But this system cannot be continued. It is impossible. So the probability of bankruptcies is quite significant. Ultimately, Mikuni expects those bankruptcies to help strengthen Japan's economic efficiency by clearing away weak, money-losing businesses. But a more immediate result may be that defaults will ripple through the economic system, adding to unemployment and exacerbating the sense of economic despair.
Some officials deny that the problem is so serious.
But economists are nearly united in agreeing that the net figures are misleading, because social security accounts are themselves in disastrous shape. While there is a surplus today, the social security system is projected to run out of money by 2010. Indeed, economists estimate that the public pension system may be severely underfunded. Then there is the question of what has been done with the funds that come from deposits at the Government-run postal savings system. The Government has also used public pension contributions and postal life insurance premiums on similar projects.