Why Japan Still Matters

In Japan, royal successions are emotionally charged moments, turning points in a shared national narrative. On April 30, the Heisei era, which started in 1989 with the death of the wartime monarch Hirohito, will end with the abdication of Emperor Akihito. The next day, the 85-year-old is expected to present his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, with an ancient sword, mirror, and jewel—the regalia called the Three Sacred Treasures—reprising a ritual that’s played out for centuries within the imperial house of Japan.

Three decades is but a blink in the fullness of Japanese history, yet there’s a widespread sense that the country has had an epically bad run. Its reputation as an economic juggernaut, earned during its rapid modernization in the late 19th century Meiji era and stunning post-World War II rebound, took a hit from financial crises, deflation scares, exploding public debt, and, above all, the inexorable rise of China, which blew by Japan as the world’s No. 2 economy and is now the dominant geopolitical force in Asia.