Most Americans pay very little attention to what is going on in the economies of other nations. But they should. The reality is that in today’s global economy, what is happening on the other side of the world can have a dramatic impact on the U.S. economy. In particular, the ongoing implosion of Japan’s economy should greatly concern us all. Japan is the 3rd biggest economy in the world and is one of America’s most important trading partners. If Japan experiences a total economic collapse it will create a tsunami of financial panic around the globe. In fact, it is likely that a default by the government of Japan would plunge the world into such an economic nightmare that the American Dream would quickly vanish for millions of American families. So just how close is Japan to a financial collapse? Well, Fitch Ratings says that Japan’s gross public debt has reached 201 percent of GDP and is likely to continue to pile up into very dangerous territory for the foreseeable future. It is estimated that this gigantic mountain of debt amounts to 7.5 million yen for every person living in Japan. Needless to say this is extremely troubling. Japan has the highest level of public debt to GDP of any of the industrialized nations. Japan is literally drowing in red ink. Meanwhile, even with all of the massive government spending that has caused all of this debt, Japan’s economy still continues to implode at a frightening pace. Japan’s discouraging battle with deflation dragged into its 13th straight month in March as prices continued to decline and the unemployment rate rose sharply. In fact, the number of unemployed in Japan totalled 3.5 million in March. This represented a 4.5 percent rise from the same period a year ago. (Read More...)