The Philippines is also beginning to move forward. Manufacturing output has not yet begun to grow, but the import of raw materials has increased, suggesting that factories are beginning to revive their production. Singapore was able to basically sidestep Asia's economic crisis. The city-state had swallowed its own economic medicine earlier, when the dose was smaller. Beginning in mid-1996, the government introduced measures to deflate a swelling property bubble, including high property taxes, a restriction on early real estate sales to avoid speculation, and an increased housing supply.
Japan is a unique case for several reasons.
There is not space to discuss it here, but without recovery in Japan, it will be difficult for the rest of the region to truly recover. In one sense it could be easy to renew one's faith in Asian miracles when observing the rate of economic recovery in these economies over the past year. Factories are scrambling to keep up with soaring export orders and increasing domestic demand. Stores are jammed and corporate earnings are surging. Yet, while the worst of the crisis seems to be over, the risk of setbacks cannot be excluded.