Re: [tlug] (OT) The enigma of Japan

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

JC Helary writes:

 > I think Kerr would have been more credible if he had not singled out  
 > Japan as being peculiarly unique in its way to mess with the  
 > environment, accounting rules, people etc.

Dunno about messing with environment and people, but its accounting
rules *are* unique, and they are uniquely obfuscatory.  Japanese
accountants admit this is so, and I'm told that accounting academia in
Japan is currently about equally divided on whether this is a good
thing or not (the rationale for obfuscatory accounting being that it
prevents good companies in temporary difficulty from becoming targets
of the hagetaka).

Even in the international arena, the rules that apply to Japan are
different from *all* other coutnries: Japan is the only nation whose
banks are permitted by the Bank for International Settlements to count
shares in joint-stock corporations (and some other instruments) in
their capital adequacy levels.