Japan's 'lost decade' is our future

Many people dismiss the idea that Japan's credit bubble and bust in the 1980s and 1990s is relevant to the West's situation now. They shouldn't.

Most people are quick to dismiss the idea that Japan's credit bubble and bust in the 1980s and 1990s is relevant to the West's situation now. They shouldn't be, says Richard Cookson of HSBC.

For starters, it's hard to argue that Japan's bubble was much bigger: in the five years to the peak of the bubble in 2000, US stocks rose by 220%, compared to 224% in Japan during the late 1980s. House prices in America rose by more than Japanese land prices (a proxy for house prices) in the five pre-peak years.

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