By Lee Kyoung Mi

A Japanese think tank predicts that Korea's per capita GDP will surpass Japan's next year, moving up its earlier prediction of 2027 made in December last year due to the weakening Japanese currency.

The Japanese financial daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on Dec. 14 quoted the Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER)'s  economic growth forecasts for 35 Asia-Pacific countries as saying, "Japan's per capita GDP will fall below Taiwan's this year and Korea's next year."

Data from the International Monetary Fund and United Nations said Japan's per capita as of 2021 was USD 39,683, 13% higher than Korea's (USD 34,940) and 22% more than Taiwan's (USD 32,407).

The Nikkei said, "The JCER made earlier predictions that Korea would come from behind and surpass Japan by 2027 and Taiwan by 2028 but moved up the schedule," citing the foreign exchange rate as the main reason. Late last month, the Japanese yen depreciated 20% versus the American dollar due to hikes in U.S. interest rates but the Korean and Taiwanese currencies fell only about 10% against the greenback.

This trend is not temporary, the report said, as Korea and Taiwan are ahead of Japan in digital transformation including in public administration and will likely surpass Japan in labor productivity growth. After overtaking Taiwan in per capita GDP next year, Korea is expected to rank No. 1 in the category in East Asia until 2035.

km137426@korea.kr