that money. They'd rather have the serenity of being left alone and to be unbothered by the condescendence of those who defeated them.
When China built itself up, we did a lot of things that weren't emotionally satisfying, made a lot of deals and trades we aren't proud of, but everytime it seems we let a foreigner walk over us, it was a willful sacrifice because we needed something from him to help achieve our dream of one day becoming the world's most powerful nation and to be greater than him. I know I said that people like to interact in favorable power dynamics and withdraw from unfavorable ones but China truly forced ourselves out of our comfort zone by interacting for decades from an unfavorable power dynamic with Westerners because we had our eyes on the prize and were ready to suffer for it. We took our insults and bruises and smiled resiliently because we could see the light at the end of the tunnel and that light gave us vigor for life and the will to fight through adversity and make sacrifices, whatever was needed for greatness. There is no light for Japan. Threaten to destroy them and they don't care because they're still trapped in a post-war purgatory.
