Japan's Debt to GDP Hits 400%!

Incredible! Over at Zerohedge, I just read an article entitled: This Is The Biggest Problem Facing The World Today: 9 Countries Have Debt-To-GDP Over 300% (www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-23/biggest-problem-facing-world-today-9-countries-have-debt-gdp-over-300)

Here's the chart from that article showing the top 16:

It doesn't comfort me at all that the USA is 16th with debt at 233% of GDP.

There's only one way out of this mess, folks; the governments and central banks must create inflation. The way they will do this is by depreciating our currencies by more printing. 

It's the only way out for them.

Got gold? Silver?

Vegetable Stands - A Microcosm of Why Japan is Such a Great Place to Live

I'd like to show you a little something about Japan that is just a little slice of the entire picture of why Japan and Japanese society are much better off than the USA and other western nations.

This one little episode speaks volumes about the people in Japan. Of course, people in serious denial will take this as an attack on the USA. But no. I won't say anything about that. I will merely link to an article that was written by an American and posted at Zerohedge. Read this photo blog and then go read the Zerohedge article. Draw your own conclusions.

But first, some details. 

There is a small farm near my house in Setagaya. Setagaya is a ward of Tokyo. This particular farm isn't 15 minutes away from the world famous Shibuya station in Tokyo. Shibuya is the city that is famous for fashions, things to do and places to eat. It is also the home of the awesome Shibuya crossing that everyone who comes to Japan visits at least once.

More details and a little reference; Tokyo is the biggest city in the world. There are over 35 million people living in the Greater Tokyo Area. This is even more mind blowing when you realize that, according to Wikipedia: 

By the "One Metropolis 3 Prefectures" definition, Tokyo is smaller than Los Angeles County (pop 3.8 million), and almost a third smaller at 13,555.65 km² than the Combined Statistical Area of New York, at 30,671 km². and 21.9 million people.

OK. So this is a vegetable stand on the east end of Tokyo; the most densely populated and crowded city in the world.

The local farm is run by a kindly old woman (She wouldn't allow me to take her picture) who told me that her husband died ten years ago so she comes out everyday and tends the farm. She said she's up before 4 am and out on the farm by 5 am. 

By 8:30 am or so, she goes back home. Before she goes, she puts out some fresh vegetables on her stand by the street for the locals to buy.

I always buy this woman's produce. It is delicious and fresh and cheaper than the local supermarket. The quality is much better than the local supermarket too as the old woman told me she doesn't use any sorts of chemicals or insecticides.

Wait a minute!? Think about this: She goes home at about 8:30 but she puts the veggies out for people to buy before she leaves? Who runs the vegetable stand? 

...No one. She uses a honor system... People are to take the veggies they want and put the money in the box before they leave... 

There are these sorts of vegetable stands all over Japan. Oh, yes, I do know that they have these sorts of things still to this day in some places far out in the country in the United States (though few and far between)... But, this isn't somewhere out in the country. It's inside of the world's most crowded city.

I know exactly what would happen to a fruit or vegetable stand like this if it were in a suburb of Los Angeles or New York; not only would people be stealing the vegetables, they'd, of course, steal the cash box too.

This set up wouldn't last 10 minutes in Los Angeles. This woman says her family has had this for over 75 years.

That things like this are commonplace in Japan speaks volumes about the people and the country.

The sign says, "Please don't 'take' the vegetables. God is watching you. Please put the correct amount into the box."

What is her security system? Japanese people still have mutual respect for people and random crime is still not a constant and serious consideration in daily life in Japan like it is in the USA.

And that's just a fact.

Oh, and, call it what you want, "America Bashing," "Anti-Americanism?" whatever... here's what anotherAmerican wrote. Here's the article from Zerohedge. I highly recommend clicking all the links and watching the videos...

10 Disturbing Tales From The Side Streets And Dark Alleys Of America  (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-19/10-disturbing-tales-side-streets-and-dark-alleys-america)

Oh, and to see that these aren't unusual cases, ever been to a Chuck E. Cheese? 

