I'm guessing, but the article is probably talking about total debt, public + private. IIRC Japan has lots of govt debt, but private savings. U.S. has high-ave

I'm guessing, but the article is probably talking about total debt, public + private. IIRC Japan has lots of govt debt, but private savings. U.S. has high-average govt debt and also lots of private debt. The sentence is certainly arguable, I agree.