The Greece of Asia: Japan's Growing Sovereign Debt Time Bomb

[sysop]

The eyes of the financial world are on Greece and other heavily indebted euro-zone countries. But Japan is in even worse shape. The country's debt load is immense and growing, to the point that a quarter of its budget goes to servicing it. The government in Tokyo has done little to change things.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-875641.html

[metroeco]

All national currencies are in debt to nature, extracting resources faster than these renew. Therefore new money is needed that rebuilds civilization toward balance with nature. My article "Labor: the New Gold Standard" explains how. http://www.paulglover.org/1107.html

[bluesky123]

My university in the US offered students the option to spend a semester in Japan. I lived with a Japanese family in Tokyo and attended a Japanese university. The Japanese mother in the family was laughing all the time. I never had any idea what she was saying but she was sweet. I remember the Japanese people as being so gracious, polite and a very gentle people. You had to take off your shoes, leave them by the main door and then wear these little pink slippers in the house (odd for a man). Sushi was really expensive. The beer was very good. On the trains there were more people in the rail car than live in my entire town today. Everybody read comic books. Why, I still have no idea. When the Japanese buy you a nice gift, it is a little box with bow, in another box with another bow, in a bigger box with another bow and then there is yet another box. I never saw such artistry in how to give somebody a gift as the way Japanese give gifts. Thank you to the wonderful Japanese people for so many wonderful memories. What a great people.