Japan’s economy then deteriorated rapidly, as if rolling downhill, following the turmoil in the financial markets triggered by the Lehman shock and the subsequent steep decline in exports and production. Several points could be noted as reasons for the economy of Japan having deteriorated far more severely than that of the United States and Europe where the recent financial crisis originated.
First, Japan’s economy was hit hard by the downturn in the global economy because manufacturing industries of durable goods, such as general machinery, electrical machinery, and transport equipment, account for a large share of the overall economy, and  2  BIS Review 67/2010  the ratio of exports in such industries is high.