PROBLEMS AHEAD
Japan's prolonged economic troubles have been attributed to its 50-year postwar economic system. The Japanese government is presently taking forthright structural measures to deal with problems stemming from the bursting of the economic bubble and the need for thorough changes in order to accommodate industrial globalization. The government is working to stabilize the nation's financial system and revitalize the country's sluggish economy. After several prominent financial institutions declared bankruptcy in 1997, an implementation of measures began in part in 1998.
Of concern is Japan's growing number of the elderly. As the population of the aged increases in future years, the work force will be reduced. It will mean an increase in social security demands as well as an increase in the tax burden that workers will be expected to carry. It is felt that an undermanned labor force is a possible factor in the reduction of potential growth.
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