This book asks straightforward questions such as "Why did the bubble economy occur?" and "When was it recognized and by whom?" It addresses in addition a wide range of issues, taking in the procrastination of various organizations, the process of injection of public funds, changes in public opinion and mass media reporting, and the structural problems underlying Japan's response.

Fascinating issues are raised in the course of this study: The monetary-fiscal tug-of-war that can be observed throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the impacts of the long-term low interest-rate policy that continued for twenty-seven months, the change in the role played by international economics and finance, and the psychology that contributed to the bubble economy at every level of the society are all taken up for investigation.

This publication is the result of NIRA's research project "Japan 1980-1999: A Reexamination of Postwar Economy and Politics."

March 21, 2002, 498pp, A5