By: sinclair

sinclair — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 23:52:00 +0000

The debt is huge. The Japanese people have saved trillions of dollars and the government has borrowed and wasted huge chunk and the money is gone. Total bank deposits in Japan are more than double the United States and one third of them have been loaned to the government. The largest financial institution in the world is Japan Post Holdings, which is the post office. About half is insurance and the rest is deposits (Total $3.8 trillion) and over 60% has been loaned to the government. For perspective, the United States has $10 Trillion of total bank deposits (banks, S&L's, credit unions,etc). Japanese insurance companies are also important and much of their assets are in Japanese Government Bonds. GPIF is the largest retirement fund in the world at about $1.3 trillion and some 60% has been loaned to the government. Either the currency gets crushed or it becomes impossible to issue enough new debt but either way; the Japanese people are going to lose most of their wealth.

By: wulfenstraat

wulfenstraat — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 01:51:00 +0000

Yes, but most of this debt is owed to Japanese citizens. It’s not as if wealth is leaving Japan’s shores. It’s just moving from one pocket to another. It just redistributes the wealth, unfortunately making the wealthy wealthier.

The trick is for these Japanese citizens to be taxed at a higher rate than citizens who earn less. In short, Japan’s public debt can be fixed by a progressive tax rate. So, let’s not belabor the point. Japan is freaking rich, and it doesn’t have a real debt problem.

Comments on: Japan Fiscal Outlook 2014: To Owe is Human

By: sinclair

By: wulfenstraat