China’s Worst Nightmare Is Turning Japanese
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Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Few words strike greater fear in thehearts of economists and politicians than “Japanization.” Thatspecter of chronic malaise, deflation and bad debt has drivencentral bankers from Ben S. Bernanke in the U.S. to Mario Draghiin Europe to flood markets with liquidity in an effort to averttheir own lost decades.
It should worry China, then, that experts on this dreadedscenario are turning their attention to Beijing. Take BrianReading, whose quest to understand what the world can learn fromTokyo’s mess dates back to his prescient 1992 book “Japan: TheComing Collapse.” He recently wrote a 40-page report withLombard Street Research Ltd. colleague Diana Choyleva titled“China’s Chance to Avoid Japan’s Mistakes.”