TOKYO — Donald J. Trump has often aimed his raucous brand of disparagement at foreign countries during his presidential run. There is China, “ripping off” the United States on trade and stealing its jobs. And Mexico, closing its eyes to a flood of migrants and drugs across the border.

But his preoccupation with Japan is perhaps more unusual, if not anachronistic.

Mr. Trump chastised Japan last week in a Republican candidates’ debate, naming it along with China and Mexico as countries where “we are getting absolutely crushed on trade.” He has previously accused Japan of manipulating its currency to achieve an unfair economic advantage, and of exploiting its military alliance with the United States to protect itself at little risk and cost.

His complaints are reminiscent of another era, when Japan’s economy was booming and its companies were buying trophy American assets like movie studios and Rockefeller Center. Since the 1990s, though, Japan’s growth has been mostly flat, and trade friction much more subdued, even as the United States continues to run large trade deficits with Japan.

Whereas Japanese officials once feared so-called Japan-bashing by Americans, today they are more likely to lament “Japan-passing,” a shift in attention to places viewed as more dynamic, like China.