The Young People Don't Care... And That's a Good Thing.

The following is just my two cents. Take it or leave it... I've found out that what I think usually doesn't cause the world to turn upside down anyway. Don't send me your mails about "My father fought in...." My dad did too. Know what? I don't care. - Mike (young at heart)

You'll read the news and they'll constantly tell you about bad blood between Japan and her neighbors. Every time some dumb Japanese politician (all over 65-years-old) goes to Yasukuni Shrine, the shrine that supposedly glorifies Japan's past military aggression, the politicians in China and Korea (all over 65-years-old - excepting that lunatic who currently "runs" North Korea) all lose their incontinence and shat their adult diapers. They raise hell and scream about what the other lunatics who "run" Japan are doing and complain about "Japan's war-time militarism" and "past aggressions." (Note: I suspect that Japanese prime ministers visiting Yasukuni shrine while in office could be a sign of senility... We should look into that!)

The news services get into a big tiff and saber-rattling commences along with the typical lame excuses and press conferences....

It's a big deal to the (all over 65-years-old) crowd. But you know what? From my point of view, the vast majority of younger people don't care.

Anytime you see these anti-Japanese or anti-whatever demonstrations on TV, you'll see mostly old people and a few young lunatics in the crowd... Of course, the world has more than enough lunatics to go around for every country... Unfortunately. But you know what?

From my point of view, the vast majority of younger people don't care.

The vast majority of young people from China or Korea (that I've met) and ALL the younger Japanese people I know and live with simply don't care.

World War II was a different world to them. It has nothing to do with them at all. I think you'll be hard-pressed to find a Japanese under 50-years-old who was garreting Chinese civilians in Shanghai in 1942 or administering puncture wounds to Koreans about the same time.

Nope. I'd reckon you couldn't find a single one.

Just like you couldn't find a single former slave owner alive today in the Southern USA.

It's past history. The younger people just seem to not care. And it's a good thing.

I cannot give any data or statistics on how the young people think, especially in Japan, but I can give you anecdotal evidence.

Ever heard of a South Korean boys group named, "Big Bang"? No? Neither had I until my then 17-year-old daughter told me about them about a year or so ago.

Big Bang is massive in Japan; along with several other Korean pop-acts. 

Big Bang

Folks in the west have heard of Paul McCartney or the Rolling Stones. Yes. They played or are playing at Tokyo dome in recent days or early next year. Tokyo Dome holds about 55,000 people... Probably the only western acts that could sell the place out today is Paul McCartney returning to Japan for the first time in 11 years - Doing tons of Beatles songs, by the way - and the Rolling Stones, coming back to Japan for the first time in nearly ten years...

But, in Japan, neither Paul nor Mick Jagger can claim any bragging rights over Big Bang; especially when it comes to young people. The McCartney shows were filled with 55 to 70-year old people. The Stones will probably have the same. 

Big Bang? Three nights at Tokyo Dome sold out within the first 2 hours and packed with 150,000 screaming young girls and guys... And they did the same last year too!

I'm not too hip on today's top of the charts pop music, but I have asked many Japanese women ages between 17 and 35 and they all know who Big Bang is... The Beatles or the Stones? Not so much. Ask any Japanese under 25 if they've ever heard of the Beatles and they'll all say, "Yeah... I think so. But I don't know any of their music..." They don't... But I reckon there's not a single Japanese under 25 who hasn't heard of Big Bang.

It's simply amazing.

(Photo of Japanese teenager showing vicious anti-Korean hostility... Nah, this 18-year-old Japanese girl doesn't just love Big Bang, she worships them! 

To these fans, and many young people just like them, World War II was in a different age in a different universe; they simply don't care about it at all....

I asked my now 18-year-old daughter about Big Bang and she told me that "...all my friends love them! They sing in Japanese that isn't native speaker Japanese, but that's OK. It is what makes them 'cute.'"

I asked my 35-year-old radio station assistant about Big Bang and she told me, "They are huge! All my friends like them. You just cannot get tickets for their shows anywhere!" This is from a girl who works at a radio station, on the most popular show on that station; you'd think she could get tickets if she pulled some strings. No way.

