Three of the most famously ill-fated words in investing are "Japan is back.”
That was the phrase used by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who hailed the country’s return in 2013 during the international community’s brief flirtation with his Abenomics program. A decade earlier, during the premiership of the lion-maned Junichiro Koizumi, Newsweek headlined an article with the same language — which even back then was so cliche that the publication saw fit to append "No, Really!”
Both moments flamed out, with interest fading when overnight solutions to Japan’s problems failed to materialize. And they were only the most notable of many such false dawns that have appeared ever since the economic bubble burst at the peak of the 1980s hype that Japan would soon dominate global trade.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.