The Myth of Japan's Lost Decade

"If the average living Japanese person is better off now than 20 years ago (as measured by GDP per capita), then why fixate on the aggregate output of the Japanese economy? Asking the Japanese economy to produce goods at a rate that keeps pace with economies of growing populations seems unnecessary and even impossible."

http://seekingalpha.com/article/288071-the-myth-of-japan-s-lost-decade