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If the substantial optimism regarding the future that is reflected, for instance, in the development in savings proves partially unwarranted, the problems may become even more difficult to handle at a later stage. Although the focus is on the USA at the moment, concern over developments in Japan has increased recently. Here there appear to be both severe problems in the real economy and in the finance sector, as well as political difficulties in dealing with these problems. In the insurance sector there are a number of major life insurance companies that are insolvent in the technical sense, as they have promised pensioners a return that they are unable to deliver. A large part of the insurance companies' assets are of course traditionally invested in low-yield treasury bonds. The Japanese 10-year bond rate is currently around one and one-third per cent. The Bank of Japan has declared that it intends to continue with its zero interest rate policy for the foreseeable future and the market expects to see prices falling rather than otherwise during the coming year. If interest rates and inflation were to gradually rise, which at the moment does not appear likely, this would of course further erode the value of Japanese pension money, as the bonds stock in the insurance companies would fall in value.