ABSTRACT
Japan experienced an asset bubble in the late 1980s. After the bubble collapsed in 1990-91, the Japanese economy was plunged into a long period of deflation and recession. Japanese stock prices began to rise in the early 1980s and peaked in 1990 at more than five times the 1980 level. Then, it started a long period of decline with medium-term fluctuations. During the rising phase of the bubble in the late 1980s, many queer phenomena were observed. Those who owned land became very rich while those without land faced little chance of buying their home, which increased the sense of inequality and social injustice. In the post-bubble period, Japan's monetary authorities faced two challenges. The first was coping with non-performing loans, which took as long as a decade to clean up. The second was reviving the macro-economy, which remains unfulfilled even to this date.
