<p><pre><code> He placated the nationalists by championing massive deficit
financing, via the BOJ, to pull Japan out of its economic
morass. Japan's economy soon embarked on a period of
economic growth with stable prices, full employment and
humming factories, an "economic nirvana." Seven decades
later these results were heralded a success by another
central banker trying a similar trick - Ben Bernanke.
</code></pre>
The cynicism and skepticism feels very contrived here. Seven decades of nirvana is better than the three decades of comparable nirvana American policies achieved between 1950 and 1980, and few economists criticize post-WWII-era American economic policy as being short-sighted or a one-way trip toward a dystopian future.<p>And of course, despite Japan's financial malaise, their quality of life is arguably on-the-whole better than in the U.S. It's hard to make direct comparisons of outcomes--let alone comparisons regarding policy efficacy--but I think it suffices to point out that Japan is hardly a failing system. In fact, some would argue that it's an outright myth, a failure to reframe expectations in the context of an advanced economy. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/eamonnfingleton/2013/02/06/paul-krugman-says-it-again-japans-stagnation-is-a-myth" rel="nofollow">https://www.forbes.com/sites/eamonnfingleton/2013/02/06/paul...</a>