Sleep Walking to Disaster

I thought the title was a very apt as it seems to describe the mood which many take with regard to the ongoing Japanese crisis. The article points to 3 sources of trouble for Japan:

1) government bonds which have traditionally be bought by domestic savers. But as these savers head toward retirement, the bond market would need to be increasingly financed by foreigners who would be looking at a higher rate of return then what it is currently offering.

2) Deflation is an ongoing problem which creates a self fulfilling prophecy in a bad sense as people learn to filter that into their decision making processes.

3) Inability to pick up from current economic crisis.

The article also goes on to talk about the need for a new dynamic government who is unafraid to challenge the current status quo.