The Emerging Nature of Post-Bubble Japanese Business: Policies for Continuing Economic Growth into the New Millennium

Abstract

The Japanese economy, the second largest in the world and the lead economy in fast growing Asia, was in a major and structural recession in the 1990s. The changes necessary for Japan to renew its economic growth must reflect not only the effects of the post-bubble recession of the 1990s, but also the end of the cold war and the new social values, demographics, and politics in Japan. This paper is an analytical review of post-war economic growth in Japan including the factors that led to the 1990s recession, an assessment of the likely nature of post-bubble Japanese business as it prepares for growth in the new millennium, and the challenges posed by these changes for the Japanese and for those who plan to work with or compete with Japanese firms.