[RockinRight]

Apparently the US observation that tax CUTS increase revenue due to economic growth falls on deaf ears over in Japan.

Raising taxes would be the perfect way to halt Japan's economic recovery...

[11th Commandment]

This has to be false! Only the US runs deficits because we spend so much on the military, give tax cuts to the rich and pollute the world.

[Mase]

Japan's public debt burden is almost 160 percent of its GDP and already the highest in the industrialized world.

How can this be? They have a trade surplus and a high personal savings rate. Just another example of why our economy remains the envy of the world.

Nothing will get better in Japan until they stimulate more personal consumption. The power of their trading companies needs to be broken and their archaic distribution system has to become more efficient.

[bkepley]

Fact:Japan's national dept if printed and stacked would circle three times around Andromeda.

[ASOC]

Should be interesting, last I was there, they had started on a massive "WPA" style public works projects to lower unemployment. Which,, in turn, raised public debt.

Be interesting to see how they sort this all out. Might be instructive for us as well.

[NeoCaveman]

Japan's public debt burden is almost 160 percent of its GDP and already the highest in the industrialized world.

160% of GDP? Wow. And I thought (and still do think) that our 64% of GDP was bad.

[Question_Assumptions]

Keep in mind that the Japanese postal system also works like a bank and many Japanese save their money at the post office, rather than at a bank.