Yes we Kan (spend more money that we don't have)

Well the IMF is full of praise for the Tory slash-n-burn, which is a sure sign that they are working hard to make the rich richer and poor poorer, but over in Japan, it seems that there is still plenty of spending to be done. Kan has just beaten off a leadership challenge from the hated Ozawa, so probably feels duty-bound to make a statement in the only way that Japanese PMs know how.

It doesn't make much sense to me, as the talk in Japan has also been of budget cuts, but the first sign of starting to understand Japan is to recognise that you don't understand it at all, so I may be closing in on enlightenment. Anyway, if any British scientists find themselves looking for work in a few weeks or months, there would be worse places to look than Japan...

(Amusing to see ol' Krebsy featuring in that article about brain drain - he visited us in POL while he was Chief Exec of NERC, and it was jules' question about the dire state of UK science, or more precisely the reaction of some senior management to her daring to raise her voice in public to say what we junior ranks were all thinking in private, that ultimately precipitated our move to Japan. I must remember to thank him on Wednesday! More of the same from Krebs here, including a radio interview.)