[freddie_mercury]

Japan's worldwide reputation was "garbage, low-quality stuff" until the 1960s. That's not a "very long tradition".

"At first, Japan had a widely held reputation for shoddy exports, and their goods were shunned by international markets"

For a pop-culture example look at the Back To The Future movie where the 1955 version of Dr. Brown says "No wonder this circuit failed. It says 'Made in Japan'." The 1985 version of Marty says "What do you mean, Doc? All the best stuff is made in Japan."

[xenospn]

That's not the kind of "stuff" I'm referring to. Any visit to Japan will reveal rich history full of incredible craftsmanship and attention to detail - engineering, arts, and design.

A similar visit to China - not so much. They have so much ancient history - but their modern story is not as pleasant (for various reasons).

I love China and have traveled across it multiple times. I think it's a beautiful country full of wonderful people - but they just don't have any kind of desire to achieve perfection like the Japanese do. And Japan was able to exit their "goods shunned by international markets" phase very quickly (Tokyo hosted the Olympics and started running the Shinkansen in 1964, less than 20 years after the war).

When will china stop making "cheap stuff"? When will they create their own proprietary tech and license it out to us?

[mahesh_rm]

This is not correct. Nearly every iconic traditional Japanese craftsmanship originated in China, and was obsessionally perfected in Japan. The art of Bonsai, Camera Lenses, Sushi, Swordsmanship. You name it.