Bad news is good news in Japan these days. Last month Nissan announced a sweeping restructuring with thousands of job cuts, and last week it reported a $3 billion loss, one of the biggest in history. The overwhelming reaction among Japan watchers was...jubilation. These days each time Mitsubishi, NEC or Hitachi announces a plant closing, the Tokyo stock market surges higher. Economists now cheer as banks that once could have bought small countries desperately merge or plead for a white knight (even foreigners are welcome) to save them from insolvency. Behind this seemingly misplaced optimism in Japan's ailing economy, however, is...
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