Chuck E. Cheese: Hotspot of Fights? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9IIWDCQ_S8)

- OK. I can't resist....I will comment... I showed the videos from the above 2 articles to my Japanese wife (who has been to the USA many times). Her comment? "American people? Are they all on drugs? Or do they eat too much salt so their blood pressure is way to high?" I think it's both and more.... Much more! Folks, this sort of thing NEVER happens in Japan.

- For some reason, this article was written for my good friends, James, Mayumi and Enrico.

L-R: Enrico, Mayumi, James (of Jimbo's Japan)

Japan's Debt Off the Charts

Thanks to Zerohedge!  

Japanese debt too large to fit on graphs anymore....

By now every single chart laying out every possible permutation of a hopelessly insolvent and overlevered world has been compiled, created, colored and in some cases, animated and socially networked. The following chart showing global debt dynamics over time from the WSJ is no different: it is animated (check) it has lots of pretty colors (check), and it is quite informative because it remembers that in addition to public sector debt, there is a thing called the private sector (sadly it avoids shadow debt: perhaps someone good at making 3D animated charts should take a stab?) and succeeds in incorporating everything in one cool animation.  

Yet why it may be most memorable, or not as the case may be, is that it is merely the latest chart in a seemingly infinite series which are just not big enough to fit Japan.  Perhaps it is time to make a chart of all the charts that need to be bigger to show the true Japanese state of affairs. 

That, or in reverence to the sadist joke, pardon "experiment" (as Jens Weidmann would say) that is Abenomics, we can finally start making bigger charts.  

Go here to play with the interactive chart. It's, er, "fun"! http://graphics.wsj.com/national-debts/#i[]=999

Japan Economy: The Beginning of the End

Thanks to Zerohedge.

Christine Hughes sums it all up perfectly, for Japan, "The Math Is Stacked Against Japan - It's Not 'If', It's When."

Click here to watch the video: OtterWood Observations on Japan, May 2013

And to remind my detractors and to pat myself on the back, I'd like to point out that I said EXACTLY the same thing nearly six months ago on Dec. 29, 2012 when this mad policy by the Abe government was announced:

Here's Why A Weak Yen Will Destroy Japan

The clowns in the LDP think a weak yen will rescue Japan's faltering economy by making exports cheaper... Sounds good... That is, if there anyone to buy Japanese goods.

I fear that the weaker yen will be the last straw in breaking the Japanese Economy. Here's my reasoning why... 

China and Japan are in a row over islands. Boom! Down goes exports to Japan's biggest trading partner. Please refer to the NY Times article, "Japan Trade Suffers as China Ties Deteriorate":

"Shipments to China, which is Japan's biggest trading partner, tumbled 14.1 per cent as demand dropped for Japan-branded products..."

Also refer to Japanese Car Sales Plunge Amid China Rage.

Europe is in no condition to be big spenders on anything as Euro states are already in deep recession.

The USA isn't in good shape either as it is in recession too and Japanese cars aren't selling well due to Fukushima and other issues.

Gee? So what will a weak yen certainly buy for Japan? Answer: How about a 10% increase across the board on energy imports?

Read the rest here: Here's Why A Weak Yen Will Destroy Japan

Maps of Areas of Japan Nuclear Contamination (日本では危険な放射線レベルの地図)

ここでは、日本人と外国人と外国のマスメディアは、日本の放射線の危険なレベルであると言うものだ。（これは科学的ではありません。それは人々が考えるものだけです。）

This is from the Testosterone Pit: Nuclear Contamination as Seen by Japanese Humor

After an endless stream of horrid reports on the tragedy of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, and the hotspots that are cropping up in odd places, and food scares, and even contaminated grasshoppers, we’re ready for something ... lighter. This has been circulating in the Japanese internet community for months, has garnered countless comments, and a lot of nodding, agreement, and knowing smiles. Though it’s not based on science or statistics, and certainly not on any polls, it represents, in the eyes of many Japanese, a larger tongue-in-cheek truth.

