The cherry blossom wars are over. But the question of whether to spend or save in the greater interest of Japan’s long-term recovery is rather less fleeting than the delicate petals, now mostly scattered to the winds.

For those who missed the ideological skirmish over cherry-blossom viewing, the opening shot was fired by Shintaro Ishihara, the rambunctious 78-year-old governor of Tokyo elected this month to a fourth term as leader of the world’s biggest metropolis. The unfurling of tiny petals normally triggers a bout of boisterous parties beneath the capital’s cherry trees, but Mr Ishihara told Tokyoites it was wrong to be enjoying themselves so soon after the devastating earthquake. “Just because the cherry blossoms are blooming doesn’t mean we should be drinking and having a good time,” said the man who had earlier attributed the natural catastrophe to divine retribution for Japanese people’s greed.

Naoto Kan, prime minister, quickly countered Mr Ishihara’s message, saying it was time for the Japanese to start spending for the good of the economy. Kaoru Yosano, minister for economic and fiscal policy, said jishuku, the thrift and restraint the Japanese embraced after last month’s tragedy, was “like a movement to bring about a recession”.