It goes through the usual boom and bust cycles - people never learn. It was doing great and then some politicians decided to tap some of that business energy for their own pet projects. They raised taxes. From CNN:
Japan's economy is shrinking and a recession looks 'all but inevitable'
Japan's economy is flirting with recession, and the novel coronavirus could push it over the edge.
The world's third-largest economy shrank 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to a government estimate released Monday. The decline from the third quarter is the biggest contraction since 2014.
The drop was even more severe — a 6.3% plunge — when measured as an annualized rate.
The fact that growth slowed in the three months to December wasn't a surprise. Analysts had been expecting as much as the country absorbed a sales tax hike and grappled with the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis, a powerful storm that hit the country last fall.
Want my 2¢ - get rid of the sales tax, cut corporate taxes by 10% and stand back. Watch what happens. Taxes are not a source of free money - there are always economic consequences to imposing them.
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