and service for lower prices. It is not just that consumers are reluctant to accept crude cost-cutting at the expense of standards; many businesses would also see such behavior as undignified or improper. As a result, most people try to maintain integrity and reliability while adapting through frugality, improving efficiency, creating new products

These brands share common characteristics of pricing significantly below industry averages, a vast range of stock-keeping units (SKUs), and consistently reliable quality that embodies the logic of “high quality at low prices”. Most of these brands expanded rapidly during Japan’s deflationary period from 1995 to 2013, as economic pressure forc

Experts emphasize that this structural stability is not accidental. One of the main factors driving inequality in initial income distribution is the aging population, particularly the rise in elderly single-person households, which grew from 15% in 1990 to around 28% by 2020. Yet it is precisely the strong social redistribution mechanisms that have

During the 1990–2019 period, the theme of “economic stagnation” was consistently featured in numerous documentaries produced by Japan’s NHK. In this challenging economic environment, Japan has seen the emergence of phenomena such as the “working poor” and the “NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training)” youth group. These issu

for Chinese authorities. Some industry analysts suggest that China could draw valuable lessons from Japan’s experience since 1990 in navigating economic downturns while maintaining social stability. The “Lost Decades (1989–2019)” of Japan’s economy has become a well-known fact in the global economic narrative. According to the country’s