Final thought: I also think the Left should ask itself whether assassinations like this are actually likely to make a better world (history from Latin America and Asia suggests "probably not"!). Our health care industry is frequently brutal, but lionizing murder isn't a great response either.

The simple reality is, rich nations are facing falling birthrates whether they're more patriarchal (S. Korea) or more gender egalitarian (Scandinavia). It's happening everywhere! So it's silly to try and pin it on one culture, much less a tourist misunderstanding of that culture.

Looking at ideas beyond the world of podcast-bro assassins, Japan is trying a lot of the obvious things you'd expect to boost the birthrate. Egg freezing subsidies, affordable childcare, etc etc. It's not enough, but Japan isn't alone here; no country has really cracked the code.

As for "reviving Shintoism," customs like the parading of neighborhood mikoshi shrines are as big as ever! They also serve as a cross-gen neighborhood glue: old-timers need strapping young folks to help carry the shrine, a "gateway drug" to involving them in more local activities.

And Japan isn't a nation addicted to e-sports cafes over exercise; the shooter may have been thinking of South Korea 20 years ago, maybe? Japanese schoolkids get P.E. just like ours do, and Japan is actually healthier by most metrics than the US! Tokyo's walkability definitely helps.

The existence of all these niche micro business concepts like maid cafes, muscle girl bars, etc. isn't about Japan being culturally "weird," it's that a cityscape full of tiny cheap spaces (all very accessible by public transit) allows niche small biz of all kinds to flourish.

Maid cafes are already heavily stigmatized; in fact, most of the "weird Japan" ephemera that Western media writes news stories about are considered even weirder by average Japanese people. There's a lot of them, but in a city of 40mil there's a lot of everything.

Next up, conveyor belt sushi. Tourists don't realize, but at most conveyor belt sushi restaurants, you can still order directly from the chef! Same price, freshly made. It's not as soulless as it looks, it's not where most people eat sushi, and it's not why the birthrate is low.

Do you want sleek modern amenities for your money, or cozy backstreets where you can create art and community? Different strokes for different folks, and both are available in spades because Japan builds enough housing that it stays affordable. Neither is denting the birth rate.

His starting thesis is totally backwards - Tokyo is full of human-scale urban environments that allow for intimate communal life to sprout up. And they're affordable! Tons of folks live in suburban apartment blocks too, but that's a free choice; both are doable on normal budgets.

Well, I didn't expect to have an angle on this one, but... Sure, why not, let's discuss the key things that the UHC CEO's accused assassin gets wrong about Japanese urbanism. 🧵