Introduction

In a globalising world, many mature economies are following not necessarily common but converging paths of socio-economic, demographic and institutional transformations. The rise and fall of property bubbles brought about economic crises such as Japan's post-bubble economic downfall in the early 1990s, the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997/1998 and the Global Financial Crisis in 2007/2008. Within the post-growth context, however, various restrictions are now being imposed on the expansion of mortgaged-housing markets. Japan is the most 'mature' society in East Asia in terms of socio-economic and demographic developments and political institutions. Post-growth Japan is all characterised by remarkable demographic changes. Societal ageing in Japan is phenomenal, deriving from the combination of low fertility and increased longevity. Many societies in the region will follow in Japan's footsteps regarding ageing and shrinking of populations due to low fertility. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.