Japanese economy troubled by debt

By Miki Sugimoto, a fund manager at Newton More than 12 years after the Japanese bubble burst, the economy is still struggling with the consequences. The economy is hobbled by the burden of the debts that were run up during the boom years. The result is that the nominal value of retail sales has fallen for nearly four years and now stands at the same level as was seen just before the crash in 1990. Similarly, despite a rebound in production of nearly 10% from the lows in late 2001, industrial output is still below the level it was at the start of the last decade. Even the boost fro...