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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan)
It's also interesting to review old films and media from the late eighties (Gung Ho, and Die Hard). It's hard to comprehend if you didn't live through it, but there was a massive level of anxiety in the US that Japanese business culture and management prowess was going to be impossible for the US to overcome, and that th US was in decline.
The Asset bubble in Japan was so insane that at one point the nominal value of the Imperial Palace was equal to the value of all property in the state of California. Aother good Wikipedia article to read is this one:
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In the west we have this opinion that an economy should under go the maximum amount of growth at all times and so from that perspective Japan looks like a basket case and yet they have a good standard of living, an excellent life expectancy and by most measures are a successful country.
That said much of what happened in Japan is worth study in the greater world, the suppression of wages and the liquidity trap (their debt is 240% of GDP) have analogues in the western world.
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- When a country is completely modernized its growth tends to plateau; no good investments left (in say infrastructure, health, education and so).
- The Japanese Yen got too strong. Japan got stiffed at the plaza accord. After the 2nd world war it took 300 JPY to buy one USD. Today it hovers around 100.
- Japan's skewed demographics. Too many elderly. Too few young. Little immigration.
- Japan's conservatism. I.e big consumer electronics giants unable to transition into software companies.
- Too much debt. Economy caught in a debt deflation / liquidity trap.
- Competition from Taiwan, South Korea, China.
- The big bubble was never allowed to pop and clear. Leaving zombie companies, slowly falling asset prices, bad debt for many decades ...
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http://www.amazon.com/Rising-Sun-Michael-Crichton/dp/0099233...
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I'm genuinely not being sarcastic, I wouldn't have the faintest idea where to start looking for an answer to that question otherwise.