Japan’s ¥1,400tn ($9tn-$10tn) public debt dominates almost every fiscal debate. Far less attention is paid to the other side of the balance sheet. Japan owns one of the largest portfolios of public commercial assets in the developed world – spanning land, buildings, infrastructure, financial institutions and operating companies – yet these assets barely feature in discussions about fiscal sustainability, stimulus or reform. The result is an oddly one-sided view of the state’s finances, in which obligations are scrutinised relentlessly while assets remain largely invisible. This asymmetry matters. When governments ... (full story)