Some (myself included) would rather live a depressing yet productive existence than a carefree but ultimately meaningless one. Working hard is what life is about.

I’m not claiming that explains what’s going on in this case; just that what you point out isn’t necessarily as much of a contradiction as it might initially seem.

I don't disagree that I made a specious rebuttal. But parent stated that Japanese people had an innate appreciation for life that others do not. If I were to believe that, then I'd probably also think that their innate appreciation would reflect in a more uniform preferences for family and work over time.

The stereotype on suicides is not as true as it once was. Japan now has a lower suicide rate than the US. Its suicide rate is currently barely in the top 50.

You're right - I had no idea.

Wikipedia's "List of countries by suicide rate" makes for somber reading.

For women, Japan's suicide rate is still marginally higher than the US's. And S Korea's is much higher, first by far among rich countries.

Yeah... the anime and video game industries alone are notorious for being abattoirs that exploit their employees with brutal hours, low wages, and authoritarian business culture that drives people to mental breakdowns and suicide. But hey the sakuga's amazing.

because those rates have been the case since Japan’s inception. Lol, you cant be genuinely that confined in your thinking.

1. that may be true for suicide rates, but not TFR

2. even if suicide rates have remained uniformly at the same level - how does does that disqualify my statement, which is that those numbers seem to contradict the parent, who appeared to assert that Japanese people produced these types of goods because they innately understood the point of life?

I find the assertion with no evidence absurd insofar that it doesn't even need a formal rebuttal. Moreover, I think there are more compelling reasons that explain Japanese cultural proclivities like, as the parent of parent mentioned, an extended isolation from land traffic, minimal wartime damage to the country as a whole which has allowed these types of companies to exist (did multi-generational companies cease to exist in invaded countries because they lacked proper appreciation for life?), and no zero colonial dilution

Parent made a sweeping generalization about Japanese society based on nothing. I made a sweeping generalization about Japanese society based on two demographic points.

Perhaps my perspective is confined, but surely not the most confined perspective in this thread.