The view from a pint (vol 1.1)

Amidst all the world changing developments of the last few weeks, the most critical, in my opinion, sitting where I do - i.e. on a pint - was the filing for bankruptcy by Japan Airlines Corp. Japan's largest non-financial bankruptcy ever. Critical because one would have never expected the Japanese, with their heightened sense of pride led insecurity, to allow loss of face of this scale.

Its common knowledge that the land of the rising sun has an enormous task of pulling themselves out of the ever-ballooning debt problem & deadly deflation. Regressive policy making, corrupt politicians are the obvious culprits and nothing seems to have changed with the defeat of the Liberal Democratic Party. But pain, or truth, cannot be postponed for ever and thats precisely where JAL's bankruptcy can play a key role - in demolishing the cosy relationship between the corporate world & spineless politicians/bureaucrats. And while at it, it could also inspire a thought revolution amongst the people (Ahem! I could well be in a bar in Calcutta now).

Have always felt that in many aspects, Japan leads the world. The problems in Japan, which became quite evident in the early 90s, of slowing birth rates, aging population, general discomfort with immigration, huge public debt : are all quite common now in a number of western, developed nations. So its time for a Jake Sully to enter the scene - a person from another land to rescue a society that is falling apart. And what happens in Japan, like it or not, will hopefully help rest of the developed world to figure out their path to survival.

Heres a link to the story on the bankruptcy filing by WSJ's Tokyo correspondents.