Between fiscal 1991 — when the economic bubble burst — and fiscal 2008, Japan's gross domestic product all but stopped growing, rising a mere 1 percent per year on average. Negative growth was avoided simply because of deflation, as the nominal growth rate averaged only 0.4 percent.

By contrast, during the period of high economic growth from July 1958 to October 1973, the economy expanded at an annual real rate of 9.4 percent on average. Four major factors brought about this decade and a half of rapid growth:

• Manufacturers provided markets with an endless supply of new products that became popular.