Can someone explain why the American press and politicians keep saying Japan is in an economic basketcase when Japan leads the USA in many categories:

1. has household income almost double the U.S.
2. is the world's richest nation as the largest net creditor
3. has an average workweek five hours less than the U.S.
4. has virtually free healthcare
5. has the world's most efficient transportation system
6. has workers who save almost three times as much
7. has the longest lifespan in the world for its women
8. has the second longest lifespan in the world for its men
9. has a heart attack rate 1/3 of the U.S.
10. has a divorce rate 1/2 of the U.S.

While most cannot explain Japan bashing, one can explain why Japan is doing better than U.S. or Argentine. Japan hasn't allowed the transfer of wealth into the fewer and fewer hands. As a result,

"The average standard of living, and the satisfaction level, is higher than in the United States ... In the United States , the rich guys are very rich, but the poor guys are very poor ... In Japan, the rich are not so rich, but the poor are not so poor."

Japan is not in a recession. It has retired from the global rat race. Wisely, the hygiene and environmentally sensitive Japanese ignore requests to initate deficit spending spur the global economy. More economic growth, more global pollution.

The bashing, actually, can be explained by global moneytheists wanting to open up Japanese funds to speculation and manipulation. the Japanese, sitting on over $13 trillion in widow and orphan investments, are viewed as an unraped financial virgin by predatory monetarists.

If I was a Japanese citizen, voter, banker or prime minister, I would offer one of the following analogies if someone said I should do more to stimulate the economy

1. There are not many of them but some kids say they don't want to buy and be owned by a car. They resent others judging them poorly because they don't buy something they don't need.
2. There are many single people who are alone but not lonely. They rightfully resent others mal-judging them because they are not married.
3. There are childless couples who find life fine without being full time parents, an expensive, often wasteful throw of the dice. In a world where most children are unplanned and unwanted, the desire not to grow an economy to complete with wasteful economies is a wise choice.
4. Japan is like the contented church family who is asked to frequent the local bar or bordello to keep the joints from going out of business. No doubt the average Japanese feels toward these American finger-pointing politicians the way successful blacks feels when whites say blacks should help themselves.

There is a simple way to refinance the Japanese debt to eliminate any impending financial crisis. In effect the debt has been refinanced already but not in a formal way that is logical and makes people comfortable.

The restructuring of Japanese stocks, banks and pensions in response to American demands will introduce instability that allows American manipulators to ratchet wealth away from Japan, a virtual financial Pearl Harbor.

Bashing of Japan as a backward country is a matter of cheery-picking from the full-picture. And, it is not new. For those who are familiar but not detailed in the history of Japan, the 1853 account of American warships openning up Japan to the world conveys an image of a backward company. In truth during its centuries of being a "Closed Country," Japan developed in a lot of latent ways that made re-integration into the international community fast. An example of this fastness was Japan winning several wars within 50 years against China and Russia. In 1853, Japan had a literacy rate equal to or higher than most European nations. Its metallurgical knowledge and skills not only aborbed western industrialization but improved upon it. Now, with the introduction of new financial markets to allow Japanese workers freedom in retirement choices, the Japanese will find themselves in the same situation of American workers who own 401ks instead of defined benefits packages. As Japan's financial system is liberated in the name of free markets, it will end up like a chunk of Africa at the end of colonial rule.

Notes:

1. 010814 "Bank of Japan Decides To Ease Monetary Policy"
2. 011219 "Once Prized by Firms, Japan's Grads. Are Now Settling for Dead-End Jobs" [key is 24 in 4]
3. 020129 "Amid Banking Troubles, Low Interest Rates, Japanese Still Move Money to Bank Accounts"
4. March 2002, Japan's Exports rose by 39% while US posted a record import deficit.
5. 020314 "Some Japanese Are Hoarding Gold"
6. 020320 "U.S. Economic Official Voices Skepticism About Japan's Moves to Bolster Economy"
7. 020419 "Japan May Be Advancing In Fight Against Deflation"
8. 020501 Rebuke
9. 021203, "Foreign exchange reserves now total $453 billion for Japan (up $58 billion since last December), $257 billion for China (up $42 billion) and $117 billion for South Korea (up $14 billion).
10. 021125 "Japan's Horror Show.Why its financial crisis is even scarier than you think".
11. 030224 Oil Reserves at 172 days, US at 79.