Japan's faded economic prowess received a boost after a maglev magnetically levitated train operated by Central Japan Railway Co. on Tuesday clocked a new world speed record of 603 kph on a test run in Yamanashi Prefecture.

Whether any of this makes a shred of economic sense is another matter.

"It's good for growing, developing countries, but not for Japan that's decreasing in population," said Edwin Merner, president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp. in Tokyo. "It's misallocation of resources. Demand for bullet trains will be limited."