Last night, I asked a 42-year-old woman who runs a restaurant in my neighborhood about Big Bang. Of course she knew who they were. She went on to tell me that several of her close friends are "Big Bang crazy."

Like I said, none of these people were bayoneting people in South East Asia about 70 years ago. They don't care. It has nothing to do with them... Just like neither you nor I owned any slaves on southern cotton plantations.

Another world. Different countries in a different universe at a different time. It has nothing to do with them and their lives. It's other people's baggage. It seems the younger people don't want to carry it... Hell, I don't either.

These are real people who I live and interact with. The clowns in the Japanese government who have never had a real job, who steal our tax monies to line the pockets of their well-connected friends, and hire their friends for cushy government jobs are the ones who care about shit that happened 70 years ago...

It is all a part of these oldsters world and part and parcel of their jobs to maintain controversy so that they can justify spending our taxes on insane nonsense and keeping their friends happy...

Thank god for people like the members of Big Bang. They don't seem to care either about World War II, nor do they seem to care about what (over 65-year-old) politicians do. They care about now and their lives and their fans.

Check this. This video is nearing 100 million views on Youtube. Big Bang has many videos (even singing in Japanese too! - a language that is banned by the government in Korea (who are all people over 65-years-old, by the way...)

Here they are at Tokyo Dome for the final of their 2012 Japan tour shows. Laugh all you want, these guys are the real thing.... (Think about it: 2013 tour? $110 a ticket multiplied by 165,000 people... That's about $18.1 million dollars - give or take a few yen!) 

And REALLY thank god that these young people and their fans will someday soon be in their 60s... Maybe then, we can put this WWII friction to rest... 

Why not? World War II is ancient history, it has nothing to do with today's young people. They don't care. And I think that's a good thing.

(This article inspired by my good friend Andrew Sirkis living in northern Japan)

Japan: Senkaku Islands, China War? North Korea Nuclear Tests, Korean War? Yen Manipulations, Currency War? What Next? Killer Bugs!

Yeah, you read that headline correctly.

We have a ton of trouble with China and the Senkaku Islands and it seems things are beginning to simmer and get hotter by the day...

North Korea? Sure Nuclear tests and now Martial Law set in place to prepare for war!

Japanese yen and currency manipulation to set off another type of war, a currency war... And those currency wars have always ended badly, and sparked shooting wars throughout history; the worst possible outcome for everyone involved.

What next for Japan? How could things get worse? What could possibly bring all this sh*t even closer to home in Japan than... are you ready for it? Deadly bugs? Mites to be exact.  

What?! The reporter says that these mites came from China in 2009 and now they are here in Japan and they have confirmed that the first death from these mits has occurred. These mites transmit a deadly virus! 

Now we are at war with Chinese Arachnids? Is this for real???

News on Japan has the story: New mite-linked viral infection claimed first fatality in Japan

Japan recorded its first death from a new viral infection last autumn, the health ministry said Wednesday. The adult victim, a resident of Yamaguchi Prefecture, had no recent record of overseas travel or any apparent trace of a mite bite, even though the new viral infection, called severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, is usually transmitted by such a bite.

Oh the horror! Can it get any worse? 

Yes it can! Mites from China? Sure. There's lots of folks who go back and froth from the USA too!.... Bringing us....

Japanese Remilitarization in the Cards?

I won't have much to say about yesterday's elections in Japan. There are tons of places that you can find much more informed commentary on that.

I would, though, like to add one thought about the fear of Japanese remilitarization. The following article was written in 2006 but the argument is still completely relevant to today.

Please refer to The Paradox of Japanese Remilitarization:

In order for Japan to repent completely for past deeds and war crimes while returning to the fold as an equal partner in peace with her Asian neighbors, a seemingly monstrous contradiction must occur. Japan will be obliged to renounce her pacifist constitution — specifically Article 9 of the constitution — and create her own standing army so that she can become a normal independent nation, pursuing her own independent foreign policy and interests.

Until Japan does renounce Article 9, she will never be able to come out from under the US security umbrella and, in turn, be able to create and maintain relations with her neighbors on an equal footing. Japan must create her own military again in order to rid herself of US occupation and control.

