How aviation can provide an economic spark for stricken Japan

If Japanese aviation is a window to the economic soul of the nation, then there is cause for some hope of renewal and rejuvenation. Demoted to third place by China in the world economic rankings, the Japanese economy has been gripped by low growth and deflation for two decades. Now seeking to recover from a devastating earthquake and tsunami, described by Prime Minister Naoto Kan as the country’s “worst disaster since World War II”, the challenge takes on a new dimension.