[Hitard]

Perhaps you should have put "their population is declining" first in that list. Yes, Japan is struggling in many ways, but it is also ahead of the curve in coping with negative population growth, something we will all have to face sooner or later.

In any case, being able to live above your place of business on an urban street in Tokyo is a no-brainer improvement to quality of life for small entrepreneurs. It's a major reason why Tokyo remains such a livable city for so many people (30 million in the Tokyo-Yokohama megalopolis) despite the extended stagnancy in growth.