...Japan’s Shrinking Population Will Be the Downfall of Its Economy Japan’s changing values and contracting population will be the downfall of its economy. With a declining birth rate, currently at 1.3 births per woman (Bonnett,2009) and ever aging population, Japan is expected to shrink in population from its peak of 128 million people seven years ago to 87 million people by the year 2060 (Week Magazine 2014). How will Japan afford to sustain its generous social programs and bolster its fragile economy at the same time? How can Japan convince its younger generation to reverse the current trend of shunning marriage and children? The aversion of Japan’s younger generation to marriage and childbirth along with its aging population will drain its finances as it tries to sustain its economy. Japan’s population is getting smaller, and a variety of factors contribute to the shrinking population. One of the most dramatic factors is Japan’s declining fertility rate. This decline in fertility can be explained by two main factors, changing values and economics. Japanese women are joining the work force in greater numbers than ever before and in doing so have dramatically changed Japan’s demographic future. Japanese women have more options in the workforce than ever before and they are more educated than any point in Japan’s history. Thus, they are postponing or completely forgoing marriage to pursue opportunities outside the traditional Japanese home. The number of unmarried women ages...
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...Japan’s Economic Malaise Three simple models for why Japan’s economy will never grow again Michael Smitka Professor of Economics Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA 24450-0303 MSmitka@wlu.edu Version 2 May 23, 2003 ---------------The first version was entitled Three Simple Models for Undergraduate Economists and was prepared for the ASIANetwork Conference, Furman University, April 11-13, 2003. This paper differs primarily in the introduction and summary, and in the addition of more figures. The core analysis and most of the calculatioins remain the same. Smitka / The End of Growth v2 May 23, 2003 Page 1 I. Introduction I argue below that Japan’s economy will not grow again, and that (with hindsight) this should not be surprising. First, Japan has matured, to the point where its labor force is in decline. Such an economy is unlikely to grow in absolute terms. Second, that maturation occurred in a short span of time, resulting in large structural shifts in the economy. These strained the Japanese financial system past the breaking point, and have stymied efforts at macroeconomic stimulus. I believe, however, that the magnitude of these shifts would have overwhelmed any financial structure. I do not deny that Japan’s financial system exhibited large vulnerabilities, and its macroeconomic policy systematic failures. Again, I believe that these are beside the point. Third, the current structure of Japan’s economy is not sustainable; financial liabilities (bank...
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...The discovering of North America and Russia’s Siberia resulted in the discovery of a massive population of animals with desirable furs, allowing these regional the opportunity of global commerce. During a time known as the Little Ice Age, Europe's population grew simultaneously and consequently, there became a high demand for furs to keep warm. The brought about an excuse to explore unfamiliar territories in the North America in search of furs. The competitions for furs in North America created rival between European states. The French, British, and Dutch all made claims to the region, but few Europeans actually hunted or trapped themselves. Instead, most Europeans set up trading posts where they negotiated and trading with the Native Americas. The European traded goods unfamiliar to the Native Americans such as firearms and alcohol in exchange for furs and skins. The intense competition resulted in the near extinction...
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...Ushinawareta J!nen: Japan’s Lost Decade This paper aims to provide a discussion of the causes behind Japan’s Lost Decade – a marked slowdown in economic growth spanning ten years (1990-2000), when it experienced protracted slow growth and deflation (Werner, 2005). In the sections that follow, demand-side and supply-side causes will be discussed. This paper will also discuss inherent characteristics that could have contributed to the stagnation and conclude what factors were most important. One explanation behind Japan’s lost decade can be attributed to the bursting of the asset bubble, which caused a “balance-sheet adjustment” where the “erosion of capital bases” led to a fall in demand as people grew more cautious (Okina, Shirakawa, & Shiratsuka, 2001). Yoshikazu (1993) discusses the stagnation as caused by a “stock-adjustment recession”, in which he attributed reduced demand to not just asset deflation, but also excess inventory. Simply put, the frenzied buying during the boom logically meant a subsequent decline in demand, as consumers were not willing to buy more so soon. Another popular theory behind Japan’s lost decade concerns a credit crunch, i.e. a supply-side factor. While some thought that there was a credit crunch in that banks needed to reduce size of loans to meet the equity capital regulations (Yoshinori, 2000) following the bursting of the bubbles, Yoshikawa (2002) maintains that it was more of the fall in demand for bank loans due to declining profit opportunities...
