In 1976, Sir John Gubb Pasha wrote “The Rise and Fall of Empires.” He studied the world empires and stated they all follow the same stages. I think it is more that the U.S. is in the last stage. (https://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/glubb.pdf))

Ah, and “fly” means “on the fly”. Got it.

With Japan’s population losing almost a million a year, Tokyo is not likely to regain the title.