Even if we think of Japan as a highly developed economy, being the third largest economy in the world right behind the USA and China, it is a country with economic ills ever since the Japanese price bubble collapse in 1991. For two decades, the Japanese economy was in doldrums, which many would call the "Lost Decades" and is still being felt today, an example of the "Liquidity Trap" where nominal interest rates cannot be lowered furthered as these already are close to zero.

If you have heard about Abenomics, then you might realise that it is a Japanese approach to stimulate growth in the economy, named after the Japanese Prime Minister who is bent in expanding government spending to spur private investment, arrest the appreciation of the Japanese Yen, and implement negative interest. Overall, it is has "three arrows" which is comprised of fiscal stimulus, structural reforms, and monetary easing (quantitative easing). It is still subject to debates amongst economists, and so far the results are still mixed with some saying that it's bound to failure.

Whilst the search for another Japanese Economic Miracle goes on, a thesis written by Reece Scott for Akibahara News,  makes an interesting reading. Since many of you have been wondering why Popular Airsoft is spouting some economic mumbo-jumbo (I'll never be an authority in economics), it is because of this posting on Akibahara news.

Forwarded by one of our Japanese readers, Rento, last Sunday, Scott's proposal is that the Japanese government should take inspiration from the Japanese Airsoft Community, which locally is known as the Survival Games Subculture (which we'll call also as Japanese Airsoft Subculture, which some airsoft players would read as "Sabage Games" being a crude translation into English). Scott holds a B.A. in Japanese from Georgetown University, and a Master’s in Modern Japanese Studies from the University of Oxford.

Whilst Abenomics has the "Three Arrows" as mentioned above, Scott mentions three features in the Japanese airsoft subculture that Japanese government and society should look into and adopt if ever they want another period of prosperity in Japan. These three features, which Scott calls as "Three Bullets" (though we could have called it as "Three BBs"  but won't be as catchy), can also serve as inspiration to governments and corporations outside of Japan. These "Three Bullets" are honesty, effective decision making, and more participation of women.

You might think it's a long shot but it is really more about common sense and universal values that Scott is tapping on. So let's go into these "Three Bullets" as based on my understanding:

BULLET 1: Honesty

Airsoft is about honesty where players acknowledge their hits through the honour system. Japanese organisations can sometimes be opaque that it they can be subject to corruption, whether in government or in corporations.  This doesn’t cost much or entail a lot of training.

With Japan also known as a society that highly values honour, honesty should be inherent in its public and private institutions.

BULLET 2: Effective Decision Making

Most East Asian Cultures, especially the Japanese culture, rely heavily in consensus building. But sometimes effective decision making is really needed from the bottom up to the top. In a very fluid economic and business environment, consensus building tend to be slow and even stifling. There are proper situations where consensus building will be effective, but in a highly competitive environment, to think and act fast can lead to survival. Airsoft is such an example and quick, effective decision making happens all the time in survival games.

Japan doesn’t need to look outside of its shores for an example apart from the airsoft subculture. Toyota, the largest automobile manufacturer in the world in 2012, and the 14th largest company in the world, is a good example, with its "The Toyota Way" being studied and even implemented in other organisations.

BULLET 3: Encourage Women To Participate

Japan is one of the most male-dominated cultures in the world and this perhaps is one of the tougher things to implement. Even airsoft is heavily male-dominated, but amongst countries around the world where airsoft has taken root, Japan has actually more female players as compared to Western countries in which female participation in their societies are higher than Japan. Airsoft event organisers are going out of their way to involve women in airsoft.
One of the components of sustained economic growth is female participation in the workplace and decision making processes. With women having more economic power, they can also leverage this to spend more and help spur economic growth.

It doesn’t actually take an understanding of rocket science to appreciate what Scott is proposing. It is really more about a formula that is done in some of the most highly successful organisations, companies, and countries.

Although these "Three Bullets" are not enough as there are structural reforms that will need to be implemented in order to spur economic growth, hey can be the foundations on which reforms will be based on.

The political and business leaders in Japan may squabble on what's the best route to take for Japan to prosper once again, the Japanese Survival Game/Airsoft Subculture will persist. On the outside, it doesn't look like that it has something to share to the overall debate on economic growth, which it does through the "Three Bullets", it's time for Japanese airsoft players to share what they value to the general Japanese society.

It's going to be a long shot, but at least the airsoft community is there to help show the way.