Twenty five years ago in Japan, people bought homes not with a thirty year mortgage, but with a 99 year mortgage. That means that they could not pay it off in their lifetime, but, in all likelihood, their grandchildren might not pay it off in their lifetimes.
I don't know how much this factors into Japan's debt, but as a nation, their people are unlikely to move elsewhere, so this debt burden is likely to be passed on year after year in a fairly stable population.
What bothers me is that each American also shoulders around $86,000 in debt, far more than the median income. Many Americans faced with debt do not have family or other resources to rely upon in difficult economic times.
This debt is likely to be called at some point, and I don't see how many Americans can pay for it.
