The powder keg that is Japan

Japan's debt situation is far worse than Europe's, but thus far it has received a pass. The country is reaching the point where it needs foreign capital to finance its deficit because the pension funds will be net sellers of Japanese bonds, due to demographics. This news doesn't help: Japan slips back into trade deficit in October

Japan had a deficit of 273.8 billion yen ($3.6 billion), reversing a year-before surplus of 812.6 billion yen.