Nevertheless, the notion of renouncing her pacifist constitution understandably causes Japan's neighbors to become very nervous due to Japan's past Asian aggression. This is the paradox of Japanese remilitarization.

Today's Japan is at a crossroads. The US security umbrella that Japan has lived under these past 60 years often hampers relations between Japan and her neighbors. Japan's economic relations with those neighbors hum along at a fantastic rate, while her political relations are constantly hindered by political stumbling at home and Japan's security agreement with America. Even though many Japanese are beginning to think that staunchly supporting the United States is not a good idea with over 75 percent "quite dissatisfied" with Japan's support of the illegal invasion of Iraq, Japan today is at the beck and call of the American empire.

But what can Japan do about the current situation? Many people in Japan feel that the US-Japan security agreement is an outdated and ill-fitting rented suit that must be changed. But how?

One solution has been presented by the current Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, and looks like it might be acted upon in 2006. Koizumi wishes to revise Article 9 of the constitution that renounces Japan maintaining a standing military. As former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said, "(Revising Article 9) would make Japan a ‘normal country' that can share responsibilities and cooperate with the world …" Even though some politicians like Nakasone are also against prime ministerial visits to Yasukuni Shrine, this policy of revising the Japanese constitution has drawn much criticism from China, Korea, and the Japanese Left.

Also, though many countries and groups object to any proposed changes to Japan's pacifist constitution, would these changes signal a hard-right shift in Japanese politics? Would these revisions put still more strain on a China already under enormous pressure from a very belligerent United States? Would a remilitarized Japan be what the US empire really wants?

Not necessarily. Incredibly, in the long run, a Japan with a foreign policy independent of the United States just might be much better at reducing Asian-Pacific tensions than a Japan that is a lap-dog of the USA.

In many ways, this entire matter is merely a problem of semantics. Japan's Self-Defense Force is currently called Jieitai; the name of this force is to be changed to Jieigun, which translates into Self-Defense Army. To westerners, this may seem like a minor detail. But in a country that is filled with contradictions and has a language that holds hundreds of words meaning the same thing, albeit with slightly different nuances, this minor change can lead to major changes, depending on how it is interpreted. Would this change confirm that Japan is rearming and could pose a threat to her Asian neighbors once again? Or is this just another enigmatic problem of modern Japan that requires deeper consideration of the psyche and linguistics of today's Japanese nation?

Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution states:



"Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. 2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized."As of 2004, Japan is already in the world's top five in military spending. Will changing Japan's military status make any real difference? Does Japan having her own military spell trouble for China or Korea? Leftists and some critics say that it does. But after researching this issue, I have to conclude that it does not. I have become convinced that the only way Japan will ever be able to free herself from US control and handle her own foreign affairs with all of her Pacific neighbors as an equal partner will be to renounce Article 9.

Many of Japan's neighbors complain that Japan accedes to the USA's every wish and whim. I'd have to agree with that; in fact I complain about it as much as anyone. But I would add that if Japan's Asian neighbors want Japan to get away from the US security umbrella, then they have to expect that Japan will want to be treated as an equal partner in all discussions and problems.
Thus, Japan escaping from the US security agreement is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, an independent Japan can take a dissenting opinion to the USA on Asian disputes. On the other hand, Japan will have to have her own military to do so. To this very day, Japan is treated as a junior in all aspects of her relations with all of her Pacific neighbors. China, Korea, and the rest of Asia will have to realize that they cannot have their cake and eat it too.

The Japanese are a very pragmatic people. An independent Japan will require an independent Japanese military. To expect Japan to leave the US security agreement without having a standing military of her own is absurd. No politicians in any country would last in office for an hour if they allowed their country to fall into the precarious position whereby its national or economic interests could not be protected in an emergency. To think that any country's politicians could is completely ignorant.

In spite of what you may read in the mass media, Japan is still under US occupation in 2006. Undeniable evidence of this can be found in the fact that Japan doesn't even fully control her own airspace or her own territorial waters.

For example, for over the last 20 years Japan has been begging the United States to give her back the airspace above and around areas of Tokyo. Here is an extract from an article entitled U.S. to return part of Yokota airspace that appeared in the Japan Times on March 12, 2006.



