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November 22, 2024
 

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Teruhiko Mano
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Feb 21, 2005
Globalization is a trend fraught with both positives and negatives
It's been a while since the word "globalization" came into widespread use. But its meaning isn't always clear, perhaps because each person uses the term in his own way.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 27, 2004
Japan should entertain Swiss offer when planning its FTA strategy
With the number of member countries now topping 150, trade negotiations under the World Trade Organization will take more time to conclude. This has triggered a rush by many countries to conclude regional or bilateral trade liberalization agreements.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 29, 2004
National security may prove weak link in maintaining economic ties
Last week, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao met -- for the first time in a year -- on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Chile. Ever since Tokyo and Beijing restored diplomatic ties in the 1970s, there has been an underlying belief...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 8, 2004
Five economic factors point to future deterioration of dollar
The dollar's exchange rate against the yen, which was fluctuating within the 108-112 yen range until early October, has begun to move downward in recent weeks despite such negative factors as the devastating typhoons and earthquakes that ravaged Japan.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 27, 2004
Oil-shock veteran Japan strong enough to weather surging prices
Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed at a conference in Vienna on Sept. 15 to increase daily crude oil production by 1 million barrels to 27 million. This is a record that exceeds even the 26.7 million barrels agreed on in fall 2000, and signals OPEC's intent to correct...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 30, 2004
Financial-sector shakedown afoot
Amid close scrutiny both in Japan and abroad, the integration of Japan's major banks is progressing at a rapid pace -- and triggering unprecedented legal battles in the process.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 2, 2004
Supply of safe beef large enough to ignore odd U.S. trade demands
The question of whether to lift the import ban on U.S. beef is being closely watched, especially in terms of how it relates to another issue of high public interest -- when will people be able to eat "gyudon (beef bowls)" again?
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 28, 2004
Decline in savings rate a warning to reform-resistant politicians
As Japan continues to maintain a current account surplus, it will remain subject to overseas criticism that its people should spend more and save less. However, the truth is that Japan's savings ratio has rapidly declined over the past decade. Let us look at some data and discuss why this is happening,...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 31, 2004
Numbers show road to recovery fraught with inflationary risk
The preliminary GDP figures Japan released May 18 show that the gross domestic product in the January-March quarter expanded 1.4 percent (5.6 percent annualized) in real terms over the previous quarter. Compared with the same period in 2003, first-quarter GDP grew a robust 5.4 percent. The GDP has now...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 3, 2004
Will intervention-happy BOJ see new risks as danger or deja vu?
Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui has entered his second year at the helm of the central bank, and in an economic climate radically different from the time when he first took up the job.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 22, 2004
Japanese monetary authorities must take the risk of making sense
Japanese monetary authorities have been trying to keep the yen-dollar exchange rate above 105, and even to push it to 110. While their actions, of course, affect the sentiments of currency exchange dealers, we should realize that exchange rate fluctuations are determined not just by economic factors,...
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2004
G7 sweeps exchange-rate mess under global economic carpet
Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations gathered Feb. 6-7 in Florida, but the outcome of their talks stayed within the expectations of most currency market watchers — mainly because it wasn't clear what the G7 wanted to say.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 26, 2004
Japan's lone intervention effort reveals poor risk management
Just a few weeks after the new year began, the U.S. dollar dropped to the 105 yen range for the first time in three years and four months, and also hit a new low of $1.28 against the euro.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 22, 2003
Dollar's depreciation due more to towering twin debts than euro
With the euro being quoted above $1.20, the media are now reporting that the euro has advanced against the dollar. But you cannot tell for certain whether you are witnessing the euro's appreciation or the dollar's depreciation, merely by looking at the euro's exchange rate vis-a-vis the dollar. This...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 24, 2003
Japan's economic momentum reveals private-sector progress
Japan's gross domestic product for the July-September quarter, according to preliminary figures released by the Cabinet Office on Nov. 14, grew 0.6 over the previous quarter for an annualized expansion of 2.5 percent. Some have pointed out that this was slower than in the April-June quarter, when the...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 22, 2003
Dwindling benefits cast doubt on rigid pension and deposit schemes
An insurance policy is an agreement whereby the payment of premiums and the receipt of benefits are inseparable. However, this fundamental principle is now being challenged by the nation's public insurance systems, which are creating anxiety and discontent by gradually denying policyholders freedom of...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 1, 2003
Surge in JGB issuance proves need for Koizumi reform drive
The preliminary GDP figures for the latest quarter, released Aug. 12, show that Japan's economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.3 percent in the April-June period. The economy is on a continuing uptrend, with GDP having expanded six quarters in a row since the January-March period of last year.
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2003
Chinese currency system must face step-by-step liberalization
We recently hear a lot about the need for China to adjust the exchange rate of its currency, the yuan. In fact, Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan, during the U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing July 16, said it is "increasingly evident" that China should allow its currency to trade freely...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 23, 2003
Fallout from Iraq war loosening dollar's global stranglehold
Until recently, the euro has been moving consistently higher against the other major currencies, at one point hitting highs of $1.20 and 140 yen. But its rise appears to have slowed now, with the new unified currency now stuck in the $1.17-$1.18 range.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 26, 2003
Floating ABCPs on open market could repair interest rate gap
On May 17, the finance ministers of the world's major powers gathered in Deauville, France as part of efforts to set the stage for the annual Group of Eight summit in Evian. A statement adopted at the meeting urged Japan to pursue structural reforms in its financial and corporate sectors and overcome...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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