Japan's economy suffered its biggest quarterly contraction in five years in the October-December period, decreasing by 6.3 percent on an annual basis. A fall was expected; a plunge was not.
Economists have pinpointed the causes of the drop with confidence, but they are quick to note that they are temporary phenomena; larger, more enduring problems loom. They are half right. Other, more powerful forces are chipping away at the country's economic prospects.
Yet, daunting as those factors are, even more compelling are the attitudes of the Japanese public — and there is little indication that they will change and allow the reforms required to put the economy on a more stable footing and facilitate growth.