japanese_economy

Last month, Japan's central bank raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years. That is a really big deal, because it means that one of the spookiest stories in modern economics might finally have an ending.

Back in the 1980s, Japan performed something of an economic miracle. It transformed itself into the number two economy in the world. From Walkmans to Toyotas, the U.S. was awash in Japanese imports. And Japanese companies went on a spending spree. Sony bought up Columbia Pictures. Mitsubishi became the new majority owners of Rockefeller Center.

But in the early 1990s, it all came to a sudden halt. Japan went from being one of the fastest growing countries in the world to one of the slowest. And this economic stagnation went on and on and on. For decades.

On this episode, the unnerving story of Japan's Lost Decades: How did one of the most advanced economies in the world just fall down one day — and not be able to get up? Japan's predicament changed our understanding of what can go wrong in a modern economy. And gave us some new tools to try and deal with it.

This episode was hosted by Jeff Guo. It was produced by Emma Peaslee and engineered by Cena Loffredo. It was edited by Molly Messick. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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Japan's economy has been stagnant for 2 decades, and while some economists look at this as an outlier, it might be something that just happens to all advanced economies, and Japan just got there first. After suffering the "lost generation", can Japan come back and recover growth, or is their fate one we will all eventually reach?

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On today's podcast:
(1) The Palestinian Authority is working with US officials on a plan to run Gaza after the ongoing war is over, with one of its top leaders arguing that Israel's aim to fully defeat Hamas is unrealistic and the militant group should instead join a new governing structure. 

(2) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened devastation in Beirut and southern Lebanon if Hezbollah opens a second front in the war with Hamas.

(3) The rally in the yen spilled over into a second day as traders wagered that the Bank of Japan will scrap the world's last negative interest-rate regime much sooner than previously thought.

(4) Rishi Sunak faces a crucial two weeks if he is to control feuding Tory Members of Parliament and lead them into a general election expected next year. The latest fight is about whether the government should bend or ignore domestic and international laws so the UK can deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda without considering their claims.

(5) The dynasty behind the luxury brand Hermès added $56 billion to their wealth to become the world's third-richest family, according to Bloomberg's annual ranking. Abu Dhabi's ruling Al Nahyan family topped the Waltons as the world's richest, with wealth of $305 billion. 

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Japan became the first of the modern Asian countries to experience massive sustained economic growth. Japan had a lot going for it after the end of the war, it was able to rebuild with the help of the allies and go through its own modern industrial revolution. In the 1960s, Japan was growing at a rate of 10% a year which for a national economy was unheard of at the time, this economic growth continued and japan was able to ride the wave of globalization as the world's low-cost manufacturer. Japan developed a huge car industry, it was at the forefront of consumer electronics and was working meticulously to make sure that this newfound wealth was being invested wisely into infrastructure like high-speed rail, airports and metro systems that would make their economy even more efficient. At its peak, there was so much wealth in japan that the real estate market of Tokyo had some pretty crazy anomalies. In the late 80’s it was estimated that the imperial palace covering an area of 3.4 square kilometers in central Tokyo had a real estate land value greater than all of the real estate in California. Of course, the imperial palace was never for sale and this was based on the cost per square feet in the area but it still should give a good idea of just how much money was washing around in Japan. In this video, we will look at how this all went so wrong and what it can tell us about countries that are today where japan was 40 years ago.

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