Japan has over the past 20 years been described as an economy in recession. But behind the surface much change is going on. For example, the urbanization is continuing leaving the country side in a troublesome situation. The ageing society and a since 2004 decreasing working population also affects the macro figures. Actually, it might be regarded as an achievement to keep the GDP at the same level under such conditions.

The diagrams below show how Japan as a nation has a slow growth in real GDP, lagging behind the USA for example. But taking a look at the real GDP per capita and especially GDP per capita working person (age 18-64) Japan actually has performed relatively well during during the last decade.

Diagram compiled by Bank of Japan for the Sweden-Japan Foundation (2016)