Back in the 80s they used to say the same thing, and it didn't prove to be true, either...I've gotten tired of doomsayers finding facts to create their scenarios after seeing so many of them being wrong.
japan is not china. they did not use a currency peg to guarantee a permanent benefit to themselves regarding trade. their currency floats, japan is not a third world nation regarding living standards. japan did not have an essentially infinite supply of workers willing to accept wages at the subsistence level, kept in check by a communist government holding them at the point of a gun and a prison term.
japan is not china, stop comparing the two.