Note: the areas seen as contaminated are marked in red.

赤で危険な領域

東北から見られるように汚染された地域:

関東から見た汚染地域:

関西から見られるように汚染された地域:

沖縄から見た汚染地域:

北海道から見た汚染地域:

日本の政治家から見た汚染地域:

東電から見た汚染地域:

外国人から見た汚染地域:

Thanks to Zerohedge and Testosterone Pit

Yen Devaluation Called for By Financial Houses Now Becoming Japanese Government Plan? 18% Yen Devaluation on the Horizon?

In March of this year, I posted,

Yen Devaluation Now Imminent? Being Called by Major Financials! Get out of debt - Get your financial house in order now!  Whereby I cited and quoted major financials predicting a yen devaluation of up to 40%.

Some readers scoffed.

I doubt they are scoffing now, the predicted soon-to-be new government of Japan not only wants a 18% yen devaluation, they also want interest rates and inflation to go up about 2%.

Please refer to Zerohedge, Is An 18% JPY Devaluation The 'Best-Case' Scenario For Abe's 'New' Japan? In that article it is discussed how the coming government of Shintaro Abe thinks that Japan can return to the "Golden Days" if only they can (artificially) force the yen back down to ¥100 yen to $1 US dollar! Madness! How could destroying the value of the currency return the nation to economic health?

After twenty-plus years of folling around with the economy and propping up failed banks and businesses, haven't these clowns figured out that the more they do the worse it gets? It really astounds me that, in some surveys, it is reported that some of the Japanese public support tax increases! Are these people crazy?

The other day I was at Shibuya station and a minor political party was holding a rally and their main pillar of their policy was "No Tax Increases!"... Yet, there were few people listening and you just know they'll get stomped in the election by the big money parties.

I wrote all about the Zeitgeist of the situation in "Japan is Collapsing" and two subsequent blog posts.

Besides the insanity of thinking that artificially destroying the value of the currency, Abe and his co-horts think that a 2% inflation target would be a good thing.

The Zerohedge article goes on to point out:

Even though the yield on 10-year Japanese Government Bonds (JGB) is only 1 percent, the interest expense is expected to top 22.3 trillion yen in the fiscal year that begins next month. This is one-quarter of the general account budget. If the bond yield rises to 2 percent, the interest expense would surpass the total expected tax revenue of 42.3 trillion yen.

Yup: a mere "surge" in interest rates to a whopping 2.00% will destroy the Japanese economy.

Once again, I warned people to have at least 2 or 3 months of food and water stored (Duh! Japan is an earth-quake prone country anyway). And protect your wealth by accumulating physical assets like precious metals.

Banzai 7 Goes to the Fraud-Lympics in London

From Zerohedge, William Banzai has a true to form, realistic take on the scam the Olympics have become. The day where "Olympic athletes sacrifice and dedicate to their sport" is long gone (it it ever really existed  and has been replaced by policial, social, and nationalist goals (as well as crass consumerism and glorification of the state) and, ahem, big money. (Psst! Those athletes winning anything is not for you or "your country" it is for advertising revenues! pass it on!) 


Nah! Don't believe me, please refer to "Olympic Games Scandals and Controversies" where the sneaky business has been going on since, oh, 1908....


William Banzai, though, has a great take (as always) and a bunch of very well done and funny cartoons over at ZeroHedge. This is my favorite:

Go to Zerohedge to see all the rest of the images in their full Banzai 7 glory!!!! 


EXTRA POINTS! Fun Olympic quiz!


Question: When that athlete crosses the finish line first for Olympic gold what is the first thing that come into their mind?


Answer (pick one):


A: "I did it for my country and people who I don't even know and will never ever meet."


or


B: "Alright! Now I get that juicy sports sponsor contract and millions of dollars... I'm rich!"

Internet Advertising? Cars? Check... Make Money at Home? Check... Dating Shemales?... Wait! What!!!???

Probably everyone has heard the story about General Motors Automobile Company dropping all their Facebook advertising because no one clicks on Facebook ads? Yeah?

