What is Japanification?

The central idea behind the word “Japanification” is that an economy loses altitude in its growth trajectory for an extended period. It is associated with low-interest rates, low inflation and high government indebtedness. The extent to which these factors are causal agents or just the side effects is hotly debated by economists.

Once not too long ago most countries wished to be like Japan as the country quickly turned around its economic fortunes with technology and development. So much so that Japanification was a matter of pride for most countries. Not anymore. Japanification has come to mean a country that has been suffering from all kinds of stagnation: political, demographic and economic. 

As a visual, here’s Japan’s long-term nominal GDP in US dollar terms:

What is Japanification?
What is Japanification?

The chart is pretty similar in yen, too. It’s three decades of economic stagnation, any way you look at it.

One important point to stress is that, on some measures at least, Japan’s economic performance has not been all that bad – or at least not so bad as to justify some of the more extreme headlines it has received. Since the start of this decade, Japan’s working-age population has contracted by around 0.5% a year. Yet despite this, GDP has increased by an average of 1.3% a year and GDP per capita has increased by an average of 1.5% a year. While this is not a stellar performance, it doesn’t amount to the “lost decade” of growth that some have used to describe Japan’s recent experience.

Current concerns about the possibility of Japanification are centred more on Europe where growth has been stubbornly low. Experts say the coronavirus outbreak is resulting in economic damage that poses the greatest risk faced by the eurozone since the 2008 financial crash.

The developed world appears to have entered a period of Japan-style low growth, low inflation and super-loose policy. What about the emerging world? Well, the good news is that the issues I’ve outlined in this note only affect those countries at the technological frontier. In that sense, the emerging world is immune to all of this. The bad news, however, is that emerging markets are facing challenges of their own.

In case you missed it:

Top 5 Nobel Prize-Winning Economic Theories Everyone Should Know

Economists Whose Idea Are Changing The World

Different Ways To Calculate GDP Of A Country

114 thoughts on “What is Japanification?”

  1. Merkez bölgesindeki en çok ziyaret edilen yerlerden Opses Opel Servisi adresine toplu taşıma
    ile nasıl gidilir burada bulabilirsiniz. Aşağıdaki toplu taşıma hatları Opses Opel Servisi yakınından geçiyor Otobüs: 19, 23, E3 EKSPRES,
    SAMSUN-ÇARŞAMBA.

    Reply
  2. I have been looking for articles on these topics for a long time. safetoto I don’t know how grateful you are for posting on this topic. Thank you for the numerous articles on this site, I will subscribe to those links in my bookmarks and visit them often. Have a nice day

    Reply
  3. Hello! I could have sworn I’ve visited this website before but after looking at a
    few of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless,
    I’m certainly pleased I came across it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back regularly!

    Reply
  4. Pingback: mj420.delivery
  5. Pingback: sig spear lt 5.56
  6. Wonderful work! That is the type of info that should be shared across the web.
    Shame on the seek engines for no longer positioning this post
    higher! Come on over and consult with my website .
    Thanks =)

    Reply
  7. certainly like your website but you need to take a look at the spelling on quite a few of your
    posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues
    and I to find it very bothersome to tell the truth nevertheless
    I’ll certainly come again again.

    Reply
  8. Pingback: bonanza178
  9. Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you’re a great author.I will make certain to bookmark your blog and will often come back sometime soon. I want to encourage that you continue your great job, have a nice morning!

    Reply
  10. Hello! I know this is kinda off topic nevertheless I’d figured I’d ask.
    Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest writing a blog article or vice-versa?
    My site covers a lot of the same subjects as yours and I believe we could greatly benefit from each other.
    If you might be interested feel free to shoot
    me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you! Terrific blog by the way!

    Reply
  11. Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you
    knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates.
    I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping
    maybe you would have some experience with something like this.
    Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.

    Reply
  12. Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could
    add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest
    twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some
    time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience
    with something like this. Please let me know if you
    run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward
    to your new updates.

    Reply
  13. I am curious to find out what blog system you are working with? I’m experiencing some minor security problems with my latest site and I would like to find something more risk-free. Do you have any solutions?

    Reply
  14. Wonderful beat ! I wish to apprentice whilst you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a blog site? The account aided me a appropriate deal. I were tiny bit familiar of this your broadcast provided bright transparent concept

    Reply
  15. Hi there this is kinda of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    Reply
  16. Today, I went to the beachfront with my children. I found
    a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell
    to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.

    She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is totally off
    topic but I had to tell someone!

    Reply
  17. It is appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I wish to suggest you few interesting things or advice. Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this article. I want to read more things about it!

    Reply
  18. Hmm is anyone else encountering problems with the images on this blog loading?
    I’m trying to figure out if its a problem on my end or if
    it’s the blog. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
  19. Hey there, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Firefox, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, terrific blog!

    Reply
  20. Howdy, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam responses? If so how do you reduce it, any plugin or anything you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any assistance is very much appreciated.

    Reply

Leave a Comment