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...How to grow Without faster growth the rich world’s economies will be stuck. But what can be done to achieve it? Our economics team sets out the options Oct 7th 2010 WHAT will tomorrow’s historians see as the defining economic trend of the early 21st century? There are plenty of potential candidates, from the remaking of finance in the wake of the crash of 2008 to the explosion of sovereign debt. But the list will almost certainly be topped by the dramatic shift in global economic heft. Ten years ago rich countries dominated the world economy, contributing around two-thirds of global GDP after allowing for differences in purchasing power. Since then that share has fallen to just over half. In another decade it could be down to 40%. The bulk of global output will be produced in the emerging world. The pace of the shift testifies to these countries’ success. Thanks to globalisation and good policies, virtually all developing countries are catching up with their richer peers. In 2002-08 more than 85% of developing economies grew faster than America’s, compared with less than a third between 1960 and 2000, and virtually none in the century before that. This “rise of the rest” is a remarkable achievement, bringing with it unprecedented improvements in living standards for the majority of people on the planet. But there is another, less happy, explanation for the rapid shift in the global centre of economic gravity: the lack of growth in the big rich economies of America...
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...What are the trends in growth, inflation, unemployment, and debt? Over the last ten years Japan had a tremendous growth. It is no surprise for a country like Japan to have an increase in GDP among the last ten years; it had a GDP of $4.3 trillion in 2004 and kept increasing till it reached $5.96 trillion in the end of 2013 (Trading Economics, 2013). This significant increase in in the GDP is due to the increase in the net exports, since nowadays Japan is known as the world’s second largest developed economy. Japan exports a lot of automobiles because it is one of the leading countries in the production of automobiles that are spread all over the world. Moreover, Japan is the largest creditor nation while running an annual trade surplus. The GDP per capita increased from $29369.49 in 2004 to $31425.49 in 2013 (Trading Economics, 2013) meaning that the economy is vigorous since people are earning more so they have more disposable income to spend which vitalities the economy and the services thus leading the economy to thrive. All these conditions led the growth rare to increase from 0.1% in 2004 to 0.3% in 2013 (Trading Economics), however it is still considered low since it only increase 0.2%. In general we can come to a conclusion that the Japanese economy is healthy and is experiencing a positive growth. Since we already know that the economy in Japan is booming it would be rational to say that there are new opportunities for new positions in the market, the demand for workers...
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...as the Edo Period occurred between1603-1863. During this time economic and political stability was maintained in the country under the rule of the Shogunate (1). The Shogunate refers to a military style dictatorship, in which the Emperor granted high ranking military commanders the ability to control and wield power over Japan. The Tokugawa era, were considered to be the last of the shogun period in Japan To create social stability in Japan, the Shogun implemented a systematic plan, which separated the four main classes. Namely: The samurai (warriors) at the top, followed by farmers, artisans, and lastly peasants. The Shoguns were considered to be the bureaucrats of the country. In comparison the peasant class accounted for 80 % Japan’s population were restricted to engaging activities that were associated with agricultural and farming. The reason for this is that the Shogun wanted to ensure that those with authority and power were able to generate a stable source of income from their land, while leaving the peasants with little to survive on. The political stability of the Tokugawa period was under threat due to the colonial expansions of countries such as Portugal and Spain into Asia, via catholic missionaries (1). The reason why the Towkugwa Shogun`s feared catholic missionaries, was that they believe that their forging ideology and beliefs would conflict with their own, which could potentially lead to them being overruled by the peasant class. This is because man peasants...
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...JAPAN’S ECONOMIC MALAISE: DISCUSSIONS The banking sector of Japan played in Japans’ stagnant economy. The banking sector engaged in risky lending’s especially during the asset price boom. When the asset price boom collapsed the banking sector was left with a lot of bed debt and to make matter worse the sector went further and contracted the lending. The poor supervision by Japan’s government in terms of fiscal policy also played a pivotal role in the risks taken by the banking sector. The stock market prices also started falling and people saw their net worth shrunk. This also led to the population of Japan reducing their spending which in turn led to the deflation in the country. If the people are reluctant to spend then business doesn’t make money and people lose their jobs. Unemployment also will rise and the government of Japan started spending a lot of money on government grants to ease the burden of the population. In all developed nations, Japan has the highest aging population. This becomes a liability for the country in terms of production, especially for a country like Japan that is one of the leading exporters. All of these factors contribute to the stagnant economy of Japan. What Japan can do to get its economy back on track is firs by having better relations with it Asian counterparts. Japan can benefit from the economic boom that is taking place in Asia in terms of free trade. Secondly, Japan can turn around the liability that is posed by the aging population...
