{
  "id": "RL30176",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30176",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101840,
      "date": "2001-10-01",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:20:29.085941",
      "title": "Japan's \"Economic Miracle\": What Happened?",
      "summary": "What happened to Japan's \"economic miracle?\" Since the 1990s, Japan has been experiencing \nslow\neconomic growth, income contraction, and recession along with high unemployment and other\nproblems. These trends since the 1990s compare starkly with the 1970s and 1980s, when Japan's\nrapid economic growth and development drew admiration from much of the world, including many\nin the United States, and thrust Japan into the elite club of major industrialized countries. Japan even\nbecame established in the minds of some as a model for economic growth and development for\nother economies to follow, particularly those in East Asia. But Japan's difficulties have cast a cloud\nover its economic prospects and tarnished, perhaps unnecessarily so, its image as a leading economic\npower in Asia and the world.\n  Economic conditions in Japan are having a major impact on U.S.-Japan economic relations and\non the overall U.S.-Japan relationship. A strong and stable Japanese economy is important to the\nUnited States and the world. Japan is the second largest industrialized economy in the world. If\nJapan's economy continues to grow slowly or contract, U.S. exports to Japan would probably\ncontinue to decline, creating problems for U.S. exporters trying to build a market there. A stagnant\nor contracting Japanese economy diminishes overall world economic growth and world income.\n  In the long-term repairing Japan's economic difficulties may present the United States with\nsignificant opportunities. Many of the structural problems that some experts have cited as a cause\nof Japan's less than stellar growth have also been impediments to U.S. exports and investments in\nJapan and the source of much friction between the two countries. If Japan can successfully address\nthese structural problems, it would likely improve market access in Japan and help alleviate the\nbilateral trade and investment friction. \n  As important as Japan's economy is to the United States, the direct policy influence the United\nStates can have on the Japanese economy is limited. Japan's economic problems are a function of\nits own macroeconomic policies and structural deficiencies. Decisions on these issues are within the\npurview of the Japanese government.\n  The United States, including the Congress, can press Japan to pursue macroeconomic policies\nand microeconomic measures that will lead to sustained economic growth. In the end, the best U.S.\ndefense against continued economic stagnation in Japan will be maintaining U.S. economic strength.\nThis report will be updated as events in Japan continue to evolve.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL30176",
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          "images": null
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      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Economic Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Industry and Trade"
  ]
}