ABSTRACT

Japan has now been mired in economic stagnation and recession for the past decade. What are the causes o f this malaise? Is it merely the natural consequence o f financial retrenchment after the collapse o f the ‘bubble’ economy in the early 1990s, or does the present slump signify a more profound historical phase o f industrial maturity and decline? The aim of this study is to provide several tentative hypotheses. In the first section, the onset o f crisis and stagnation in Japan after the collapse o f the ‘bubble economy’ in the early 1990s will be examined. The second section provides a more detailed exposition o f Japan’s oligopolistic role in the East Asian region from a Baran-Sweezy-Magdoff perspective.