Japan: the earthquake to come

Usually a visit to Japan means boring meetings in airless rooms where the only spot of colour is the green tea. But this was not one of them. The senior government official sitting opposite me shook his head vigorously twice in affirmation. “Yes, Japan’s budget deficit would grow. Yes, there would be a government bond crisis.” And then he said: “The best scenario for Japan would be an earthquake that struck the downtown headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democrats when all its senior politicians were in attendance. Then we may get some of the reform that Japan needs.”