But Can Japan Kick the Debt Habit?

William Pesek of Bloomberg writes, "Now that Japan is back, the hard part begins: Getting the world's No. 2 economy out of debt....For all the concern about the U.S. budget deficit, that shortfall is 2.4 percent of gross domestic product, while Japan's is 6.9 percent.

"The Japanese economy grew five times faster than that of the United States in the fourth quarter - at an annual rate of 5.5 percent - leaving little doubt that this recovery is real. Now is the time for Japan to wean itself off an unhealthy reliance on debt. The debt-to-GDP ratio is pushing 151 percent, by far the highest among industrialized nations."

Can Japan kick the debt habit?