Q149 Did the rapid decline fuel concern that domestic industry was being hollowed out?

A149 The 2002 Report on the japanese Economy and Public Finance points out concerns regarding the hollowing out of Japanese industry, including: 1) that Japan will run up a deficit in trade and the service industry, because its manufacturing industry will shrink as a result of being hit by a rapid increase in imports from China; 2) that shrinkage in manufacturing will lead to a decrease in the number of employers; and 3) that a reduction in the size of the manufacturing industry, which had powered Japan's economic growth, will deprive the country of its.