There are plenty of people in Asia who believe Haruhiko Kuroda, governor of the Bank of Japan, lives in Neverland. At the very least, economists on both sides of Japan's deflation debate — those who worry Kuroda has weakened the yen too much, and those who believe he hasn't done enough — think his policies have been out of touch.

But it was still surprising to hear Kuroda admit on June 3 that his policies are guided by imagination — specifically, the Japanese public's willingness to imagine they're working. "I trust that many of you are familiar with the story of Peter Pan, in which it says, 'the moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it,'" he said at a BOJ-hosted conference.

I'll admit it's somewhat distressing when the central banker managing the currency in which you're paid suggests he's relying on children's stories for guidance. But Kuroda's quote merits close scrutiny: It speaks volumes about why his policy of setting ultra-low interest rates has failed to gain traction.