Sour grapes are in season in Tokyo as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's predecessor steps up and slams the incumbent's tax plans.
However, beneath the bad feelings and twinge of regret, Yoshihiko Noda makes a very timely point when he accuses Abe of buying into former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's debunked theories on trickle-down prosperity.
"It's a kind of voodoo economics," Noda said of the "Abenomics" program that has thrust Japan back into the global spotlight. Noda made those comments, which are sure to irk Abe's team, to my Bloomberg colleagues Chikako Mogi and Kyoko Shimodoi.