is there a strong desire for young Japanese to leave Japan?
All 5 million of them? But seriously...until a few months ago, I believed that since so many westerners came to Japan to do business (just look at thebridge.jp), the mentality of "Japan is not the best country in the world, you should travel to other countries" was more widespread than in Korea, which is an extremely patriotic country and where young, bright Koreans who want to study or work overseas are told by their nationalistic parents to keep the talent in the country.
I no longer believe that.
Japan became an industrialized country before the age of globalization, or even significant contact with the west. It managed to have the world's third largest economy all by itself, using the purchasing power of its 127 million strong population to generate growth. Its strong manufacturing sector, which was not outsoured en masse to Mexico and the Philippines like it was in the US, means the country is a trade surplus economy.
What I'm trying to say is, Japan got rich without globalization. It doesn't need globalization, or English as a matter of fact. It is perfectly possible for a Japanese person to have a very comfortable life in Japan without having to work in another country or even learn English. This is not true in China, which has an average wage of $350/month and is the west's manufacturing center (you need to learn English to do business with the western MNCs); and it's getting less true in Korea, where social welfare is nonexistent.
The island mentality of Japan probably plays a part, as does the legacy of the Sakoku policy implemented under the Edo shoguns. Certainly, the poor English-language education (which I think is totally by design) plays a part. In addition, foreign countries are dangerous and strikingly un-Japanlike; Japan is a safe environment with wa and Nihonjinron. Why do you think you never see individual Japanese tourists? Whenever Japanese people travel overseas, they're usually in groups on package deal trips, with strict, rigid itineraries so they don't come across those dangerous foreigners!
I used to think that Koreans did not speak out for change within their culture, and that they didn't realize or even believe the current system was bad. In my defense, there were several things about Korea that stunned me.
The iron grip the Chaebol has over the Korean government is infinitely worse than the grip that Keidanren has over the Japanese government.
Samsung Group makes up 1/5 of Korea's GDP, and Korea's top 30 companies make up 70% of GDP. By comparison, Toyota makes up 5% of Japan's GDP, and the top 30 companies make up 30% of GDP.
In Korea, if you don't get a job with a chaebol (Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kumho Asiana, SK, Lotte, etc.)--which is something almost entirely dependent on how well you did on the suneung entrance exam and which university you attended--welcome to the working class for the rest of your life. At least Susumu Fujita decided to form his own company after being dissatisfied with the job he got out of Aoyama Gakuin University (which, by the way, is still prestigious, but it's no Todai/Handai/Meidai/Kyodai/Sodai/Keidai); the founder of Cyberagent is one of the 50 richest people in Japan.
There is an extremely rigid age-based caste system in Korea, far worse than the hierarchy in Japan.
It turns out I had it the other way around: outspokenness in Korean culture meant that Koreans were not afraid to voice displeasure with the way things were done. Especially young Koreans. They spoke out against the Suneung, they spoke out against the chaebol, they spoke out against the instiutionalized nepotism in the ROK government...and now young Koreans are expressing their desire to study or work in the US, Canada, Australia or Europe, where the educational and work culture is much freer. Those Korean parents who are not too intensely patriotic are more than willing to accommodate their children's request, though they'll have to come back for their mandatory military service, of course.
I don't see any of that in Japan. It seems to me that Japanese people, for the most part, are content on staying in Japan and not learning English, and take the same life path that their parents and grandparents did. It's safer than going out into the dangerous world full of foreigners and people who don't follow Japanese customs. I wouldn't rule out there are a fair few young Japanese who don't even realize that the current system needs to be changed--exactly the same thing that I thought about Korea. The ROK government and the chaebols are investing billions in tech startups and entrepreneurial education, while Japan is propping up zombie companies and not allowing immigration to replace its rapidly aging and shrinking workforce.
Korea is finally getting the message that it's not the 90s anymore, and they can take their foot off the gas. I don't think Japan will ever (or at least in my lifetime, and I'm 24) get the message that it's not the 80s anymore, either, and it's time to adapt to an increasingly global economy. Abe doesn't get it, Okada doesn't get it, Yamaguchi doesn't get it.
TL;DR: 中世ジャップランドではアベノミクスは失敗します。