Which country is the most competitive?

Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, or Vietnam?

I'm leaning on China but I have to admit I don't know how competitive many Asian countries are. I do know China is becoming big though. Japanese technology and cars and such is pretty competitive and their economy is pretty damn good because of it.

japan used to be the most competitive country. especially during the showa period.
but since its already developed. japanese people are no longer so competitive.
korea, taiwan developed hard during the 80s 90s.. and hence became economically capable - tho taiwan is suffering a bit due to its politics
china is still developing. its highly competitive because the chinese wants to be powerful...
i guess vietnam is going to be competitive very soon...

countries get competitive due to their poisition in comparison to their neighbouring states...if they are strong.. they wont be so competitive and edgey... if they're weak... they might want to seek power...depends on the situation...

I hear from people that the Japanese work more than 10 hours a day. Is it true?

How about the other groups?

yes. but u get that type of hours anywhere... esp. hong kong, korea.
you can't go home until ur boss goes home.. if you go home early its not polite... that's the same throughout asia...

I do know America works the most in the world. I think Japan is second.

japan, singapore, korea....

Not according to this:
Working time - Wiki

Oh that's interesting. My Geography professor told me that, lol. Yea it would seem South Koreans work A LOT.

It was US then Japan in 1999 but it seems it has changed.

Here check out who's more competitive than others.

http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Global_Competit...07_rankings.pdf

For Asian Top 5
------------------
1. Singapore (Rank 7)
2. Japan (Rank 8)
3. S Korea (Rank 11)
4. HK (Rank 12)
5. Taiwan (Rank 14)
.
.
.
6. Malaysia (Rank 21)
7. Thailand (rank 28)
8. China (Rank 34)
9. Indonesia (Rank 54)
10. Vietnam (rank 68)

Source: World Economic Forum

reason for high work hours for korea= confucian work ethic

korea will not outdo japan unless we experience major growth

and korea's population growth is not high

so its competitiveness will remain as it is

Confucian work ethic, if such a thing even exists at all, has nothing to do with "high work hours" in Korea. It's simply a corporate culture with much of its roots in the Korean military, one of the most powerful sources of cultural influence in Korea.

It depends on what field.

I think Japan is probably the most competitive.

From what I understand, Japanese people work like robots literally.

South Korea was recognized in the 2005 Guiness Book of World Records as the hardest-working country. The study was based on the average number of working hours of an employed citizen.

IMO.. in order..

CHINA
JAPAN
KOREA/VIETNAM tie not sure..
TAIWAI

how is vietnam and korea a tie? a unified korea will be more competitive than japan,

uhhh... no offence, but how in the hell did Vietnam make that list ???

Most , if not all Asian countries are hard working and competitive, cut out the crap already.

YOUR SERIOUSLY HIGH ON CRACK

I'm under the impression that South Korea and China are the most competitive.

Surprised to see Japan high on the list before. My impression still remains that Japan is a country on the decline both intellectually and economically. It may not be a popular opinion, but if you look at the academic and professional achievements of Chinese and Koreans versus Japanese, the former two are much more notable.

Most of the top brand name universities have Chinese and Koreans; Japanese tend to gravitate toward the lower tier universities. Chinese and Koreans are also more affluent than Japanese (on average). Japan overall is still good, but just isn't as cutthroat and intense as it was during its peak.

I feel oblige to add that even if Japanese people are not as cutthroat as their other East Asian peers, it doesn't mean I think less of Japanese people. On the contrary, I actually would rather hang out with Japanese people because they seem to take the time and enjoy life instead of being obsessed with chasing money and prestige. Japanese people nowadays are learning to take things more in stride and just sit back and enjoy life while not worrying about going to Harvard or making a ton of money or becoming a rich doctor. Again, just my observation.

I think the problem is language..though I do not think that Japanese is more excellent.
A state-of-the-art field is immediately translated in Japanese and taught at the university in Japan.
the Japanese need not go to the foreign country to study.
however There are amny person who goes to abroad to study only language .
that is way brand name universities have nothing....

so there are some problem about their language to study in own countries.
I mean it is difficaut to study by their language?

i think japan is competitive bocause of language(Kanji + hiragana + katakana)