Japan Will Take Over the World

I grew up hearing this mantra in high school, much as teachers and students are lectured about the 'threat' of China today. But a lot can change in 20 years, whether it be from 1989 to 2009, or 2009 to 2029.

1989:


1992:


And 2009:

Sept. 29 -- Japan’s consumer prices fell the most in at least 38 years in August, heightening the risk that prolonged deflation may hamper the country’s recovery from its deepest postwar recession.

Oct. 2 -- Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest automaker, is “grasping for salvation” as it predicts a second straight annual loss, President Akio Toyoda said.

“We have to listen to our customers and make better cars,” Toyoda said in a speech to journalists in Tokyo today. The 53-year-old grandson of Toyota’s founder became president of the Toyota City, Japan-based carmaker in June.

The automaker is one step away from “capitulation to irrelevance or death,” Toyoda said, citing a study of how companies fail. Toyota has forecast a record loss of 450 billion yen ($5 billion) in the year ending March after the worldwide recession pummeled car demand.

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1 "Toyota Says Company Is ‘Grasping for Salvation’" - Bloomberg
2"Japan’s Deflation Deepens as Prices Fall Record 2.4%" - Bloomberg
3 "Japanese Buy New York Cachet With Deal for Rockefeller Center" - New York Times, 1989