Trust us. We're from the gubbermint.

Anyone in Japan for the long term (i.e. borderline lunatics) might wanna take a look over at Japan Economy, News & Blog to assist in understanding the true giggle-worthiness of the promises of the major political parties. Seems the the pension fund, which ain't yet near being hit as hard as it will be, lost 10.17 trillion yen in 2008, the third straight year of losses. Methinks that both parties are orbiting Mars.

I wonder, should the country have a serious crisis when the baby boom retirees reach critical mass, will the Japanese government offer non-Japanese retirees---those who have not taken citizenship---a free ticket home in lieu of their earned pension similar to what it has done to some other inconvenient and potentially expensive immigrants recently? Or will they just not pay the promised benefits?

One could put his/her extra cash in the bank at whatever barely positive interest rate is being offered. After 20 years you might be able to use the accrued interest to make a down-payment on a Kit Kat. Or one could perhaps invest in domestic equities. I haven't paid much attention to them for a while, so I don't know what the average P/E is----maybe 9,000,000:1?

No worry though. We can trust the gubbermint. Besides, people---including immigrants---have rights here. Bet your future on it.