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Article: Old and new in Kyushu. (thriving regional economy in Japan)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- November 23, 1996
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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KITAKYUSHU
SUBTLETY does not grace most assessments of the Japanese economy. As some see it, the economy flew too close to the sun, then fell to earth, where, tied down by red tape, it continues to lie. Yet Japan's economy is still easily the world's second largest; and it is far more diverse than such a thumbnail sketch suggests. Doubters should visit Kyushu, an island in the south. Kyushu has a tenth of the country's population and accounts for about 12% of its GDP, but this still means that its economy is about as big as those of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia combined.
Kyushu has fared better than the rest of Japan since the popping of the economic ...