Thus, there has been no significant acceleration of business fixed investment when compared to past recovery phases. One factor behind this seems to be the various BIS Review 117/1997  -7-  structural adjustment pressures that the Japanese economy faces today, notably persistent balance-sheet adjustment pressures.
And when the global economy picks up, the external imbalances are likely to worsen again. Without fundamental rebalancing, a full-fledged recovery of world economy may be a remote possibility. But rebalancing within a short period of time is no trivial task. It will require more proactive and concerted policy efforts than are currently being made.