"A cat has four legs. My dog has four legs. Therefore my dog is a cat." False logic cannot get much better than this. False logic is music to the ear of those who wish to be deceived and honey on the tongues of those who wish to deceive.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi seems to be much taken with false logic of the cat and dog variety these days. No doubt he wishes both to deceive and to be deceived.
"There can be no recovery without reforms," he used to say of the Japanese economy. Indisputable logic and admirable sentiment, with which there is no complaint. Yet listen to him carefully these days, and what he now seems to be saying sounds much more like: "There can be no recovery without reforms. Here is recovery. Therefore reforms are proceeding."