Search

For more than a decade, Japanese economy was in depression. In this context, the recent economic revival and growth patterns in the country are discussed.

The year of 2001 in which United States and Japan slid towards recession China had robust economic growth rate.

A discussion of Japan in the twenty-first century is presented, focusing on goals to facilitate development. Education, social security, local and national government, foreign policy and international economic relations are discussed.

Developing nations of Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, after implementing market-opening policies, have entered into intense price-based competition with the Group of Seven, industrially developed nations. These developing nations have created new export markets, thereby initiating deflationary trends in the G-7 nations in particular and the global market in general. Japan, North America and Western European nations will seek to upgrade technology and develop new products to counter and survive the intense, ongoing megacompetition.

This article examines the economic policy of Japan, focusing on the Bank of Japan's Aug 2000 decision to end its zero-interest-rate policy. Topics addressed include economic 'bubbles,' government debt, and public finance.

Issues regarding Japanese Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo's efforts to deal with the country's economic crisis are discussed. Some of the past blunders, the financial panic of 1997 and the consequent deflation of the financial sector are all discussed. The paradigm shift toward information and service-intensive technologies must also be addressed.

Japan's economic problems could be attributed to speculative ventures in the late 1980s and policy blunders starting in 1990. It was only in 1998 that Japanese authorities acted on the burgeoning volume of bad loans which precipitated the country's economic collapse. The huge amount of nonperforming assets in the financial sector prevented the economy from recovering. Bad debts also forced into bankruptcy several banking institutions in Nov 1997, triggering a contraction in the credit available in the market.

Japan needs to improve its food production to ensure food security in view of the global food crisis. A drop in Japanese self-sufficiency in certain staples was also observed. The environmental impact of food importation is also discussed.

The fluctuations in Japan's economy over a 20-year period with economy experiencing a deflation followed by an inflation are discussed. The factors that caused its economic crisis are examined. The monetary and economic policies that helped its economy to recover are analyzed.

The factors responsible for decline in population growth in Japan are analyzed. The importance of enabling women to return to full time jobs after child birth and the need for adding employment opportunities for elderly people is highlighted.

The problems like a 8-9% of unemployment level and the presence of social disparity in Japan are discussed. The role of the new government headed by Abe Shinzo in tackling these issues is speculated.

Findings of a report on 'Japan's 21st Century Vision' by the Council on Economic Policy of Japan are discussed. Japan's economic growth trends are also detailed.

Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro swept into the office in 2001 after his election as Liberal Democratic Party's president. He succeeded in breathing a new life into the overworked reformist plank and in persuading the public to harbor fresh experience of his agenda.

Energy issues involving oil and other resources are eliciting lot of concern. The problem is not merely that crude oil has broken through the barrier of $60 a barrel and continues to set new record highs, provoking concern about economic growth around the world in the future.

Horie Takafumi, Livedoor's president, made a bold move by mounting its takeover bid by obtaining yen 80 billion in funding from American investment bank Lehman Brothers. Horie did not succeed in his original bid but his brash move served as a wake-up call for the Japanese, who have shown little interest in shareholders' rights and it hints at a time of increased takeover activity to come in Japan's business world.

The battle between the fast-growing Internet service firm Livedoor Co., which is seeking to take over radio broadcaster Nippon Broadcasting System (NBS) inc., and Fuji Television Network Inc., that wants to turn NBS into its own subsidiary have received media coverage and have become the object of wide public interest. The case raises fundamental questions on the nature of the Japanese-style capitalism and Japan's homegrown forms of corporate management.

United States opposed Japan's proposal for the creation of an Asian Monetary Fund, an independent organ devoted to promoting financial cooperation in the region and a number of East Asian countries lined up behind it. The creation was opposed as the Fund could be used to circumvent the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and it pointed out that if the fund extended assistance to stricken countries on conditions easier than those offered by the IMF.

The Chinese threat and the dire warnings of the threat are discussed. The Japanese manufacturers had no choice but to move to China in order to survive Japan's own industrial base that would soon become a hollow shell but Japanese economy finally returned to life and entered a recovery phase.

The fear of global deflation has created barriers in the planning of future economic policies. The state of the Japan's economy that is nearing the deflation is described.

China has expressed its desire to open FTA negotiations with Japan and South Korea, clearly showing its intentions to seize diplomatic initiative not just from Southeast Asia, but the whole of East Asia. China is gaining a rapid economic development and it is proving to be a threat to Japan.

A process of deflation in the Japanese economy has resulted into disinflation around the world. The internal and external factors that resulted into deflation in Japan are discussed.

Many analysts feel globalization is a trend Japan ignores at its peril, while others argue international economic relations may create unending imbalances. Some of the largest Japanese firms believe the best management is based on respect, while small and medium-sized firms are unable to offer lifetime employment.