Just to remind everyone that we are in Japan, the organisers of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF scheduled an earthquake on Friday afternoon at 1:55 pm. ( The  5.1 magnitude quake occurred near the near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.)

The tremors shook the Tokyo International Forum’s Hall C where Nik Gowing was just getting into the nitty gritty of austerity and debt at the BBC World Debate with Christine Lagarde of the IMF among five panelists on the stage. Gowing joked that the subject was getting so intense that it triggered an earthquake, but then on a serious note turned to the audience to ask the Japanese if it was okay to continue.

The debate continued, but the matter about how much austerity the Greeks should be willing to accept was left unresolved.