Yoree Koh reports that the Japanese couldn't care less that the Chinese have vaulted ahead of them as the world's second largest economy:
'Japan is taking the demotion with a shrug.â??It canâ??t be helped,â? said Koichi Matsubara, 36, who works in real estate. â??Business has been drifting overseas, our population is shrinking. Weâ??re a small island, and given the size of our country, we were perhaps at the top longer than expected. I think we will continue to lose ground.â?Â
But the fall is more often attributed to Japanâ??s lack of fighting power compared to the days of post-World War II yore when it was chasing after its more developed European rivals.
â??Japan lost its momentum,â? said Kazuyoshi Ono, a 58-year-old former banker. â??The thinking in the past was, â??If I work hard, the harder I work the more likely Iâ??ll succeed,â?? but weâ??ve lost that hungry spirit.â?Â
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