walkman? well, no one in the era of the apple ipod and a iphone does. sony was once the tops in personal gadgets but it became too big and lost focus. japan airlines also grew, so much that the expenses gobbled up profits. corporate inflexibility led to empty seats flying all over japan and knocked them into bankruptcy a few weeks ago making it the country's corporate failure, one of the biggest. do you see the country being as strong as they were? >> no. >> reporter: timothy kirkwood has seen the booms and busts of japan's economy. in recent years kpaens like toyota focus on global expansion and branding and let go of what it's known for. >> there bhans outward-looking management that enjoys the success of the global consumerer spending boom we have seen during the good times.