Clouds of gloom have been shrouding Japan and its economy for quite some time. The bursting of the asset- inflated economic bubble in the early 1990s, and the failures of banks, insurers and other big corporations later in that decade, has put a huge dent in Japan's collective self-confidence. That is made all the more painful since it followed the country's postwar rise from rags to rich "Asian tiger" — prompting both awe and anxiety around the world.

Such days are long gone. After the bubble burst, the nation endured a self-styled "lost decade" that has now turned into two decades mired in a prolonged stagnation that has dampened consumption, wages and — perhaps most importantly — people's spirit. A study of the factors surrounding all this would seem to aptly fit the disparaging description of economics as "the dismal science."

Indeed, even rafts of government stimulus measures have failed to reverse the dismal trend or do anything to improve citizens' lives — despite official assertions that Japan experienced its longest postwar economic boom from 2002 to 2007.