CHAPTER 8The Japanese Boom and Bust: A CREDIT-FUELED BUBBLE ECONOMY
The militaristic hubris that took Japan blindly into the Second World War found its counterpart in the speculative hubris of the Bubble Economy. History was repeating itself, except this time a stock market farce replaced the tragedy of war.
—Edward Chancellor
During the 1980s, Japan experienced an extraordinary speculative boom that resulted in a bust that has plagued the island nation for the last 20 years. This chapter describes the events that transpired during the 1980s and some of the resulting extremes witnessed in the course of unbridled speculation. The impact of the bust, which continues as this book is being written, is briefly considered as well, and the boom and bust are then evaluated via the five lenses presented in Part I.
Japan(ese) as Different
Japanese society emphasizes harmony. The primary religions in Japan, Buddhism and Shintoism, are heavily oriented toward collectivism. The heavy influence of Confucian ideals also strengthens the primacy of group harmony over individual success. Further, the Japanese, not unlike many other homogenous groups, genuinely think of themselves as unique and different from other societies and cultures. The Japanese hold a deep belief that they are unlike other races, religions, or frankly, humans. This belief is not one restricted to behavior, for as noted in Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation, it actually begins with a notion that ...