"The United States has basically agreed to return part of the airspace over Yokota Air Base in Tokyo as part of the realignment of U.S. military forces in Japan, informed sources said Saturday. "The basic agreement is expected to alleviate the overcrowding caused by the 470 commercial flights that must take detours around the so-called ‘Yokota RAPCON (Radar Approach Control)' area each day. "The Yokota RAPCON covers the airspace above Tokyo and eight prefectures — Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Niigata, Nagano and Shizuoka. The military airspace is 7,000 meters high at its northern part and 3,700 to 5,500 meters in its southern part near Tokyo. "Flights bound for western regions, such as Chugoku and Kyushu, have to ascend to avoid entering the banned airspace, while flights originating from those regions must make a detour south of Yokota, according to the transport ministry. "The agreement, however, will effectively shelve Japan's request for the complete return of the airspace, which it has been seeking since the 1980s."You've heard of Saddam Hussein's Iraq having an illegal "no-fly zone" imposed on it, but I bet you didn't know until now that the USA still enforces one over Japan.

After reading the above, is there anyone who believes that US occupation of Japan ended in 1952? Today, there are over 50,000 US troops stationed in Japan. In a recent survey, 63 percent of the Japanese people wanted the US troops out. The US military is a huge financial strain on Japan.

Another article that appeared on Japan's Kyodo newswires on March 12, 2006 reported that the US was returning three military bases on Okinawa to Japan. Kyodo also reported that Japan looks set to cover the broken down empire's $8 billion estimated cost of removing 7,000 US marines from Okinawa and sending them to Guam. (I calculate that at $1.14 million per marine. Those guys must have a lot of luggage.) Many Japanese wonder why Japan must pay for the removal of US troops from Japanese territory to another US colony in the Pacific.

The choice is clear: the only way Japan can become a normal country, treated as an equal by her Pacific neighbors, is to walk along the very same road her neighbors do. It would be a wonderful thing if every nation in the world would have a constitution that renounced military force and prohibited a standing army; it would be fantastic if war were abolished forever, but that is not the way things are. Japanese pacifists will blast me for stating this opinion, but as I have written about many times, the Japanese are, in many ways, very romanticist. It is a lovely and artful, heartwarming way to be, but unfortunately it is not the way the world works.

Would a remilitarized Japan, free of US control, become more neighborly with China and Korea? Considering economic trends and business ties, one would hope and strongly suspect so. But, either way, in order to investigate those possibilities, Japan must escape from the grasp of the US.

Japan's goal should be to rid herself of US occupation and control. After that, in order to maintain peace, Japan will have to negotiate with her Asian neighbors on an equal footing in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect. Unfortunately, because of the way things are done, to do so will require Japan to change her pacifist constitution more in line with the way everyone else does things. In order for Japan to become friendlier with her Asian sisters, she will once again have to support a military, like a normal country. It is fact-of-life. It is unfortunate that Japan must support a military to do so. It is most fortunate if doing so allows her to return to her Asian family.

In this insane world, every normal country has a military. A normal country honors its military dead. That is the tightrope walk for Japan's politicians today: Japan must fulfill the requirements of any normal country while reassuring her neighbors of peaceful intentions.

This is the huge paradox of Japanese remilitarization.

• Thanks to Bevin Chu
• Edited by Jeremy Irwin

I do not advocate a more nationalist (or militarist) response towards China (or the Koreas) over territorial disputes and hope that things can be worked out to everyone's satisfaction in a fair and equitable manner. The point is that, when the USA is involved, it makes people deal in a decidely unfair and risky manner. (Consider how the Poles were intransigent against Germany in 1939 because they had an agreement with Britain and France!)

I do want the dear reader to consider how the USA being involved with these territorial (islands) disputes does cloud the water; there are two sides to this sword. Japanese remilitarization might just calm things doen and make people deal with each other as equals.

The Paradox of Japanese Remilitarization first ran on Lew Rockwell.com on March 14, 2006. Copyright Lew Rockwell.com

I Knew PSY Before He Was Famous!

I'm proud to be a Lew Rockwell (LRC) contributor. I've been doing it now for nearly ten years.

I remember when I first started, I was so proud to have my articles published (I was rejected by other sites dozens of times!)

