A Glimpse of Japan in 2040

[Mulboyne]

The Globalist (May 2001): The Future of Japan

In 2040, Tokyo looks like a very pleasant place. The move of the imperial family to Kyoto has opened up the imperial Palace as a grand new park for the elderly in central Tokyo. Sprightly men and women in their eighties and nineties, many sporting bionic legs and the new artificial skin that does away with wrinkles, walk their robotic pets through the park, allowing them to lift their legs on trees and emit a stream of fragrant perfume...The old crack about Japanese living in rabbit hutches has disappeared now that the average Japanese has more housing space than the average American...The new Murdoch-owned Nippon Today, with its daily diet of sex, crime and tips on gum care, has eclipsed the Asahi and Yomiuri to become Japan's leading newspaper. It is delivered electronically to homes around the country and is condemning the way U.S. banks now dominate Japan's economy... "Japan may be a lesser country today," explains Prime Minister Makiko Son, "but we Japanese are living better than ever."