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...The success of luxury brands in Japan and their uncertain future Ronald Jean Degen International School of Management Paris 2009 Working paper nº 52/2009 2 globADVANTAGE Center of Research in International Business & Strategy INDEA - Campus 5 Rua das Olhalvas Instituto Politécnico de Leiria 2414 - 016 Leiria PORTUGAL Tel. (+351) 244 845 051 Fax. (+351) 244 845 059 E-mail: globadvantage@ipleiria.pt Webpage: www.globadvantage.ipleiria.pt WORKING PAPER Nº 52/2010 Janeiro 2010 Com o apoio da UNISUL Business School 3 The success of luxury brands in Japan and their uncertain future Ronald Jean Degen Ph.D. Candidate at the International School of Management Paris Vice Chairman of Masisa Chile Address: E-mail: degen@lomasnegras.com Phone: +55 41 9918 9000 Cabanha Orgânica Lomas Negras Ltda. Caixa Postal 95 Campo Alegre, SC 89294-000 Brasil Ronald Jean Degen is in the Ph.D. Program of the International School of Management in Paris, and the Vice Chairman of Masisa in Chile. He was a Professor at the Getúlio Vargas Graduate Business School of São Paulo where he pioneered the introduction of teaching entrepreneurship in 1980 and wrote the first textbook in Portuguese on entrepreneurship published in 1989 by McGraw-Hill. He just published a new textbook on entrepreneurship that was published in 2009 by Pearson Education 4 The success of luxury brands in Japan and their uncertain future ABSTRACT The Japanese are the...
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...Japan Business Background Despite the growth of China and India as both regional and global economic super-powers, Japan remains a major force in world status with leading players in sectors such as banking and finance, software, automotive and pharmaceuticals. and it would be unwise to switch attention away from this potentially lucrative market. The approach that the Japanese people make to business is determined by their historical values and their society as a whole. Japan has the world’s third largest economy, with a very strong democratic setup and stable macroeconomic policies. There were many historical events that took place, which had a large effect on the economic development of the country. Meiji era This era of Japan’s history, which ran from 1868 to 1912, symbolised the shift of Japanese society from being isolated to becoming its modern form. The first industrial revolution, of the Meiji era occurred as response to the growing industry in western countries and areas like the US and Europe. If this era had not existed, then it is likely that Japan would not be in the position it is in today. Its purpose is the security and the power of the nation, “a rich country, a strong army”. Because its entrepreneurialism wasn’t strong enough, the...
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...into play, therefore affecting their economy. Over the past 70 some years, Japan has however developed into an advanced and rich economy. Japan has a mixed economy that is made up of both private ownership and governmental intervention, including the MITI’s guide of national resources to meet commercial pursuits and the use of keiretsus provide goods and services to end users (Luthans & Doh, 2015). The keiretsu uses a close interlocking structure between manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors. Another characteristic that has helped Japan since the post-World War II era is the guarantee of lifetime employment for a large part of the urban labor force. However, more recently we have seen Japan’s economy slow in growth and corrode because of global factors and the demographic crisis they are experiencing (CIA, 2016). The economy has tumbled into a recession four times since 2008, but did rebound because of government stimulus. The massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country in 2011 was hard hitting to Japan in many ways and rippled through the economy that year and the following year. The country saw an upward growth in 2013 due to the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe’s, “Three Arrows” economic reform. The Three Arrows included monetary easing, flexible fiscal policy, and a structural reform. In 2015, Abe revised his Three Arrows to set a goal of raising GDP by 20% by 2020 and reverse the major demographic issue that Japan has faced (CIA, 2016). He also has revised...
