Although the government announced in June a growth strategy that emphasizes the creation of new industries in such fields as environment, nonfossil-fuel energy and health-related services, the big problem for Japan is that its middle class is waning.
The period of high economic growth begot the phrase "ichioku so churyu" (100 million people in the middle class). They enjoyed strong purchasing power and avidly bought the "3Cs" — cars, coolers (air conditioners) and color TVs. This mass consumption spurred strong domestic demand, which along with brisk exports served as a locomotive for the economy in the 1960s and 1970s.
At present, exports are playing the role of underpinning the Japanese economy, even under deflationary conditions. Exports to Asian countries including the expanding markets of China and India have helped cushion the impact of the global financial crisis that started in the United States in the fall of 2008.