Why is Thailand such a failure compared to the Japan?

[thailiketoo]

well said but i think that COMPETITION is the key factor...as long there is no real competition the progress will be minimal..

If that is the case then Pattaya should have the best sex in the world.

has it not???

In my experience: NYC, Tampa, Nashville, Paris, Paducah KY and Denver. Pattaya doesn't even get an honorable mention. Now if you are talking quantity as opposed to quality the rankings would change. It's like who sells the most burgers opposed to who has the best burgers.

[willyumiii]

another question: is Thailand a failure???

and if it is why are so many foreign people here???

I think most foreign people in Thailand have already spent their productive and innovative years elsewhere and come her to kick back and enjoy themselves.

Thailand is a great place to do nothing and enjoy yourself if you are already financially stable.

Thailand is one of the worst places to be young, motivated and innovative.

The system is corrupt and set up to stiffel those with the potential to excel.

Only those with connections and or the money to buy productive careers can obtain them.

Those who get them have no need or desire to be productive or innovative.

How many young talented, motivated professionals do you see coming to Thailand for a career who do not work for a foreign company??

Yes, Thailand is a failure, unless you are looking for nothing but rest and relaxation!

[thailiketoo]

well said but i think that COMPETITION is the key factor...as long there is no real competition the progress will be minimal..

If that is the case then Pattaya should have the best sex in the world.

It does, and guess who taught them?

I hope you have made a contribution?

I guess it's like pub grub an obviously acquired taste.

[kingalfred]

Climate. Cold countries make for hard working pre planning and miserable people, whereas warm countries make for lazy, complacent and happy people.

true. all the farang commenting are generally not working,certainly not in any hi-tec industry.They come to thailand because its "laid back" and dont look too far ahead at the long term health of the economy.

[Berkshire]

Why is most of Europe such a failure compared to Japan?

[Crazy chef 1]

another question: is Thailand a failure???

and if it is why are so many foreign people here???

I think most foreign people in Thailand have already spent their productive and innovative years elsewhere and come her to kick back and enjoy themselves.

Thailand is a great place to do nothing and enjoy yourself if you are already financially stable.

Thailand is one of the worst places to be young, motivated and innovative.

The system is corrupt and set up to stiffel those with the potential to excel.

Only those with connections and or the money to buy productive careers can obtain them.

Those who get them have no need or desire to be productive or innovative.

How many young talented, motivated professionals do you see coming to Thailand for a career who do not work for a foreign company??

Yes, Thailand is a failure, unless you are looking for nothing but rest and relaxation!

here i have to disagree as well.

for me it is a never ending process of creating,planning,training and implementing new things for my local team and even than it is not done. monitoring, adjusting,re- training and continuous following up is the next step otherwise standards will slip in matter of quality and especially hygiene.

and no i am not working for an international company our owner is Thai...but very successful...

though your point of rest and relaxing is not true- but i hope in 10-15 years it will become true even for me...

[AZBill]

Too many sexpats

[eldragon]

I guess the real question is why is Thailand a failure compared to so many other countries? Well, you can chose from any of the reasons below:

• Laziness
• Corruption
• Unethical
• Greedy
• Want others to take care of them
• Lack of motivation
• Lack of legal systems
• Lack of law enforcement
• Unstable government
• Poor quality work and service
• Lack of ingenuity
• Lack of innovation
• Poorly educated with piss poor educational system

I'm sure I could keep going but I think you get the idea.

You could've summed that whole list up with "corruption". For any of those reasons that do not fall under the immediate umbrella of corruption are likely a result of it.

Edited January 14, 2015 by eldragon

[Time Traveller]

Discipline and disasters is what makes Japan superior to Thailand. Japanese have had to overcome the destruction of their country, the humility of defeat in WW2, regular natural disasters like earthquakes/typhoons/ tsunamis and a never ending cycle of deflation and financial crisis and with few natural resources realized they had to work for a living unlike other countries. They did that without their military shooting their own citizens and throwing out their own constitution repetedly whenever they didn't like the outcome of elections.

Thais on the other hand love civil disobedience. People that act out like that have even more disorderly minds so are likely not focused on improvement

Edited January 14, 2015 by Time Traveller

[Bakeman]

I guess the real question is why is Thailand a failure compared to so many other countries? Well, you can chose from any of the reasons below:

• Laziness
• Corruption
• Unethical
• Greedy
• Want others to take care of them
• Lack of motivation
• Lack of legal systems
• Lack of law enforcement
• Unstable government
• Poor quality work and service
• Lack of ingenuity
• Lack of innovation
• Poorly educated with piss poor educational system

I'm sure I could keep going but I think you get the idea.