LRC taught me about politics and the economy. It was so great to meet and read like minded people. They have all taught me a lot.

For that, I thank them all.

I also remember, back in the days when small government and Libertarianism (anti-government, anti-war, pro-free market) was considered a freakish notion by Joe Blow Average. When I told people that I wrote for LRC, if they had heard of it, they'd roll their eyes or say something along the lines of, "Oh? That explains why you are the lunatic fringe".. But after these last ten years of war and bailing out big banks, as well as a crashing and destruction of the Middle Class, people no longer think that way...

If being against foreign wars, bombing and killing innocent children; against bailing out Wall Street and Big banks, against high taxation and intentional destruction of our currency and being for freedom and the rights of man is the lunatic fringe, then I am it.

And damned proud of it!

Writing for LRC allows me to reach millions of people that I could never reach with my blog...

What's the reason for this particular blog post? Well, I wrote an interesting story that mentions Korean Rapper PSY on LRC on Oct 2, 2012 called, "Why Korea Beats Japan" - long before he was even heard of by the western press or the average person... At that time, his video had 90,000,000 views. That is three times the population of South Korea. Now, he nears 1 billion views on Youtube...

That's the most views in Youtube history...

The interesting part is Youtube is an also-ran in Japan, Korea and China.

Oh, the wonderful things you can learn from blogging and LRC.

(Oh and that title; "I Knew PSY Before He Was Famous!"is kind of true. My company did an event that he appeared at in Japan in January of this year (2012).... Like and idiot, I didn't go (lazy!) I didn't meet him but the most famous "talent" at our company, George Williams did. Said PSY was a nice guy too! (I knew I should have gone to that show!!!!!)

Public Education is Terrible! Or Can People be THAT Stupid? Japan Was First to Use Nuclear Weapons... On Korea???!!!! Dave in Austin is Confused - You Need to Drink More!

Blogging is a total exercise in frustration. 

The worst part of blogging is getting mail from idiots who think they know what they are talking about. Dave from Texas tells me that, "you are part of the problem" when it comes to Japan's economic conundrum. You see, Dave thinks that government spending of over 237% of GDP is not the problem. Dave also thinks that the current rate of Japanese under the poverty level of 15.7% is somehow caused by privately run businesses trying to compete for good employees under the free market system.

In "Japan is Collapsing," I wrote:

I am angry at the stupid Japanese government for taking our tax money and bailing out these zombie banks and keeping the status quo intact at the expense of the people and our children's future. I am furious that the situation has gone on for so long. I am angry that it is not only us who is feeling the pain but everyone else I know... I get angry when I read the news and see that 15.7% of all Japanese are under the poverty level. I get pissed off when I see that our debt to GDP is over 237%....

And I really get angry when I read that these idiots in government want to raise our taxes and keep with the failed policies of these last twenty plus years. And it really really astounds me that the people who got us into this mess can get reelected again. What a farce. 

Dave then writes:

Well, things can't be so bad-- I mean you still have a very exclusive international school full of rich people, right? Did you ever think that one of the problems with Japan's economy is that everyone assumes a paternalistic company to pay for all these benefits for their employees? When businesses are burdened with such costs, the money's got to come from _somewhere_. Companies will either: stiff the employee wages, borrow, suck off the gov't teat, or go under. Mike, with all due respect, you might be part of the problem... 

Riiiiiight! Japan's economic problems are due to the efforts of private businesses! Dave is a fricking genius! I responded:

Dave is a prime example of the poor education people get through public schooling. For some bizarre reason he thinks that private businesses (that create jobs and build the economy) are "part of the problem" whilst he ignores the fact that Japanese government debt is now over 238% of GDP and we have 15.7% of all Japanese under the poverty level in Japan today. He also fails to recognize that Japan has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. Dave is completely ill-informed and naive.

Jeff B. also blasted Dave in the comments section for thinking the government had their own money and because Dave fails to realize that all the money the government has in the first place is money they took it from privately run businesses. Dave is a total statist fool.

