In the late 1980's, it was fashionable in some Japanese policy circles to argue that the Pax Americana was over, to be replaced in Asia by Pax Japonica. America's economy seemed to be tanking, Japan's was soaring, and projections favored 2005 as the date when it would overtake the United States.
日本的经济衰退是显而易见的。20世纪80年代后期，日本政治圈流行着一种说法：即美国治下的和平已经结束，取而代之的是亚洲地区的日本和平。美国的经济动荡不定，而日本的经济却一路上扬，甚至有预测认为，2005年日本的经济就会彻底超越美国。如今迥然不同的结果恰恰反应了日本人思维的强大惯性。