Sweden had it financial meltdown in 92. It has recovered and now has an economy that reviles Germany. As a socialist state, it is doing well unlike many in the rest of Europe. See link to Washington Post:
Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-swedish-model/2012/04/25/gIQA3rvvgT_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions)
Japan, on the other hand, once the powerhouse of the Pacific is in serious decline. See link to Bloomberg:
Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/three-reasons-japan-s-economic-pain-is-getting-worse.html)
Actually Sweden has had to seriously scale back on its socialism to get financial solvency. But good try, dude.
Did you read the link I supplied? It details how Sweden cut back benefits, reduced some taxes and raised others to achieve the stability it has. On the other hand, Japan has done little to solve the problems it's experiencing per its link.
Oh, I thought you were going a different direction since you said that "as a socialist state, it is doing well." My point was that, as a socialist state, it did crappy.
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/04/16/tax-cuts-key-ingredient-of-swedens-economic-success/ (http://blog.heritage.org/2012/04/16/tax-cuts-key-ingredient-of-swedens-economic-success/)
Please note, in the OP I misspelled "rival". Used "revile" wrongly.