Year-end and early-year topic -

On December 29, 2025, the Indian government released its annual economic assessment report, announcing that its gross domestic product (GDP) has reached $4.18 trillion, officially surpassing Japan to become the fourth largest economy in the world.

Japan's GDP in 2025 was $4.28 trillion (the exact data given by India is $4.03 billion),

The combined GDP of Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces in China in 2025 was $4.76 trillion, exceeding India, including Japan's global economic ranking. This data indicates that China's three provinces and one municipality have entered the top four global economies. This does not include China's major economic provinces Guangdong and Shandong.

In 1995, Japan's GDP was $5.55 trillion, while the total economic output of other Asian countries was only $4.19 trillion. Japan's economy was larger than the combined total of other Asian countries.

Today, after 30 years, Japan's GDP in 2025 is $4.28 trillion. Over 30 years, Japan's economy not only did not develop but also shrank by $1.27 billion.

It is called "the lost thirty years" by the outside world.

People can't help but question what Japan has been doing for these 30 years?

The "lost thirty years" in Japan originated from a series of economic and social structural problems after the collapse of the asset bubble in the early 1990s. The direct trigger was the sharp appreciation of the yen after the Plaza Accord, compounded by the delayed monetary policy of the Bank of Japan, leading to an abrupt collapse of stock and real estate bubbles. The collapse of asset prices severely damaged corporate balance sheets, and the banking system accumulated massive non-performing loans, causing the financial system to fall into long-term credit tightening.

The "lost thirty years" of Japan's economy is essentially the result of multiple crises overlapping: policy missteps after the bubble burst, demographic collapse leading to a decline in social vitality, debt traps causing fiscal collapse, industrial transformation setbacks combined with geopolitical risks, ultimately forming an irreversible long-term stagnation.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1853112930103440/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.