Conclusion

Japan’s economy is highly developed and is ranked third in the world by nominal GDP and fourth
largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It is also a member of both G7 and G20. According to the
world bank, the country’s per capita was $5.5 trillion (2019). Due to a volatile currency exchange
rate, Japan’s GDP (measured in $) fluctuated very sharply. Accounting for these fluctuations using
the Atlas method, Japan is estimated to have a GDP per capita of around $39,048. In 2018, Japan
was the 4th largest importer and 4th largest exporter as well.

The following could be observed from the above trend analysis:

 There exists a wide income gap in the economy which is constantly increasing.
 GDP experienced a dip during the recession in 2015 but from there has been recovering at a
slow pace.
 Just like GDP, income per capita also dropped in the year 2015 and has been recovering ever
since.
 HDI which is based on LEI, EI and II is following a continuous growth except 2014 where it
declined due to recession.
 One thing can be noticed clearly that is before the recession, expenditure of households was
very high. But because of the recession, individuals are not opened to spending as they were
before. In the year 2015 households spent 2-3rd of what they used to spend before and
slowly they are increasing their expenses as the economy is stabilizing.
 FDI also saw the same response as other indicators. It was not at the lowest in 2015, but
significantly lower than the previous year (2014). After which the next year Japan witnessed
the hight FDI recorded of the decade.
 A negative correlation can be observed between the exchange rate and the GDP. As GDP
was low, the value of YEN (Japan’s home currency) was the highest. In 2016 the value of YEN
fell by around 10% which can be a reason of the increase in FDI the same year.
 Japan is experiencing a negative effect on environment from the past few years. In their
effort to recover from the recession, they are focusing more on industries then keeping the
environment stable. Hence, they should keep a balance between them.
 There has been a constant growth in the life expectancy of the residents of Japan. Every year
they witnessed a constant growth except a slight slow growth in the year 2013.
 As discussed in the employment forecast, the constant increase in employment to
population ratio is also a result of decline in population growth. Meaning it is difficult to
determine which factor is responsible for the high employment ratio in Japan.