> The Japanese companies that have endured the longest have often been defined by an aversion to risk — shaped in part by past crises — and an accumulation of large cash reserves.<p>> It is a common trait among Japanese enterprises and part of the reason that the country has so far avoided the high bankruptcy rates of the United States during the pandemic.<p>I live in Japan (I'm not Japanese).<p>From experience, the first paragraph above rings true for many, especially smaller/family-run, businesses.<p>But jumping to the conclusion in the second paragraph is a stretch. By making such a facile and generalized statement and leaving it at that, the article ignores that the Japanese government's measures since the pandemic started have in many ways prioritized economic health over individual health, and that is one reason why business in general has not been as hard hit here.<p>For instance, Japan actually instituted "Go To Travel" and "Go To Eat" campaigns to stimulate the economy during the pandemic. Criminally irresponsible in my view.<p>Japanese pandemic response has also largely been ignoring the reality of aerosol transmission, evidenced by issuing compliance certifications (basically a sticker businesses can put on their door) even to businesses that promote indoor eating and other activities where safety from aerosol transmission cannot be maintained.<p>In fact, even if the Japanese government wanted to take stronger measures, my understanding is that legally they can't - so there has <i>never been a mandatory lockdown</i> here. All we had was a <i>voluntary lockdown</i> around April.<p>To put it bluntly, Japanese businesses are largely doing well because all cessation of economic activity so far has been <i>completely voluntary</i>, while the government has taken steps that do more to play down the pandemic threat.<p>Conversely, the main reason that the Japanese people are so far doing relatively better than say the US (in spite of the government's best attempts to fail at pandemic policy), seems to be that nearly everybody wears a mask whenever possible. Coupled with a few other social factors such as less talking in public spaces and less physical contact especially between strangers.