Quote:
Originally Posted by yuriandrade
I’m not talking about tourism but about the huge increase in their numbers. In other words, Japan became much more appealing in the past years.
Moreover, GDP tells only part of history. Japan and the US, GDP per capita (PPP) wise, are on the same place today than they were in 1996. Back then Japan currency was inflated as their real estate market. For people daily lives, nothing changed compared to other developed countries.
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If you want to buy anything from overseas, the current exchange rates matter. PPP is basically a poor man's adjustment. Japanese used to buy about 40% of the world's luxury brand clothing. Like not that long ago, in the 90s. I knew people who would buy at retail in Beverly Hills brand shops, ship the items back to Japan, and sell in Tokyo. Every store used to have Japanese-speaking attendants. This wasn't some super long time ago. 2001.
Japanese used to utterly dominate Hawaii. But they can't afford to go there as much because the yen is so much weaker than before. They used to be the most sought-after customers on 5th Avenue in NY. Now they are an after-thought. Same thing in Asia. Japan used to more or less dominate East & Southeast Asia economically. Again, not very long ago