Is the Japanese economy about to crash? This once unthinkable prospect is now very much thinkable as concerns grow, and the cost of borrowing rises, in response to the bold but, to many, bewildering economic plans of prime minister Sanae Takaichi. It is a question of huge import, for if the Japanese economy collapses the consequences around the globe could be grave.

The inevitable, slightly lazy comparison is with Liz Truss. But whereas with Truss there is at least some doubt about what exactly happened in her brief but turbulent tenure, withTakaichi things seems more clear cut

Takaichi, who faces an election on 8 February – where she will hope to boost her slender coalition dependent majority towards outright power – has pledged to boost the economy to the tune of 21 trillion Yen (£100 billion) while at the same time cutting taxes, most significantly eliminating the 8 per cent sales tax on food for two years. Borrowing costs surged to their highest levels in decades last week (40 year bonds hit 4.2 per cent) at the prospect of her plans becoming reality.

Sound familiar? The inevitable, slightly lazy comparison is with Liz Truss, made even more attractive since the Anglophilic Takaichi has claimed Margaret Thatcher as her heroine and role model. But whereas with Truss there is at least some doubt about what exactly happened in........

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