Well, Japanese companies used to have a lot of debt in the 80s and when the crash came, a lot of them got hurt. Now, they're mortally afraid of debt and cant fo

Well, Japanese companies used to have a lot of debt in the 80s and when the crash came, a lot of them got hurt. Now, they're mortally afraid of debt and cant for the life of them ever expand their revenue. Japan is a cautionary tale of what happens when people save too much money, are too risk-adverse, and are unwilling to borrow. The BOJ has been trying to get inflation up for decades with some of the lowest rates around and it hasn't worked. The country has been in a recession for a good 30 years and no amount of monetary policy manages to make things any better. Debt is a really powerful force, both positive and negative. I think for some businesses, like real estate, it makes sense to have a lot of debt, and others, like brick and mortar retailers, where debt can very easily destroy your entire business.