The eurozone's anemic growth and inflation mean it's probably already experiencing its own "Japanification," and escape could prove hard if the Asian nation's track record is any guide, according to ING Group.
Europe's situation has long left it open to comparisons with Japan in the 1990s. In a report Monday, ING lists similarities including an increase in government debt, a buildup of bad loans at banks, an aging population and huge monetary policy loosening.
While Japan's policy response to its crisis was slow, it also fell victim to bad timing, according to ING. Various chances of recovery were snuffed out by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, then the bursting of the dot-com bubble and later the global financial crisis.