Reflections on the December 2010 Newsweek, praising its intellectual rigor and journalistic integrity, while reaffirming that Japan’s Lost Decades were caused by the mass media’s folly. Drawing comparisons with Sweden’s swift handling of bad loans, the essay critiques Japan’s stagnation and highlights the decisive role of journalism.

On December 3, 2010, the author praises “Newsweek” magazine, hypothesizing that its high-quality journalism stems from the passion of its reporters, who are grateful to the JBL founder for keeping the publication afloat without layoffs. He quotes an article from the magazine titled “Americans Unfazed by the Recession,” which contrasts Sweden, a country that quickly resolved its banks’ bad loans, with Japan, which prolonged its banks’ lives. The author claims this proves his own assertion that the cause of Japan’s “lost 20 years” was the chorus of “foolish mass media” in August 1992, which opposed the injection of public funds into banks.

This Week’s Newsweek Was Truly Outstanding
December 3, 2010

This week’s issue of Newsweek struck me as particularly remarkable.
Because the 91-year-old founder of JBL was regarded as a “national treasure” of America, not a single employee was dismissed, and the publication continued. That decision seems to have reignited the journalistic spirit of all the reporters, making it shine even brighter.

What makes this magazine so extraordinary is that it contains not a single frivolous or petit-bourgeois article. Every piece conceals gems, right up to the final section of readers’ opinions from around the world. And to top it off, this week’s concluding interview is with Woody Allen.

Such a magazine is rare even worldwide — a true treasury of thought and ideas in every respect. In the end, the difference comes down to whether you choose to read it or not. That difference is enormous. Why? Because this, precisely, is what intelligence means.

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The Accuracy of My Observations
December 4, 2010

The condition of any nation becomes most apparent when viewed from outside. The following is a condensed excerpt from this week’s Newsweek article by Stephan Theil, titled “The Americans Who Never Learn, Even in Recession.”

Here again, my point is proven: the true culprits behind Japan’s “Lost 20 Years” — just as before the war — were none other than the mass media, whose chorus of righteous indignation in August 1992 can only be described as the most foolish in human history.

“Looking at past experiences in other countries, those that quickly resolved their banks’ non-performing loans (for example, Sweden in the 1990s) saw rapid recoveries in growth and consumption. Countries that prolonged the life of near-dead banks (Japan being the most notorious) failed to return to a growth trajectory even after many years.”

This proves that what I have long been pointing out was correct.