In 1995, following a sharp appreciation of the yen, Japan’s economy was about three-quarters the size of the US economy. Today, Japan’s GDP amounts to just 15.4 percent that of the US, and China’s GDP has been larger than Japan’s since 2010. Add to that yen depreciation from 2012 to 2014, and Japan’s GDP declined (in US dollar terms), before flattening out. The list of measures needed to revitalize the Japanese economy is as well-known as it is long. If the economy’s fall to number four is not enough to wake Japan up, it is soon to fall to number five.
