People are becoming increasingly wary of the condition of the Japanese economy and uncertain of its future. Some media commentators and economists speak as if the economic slump is going to continue for another decade, or even another century.
As an antithesis to such overly pessimistic views, the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) released a report in January on its vision of Japan that said the economy still has high growth potential.
According to its estimates, Japan continues to enjoy an average annual growth rate of around 1.5 percent in total factor productivity, indicating technological advancement. Increasing such productivity will sufficiently make up for the anticipated decline in the labor force in coming years.