"This time is different." These are four very dangerous words. When you hear them it always pays to be extra skeptical, especially in the context of someone giving you financial advice or presenting an economic forecast. Personally, I always hold on to my wallet extra tight when the "trust me, this time is different" clause gets invoked. We've all been there in our respective professions and passions: It takes a thief to know a thief.
As an economic strategist and professional Japan optimist, I certainly do have an extra hard time trying to make my case. The legacy of Japan's lost decades is incredibly strong. Being a Japan optimist, I often get a similar reaction to the one that hard-core Elvis fans must get when they insist that "the King is still alive." However, unlike the King of Rock 'n' Roll, the Japanese economy is very much alive. In fact, there is plenty of hard empirical evidence that Japan has not just changed but actually has got what it takes to be an economic powerhouse and the envy of the world in terms of economic sustainability.
So what is different this time? Why won't Japan slide back into another lost decade? Because the following three fundamental forces have changed from negative to positive: