in Japan, the time of the economic miracle seems far away

Since the 1990s, the Japanese economy seems to be in difficulty. The government remains hopeful.

The time of the “Japanese economic miracle” seems far away. It was the equivalent of the 30 glorious years, now we are talking about the 30 lost years. Since 1990, the Japanese economy has progressed little or even declined.

The relevance of measuring the health of a country with the evolution of GDP (gross domestic product) can be debated, but on this level Japan is doing badly. According to the recently announced final figures for 2022, Japan is last among the G7 countries in the ranking of GDP per capita. It is also 21st out of 38 OECD countries. In its defense, the fall of the Japanese currency, the yen, does not help comparisons made in dollars. But this currency movement is itself intrinsically linked to the poor economic situation.

Japan, 3rd economic power in the world

Despite the GDP per capita at half mast, Japan holds its place behind the United States and China. But not for long. It should be pushed back this year to fourth place behind Germany, which therefore produces greater annual wealth despite a population a third less than that of Japan. And the latter will probably be 5th in 2025, overtaken by India.

Listening to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s speeches, this situation does not really worry the Japanese government, thanks to what he calls “new capitalism”a more virtuous capitalism with fairer redistribution: “It is necessary creating, its necessary to create, he saida society where tomorrow will be better than today.”