>>2801317Anon you might just be getting older. I certainly never got to go to Japan in 98 (that's when I was born), and I'm sure it was better, but it's not even remotely close to "3rd world" tier. If you leave Tokyo and go anywhere else, it becomes 99% ethnically Japanese again. I'll admit that Tokyo is way more full of tourists/jeets than it ever has been and it can be quite off putting, but it's still a safe, nice city to explore with lots to do. I think the real issue here is that Japanese are getting jaded (just like most people in white/western cities are) and the culture is under assault by globalism.
Still 2000 years away from being as bad as NYC or London or whatever, though. You're exaggerating a bit. I had the fortune of visiting Tokyo before covid and it was better, but not *that* much better. Am I wrong? How much worse could it have possibly gotten to make you call it third world?