One of my recollections from the bubble economy of the 1980s was a passage in a 1987 book titled ¡°Hokokuron¡± (¡°The Theory of National Wealth¡°). Its author, the late economist Taiichi Sakaiya, stood out as one of the bubble era¡¯s most fervent cheerleaders.

An American business executive, Sakaiya wrote, once played host to a group of visiting Japanese high school students.

¡°I live in a 14-room house on the outskirts of Boston,¡± he informed them. ¡°We have a pool and greenhouse.¡±