The difference is that Japan's response to its crisis was different from our IMF crisis

‌We underwent forced restructuring.
By liquidating unproductive companies,
groups like Hanbo, Daewoo, and Kia went through incredibly painful restructuring.
Japan was also reeling at that time.
However, because Japan had plenty of money back then,
instead of restructuring, they turned their companies into "zombies."
Since they turned unproductive companies into zombies,
it is only natural that their competitiveness fell behind.