What price a new government in Japan? Upcoming elections, now provisionally set for August, could snap the ruling party’s almost unbroken grip on the world’s second biggest economy: the Liberal Democratic party has ruled for all but 11 months of the past 53 years. Now power may be tantalisingly close for the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.

While the race may be exciting for political pundits, taxpayers have more reason to be gloomy. Elections are usually fought on big-spending tickets, but Japan’s gross debt is already running at close to twice economic output, with net debt more than 100 per cent. Government income is down with the economy. Expected tax revenues of $480bn this year are insufficient to cover the country’s general costs, let alone the $210bn of debt service payments.