Blog-IT-o ergo sum

	6/21/2004

Friendly Japanese Bankers

You know people did joke that if mortgage rates went any lower that banks would start paying you to take their money. Well...

-07loans

You are reading this right. Shizuoka Bank (the largest regional bank in the Fuji area) is indeed offering you money if you'll sign up to take some of theirs on an ARM.

Funny accounting excluded, Japan is still the world's largest creditor nation, but they are pulling out the stops to push the average Japanese consumer into cronic debt.

4:23:55 PM

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Economic Report

mcdonalds

All the McDonalds we saw in Japan used the Wendy's one line approach. So does the Mister Donut in this shopping center food court but they were moving people along faster so we went for a sugar fix instead of a fat fix. McDonalds sure was pushing their new "McGrand" however in print and TV ads. No extra charge for the prions.

750yen The Japanese tax rates are just under US rates for social security and medicare but in total higher overall in comparison. Still, 750 yen/hour to work partime at Mister Donut calculates out at over $7/hr at the current exchage rate of 108 yen/USD.

Every economist has a favorite model for working how the rates of fiat currency debasement need to be adjusted to bring US and Japanese prices into fair competition. I feel most comfortable with the donut model.

donutrate If we take the standard honey/glazed donut of Japan's top donut mogul Mister Donut and compare it to the famous Krispy Kreme glazed standard we arrive at 94 yen per 70 cents. This donut ratio works out to an equilibrium point of 134 yen per dollar. We do have one last factor to consider though and that is that across Japan the national sales tax is included in the advertised selling price of most items - donuts being one of them. Therefore, factoring in an average sales tax of 6% on donuts across america the offical donut based monetary exchange index between Japan and the United States should be 125 yen / dollar.

If you see any sudden moves in the price of Krispy Kreme donuts not matched by Mister Donut, that could be your signal to get in or out of US dollars.

4:13:55 PM

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Everyday life in Japan

livingroom Just in case you were wondering what the inside of a typical Japanese home looks like. This one is a little wider because my in-laws live out in the country in a small town with only 250,000 people in it. Compared to the 10 million or so living 90 minutes away by the Shinkansen bullet train in Tokyo.

Guess what the kids were watching on TV? Hint: something more safe than Japanese game shows or dramas where Janet Jackson events are a nightly occurance on the free airwaves.

3:46:15 PM

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Dropping Acid

batteryacid We hit the game center in Fujinomiya a couple of times and I was amazed how clear the water was in this little mountain stream running under the parking lot -- in spite of all the trash that gets dropped in it like most water runoffs in Japan. Maybe battery acid in your water is a good thing?

Don't miss the World Expo next year in Japan's Aichi Prefecture - home of Toyota Motor Company. Theme is to promote human understanding across cultures and harmonious development with nature. The new complex under construction is just down the "Green Road" from the Toyota Museum of Automobile History. The weather was too wet and overcast to get any good photos of the construction site when we got there, but I was amazed that they could still find such a large chunk of relatively flat forested land to put up a new development on. Looks like many of the World Expo buildings are going to have trees growing on their roofs and vines up their walls to harmonize with what is left of the natural area they are having to cut down and bulldoze to build the complex.

3:38:08 PM

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