I’m amazed that Japan has not yet hit an economic reef. At over 230+%, the country’s debt to GDP is so far out of whack that I keep thinking that something has to give. I’ve been wrong for years.
The trend lines for Japan are awful. A decline in total population coupled with a rapidly aging society is a recipe for slow or no growth. Japan is the world leader in these critical statistics. I don’t think there is anything that Japan can do to reverse its social/economic future. Projections on the critical variables for at least the next ten-years continue to head south.
There is no chance in hell that Japan will achieve the triggers. The folks who passed the laws know that. I think Japan deserves the annual award for the most heinous “kick the can down” tactic. The following chart shows how Japan has limped along for the past 20 years. Note the GDP performance over the past decade. What are the odds that it breaks 2% anytime soon based on the prior track record?
How’s Japan doing today? Is it on it way to achieving the all important 2% GDP target for 2013 (the trigger for the 2014 tax increase)? Not a chance. From the FT this morning:
................ Bruce Krasting
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