Savings Reversal?

[Taro Toporific]

Frugal Japanese Dig Into Savings
The New York Times / May 31, 2003
... For decades, the Japanese routinely socked away 10 to 20 percent of their incomes, earning a reputation as one of the world's most frugal people... Based on preliminary data, the [Japanese] savings rate fell another two percentage points in 2002, economists said. Within a decade, if current trends persist, Japan's savings rate will hit 1.5 percent, according to HSBC Securities, pushing it below America's, which rose to 3.7 percent in 2002.