Passage Two
In Japan, developers are suffering from an economic decline. As banks are unwilling to lend, design firms are hoping to get through the decline. Since it depends heavily on foreign investment, speculative (投机性的) housing has been particularly affected. As a result, developers are breaking down and projects are dying.
Other areas have slowed but not completely stopped. Sometimes a break is good, since it gives design firms a chance to take another look at their designs and make them better. After a six-month pause, some firms are moving forward on new projects.
Large developers who rely less on foreign money and have a wide range of projects are doing better than those who focus just on housing. However, location is the most important factor. Large developments in the central areas of Tokyo, capital of Japan, are continuing at a steady speed.
But outside that highly desirable location, things are getting worse as land becomes cheaper. According to a recent report, 52 office buildings in the middle of Tokyo will finish this year, an improvement over the 44 that were completed the year before but much less than the 92 planned for the next year.
In smaller cities, bank loans and new projects have almost stopped. Developers in the city of Nagoya, Toyota's hometown, are facing a double trouble. They have to cut budget for existing projects because tax revenues from car sales - the city's main source of income - have been greatly reduced. These days, few designers are relying on public projects - a sharp contrast to the 1990s, when public projects sustained many firms after Japan's economy broke down.
Another difference between the two depressions is the current drop in international business. Instead of looking to the foreign market," Japanese designers are searching for jobs at home. By moving into new business areas such as internal design and urban design, many firms have been able to maintain a strong position. To some degree, the current depression is a chance for design firms to expand their abilities and their customer base.

Design firms in Japan find it hard to ().