The world has fallen out of love with Japan and Japan with the rest of the world. Aside from discussions with Japanophiles – who wax with justifiable lyricism about the country's efficiency, marvellous cuisine and exquisite sense of beauty – mention of the country these days is likely to provoke a raised eyebrow or a gently suppressed yawn. Investors regard Japan as resistant to their attempts to spread the gospel of shareholder value and a place where a bull run is when equities rally to one-quarter their 1990 level. Such is the lack of interest that one Tokyo-based broker toyed with the idea of removing the word “Japan” from the title of his investment notes in order to lure more clients into reading them.
日本與世界其它國家之間已相互失愛于對方。親日派還在熱情洋溢地談論著日本的高效、絕妙的菜肴、以及精致的美感，這也可以理解。但除此之外，現在若和其他人談起日本，換來的可能不是驚訝的表情，就是掩飾不住的倦意。投資者認為，日本對他們宣揚股東價值的努力拒不買賬，而且在那里，股市若能反彈至1990年水平的四分之一，就算是一輪牛市了。人們對于日本的興趣是如此缺乏，以至于一位駐日本的經紀商開玩笑說，正考慮將“日本”二字從自己投資報告的標題中刪去，以吸引更多客戶來閱讀。