They argue that fewer children will, in a variety of ways, save Japan some money.

ECONOMIST: Japan

Among the 18 forecasters surveyed monthly by The Economist, none expects deflation in any big economy next year save Japan.

ECONOMIST: Global monetary policy

Few doubt that the weak yen is the inevitable result of rock-bottom interest rates, which were necessary to pull the economy out of the dumps and to save Japan's troubled banks.

ECONOMIST: The whine of success

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For years, foreign rice was banned in Japan, save for an annual 14, 000 tonnes of Thai rice needed by Okinawan brewers for a local tipple.

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Stockmarkets initially fell, suggesting the investors are unconvinced that it will save the euro area from aping Japan.

ECONOMIST: The global crash

"Japan will have to do something radical to save its league, " Fitts acknowledges.

FORBES: A Modest Baseball Proposal

Tadashi Nakamae, an economist, argues that corporate restructuring is transferring wealth from households to companies in Japan, reducing the surplus cash that families have to save and swelling the coffers of businesses.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s bond market

Japan has been on a similar track--periodically raising taxes to save the national pension system--which has contributed to the virtual stagnation of its economy since the late 1980s.

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For one thing, Japan has a good stockpile of hard-currency reserves, and its people are willing to save domestically at virtually zero interest rates.

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But in Japan many buyers of luxury goods have been ordinary middle-class office workers, some of whom save up for years.

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