But Dave isn't the worst one - he doesn't deserve the "Total Idiot Award" in the last 24 hours (Sorry Dave). That award goes to someone else even dumber. To prove to you that public education is in the pits and that you must work your ass off to send your kid to a private school or homeschool, read this next letter that I received concerning my article entitled, "Atomic Bombs: Race Hatred and Mass Murder." The reader commented:

"I think you have a very warped sense of history. Japan was, after all, the first country to use a nuclear weapon on Korea. Second, the actual documents show Japan was looking for a CONDITIONAL ceasation to the war. (sic)  Japan's own treatment of the Chinese was the real war crime. So don't be so high and mighty. True, the bombs killed many innocents, but it was total war by all sides. Your generals were to blame, not the U.S."

Jesus! "Total war by all sides" but "Your generals were to blame" incredible! It gets worse, he even spelled "cessation" wrong. Then he writes, "Japan was, after all, the first country to use a nuclear weapon on Korea???" What the heck? Have you ever heard anything like that before? He's kidding, right? Is this what they are teaching in school or did this guy get this from reading comic books? No! I dare say that this guy doesn't read at all.... I mean, how could he with a ridiculous statement like that?

(To read about the atomic bombings, read here: Ralph Raico. If that link doesn't work, use this: http://www.lewrockwell.com/raico/raico22.html).

If you ever needed any evidence that US public education was sh*t, you just found it with the comments by Anonymous. Mr. Anonymous! Please send me the names of the schools you attended. I want to publish that list so that people know where NOT to send their kids!

And if you ever needed evidence that blogging was an exercise in frustration (or becoming a Zen Master) then just read the dumb stuff people like Dave write.

God help us all if this is the education level of the people we are producing today.

I suppose the best recourse on this holiday weekend is to not argue with idiots and drink more.

Happy Thanksgiving! Sony and Panasonic are Junk! Japan Has No Leadership! Mish Shedlock Spells it Out!

Happy Thanksgiving! May the rest of this year see you and yours healthy and prosperous!

My son and daughter along with two friends (Ko & Takashi) visiting us for turkey in 2010

Yesterday, I posted about how messed up the Japanese economy was in "Japan is Collapsing." The response to that article was amazing. Thank you... Too bad the article contents are true.

Interestingly, just two nights ago I had dinner with some high ranking executives from Germany's biggest television network. They were in Japan on a fact-finding mission and had visited several Japanese corporations who told them all sorts of nonsense stories (spin) about Japan.

The most ridiculous one was given to them by a spokesman from either Nissan or Docomo (they couldn't recall which company told them - Jet lag and all). The spokesman told them something along the lines of, 

"The Japanese work so hard because of their samurai ancestors."

I was asked by several of the visiting German delegation if this statement was true. I told them it was "...total and complete bullsh*t!"

Actually, I've heard this "samurai ancestors" romanticist nonsense before. It's not true at all. Folks, there might be only a handful of people in Japan who have "samurai ancestors." 95% of all Japanese have peasant-class ancestors and the other 5% or so have merchant class ancestory. The samurai were low-class paid killers and "worked" (if you call it that) for money killing people or being body guards. Their only dedication, generally speaking, was to whoever paid them the most. 

That certainly doesn't translate into long and hard hours sitting at a desk all through the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s that most Japanese dedicated during the so-called Japanese economic miracle.

And a big reason that Japan is messed up today is that she doesn't have the people with the leadership qualities like she used to and her people don't work hard and dedicate the long hours like they used to. For more on that subject please refer to: Why Korea Beats Japan:

"...the biggest problem for Japanese companies versus Korean companies in manufacturing may not be simply issues with design and ease of use, but it has a lot to do with corporate culture in Japan.

Frankly speaking, from what I've seen, Korean companies will continue to beat Japanese companies for the long foreseeable future. There's no way out. Why? Because inside a Korean company, there are no factions fighting for position like what goes on at a Japanese company. Also, Japan doesn't have the leadership it once had; there are no more good leaders, definitely in politics and there is a terrible shortage in business in Japan too.

My Samsung friend put it this way, 

"At a Korean company everyone is on the same bus and we are all going the same way. At a Japanese company, the leaders have a very difficult time getting everyone pointed in the same direction."

He's absolutely right. 

At a Japanese company groups are struggling within, and against each other, to gain power. At Korean companies, I think they feel it is "Korea versus the world!"

