Some economists compare it to trying to lose weight by fasting when the real solution is exercise, while others talk about repairing an airplane's altimeter when it's the engine that needs attention.
However you look at it, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic policy has failed to turn around Japan's stagnant economy.
When Koizumi became prime minister in April 2001, backed by record approval ratings, he promised to restrain the rapidly ballooning fiscal debt and pledged a clear departure from his predecessors' heavy dependence on huge public works spending.