Japan's economic and financial malaise once was thought to have little relevance for other advanced economies. Respected Western economists and policymakers even argued that "Japan couldn't happen here." But developments in recent years have led to a more humble attitude that recognizes the importance of understanding Japan's experience, past and present.
Here are five of the big insights:
It is not easy to decisively break out of a growth slump associated with the bursting of a financial bubble. The longer an economy is stuck in a low growth regime, the greater the structural headwinds impeding an economic liftoff. This affects not just the current growth trajectory, but future potential, too.