The size of Japan s economy was overtaken by Germany, and the Japanese media were not convinced

Mondo Social Updated on 2024-01-31

In the first three quarters of 2023, the size of the economies of Germany and Japan has changed. Germany's GDP is 30,522 in terms of market**300 million euros, or 3,306.5 billion dollars. Japan's GDP is only 431634 trillion yen, or 3,124 billion dollars. This means that Germany has overtaken Japan to become the world's third-largest economy. This result was also confirmed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook report.

This is another major change in the global economic landscape after Japan was overtaken by China in 2010. For the whole of 2023, Japan's economy will continue to lag behind Germany, ranking fourth in the world. Moreover, in the next few years, Japan may be overtaken by India, and the global ranking will fall further. Japan, it seems, is gradually losing its status as an economic powerhouse.

However, Japan** does not agree with this, arguing that Germany's GDP only appears to be higher than Japan's on the surface, but in reality it is not. They pointed out that the impact of exchange rates and inflation cannot be ignored. In international comparisons, the GDP of all countries has to be converted in dollars, and in the first three quarters of this year, the euro appreciated by 1 against the dollar83%, while the yen has depreciated. As a result, Japan's GDP appears to shrink when converted into dollars.

Not only that, but the price level in Japan is also lower than in Germany, which also affects the calculation of GDP. It would be unfair to Japan to compare the GDP of Japan and Germany based solely on market exchange rates. This is because Japan's economy is actually more dynamic than Germany's.

In the first three quarters of this year, for example, Germany's economy fell by 04%, while Japan's economy grew by 17%。If the exchange rate and inflation are excluded, Japan's economic development level is much higher than that of Germany. Germany is the one who is in the economic downturn, not Japan.

The Japanese media suggested that the difference in purchasing power should be observed.

Since nominal GDP does not reflect the economic situation of Japan and Germany, is there a more reasonable indicator?The Japanese media proposed GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP). This method can take into account the differences in the price level of different countries, and can better reflect the strength of the economies of each country.

For the whole of 2023, Japan's GDP will reach 6$5 trillion. Germany's GDP is only 5 in purchasing power parity terms54 trillion US dollars, nearly 1 trillion US dollars lower than Japan.

More importantly, Japan has emerged from a long period of deflation, and the economy is showing a warming trend. Germany, as the economic engine of Europe, has become the biggest obstacle to the EU's economic development. The economic trends of the two countries are completely opposite. That's the essential difference.

Japanese media even used "Germany is an economic patient of Europe" to describe Germany's economic situation. They hope that, putting aside the interference of the exchange rate, and truly looking at the path of economic development in Japan and Germany, they will find that "Japan is on the road to economic strengthening," not Germany.

Japanese media also said that in 2024, Japan's GDP is expected to exceed 600 trillion yen, a record high. At that time, 20 trillion yen will be distributed to the people so that they can feel the benefits of economic development. This article is generated by bing, for reference only, and does not represent any views, **please indicate the source.

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