Factors behind the weak recovery in the private sector’s confidence were anxiety and uncertainty regarding the economic and social systems of the country, in addition to factors related to persistent aftereffects of the collapse of the “bubble” economy such as the financial institutions’ nonperforming-loan problem.
The anxiety related to whether the current systems can adapt to the major structural changes facing the Japanese economy - such as intensified global competition and demographic changes in Japan toward fewer children and an increasing aged population - and the growing uncertainty caused by the unclear direction of future economic developments.