As the much-lauded "miracle" of Japan's stunning economic growth has ground down into a seemingly unshakeable economic stagnation, analysts have focused their attention on the underlying systems that present obstacles to continued success. In this, the first book-length academic treatment of this important issue, a team of notable editors and contributors gathers together to present nine papers offering a comprehensive assessment of those economic difficulties, covering topics from financial problems to corporate issues to issues in government policy. The result is an invaluable collection of information on the key challenges facing continued economic growth. INDICE 1. Financial Sector Profitability and Double-Gearing Mitsuhiro Fukao 2. Paying for the FILP Takero Doi and Takeo Hoshi 3. The Deteriorating Fiscal Situation and an Aging Population Robert Dekle 4. Mismeasurement of the CPI Kenn Ariga and Kenji Matsui 5. Regulation, Distribution Efficiency, and Retail Density David Flath 6. Inefficiency of Corporate Investment and Distortion of Savings Behavior in Japan Albert Ando, Dimitrios Christelis, and Tsutomu Miyagawa 7. Is Japan's Innovative Capacity in Decline? Lee Branstetter and Yoshiaki Nakamura 8. Constraints on the Level and Effective Use of Labor Hiroshi Ono and Marcus E. Rebick 9. An International Perspective of Corporate Groups and Their Prospects Yishay Yafeh