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...More Globalization To Solve Japan's Prolonged Economic Stagnation: 2020 Tokyo Olympic, Establishment of Foreign Companies and Cultural Reform/Cultural Ramification Before Japan was globalized it was secluded from the rest of the world for nearly two centuries from1603 to 1868. This time period was called the Tokugawa Period. Even though Japan closed its ports to foreign trade, it was self sustainable and independent. This self sustainable society was maintained through its unique producer-consumer relationship and the "reuse recycle" practice in commerce due to the island's limited resources. Repair merchants such as tinker, ceramics repairers and truss hoop repairers supported a society where nothing was thrown away but instead carefully repaired and reused until the products were truly un-amendable. For example, tinkers used special techniques and charcoal heat to weld holes in pots and kettles with other metals; ceramic repairers glue broken ceramic pieces together with sticky rice and applied heat; paper makers buy used papers and blend them to make a variety of paper from writing paper to toilet paper (Staff). The Tokugawa Period served as a model of a flourishing sustainable society to the Japanese. After Japan was introduced to globalization during the Second World War, the nation benefited from becoming a export driven economy, business policies such as the lifetime employment policy promoted the efficiency of the company, and the cultural influences on business management...
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...economy faced its most dangerous crisis for a second time. By the year of 2007, when sky high home prices in the United States went down, spread quickly to the entire country financial sector and then to the financial markets overseas, the called Global crisis of 2008 had born. Anyhow, the economic world has had many other financial crisis of different types at different levels of impact over the world. For this reason, it is really important the study of the main cause of all these financial crisis that bring chaos, create poverty, and widen the gap between rich and poor; the monetary system and the money it produces. In order to make evident the deficiencies of the monetary system and answer the following question: Do we really need money? I proposed three sub question that would clarify and support the main answer. These questions are: In what the monetary system depends on? How a financial crisis is created and how it affects the economy? Has the monetary system created poverty? Will the monetary system balance the difference between poverty and wealth one day? In what the monetary system depends on? Money rules the economy of countries. As we all know, money is not only a medium of exchange, but also a standard of value for future payments. According with the table presented, we note that the economies in the long-ago past were very different from our economy of today and that the main factor of this difference is the growing world population...
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...affected when Japan was struck with natural disasters (Earthquake and Tsunami). This sudden disaster sent everyone around the world into frenzy. It affected Japan’s ports, shipping and logistics. As a result of the natural disasters, ports in the northern area of Japan had to stop operations after the Tsunami washed away port facilities, leaving the area in tatters. Ports such as Hachinohe, Ishinomaki and Onahama were severely damaged and it would take months before operations can resume. It will take some time for Japan to rebuild itself as this is the worst disaster to hit the country since the Hiroshima/Nagasaki nuclear bombing during the World War 2. 1.2 Objectives of Project The team will be doing a research and critical analysis on how the crisis has affected Japan’s economy and how the revival of Japan will benefit the shipping economy. The areas of focus will be on the economic impacts of the various shipping markets and other factors contributing to the crisis and forecasting the future outcome in the shipping industry. We intend to go beyond the surface and dig deep into the crisis to fully understand how dealing with a crisis really works. This includes looking at past records as well as analyzing the situation in a chronological pattern – 1) Before the crisis, 2) During the crisis and 3) After the crisis. 1.3 Methodology and Scope To assist the team’s research, information will be sourced out from newspaper articles, books and internet websites. Interviews...
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...tools to analyze and conclude on three different levels. The PEST analysis analysed the country from more of a macro level. From this analysis we learned that the political system is similar to Irelands, but has experienced some recent turmoil. The economic situation is still very strong, but has been in a slow and pretty steady decline caused by the Asian financial crisis and the recession. We learned they are a typical high context culture with strict rules, and long decision times. As well they are a technologically advanced culture with good infrastructure. To look at the relation of our product in the market we used the diamond analysis. This showed that Japan has a great work force, and good access to relating and supporting industries. There is also an established demand for potato chips, but seems to be a gap in the market that Tayto could exploit. The SWOT took a much closer look at Tayto and determined that even though it has a strong presence in Ireland and the UK it is still not a huge global player. It also pointed out some cost cutting opportunities, via FDI and further emphasised the large population as an opportunity for Tayto it also made clear that competition in the snack industry is everywhere, and the costs of setting up a business via FDI could be very high. Finally we drew the conclusion that given all the positive and negative aspects, Japan posed much too good a market to pass up. It was recommended that Tayto engage in an exportation strategy to minimize...
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