This sentence appears to derive from a newspaper headline, and headlines are often poetic and puns. If something catches the light, it shines because it is reflecting light. Figuratively speaking, the headline means that the new ways of thinking or new approaches or perspectives (new angles) have had an effect (catch the light) on Japan's stressed workers and America's poor.

In the song "Maggie May", as sung by Rod Stewart, a line goes, "The morning sun when it's in your face really shows your age". The angle of the light reveals a different perspective.