This book describes the astonishing policy failures of populist politicians in Japan. Focussing on popular tax cuts in Japan as a salutary case study, the book details their serious side effects: government debt, cuts to social security expenditure, inadequate public services and even the potential for a national default. The book argues that the only way to maintain a tolerable level of social services is to increase taxation because a government burdened by massive debt levels is unable to respond adequately to a serious threat such as Covid-19.

List of Figures; List of Tables; Preface; Introduction; 1. The Purpose of This Book; 2. The Structure of This Book; 3. Things the Reader Should Be Aware of; Part I Budget Deficits Caused by Tax Cuts, and the Risk of Financial Collapse; Chapter One The Causes of Japan's Government Debt; Chapter Two The Consequences of a Possible Financial Collapse; Chapter Three The Theory behind this Book: Economic Growth through Wage Growth and Redistribution; Part II How Cuts to Public Services Affect People's Lives; Chapter Four Japan's Preference for 'Small Government'; Chapter Five The Bottlenecks Caused by Cuts to the Public Service and Reductions in Social Security Expenditure; Part III Increasing Income Tax as an Alternative Solution; Chapter Six Income Inequality Resulting from Tax Cuts; Chapter Seven Enlarging the Tax Base to ensure a Fair Tax and Social Security Burden; References; Index.