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By Root 4352 0

‘Bubble Economy’ may have seemed unstoppable, but the laws of economics eventually prevailed and in the early 1990s it burst from within, having grown beyond a sustainable base. Though Japan was to remain an economic superpower, the consequences were nevertheless severe. Economically, Japan entered a recession of some 10 years, which saw almost zero growth in real terms, plummeting land prices, increased unemployment and even dismissal of managers who had believed they were guaranteed ‘lifetime’ employment. Socially, the impact was even greater. The public, whose lives were often based around corporations and assumed economic growth, were disoriented by the effective collapse of corporatism and the economy. Many felt deracinated, confused and even betrayed, their values shaken. In 1993 the Liberal Democratic Party, in power since 1955, found itself out of office, though it soon recovered its position as a sort of resigned apathy seemed to set in among the public.

The situation was not helped by two events in 1995. In January the Kōbe Earthquake struck, killing over 5000 people and earning the government serious criticism for failure to respond promptly and effectively. A few months later the sarin gas subway attack by the AUM religious group killed 12 and injured thousands. Many people, such as the influential novelist Murakami Haruki, saw the ability of this bizarre cult to attract intelligent members as a manifestation of widespread anxiety in Japan, where people had suddenly experienced the collapse of core values and beliefs, and were now left on their own – a situation postmodernists term ‘the collapse of the Grand Narrative’.

The collapse of corporatism is reflected in increasing numbers of freeters (free arbeiters), who do not commit to any one company but move around in employment, and ‘neets’ (not in employment or education or training). More people are now seeking their own way in life, which has resulted in greater diversity and more obvious emergence of individuality. On the one hand, this has led to greater extremes of self-expression, as shown by young people and their ‘way-out’ clothes, hairstyles and hair colour. On the other hand, there is greater ‘Western-style’ awareness of the rights of the individual, as seen in the recently introduced privacy and official information laws. Direct control by government has also loosened, as seen in the 2004 corporatisation of universities.

The economy started to recover from around 2002, in part thanks to increased demand from China, and steadied around the 2% to 3% per annum growth mark. The year 2002 was also marked by a successful co-hosting of the soccer World Cup with Korea. However, relations with Asian nations are still far from fully harmonious, with the continued appearance of history textbooks that downplay atrocities such as the Nanjing Massacre, and with controversial visits by Prime Minister Koizumi Junichirō (in office from 2001 to 2006) to Yasukuni Shrine to honour Japanese war dead, including war criminals.

There are other worries for Japan. One is that it is the world’s most rapidly ageing society, with the birth rate declining to 1.3 per woman, and with its elderly (65 years plus) comprising 21% of the population while its children (up to 15 years) comprise just 13%. This has serious ramifications economically as well as socially, with a growing ratio of supported to supporter, and increased pension and health costs. Along with many ageing Western nations, Japan is doing its best (for example, by introducing nursing insurance schemes), but there is no easy solution in sight, and there are calls to redefine ‘elderly’ (and concomitant retirement expectations) as 75 years of age rather than 65.

Other social concerns include juvenile crime and a growing problem of social anxiety disorder in young people that can lead to hikikomori (withdrawal) from everyday life.

Economically, Japan was hit by the global financial collapse that started in 2008, with its share market losing a third of its value and Toyota announcing its first-ever loss in its 70-year