[acjama]

What do you think when you see "Made in Japan"? Is it a sign of quality, or something else? Have you driven a Toyota lately? Play online games with Sony and gambling with your identity (and eternal soul)? Eaten any raw beef in Japanese restaurants and actually survived? Have you sat on a porch lately, listening to crickets while drinking Shizuoka green tea in the warm light of it's Cherenkov radiation?

Yeah, ok, that last part was scientifically bullshit, but you get my drift. Japanese economy is not so much as being overtaken by China and India, but actually sinking. Tourism wasn't so hot even before tsunami and Fukushima. Even Japanese companies are shying away from domestic subcontractors for electronics, metalworks and optics (that I'm aware of). I hear constant complains that engineering skills are falling as old engineers won't guide younger ones in fear for their jobs, but at the same time cannot follow technical advancements due to laziness and lack of fresh skills including English.

All this is bound to show on the quality of products. Have you noticed it? Do you buy because it's "Made in Japan", or do you leave it in the shelves for the same reason?