[MR4D]

> Japan lends to itself

I meant to address this point separately. What you say is technically true, but if they just retired the debt, Japan would simultaneously become a much poorer country.

Remember, the owner of the debt gets to mark it as an asset, so while the debt would be canceled out, the assets would drop in an equal amount [0].

[0] the Accounting equation is Assets = owners equity + liabilities, so a reduction in liabilities must cause a corresponding reduction in assets. And yes, it’s that insidious, but it is spun by people who have an interest in people not understanding this.