Now you don't see it, now you do -- it's that sort of thing.
And that is what I mean by irresponsible: Japan can redefine what's worth worrying about any way it wishes, but it doesn't alter anything. "While there's a new government policy," as Atkinson puts it, "there's not a new economic reality." In view of the true numbers, the way to a new economic reality would seem to be glaringly evident, though it will involve a lot more than the banks' operating profit: Break the cycle of asset deflation by way of aggressive debt monetization. It may not appeal to the supply-siders, but it's the cure for the disease Atkinson so well measures.
I will watch the elections this Sunday with great interest, Yanagisawa-san, as I am sure you will. But I'll be under no illusions as to what a victory for the governing Liberal Democrats will mean for the future of the debt problem.
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