Japan was worth four times more than the entire United States. Stock prices and land values have fallen by two-thirds from their peaks. Personal assets have nosedived. The Ezakis are among the millions of Japanese families who have seen the value of their home fall by more than a third in five years. Wages are shrinking.
Spending is down.
This met the definition of deflation, which is two consecutive years of decline. No one is sure what comes next because no one has been here before. Even with the depression of the 1930s, the United States did not suffer such a sharp rise and protracted fall. Economists are watching Japan with the same horrified curiosity as a doctor observing a new pathogen. It is also reflects the dark conviction that things can only get worse.