Well, perhaps it isn't a problem with Facebook. Perhaps it's a problem with what is being advertised and how it is being presented. I mean, who wants to click on an Internet ad just to see some dumb commercial that you can see on TV? Not me. I hate TV!


Well here's an ad you won't see on TV - ever! And it really caught my eye! I was just reading stuff at Zerohedge and saw an ad for, get ready for it.... Dating with Shemales!

There it is, on the left!

Now, I don't date Shemales and have nothing against anyone who does...but I have never seen any advertising like this! I might click it just to go see WTF is this????


Well, I clicked it and it's for real. It is a dating service for men and women and people who might like Shemales.... Ultimately, I gather it is a dating service for people who are very open-minded and not judgmental about what other people do in their bedrooms - quite unlike the weirdoes and fascists who think it's their business what other people do.


Well, I don't care what other people do and I am happy to see a community of people who seem to feel the same.


My thinking about this? I have enough of my own problems to worry about without having to worry about someone else's problems (or what they do inside of their own homes!) -- Especially someone I don't even know.


I hope someone can become happy through a dating service or any of the other old-fashioned ways. Lord knows we could use all the happiness we can get in this world!

Japan's Bankruptcy is Near - Debt as % of Revenues is Nearly 2000%!!!

You think that Japan can survive the coming onslaught and harsh economic day of reckoning? I doubt it. Japan can't make it past Dec. 2013... I think the SGHTF this summer... Thank you Greece, Spain and the EU...(and Japanese bureaucracy!)


Check this from Zerohedge: Japan's WTF Chart:

By now everyone has seen some iteration the following chart of relative sovereign debt/GDP values, in which Japan is an outlier:

But how many have seen this chart showing global sovereign debt as a percentage of total government revenues? 

Absurd? Laugh about it? Source: Harvard Business School, 9-212-091, Hayman Capital Management.


Read more at Zerohedge: Japan's WTF Chart

"A massive 40% devaluation of the Japanese yen is imminent and inevitable..."

Are you sitting down? I hope you're not drinking coffee right now....

From Zerohedge:

"Caixin's Andy Xie, who is now confident that a massive 40% devaluation of the Yen is imminent and inevitable (with dire consequences for regional trading partners) ... now that the Japanese economy is no longer competitive in the New Normal world (read trade surplus) of delaying what every other central banks has been doing so well.... "

(Caixin is News and Analysis on China's Markets)

I hope you have at least 3 months of food and water stored up and you hold some gold besides being ready for earthquakes and other natural disasters, you should be ready for the man-made one that is coming.

Read more: Four Years of Japanese Central Planning Failure Chart

The US Dollar Collapse: World's Larger Economies Make Deals Excluding US Dollar - Japan, China, Russia and India Join in

In an article yesterday, I pointed out that the exemption from the trade embargo with Iran that included Japan and ten European countries (and power house Germany) is just another sign of the collapse of the US dollar and with it, US hegemony - in spite of how the US government spins it. Please refer to: US Oil Embargo on Iran Collapses - Japan and Ten Other Countries Given Exemptions:

How is it possible that the #3 economy in the world (Japan) and the #2 economy in the world (China) not being following rank and file with US imperialist policies could be deemed, "success"? The other countries that are exempted are: Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Britain.

…

The US oil embargo against Iran failing is just another piece of evidence of the collapse of the US economy and the US dollar.

Don't forget to throw South Korea into the mix. Even though they are not mentioned, you know that there is no way the South Korean government will sit idly by and be penalized when Japan gets a pass. There's no reason, now, why they should be excluded either!

Sick US Dollar equals end to US hegemony

A regular reader has now written and asked how is it that this news is proof of a dollar collapse (and with it further evidence of a loss of US power)? Well, instead of me explaining it to you. let go to the expert, Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge... (Uh, Tyler is just about always right! It's uncanny!) 


