I've been noodling on this for a while, given the very different economic experience of Germany and Japan after the 1980s. Japan at the time looked like it soon would simply buy the world, until the bubble burst. From that point on, Japan has struggled to escape a deflationary environment and sustain steady nominal growth.
So, what if Japan's economy developed instead to more closely resemble its German counterpart? I'm thinking particularly of the legion of German SMEs that focus on business-to-business sales and emphasize quality over total output. Unlike American firms, these tend to be privately or at least closely-held family firms that have no plans to grow up and launch a big IPO.
Could something like this be achieved if post-war Japan saw the complete dismantling of the zaibatsu, such that a more competitive domestic environment precludes the dominance of keiretsu conglomerates?
In any event, what does a steadier Japanese economy through the 1980s and 1990s do for Japan's political scene, or its geopolitical position? Perhaps Japan's demography is unaffected, but stable and steady economic growth would surely greatly ease the burden of a rapidly aging, shrinking population.
Any thoughts?
So, what if Japan's economy developed instead to more closely resemble its German counterpart? I'm thinking particularly of the legion of German SMEs that focus on business-to-business sales and emphasize quality over total output. Unlike American firms, these tend to be privately or at least closely-held family firms that have no plans to grow up and launch a big IPO.
Could something like this be achieved if post-war Japan saw the complete dismantling of the zaibatsu, such that a more competitive domestic environment precludes the dominance of keiretsu conglomerates?
In any event, what does a steadier Japanese economy through the 1980s and 1990s do for Japan's political scene, or its geopolitical position? Perhaps Japan's demography is unaffected, but stable and steady economic growth would surely greatly ease the burden of a rapidly aging, shrinking population.
Any thoughts?