For details, see Ito, T., "Japanization: Is it Endemic or Epidemic?" NBER Working Paper, no. 21954, 2016. 7  people's perception of economic growth tends to be formed based on nominal figures. One of the reasons why the nominal GDP growth rate was low from the 1990s is that prices continued to decline; in other words, deflation was prolonged.
In addition, the unemployment rate went up under deflation. If those unemployed during the "employment ice age" period had been employed, Japan's economic growth rate would have been much higher. B. Importance of Economic Growth Now, I would like to confirm the importance of economic growth.