After a series of false dawns over the past 20 years — both political and economic — Japan is again making headlines with the return to power in December of the Liberal Democratic party led by former Prime Minster Shinzo Abe. Despite election promises, it will be very difficult for anything to significantly change in Japan, given the intensifying structural issues that suggest a coming sovereign debt crisis similar to what we see in Europe today. Napoleon Bonaparte famously said that "if you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing." Taking this to heart, Abe promised a lot in his ... (full story)