Demographic decline was a key factor in setting off Japan’s 1992 financial crisis and the long malaise that followed. Japan is still a rich country, but its ranking in terms of real per capita income has now slipped below that of many other advanced economies – including the United Kingdom, by some measures – and far below that of the United States.
但这又把我们引回了日本更深层次的问题。光靠需求政策无法防止又一个失去的二十年，更不能保证带来一个黄金二十年。人口减少是导致1992年日本金融危机及其后长期问题的关键因素。日本仍然是一个富裕国家，但其真实人均收入已落后于其他许多发达国家——在一些指标上包括英国，更是远远落后于美国。