....and even here it's subjective. A 4.4 trillion dollar GDP (mostly driven by car companies, har har), a large role in globalized trade relations, less of a housing crisis than many places. A fairly thriving and unique culture and tourist industry.

They're doing a lot better than many countries. So it all depends on what you think economics should do. Should it be about maximum profits and growth, or some other set of values ect... And that's really difficult to pin down.

Personally I think it should ultimately serve the politics of the masses (eg. Be under democracy). Otherwise we're all kind of slaves to it.

And their problems had nothing to do with deflation. They're rampant consumerists and innovation chasers who just also happen to value conservative savings plans. They got outcompeted in the local area by cheap Chinese labor and their adoption of neoliberal economics did what it did everywhere else, sabotage their working class's purchasing power even as they lost their foreign markets...

And they're still the world's fourth largest economy with the 12th largest and rapidly aging population.