Lost Decades

Lost Decades

The Lost Decades (失われた10年, Ushinawareta Jūnen) was a period of economic stagnation in Japan caused by the asset price bubble's collapse in late 1991. The term originally referred to the 1990s, but the 2000s (Lost 20 Years, 失われた20年) and the 2010s (Lost 30 Years, 失われた30年) have been included by commentators as the phenomenon continued.From 1991 to 2003, the Japanese economy, as measured by GDP, grew only 1.14% annually, while the average real growth rate between 2000 and 2010 was about 1%, both well below other industrialized nations. Debt levels continued to rise in response to the financial crisis in the Great Recession in 2008, Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsequent recession in January 2020 and October 2021, and with the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which further damaged the Japanese economy. Broadly impacting the entire Japanese economy, over the period of 1995 to 2007, GDP fell from $5.33 trillion to $4.36 trillion in nominal terms, real wages fell around 5%, while the country experienced a stagnant price level. While there is some debate on the extent and measurement of Japan's setbacks, the economic effect of the Lost Decades is well established, and Japanese policymakers continue to grapple with its consequences.

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