As Japan moved into the twenty-first century, it found its position and options within the world economy and within Japan fundamentally changed. In contrast to most of the postwar era, which had been a period of growing opportunities, the 1990s and early twenty-first century were characterized...

The Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 was a shock to Japan and the world. The rapidity with which fast-growing economies were hit by currency attacks and then economic chaos, the spread of the crisis first among disparate regional economies and then as far as Brazil and Russia, and the seeming...

In the increasingly multilateral trade and policy environment of the twenty-first century, Japan faces several conflicting challenges. Internationally, Japan's trade prowess, increasing manufacturing presence around the world, and economic leadership in Asia have made the country an integral...

A major point of contention between Japan and its trading partners has long been the issue of market access and competition. For decades, foreign companies have complained about an "uneven" playing field and limited access to Japan's large, affluent market due to industrial policy, implemented...

Circumstances have changed dramatically between the early 1990s, when the world hailed Japan as one of its economic superpowers, and the early twenty-first century, as the country entered its second decade of economic stagnation. Domestically, Japan's industries have experienced major structural...