Kazuhisa Takemura has an idea for helping Japan's struggling economy: Entice younger consumers to spend more by providing them a financial and emotional cushion.

Takemura, a professor of psychology at Waseda University in Tokyo who focuses on decision theory, says that if younger consumers in Japan had a bigger "safety net" via expanded spending on education and child care, they might feel encouraged to dole out more themselves.

"According to a theory of developmental psychology, in order to develop stimulus-seeking behavior, safety might be needed," Takemura said. "For example, if a child is raised by parents in a good environment, the child may be more likely to seek new things and take risks. This might be related to consumption behavior as well."