On the evening of August 23, 2021, Zhu Xueying, the women's trampoline champion at the Tokyo Olympics, complained on social media that the gold medals made in Japan were easily gouged out of a layer of "skin". She did not do it on purpose, just thought the gold medal is dirty, a little rubbing, the result of a surface coating is gone.
You know, Japan has been bragging about the "superiority" of the medals at the Tokyo Olympics - 5,000 medals made from precious metals extracted from 78,985 tons of discarded electronic waste. But the problem is, always known as the world's "Made in Japan", but this time it does not work. Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee even publicly shouted to the athletes: do not "bite the medal" when winning.
In contrast, the 2008 Beijing Olympics "gold and jade" medal is "once you have nothing else", impact resistance, safety are very reliable. Even the medal ribbons have gone through high-tech nanoprocessing, not only waterproof, moth-proof, anti-fouling, fire prevention, and never fade.
On January 7, 2021, Moscow time, Shukhulishna, who won the artistic gymnastics title at the Beijing Olympics, met with an unfortunate incident when her apartment caught fire, and the cabinet in her bedroom, where she had collected her valuables, was completely destroyed. And the only thing intact is the gold medal she won in 2008, even the ribbons are basically kept intact, which is a miracle.
The Kyoto Olympics medals are true gold. The medals from the East Olympics are both cheap and shoddy by comparison.
And these 13 years, also witnessed the "Made in Japan" step by step down the altar of the process. Especially in recent years, "Made in Japan" off the chain more and more often:
In 2015, Takata formally admitted that there are fatal defects in its airbags, under pressure to apologize to the public.
In April 2016, Mitsubishi Motors admitted that since 1991, it had been falsifying fuel consumption data by using illegal experimental methods that differed from the regulations. The data was also falsified in order to bring four models produced from 2013 onwards up to standard.
In June 2017, the Takata Group filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan, announcing that KSS Corporation of the United States, which is owned by Ningbo Junsheng Electronics, had acquired its main business for $1.588 billion.
In October 2017, Kobe Steel, Japan's third-largest steelmaker, admitted that three of its factories and a subsidiary had been tampering with the quality data of some of its aluminum and copper products for a long period of time, and selling them to customers as qualified products. This case of falsification led to nearly 500 companies "hit", in addition to many automobile manufacturers, including the Shinkansen trains, regional jetliners and the aviation industry. Even the Japanese Self-Defense Forces missiles, armored vehicles and other military products also used these parts.
In November 2017, Toray, the 91-year-old giant of the Japanese chemical fiber industry, admitted that its subsidiary "Toray Hybrid Line", which produces raw materials for tires, had falsified product quality data in 149 cases between April 2008 and July 2016, affecting 13 corporate customers.
In 2017-2018, Japan's non-ferrous metals giant Mitsubishi Materials Corporation broke out tampering with product data scandal. Because Mitsubishi Electric Wire Industries and Mitsubishi Shin Copper had tampered with product data, nearly 300 companies were affected, even involving Japan Self-Defense Force ships and aircraft engines.
In 2018, Kawasaki Heavy Industries broke the chassis of the JR West Shinkansen by illegally thinning the chassis.
In October 2020, Japan's leading dairy brand, Snow Seal, recalled around 400,000 cans of liquid baby milk due to quality issues. The reason for the problem was that the liquid milk might have been mixed with small pieces of the outer packaging of the metal cans, posing a safety risk for infants and young children.
In February 2021, Kobayashi Chemical Corporation, a long-established Japanese pharmaceutical company founded in 1946, was exposed to a 40-year scandal of counterfeiting. As a result of a series of irregularities, an oral antifungal drug produced by the company led to the health of 239 patients. It is understood that Kobayashi Chemical Company, in the process of manufacturing these drugs, mixed with hypnotic ingredients up to 2.5 times the maximum limit of the relevant Japanese regulations.
"Made in Japan" frequently smashed their own signboards, and the decline of Japan's fortunes actually produced **** vibration.
1, from 2008 after the outbreak of the economic crisis, Japan's manufacturing industry began to go downhill, and sluggish. From the objective side, the accelerated appreciation of the yen, downward trend of the world economy, changes in market winds, etc., have hit the Japanese manufacturing industry hard.
2. The most serious problem is that Japan's population aging continues to accelerate, and the annual births in recent years have been less than 1 million, with serious consequences. Without demand, there is no market, which will eventually trickle down to the manufacturing end.
3, hard work and dedication, the pursuit of artisanal spirit of a few generations slowly passed away, "Made in Japan" is also going down the drain. Made in Japan's big scandals are around 2002 began to focus on the emergence. Perhaps the most important reason for this is that one of the most dedicated generations in Japan after the defeat of the war has gradually faded away.
Of course, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and there are still 3,000 nails in a broken ship.
Although "Made in Japan" has collapsed in the downstream, it still occupies an important position in the upper reaches of the industrial chain.
For example, reflecting the level of precision optical instruments, "Made in Japan" is still well known. Japanese camera lenses and cameras have an absolute leading edge, and many hospitals around the world are using precision medical equipment developed in Japan.
The Derwent 2018-2019 list of the world's top 100 innovation organizations includes 39 Japanese companies, ranking first in the world. And only three mainland companies are among the list, namely Huawei, BYD and Xiaomi.
What is clear, however, is that Japan's dominance is not permanent. Whether it is the number of science and technology talent, investment and market potential, the future does not belong to Japan.