From just January 21 of this year, Zerohedge wrote on this very subject with links to several pertinent articles about Japan, China, Russia and the zeitgeist of the moment. Please refer to: India Joins Asian Dollar Exclusion Zone, Will Transact With Iran in Rupees:

Two weeks ago we wrote a post that should have made it all too clear that while the US and Europe continue to pretend that all is well, and they are, somehow, solvent, Asia has been smelling the coffee. To wit: "For anyone wondering how the abandonment of the dollar reserve status would look like we have a Hollow Men reference: not with a bang, but a whimper... Or in this case a whole series of bilateral agreements that quietly seeks to remove the US currency as an intermediate. Such as these: "World's Second (China) And Third Largest (Japan) Economies To Bypass Dollar, Engage In Direct Currency Trade", "China, Russia Drop Dollar In Bilateral Trade", "China And Iran To Bypass Dollar, Plan Oil Barter System", "India and Japan sign new $15bn currency swap agreement", and now this: "Iran, Russia Replace Dollar With Rial, Ruble in Trade, Fars Says."" Today we add the latest country to join the Asian dollar exclusion zone: "India and Iran have agreed to settle some of their $12 billion annual oil trade in rupees, a government source said on Friday, resorting to the restricted currency after more than a year of payment problems in the face of fresh, tougher U.S. sanctions." To summarize: Japan, China, Russia, India and Iran: the countries which together account for the bulk of the world's productivity and combined are among the biggest explorers and producers of energy. And now they all have partial bilateral arrangements, and all of which will very likely expand their bilateral arrangements to multilateral, courtesy of Obama's foreign relations stance which by pushing the countries into a corner has forced them to find alternative, USD-exclusive, arrangements. But yes, aside from all of the above, the dollar still is the reserve currency... if only in which to make calculations of how many imaginary money one pays in exchange for imaginary 'developed world' collateral.

....

Who's this India country anyway?

India, the world's fourth-largest oil consumer, relies on Iran for about 12 percent of its imports or 350,000-400,000 barrels per day (bpd) and is Tehran's second-biggest oil client after China. But Washington has snapped tighter financial sanctions on Iran and wants Asia, Tehran's biggest oil market, to cut imports in a bid to pressure the Islamic nation to rein in its nuclear ambitions, which it suspects are aimed at making weapons.

Read more here at the same article and see where Turkey, a NATO member is about to join the dollar "unluck" exclusion club.


The dollar is collapsing and with it, more than a century and a half of US dominance, imperialism and hegemony is coming to an end... Proof that so many countries can snub the US with this current embargo and get away with it shows that everyone smells the coffee too in spite of US government posturing. 


All along the way, though, the US government (and Europe) does everything it can to shoot itself in the foot.

11 Charts Of 11 Disturbing 11 Year Trends & 11 Years of Stocks Versus Gold

Over at Zerohedge they have eleven very disturbing charts about the economy that I think you'd be wise to take a minute to look at:


My favorite is 11 years of stocks versus 11 years of gold:

Here's another scary one: 11 years of Federal debt. As you can see, Obama has more than doubled the debt created when (that idiot) Bush was president: 

Here's 11 years of Food Stamp participation. Under Obama it's nearly doubled. How's that "Obama standing up for poor people" working out for you?

See more jaw-dropping charts at Zerohedge. 

Vote Ron Paul 2012 See what the International Business Times says about Ron Paul here.

The Japanese Titanic: Japan's Public Debt Will Surpass ¥1 Quadrillion Yen Any Day Now

How much is a quadrillion? That's a thousand trillion....


Recently, I've been getting my daily money market news fix from the usual suspects: Mish Shedlock, Karl Denninger and Mad Max Keiser but there's another blog that I've found that hits the mark consistently and updates more than several times a day. It's called Zerohedge. I highly recommend it because the guy that runs it seems to get the scoops on what's going on days and even weeks faster than all the rest.

The latest one rings the alarm bells for Japan once again. Japan's Public Debt is about to surpass ¥1 Quadrillion any day now. Jeez! How many zeroes are there in a quadrillion? I didn't even know without having to look it up.


