Nippon Numbers

While Japan is again in recession with GDP falling by an annualized 0.8% in Q3 and 0.7% in Q2, looks are deceiving. The population peaked at 128 million in 2008 and will shrink by about 800,000/year through 2060, an average population decline of 0.625%. Population adjusted, growth is flat. The bigger problem: corporate investment is weak due to poor GDP growth potential due to the rapidly declining and aging population.