When I worked as an executive at a major Japanese TV station subsidiary, I saw a consistent in-fighting between three or four factions for power. When faction "A" would come to power, the other factions seemed to not put in their best effort. In fact, I saw times when the other factions would actually drag their feet and become a hindrance to the efforts of the group in power.

It was infuriating to me as a foreigner who wasn't inside of any group to see people protecting their friends and their position as the number one work priority rather than the success of the company business or the project. 

It seems to me that the success of the project would automatically protect one's position. But no! These folks wanted success for sure, but only if their group was the one in power when that success occurred.

I saw this same problem at a Sony subsidiary, another TV network I worked at in the mid 80s ~ early 90s; and you can readily see this same problem in Japanese politics anytime anywhere.

I was, and am still to this day, astounded at the immaturity of some of these people." 

I wrote that article at the end of September. It's been only two months but I only see things getting worse.

Also the other night, the COO of the German television network told me that he still thought Sony was a great corporation. I told him,

"You do know that Sony lost a billion dollars last year?"

He said nothing and drank his wine. Sorry to burst his balloon.

That was a few nights ago.... 

This morning I wake up and the first thing I see is an article that the ratings agency of Fitch has cut Sony and Panasonic's stock ratings to "Junk" (what timing, eh?): 

The agency slapped a speculative rating on each firm, pointing to their weak balance sheets and declining position in the global electronics sector.

Fitch said it cut Panasonic by two notches to BB, while it slashed Sony's rating by three notches to BB-, with both firms given a negative outlook.

"The downgrade reflects Panasonic's weakened competitiveness in its core businesses, particularly in TVs and panels, as well as weak cash generation from operations," Fitch said in a statement.

"It also reflects the agency's view that the company's financial profile is not likely to show a material improvement in the short to medium term."

Fitch also cast doubt on Sony's prospects, saying a "meaningful recovery will be slow, given the company's loss of technology leadership in key products, high competition, weak economic conditions in developed markets and the strong yen".

Panasonic was also downgraded to one level above junk by Moody's earlier this week.

I just wonder what took them so long to downgrade these companies... All they had to do was to go and check out and talk and work with the people I do and they'd have known 5 years ago that Sony was headed for the trash-can. Heck, when Sony unveiled their MP3 player that was to compete with the iPod years ago and called it the "Walkman" you knew they were out of good leadership and good ideas. 

Look for Sony to be emblematic of the rise and fall of Japan's economic miracle.

-------

This morning, I also received a mail from my good friend Mish Shedlock and he wrote that I could reprint his entire blog post about Japan (that I referred to yesterday) in full and I wish to do so here. Mish has the most wonderful insights and I find his blog to be a "Must Read" everyday. I think you should too!

Doorsteps of a Currency Crisis; Economic Illiterates Debate Monetary Policy; Monetarist Mush 

Japan's grand experiment of decades-long QE coupled with Keynesian foolishness is about to take one last gigantic leap forward before it plunges straight off the cliff into a massive currency crisis.

Please consider the New York Times article A Call for Japan to Take Bolder Monetary Action 

 For years, proponents of aggressive monetary policy have offered this unusual piece of advice as a way to end Japan’s deflationary slump and invigorate the economy. Print lots of money, they said. Keep interest rates at zero. Convince the market that Japan will allow inflation for a while.

Japan’s central bankers long scoffed at such recklessness, which they feared would ignite runaway inflation. But now, the bank’s hand could be forced by an unlikely alliance of economists and lawmakers who have argued for Japan to take more monetary action after more than a decade of weak growth and depressed prices.

Championing their cause is the former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who is favored to return to the top job after nationwide elections next month. Otherwise deeply conservative, Mr. Abe surprised even his own supporters by calling for the Bank of Japan to be much bolder in tackling deflation, the damaging fall in prices, profits and wages that has choked Japan’s economy for 15 years.

In escalating remarks over the last week, Mr. Abe has said that he will press the Bank of Japan to act on government orders if his Liberal Democratic Party wins the Dec. 16 election and even rewrite Japanese law to reduce the bank’s independence.

