U.S. Is Not Japan Or Europe

There has been a trend of late to compare European and Japanese Bond yields to that of the United States and England so I think it necessary to define some large flaws in these comparisons. 

Japan Comparison

Let us start with Japan, Japan has an aging demographic, little immigration, very limited natural resources, and have not been a major player in anything other than heavy industry specific nuclear applications and autos since the mid-1980s.

In fact, Japan has been on a steady decline since the 1980s, and mind you the world hasn`t been on a steady decline since the 1980s in terms of many of the industries that Japan once dominated like technology, South Korea has taken over the Pacific-Rim mantle in technological innovation where Japan once reigned supreme. Plain and simple, Japan just got old and became outdated and uncompetitive in most areas of technological advancement and innovation that were so prominent during their glory days of the 1980s era.

United States

Let’s juxtapose this with the United States who has a very vibrant demographic because of immigration both skilled and unskilled, an abundance of natural resources, and major players in energy, entertainment, technology, agriculture, financial markets, engineering, and architecture. Furthermore, the US is actually not on the decline in any of these areas but still very innovative and relevant, and may even be on the rise in areas of energy and manufacturing which have been areas of outsourcing for decades. 

To compare Japanese bond yields in order to justify an argument for US bond yields staying historically low once the Federal Reserve is completely out of the bond buying business is a failed comparison. Japan wishes they could wake up from their demographic and cultural malaise and have the US future from a competitive and opportunity standpoint. Shoot Japan with all their nuclear troubles would love just to have our natural gas reserves.

America Still the Land of Opportunity