Why Did Japan Stop Growing?

The purpose of this report is to explain the causes of Japan's economic stagnation and identify policy choices that might help restore growth.

The focus is intentionally on longer-term issues, rather than the immediate challenges that are associated with the fallout from the global recession.

It starts its analysis using the neoclassical growth model to describe the post-war Japanese economy. The report also reviews three sets of policy choices that Japan made after the growth slowdown that contributed to economic stagnation. It concludes with a review of several of the major reforms undertaken by the Koizumi administration.