A Japanese headline put this year's El Niño losses in the trillions. The figure traces back to a 2023 estimate of $5.7 trillion for the 1997–98 event. Why estimates differ 100-fold, and a think tank's own correction.
Japan says ¥8.2 trillion in self-driving investment will yield ¥187.3 trillion in economic effects, about 23 to 1. The government's own footnotes show what that number measures and which assumption drives it.
Japan's government just promised over 370 trillion yen ($2.3 trillion) across 17 strategic sectors by 2040. We unpack the suspicious arithmetic: a 6.5x return promised on chips, an undisclosed public-private split, and a deadline conveniently 14 years away.