Understanding the ’lost decade’ of the 1990s is central to explaining Japan today. Following a period of record high growth, the chronic downturn after 1990 raised fundamental questions about
the course of the world’s third largest economy. This crisis also presented Japan with the opportunity for transformative change. Changes have followed, some of them less than might be
expected, and some of them far more sweeping than is generally realized.
This volume presents a wide range of international perspectives on post-bubble Japan, exploring the effects of the long downturn on the views of the Japanese business community, management
practices, and national policies. To what degree has Japan’s traumatic experience prompted basic reforms in terms of legal changes, corporate governance, business strategy, and the longterm
national vision for the economy?
This book was originally published as a special issue of Asia Pacific Business Review.