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The article examines rebuilding efforts in Japan following the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami there. According to the article, political and bureaucratic difficulties have slowed the rebuilding process. The article also examines Japan's public debt, gross domestic product, and trade deficit. The article offers comments from head of the Asian Studies program at Temple University Jeff Kingston.

The article looks at the 2011 trade deficit in Japan, the first since 1963. The increase in energy imports due to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which closed nuclear power plants in the country, is noted, as are manufacturers' decisions to shift production abroad because of the strength of the yen currency and high corporate taxes in Japan. Also considered are economists' disagreements over whether Japan's overall current account will be in deficit by 2015.