Excellent Fiddlesticks! I choose ALL of the above!

[thailiketoo]

Discipline and disasters is what makes Japan superior to Thailand. Japanese have had to overcome the destruction of their country, the humility of defeat in WW2, regular natural disasters like earthquakes/typhoons/ tsunamis and a never ending cycle of deflation and financial crisis and with few natural resources realized they had to work for a living unlike other countries. They did that without their military shooting their own citizens and throwing out their own constitution repetedly whenever they didn't like the outcome of elections.

Thais on the other hand love civil disobedience. People that act out like that have even more disorderly minds so are likely not focused on improvement

Douglas MacArthur (26 January 1880 – 5 April 1964) was an American five-star general and provided Japan with the post war constitution in 1947. He made it difficult to change. Douglas was not much for civil disobedience his troops attacked WWI veterans and their wives and children in Washington killing and wounding more than 100 in 1932.

[nisakiman]

another question: is Thailand a failure???

and if it is why are so many foreign people here???

I think most foreign people in Thailand have already spent their productive and innovative years elsewhere and come her to kick back and enjoy themselves.

Thailand is a great place to do nothing and enjoy yourself if you are already financially stable.

Thailand is one of the worst places to be young, motivated and innovative.

The system is corrupt and set up to stiffel those with the potential to excel.

Only those with connections and or the money to buy productive careers can obtain them.

Those who get them have no need or desire to be productive or innovative.

How many young talented, motivated professionals do you see coming to Thailand for a career who do not work for a foreign company??

Yes, Thailand is a failure, unless you are looking for nothing but rest and relaxation!

That's not entirely true. My wife comes from a working class family but her elder brother is now VP of a major Thai media company and makes very good money even by western standards. No connections, just intelligence and hard graft and the sacrifices of his parents so he could go to the international university in Bangkok.

[ScarpoFongness4U]

Japan was bombed into a shell, then recreated by American businesses.

Thailand was and has always been, a base of operations for the USA, and that's what they want.

[sdanielmcev]

Your definition of success, OP. Please, if you don't spell out your parameters, it is difficult to join the conversation. Trains on time? Big buildings?

[spidermike007]

Atleast

I guess the real question is why is Thailand a failure compared to so many other countries? Well, you can chose from any of the reasons below:

Define a failure? I do not agree Thailand is a failure, amazing country, amazing people. You have listed out some negative points that do not all reflect the masses. I personally think Thailand is waiting for online shopping more, I see more and more good online stores/businesses popping up now such as food panda, lazada, home pro online etc and over the next 5 years or so ecommerce in my view will be massive in Thailand.

Thailand is certainly not lazy or greedy.

Thailand is a country with an incredibly dynamic economy, which is currently 33rd in the world, with a GDP of between 330 and 400 billion dollars, depending on which international organizations figures you use. The average per capita income is now up to over $5,000 per year, which is pretty good for a third world nation. Total debt stands at about $152 billion U.S. Considering the size of the economy that is not a huge amount. Tourism only accounts for about 6% of its economy. Who in their right mind would refer to this as a failure? I do not see the Thais as a lazy people. I see a lot of Thai people that work very hard. I see a lot of successful businesses here. I see lot of prosperity. Are we living in the same country?

[AYJAYDEE]

Atleast

I guess the real question is why is Thailand a failure compared to so many other countries? Well, you can chose from any of the reasons below:

Define a failure? I do not agree Thailand is a failure, amazing country, amazing people. You have listed out some negative points that do not all reflect the masses. I personally think Thailand is waiting for online shopping more, I see more and more good online stores/businesses popping up now such as food panda, lazada, home pro online etc and over the next 5 years or so ecommerce in my view will be massive in Thailand.

Thailand is certainly not lazy or greedy.

Thailand is a country with an incredibly dynamic economy, which is currently 33rd in the world, with a GDP of between 330 and 400 billion dollars, depending on which international organizations figures you use. The average per capita income is now up to over $5,000 per year, which is pretty good for a third world nation. Total debt stands at about $152 billion U.S. Considering the size of the economy that is not a huge amount. Tourism only accounts for about 6% of its economy. Who in their right mind would refer to this as a failure? I do not see the Thais as a lazy people. I see a lot of Thai people that work very hard. I see a lot of successful businesses here. I see lot of prosperity. Are we living in the same country?

running down thailand gives these western losers a sense of superiority they were never able to have in the countries they came from.

