The Japanese economy on the mend

There are two main reasons for the prolonged period of weak growth in the Japanese economy, says Mikio Wakatsuki, Chairman of the Board of Counsellors, The Japan Research Institute, Tokyo. The first is complacency; the second is that Japan has overlooked the implications of changes in the global economic paradigm. Both have led Japan to procrastination in dealing with the problems it faces. Wakatsuki identifies five problems in the Japanese economy: deflation, debt, deregulation, deficit, and demography. Despite the challenges these problems pose, he sees 1999 as a year of consolidation and rehabilitation for the economy, which will pave the way for a moderate, healthy upswing in the year 2000.