YKK epitomizes why Japan, despite the recent decline, continues to be a major economy: manufacturing giants that continue to serve as the backbone of the global economy.

Another example is FANUC [1], a manufacturing device maker headquartered in Yamanashi, Japan's equivalent of Idaho (i.e., there are people there, and I'm sure it's nice to live, but few travel there for vacation).

There are countless such examples: Minebea [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minebea has 60% market share for miniature bearings (ex: the trackpoint for Thinkpads) and has been more than doubling their revenue YoY.

As long as Japan's high-end manufacturing sector stays healthy, they will be fine for a little while.

[1] FANUC stands for Factory Automation NUmerical Control. You've gotta love Japanese people's creativity when it comes to company names.

[2] Minebea stands for Miniature Bearing. Again, very creative.