In 1995, Japan's economy nearly equaled that of the US as the largest economy in the world for a day, after the Japanese currency reached a record high of 79 yen/US$. Economic growth in Asia since World War II to the 1990s had been concentrated in Japan as well as the four regions of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore located in the Pacific Rim, known as the Asian tigers, which are now all considered developed economies, having amongst the highest GDP per capita in Asia.
ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti fˈaɪv, dʒəpˈænz ɪkˈɑːnəmi nˌɪɹli ˈiːkwəld ðæt ʌvðə jˌuːˈɛs æz ðə lˈɑːɹdʒɪst ɪkˈɑːnəmi ɪnðə wˈɜːld fɚɹə dˈeɪ, ˈæftɚ ðə dʒˌæpənˈiːz kˈɜːɹənsi ɹˈiːtʃt ɐ ɹˈɛkɚd hˈaɪ ʌv sˈɛvənti nˈaɪn jˈɛn slˈæʃ jˌuːˈɛs dˈɑːlɚ. ˌiːkənˈɑːmɪk ɡɹˈoʊθ ɪn ˈeɪʒə sˈɪns wˈɜːld wˈɔːɹ ɹˌoʊmən tˈuː tə ðə nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti z hɐdbɪn kˈɑːnsəntɹˌeɪɾᵻd ɪn dʒəpˈæn æz wˈɛl æz ðə fˈoːɹ ɹˈiːdʒənz ʌv sˈaʊθ kɚɹˈiːə, taɪwˈɑːn, hˈɑːŋ kˈɑːŋ ænd sˈɪŋɡɐpˌoːɹ loʊkˈeɪɾᵻd ɪnðə pɐsˈɪfɪk ɹˈɪm, nˈoʊn æz ðɪ ˈeɪʒən tˈaɪɡɚz, wˌɪtʃ ɑːɹ nˈaʊ ˈɔːl kənsˈɪdɚd dɪvˈɛləpt ɪkˈɑːnəmiz, hˌævɪŋ ɐmˌʌŋst ðə hˈaɪɪst dʒˌiːdˌiːpˈiː pɜː kˈæpɪɾə ɪn ˈeɪʒə.