Let's see that's a one with fifteen zeroes after it. Like this: 1,000,000,000,000,000.


Zero hedge reports in Japan Will Raise More Cash From Debt Issuance Than Taxes For Forth Year in a Row


Japan's marketable public debt, already the largest in the world at $11.2 trillion compared to America's $10 trillion (of course this assumes the whole SSN sleight of hand is funded, which it isn't), is due to surpass ¥1 quadrillion any month now (aka the exponential phase). And that's just the beginning. As Bloomberg reports, "Bond sales to the market will climb to a record 149.7 trillion yen ($1.9 trillion), while the national budget’s reliance on debt for funding will rise to an unprecedented 49 percent in the year starting April 1, Japan’s government said Dec. 24.


The article goes on to stomp on these Keynesian "economists" (read: clowns) who claim that the government should increase spending to pick up on falling consumer spending and loosen monetary restraints (read: print like hell) in order to pump up the economy before a recovery starts:


In other news, and to all the neo-Keynesians out there, we post the following thought experiment: according to the head priest economic growth derives from debt issuance. And since apparently every country (yes, yes, that has its own currency) can issue infinite amounts of debt, why doesn't the US and Japan (and the EU post Eurobonds), simply announce it will monetize, aka print, an infinite amount of debt tomorrow? Shouldn't that lead to global GDP promptly rising by infinity %? Or is there an actual problem with this hypothetical scenario which takes current debt trends to their ludicrous extreme.


Want to see what a quadrillion pennies look like? Here ya go!

Here we have buildings (in front) used for scale at a trillion. They're now dwarfed by the large cube of pennies in back (quadrillion). The large cube is a quadrillion, or a thousand times one trillion. This cube is roughly a half-mile wide and would weigh an astonishing three billion tons.

Translation: Japan is doomed. 2012 and beyond are going to be rough ones.


Happy New Year! If you are in Japan, may I suggest drinking as much as you can, while you can. 

Japan and Europe Imminent Default - Kyle Bass Letter to LPs

Kyle Bass has written his latest letter for Hayman Capital Management. It is not good. Read it... This one sentence sets the tone for the poor outlook for the economy of Land of the Rising, er, Setting Sun....Er, Japan.


"... We believe the debts of the following nations, among others, are not sustainable in the current economic environment: Greece, JAPAN, Portugal, France, and, have we mentioned Japan?"


Notice, on page 9, that Japanese government debt is at "229% of GDP."

Click the box circled in red below the letter to view in full screen

Below:

Or click here to go to full screen.
Hayman_Nov2011 Thanks to Zerohedge

Debt in Japan Actually 492% of GDP! UK 497% of GDP!

That's right. You read that title correctly. A chart released by the giant blood sucking vampire squid, Goldman Sachs, says that when you combine "government, business, banking and household debt, the true scope of a country's obligations." This chart is truly shocking. 


But first, watch this video of a sinking ship and you'll get the idea of what I'm talking about here:

You back? OK. Well, the video is relative because, first; the passengers are oblivious to dangers coming (the passengers represent us "the people"). Second; when the ship started sinking, the captain and crew were splitting. The captain & the crew represent our politicians and bankers.


Not a pretty picture. People going along, as usual, in their ignorant bliss. The "leaders" knowing full well what's going on but trying to get out with what they can, while they can! The only difference between the sinking ship and the economy is there won't be any rescue coming for us.


While the entire world watches Greece and Italy, it seems, from looking at this chart, the real action is the UK, Japan, Spain and France. 

Business, government and household debt in Japan show a 492% of GDP problem for Japan. The tax and spend days are coming to an end soon in Europe, the USA and, of course, in Japan. 

This entire house of cards is going to collapse around our heads. When the collapse does come, it will come suddenly. Hope you have cash readily available and at least a few weeks of food and water ready. Because when the crash does come, stores will be empty in a matter if a few hours - if it takes that long. 

A reader sends in this video. Kyle Bass on the BBC saying that Japan is "next": 

Thanks to Zerohedge: http://www.zerohedge.com/