In the early 1990s, when Japan's economy was developing rapidly, the entire 1990s was a glorious period for Japan. The economy, science and technology, industry, and national living standards are at the highest level.
Tokyo, Japan
In 1990, Japan's GDP reached $3.13 trillion, and its per capita GDP reached $25,400. This figure may not seem very high now, when the average GDP of Chinese was only $317, a full 80 times, and Japan's per capita GDP was 80 times that of China in 1990 and 86 times in 1991. In 2020 Chinese average GDP was just over $10,000, while Japan's per capita GDP exceeded $10,000 in 1981. Japan reached $10,000 per capita 40 years ago.
At the peak of Japan's economic development in 1995, when Japan's total economic volume was 5.45 trillion US dollars and the United States was 7.64 trillion US dollars, Japan's total economic volume exceeded 70% of the United States, which was the only country after World War II that could reach 70% of the Total Economic Volume of the United States. At that time, the total economic volume of the world ranked first in the United States, Japan second, the third German economy totaled 2.59 trillion US dollars, less than one-half of Japan, the fourth France was 1.6 trillion US dollars, less than one-third of Japan, and the fifth was the United Kingdom, with a total economic volume of 1.34 trillion US dollars, less than a quarter of Japan. Japan's total economic output at that time was roughly equivalent to the sum of the total economic output of the three European powers, which shows how developed the Japanese economy was at that time.
At that time, Japan was different from the situation in China today, which now has a large total, but the per capita GDP is very average. Japan not only has a large economy, but also has a very high per capita GDP, even surpassing that of the United States. In 1995, Japan's per capita GDP was about $43,400, ranking fifth in the world. The first few are a few small European countries with very small populations and land areas. The per capita GDP of the United States at that time was 28,700 US dollars, Japan was 1.5 times that of the United States, and the per capita GDP of the entire European Union was 19,500 US dollars, not only the total, but also the per capita GDP of Japan was far more than that of eu countries. Moreover, Japan was also a populous country at that time, with a population of nearly 130 million, while the population of the European Union countries at that time was below 80 million. With so many people still reaching this height, the results are really remarkable.
In 1995, the sum of the world's total economy was about $30.88 trillion, Japan was $5.45 trillion, accounting for 17.64% of the world total, and the United States accounted for about 24.7%. By 2020, Japan's total economic output will account for about 5.7% of the world's total, down 12 points. China's total economic output in 2020 is about $14.3 trillion, accounting for 17.38% of the world's total, and slightly lower than Japan's percentage of the world total at that time. China, which accounted for only about 2.3 percent of the world economy in 1995, will rise by 15 points by 2020, while Japan will decrease by 12 points. Another point is that Japan's population accounts for only about 1.6% of the world's population, while China has reached 18%, and the number of Chinese population is more than ten times that of Japan.
After the 1990s, the Japanese economy has basically not improved, especially in recent years, and even showed a trend of regression. The aging of the population is becoming more and more serious, there are no major breakthroughs in industry, science and technology, and its international status is also decreasing year by year. If there is no major scientific and technological innovation, scientific and technological revolution, and find new economic growth points, it is estimated that the Japanese economy will not have any more brilliant periods, and with the passage of time, the development of the world will be overtaken by the late-developing countries. It's like cherry blossoms blooming and withering.