It’s sad to see a once great country fall on hard times. It’s like watching a formerly leading hedge fund manager apply for food stamps...

Imagine the following scenario. A small Italian town on the Swiss border. The customs officers, checking the passengers on a local cross-border train, notice among the usual workers making their daily commute to Switzerland a couple of well-dressed Asian men, one of whom is carrying a briefcase. When examined, the briefcase proves to have a false bottom...

This article is the first in a series of proposals detailing how the Japanese government could launch projects that would result in massive fiscal stimulus as well as boosted corporate and consumer spending. It is important to keep in mind that the proposals put forth in this series are essentially insane, but would lead to government, corporate and personal spending on a massive scale.

For salespeople selling in these days, we need to make a small but important mentality shift, here goes...

Rumors are flying about a proposed Shinsei-Aozora tie-up (these are nothing new, but recently the background noise on the subject has increased)...

For Japan, the 1990s are commonly referred to as the "lost decade." Those that know me are aware that I look beyond that and actually regard a quarter-century as the appropriate "lost" duration...

If there is any doubt that the high-end of conspicuous consumption is stinging, just come and visit Aspen or Snowmass.

Japan’s closely watched Tankan report was released last week, a quarterly report of business sentiment, showing its sharpest drop in history, cliff diving from -24 to -58...

A big chunk of the growth this decade sprang from artificial and ephemeral real estate gains, which have since gone poof! There is nothing to replace it until we invent something new...

Last time I had Japan under the loop I asked whether there was no end in sight for Japan's economy and as I wind up for another close look, I must say that it is still very difficult to find good news if any at all...