[manarak]

well said but i think that COMPETITION is the key factor...as long there is no real competition the progress will be minimal..

If that is the case then Pattaya should have the best sex in the world.

has it not???

In my experience: NYC, Tampa, Nashville, Paris, Paducah KY and Denver. Pattaya doesn't even get an honorable mention. Now if you are talking quantity as opposed to quality the rankings would change. It's like who sells the most burgers opposed to who has the best burgers.

Your ranking seems to suggest you are submissive ;-)

[manarak]

And Japan is not a success compared to Thailand, sorry.

Anyone putting up such a claim needs to go live in Japan and report back.

What I remember from Japan is small condos with small rooms, expensive prices for everything except soup and golf courses where the first affordable one was 3 hours away from Tokyo.

And look at the suicide rates...

[NeverSure]

I think the best mechanical engineers and scientists in the world come from Japan, Germany, and the US. Look at the quality of their products and inventions.

Japan was good at manufacturing before WWII and had the military hardware to prove it.

I have no idea why Japan in general has this talent while Thailand doesn't, but the results of who owns and runs what is apparent.

[CaptHaddock]

Unfortunately for the bar stool philosophers here, you can't understand the current levels of development of Japan and Thailand without understanding the economic and political histories of the two regions. Limited by such ignorance our pundits can only fall back on inanities like the supposed national characters or even the weather. The temptation is always to fall back on racist theories which come so readily to the mind of the uninformed. In fact, the Northeast Asian countries that exhibited successful development that enabled them to enter the ranks of rich countries, namely Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, did so by instituting national programs of industrial development which were motivated by military needs. In Japan this happened in the Meiji Period when the leaders who had overthrown the Tokugawa Shogunate saw the need to develop military capability to resist colonization by the West as could be seen in China and soon thereafter in Southeast Asia. Japan followed the industrialization model of Germany and developed a military capacity enough to enter the ranks of colonizers themselves, defeating China in 1895 and Russia in 1905 resulting in control of Taiwan and Korea.

South Korea in the 1950's faced a similar military threat in that it was surrounded by the historic enemies of China and Japan while facing a newly emergent enemy in North Korea with whom they had just had a civil war. In 1960 South Korea was poorer than Thailand and had a literacy rate of only 30%. That was the year the general Park Chung-Hee got power, first by election and later by coup. His goal was to develop the economy to support a military powerful enough to preserve their independence without relying entirely on the US whose control of Korea he resented. Like Meiji Japan Park's development strategy of industrialization targeted an export-led economy which meant successful international competition by native companies whose products would therefore have to meet international standards.

By contrast, Thailand's problem is that it has no real enemy for the last 150 years. Under those conditions the small group of upper class families that control the economy do not have to develop internationally-competitive companies being content to enjoy the fruits of the local monopolized economy. Comparable to a country like Mexico, for instance, where a small ruling class enjoys the benefits of local monopolies. Unlike Japan or South Korea without the need to compete internationally they don't need a first class education system to support development of innovative industrial and consumer products. The striking deficiencies of the Thai education system are not due to any racial or even cultural lack of intellectual ability, but due to the fact that the ammart does not need creative, well-educated workers who might, after all, one day be demonstrating for real democracy like the students of Kwangju in the 1980s.

The considerable success that Thailand has achieved in the last 30 years resulting in a per capita GDP higher than China's is not due to successful industrialization with development of internationally-competitive companies innovating with new technology. Instead, the ammart has simply rented out cheap labor to foreign companies building factories here. Unlike in South Korea there has not been even a transfer of technologies, much less development of new technology. So there is no Thai-owned car manufacturer like Hyundai in S. Korea even though the Thai population is larger and could support a locally-owned manufacturer. Indeed, there is no internationally known company nor any globally recognized product in all of SE Asia.

[Berkshire]

Why is the OP even comparing a developed country to a developing one? It's like comparing the USA to Mexico. Or the UK to Cambodia. C'mon OP, admit that you just want to take some digs at Thailand. Come clean monkey boy!

[keebone]

Why is the OP even comparing a developed country to a developing one? It's like comparing the USA to Mexico. Or the UK to Cambodia. C'mon OP, admit that you just want to take some digs at Thailand. Come clean monkey boy!

How did these countries become developed, they didn't just wake up one morning to find the fairies had been in and developed their country. Why was it they could do it and the others couldn't.

[IMA_FARANG]

Both Japan and Germany were devastated by WWII.

Their industry was smashed.

It had to be rebuilt after the war.

That is why both Germany and Japan got new start after WWII.

Ironically, that gave them a newer more modern base to restart from than Thailand, or for that matter the U.K.

