A very low – or even negative – nominal interest rate could produce a positive real return for a saver, if prices fall sufficiently. In fact, Japanese savers have been benefiting from this phenomenon for more than a decade, reaping higher real returns than their counterparts in the US, even though Japan’s near-zero nominal interest rates are much lower than America’s.
在这个问题上，你不但要考虑名义利率，还要考虑真实（经通胀调整的）利率。极低——甚至为负——的名义利率可以为储蓄者带来正的真实利率，如果价格降幅足够的话。事实上，日本储蓄者十多年来一直从这一现象中获益，获得比美国储蓄者更高的真实回报，尽管日本的近零名义利率远低于美国。