The pressure to compete, even to just survive, has been immense.

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But yes, there is a pressure to compete, and the pressure of competition is huge.

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The AWSJ went further in its two front-page stories and concluded that "the enormous pressure JCO felt to cut costs and compete with overseas rivals" was ultimately to blame.

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This is a dramatic change from the 1990s when Japan experienced zero EPS growth for the decade, compared to 100% growth for the U.S. The recent return to growth is a clear reflection of the improvement in Japanese productivity, which was spurred by increased pressure to cut costs in order to compete with China and South Korea.

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For smaller, privately held companies, the trend to move production back to the U.S. from China could eventually put some pressure on wages, as more companies compete for skilled workers, McPeak said.

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