Potential superpower
A potential superpower is a sovereign state or other polity that is speculated to be or have the potential to become a superpower, a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale through economic, military, technological, political, and/or cultural means.[1][2][3]
Former candidates
Japan
In the 1980s, some political and economic analysts predicted that Japan would eventually accede to superpower status, due to its large population, large gross domestic product and high economic growth at that time. Japan was expected to eventually surpass the economy of the United States.[69][70][71] However this prediction failed to materialise following a stock market crash and the resulting Lost Decades, where Japan has suffered a flat to negative economic outlook,[72] while its population has been aging since the late 1980s before suffering real decline in total population starting in 2011.[12]