The idea that Japan is “poor” is exactly the falsity here. It’s a very wealthy country with a very good quality of life. The cult of growth hates the idea that that’s enough for a nation to be. By no measure is Japan poor, and providing a good life for a slightly smaller population is fine.
I mean the point being the per capita income is much lower compared to its peers than it was in the 90s. Maybe you think we don’t need economic growth anymore. That’s fine! But it’s not a popular opinion worldwide! People really like new iPhones, vacations etc.
And I was joking about robots. See: smiling emoji