The Recession in Matsumoto

Japan is in the midst of the worst recession since the end of the Second World War. The most visible manifestation of this is the huge number of boarded up shopfronts and closed or barely functioning businesses. One of the noticeable things about Japan is how you can have a brand new high tech superstore and next to it have an ancient temple and next to that have an old delapidated building literally crumbling before your eyes. It's a legacy of the post war boom and the 90's lost decade where the economy basically stagnated for more than ten years. When I came to Japan the economy was doing very well again but you could see this uneven development everywhere.
In recent months however it has become even more noticable. Whilst some areas of town are very busy and new shops (cat cafes etc) opening up there are whole streets where almost every shop is closed, boarded up or barely functioning. There are literally hundreds of "For Let" signs around. All the photos below are from Matsumoto city centre, metres from busy focal points like the train station or on the main high street or next the castle. As in the UK with Woolworths, the shops that are closing were the one's which never made much money in more favorable times. I don't suggest that I will miss the assortment of Mom and Pop stores, tabbaconists, chainsaw shops, petrol stations, cafes, etc that have closed. I don't see however that the cat cafes, Crispy Cremes, convenience stores, coffee shops and chain stores are a particular improvement. It is interesting to see Joseph Schumpeter's creative destruction in action but I hope the recession ends soon.