Final answer:
Japanese firms did indeed routinely employ high financial leverage, especially evident during the 1990s. Without specific information, it's difficult to confirm their preferences for operating leverage or their reactions to volume changes. Post-2008, economic recovery efforts may have influenced financial behaviors, but data from the 1990s is more indicative of previous tendencies.
Step-by-step explanation:
When assessing the statement regarding Japanese firms from Finance in Action - Global, it's important to consider various aspects of the financial behavior of these firms. Observations show that Japan's banks faced significant financial struggles during the 1990s, and there was a reluctance to address these problems well into the 2000s. This may imply that Japanese firms could have had issues with high levels of financial leverage, at least during the 1990s and possibly beyond. Furthermore, considering the broader context, countries affected by the Asian Financial Crisis showed how rapid outflows of capital can lead to economic collapse, suggesting a need for caution in aggressive reactions to volume changes.
Therefore, based on the available information, it's reasonable to conclude that Japanese firms did indeed routinely employ high financial leverage. However, without specific data on operating leverage and reactions to volume changes in the provided texts, it's more challenging to definitively confirm these aspects for Japanese firms.
Lastly, touching on global economic trends, after the 2008 financial crisis, many high-income countries, including Japan, had to focus on the short-term economic recovery, which may have influenced their financial practices, but this is separate from the patterns of the 1990s.