Thailand never had that "advantage", that Japan or Germany had.

If you follow that, consider what Vietnam will be like in another decade or so.

Edited January 15, 2015 by IMA_FARANG

[thailiketoo]

Both Japan and Germany were devastated by WWII.

Their industry was smashed.

It had to be rebuilt after the war.

That is why both Germany and Japan got new start after WWII.

Ironically, that gave them a newer more modern base to restart from than Thailand, or for that matter the U.K.

Thailand never had that "advantage", that Japan or Germany had.

If you follow that, consider what Vietnam will be like in another decade or so.

The USA never bombed North Vietnam in the same way they bombed Japan and Germany. If they had the war would have been over in two weeks. The primary thing the US bombing did in the Vietnam war was kill trees and dirt.

[thailiketoo]

Why is the OP even comparing a developed country to a developing one? It's like comparing the USA to Mexico. Or the UK to Cambodia. C'mon OP, admit that you just want to take some digs at Thailand. Come clean monkey boy!

How did these countries become developed, they didn't just wake up one morning to find the fairies had been in and developed their country. Why was it they could do it and the others couldn't.

Japan? MacArthur gave them a constitution. The USA gave Europe the Marshall plan. This did not happen in Thailand. If it had they would be a first world country now.

[1BADDAT]

Is Thailand a failure? Never been to Japan but from what my friends have told me I'd say it's the other way around. Unless you measure success by technological development rather than happiness.

Japan is the biggest disappointment I have experienced in all my travels. I was so excited to go to Tokyo,but had a horrible time. The people are racist and rude. Nothing is easy to find for transportation and food.

The work ethic there is insane and they are almost impossible to do business with. Japanese people are not happy overall. They actually have a term to describe working yourself to death. I am much happier to be here in Thailand working. I don't think I could stay in Japan long term.

[AYJAYDEE]

Why is the OP even comparing a developed country to a developing one? It's like comparing the USA to Mexico. Or the UK to Cambodia. C'mon OP, admit that you just want to take some digs at Thailand. Come clean monkey boy!

How did these countries become developed, they didn't just wake up one morning to find the fairies had been in and developed their country. Why was it they could do it and the others couldn't.

Japan? MacArthur gave them a constitution. The USA gave Europe the Marshall plan. This did not happen in Thailand. If it had they would be a first world country now.

no they wouldnt

[MilesofSmiles]

and they are almost impossible to do business with.

I've worked with & done business the the Japanese for years. Sounds like they just didn't like you.

[AYJAYDEE]

Both Japan and Germany were devastated by WWII.

Their industry was smashed.

It had to be rebuilt after the war.

That is why both Germany and Japan got new start after WWII.

Ironically, that gave them a newer more modern base to restart from than Thailand, or for that matter the U.K.

Thailand never had that "advantage", that Japan or Germany had.

If you follow that, consider what Vietnam will be like in another decade or so.

The USA never bombed North Vietnam in the same way they bombed Japan and Germany. If they had the war would have been over in two weeks. The primary thing the US bombing did in the Vietnam war was kill trees and dirt.

because there was nothing more than two stories tall left to bomb. over in two weeks?? lol. still tellin yourself stories mr westmoreland??

Edited January 15, 2015 by AYJAYDEE

[thailiketoo]

Both Japan and Germany were devastated by WWII.

Their industry was smashed.

It had to be rebuilt after the war.

That is why both Germany and Japan got new start after WWII.

Ironically, that gave them a newer more modern base to restart from than Thailand, or for that matter the U.K.

Thailand never had that "advantage", that Japan or Germany had.

If you follow that, consider what Vietnam will be like in another decade or so.

The USA never bombed North Vietnam in the same way they bombed Japan and Germany. If they had the war would have been over in two weeks. The primary thing the US bombing did in the Vietnam war was kill trees and dirt.

because there was nothing more than two stories tall left to bomb. over in two weeks?? lol. still tellin yourself stories mr westmoreland??

We took off from U-Tapao at the end of 1972 with different orders. President Richard M. Nixon's patience ran out and he issued this order to the Joint Chiefs: "You are to commence at approximately 1200 Zulu, 18 December 1972, a three-day maximum effort, repeat maximum effort, of B-52/Tacair strikes in the Hanoi/Haiphong areas. Object is maximum destruction of selected targets. The operation was extended 8 more days.

We called it the 11 days war.

The Paris Peace Accords were signed in January 1973. It took 11 days and the war was over and the Americans went home.

Edited January 15, 2015 by thailiketoo