In a speech in Tokyo on Thursday, Mr. Abe said he would call for the Bank of Japan to set an inflation target of 2 to 3 percent, far above its current goal of about 1 percent, with an explicit commitment to “unlimited monetary easing” — an open-endedness that has caused jitters among some economists. The bank’s benchmark interest rate should be brought back to zero percent from 0.1 percent, Mr. Abe added.

He went even further over the weekend, saying in the southern city of Kumamoto that he would consider having the bank buy construction bonds directly from the government to finance public works and force money into the economy, according to local news reports. That raises concerns, however, the bank may be called on to bankroll unrestrained spending on more roads and bridges that Japan does not need.

Economists cite several missteps by the central bank that have entrenched Japan’s deflationary mind-set and made consumers and businesses wary that the bank’s policies will stick. In early 1999, as the country’s economic woes deepened, the bank lowered a benchmark interest rate to virtually zero and said it would keep rates at zero until deflationary concerns disappeared. But an economic uptick in mid-2000 caused the bank to raise that rate to 0.25 percent despite protests from the government that the move was premature.

Monetarist Mush

Anyone who thinks an interest rate hike from 0% to .1% or even .25% has much influence on economic growth has "monetarist mush" for brains. Seriously.

The NYT does not name the economists, but I have no doubt they exist. Highly respected (for no reason) Richard Koo is one of them.

I have written about Koo on numerous occasions. From Japan's decade long experiment resulting in public debt of a 1,000,000,000,000,000 yen (a quadrillion yen), Koo reckons Japan failed to defeat deflation because it did not do enough!

Japan is in a crisis alright, and it was entirely self-made, by politicians listening to clueless economists all begging Japan to do something.

One Thing Worse 

Central banks are bad enough on their own, but history shows that one thing worse than central banks acting on their own is central banks acting under control of politicians.

 Committing to a little inflation will push stock prices higher, while a weaker yen will bolster Japan’s exporters and strengthen corporate balance sheets. Incomes will rise, fueling consumption and raising tax revenue for the government, said Kozo Yamamoto, a lawmaker of Mr. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party.

“Basically, it’s what the Bank of Japan should have been doing for the past 15 years,” he said. “A few percent of inflation is nothing to be worried about.”

US Populist Position

It's not just Japan loaded up with populist fools. The US has its share of them as well.

For example, Ellen Brown wants to end the Fed and put California politicians (state politicians in general) in charge of printing money to support "growth" as well as union causes.

As I have said, the one thing worse than having a Fed in charge of monetary policy is having politicians in charge of monetary printing!

For a discussion and an absurd video by Ellen Brown, please see Lawmakers Threaten to Take Over Monetary Policy

Economic Nonsense Regarding Inflation, Consumption, Wages

Kozo Yamamoto preaches widely believed economic nonsense.

Inflation will not raise consumption. People do not stop buying things just because prices are falling. Computers are proof enough. Prices of computers and electronic goods have been falling for decades, yet every year the volume of merchandise sold reaches skyward.

History suggests people buy things when they need to or want to not just because prices are rising. Government interference and tax breaks can shift demand forward by a few months (for no real economic benefit of course). There is only so much room to store things.

How much food or clothing can you store? Will you buy a coat you do not need, just because prices are going up?

US QE Example

Take a look at the US.

QE has put a floor (for now) on asset prices but it has not done a damn thing for wages.

I discussed this at length with Lauren Lyster on Capital Account on November 3: Mish on Capital Account: Jobs, Real Wages, Income Distribution, Fiscal Stimulus

I come in at about the 3:00 mark, but the first few minutes of Lauren are entertaining as usual.

Average Hourly Earnings vs. CPI 

Average hourly earnings has been falling for years and lagging CPI inflation since September 2009. Simply put real wages have been declining. Add in increases in state taxes and the average Joe has been hammered pretty badly.

If inflation and QE forces wages and hiring up, then why didn't it?

The fear for Japan should be rising interest rates not deflation. If interest rates rise a mere 2%, interest on the national debt will consume 100% of government revenues.

When that happens a currency crisis awaits. I have long stated a currency crisis would happen far sooner in Japan than the US, and I believe we are about to find that out soon enough.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com 


Read more at Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.jp/2012/11/doorsteps-of-currency-crisis-economic.html