They have had the same problem since the late ‘80s. When the real state bubble burst everything went to hell because much of the system was based upon the real estate. Remember? They were buying up all kinds of USA assets like Paramount Pictures and New York real estate. When they went bust, a lot of American properties got sold back at firesale prices. Their central bank, which is not to independent, lowered the interest rates to the zero bound and started the Yen carry trade. This is one reason that their economy has never been able to recover, the zero bound on interest rates.