N2EY wrote:

But since about 1995, JA ham license numbers have been in a downward
spiral.
Not just total number of station licenses but number of new licenses,
operator
and station. Some say the decline is due to factors like the poor
state of the
Japanese economy and/or the popularity of other electronics
communications like
the internet, cell phones, etc.

Wow! Until now, you've presented the numbers as purely an American
failure.

IIRC, Japan still has code-testing for all but the fourth class
license, even
though the treaty changed more than 18 months ago.
Ooooh! Aaaah!

not Miccolis