Around 20 years ago, Japan’s middle-income class started to collapse. Up until the 1980s, Japan had boasted of its “100-million population, all middle-class society.” Afterwards, it was forced to admit that this had degenerated into a “society of disparity.” While 80% to 90% of the Japanese population considered themselves middle class in the 1980s, according to a Seoul University study, this plunged to less than 30% by 2007. The underlying causes of this collapse offer lessons for South Korea, which is now undergoing a transition similar to Japan’s at the start of the 1990s.
How Korea Can Avoid Japan’s Economic Mistakes
Much of what happened during Japan’s two lost decades is happening now in Seoul.
November 20, 2013
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Learn how to overcome barriers when working globally.