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But of course, losing money in Japan has been a slow - and painful - process too. The Land of the Rising Sun (and Falling Index) has essentially been in a bear market since its asset bubble burst in 1989. Despite Japan’s status as the world's second-largest equity market, international investors have been underweight for years. Too many false dawns have fostered a healthy scepticism towards the notion of a Japanese revival.

Recently, that scepticism has been well founded, with 2008 one of the worst years on record for Japan. At the end of October, the Japanese market was down some 44 per cent in yen terms. To find a fall of similar magnitude, we need to go back to 1949 – the year in which wartime debt threatened to ruin Japan’s economy entirely. But here’s where the historical parallel gets interesting. The next year, 1950, was flatter, with a single-digit decline in the stock market. But the year after that, the market rose by more than 40 per cent. And 1952 was one of only four years in which Japan has delivered a return of more than 50 per cent.

So what might prompt a revival this time? For one thing, stock market valuations in Japan are back to where they were before the '80s bubble began. Indeed, the price-to-book ratio is at its lowest level for 40 years. Meanwhile, profitability has improved, profit margins are at record highs and companies are buying back shares.

And while Japan remains a cyclical economy, it is much less exposed to debt than many western economies. Since the 1990s financial crisis, Japanese companies have shunned debt and deleveraged their own balance sheets. Meanwhile, consumer credit is also far below that of the West. So the Japanese economy is in better shape than most – and certainly in much better shape than it was in 1949. As global investors seek safe havens, the market should, eventually, come to reflect this.

But when the Japanese market does recover, it won’t be the stocks that have done worse that will lead the upsurge. So we shouldn’t expect a V-shaped recovery across the market. Rather, new companies will come to the fore – just as the likes of Honda, Toyota and Canon emerged from the aftermath of Japan’s banking crisis. Identifying these new winners will be the key to success in Japan in the next few years. With many companies trading at below book value, the astute stockpicker has an unrivalled opportunity to build stakes in the market leaders of the future.

In a more optimistic mood, Ihara also advised that “to follow the lead of others is no way to make money.” We agree. For discerning stock pickers, these are exciting times.

John Millar is manager of the Martin Currie Pacific Trust