Paul Krugman: the group of us ought to go to Tokyo and apologise to the emperor.

6/3日経「けいざい解読」「大バブル後のユーロ圏は」編集委員・滝田洋一氏

自らもバブル後の経済運営の難しさが身に染みたのだろう。上から目線で何かと注文を付けてきたことを「天皇陛下におわびしたい」と、プリンストン大のクルーグマン教授は表現してみせた。

このコメントは舌足らずで、誤解を招きかねない。引用元はFTの記事の強調部分だ。教授は日本は良くやっていると評価している。欧米は日本のようになるのかと問われると、自分はできれば日本のようになりたいと答える。日本人には驚く評価かもしれない。

Lunch with the FT: Paul Krugman
By Martin Wolf Last updated: May 26, 2012 12:11 am
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/022acf50-a4d1-11e1-9a94-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1wgbVixwq

The Nobel Prize-winning professor of economics talks to Martin Wolf about what Japan got right, what the Federal Reserve got wrong and how the eurozone can be saved

We have already gone straight into the issues. The conversation turns to the Japanese crisis of the 1990s. In retrospect, I suggest, the Japanese seem to have managed the aftermath of their crisis quite well.
He agrees. “What we thought was that Japan was a cautionary tale. It has turned into Japan as almost a role model. They never had as big a slump as we have had. They managed to have growing per capita income through most of what we call their ‘lost decade’. My running joke is that the group of us who were worried about Japan a dozen years ago ought to go to Tokyo and apologise to the emperor. We’ve done worse than they ever did. When people ask: might we become Japan? I say: I wish we could become Japan.”
At this point we order: salade niçoise（南フランスのニース地方でとれる野菜をたっぷりと使ったサラダ）for Krugman; foie gras terrine（フォアグラのテリーヌ）for me; and a bottle of sparkling water. This is definitely not going to be up to the gourmet standards of some lunches with the FT.