Japan is waking up from its lost decades. Can it last?

However, the optimism about Japan's future is tempered with caution about the country's structural challenges, including an ageing population, labour shortages, high government debt, and a society mired in tradition that is slow to embrace change. Many believe the appearance of wealth on Tokyo's streets is an illusion, Bruce Miller, Australia's former ambassador to Japan, says Japan is on the right trajectory, but the growth will be modest compared to Australian standards, and the country's enhanced defence capabilities will be constrained by a reluctance to participate directly if a conflict broke out. "Kishida and the government are making a real…