By Kim Hayeon

A Japanese think tank says Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita will exceed Japan's in five years.

The Japanese daily Mainichi on Jan. 16 quoted the Japan Center for Economic Research in Tokyo as saying this in a report on midterm forecasts for Asian economies.

From 2021-35, Korea is expected to see average economic growth of 4.1% per year and Taiwan 4.2%, while Japan's growth is expected to hover around 2%, the article said.

GDP per capita, which reflects the cost of living in a given year, in Japan will fall behind Korea's in 2027 and Taiwan's in 2028.

The statistic is an important indicator of average living standards in a country.

As of 2020, Japan's GDP per capita was USD 39,890, 25% higher than Korea's (USD 31,954) and 42% more than Taiwan's (USD 28,054).

The center cited a stagnant labor force and slow progress in digitalization as the reasons for its projection for low growth in Japan.

Atsushi Tomiyama, principal economist at the think tank, was quoted as saying tech giants such as Samsung Electronics of Korea and Hon Hai Precision Industry of Taiwan are the driving force for growth of the two countries.

He added that Korea since the 2000s has promoted e-government and mentioned Taiwan's accelerated digitalization after the appointment of Digital Minister Audrey Tang.

Tomiyama said that unlike the digitalization success of Korea and Taiwan, Japan is still dominated by analog administrative procedures like the use of physical stamps and signatures on documents.

hayeounk8@korea.kr